Issue 3

Inside Culture Alice Kettle: art, 25

The Debate: Music, 18

Meek Review: Theatre, 24

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1st October 2018 / Issue 3

WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Jeepers pers creepers!

Photo: Wikipedia Commons

Horror or as cockroaches infest £144-per-week Owens Park Nicole Wootton-Cane and Josh Sandiford Head News Editor and News Reporter Students in an Owens Park flat are demanding financial compensation after they were left “traumatised” by a cockroach infestation in their hall.

Those living in Little Court, one of the Owens Park buildings, have also complained about sewage leaking from their taps and flooding in one of the bedrooms.

Residents told The Mancunion that they felt the University were neglecting to invest in them due to Owens Park being earmarked for demolition in the near future.

The first years, who moved into the university-owned halls at the beginning of Welcome Week, believe that the insects were already in the flat before they arrived due to the presence of cockroach traps in one of the bedrooms.

First-year Midwifery student Honor Kelly said the cockroach traps were already in her room when she moved in on Saturday 17th of September: “At first I didn’t realise, like I didn’t check them. I didn’t know what they were, I just assumed every room would have them.

“Then the more that we found we realised [the University] had already put traps down, so we looked in them and they were full of cockroaches so I think they must have known that my room was a hub for them before I moved in.”

Honor told The Mancunion that she has a fear of bugs, and described hearing the cockroaches scratching at the walls at night when trying to sleep, something her flatmates say they also heard.

“I’ve been here a week and I’ve already slept in the common room because I could hear them in the walls.”

Residents claim that they have had no responses from the University, despite them sending several emails. The students say they have also contacted ResLife and the main Fallowfield Campus reception regarding the issue.

The flat is shared by thirty-two people, who share four toilets and four showers between them. The students, who are catered

for, pay £144 a week to live there.

“You expect your uni halls to be a bit grotty, but not like this,” said Anya Lyons, a first year Politics and Economics student.

“This is too much.

“Pest control said it will take five weeks to make a dent in the population. I don’t want to live for five weeks in fear.”

“The thing is, [the University] obviously were aware. Even if it was just one cleaner that went to the shop and bought some traps, someone was aware. It makes me angry, they must be breaking some kind of rule.”

The students said they felt torn between wanting to move accommodation and also wanting to stay together. They told The Mancunion that they wanted financial compensation for the situation: “Ideally I want a rent reduction, but you actually live in fear. I hate bugs, but they’ve been really sneaky about it, they’ve allowed us all to become friends so we don’t want to move because they wouldn’t put all of us together.” Honor commented.

“Even like £20 a week off, just something, a gesture would help. We just feel like they don’t really care.” added Anya.

Another student in the flat reported that her room had flooded during the course of the week. “A gutter broke, and there was water all over my room, soaked into my carpet.” she told The Mancunion.

“At first they said they were going to move me but they came back and said there were no spare rooms. All they did was give me towels.”

The residents then showed us a recently recorded video of another flat in Little Court that appeared to show sewage coming from the taps. One girl had opted to leave the flat because of the conditions.

Rebecca Hopkins, a first year PPE student from the flat with the broken taps, told us that that the problem had started last week.

“I’d say it’s a mix of food and sewage [coming out the taps]. We were told it would be dealt with the night it started and it wasn’t. Then they said they’d deal with it in two days, but all they’ve done is put signs over the taps saying to not use them.”

Flatmate Annie Lamb added: “I feel like we pay the most out of anyone. There have been quite a few issues so far, we just want some money back.”

Students expressed views about Little Court being unfit for

Anti-immigration stickers Clapping banned at SU placed across campus events Page 2

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purpose; “I read that the new development is a multi-million pound project,” Anya said, “So I just feel like they’re trying to squeeze the rent out of us. They don’t take the issue with the cockroaches seriously because we’re the last year that will have to deal with them.”

A University spokesperson has responded, saying: “The University is committed to giving all students the best possible service in all of our halls and we will react quickly to any maintenance requests.

There is currently no planned demolition date for Owens Park and we have continued to invest in Owens Park, including a refurbishment of areas of the hall in Summer 2018.

“In Flat x [redacted], prior to current residents arriving in September there were no reports of the presence of cockroaches.

The area concerned has previously been treated for cockroaches, and traps are left for monitoring purposes as part of our housing management practice. Following the reports received the University has been working with its pest contractor to eradicate the problem.

Continued on page 2...

Photo: Nicole Wooton-Cane Cockroache photo: kasya @ pixabay

Student accommodation covered in Grenfell-style cladding Page 3

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ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Continued from page 1...

Inside Issue 2

A new Queer-a?

Sam Brougham looks at pride Opinion, Page 11

“In F l at x [ re d ac te d ] we h ad re p or t s t h at a blo cke d pip e h ad cau s e d s ome f lo o d i ng . T h i s was not s ewage and we h ave sp oke n to t he re s ide nt s to i n for m t he m t h at work i s b e i ng ca r r ie d out t h i s af te r no on [ T hu rs d ay] to f i x t he pro ble m . ” Owe n s Park , whe re L it t le Cou r t i s s it u ate d , was bu i lt i n 19 64 and for m s a l arge p ar t of t he Un ive rs ity of M anche ste r Fa l low f ie ld Campu s.

T he Un ive rs ity i s c u r re nt ly bu i ld i ng new, mo de r n h al l s of re s ide nce on t he Fal low f ie ld Campu s, wh ich h ave b e e n r u mou re d to b e re pl ace me nt s for Owe n s Park and Oak Hou s e.

Howeve r, pl an s h ave b e e n pl ag ue d by s e t b acks.

T he S t ude nt s’ Un ion adv i s e d : “S t ude nt s af fe c te d by t he

infe st at ion or lea king s ewage ca n cont act t he St udent s’ Union Adv ice S erv ice for f urt her adv ice a nd supp ort .

An adv is or w ill lo ok at what act ion you have t a ken s o fa r, s et out your opt ions a nd adv is e on your next step s.

“You m ay wa nt to cons ider m a king a n accom mo dat ion compla int a nd one of t he SU’s adv is ors ca n guide you t hrough t his pro ce ss. Adv ice S erv ice op ening hours a re Monday to F riday b etween 10 a m a nd 4 pm .”

If you or a friend have experienced similar problems in your university halls, you can email news.mancunion@ gmail.com

Antiimmigration stickers placed across campus Anti-immigration stickers were placed across Oxford Road and the Students’ Union on Monday afternoon by identitarian youth group Generation Identity Nicole Wootton-Cane Head News Editor

(In)Sane

An interview with the team Features, Page 9

Medics Outreach Helping the community Societies, Page 12

Contact us Editor-in-Chief: Ethan Davies editor@mancunion.com Deputy Editor: Amy Wei deputyed@mancunion.com Online Editor: Jeremy Bijl online@mancunion.com Design Editor: Kizzy Bray design@mancunion.com

News Editor: Nicole Wootton-Cane Deputy Editors: Sam Honey and Shivani Kaura news@mancunion.com Science & Technology Editor: Jacklin Kwan science@mancunion.com Investigations Editor: Felix Hanif-Banks investigations@mancunion.com

A nt i - i m m ig rat ion st icke rs h ave b e e n pl ace d ac ros s ca mpu s by far- r ig ht g rou p G e ne rat ion Ide nt ity.

T he st icke rs, wh ich app e are d ac ros s Ox ford Ro ad on Mond ay af te r no on , cal le d for re ade rs to “Jo i n t he p at r iot ic revolut ion .”

T he text on t he st icke rs re ad : “Agai n st m as s i m m ig rat ion?

Want to prote c t you r f re e sp e e ch? L ove you r E ng l i s h ide ntity? ” T he word s we re s e t agai n st a b ackd rop of pic t u re s includ i ng f ig u re s i n bu rq as st and i ng out s ide t he Hou s e s of Pa rl i ame nt . A not he r pic t u re s howe d a prote st to f re e farr ig ht ac t iv i st and ex-E ng l i s h D e fe nce L e ag ue le ade r S te phe n Yax ley-L e n non , al s o k now n as Tom my Ro bi n s on .

A twe e t f rom t he G e ne rat ion Ide nt ity Nor t h We st tw it te r accou nt s howe d st icke rs pl ace d arou nd t he Un ive rs ity of M anche ste r S t ude nt s’ Un ion . O ne was pic t u re d u nde r t he ‘ Sa fe S p ace’ s ig n on t he top f lo or of u n ion . A not he r was st uck on t he mu ral t h at t he S t ude nt s’ Un ion exe c p ai nte d ove r w it h a p o e m by M aya A nge lou du r i ng t he su m me r.

T he twe e t was capt ione d “Re je c t s afe sp ace s ! Re je c t L e f tWi ng e cho ch am b e rs ! Re je c t t he de st r uc t ion of ou r He r it age ! ” In re sp on s e, a sp oke sp e rs on for t he Un ive rs ity of M anche ste r s aid : “ T he Un ive rs ity of M anche ste r comple te ly re je c t s t he v iews ex pre s s e d by t he s e st icke rs and p oste rs a nd t he organ i s at ion s re sp on s i ble for t he m . ” “As an i n st it ut ion , we are proud of t he Un ive rs ity’s d ive rs e st af f and st ude nt b o dy and w i l l cont i nue to promote a me s s age of i nclu s iv ity ac ros s campu s.”

A st ude nt- le d prote st to ok pl ace on We d ne s d ay af te r no on in re sp on s e to t he st icke rs. O ne of t he organ i s e rs, Conor C o oley, t h i rd-ye ar M at h s st ude nt and st ude nt camp aig ne r for S t and Up to Rac i s m told The Mancunion: “G e ne rat ion Ide nt ity i s a fas c i st and de e ply rac i st g rou p.

Give n t h at t hey h ave b e e n put t i ng st icke rs u p ac ros s ou r u n ive rs ity, we t h i n k it i s re al ly i mp or t ant to h ave a re al ly pu bl ic me s s age and s how t h at we don’ t b e l ieve i n and Features Editor: Liv Clarke features@mancunion.com Opinion Editor: Sophie Marriott Deputy Editor: Cachella Smith opinion@mancunion.com Societies Editor: Chloe Hatton societies@mancunion.com Music Editor: Olivia White Deputy Editor: Jake Oliver music@mancunion.com

Photo: Deej Malik-Johnson

supp ort t hat kind of ideology a nd we wa nt a more welcom ing at mosphere for t he univers ity a s a whole.

“P rote st s like t his ca n rea lly m a ke a dif ference to st udent s who m ight feel at t acked by t he s e st ickers”.

G enerat ion Ident ity de s crib e t hem s elve s a s a “Pa n Europ ea n Pat riot ic Ident it a ria n movement ”. The group st a rted in F ra nce a s t he yout h-w ing of t he fa r-right Blo c Ident it a ire. The group ha s fact ions acros s Europ e, prom inent ly in Aust ria , G erm a ny a nd It a ly.

The UK a nd Irela nd bra nch wa s launched in O cto b er 20 17 a f ter G enerat ion Ident ity hung a b a nner f rom We st m inster Bridge in L ondon, reading “D e fend L ondon, Stop Is la m is at ion.”

Their web site de s crib e s t heir m a in a im s a s: “Stop t he Isla m isat ion of Europ e,” “O pp os e glo b a lisat ion,” a nd “Stop a nd revers e t he G reat Replacement .”

In Ma rch 20 18 , ident it a ria n w riter a nd prom inent G enerat ion Ident ity mem b er Ma rt in S ellner wa s b a rred f rom entering t he UK. He wa s due to give a sp eech at Sp ea ker’s C orner in Hyde Pa rk, L ondon. His girlf riend, Brit t a ny Pet t ib one, wa s a ls o b a rred.

Rega rding t he incident , a Home O f f ice sp oke sp ers on sa id: “B order Force ha s t he p ower to re f us e ent ry to a n indiv idua l if it is considered t hat his or her pre s ence in t he UK is not conducive to t he public go o d.”

The St udent s’ Union have b een cont acted for com ment .

Film Editor: Tobias Soar Deputy Editor: Aisha Al-Janabi film@mancunion.com

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Fashion and Beauty Editor: Ella Searle fashion@mancunion.com

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Books Editor: Gurnaik Johal books@mancunion.com Games Editor: Jeremy Bijl games@mancunion.com

Theatre Editor: Anuli Changa theatre@mancunion.com Lifestyle Editor: Sophia Ashby lifestyle@mancunion.com Sport Editor: James Gill

Deputy Editor: Sam Honey sports@mancunion.com Chief Sub-editor: Alex Cresswell Sub-editors: Rona McCann, Mia Gair, Jacob Thompson, Georgia Hickey Design Editors: Alex Singhal, Izzy Oldman, Josie Fowler, Liv Clarke.

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Legal: legal@mancunion.com Advertising: Paul Parkes paul.parkes@manchester.ac.uk Phone: 0161 275 2942

The Mancunion @themancunion

News

ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Clapping banned at Students’ Union Photo: Rawpixel @Pixabay

The SU resolved to ban audible clapping in events and lobby for remote exam resits, in their first Senate session of the academic year Amy Wei Deputy Editor Jazz hands will be used instead of traditional clapping, whooping, and cheering at University of Manchester Students’ Union (SU) events, following a change to the SU constitution passed by the first Senate session of the academic year, held on Thursday 27th September.

It was argued that the loud noise of traditional clapping and whooping pose an issue to students with anxiety or sensory issues. BSL (British Sign Language) clapping – or, jazz hands – would be a more inclusive form of expression.

Liberation and Access Officer Sara Khan authored the motion, called ‘Making Senate More Accessible’. It resolved to swap out audible clapping for BSL clapping at SU events, and to “encourage student groups and societies to do the same, and to

include BSL clapping as a part of inclusion training”.

The National Union of Students (NUS) has been using BSL clapping since 2015. Khan’s motion received little opposition in Senate.

Thrice per semester, the SU holds a Senate session where students can bring forward motions to amend the SU constitution.

All motions are voted on by attendees, which include a variety of stakeholders in the student community: for example representatives from University halls, student media representatives, random members of the student body, and our SU exec officers. Each motion needs a 66% majority to get passed.

Sara Khan also proposed a second motion to the September Senate, campaigning for greater QTIPOC (Queer, Trans, and Intersex People of Colour) inclusion and advocacy.

3

The motion steers the SU to “ring-fence £500 for QTIPOC events and campaigns” and “include representation of, support for, and advocacy for QTIPOC in the role descriptions for parttime BME, LGBTQ and Trans officers”.

Sara Khan herself was absent from Senate. This meant the Senate’s questions about which fund the £500 would be ringfenced from were unanswered. As a consequence, they voted to postpone the motion for the next Senate session, which will be held on Thursday 8th November.

The September Senate passed another motion titled: ‘Lobbying UoM to Make Resit Examinations Flexible for International Students’. This motion resolved to “actively lobby the university to enable international students to undertake resit exams in their home countries”.

Author Riddi Viswanathan noted: “Other Russell group institutions enable their international students to undertake resits in their home countries through partnerships with British council centres or other university verified assessment centres”.

One Senate representative questioned the exclusionary nature of the motion to domestic students: “If you live 600 miles away in Scotland, you’ll still have to travel 6 or 7 hours to resit an examination.”

Viswanathan expressed interest in expanding the accessibility of remote resits to national students, after it proves successful with international students.

The fourth motion was to ‘Make Islamophobia Awareness Month, Black History Month, LGBT history Month and Global Week Compulsory Campaigns’. This motion was not passed.

A number of Senate attendees were made uncomfortable by the word ‘compulsory’.

“Might this mean exec officers have to forsake some of their other duties to accommodate this?” Laura, the Fallowfield Community Officer, asked.

Shamima Khonat, the Community, Campaigns and Citizenship Officer, who proposed the motion, responded that she was confident there would not be any problems: “This is what we were elected for.”

Riddi argued for the motion: “The SU needs to be mandated to carry them out no matter who carries them out. Who carries them out is not known.”

This did not convince the Senate. One attendee closed the debate off: “We can resubmit it next month, with the wording changed from ‘compulsory’ to ‘priority’, and with proper steps laid out with a hierarchy of who the responsibility will fall to.

You don’t pass something that’s sub-par.”

Student accommodation covered with Grenfell-type cladding Hundreds of students living in un-safe accommodation due to defective cladding Shivani Kaura Deputy News Editor Figures released on Thursday by the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government revealed that 54 high-rise student accommodation buildings in the UK are still covered in Grenfell-style cladding, with only 8 being completely fixed since the incident.

The Grenfell Tower fire occurred just over 15 months ago, claiming 72 lives, and has led to calls for the government to regulate cladding on all building blocks, including halls of residence and privately owned student accommodation.

The National Union of Students have stated that the buildings should not be used until full repairs have been made. They also declared that information about all buildings affected should be published and made available to the public as a warning.

According to research by charity Electrical Safety First, the North West accounted for a fifth of all accidental electrical fires that occurred in student halls of residence between 2012 and 2017.

Student halls might be particularly vulnerable to fire hazards due to dangerous student behavior. 1 in 4 Manchester University students surveyed by Electrical Safety First admitted to falling asleep on one occasion or more with food cooking on the hob or in the oven, and 1 in 3 said they’d put something in the microwave they shouldn’t have, for example light bulbs.

Emma Drackford, Communications Director of Electrical Safety First commented: “Manchester has so much to offer, including a great night life, however as you return to study or start your exciting journey at one of the country’s best universities we’re urging you all to take care in the kitchen.

“With so many of you admitting to cooking whilst drunk as well as falling asleep with food on the hob we want you to think twice about cooking in the kitchen after a night out.

There was never a better excuse to order your favourite take out after a night on the town with your friends. Try and think twice, don’t drink and fry this Freshers.”

The Guardian stated that their Freedom of Information request last week prompting the government to announce which buildings were dangerous to take residency in had been declined.

Speaking to The Guardian, officials claimed: “there was public interest in transparency with respect to the buildings’ safety but disclosing the information could endanger the mental and physical health of people living in the buildings and could compromise their safety.”

Earlier this year it was reported that Thorn Court in Salford, Greater Manchester, was at risk. Although only 3 floors have been stripped and replaced with cladding, reports show that it could take up to 2 years until the building is fixed.

Reports have also been released revealing that work will begin on a 35-storey building later this year in Manchester, using anodised aluminium, like Grenfell.

Photo: Martin Vorel

Eva Crossan Jory, the NUS vice-president for welfare has spoken out: “It’s absolutely appalling. It’s incredibly concerning to see private providers gambling with student lives.”

Following this, the higher education regulator’s chief executive has also said: “We would hope that the local fire authority and the Health and Safety Executive checks these blocks urgently to reassure students of their safety.”

A spokesman for the housing ministry has claimed: “Building owners are responsible for ensuring residents are properly made aware of fire safety procedures.”

Since the Grenfell disaster, only 15% of cladding has been fixed and replaced with 62% currently being repaired.

Students in Nottingham have been informed of the situation where figures have shown to have had the biggest impact, although plans for repair have not been reported.

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ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Five arrested after students in Manchester kidnapped for cash Robbers have been targeting students in the city centre and making them withdraw thousands of pounds Shivani Kaura Deputy News Editor Five arrests have been made after four students were lured into a vehicle and were not released until they transferred or withdrew thousands of pounds of cash.

Greater Manchester Police released an official statement last week warning people that robbers in an Audi A6 have been forcing students to get into cars and transfer them money.

The suspects are all young men, between the ages of 18 and 29. They were taken into custody on Friday morning after police searched four houses in South Manchester where large quantities of ammunition was found and the final man, aged just 19, was arrested.

The first kidnapping out of the four occurred on Lloyd Street North, close to Denmark Road, the University of Manchester halls of residence. The youngest victim, said to be only 19 years old was forced into the car and made to transfer £3,000 over.

Detective Constable Natalie Macdonald of GMP’s City of Manchester said: “Innocent members of the public, some of them students new to Manchester, have been victims of tricksters who then kidnapped them and forced them to hand

over their money.

“Last night, thanks to some excellent work by the TVIU (Tactical Vehicle Intercept Unit), four people were arrested, during what we believe was another robbery.”

She concluded: “When a person is a victim of such robbery, they can be left feeling scared to go out and can lose trust in everyone.

“This week we have many new students coming to live in Manchester, and it is disappointing that some of their first memories of our city is that they were victims of crime.

“I would like to reassure everyone that we are doing all that we can to prevent criminals from taking advantage, we have strong links with the universities and the councils and we have officers on dedicated patrols as part of the Student Safe campaign.”

The University of Manchester website advises students ‘on being streetwise. Simple measures, such as avoiding the obvious use of smartphones and MP3 players, and avoiding walking home alone at night, can greatly reduce vulnerability to crime.’

All five of the arrested are now being held in custody for questioning.

Photo: Gerald England

SU introduce drug purity testing kits Drug purity testing kits are being provided by the SU in an effort to promote safe substance usage Shivani Kaura Deputy News Editor The University of Manchester Students’ Union have introduced drug testing kits that are available to students. The union has done this to try and encourage the safe use of substances.

The move follows recent data that suggests 21% of students in the UK take illegal drugs.

The tests are provided by an independent company that operates in several universities within Manchester, including the University of Manchester. The kits are available from the SU Advice Service.

Students can obtain the drug testing kits by donating £2.50, as opposed to the online retail price of between £3.50-10.

The kits work by placing a sample of the drug into a liquid substance which changes colour depending on purity.

An executive officer from the Student’s Union told the Manchester Evening News: “we advocate a more adult conversation around drugs policy. We know some young people choose to engage in drug taking – to ignore that fact won’t improve the problems that do exist around the issue. We believe it’s part of our responsibility to look after our student members to make these tests available to students across Manchester and we will continue to campaign to policy makers to make changes to drugs policy that reflect a more realistic and proactive attitude.”

However the SU have stated their opposition to the use of drugs and the potential

Photo: Lookaroundme @flickr

Photo: stevepb @Pixabay

punishment that comes with it.

Despite the pilot scheme being introduced in 2016, only a few students have used it so far.

When questioned, one drug user said they didn’t know the Students’ Union provided kits, despite their possible usefulness.

They also said that they wouldn’t use the service due to the close nature of the Union to the University. They felt there was a greater risk of being caught with illegal substances due to the link between the institutions.

“I feel detached from the possible consequences of drugs as I have never had or witnessed anyone having a bad experience.

However, I do feel that the University and the Union could do more to promote the risks of taking illegal drugs alongside providing drug purity testing kits.”

A student told The Mancunion that they thought providing kits was a good way to promote safe drug use. They also felt it would help with lowering the risks involved in taking illegal substances.

“It allows people to have confidence in what they are taking and the intensity of the drug, this will reduce the number of casualties caused by such substances”.

The company doesn’t ensure 100% reliability in terms of the accuracy of the kits.

Moreover even if the drug doesn’t contain poisonous chemicals, the risk of allergic reactions to illegal substances can’t be predicted.

The Mancunion have contacted the Students’ Union for comment.

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ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

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The University of Manchester makes top 20 in Good University Guide 2019 Photo: Bradshaw79 @ Wikipedia Commons

The University of Manchester has been ranked the 19th best in the country and second best in the North West of England Josh Sandiford News reporter The Times and The Sunday Times have published their 2019 Good University Guide, in which The University of Manchester has been ranked 19th best in the country and second best in the North West of England.

Lancaster University was named the most prestigious in the North-West, with Manchester Metropolitan University ranking sixth and the University of Salford coming in

at ninth once again.

The University of Manchester has been placed consistently at around the top 30 for a number of years. The news that the institution will be returning to the top 20 is likely to be welcomed by staff, particularly given that the university reached its highest ever position in the 2018 Academic Ranking of World Universities table this August.

The University of Manchester has made its way back into the top 20 despite the 2018 National Student Survey placing The

Study suggests 31% of North West students worry about money every day Sam Honey Deputy News Editor New research by price-comparison website Money Supermarket has revealed that almost a third of students in the North West have money worries on a daily basis.

The study into finances as part of university life was undertaken this July and include 700 students from across the UK. While partying and irresponsible spending are stereotypes of university financing, the investigation attempted to determine and categorise the mean monthly spending of a student in the UK, and then compare this figure with student loan totals.

The breakdown found, on average, the monthly costs to be about £894.33. Included in calculating the costs were a range of expenses, from Accommodation to Home Entertainment.

Unsurprisingly, rent was found to account for over half of student’s monthly expenditure.

The average student loan was revealed as £2,094/term, and the calculation of termly expenses revealed a figure of £2,235.83, some £141.83 over the loan total.

As a result, 85% of students are relying on additional sources of Income to support them throughout their degree, with sources including parents.

The difficulty of balancing a student loan was summarised by a second-year student who wished to remain nameless, “You have to learn how to manage money very quickly and some may struggle more than others.’’

In addition, the survey confirmed that 48% of students use their bank account’s overdraft facilities on a regular basis.

The average value of such usage was identified at £548.

Money Supermarket spokesperson Sally Francis-Miles felt that student loans were not sufficiently designed to meet a student’s financial needs, “It’s not surprising that

student loans don’t cover the cost of living for students. The Government takes into account that parents will support their child in addition.

“Obviously, that’s not always the case so it then falls on the student to get a part-time job or to save before going to make up the shortfall.”

The student loan system has also been criticised for being somewhat of a postcode lottery, with the amount a student is entitled to based off the household income at their home address.

Students are also being forced into taking part-time jobs alongside their courses, although interestingly, the results showed that a higher proportion of female students (45%) were in part-time work than their male counterparts (36%).

Despite this gloomy projection of living costs, the survey also produced a monthly total that excluded non-essential spending – with nights out, new clothes, gym memberships, and trips back home among those that did not class as essential costs.

This reviewed total found students able to save up to £409 per term, and over £1,200 each year.

Francis-Miles was however, critical of the suggestion that students should be expected to completely cut out all spending on nonessentials, “While they can cut back on unnecessary costs – takeaways and cinema trips, for example, expecting students not to spend any money on socialising or visiting family and friends is unreasonable.”

The survey also offered spending tips to students, including picking overdrafts with 0% interest, seeking offers from student bank accounts to save money, such as a free railcard, and looking to their university for financial advice. Figures from the research showed that 81% of students did not seek help when experiencing money problems.

University of Manchester in the bottom half of the league table for student satisfaction.

In addition to this, The University of Manchester only received a silver Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) award last year as opposed to the top prize of gold. The TEF assesses teaching at UK universities to help students make a more informed choice.

The Times and The Sunday Times rank institutions by looking at a range of measures, such as student satisfaction, teaching excellence and research quality

among others.

The University of Manchester also rose four places to 18th in the 2019 rankings published

by The Complete University Guide. The Guardian’s 2019 University Guide has The University of Manchester ranked at 34th in the country, down from 28th in 2018.

In August this year, The University of Manchester was listed as the 34th best institution in the world by the Academic Ranking of World Universities.

Invisible Manchester: Homeless people to lead tours around the city Hannah Vallance News reporter The Invisible Manchester initiative, spearheaded by Alice Sparks, an exHistory student from The University of Manchester, offers tourists the chance to experience the city’s streets in a new light, from the perspective of those who call it home.

Following the success of their sister organisation, Invisible Edinburgh, Invisible Manchester provides free guidance and training to homeless people across the city. The training focuses on confidence building, public speaking, and customer service. This program partners with professional tour guides to provide a ‘unique’ experience for both those taking the tour, and those providing it. The cost of tours will be £10.

“Frustrated” that students weren’t doing enough to give back to their temporary home of Manchester, Alice told The Mancunion : “I wanted to show that us students really do care. After going on an Invisible Edinburgh tour around this time last year, I decided to message Zakia, the founder of the Invisible tour group to start an initiative here.

“Little did I know, one year later — after running around like a headless chicken for most of my final year of university — I would be directing the Manchester branch alongside the help of the Manchester student community.”

Invisible Cities, the brainchild of Zakia Moulaoui, a French native who has lived in Scotland for ten years, was set up in 2016 to show people that “homelessness is not always what people think.” The enterprise, calling themselves a “social business with a social conscience”, aims to show that “everyone has great potential, a fact reflected in our tour guides.”

In Manchester, homelessness has been on the rise with findings from Homeless Link revealing that nearly 100 people were classed as rough-sleepers in the city centre in 2017 alone. This marks a sevenfold increase on the number since 2010, contributing to 4,751 people roughsleeping across the whole of the UK in 2017.

This is despite plans to build 50,000 new and mostly private homes in central Manchester by 2040, contributing to a regeneration project which Alliance Manchester Business School have claimed has failed to meet the demands of those with families and those on lower incomes.

Currently, 80,000 people are on Greater Manchester’s social housing waiting list. Greater Manchester is also considered an eviction and repossession hotspot; the charity, Greater Together Manchester, has found that approximately 1 in 62 households are at risk of repossession or eviction.

“It’s important to break down the stigma of what homelessness is,” Alice continued.

“It’s never going to be an easy or straightforward process and there are certain barriers you have to cross, especially since rough-sleeping can often be chaotic and can take a serious hit at your confidence. That’s why we make sure Invisible Cities concentrates on what works in helping the tour guides since they might not always be at the right stage of life.

“However, we’re slowly planning to take Invisible Cities nation-wide, with exciting plans to try to enrol the programme in both Liverpool and Glasgow and to begin tours in Manchester in December.”

Alice will be leaving Invisible Manchester in January, and is looking for someone to continue to her work, or to add to the progress of the social enterprise.

6 News

ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Students’ Union launch Alternative Lecture Series Inga Piotrowska News Reporter This October the University of Manchester Students’ Union is launching an Alternative Lecture Series.

Run by the Education Department, the series is promoting a diverse and challenging education for students at the University.

The organizers want to touch on topics that students won’t find in their curriculum, making education more exciting. The aim of the series is to encourage the students to become involved in the lectures, come up with new ideas for future speakers and ultimately take ownership of the event.

The lectures are described as “unofficial TED talks” by experts on everything and anything.

The first lecture will take place on the 4th

of October from 4-6pm in Theatre B, University Place. Neil McInroy, the CEO of Manchesterbased think tank CLES, will outline the current issues and obstacles facing inclusive economic development. He will then describe CLES’s vision for promoting local economic development and explain what students can do to help.

In the second lecture, which will run on the 11th of October from 4-6pm at SU Council Chambers, Daniel Davis will address the themes of his latest best-selling book The Beautiful Cure. It describes the scientific quest to understand how immunology works and how this understanding unlocks a new approach to medicine and well-being.

The last lecture will take place in the SU Council Chambers on the 18th of October from 4-6pm. During this Jeff Forshaw will share with us his Physics interests (topic unconfirmed).

Photo: University of Manchester Students’ Union

UoM lecturers speak at the Labour conference Lecturers from the University’s Policy@ Manchester group led a range of talks dedicated to policy-making George Walker News Reporter The University of Manchester initiative ‘Policy@Manchester’ took a team of lecturers to deliver a trio of talks at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool. The University

created this group in order to showcase their highest standard of research and expertise on offer at UoM. The group came together in the hope that they could lend support and give any knowledge that may be needed for the best policy decision-making for the UK. At the Labour conference, the group covered

issues and subjects at their talks such as ‘Immigration and the future of British Politics’ at the Tate Liverpool, as well as ‘Is further devolution the key to successful cities post-Brexit?’, and ‘On the dole - will robots put us out of work?’ at the Hilton Liverpool.

The team at the conference then held a ‘data lounge’ session after the three talks. At this session, there was a chance to find out more about the university’s research and to have a general break and chat with the University of Manchester members attending. The range of cuttingedge research occurring at the University included that into Lynch syndrome. This is a

syndrome that can cause bowel cancer and the more previously unresearched womb cancer. The research undergone by the University is hoping to improve treatment, increase screenings early on, and therefore save peoples’ lives.

At the conference, the Policy@ Manchester team also included esteemed speakers from the CBI, Centre for Cities, Social Market Foundation, TUC, and others.

There will also be members from Policy@ Manchester attending the Conservative Party conference on the 2nd of October to give the same talks that were given in Liverpool.

Venting on social media lowers self-esteem, study finds New research provides a new perspective on the effect of social media usage on mental health Ayazoe Atallah News Reporter A study from the University of Manchester suggests that venting on social media can lead to a decline in mental health.

Dr. Natalie Berry, a researcher at The University of Manchester, observed and recorded the negative impact of social media on a group of 44 participants. These individuals took part in activities on social media for a period of six days, receiving a total of six alerts per day. This study is the first to monitor specific activities on media platforms, including liking posts and retweeting.

The study, published in August, concluded that publicly expressing anger and other feelings on these platforms was linked to an overall lower self-esteem, and an increase in paranoia. In addition, following the lives of people the subjects were not friends with, for example, celebrities, showed a general decrease in mood as well as self-esteem.

The results of the study show that these activities negatively influence all individuals, regardless of their initial mental state. Dr. Berry states, “There seems to be no difference on how Social Media impacts on people with psychosis compared to people without psychosis”.

A group of students at The University of Manchester, frequent users of social

media, were asked to comment on the recent findings. One of the students claimed, “What is unhealthy about (social media) is the constant use of it. It has become so easy to constantly check your phone, look through texts and notifications all day. When you spend so much time doing something, you become dependent on it. I think that’s why it has such a huge effect on people’s mood”.

Another student at the university confirmed this sentiment by saying, “The idea that hundreds of ‘non-friends’ can judge you has people craving their validation which, I feel, causes paranoia”. All the students agreed that social media has influenced them to take part in unhealthy behaviour that they would not have done otherwise, such as constantly checking someone’s profile. One of the students claimed that “social media in the form of pictures can be an online playground of competition which can make someone feel unworthy or insecure”.

Dr. Berry suggests a way that the impact of social media can be monitored, placing the responsibility in the hands of the professionals.

She states, “Mental health professionals should be routinely asking about how their clients use social media in a clinical context”.

The full report can be found on The University of Manchester website in the Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica Journal.

Photo: Ibrahim.ID @Wikimedia Commons

Investigations 7

ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Who’s helping the homeless?

Students are finding it hard to adequately engage with societies as university brings with it time-intensive degrees and the need for part-time work, writes Felix Hanif-Banks Felix Hanif-Banks Investigations Editor Manchester is known internationally as one of the UK’s best places to live, a reputation that locals and students alike will never tire of flaunting. Buzzing nightlife, expansive shopping centres and an ever-rising skyline all show off the best Manchester has to offer, but in stark contrast to this the issues of rough sleeping and homelessness are as visible and severe as ever.

Despite the abundance of new housing developments popping up across Manchester, those at the bottom of the social ladder remain forgotten. Figures from homelessness charity Shelter last year reported that the number of people without a permanent residence rose 30% on average from 2016.

Homelessness now affects 1 in 633 people in Greater Manchester, with many of those forced to stay for long periods in B&Bs or hostel-type accommodation. From that number, official reports claim 278 people were sleeping rough

throughout 2017, although according to claims by GPs, council workers and charities, the true figure could be twice that due to inaccuracies in the collecting of the statistics.

An issue as prevalent across the entirety of Manchester (Only 2 boroughs saw a significant decrease in homelessness across 2017) needs to be met with a heavy-handed solution, which is being delivered in part by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and a whole host of local charities and groups, many of which are either owned or greatly aided by Manchester’s student population.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham made it a manifesto pledge to eradicate rough sleeping by 2020. As of August of this year, over £2.6m has been put into the fund for the scheme, which focuses on using homes owned by private landlords and housing associations to offer those who have been sleeping rough for a number of years a stable and far less challenging way of life.

The scheme has so far appeared to be a success as it boasts a 100% retention rate of participating

homeless people.

While the work of the GMCA appears to be both widespread and effective, the scale of homelessness in Manchester is such that other groups will inevitably need to contribute to the cause. One such group, Big Change Manchester, seeks to directly empower local homeless people by providing them with the practical items they need to move forward in their lives. They accept applications for flat furnishings, clothes for job interviews, funding for training courses, and a whole host of other things that can effect longterm change in the lives of homeless people.

Their funding panel is made up of a former rough sleeper, as well as those who are experienced in working with both homeless people and local business, councils, universities etc. in order to better connect those in need to those who can offer tangible support.

Another prominent M a n c h e s t e r organisation, Love For The Streets,

seeks to tackle engagement with homelessness predominantly among young people, a demographic they claim ‘charities struggle to reach...in the ways that engage them.’ LFTS works with many other groups, including Big Change Manchester, to spread awareness through digital marketing, education and music & technology based events. They aim to provide a platform that encourages a broad and diverse range of students to engage with local issues and inform student communities about the tangible ways they can benefit those in need of support around them.

LFTS utilises social media and event marketing unlike many other currently existing groups, giving them an incredible amount of coverage and connections to other successful groups. Networks that exist between groups such as LFTS and Big Change Manchester are undoubtedly the way forward, and only through collaboration can the unfortunate rise in homelessness be reversed, a goal that both students and locals alike can easily pursue given the ever-increasing visibility of charitable organisations.

Photo: Photo: garryknight @ Wikimedia Commons

Will Manchester make misogyny a hate crime?

Ruby Bannerman discusses the latest step North Yorkshire have taken in the prevention of misogny, but will Manchester follow suit?

Ruby Bannerman Contributor I n 2 0 14 , t he com mu n ity orga n i s i ng group, Nottingham Citizens, Citizens UK, began their work to make misogyny a hate crime in the city of Nottingham. After creating an in-depth report and tireless campaigning from volunteers, the police of Nottingham eventually agreed to record cases of misogyny as hate crimes in 2016. North Yo r k s h i r e h a v e n o w f o l l o w e d s u i t , but what causes Manchester to be trailing behind?

A recent survey put forward

by Greater Manchester Citizens revealed that of those surveyed, 81.5% of University of Manchester students and members of the wider community felt they had at some time born witness to or had been the victim of an act of misogyny within their lifetime. With this percentage being so staggeringly high it is perhaps difficult to discern the cause of any reluctance on the p o l i ce o r co u n s e l ’s p a r t , e s p e c i a l ly considering the findings of the Nottingham evaluation report which found that 4 5% of women surveyed had been groped and that 75% found everyday instances of misogyny

to have had a long term impact on their mental health. During the peak of the campaigning in Nottingham, some police raised concerns that the campaign was perhaps overly PC and that women ought to ‘learn to take a compliment’, with one officer going as far as to state that whilst they sympathised with the motivation behind the campaign, they felt “sorry for blokes because they must be confused by what they c a n a n d c a n ’ t s a y… ” This campaign has apparently fallen slightly victim to slander and trivialisation as people are assuming that it promotes some kind of ultra-extreme feminism.

H o w e v e r, a c c o r d i n g t o t h e l e a d e r of the #MisogynyIsHate campaign i n G r e a t e r M a n c h e s t e r, U n i v e r s i t y of Manchester student, Sylvie Pope, the campaign: “Fighting to get Greater Manchester Police to recognise misogyny as Hate Crime, whilst playing a major role in shaping the national conversation around hatred and violence against women”.

Other causes for concern were debatably more justified.

Concerns were voiced by officers who stressed that there were issues with their new training to

Photo: Greater Manchester Citizens

combat misogyny in the same vein that they used to bring other hate crimes to justice though it was not made clear what these issues w e r e . T h i s h o w e v e r, i s n o t t h e fault of the movement but suggests that if Greater Manchester is to make misogyny a hate crime, there perhaps ought to be a review of how to go about this transition.

The Campaign to make misogyny a hate crime (#MisogynyIsHate) within Greater Manchester is working as one s ection of a larger U K- w i d e m o v e m e n t t o g e t c r i m e s t h a t are already punishable offencessuch as stalking, sexual assault and online abuse- to be recognised as hate crimes as well. The policy doesn’t aim to give criminal status to anything not already considered a c r i m e i n t h e e y e s o f t h e l a w.

So will misogyny ever be recognised as a hate crime?

Considering the fact that

90.8% of the people surveyed agreed that Greater Manchester Police should indeed embrace the c a m p a i g n’s go a l a s we l l a s t h e fa c t that the work of #misogynyishate; meeting with community members, generating an ever-growing media presence, encouraging students to rally around them and much more is building such momentum.

Manchester is seemingly well on its way to making misogyny a hate crime. As for the rest of the UK, w i t h M P s l i ke L a b o u r ’s S t e l l a C re a s y voicing her belief that misogyny ought to be a hate crime, as well as the upcoming review discussing the movement, Citizens UK and many Mancunians are ever-hopeful.

C r i m e s a g a i n s t r e l i g i o n , s e x u a l i t y, alternative s u b c a t e g o r y, transi d e n t i t y, d i s a b i l i t y a n d r a c e a r e categorised as hate crimes so why aren’t those motivated against women?

8 Science & Tech

ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

‘Future Bodies’– technology and the organic body Science editor, Jacklin Kwan, speaks to the artistic director of Future Bodies, Jon Spooner in order to find out about the future of the human body Jacklin Kwan Science and Tech editor Based on their 2016 staff update which listed the projected and current expenditure of construction, most of the funding pool has been allocated to the University’s STEM facilities. Approximately £707 million of the total £1.1 billion is allotted to projects such as the Manchester Engineering Campus Development (MECD) (£330 million), the Sir Henry Royce Institution (£100 million), and the Graphene Engineering and Innovation Centre (£60 million).

The rest of the pool has been spread amongst more diverse projects such as building the Alliance Manchester Business School (£71 million), refurbishing Coupland 3 to be the “new home of the School of Law, the School of Dentistry, Faculty of Humanities administration, the Directorate for the Student Experience and the postgraduate hub” (£40 million), and upgrading the student residences in Fallowfield (£170 million).

With little doubt, the University of Manchester seems to be placing its chips in its science and health faculties. In 2021, the University’s Engineering Schools are scheduled to move to the the MECD, located adjacent to the main Oxford Road campus. The MECD alone is solely funded by the University. It will be one of the

Photo: Manchester Science Festival / Jon Spooner

largest construction projects undertaken by any British Higher Education Institution. The University plans to transform the current Engineering buildings in North Campus, near the city centre, to be mixed-use. Aside from new residential space, North Campus will target research and STEM-related businesses

that link to the University’s industrial science departments.Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell hopes that the development will “cement the reputation of the city as the place to be for technology, digital, research and development businesses”. Adding that “the development offers the opportunity to transform this

quarter of the city centre, generate thousands of new jobs and advance the reputation of the University”. Sharing the ambition for the University to become more integrated into the local economy, the Manchester City Council also approved a one-off investment of up to £21 million in July. The investment will go towards a precision medicine campus in the Corridor Manchester Enterprise Zone, which generates 20% of the city’s economic output. The investment was identified as being part of the Northern Powerhouse industrial strategy.

The Chief Executive of Manchester City Council, Sir Howard Bernstein, seems enthusiastic about Manchester’s future as the heart of the Northern Powerhouse and about the role of universities in this. Sir Howard has expressed the plan to devolve growth in “higher order sectors” such as advanced materials, energy, life science, and informatics (all sectors that the University specialises in).

The rebranding of North Campus to be a business hub has been projected to create thousands of jobs. As well as the construction of the Masterplan creating hundreds of construction jobs for local workers. However, several have raised concerns that Manchester residents who have not been able to access education opportunities would be excluded the shifting labour landscape of the city.

Scientists make breakthrough in TB treatment Studies by researchers at the University of Manchester suggest a groundbreaking treatment for tuberculosis - potentionally changing millions of lives Photo: Flickr @ NIAID

Wasim Askar Contributor Potential solutions have been discovered that help to treat tuberculosis (TB), an airborne disease.

Tuberculosis is a disease that affects the lungs, and is one of the most prevalent diseases in India and parts of Africa.

This disease occurs in approximately 33 per cent of the global population. Science journals report that around 1.6 million people die from untreated tuberculosis every year.

Research on this disease has been one of the most focused subjects in the past decade. Though the proportions are much smaller in the UK, they have been at the risk of rising. Now, scientists at the University have led a study that suggest at a groundbreaking treatment.

In previous years, the majority of research has been focused on developing anti-bacterial solutions. However, Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been developing increasingresistance to treatments due to growing and continuous usage of antibiotics. The solution to the problem is not temporary,

meaning that the same patients who were once victims of tuberculosis could also have a relapse later in life.

Recent research suggests another mode of treatment, appropriate for the current situation. This method involves first attacking the bacterial defence of the infection instead of the bacteria itself. The study was led by Professor Lydia Tabernero, and focused on developing drugs that could attack bacteria’s defences. In order to attack that defence, an agent known as MptpB is used to kill the tuberculosis strain. This, according to Professor Tabernero, removes a “remarkable amount of burden on the bacteria”.

Professor Tabernero, speaking to the BBC World Service, states that it works by blocking defence mechanisms of the pathogens. Research carried out by Rudgers University in the US conclude the drug works on guinea pigs. The treatment also works on multi-drug-resistant bacteria.

Professor Tabernero later said, “The fact that the animal studies showed our compound, which doesn’t kill the bacteria directly, resulted in a significant reduction in the bacterial burden is remarkable. For more than 60 years, the only weapon

doctors have been able to use against TB is antibiotics.”

“Resistance is becoming an increasingly worrying problem and the prolonged treatment is difficult and distressing for patients.

And with current treatments, there’s no guarantee the disease will be eliminated: antibiotics do not clear the infection and the risk of being infected with drug-resistant bacteria is very high.

But by disabling this clandestine bacteria’s defences we’re thrilled to find a way that enhances the chances of the body’s immune system to do its job, and thus eliminate the pathogen.”

Professor Tabernero added, “The great thing about targeting MptpB is that there’s nothing similar in humans – so our blocking compound is not toxic to human cells. Because the bacteria hasn’t been threatened directly, it is less likely to develop resistance against this new agent, and this will be a major advantage over current antibiotics, for which bacteria had already become resistant. TB is an amazingly difficult disease to treat so we feel this is a significant breakthrough.”

Thus, not all hope has been lost on this problem that has plagued us since the 1950s. This study certainly acts a game changer.

Features 9

ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

An (in)sane interview

Liv Clarke talks with the team behind (in)sane, a multimedia arts platform that unites discussions about mental health with the arts, about their upcoming event Liv Clarke Features Editor (In)sane is a multimedia arts platform set up by University of Manchester students and graduates, which discusses the topic of mental health in a revolutionary way. I spoke to some of the team members in charge of (in)sane; Co-founder and Creative Director Cara Looij, who is a Drama and English Literature graduate, Co-founder and Marketing and Social Media Director Julia Morgan, who studies Drama and English Literature, and Sebastian, the Resident Technician, who studies Music. Their first event took place in March, which involved 52 artists, and their next event will take place on the 14th October, at the N.I.A.M.O.S centre in Hulme.

The platform strives to take a different approach towards mental health. It provides a safe space for people to express themselves creatively; to tell their story when words are not enough.

(In)sane is about being honest about mental health, it does not hide the ugly side or difficult aspects of it, nor does it accept that this is an easy subject to deal with. The team behind it have all experienced challenges with mental health themselves or know someone who has dealt with it. “We wanted to create a platform which is specifically about tackling the topic of mental health and personal narratives through creativity,” Cara tells me, “we wanted to reframe the dialogue around mental health as being less perspective and scientific and to be more personal and expressive.”

(In)sane is very much about discussing mental health in a nontraditional way. It encourages people to explore what they have been through without being judged or afraid that their story is not valid. Their events feature performances through various art-

“ Their events feature performances through various artforms; artists are invited to express themselves “

Photo: Insane

forms; artists are invited to express themselves through anyway they desire, “with words, or a drawing, or with film, or with music because all of these things can express emotions, sometimes more effectively then vocabulary”, Cara explains. The event is about empowering people, so they can share their story. For Julia, this aspect is very important: “performing something and knowing that that part of my life is different now, being it able to discuss it with power…when you’ve gone through that process in your own life, its really special being able to reclaim your life back again.”

The event they have planned in October will be a very relaxed affair; lasting eight hours, people can come and go as they please, and can explore seven rooms within the building. There will be visual art, performances, projections, poetry and more; there will also be a chill out room where people can write down or draw their responses to what they have seen. A tea and coffee space will be set up (the event is alcohol free), so people can discuss their experiences in an environment without any pressure. All this for a £5 ticket which will raise money for 42nd Street, a mental health charity in Greater Manchester. Merchandise will be available to buy as well and Cara will be making her own hand printed T Shirts to sell the event.

For Cara, it was important to raise money for an organisation that helps young people with their mental health and doing so in a productive manner, “There are all these charities raising awareness [about mental health], but no one is actually doing anything about it…that is why we want to support 42nd Street, as they organise therapy for young people. They have waiting lists, but they are not as long as the NHS.” However, as well as raising money, (in) sane itself does provide a healing opportunity for people who have battled with mental health, as Cara points out: “We aren’t trained therapists…but we make an event where people can tell their stories, it’s good for people to go and to see what they can

“ we make an event where people can tell their stories, its good for people to go and to see what they can get out of that” get out of that.”

The team want to change how mental health is dealt with, particularly the idea of one-size-fits-all when it comes to treatment.

“People hear the statistics, like 1 in 4 people get dressed, and then they tell that depressed person to go to the gym…there aren’t easy solutions to difficult problems,” Julia says. For Cara, every situation is different: “The approach needs to be personal, and complex, and thought through…everyone is formed in different ways, everyone has difference experiences. We’re trying to get away from this idea of grading pain.”

(In)sane is also about changing the perception of the scale of mental health issues, just because one aspect may seem less important, does not mean that it should not be taken seriously. The performances can help people identify with situations and realise that they are also going through something similar. “My friend felt her anxiety was not serious enough comparison with other things, and I said no, its still a thing we need to know about and a thing we need to share. There is power in sharing,” States Julia.

Cara reveals that one of the main goals of (in)sane is to discuss mental health in a respectable way. “We’re trying to combat the skewed perspective in the media and the arts at the moment. For example, things like [the TV show] 13 Reasons Why, which has attached a revenge narrative to suicide and that’s very problematic.” A key feature on the event page is a trigger warning about the things that will be discussed. They are often overlooked by other media platforms, but trigger warnings can really help those who have been through something traumatic. Julie describes the reasons why this is so vital in these discussions, “Respecting someone’s knowledge about their own mental health is important and

Photo: Insane

knowing that people have mental health triggers as well. Sometimes plays we put on in Drama Society need trigger warnings.”

However, there’s a difference between warning someone when the topic will be difficult and brushing it aside, as Cara explains, “We don’t want to censor the event. We don’t want to be PG about it, we want people to be ok with sharing their experiences.”

Not only does (in)sane encourage people to open up about their battles with mental health, it also permits artists to perform or present their work without judgement. The relationship between art and mental health is certainly important for the team, as they are all or were arts students, and they all find that creating helps with their mental health. “Everyone should be creating,” Julia says, “its great for the body and for the brain, what you gain from doing lots of art is that it changes the way you see things. It’s about looking and experiencing.” It does not matter to the team what the ability of the artist it, it is inclusivity that is important, as Sebastian tells me, “We’re not exclusive, you don’t have to be a ‘good’ artist to perform, the whole point is that it is open.”

Yet the artwork provides another purpose: it enables a twoway communication between the person who has been through

Photo: Insane

“ we’re not exclusive, you don’t have to be a ‘good’ artist to perform, the whole point is that it is open“ something, and the audience. Often it is easier for somebody to understand something that is visual or aural, rather than just words alone. Sebastian describes how it encourages a deeper understanding of the issues “a lot of it [the artwork] is abstract, it helps with the empathy as they don’t have to identify with the specific event, but rather the feeling involved.” Indeed, mental health itself is an abstract being; if something is wrong it does not manifest itself in the same way as physical health. The artwork provides a route of communication, as Julia explains “You need an ‘in’ in order to fully understand someone…finding little keys so you can empathise with someone fully.”

Abstract artwork is a key feature of the platform’s branding, a lot of the artwork is designed by Julia, as Sebastian tells me, “That [good or bad art] is something we’ve considered with branding, we’ve tried to not go for the stereotypical corporate logos…we’ve not gone for that traditional stuff and that’s the whole point.” The illustrations Julia has created for (in)sane convey some of the feelings associated with mental health, they have a looseness and energy to them; mental health is something that is constantly changing and can be influenced by anything, regardless of size.

(In)sane is not about perfection and precision, it’s a about real life situations.

The team are certainly looking forward to their upcoming event in October, but they have got more ideas for the future as well, combining their personal projects together to create a wider movement. “We’d like to continue with events and do more workshops,” Julia tells me. She would personally like to deal with the topic of addiction and how that is portrayed in the media. Meanwhile, Cara wants to focus more on women’s health, using drama and art to help people in that area. For her, encouraging mental health discussions across all age ranges is very important, “We’d like to reach out to sixth forms and schools…[and focus on] intergenerational stuff.” As Sebastian points out, there is a lack of support for younger age groups, “Young people are very underrepresented [in regard to mental health].”

(In)sane is just starting out, but it is clear that they have big ideas. I doubt that their message would change even if their platform grew, as Julia sums up perfectly “[Even] if we had doors, they would never be closed.”

(In)sane’s future event is on the 14th October between 12-10pm, at the N.I.A.M.O.S. (Former Nia Centre) in Hulme, tickets can be bought at Skiddle. The event is to raise money for 42nd Street, one of Greater Manchester’s mental health charities. You can donate to (in)sane via their donation page.

“ Everyone should be creating, its great for the body and for the brain...it changes the way you see things” Photo: Insane

10 Opinion

ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

University Marketing Strategies Cachella Smith argues that the use of advertising, league tables and statistics by universities today negatively affects our understanding of what higher education is really about Cachella Smith Deputy Opinion editor With students across the country descending on their chosen universities recently, some of them could find themselves to have been victims of false advertising. The Which? Consumer group has called out certain universities for false statements made during the student application process. According to the company, there have been several claims of so-called ‘high status’ along with published statistics which simply aren’t true.

Examples of statements which have been placed in the limelight include Newcastle University’s assertion that they were in the top 1% of Universities worldwide, along with Aston University’s declaration that they were ‘ranked within the top 35 universities in all university ranking tables’. These two statements have both been removed from the respective University websites, while Heriot-Watt University maintains that they have the right to claim they are a “world-leading university for pioneering research informed by the needs of industry and research”.

The interesting part of this story, I find, is the link between higher education establishments and marketing campaigns. Students and prospective students are both painfully aware of the

“Choosing universities is always going to be a bit confusing, but to what extent is our decision affected by lists, rankings and league tables?”

economic implications of a university education. Yet hearing university prospectuses and websites being referred to as ‘adverts’ really drives this point home. Unfortunately, the current structure of higher education is something we have very little control over. If you want a degree, it seems you do simply have to cough up. Does giving heed to these advertising claims however suggest that we are (quite literally) buying into the system, and therefore supporting this economic process?

Obviously we would all like to attend the best university we can, but is it beneficial to base the next three or four years of your life on a percentage comparison that, as we have seen here, may not even be true? Choosing universities is always going to be a bit Photo: KitAy@Flickr confusing, but to what extent is our decision affected by lists, rankings and league tables? Or perhaps the question we should be considering is how much does this influence suggest we are contributing to the elitist structure of British higher education?

Abiding by league tables, choosing Oxbridge above all, and obsessing over statistics is exactly what powers this advertising system that now controls our education. The power of league tables is only determined by the influence we give them. Yet, at the end of the day, is it realistic to quantify a university with a single number? How could this even touch at representing the range of societies on offer, the mental health support, or the library facilities? Reducing an entire higher education establishment to a figure, and one that differs according to the varying league

tables, will serve to re-focus our education system upon numbers, statistics and grades. Things which will only contribute to the competitive environment of education. Yet universities will continually promote themselves using their position in league tables, and apparently, we will continue to listen.

So, not only is it common sense to consider several different factors when choosing a university, but further blindly choosing a university based on statistics could be contributing to the elitist and financial movement that the higher education system now implicates. League tables are an important and useful resource but numbers do not and never will accurately describe an entire establishment. The only power in league tables is the power that we attribute to them, and according to Which?, the numbers are not always true anyway.

We notice when Tories vote to protect fascists

Matthew Gold reveals the hypocrisy of the Conservatives MEPs defending the antisemitic Hungarian regime in the European Union in order to remain allied with the country after Brexit Matthew Gold Contributor We are all too frequently told that we need more ‘European allies’ at this critical juncture in British politics. Aside from alienating ourselves from the neighbouring European Union through voting for and carrying out Brexit, one way to try to regain the trust of our soon-to-be free trading buddies is apparently to vote against the large majority of them over what constitutes a ‘European Value’.

I refer to the vote that passed just last week in which the EU voted by over two thirds to take steps towards sanctioning the residing Hungarian regime in an unprecedented move for the legislative body. The vote passed despite Conservative MEPs defending the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán who is accused of antisemitism. They were incidentally the only conservative-leaning party currently in office to vote against the motion in the EU.

“refusing to vote against the Hungarian regime reveals the true colours of our governing Conservative party” If you were to believe the words of Michael Gove – apparently a reliable mouthpiece for the government (what a time we live in), then this was not about endorsing a man who referred to migrants as “poison” or that has actually made it illegal for lawyers to defend asylum seekers, but rather this was a vote about the EU itself not interfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation.

In reality, however, refusing to vote against the Hungarian regime reveals the true colours of our governing Conservative party a little bit more. It exposes them for what they are, who they Photo: European People’s Party @ Flickr are looking to forge alliances with and what values they deem acceptable in the 21st Century. It says to me, as a British Jew, that they are not always going to stand up to those that wage, amongst other things, antisemitic rhetoric and ideology within their own country.

This charge has been levied relentlessly against Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party and, whatever you may think of that, he hasn’t actually had a chance to vote as a government on policy yet. The Tories have and they definitively decided to attempt to protect those that would spread hate towards minorities in their own countries.

You will therefore forgive me if I don’t choose to believe the man that thinks that “people have had enough of experts” when I decide that actually some things in this world are plain and simple the wrong thing to do. One of those things is voting to protect fascists.

The Conservative Party that I know used to talk about being the party of ‘law and order’ or supporting the rule of law.

They actually had a chance here to take a stand and show us all that they wouldn’t accept a country that is actively attacking the very principle of having an independent judiciary but alas, clearly that isn’t a universal value for the party either.

The Conservative MEPs that voted against the motion against Hungary have supposedly now been written letters thanking them for their actions by Orbán. Perhaps Theresa

“The Tories...definitively decided to attempt to protect those that would spread hate towards minorities in their own country” May sees it differently, but I am deeply concerned that this is the kind of regime that we are choosing to grow closer to at a time of deepened political division. I certainly hope we do not go further down this path.

Opinion 11

ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Sam Brougham Contributor The Gay Village has been home to Manchester Pride for over 25 years, but next year’s festival will have to find a new home due to a wave of property developments in the area.

A spokesperson for Manchester Pride told The Mancunion: “It’s becoming increasingly difficult to plan and deliver The Big Weekend in a space that is decreasing in size. Next year there will be more developments taking shape that will further reduce the space available for us to deliver a safe event to the current scale”.

While the issue of safety and scale are important, the consideration of the event as a safe space is integral to the overall project. This has given rise to a debate as to whether attendees feel as if they are able to express themselves freely in the new location, without persecution or discrimination.

As a gay man, the Village has allowed me to experiment with sexuality and became a safe place for me to freely express myself in whatever capacity necessary, and Pride has allowed the celebration of sexuality with similar people in close proximity to comfortable surroundings.

Some may wonder why this is a big deal, and say it’s just a simple relocation. But Canal Street and the surrounding Village have a powerful legacy for individuals and collective groups of marginalised people who have protested for gay, lesbian and trans rights for decades. It is a space of freedom, struggle, expression and history.

There’s concern the Village will be stripped of identity, as inevitable noise complaints from these new surrounding neighbourhoods curb late alcohol licenses and the popularity of the area.

This begs the question ‘who is Manchester serving?’

Is it the big corporations investing in luxury housing, or the people who make the city? Manchester boasts a multicultural society and is synonymous with pride and diversity. But prioritising development in this way could rip the heart out of the city.

The Guardian evidences that these developments have already marginalised poorer-income families.

What is stopping them from doing the same to another ‘oppressed’ community?

The future for Canal Street and Manchester’s LGBTQ+ population is uncertain, but the community is resilient, as it always has been. It will find ways to survive and thrive in different spaces – if it ever comes to that.

A new Queer-a?

The loss of place for Manchester Pride

Sam Brougham discusses the relocation of Pride festival in Manchester away from Canal Street due to planned redevelopments Photo: Wikemedia Commons

Universities are still failing to address mental health

The University of Bristol’s recently announced scheme to safeguard students who suffer from mental health problems exemplifies the apprehension to confront the issue of suicides on UK campuses, argues Sophie Marriott Sophie Marriott Head Opinion Editor

The provision of mental health support at Universities in the UK has been widely criticised for its failure to reach those most in need. Reports by the ONS suggest that 146 students in the UK killed themselves in 2016, which was a shocking increase of 56% since 2007. It is therefore imperative that something changes in the attitudes towards mental wellbeing on campuses.

Yet Universities remain lethargic on the issue, and when they do act their schemes are frequently misguided and clunky.

This is exemplified by the recent announcement by Bristol University that they are introducing an opt-in scheme for tutors to have the freedom to contact the guardians of students they feel are at risk. It follows the suicide of a 19-year old English student who took his own life in his first year at Bristol. After his death his parents found out that he had been missing seminars and lectures and was close to being thrown off his course, yet none of his tutors questioned his rapidly declining performance. This tragedy displays a complete failure of student support networks.

However, to simply open another channel of formal communication overlooks the possibility for a longer term solution to the rising rates of suicide amongst students and young people.

The issue of mental health at University is deeply ingrained into the culture of student life and will not be solved simply by intervening sooner in individual cases.

There is undoubtedly space for wanting a more open conversation surrounding mental health at University. However, going over the head of a person who is suffering to their older and wiser family figures, is a blatant step backwards in our

Why it matters if Brett Kavanaugh gets selected for the Supreme Court

Leah Marlow explores the case of Brett Kavanaugh and how the defence of his behaviour by other American politicians the misogyny that prevails in American politics under the Trump administration Leah Marlow Contributor

The Brett Kavanaugh nomination has become a crisis of conscience for America — will the sexual misconduct allegations against a powerful man be taken seriously by the Senate, or will they be brushed aside? treatment of depression. Whilst family The outcome of this nomination is a turning point. His frequently play a crucial role in recovery from mental illness, especially for students appointment would raise questions about the success of the #MeToo movement and could present the who may well be struggling with homeSupreme Court with a crisis of legitimacy. sickness, Bristol University’s assumption Until Sunday, Christine Blasey Ford was Kavanaugh’s that a student’s guardian is their best port sole accuser; now she stands alongside Deborah of call on these issues reveals a deeply Raminez who has accused him of the same crime patronising dismissal of young people’s — sexual misconduct. Prior to Raminez’s statement, self-awareness. many were skeptical of Ford’s accusations, including Arguably, the jump to contact someone President Donald Trump, who suggested the allegawho supposedlyspeaks on behalf of a student, rather than speak to them directly tions were suspect as Ford never filed a police report, and argued that the allegations against Kavanaugh is demonstrative of the cyclical referral were the most “unfair and unjust thing to happen to a system that those suffering from mental health issues can find themselves trapped candidate for anything”. in. Depression often ends up being treated Ford’s story is a reminder of just how far the #MeToo like an increasingly weighty boulder to be movement has to go. Even today, a lone woman’s voice, particularly on sexual misconduct, isn’t given passed around a circle of concern rather than ever actually being broken up. Whilst the weighting it deserves. it may be easy to blame an overly complex healthcare system in which waiting lists for counselling services are long and do not easily cater for students registered with GPs away from their term time addresses, the real issue is the apprehension to tackle emotions head on.

The case of the boy at Bristol is so heart-breaking because there was nobody who took the time to notice that his behaviour may have been indicative of a problem in his life. Even more, that nobody thought it was their responsibility. The new scheme at Bristol; to simply offload the problem onto the family of a student, does not address the issue of ignoring the suffering of those around you. It is just another symptom of society which is afraid to confront another person’s struggle. In reality, Universities should be looking to cultivate a culture of support between students, staff, and teaching staff that kicks in with emotional support before it gets too far.

Photo:Lorie Shaull @ flickr

If Brett Kavanaugh were to be selected for the Supreme Court this would bring the legitimacy of the Court into crisis. Here, a man carrying multiple accusations of sexual assault has been nominated by a president who has already been accused of several sexual assaults, to serve alongside Clarence Thomas a justice who has also been accused of the same crimes.

Undoubtedly, this would damage the perception of the Court in the #MeToo era and raise further questions for the court as an institution of social justice. How can a judge like Kavanaugh be deemed a viable candidate to be one of the most powerful moral arbiters in the American political system? This is particularly significant in the context of wider political disillusionment, where declining faith in political institutions has been seen across the board.

It remains problematic that until there are multiple accusations, a single woman’s word is not taken seriously. Trump’s continued support for Kavanaugh’s selection is reflective of the cultural misogyny which prevails in society today, despite the growing prominence of the #MeToo movement. If Kavanaugh is selected, this controversy would cause a political firestorm.

12 Societies

ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Introducing: Manchester Outreach Medics Ellie Martin speaks to Manchester Outreach Medics about the work they do with aspiring medicine students Ellie Martin Contributor This week’s spotlight is taking a look at a society that are making a real difference in the community. Manchester Outreach Medics is a society based on voluntary work, made of of medical students from Manchester Medical School. The aim of the society is to “support young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds in the aspirations for careers in medicine” in the surrounding Manchester area. They do this by organising and running workshops throughout the academic year which provide support to those looking to pursue a career in medicine, empowering students with information and insight about everything from the application process, to life as a medical student, all the way current ethical debates and explanations of issues faced by working doctors today.

This work could not be more important in today’s educational climate, where applications to medical schools are becoming more and more competitive, and places for those from low socioeconomic backgrounds becoming increasingly elusive.

Photo: Manchester Outreach Medics

“The support for young aspiring medics is invaluable in allowing those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds to break into careers” A study by academics at Dundee and Central Lancashire university showed that of 33,000 applications, a hugely disproportionate amount of places were awarded to the wealthiest backgrounds, particularly in Scotland and Wales. These results support the fact that 80% of medical students come from professional households, with more than a quarter from private education.

According to an article by The Guardian, 50% of secondary schools across the UK have never had a pupil apply to medical school, a figure which Katie Petty-Saphon, chief executive of the Medical

Schools council, called “completely appalling”. The researchers at UCLAN and Dundee also found that “while 12% of applicants across the UK came from the poorest 20% of neighbourhoods, only 7.6% of places at medical school went to people from those areas. By contrast, 42% of places were awarded to students from the richest 20%, even though only 36% of applicants came from those areas.”

This issue is not only one of access, but also affects the quality of medical care that lower socioeconomic backgrounds receive. Once medical students have graduated, many decide to return to their home town or stay in the area they studied in. With the relatively small amount of students coming from low income areas, the amount of medical professionals working in those areas tends the be lower than areas that produce more medical students. One fourth year medical student at Manchester said that, while many of the best hospitals are in London, the only people who can afford to train there are those whose parents already live there, or those with connections in London. This further closes off opportunities for those who do not come from London originally, or who cannot afford to live there.

This is why the work of Manchester Outreach Medics (MOMs) is so important. The support they provide for young aspiring medics is invaluable in allowing those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds

to break into the careers that the cycle of wealth would have previously held from them, by increasing their confidence and enabling them to achieve their full potential.

This is beneficial for all, as the more young people who enter the profession from all backgrounds, the wider the talent pool becomes, making better healthcare accessible to all.

MOMs have designed a really excellent program to enable young aspiring students. The workshops they hold throughout the year are designed to appeal to all ages involved, from years ten to thirteen, inspiring those at a younger age to pursue a career in medicine, and informing those going through the application process on everything they need to get them in the front door. A spokesperson from the society said, “it’s a chance to help students like ourselves and give the information that we wished we had when we applied for medicine.” They also run an annual conference which is designed for year twelve pupils looking to apply for medicine, giving them an insight into what life is like for a medical student and how the course is taught; the volunteers run practice problem based learning sessions which can be a stark change from secondary teaching styles. It also has a seminar for teachers to attend, giving them the tools to best support students who wish to apply for medicine. Having a teacher or mentor at school who supports you can be invaluable for a young aspiring medical student, but as mentioned previously, half of the schools in the country have never had a pupil apply for medical school, so the process can be just as stressful and confusing for teachers as for students.

MOMs have been the recipient of Volunteer and Fundraising society of the year 2018, and in the same year their project leader, Charlotte Auty, won both volunteer and project leader of the year. Whilst having only been founded in 2015, this society has already proved its value and its numbers are on the rise.

Medical students interested in volunteering with them can be added to their mailing list at manchesteroutreachmedics@gmail.com, and can visit their website manchesteroutreachmedics.com. The mailing list keeps you up to date with every event they run and how to volunteer. This is a truly worthwhile society to get involved with and one that can make a real difference in our student community.

Love for the Streets: Hidden Behind the Headlines

Photo: Love For The Streets

Love for the Streets threw their biggest party yet, all in the name of helping Manchester’s homeless Chloe Hatton Societies Editor Some might think that throwing a twelve-hour festival in one of Manchester’s most popular nightclubs might be a bit too ambitious for a group of recent graduates and students looking to raise money for charity. The prospect of then holding this less than a day before the start of the university term might also have raised doubts. Love for the Streets, however, would disagree.

What was most impressive about Hidden: Behind the Headlines was the sheer scale of the production. It wasn’t just your typical club night with a few DJs and a couple of people helping out behind the bar. No, Love for the Streets had managed to secure a grand total of thirty one acts to play across the three rooms of Hidden. Not only that, but in true festival style there was a whole host of alternative entertainment for everyone to enjoy.

“Their ultimate aim is to inspire more students to start volunteering using a commitment curve process” Avid readers of The Mancunion might remember our review of Funraising’s Brazilian Wax club night. They made an appearance once again, providing everybody with as many feathers, pipe cleaners, recycled card, and googly eyes as they could possibly want, resulting in some very funky headgear and a beautifully decorated display answering the question ‘what does Utopia mean to you?’.

Love Specs, who raise money for charity by selling some very cute

heart shaped glasses, were also on hand to glitter everybody up.

Those that started feeling peckish during the twelve hours were also catered for, quite literally, by a range of curries and wraps. Forgot your waviest of garms? No worries, Fallow Garms spent the first half of the evening upstairs, leaving you to peruse their collection.

Of course, you can’t have a festival without music, and you could tell that Love for the Streets had put a lot of work into their line up.

Consisting of a very funky mix of genres, from hip-hop to house to jungle, the mixture of live music and DJ sets certainly kept things interesting. Highlights included Phoebe Valentine of B.L.O.O.M, Manchester’s all-female DJ collective, Top Cat, and Kornel Kovacs. Despite the prospect of early morning university for some, there were some very questionable dance moves all the way up until 4am.

Born just over a year ago, Love for the Streets has enjoyed phenomenal success, engaging students in charity work and connecting them with Manchester’s homeless population, all through a variety of events, including conscious clubbing, art exhibitions at the Whitworth, and talks such as ‘Let’s Talk Homelessness: Looking at LGBTQ+ and Women’s Issues’. They’ve also been featured in Eventbrite’s Generation DIY, a series of short films looking at some of the UK’s most influential young promoters – all of whom are under the age of twenty five.

Their ultimate aim is to inspire more students to start volunteering using a commitment curve process. This starts with engaging with an event such as Hidden: Behind the Headlines, joining the online community that engage with homeless charities, and finally volunteering. According to research done by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS), 24% of young people between the ages of sixteen and twenty four currently formally (as part of an organisation) volunteer at least once a month, and now Love for the Streets are making it even easier for students to get involved. If you’re interested in getting to know more about the work they do, you can get involved through the Student’s Union or by messaging them on Facebook.

Photo: Chloe Hatton

Join the Students’ Union, the University, and student societies in celebrating Black History Month this year! We’ve got everything from educational talks to art shows, a dinner, a club night, and more. All year long, but this month especially, we want everyone to to celebrate Black culture and achievements, and to get educated about Black history. We will also offer safe spaces for students to discuss the issues they face as ethnic minorities in education. find out whats on this month at:

MANCHESTERSTUDENTSUNION.COM or download our app

Inside Culture

Alice Kettle: Goldsmith 25 Prize: 23

Tatti Lashes: 26

Crystal Moselle: 21

Seasonal Eating: 27

The Mercury Debate: 18

CULTURE

THE

16 Music WHP18

ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Welcome To The Warehouse Ashwin Tharoor The Warehouse Project opened its doors on Saturday for what is said to be the last season at the famed Store Street venue. It was a techno and house night, but you could always hear the artist’s originality with the cool and strange places they took these genres to. The night lasted from 5pm to 5am because of extended opening hours and it’s safe to assume you’d need to be very intoxicated to last the full ride.

I’m usually not an avid listener of house and techno but most of the acts were very impressive. Unless you arrived with enough time before the last entry, it’s likely that Mall Grab would’ve been the first act you saw. The 24-year-old Australian DJ has made waves across the world and moved from his home country to London a few years ago. Some of his set was dance-infused, chilled and had an attractive lo-fi quality. The other parts were quite intense and made the room shake, all while being accompanied by mesmerising light shows.

Following on the main stage was the Berlin-based, Korean artist Peggy Gou. She was definitely one of the night’s best

9/10

acts. Her songs blended pulsating house and techno beats with syncopated rhythms, forming an audibly dazzling soundscape.

Over in Room 2, London-based DJ Midland meshed together funky beats and trance rhythms in a surprisingly satisfying way.

Towards the end of the night, Michigan artist Seth Troxler took to the main stage and presented his stripped back sound with unsettling vocal samples sprinkled throughout.

This, combined with colourful and psychedelic imagery on the front screens, made for a slightly bizarre yet thrilling backdrop.

This was my first experience of Warehouse Project and it certainly didn’t let down my expectations. The venue is an awesome place and is easy to navigate quickly even with masses of people.

The high vaulted ceilings instilled an impressive sense of space to move around in.

The Warehouse Project is a beloved institution of Manchester’s dance music scene and although it will be sad to see it leave Store Street, I can’t wait for another year of good times and going hard as it moves to its new residence.

The Story So Far Proper Dose

Proper Dose Callum Lunn

While it may be easy to think of The Story So Far as relative newcomers to the pop-punk scene, they have in truth been around for over a decade, bringing an edgier, more hardcore-influenced sound to the genre than many of their contemporaries.

In Proper Dose, the band show their more adult, mature side; deviating from the usual poppunk fayre of relationship angst and hometown hating.

There are plenty of references to drugs; ‘Out of It’, details the experience of numbing one’s feelings using an “appropriate opiate”. While it may be easy to include drug references for the sake of it, I am of the opinion that for the most part they are appropriate and work well.

This is really compounded in the album’s acoustic, sad track, ‘Take Me as You Please’. This is where there are echoes of the traditional pop-punk style — the song is about a lost relationship, but rather than dwell on it as, the theme is, as with much of the album, about mov-

8/10

ing on. Again, featuring references to drugs, it’s perhaps about how these can modulate emotions. The instrumentation, even on the more upbeat tracks, reflects the new mood of the album; more calm and measured.

Overall, the album presents a much more melancholy, mature feeling than their previous releases. As the saying goes, write what you know; the band have definitely followed this mantra to great success. Could they have written a good album with less mature, more stereotypical pop-punk lyrics? I don’t doubt it. Would it be as sincere and enjoyable? Probably not.

As well as the band, I think their fans are maturing, too.

People who were in their teens in 2007 are now adults in their twenties (and perhaps even thirties); they have a different, more reflective outlook on life. For your favourite bands to mature with you is probably a welcome experience for many.

Reviews.

Read full reviews on mancunion.com

HOT RIGHT NOW Heir Liv White looks atLeeds-born five-piece Heir radiate a pool of light on the otherwise colder and darker months Heir are a dynamic Leeds-born quintet that have recently refashioned themselves as a vibrant indie synthpop disco.

After their relaunch as a tighter, bolder and generally superior five-piece, Heir have liberated all their inhibitions.

They are back, and they have effortlessly cultivated a buoyant yet utterly thrilling soundscape.

Released just last March, their first single, ‘I’ll Pick You Up’, exhibits the band’s archetypal songwriting structure.

With each song adopting a storytelling narrative, Heir have a magical ability for sucking you right to the forefront of the protagonist, making you powerless to their groove.

Released later in the year, ‘Need You the Most’ presents an electrically-charged concoction of 80s synth-beats and catchy lyricism, Photo: XoMEoX @ Flickr

both of which are blanketed in nifty guitar licks forming an irresistible melody.

However, despite Heir already having over a quarter of a million listens with just two songs currently on Spotify, their upcoming single ‘Restless’, due be released 12th October, might be their most exciting project yet. Infused with a charming dubbedsynth framework that reaches its peak just as heavenly harmonies set in, ‘Restless’ has a breezy, positive and sweetened vibe; this is a song perfect to indulge in as the autumn cold sets in to make you feel that bit warmer.

For fans of Hippo Campus and COIN. Catch Heir on their upcoming tour dates, including Notting Hill Arts Club, London (21st October) and The Grayson Unity, Halifax (30th October).

ISSUE 12 / 24th SEPTEMBER 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Music

Brockhampton Iridescence Iridescence Luca Mariani

6/10

Luca Mariana talks us through the latest release from one of the most exciting boybands today, Brockhampton

Black Honey Black Honey’s Debut Rona McCann As a band that has already made a big name for itself by being an ever-present and stand-out force on the indie-rock touring circuit, the release of an LP has been a long time coming.

Finally ready to seep flowingly into our ears, Black Honey’s self-titled debut is a pleasant and satisfying gift to fans.

The influences on this album are obvious but also starkly vast in range. The guitars throughout are a distinct mix of shoegaze and ‘90s grunge.

It’s easy to think of a louder Lana Del Rey on one of the album’s slow-downs, ‘Blue Romance’. The solo guitar riff at the tail end of ‘Into The Nightmare’ even sounds like it’s been lifted straight out of an old-style Western epic.

To be fair, the image of the four-piece stepping out in the desolate Wild West for a final shoot-down, clad heavily in flares, and suede and Stetsons is not a great stretch of the imagination. You almost get the impression that these tunes were deliberately hand-crafted to soundtrack such a scene.

Repetition is rife on the album. Frontwoman Izzy B. Phillips croons her lines as if to drill them into your head, but by no means in a way that is Photo: SVG Silh

8/10 uninviting. In fact, on tracks such as ‘Baby’, the effect almost seems to lull you into a soothing state of melodic trance.

Some bands may cower away from entering the realm of pop on their debut so as not to be thrust into today’s cluster of wannabe-radio-friendly, manufactured profit-makers, but Black Honey have crawled right into it. Crucially, they manage to not give off such an air.

The use of Auto-Tune throws our minds right back to 2000s pop, and, dare it be suggested, early Britney Spears has been resurrected for a 2018, edgier update during ‘I Only Hurt the Ones I Love’.

Like most, Black Honey is a record of romantic woes. Tales of how “I’ll only walk, only walk away from” the lover of a broken-down fling in ‘Hello Today’ echo seamlessly into the seemingly-linked kick-back found in ‘Dig’s’ “Do I wanna be told the truth? When I fell for a lie like you”.

Black Honey is a pleasing debut that somehow manages to juxtapose a cosmic spread of influences all the while still sounding only like the music of its namesake hosts.

Brockhampton, the talented self-proclaimed ‘boyband’, returns in 2018 with a new project. After dropping 3 albums in 2017 the boys are back with another. Many expected Brockhampton to drop Puppy in early June but allegations aimed at ex-member Ameer Vann ultimately saw the proposed release being dropped and Vann being kicked out.

After being teased with tracks ‘1997 DIANA’, ‘1998 TRUMAN’, and ‘1999 WILDFIRE’, Brockhampton finally dropped Iridescence, the 15song album. This was the first label-backed project by the band, after signing a $15 million deal with RCA in The States; recordings took place in both Hawaii and at the iconic Abbey Road Studio in London.

Many Brockhampton fans may have been excited about the new project or even worried that without Vann, Brockhampton would crumble. I would like to remind people that Vann isn’t the only member who has left Brockhampton. Singer Rodney Tenor (one of the faces on the All-American Trash cover art) and producer Albert Gordon (an important part of Brockhampton’s early work), both left the group.

Like Ameer, I felt the fun samples and jumpy beats were missing here.

Compared to the Saturation trilogy, the choice of samples made the beats sound darker - I wouldn’t say this was bad or good but it makes me curious about the direction of future projects. The second thing that struck me was the promotion of Joba, Merlyn and Bearface’s vocals.

It was a pleasant surprise to here Merlyn taking on more of the lyrical load. In fact, he spat my favourite lyric “Colonized Christian, now I’m

Photo: Paul Hudson @ Flickr

17

losing my religion” on opener ‘NEW ORLEANS’. Joba (one of the most versatile members of the boyband) further flexed his wide skill set. The catchy lines, fun deliveries, and originality are three things which definitely have not departed.

‘Thug Life’ features Bearface’s verse from “New Orleans”, which contains possibly the most ear-pleasing adlib of the year - “Ah” has never sounded so good.

The album flows between sounds and genres like you would expect from any of Brockhampton’s discography. We experience an impressive journey of going down to the abrasive dark sounds on ‘J’OUVERT’ and rising to heartfilled, Auto-Tuned ballads such as ‘SAN MARCOS’, and then finding a way to harmonise both of these styles on ‘WEIGHT’.

Iridescence ends on ‘FABRIC’ which is a perfect closer with de facto leader Kevin Abstract criticizing media outlets for focussing too much on Vann’s behaviour and not enough on the group’s success. “Why the hell the BBC only writes about me when it comes down to controversy? What about three CDs in one year with no label?” he laments.

Iridescence failed to grab my attention like other Brockhampton projects on my first listen. Once listening through a few times, I came to appreciate the album. I’m glad they didn’t try and push out another Saturation. They evolved.

This evolution, however, did not do enough for me to rank it higher than other Brockhampton releases. Although I like Iridescence, it is probably my least favourite of their work.

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ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Music

The Mercury Prize helps to bring bands and musicians into the limelight. Wolf Alice deserved this, they’ve worked so hard as a band and they deserved to be more readily recognised for it. Of course, as a band they’ve have had many tours, and two best selling albums but prior to this Mercury win they were not a household name. This will give them that more well-rounded recognition that they are so worthy of.

It has been argued that Wolf Alice was a safe choice to win. But I disagree, I think going for Noel Gallagher or Arctic Monkeys would have been safe — how controversial. Wolf Alice aren’t a basic guitar band, nor are they strikingly inaccessible; this album was progressive and by melding genres together, it allowed for both the band and the album to be more inclusive. The sound of Visions of a Life is bold, exciting, and totally immersive.

It is important to say that if the

For

judges had wanted a bog standard guitar band, they could have gone for Arctic Monkeys or even Nadine Shah. If they had wanted something with more edge and hiphop vibes, they could have gone for King Krule. Wolf Alice’s Visions of a Life merges many different aspects of music and moves the band away from their indie beginnings. It shows the bands growth in a positive, and futuristic way. The album is beautifully creative, moving through many sub-genres with a perfect fluidity.

As an entity, it is very pleasing to listen to; from track one, ‘Heavenward’, to the title track, ‘Visions of a Life’. It brings in aspects of electro-folk, postpunk, indie, and so much more than just plain old rock.

Wolf Alice are, arguably, one of the smaller names on the list. The Mercury is helping to bring them further into the limelight. No, they are not an unknown band, but in comparison to Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, and the Arctic Monkeys they are not selling out arenas or headlining major festivals. Yet. The Mercury Award is of such prestige

that giving it to a band like the Arctic Monkeys would be a very peculiar choice, just as giving it Ed Sheeran in 2017 would have been. This is only their second album and it is the second to reach number 2 in the charts. Having both albums do this well should, and deserves to be, recognised. By giving Visions of a Life, the Mercury Award the industry is giving back to the band and helping them to be noticed as an ever-evolving and intriguing group to watch and follow.

Another point worth exploring is that the Mercury Award itself is at fault slightly for the backlash. It could be argued that there is an issue with inclusivity. Yes, Grime, Jazz Fusion, and other underground genres are pushing through. Sampha beating out Stormzy, Ed Sheeran and The xx in 2017, shows how the Mercury Prize focuses on quite easy listening music. Despite the last few winners not being guitar wielding indie bands, the shortlist is still disproportionate in terms of the British population’s genre preferences.

The Debate: Did Wolf Alice deserve the 2018 Mercury Prize?

After indie rockers Wolf Alice snatch the coveted 2018 Mercury prize, Ethan Davies and Hana Kelly debate if they ‘deserved’ it Photo: Paul Hudson @Wikimedia Commons

The Mercury prize is very simple: it gives an award to the best album released by a British or Irish artist in the last 12 months. There’s a £25,000 cheque, and a lovely gold award handed out on the night to the winners. That’s it. The beauty of the prize is that it’s so simple — it’s the best album, from an artist from one or two countries, with a small prize fund.

Wolf Alice, therefore, did deserve a Mercury Prize — in 2015 for My Love Is Cool — but not for Visions of a Life (VoaL).

VoaL is far more ambitious than My Love Is Cool, but ambition has to be tempered with an overall direction: at times, it feels as if the sophomore effort is experimenting for the sake of experimentation.

“St. Purple & Green” comes across as filler before the sprawling seven-minute title track. The preceding track, “Sadboy”, is a good song in itself, but fails to act as a good bridge between the dream-like “St. Purple & Green” and fiesta “Space & Time”.

All this contributes to an album that’s beautifully competent and brilliantly produced, but not nearly as memorable as their debut.

A lot of the conversation around Wolf

Alice being a safe choice for the award comes back to the 2015 ceremony: that night, Benjamin Clementine won for his truly mesmeric debut At Least For Now. This was a bolt from the blue, with the near-universal reaction being “who?!”

Compared to the Arctic Monkeys, Lily Allen, and Noel Gallagher, Wolf Alice are unknown. However, they’re not Benjamin Clementine unknown. They’re not Nadine Shah unknown. They’ve released two albums and had countless tours. Wolf Alice, as much as my 16-year-old self is at pains to say, are now a big band. We can throw out the argument that they were given the award for publicity and exposure, as other artists on that list are in much more need of it.

There’s a misconception that the Mercury Prize favours guitar bands, but it frequently challenges this assumption — Dizzee Rascal won in 2003 before grime had even left the capital in a major way.

Indeed, the past three winners all were black, London-born, hip-hop influenced artists: the shift to a guitar-led nomination list might only be a blip this year.

However, there are more effervescent acts

on the list. The aforementioned Nadine Shah’s superlative-inducing Holiday Destination takes aim at almost everything wrong with our world and still ties it up into a nicely delivered, focused package. The Arctic Monkeys’ Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino also would be an unsafe choice: lounge rock has never won. By moving away from London hip-hop, Mercury had an opportunity to really make a statement.

Instead, they chose an artist very much of the indie zeitgeist, again from the capital, who already have an established following.

The Mercury Prize, up until 2018, has often surprised by going on a limb and picking something no one has ever heard of but has been justified by its true musical excellence. This year it’s surprised by picking something that a lot of people have heard, which very few describe as truly excellent.

Against

ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Gaming in Manchester: Development edition pt. two

In the second part of a new series on the gaming scene in Manchester, games editor Jeremy Bijl looks at some of Manchester’s more obscure offerings

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Last time out, we looked at some of the biggest studios in Manchester, as well as some of the more established indie studios.

This week, I’ve dug a bit deeper to speak a bit more about some of the hidden gems and rough diamonds in the city.

First up we have a very rough diamond indeed in the form of gambling mega corp. Scientific games. Undoubtedly the largest games company you will never have heard of, Scientific have a library of 250 games. With total assets estimated at $7.732 billion as of 2015, Scientific’s Manchester offices are one of 13 worldwide. With 250 commercial and manufacturing facilities across the world, Scientific are a global leviathan. Their Manchester office is said to focus on the “Real Money Gaming side of [their] business.”

Somewhat up the other end of the spectrum lie the rest of our developers, first among whom are Acid Nerve. Acid Nerve’s first major game was Titan Souls, and the hard-as-nails action puzzler has received a lot of critical acclaim, although is not for the faint of heart. It was published

by Devolver Digital, who you may know from their subversive E3 presentations.

Parallel Circles are another recently formed studio looking to make their first major release.

Their founders, who previously worked at TT games, “decided to leave the premier league to start a new adventure on their own, giving their projects the polishing, care and love that the AAA industry can rarely deliver.”

Their first game, Flat Heroes,

will be a minimalist local multiplayer game with a focus on super-fast-paced gameplay. It was selected in EGX’s famous Leftfield collection in 2016 Odd Bug are another company with just the one title to their name.

The Lost Bear, a hand-drawn 2D side-scrolling platformer for VR, is about as Indie as they come, but has again been positively received by those who have played it.

Another are Prospect Games, whose first release, Unbox: Newbie’s Adventure, has been released on the PS4, Xbox One, Switch and PC. The game, which sees you play as “the world’s first self-delivering cardboard boxes,” is a real romp worth playing, although will still set you back a princely £19.99 on the PlayStation Store. They are currently working on Robot Champions, an online arcade robot fighting game set for release in 2019, and the mysterious but fascinating-looking TerraWurm.

Finally, we have Sigtrap Games, whose debut title Sublevel Zero is described by the studio as “zero-g[ravity] combat at its most intense.” Sublevel Zero came out to positive reception, and is available on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and VR (PC only). The studio are currently working on bringing it to The Nintendo Switch.

So there we have it, the Manchester development scene in its wide and wonderful variety. The Mancunion hopes to bring more from these developers over the next 9 months - regardless of whether we do or not, I doubt this will be the last you hear of many of them.

Games 19 Telltale Games to shut down Danny Jones reflects on the sad news regarding the troubled yet widely-loved studio Now, it’s never nice to hear about a developer shutting up shop no matter what, but it’s especially sad when the studio in question is pretty much universally loved by most, even if their track record has a history of peaks and troughs. Those in the gaming community have been rocked by last week’s news that Telltale Games - developers of The Wolf Among Us, Tales from The Borderlands, the much-loved The Walking Dead series and many more - is set to shut down in the coming months.

The story broke in less than graceful circumstances as well, with several of the roughly 250 staff members that were laid off taking to social media to inform the internet of their bad news, even before Telltale itself had made a statement. The responses were more than sad: they were downright shocking. Collective sorrow from those affected and fans alike quickly turned to anger with the news that the terminations were abrupt and without any severance whatsoever.

This is somewhat telling of the recent climate at the studio, as even before this latest development, it was revealed last November that around 90 people were axed from the company.

Whilst at that time people could only speculate as to the reason why, with most suggesting a dip in the more recent figures, that speculation has now been pretty much confirmed, as CEO Pete Hawley commented: “We released some of our best content this year and received a tremendous amount of positive feedback, but ultimately, that did not translate to sales.”

Whilst the success of its flagship franchise in The Walking Dead has kept a loyal, core audience since its inception in 2012, the performance of releases like Minecraft: Story Mode and even more high-profile releases such as the Games of Thrones and Batman series failed to reach the commercial or critical heights of their prevailing

predecessor. Moreover, given the big-name franchises that Telltale has come to work with as a result of earlier success, there is a case to be made that the studio’s demise could come down to the huge licensing fees taken on as a result of these collaborations.

Hawley, in fact, is yet another symptom of the wider problems that the studio has been experiencing a lot of as of late, given that he was brought in to replace Kevin Bruner (formerly of Lucasarts) who, despite founding the company, was then ousted and even sued Telltale in June for financial damages. The company that had once been hailed for revitalising the ‘choose-yourown-adventure’ genre and made a habit of earning awards, had now turned into a highly toxic work environment, with many beginning to criticise the studio for not only mistreating its staff but also diagnosing that the studio had begun to lose central the crucial element of choice that once made its games so attractive.

The one silver lining in this latest development, on the other hand, are the amazing signs of solidarity shown by many within the community: thousands have shared the tragedy of Telltale’s former staff via social media and many developers such as Cory Barlog, director of the most recent God of War, have even offered work to those left in the cold by Telltale’s downfall.

So as sad as it is that the studio will be wrapping up in the coming months, perhaps it’s best that the super talented folks that brought us so much joy with their unique and stylish storytelling prowess, can now, hopefully, move on to greener pastures and continue to produce amazing content in a structure that will allow them to continue flourishing as creators. Rest in Peace, Telltale Games.

Find the full article online at www.mancunion.com.

Photo: Flickr @BagoGames

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ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Film

Climax 5/5

Rolling Stones, and Gary Numan.

The performances in the film are strong, with Sofia Boutella as Selva, the closest thing to a protagonist in the story, being particularly impressive. She perfectly conveys the sheer terror she is experiencing despite the fact that the audience cannot actually see whatever disturbing hallucinations she may be witnessing. Child-actor Vince Galliot Cumant deserves praise as Tito: having a likable child mixed up in the horror gave the film an entirely new dimension of suspense. Whilst I personally did not find this film to be as disturbing as some of Noé’s other works, the inclusion of this character was certainly the most distressing part of the film. Cumant’s convincing performance largely helped the disturbing moments.

Climax is far from an easy watch, and I would not recommend it to everyone.

However, if you have a strong stomach and are a fan of horror there is a lot to love here. Whilst never quite reaching the heights of his ambitious 2009 psychedelic masterpiece Enter the Void, Climax may be Noé’s most tightly constructed film yet. It is also perhaps my favourite film of the year so far. But maybe that says more about me than the film.

Climax was released in the UK on the 21st September and is currently playing at HOME in Manchester.

p rie @ : Fokso Photo iq

BoJack Horseman season 5 still keeps the witty, original ideas, and maintains the marriage of sincerity with character development

- season 5 Photo: Wikimedia Commons

In this golden age of television we’re currently enjoying – where critically-acclaimed dramas are accessible all day, in whichever room you fancy, at the click of a button – you’ll find animated series are beginning to be overlooked.

You’ll rarely hear original or creatively ambitious cartoons like Avatar or Rick and Morty spoken of in the same breath as the likes of The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, or Mad Men. But BoJack Horseman season five reminds us why there’s a place for great animated series’ in the pantheon of high-quality television.

Those of you who only know of this series as that weird Netflix programme with the talking animals or those who haven’t made it past the questionable first season will wonder why the rest of us sing BoJack’s praises. Over the last four seasons, committed viewers have been rewarded with genuine laughs and a roller-coaster of emotions. It’s the original storytelling, the unexpected deaths, the poignant considerations of mental health, and the flawed, heartbreaking characters that keep us coming back for more.

While Season 5 doesn’t reach the heights of the famed underwater episode “Fish Out of Water” or the crippling lows of Beatrice Horseman’s tragic backstory, it maintains a level of human sincerity and emotional resonance that star-stud-

ded live-action dramas often struggle to pull off. Furthermore, it manages to stay fresh. In the episode “INT. SUB”, the entirety of the story is told second-hand with the cast playing humorous caricatures of themselves. This is one such example, but every episode plays well, showing the mark of writers deeply concerned with the exploration of ethics and moral responsibility. Thankfully, however, the series doesn’t doesn’t take itself too seriously, perfectly juxtaposing cartoonish absurdity with this human drama.

Each new character arc is strong. BoJack’s leading role in the crime drama Philbert sparks a story arc that exposes the shortcomings of TV’s popular male anti-heroes like Tony Soprano, Don Draper, and Walter White. The type of characters who, in an effort to undermine toxic masculinity, “end up glamouring its excesses” – as succinctly put by Diane. This cleverly highlights the damaging aspects of this series’ faults, as heard through Diane’s criticism of the eponymous character’s past actions, and it also leads to the advancement of several story threads that have been seasons in the making. Diane and Mr Peanutbutter’s divorce leads to some long overdue individual character development, taking both characters to interesting places. And the decision to continue exploring Todd’s asexuality

Adrian Kanyoli Contributor

Reviews.

A true story of a 90s dance troupe having a post-rehearsal party allegedly inspires Gaspar Noé’s Climax. The party gradually descends into twistAlfie Clark ed, nightmarish hysteria as a result of LSD-spiked sangria. The film opens Contributor with a series of interviews with the Ever considered using dancers, speaking about their psychedelic drugs? This passions, ambitions, and film might make you think fears. This moment foretwice. shadows much of the creating the only moment horror to come. We are in the film where I felt then treated to a visthe pace dropped. ually stimulating and Other than the aforeincredibly well-chomentioned scene, the reographed dance sepace in this film was quence, followed by a its strongest factor. series of snippets from As Noé masterfully makes conversations between use of tracking shots to several characters. This keep the audience constantall serves as an effective ly involved in the insanity calm-before-the-storm for the Director Gasper Noé unravelling on screen, the use film, with the dance sequence in Photo: Olivier06400 @Wikimedia Commons of sound extenuates this insanity. In particular being a stand-out moment in quieter scenes of characters trying to the film that had me hooked within the discuss solutions to their predicament, first ten minutes. background noises of terrified screamHowever, I did find one conversation, ing and maniacal laughter are clearly where two male dancers discuss their audible. Additionally, what transpires intentions to have sex with one of the on screen is timed perfectly with the female dancers, went on for far too music playing – the use of ‘Windowlong. Whilst it began as effective licker’ by Aphex Twin serves as a percharacterisation, it eventually came sonal high-point of the film for me. across as though Noé was simply tryThe soundtrack is an auditory treat, ing to fit as much crude dialogue as he featuring the likes of Daft Punk, The could in a single scene, ultimately

4/5

and Princess Carolyn’s journey to motherhood proves to be the gift that keeps on giving as both characters develop in unforeseen but believable ways.

It’s hard to sell this series without spoiling the narrative decisions that make it so special, but what I can say is this; BoJack Horseman continues to be a comedy-drama that’s so tragically like reality that it needs a veneer of animation and absurdity to allow viewers to watch it without sinking into existential depression. Not every programme with anthropomorphic animals tackles issues as serious as the male gaze, opioid addiction, divorce, feminism and death.

Much like reality, conflicts aren’t neatly resolved within a thirty-minute time-bracket, life is more unfair than it is fair, terrible people get away with their sins for all the wrong reasons, and people constantly try to change but often find they can’t escape themselves.

BoJack Horseman pulls you in with its intelligent humour and creative use of visual gags, but it’ll keep you engaged with its constant reminders that we are not alone and that no one’s got life figured out. Not even a major recording artist like Sarah Lynn or a wealthy celebrity living in Hollywoo.

BoJack Horseman Season 5 premiered Friday 14th September 2018 on Netflix. All episodes are available online.

ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Film

Preview: The Early Films of Japan’s Punk Generation Catch an ’80s array of cult Japanese sci-fi, horror and action at HOME this October, previewed by sub-editor Rona McCann HOME cinema, as part of the Asia Triennial Festival Manchester, will be showing early films from four highly experimental, genrebending directors. These craftsmen of cinema, namely Tsukamoto Shinya, Ishii Sogo, Ogata Akira and Sion Sono, helped spark a new wave of creativity in the Japanese film industry in the 1980s.

First up is Shinya’s gore-ridden cyberpunk film, Tetsuo: The Iron Man. This is not a film for the faint-hearted with its opening scene containing the cutting of live human flesh. Moreover, the film only doubles down

from thereon out. The story continues as a black-and-white feat of manic revenge, told through shock, cutaway scenes and complete absurdity.

The 67 minute film is low-budget, and it shows, but that doesn’t take away from

Shinya’s unique vision.

The Adventures in Super 8 programmes 1 and 2 comprise two nights of the festival.

Programme 1 includes another gift from Shinya, his 1988 creation The Adventure of Denchu-Kozo, along with Sogo’s The Isolation of 1/880000.

The Adventure of Denchu-Kozo, also referred to as The adventures of Electric-Rod boy, concerns a metal-human monster and also involves time travel. Sogo’s The Isolation, meanwhile, tells the tale of a lonely man living in Tokyo. It employs slow-motion animation and

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pixellation to create a unique example of Sogo’s early cinematic storytelling.

Programme 2 is another double bill. With a run-time of under forty minutes, I am Sion Sono!! is an intimate artist’s journal, documenting Sono’s move from notable teen poet prodigy to young director. The selfportrait is arrogant in how nonchalant Sono is in making a film all about himself and his work. It is also energetic, raunchy and seemingly scriptless. In quite an odd pairing, next up comes Tokyo Cabbageman K, the 1980 work of director Akira Ogata. In this film a man wakes up to find a cabbage in place of his head.

The final solo screening, Sono’s Cold Fish, and the only film of the series not released in the 1980s (released in Japan in 2011).

The parallels in the picture with the nowcontroversial director’s earlier work in the decade is perhaps the reason it was chosen. Fitting with the theme, this is a story loosely based on real-life homicides, with some black comedy thrown in for good measure.

The Early Films of Japan’s Punk Generation runs from 9th to 23rd October. Tickets can be purchased from www.homemcr.org.

An interview with Crystal Moselle Film editor Tobias Soar sits down with Crystal Moselle, the director of the newly released ‘Skate Kitchen’ Shortly after the premiere of Skate Kitchen, director Crystal Moselle and I sat down at a table outside HOME’s cinema space for a quick chat. Although the postscreening Q&A sessions helped contextualise the film – it was originally a documentary that evolved into a story based on real experiences the Skate Kitchen girls had – some more technical questions were on my mind.

The up-close-and-personal style of the film was made possible by shooting on an Arri Alexa with fixed Panavision lenses. Keeping angles low portrayed New York City as it is: rich, vibrant, and filled with unique stories and personalities. Although NYC can be a challenge for some filmmakers, Crystal is in her element there, “I’ve been filming in New York for over 15 years so, for me, it’s not really challenging. I’m very used to cruising in and out of cars.” She says “the challenge was when you had a permit to film on a certain street and then you wanted to film on another street where you’re not supposed to. [...] New York is very “filmfriendly”. In a lot of the places it’s free [to get a permit].”

One of the famous faces in the feature is the multi-talented Jaden Smith. I was curious as to how he and Crystal met. “He hit up Rachelle on Instagram and was a fan of hers and her skateboarding. They then became friends and this became this thing of “who should be in this film?”Jaden acts so he became a part of the family and would hang out. [...] If you put yourself out there, it’s really easy to hook into the whole community. I’ve lived in New York for 20 years, I was part of the youth culture at first and now I’m essentially an

anthropologist for it.”

As someone who has dabbled in the Barcelona skate scene, I’ve made many skater friends along the way. One particular friend of mine, Marc, showed me an article that called skaters “elitist” and “exclusive” yet he believes that skate culture is very inclusive: you skate, you’re in.

Yet, Crystal argues that Photo: Sundance Institute getting “in” with specific groups of skaters can be challenging but if you just do your own thing in your local skate park, you are bound to make friends.

According to Crystal, skaters give Jaden Smith a hard time. “They can’t accept that he’s a good skater. He can f****n’ skate but he still gets s***. But he doesn’t give a f***; he still goes out there to all those parks, shreds, talks to everybody and puts himself on the same level as everybody else. So, it’s hard to break into [the skate community] but then it gets to the point where, eventually, you do get in.”

The Skate Kitchen girls, however, have also been targeted online; “This film has been getting a lot of backlash from boys online and I’m telling them “guys, this is the whole reason why we made the movie... older skaters and magazine owners are really set in their ways and don’t want to give any of these girls a pass.”

I feel Skate Kitchen represents the real, feel-good aspect of skating with friends.

This feeling, however, led to the film feeling slow at points. This allowed scenes to play out in a realistic fashion.

I told Crystal how the film made me feel like I was there, to which she replied, “That’s what I aim to do. Too much plot makes me uncomfortable. Sometimes I’m like “that feels fake, that’s bulls***”. Upon hearing this, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri popped into my mind, a film that, in my opinion, felt scripted and fake.

Fortunately, Crystal agrees with me “I f****** hated that movie. The characters…

Who the f*** likes that movie? The whole time I was looking around thinking “how is this movie nominated?” This movie sucks, it’s like a fake Cohen Brothers movie... what’s his name who won an Academy Award (Sam Rockwell)? I thought his character felt SO fake.”

“It took me three sittings to finish it – on three different flights! Each time I went back I’d go ‘oh man…’”

A true artiste (and a fellow Three Billboards hater) Crystal Moselle is an original storyteller and a person who appreciates the art of atmospheric cinema.

Her film Skate Kitchen will be released in the UK on 28th September.

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ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Books

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The Goldsmiths Prize shortlist “breaks the mould”

Devi Joshi runs through the 2018 shortlist of the Goldsmiths Prize for exciting new novels, including work by Rachel Cusk and Olivia Laing

“Established in 2013, The Goldsmiths Prize aims to celebrate and reward fiction which “breaks the mould or extends the possibilities of the novel form”. With an annual prize of £10,000, and an impressive list of past winners, the winning novel must be a well-crafted piece of dynamic longform fiction. One of my favourite novels, Eimear McBride’s “A Girl is a Half-formed Thing”, published by independent publisher Galley Beggar Press, was the recipient of the first award in 2013. The emotive, uncompromising and heart-breaking prose of McBride, full of disaster and transgression, is a lot to live up to. But after 5 years of selecting innovative works which really are “genuinely novel”, I was excited to read the 2018 shortlist and was not disappointed.

Robin Robertson’s verse novel, “The Long Take”, is a noir narrative following the life of Walker, a D-Day veteran with PTSD. Unable to return home to Nova Scotia, he moves around America’s great cities, from New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Desperate to piece his life together, America falls apart around him. The novel delves deep into modem America’s anxieties, and promises to be a “work of thrilling originality”.

“Murmur” by Will Eaves takes its inspiration from the arrest and legally enforced chemical castration of mathematician Alan Turing. Described as a “rare achievement”, the novel relays the account of a man’s response to physical and mental stress with love, honour and an “unsentimental curiosity” about our perceptions of ourselves and the world. The opening section of “Murmur” was also shortlisted for the 2017 BBC National Short Story Award.

Described by the Guardian as ‘one of the very best writers now at work in the English language’, Gabriel Josipovici’s “The Cemetery in Barnes” follows three separate plots whose relationships and time-scales are woven into a single, intense story. Of the novel’s three voices, the voice of a translator who moves from London to Paris to Wales is the main one, the voices enhanced by a chorus of friends and acquaintances. The most “literary” of the shortlist, the

novel is charged with an awareness of “all the threats to culture and happiness”.

Rachel Cusk’s final instalment of her trilogy, “Kudos”, is the perfect ending to “one of the greatest achievements in fiction”. A book of conversations between the main character, Faye, and the people she meets on her trip to Europe tap into some of the most human questions people ask. With the conversations ranging from art to love, justice and politics, the novel deals with huge themes with acute insight. Cusk’s first two instalments were both nominated

for the Goldsmiths prize in the past- maybe third time’s a charm?

“Love during the apocalypse” is how Olivia Laing’s novel “Crudo” is described, and with her main character Kathy preparing for her wedding in a Brexit-voting UK, with Trump over in the US, insistent on starting World War Three via Twitter, the phrase is apt. Charting the horror-filled summer of 2017, Laing’s novel remains funny and empathetic through the worst of times, with Kathy the “commitment-phobe” writer really being thrown into the deep end.

And last but not least, we have “In Our Mad and Furious City” by Guy Gunaratne. After the killing of a British soldier, riots spread across the city, and three boys - Selvon, Ardan and Yusuf - dream of a future “beyond the ends” they call home. Exploring the approach of danger in a city at the point of exploding, Gunaratne handles such raw material with “a sophisticated treatment” whilst not limiting the voices of the novel in any way.

“With an annual prize of £10,000, the winning novel must be a well-crafted piece of dynamic long-form fiction.”

You can catch both Guy Gunaratne and Olivia Laing at the Manchester Literature Festival this October.

Photo: The Goldsmiths Prize

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ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Theatre

Orla Quilligan reviews ‘Meek’, a play described as ‘Eradefining’

Review: ‘Meek’ at the Lowry

Headlong Theatre is responsible for some of the most iconic theatre in the last decade, ‘Chimerica’ and ‘People, Places and Things’ being their most eminent recent works. ‘Meek’ comes as Headlong’s latest production in collaboration with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Whilst this production had an impressive reputation to live up to, ‘Meek’ packed an intense punch that so distinctly reminded me of Headlong’s craftsmanship.

It’s difficult, and seems somewhat unfair, to boil ‘Meek’ down into a simple plot line and theme: ‘Meek’ was steeped in huge moral dilemmas and political implications that face our current society. At the heart of it, our protagonist, Irene, has been convicted of performing a sacrilegious song and unintentionally inspires a revolution in reaction to this fanatical dictatorship (think Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid's Tail). On a personal level, we see the conflict this causes between her and her best friend, Anna, in a realistic and unique portrayal of female friendship, that keeps shocking us until the very last moment.

Yet, through combining so many huge ideas, a distinct feeling of tension, dissonance and incongruity is created.

Photo: Helen Murray

Director Amy Hodge made this apparent in every aspect of the production, from the battle of the secular and fanatically religious to the contrast in the actors’ movement within a claustrophobic space.

The intense feeling of uneasiness this created really forced us to look into our own politics and principles, and confront the possibility that this play presented only an exaggerated version of our own society.

The design of this show by Max Jones and Zoe Spurr (lighting), deserves its own special mention. The set was unrelentingly grey and authoritarian, made up of simple grey blocks and walls, with one cross

Review: the return of A Game of Two Halves Joe Large’s original play, ‘A Game of Two Halves’, returned following a successful run at Three Minute Theatre in February.

Having missed the original run, I was thrilled to have another opportunity to see the acclaimed dark comedy “about competition between couples and our constant need to one-up each other”. There was never a dull moment in this hilarious, tension-fuelled exploration of social dynamics.

Large’s script was skilfully directed by Jack Allwright, with assistance from Jess Johnstone. All four of the characters, Brendon, Maddie, Martin and Bethany were played to perfection, drawing comedy from even the smallest moments of suspense.

Brendon’s (Charlie Diver) uncouth attitude drew laughs from the first scene, as he appeared in his underpants and behaved like a stroppy teenager. Diver’s flawless Scottish accent must also be applauded. Maddie, his long-suffering wife (Becca Hatch) maintained an impeccable façade as a put-together housewife, making the unfolding events in the second act even more shocking.

Allwright primarily played on potential for awkwardness in Large’s script, never being afraid to stretch out a pause until the last possible second. The entrance of Martin (Lucio Gray) and his young girlfriend, Bethany (Scarlett Gorman) laid the

Photo: Jess Johnstone

foundation for a deeply uncomfortable evening. They removed their shoes at Maddie’s request, then, under Brendon’s mockery, put them back on again - very, very slowly.

As the narrative progressed, the tension grew palpable and the power dynamics more overt. A scene in which Brendon hounds Martin into daring him to eat all the prawn crackers was as funny as it was uncomfortable, forcing the audience to wonder what was going on beneath the surface. While Brendon gorged himself, spraying spit and guzzling foaming beer, Martin’s contrasting impassivity only enhanced the humour.

The constant competition between the couples was also a source of tension, with the game of charades in the second act

engraved into a wall, that seared with light, blinding us with the wrath of this religious regime. Rarely have I seen a set that so indisputably conveyed a sense of the time, place and ethos of the society the play exists in.

Betrayal, pride, shame, social media, radicalism, diplomacy, even Brexit - after only 65 minutes and a cast of three, all these themes were on the tip of my tongue in the aftermath of this production. Penelope Skinner has written, in my opinion, something of an era-defining text and the performances by Shvorne Marks, Amanda Wright and Scarlett Brookes were commendable in their roles, drawing out all the potential of this production.

Libby Williamson reviews the return of A Game of Two Halves and its exploration of social dynamics. providing some priceless moments. Maddie’s depiction of the film ‘Inception’ was particularly funny, as was Martin’s vigorous portrayal of The Wind in the Willows.

Gray’s humour as Martin was understated, but always effective, as with his ridiculous over-pronunciation of Spanish words from "San Luca" to "San Miguel".

The one weakness in what was otherwise a compelling, hilarious piece of original theatre, was that the women seemed flimsily drawn. Maddie and Bethany were often merely accessories, reacting to and not instigating the main events. Gorman’s comic timing was spot-on, and her delivery of one particularly risqué joke produced the biggest laugh of the night. Hatch too was effortlessly funny, with her faux-casual remarks about Martin’s "stunning" ex-wife and cutting critiques of her husband. Yet, I couldn’t help but wish that they’d been given more to work with than these scarce moments.

Overall, ‘A Game of Two Halves’ was expertly staged, well-acted, and written with consistent wit. Large’s play was extremely funny, yet the dramatic undercurrent also gave it gravity. This paid off in the brilliance and intensity of the final scene.

While it was not perfect, it was still incredibly impressive. The cast and creative team undoubtedly deserve recognition.

ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Review: ‘Thick Time’ by William Kentridge William Kentridge admits that his preferred drawing material is ‘think chunks of charcoal’ (ideally those cut from the roots of the swamp cypress tree). “Charcoal is very changeable, one can change the drawing as quickly as one thinks,” he says. For Kentridge, this mirrors the way in which ideas are repeated and changed over time.

Thick Time is a multimedia exhibition which blends film, tapestry and drawing to depict the human condition within time. The underlying inspiration for the exhibition is Kentridge’s native Johannesburg where, as a child, he was fascinated by the landscape created by repeated gold excavation.

This observation, combined with the socio-political changes in South Africa following the apartheid, piqued the artist’s interest in time and the changing of ideas. Through his reflections on the city, he examines global themes such as colonialism, industrialisation and revolutionary politics, considering their place within the broader fabric of time.

The influences shown in the six pieces, created between 2003 and 2006, are diverse.

The first room of the exhibition contains 7 Fragments for Georges Méliès, Day for Night and Journey to the Moon. These projections are a homage to the French filmmaker and stage magician Georges Méliès, who pioneered the concept of cinema as a narrative art form.

Arts

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Frank Radcliffe-Adams reviews William Kentridge’s new multimedia exhibition Journey to the Moon is a remake of Méliès’ film Voyage à La Lune, featuring Kentridge himself in an absurdist performance. As a young man, the artist had had an interest in acting, and continues to work with actors and theatre companies.

The most intriguing parts of the exhibition are the tapestries based on Shostakovich’s opera The Nose, which Kentridge directed in New York in 2010. The libretto was adapted from a short story by Russian writer Nikolai Gogol, published in 1836. It features a former army major who wakes up one morning to find that his nose is missing, robbing him of his profile both figuratively and literally. The story appealed to Kentridge as, despite its absurdity, it reflects the senselessness and implausibility of many historical events.

Despite a certain charm, the sense of chaos and absurdism in each section of the exhibition is unsettling, as if to imply that no matter how much history changes or repeats itself, there will always be suffering. Projections of South African workers against what appear to be pages of Chinese newspapers, comment on the industrialisation of South Africa.

The movement of the characters on the screen, however, reminded me of minstrel performers of the US segregation era. It suggests that, although progress appears to have been made, exploitation has not ended.

Kentridge's show is a poignant reminder of the impact of the past on the present, marrying together two opposing concepts: time as both a fluctuating and rigid concept.

William Kentridge's 'Thick Time' can be seen at The Whitworth Gallery from 21st September 2018 - 3rd March 2019.

Photo: William Kentridge

Alice Kettle: Thread Bearing Witness

Artefact of the week: Make Blood Cancer Visible installation

Louis Haddad explores Alice Kettle’s recent exhibiton and its use of thread to convey important messages about migration Provoked by the Migrant Crisis, Alice Kettle’s wonderful project and exhibition 'Thread Bearing Witness' uses the process of stitching textiles to transcend the modern rhetoric of borders and discrimination, giving voice and solidarity to displaced people.

I had the immense privilege of meeting Alice and her fellow artist, friend and refugee at the exhibition at the Whitworth. In our interview the true warmth and inclusiveness of the project became clear.

The exhibition displays a mixture of large scale pieces produced by Alice, which are informed and inspired by the narratives of refugees, alongside works made by other artists, groups, men, women and children.

When walking through the exhibit, one understands how this is the combined work of numerous human connections. Indeed, the names of all the refugees and asylum seekers who produced these works with Kettle centrally adorn a wall. Cultural heritage, creativity, and resilience is weaved integrally into this collaborative exercise.

As soon as you enter the space of 'Thread Bearing Witness', the Stitch a Tree Project is the first piece that captures both your attention and something of the project's primordial essence. A forest of hundreds of individually-made, individually-inspired stitched trees covers a huge

wall. This work was made by volunteers across generations, races and genders who made their own tree patches to demonstrate support for displaced individuals.

Kettle's affinity for working on a large scale can be perceived in this exhibition, where three huge pieces occupy the vast space on the second floor of the Whitworth: SEA, GROUND and SKY. The scale of these pieces reflects the mass of human connections and partnerships formed during this project.

Photo: Alice Kettle

Photo: Joe Low

Through the shared stories of migrants, Kettle forms spaces of patterns, sites, and kites in GROUND and SKY, the latter a more optimistic expression of hope. SEA explores the dangerous journeys taken by migrants that have become a frequent item of media coverage. As one of the first of the new works for this exhibition, SEA arrests the viewer as a dreamlike, ultramarine arrangement of incandescent-

ly coloured bodies flowing in patterned motion.

Alice described the medium of stitch as a way to think about life and the world, which underpins this project's raison d'être. You can change the world with stitch; we live in a thread world where threads can become interconnected and brought together, forming something new. The use of embroidery functions as a way of decorating and drawing, but also mending and making something new.

Seen through this optic, art becomes an exercise in valuing human life and dignity.

The project describes migration as "the defining issue of our time", and with the current controversial and heated discourse surrounding the refugee crisis, the role of art in the expression and validation of migrants is truly powerful.

Alice Kettle's 'Thread Bearing Witness' runs from 1st September 2018 to 24th February 2019. Visit threadbearingwitness.com to find out more about her project.

Photo: Bella Jewel

The aim of this travelling installation, which was created by the designer Paul Cocksedge under the sponsorship of Janssen Pharmaceuticals, is to raise awareness of blood cancer, a devastating illness which currently afflicts 240,000 people living in the UK. Commencing in Westfield Stratford City in London on the 4th September, the installation is touring the UK as part of Blood Cancer Awareness month. Having paused in Manchester from Monday 17th to Saturday 22nd of September, ly Mall until the end of the month.

Read more about the installation in The Mancunuon online.

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Fashion & Beauty

Talking to Tatti Lashes Photo: Karen Arnold

Tatti Lashes is one of the hottest beauty brands, specialising in strip and semi-permanent lashes; Ella Searle and Ruby Johnstone talk to CEO Elliot Barton and Digital Director Ryan Barton.

Photo: Tatti Lashes

Tatti Lashes is one of the world’s hottest beauty brands, specialising in strip and semi-permanent lashes. The brand was created by best friends Elliot Barton and Charlotte Tiplady, who had been working in the beauty industry for over ten years. The Tatti Lashes story is an inspiring one, from the more humbling beginnings of a basement in Liverpool, to being one of Europe’s leading lash lines. Huge celebrity fans include Kris Jenner, Khloe Kardashian, Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, Christina Aguilera and more, all within two years of starting the business.

Despite its immense success, Tatti has remained true to its industry roots, maintaining its famous 60% make up artist (MUA) discount that has amassed the firm a number of loyal followers.

Its cult following of MUAs has led to endorsement from some of YouTube’s biggest beauty giants such as Nikkie Tutorials and Jeffree Star. After a momentous few weeks for Tatti, due to a number of Hollywood celebs being spotted in the product and successfully hosting Manchester MUA mmmmitchell’s beauty masterclass, we had the pleasure of visiting Tatti Lashes’ ever-expanding HQ. We sat down with CEO Elliot Barton and Digital Director Ryan Barton to talk rapid growth, breaking the US market and what’s next for this truly exciting brand.

Q: What inspired you to start Tatti Lashes?

Elliot: Well, me and Charlotte, my business partner, both had salons in Liverpool which is really big for make up, same as the rest of North West. We were both eyelash technicians ourselves and whilst we were working we noticed a huge gap in the market. The lashes on the market at the time were all really basic, one-wear strips, especially compared to America, so we wanted to create an eyelash that was for the everyday person but also one that could be used, be cleaned, and coming from the industry ourselves we wanted to offer MUA discount from the start.

Ryan: We found a gap in the market for quality and affordability, and by coinciding the two of them that’s why the brand has grown so much.

Elliot: Our challenge when first starting the brand was to develop the best quality materials and eyelashes but getting the most affordable price possible. That was possibly our biggest struggle.

Ryan: I think when you get your pricing structure right and find the balance; the only way is up really. You’re providing something that a customer is willing to invest in because of the longevity of the lashes, able to be worn up to 20 times is such a big win for us because you’ll find other lash brands out there do compromise on quality for price.

Q: The success of the mmmmitchell masterclass and TLMitchell lash being worn by Jeffree Star must’ve been a whirlwind. Who have you been happiest to see wear your lashes?

Elliot: I’ve always been obsessed with Nikkietutorials; she’s such a huge blogger. Once we were sitting in here and we got a tag on Instagram just before Christmas from her wearing our lashes, and we were thinking we’ve never sent her any lashes and you could never get her contact, so we were thinking ‘how has she got them?’

For me that was huge, for being the celebrity she is, paying with her own money, and ordering just through word of mouth is so special. We were sending her a thank you box as she spent a fair bit of money, and just as we were sending it, another order came through from her! So it shows she really must’ve liked them and she used them in a lot of YouTube videos, which was great for us.

Elliot: Mitchell has done so well, he’s only just turned 20. We have a great working relationship with him, that’s why we wanted to do the masterclass, as it just made sense. We have both grown

together. And with Jeffree Star wearing TLMitchell, it was amazing for us at the same time.

Ryan: Yeah, Jeffree Star was amazing, that day alone we were the most searched eyelash brand in the world, because of the impact of his following – I wish we could get him more often!

Q: Instagram has clearly transformed the make up industry forever.

What advice would you give to young people who want to start on their own business ventures?

Elliot: I think Instagram has been amazing for us, it was through our page that we sold our product 2 years ago.

Ryan: Instagram is probably the platform with the largest organic reach. I would advise any new business, especially in the beauty industry, that Instagram is the way forward as it’s so visual. We are a social media brand and it’s the be-all and end-all of the brand.

Elliot: I do every single Instagram post that’s ever posted; I make sure I still do it to this day. Although the team help, I can’t give it up, people don’t realise how much work actually goes into the caption or the one image that you’ve posted, there’s a reason behind it.

Ryan: Because it is so important to us, Elliot was in LA 2 weeks ago, and he was getting up at mad times to draft our posts as they’re 8 hours behind!

Elliot: Last week we had such a good week, we had Cardi B and Nicki Minaj wearing Tatti Lashes at New York Fashion Week where there was a bit of a fight so we played around with it and put it on our front page as ‘who wore it better’. In that same week both Minaj, and Cardi B had them on again, and then we had Kris Jenner all in one week. Never did we think that we would have Hollywood stars in them, it’s surreal.

Q: What is your favourite Tatti product?

Elliot: To be honest, TL3 and TL4 are the best sellers by far.

Ryan: Its TL3 to date. But what you’ll find in terms of units sold, there is only ever a 10% difference between them Elliot: Charlotte, my business partner, will say TL23 is the underdog, that it’s so underrated. She actually wore that one for her wedding. It’s such an everyday but glam lash.

Ryan: I’d have to say TLMitchell because when we launched it we had built up huge excitement. We saw 286 sales in 12 minutes.

Elliot: For me TLMitchell is also super special because of the work we put in, it went into production 100 times until we got it right. Mitchell was so involved with them and there’s no other lash out there like it.

Q: What’s next for Tatti Lashes?

Ryan: Growing our presence both in the US market and offline, is up our sleeve .

Elliot: Getting in a few stores that sit right with us, is next.

It’s amazing to ever have that choice. Some of the brands that have contacted us I would have never thought in a million years would be possible or us to say no to, but we have to do what is right for us really.

Ryan: We also may have a few new products coming out…. but we can’t reveal this just yet!

To read the full article, visit The Mancunion online.

Food & Drink 27

ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Welcome back to

Eleanor McLaughlin gives the lowdown on the best new bars and resturaunts in Manchester

Manchester: autumn 2018’s newest bars and restaurants

The advantages of seasonal eating Photo: Clker-Free-Vector-Images @ pixabay

Catrin Stewart tells us the best reasons to Eat Seasonally As a student, its hard to consider ways of eating other than 'cheap, quick and easy'. But let me introduce you to the idea of seasonal eating.

You'll save money, make your food even more delicious with no extra effort, and you'll be helping the environment along the way.

The Taste Test: By keeping an eye out for fruit and vegetables that are in season, you get more flavour for no extra cost. The produce is fresher as it hasn't spent time being shipped across countries, and the flavours are better. Strawberries are sweeter, aubergines are richer, and your cooking becomes more simple. With better, fresher ingredients, you can use fewer elements in your dishes. This keeps them simple and magnifies the flavours of the fruit or vegetables alone.

Saving Money: With supply and demand, it means that buying produce in peak season is cheaper as more of the certain type of fruit and vegetables are grown during those months. You'll be supporting British, local producers while reducing cost from your own purse - win win!

A Greener Way to Shop: Not only does eating seasonally mean your produce travels less distance, therefore reducing CO2 emissions from vehicles, it also becomes less likely that food is not kept in greenhouses and is grown organically.

Give it a Go:

This summer has seen a whole host of new food and drink delights pop up across Manchester.

Here are the best new openings you might have missed over the summer months: Noi Quattro- Northern Quarter Noi Quattro is the newest addition to Manchesters impressive line up of Neapolitan-style Pizzarias. Translating to ‘The four of us,’ it is run by four Italians, with the aim of delivering authentic, Neapolitan pizza. The menu features traditional pizzas as well as several vegetarian and vegan options, calzoncello (deep fried calzone), scugnizzielli (bites of fried dough) and cuoppo - a paper cone filled with fried italian delicacies.

YES- Charles Street Four-storey venue YES seems to have everything: dingy basement club, an entirely pink 250-person live music venue, rooftop terrace bar and street-food kitchen. The club will host free nights every Friday and Saturday, along with regular band performances and DJ nights. Former Hatch residence Firebird Hope will be serving fried chicken as well as pizzas by the slice from in-house pizzeria Pepperoni Playboy.

Folk & Soul - Northern Quarter Vegan restaurant, bar and live music venue Folk & Soul opened in May in the site previously housing Odd Bar in the Northern Quarter. They have a small menu of main dishes and tapas-style sharers and a range of wine and beers Viet Shack - Ancoats Arndale Market street-food favourite Viet Shack have opened a new restaurant and bar location in Ancoats. With a diverse menu of Vietnamese meat and fish dishes along with vegan and gluten-free options, Viet Shack also serves Vietnamese beers and a range of asian-inspired cocktails.

Boho Utopia - Withington

Eating seasonally can benefit you in innumerable ways, including widening your horizons and helping you discover new food to try. But, also, nature always has its ways of helping us along, and plants are one of them. Fruit and vegetables contain the nutrients we need at certain types of year, so eating by season will also help you feel your best and look after your body.

At the moment, root vegetables are starting to come into season, so why not try making a beetroot and carrot coleslaw with greek yoghurt as a tasty

Not strictly new, Boho Utopia was founded in 2016, but this year the café had a menu revamp with an array of affordable, 100% vegan brunch bites, comfort eats and freakshakes. Mac ‘n cheez, beer-battered garlic shrooms and quesadillas are just some of the things on offer, along with freshly baked cakes. They also host yoga, mindfullness and meditation sessions.

Sugo Pasta Kitchen - Ancoats Altrincham based Italian restaurant Sugo Pasta Kitchen opened a second site in Ancoats this June, offering traditional, authentic Italian pasta dishes.

Hatch - Oxford Road Oxford Road pop-up venue Hatch has a fresh line up of street food vendors: Food.Me is vegan friendly, local, and healthy wraps, curries, smoothies and juices.

Mama Z offers home-cooked fillipino food catering for meat-lovers and vegans alike.

T’Arricrii are Sicilian street-food vendors specialising in Arancini, offering meat, fish and veggie options.

Woks Cluckin’ serve tasty panasian street food.

The Jane Eyre - Ancoats Ancoats new ‘Neighbourhood Bar’ serves an array of cocktails, beers and wines, as well brunch, toasties and small plates.

The Shack - West Didsbury A new bar in West Didsbury, offering cocktails, tacos, loaded fries and a great brunch, as well as hosting regular live music nights.

Hispi - Didsbury Part of the chain of restaurants including Chester’s The Sticky Walnut, The Burnt Truffle in the Wirral, and Liverpool’s Wreckfish, the North West brand has opened a new restaurant in Didsbury offering high end British food in a relaxed but contemporary setting.

addition to your lunches, or create an autumnal dessert from blackberries and apples or pears. I love a good crumble, but if I don't have the time, quickly stewing some fruit in water and honey can make a great topping for ice cream for a quick but delicious pudding!

Seasonal eating is such an easy way to improve your diet and budget, so I implore you all to give it a go. Try something new and help other people and our planet too!

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Shout out to my ex: Navigating life post break-up As the year begins and relationships end, Jessica Blair explores the pain and growth that comes from the break-up of relationships and how to move foreward

Heart Goodfreephotos

Jessica Blair Contributor

Photo: Nick Youngson @ The Blue Diamond Gallery

A lot of the advice aimed at new students encourages them to swiftly sever any romantic ties to home. To those freshers currently still in the throes of a sixthform passion, this advice may seem cold, cynical and totally inapplicable. To those who have followed this advice and are currently going through the painful stages of a break-up, you have come to the right place.

University is an environment full of people constantly reinventing themselves. It is one of the rare times in your life when an entire overhaul of your personality is somewhat expected. And for good reason; it's practically a fact that you won't be the same person when you leave. This lends itself to the feelings of reinvention and self-definition that are inevitable following the end of a relationship. Here I speak as a student in the midst of such a redefinition. As such, I have found a great deal of comfort in being surrounded by people who have no idea what they’re doing, or who they’ll be by next week.

For many, the comfort of arriving at university with a safety-blanket just a phone call away is a tempting prospect. In reality,

Photo: sinemabed

going to university is an experience that, if anything, should change you. If you find yourself viewing change as negative because of the distance it may bring between you and your partner, then you are seeing yourself as a half as opposed to a whole.

The common narrative presented to us is that compromise is essential to successful relationships. Yet, to see being in a relationship as the ultimate success is to devalue your individuality. Personal growth at university is as inevitable as it is important, and stunting that can be damaging.

“Yet, to see being in a relationship as the ultimate success is to devalue your individuality” I spoke to a friend who ended a long-term relationship shortly after her first year of studies. She explained it was simply because she and her partner had become different people. Growth away from each other can mean growth towards a better self. There is no right way to do university; some home relationships last while others do not. And there is no shame in either situation. But, if you feel yourself changing

beyond the person you are with, do not feel guilty for wanting to pursue that change.

Piling the end of a relationship onto the already intimidating list of newness may sound unmanageable. However, I have found that being in an environment far from home has actually helped in some ways. At a distance from the prying eyes of parents and otherwise inescapable confrontations with your past, your individuality is given space to blossom. To be at university during the transitional post break-up period forces you to remember that you are constantly moving forward.

The breadth of distractions and opportunities means that, when faced with the task of rebuilding yourself, there is no end to the tools at your disposal.

Ultimately every person and every relationship is different. You should never feel pressured to end or begin one on the basis of someone else's advice. If you do happen to find yourself in the midst of a bleak break-up, embrace the benefits of being in an environment that encourages self-invention. To lose the stability of a relationship during a time as turbulent as university is daunting, but it can also be a positive opportunity.

To the friendless fresher

Isabel Gough looks at the best way to make the most the most of university social life Isobel Gough Contributor “Have you got the wristband?!” was a frequent ask across Freshers’ Week. For some, it was the best week of their lives.

They make friends, go on great nights out and eat copious amounts of Turkiss. But for others, Freshers’ Week was a very different experience. Social anxiety can inhibit some students from creating valuable relationships immediately. UK students were ranked the loneliest last year, with 46% admitting to have struggled with friendships. To those struggling, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Freshers’ week is designed to help you navigate your new city and remove the stress of deciding where to go. That considered, I spent the majority of my time sat alone in my room, waiting for that evening’s events. Even then, most of them were not my cup of tea. The idea that I must continually present my best self to people I had never met was daunting.

Introduction upon introduction became exhausting and I felt growing pressure to find my crowd. In reality, the first few weeks in halls were a lonely place. Happily though, I made actions that helped me find my feet, and my university friends.

I may sound like your Reslife advisor but, the university truly does have an array of societies open to you. Whether you love Medieval re-enactment or yoga, (or yoga in medieval re-enactment garments), it is much easier to meet like-mindPhoto: Mohamed Assad @publicdomainpictures.net

Picture: RC 10-13-2011 @ cliker.com

ed people through societies. Anxieties about being ‘cool’ inevitably spill over from college days, but societies tend to be less judgemental spaces. They are also the best way to meet people outside of lectures or university accommodation.

As well as societies, your course will bring you close you will spend great amounts of time with. It is easy to forget about your course during Freshers’ Week, but it will bring you into contact with people with similar interests. These are the friends who will wake you up when you start snoring in lectures, send you the sheets you’ve managed to lose, and stay up with you in the library on deadline day. If you get on with someone, ask them for a coffee or a pint! The chances are that they are just as nervous as you and looking to make friends. My closest friendships started with awkward coffee chat in the Ali G café.

Finally, go out and explore your new city. If you do not immediately find close friends, take it as an opportunity to learn to be comfortable in your own company. With art galleries, museums and £5 cinema tickets, there are multiple ways to escape the University bubble.

Cut that wristband off: Freshers’ Week is not the be all or end all. Be brave for another few weeks, be yourself, get involved and you’ll have found your people before you know it! Also, be kind to the person at teatime who keeps going on about how amazing freshers was. They are probably lying anyway.

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ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

In her own words: Menna Fitzpatrick Photo: Menna Fitzpatrick

Britain’s record-breaking Paralympian, Menna Fitzpatrick, talked with The Mancunion about her experienes of the sport and her future within it Sam Honey Deputy Sport Editor E nt i rely blind except for 3% vis ion in he r rig ht eye, Menna Fitz p atrick h it he ad line s ac ros s the world t h i s February when she won fou r me d a ls, a nd B rita in’s on ly G old, at the Winter Pa ra lympics in P ye ongch a ng . T he 2 0 -ye a r old Mancu n ia n now h a s he r eye s firm ly s et on be coming a world ch ampion in Ja nu a ry.

B e fore jetting off for tra in ing in G e rm a ny, Fitz pat r ick i s currently leading Sk i C on fide nce ca mps, a ime d at ra i si ng the profile of s now sports ac ros s the cou nt r y, which she s ee s as cruc ia l, ‘ ’ Winte r Spor ts is a n a m a zi ng sport to be a p art of, a nd it’s s o s oc ia ble. T he re a re s o ma ny un iversitie s and s chools at the mome nt th at have snow sp orts teams. The s chools th at I we nt to d id n’ t do thos e s orts of th ings. I th in k it’s a re ce nt th ing in the l ast few years (and) we’ re sta r ting to ge t the re in te r m s of opportu n itie s.’ ’ She i s teach ing beginne rs at C h ill Fac tore, a trip dow n me mory lane for the gold me d a llist, who re ca lls f i rst be i ng dis covered on the s a me s lope s, ‘ ’ Ye s th at’s r ig ht !

It wa s about 7 years ago now th at I wa s spotte d he re.

It’s been a d ream of m ine for a long time to go to t he Pa ra lympics – my aim wa s a lways to go to P ye ongch ang 2 0 1 8 . I didn’ t realis e th at it cou ld ac tu a lly be come possi ble u ntil I reache d the World C u p c irc u it in Asp e n , C olorado two and a h a lf ye a rs ago. ’ ’ That meteoric ris e h a s s e e n he r be come B rita in’s most de corated Winter Pa ra lympia n a fte r j u st one ga me s, a nd F itz p atrick recog n is e s the ch a lle nge of e q u at i ng the Winter showpiece’s re putation with the Su m me r ga me s, ‘ ’ It’s slowly getting be tte r, a s the leve l of inte re st i n Pa raly mpic sp ort grows, s o will the compe tition . T he

st and ard of t he sp or t i s al s o ch ang i ng — eve n f rom S o chi fou r ye ars ago — at h le te s are h av i ng to work h arde r to ke e p at t he top wh ich i s re al ly exc it i ng . ’ ’ T h i s we l l- ne e de d aware ne s s h as b e e n b o oste d by her stor y, w it h m any e ncap su l ate d by he r abi l ity to s k i to such a h ig h st and ard , w it h t he l it t le v i s ion s he h as.

Work i ng clos e ly w it h g u ide Je n Ke n ho e, s he ex pl ai ned how t he two col l ab orate on t he s lop e, ‘ ’ We h ave two way B lue to ot h he ad s e t s on ou r he l me t s s o t h at we ca n com mu n icate. Je n w i l l go dow n ahe ad of me we ar i ng a br ig ht orange jacke t t h at cont rast s w it h t he s now, wh ich he lp s me w it h t he v i s i bi l ity. Wit h t he v i s ion I do h ave I can m ake out Je n’s exag ge rate d move me nt s — t h at g ive s me an i nd icat ion of whe n s he’s ab out to t ake a t u r n, for example, and t he n I h ave to do t he s ame, 2 s e conds or eve n a m i l l i s e cond l ate r. It m ay s ou nd l i ke we’re s hout i ng at e ach ot he r, but we’ re ju st t r y i ng to ge t t he me s s age ac ros s ! ’ ’ .

T he p ai r are ve r y clos e, w it h F it z p at r ick h as even de s c r i b e d Ke n ho e as a ‘s i ste r ’ . S he e l ab orate d to ex pl a in how such a con ne c t ion of f- s lop e aide d t he i r succe s s whe n comp e t i ng , ‘ ’ We h ave a re al ly go o d re l at ion s hip.

O ne of ou r st re ng t h s i s t h at we ge t on s o we l l — eve r y t h i ng i s ve r y n at u ral and b e cau s e of t h at we don’t h ave to work on t he te amwork and com mu n icat ion s ide of t h i ng s. It ’ l l b e t he l it t le t h i ng s Je n do e s, l i ke p o i nt ing out a ste p, t h at re i n force s t he t r u st b e twe e n u s. T h at is re al ly i mp or t ant whe n it come s to t he s k i i ng . ’ ’ T h i s clos e te amwork and t he ach ieve me nt s t h at s he now h as u nde r t he b e lt m ake F it z p at r ick one of t he most ex p e r ie nce d at h le te’s i n he r f ie ld , but s he ad m it s t hat you can neve r q u ite s h ake t he an x ie ty of p e r for m ing and out l i ne d how s he de al s w it h ne r ve s, ‘ ’ I st i l l h ave ne r ve s eve r y t i me I ge t i nto t h at st ar t gate. We ch at to a

sp ort s p sychologist a nd she give s us st rategie s to help us m a nage. There a re e s s ent ia lly t hree st rategie s t hat I us ed for t he Pa ra ly mpic ga me s. The f irst is to fo cus on t he but terf lie s in your stom ach a nd im agine t hat you a re t ry ing to get t hem into a form at ion, t he s econd is to t ry a nd t hink ca lm ly under pre ssure at a ll t ime s. F ina lly, t here’s Yogic breat hing. D on’t t ry a ll t he s e at once, t hey won’t work! Alt hough, when I t ried I did end up pict uring but terf lie s do ing yoga …’’

As t he 20 -yea r old t a lked t hrough her coping mecha nism s, ca re f ully-cra f ted relat ionship w it h her guide a nd her long-term com m it ment to t he sp ort , a pict ure of a dedicated, ent husia st ic Pa ra ly mpia n, a lready at t he top of her f ield emerged. Hav ing b een recognis ed w it h MBE in t he Q ueen’s Birt hday Honours list t his yea r, her rem a rka ble succe ss ha s put skiing at t he top of her priorit ie s list , a nd she dis cus s ed how once-ho b by ha s now blended into a f ull-t ime j o b, ‘’I do ex pla in t hat my profe ss ion is a f ull-t ime at hlete. The s ay ing is t rue t hough, if you f ind s omet hing t hat you love, it do e s n’t feel like work. That is t he ca s e for me most days. When you have t hos e days t hat it ’s ra ining, w indy, a nd t here’s a 4 a m wa ke up, you do los e your mot ivat ion a lit t le bit a nd t hen it feels a bit more like a j o b aga in. We work s o ha rd t hough, we get a lot out of t ra ining by t he end of it .’’

She cert a inly ha rb ours a n intens e t ra ining s chedule a nd w ill b e a bro ad for a lmost a ll of Novem b er a nd D ecem b er, prep a ring for t he world cha mpionship s.

D e spite t his, F it zp at rick a lready ha s her eye s f irm ly s et on t he f ut ure. ‘’ There’s B eij ing 2022 to lo ok forwa rd to’’. ‘’My pla n is to j ust keep go ing, keep t ra ining, a nd us e every moment to get b et ter.’’

Serena Williams and her lack of regret Serena Williams refuses to apologise for her US Open outburst; which despite her claims, does little to aid women, argues James Gill James Gill Head Sport Editor

Photo: Wikimedia Commons User @Edwin Martinez

S e re n a Wi l l i am s de n ie s t h at s he was coached f rom t he st and s by Pat r ick Mou ratog lou i n t he US O p e n F i n al . T h i s i s de spite h i m ad m it t i ng t hat he “was co ach i ng but I don’ t t h i n k s he lo oke d at me.

Eve r y b o dy do e s it . ” S p e ak i ng on The Sunday P roject on Au st ra lia’s Network Ten , Wi l l i am s s aid “I ju st don’ t u nderst a nd wh at he was t al k i ng ab out . I as ke d h i m [ Mou ratoglou] ‘ wh at are you t al k i ng ab out you we re co ach i ng? We don’ t h ave s ig n al s, we’ve neve r h ad s ig n al s.

“He s aid he m ade a mot ion . S o I was l i ke ‘you m ade a mot ion and now you told p e ople t h at you’re co ach i ng me - t h at do e s n’ t m ake s e n s e, why would you s ay t h at?’ ” “I was on t he ot he r s ide. I d id n’ t s e e t he mot ion.

It was ju st a re al ly con f u s i ng mome nt , I t h i nk, for him.”

In t he US O p e n f i n al t h i s ye ar, Wi l l i ams wa s p e n al i s e d t h re e t i me s. O nce for co ach i ng , once for racq ue t s m as h i ng t h at re su lte d i n a p o i nt p ena lty, and once for ve r b al abu s e t h at le d to a do cke d ga me.

T he A me r ican told t he u mpi re Carlos Ramos “you w i l l neve r eve r eve r b e on anot he r cou r t of m ine as long as you l ive.” A f te r t he du st s e t t le d on t he i nc ide nt s he told T he S u nd ay P roje c t “what I’m t r y i ng to do most of al l i s to re cove r f rom t hat a nd move on . ”

It s eem s t hat p a rt of t he mov ing on pro ce ss involved forget t ing t hat cert a in event s to ok place a s Willia m s chos e to ignore q ue st ions a b out whet her s he regret ted brea king her racq uet on t he court .

Remors e for her act ions a ls o s eem s to b e a b s ent f rom t hat pro ce s s a s neit her t he umpire nor her opp onent Naom i O s a ka , who wa s b o o ed to tea rs during her w in, received a ny form of ap ology.

This late st interv iew s eem s to b e more a b out sweeping t he is sue s under t he rug t ha n acknowledging what she sa id wa s w rong a nd grow ing a s a p ers on a nd at hlete. It is intere st ing t hat s he chos e to sp ea k only a b out t he one co de v iolat ion for which t here wa s at lea st s ome a rgument , a nd not a b out her t irade a b out how s he wa s unj ust ly t reated b ecaus e s he wa s a wom a n.

There a re m a ny inst a nce s of s ex ism in sp ort , a nd hav ing s it uat ions like t his, where t he at hlete bla me s s ex ism for her ow n act ions or, p erhap s, a n incorrect ca ll f rom a n umpire, deva lue s t hos e rea l cla im s. It would have b een a fa r greater moment for women’s sp ort if Willia m s adm it ted t hat a nger got t he b et ter of her a nd ap ologis ed. She could have t hen us ed t he limelight a s a plat form to get a prop er dis cus sion a b out s ex ism go ing.

Instead, we a re j ust pretending t hat none of what s he sa id act ua lly happ ened a nd t he tennis world is even more div ided t ha n it a lready wa s. It is a s ha me a s t his could have b een t he b eginning of a la rge step forwa rd, rat her t ha n a sm a ll step b ack.

Sport 31

ISSUE 3 / 1st October 2018 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Anthony Joshua retains world heavyweight titles after knockout win against Povetkin The Olympic gold medalist is now 22 fights undefeated James Gill Head Sport Editor

Photo: Wikemedia Commons

On the Loan: Manchester United Women 3-0 Sheffield United Women

A nt hony Jos hu a re su me d h i s i nc re d i ble k no ckout r u n af te r a st u n n i ng s eve nt h rou nd v ic tor y aga inst A lexande r Pove t k i n at We m bley. Pove t k i n, who h as lost ju st once i n 3 5 f ig ht s agai n st W l adim ir K l it s ch ko, lo oke d as i f he cou ld de fe at Joshua w it h s ome i mpre s s ive com bi n at ion s i n t he ea rlier rou nd s. Jos hu a we at he re d t he stor m t hough, a nd g radu al ly g rew i nto t he m atch as h i s opp one nt t ired.

H al f way t h roug h t he s eve nt h rou nd Jos hu a l a nded a br ut al r ig ht ho ok t h at d aze d h i s opp one nt enough to l and a he av y fol low u p w it h h i s le f t . Pove t kin wa s now st ag ge r i ng and u n able to hold h i s g u ard. More com bi n at ion s ro cke d t he Ru s s i an b e fore a le f t a nd r ig ht ho ok s e nd h i m c ras h i ng to t he f lo or.

A f te r fal l i ng ove r tw ice t r y i ng to ge t u p, Povet kin ros e to h i s fe e t as t he cou nt re ache d n i ne. However it wou ld h ave b e e n fo ol i s h to t h i n k t h i s wa s now ove r. Jos hu a h i m s e l f h ad b e e n i n t h i s p osit ion agai n st K l it s ch ko but foug ht b ack to w i n , keeping fo c u s e d was pivot al to s e e out t h i s b out . He sa id b e fore t he f ig ht t h at he fe are d los i ng to t h at “one pu nch”, Pove t k i n was a f ig hte r who h ad t he a bility to t u r n a f ig ht w it h ju st t h at .

It to ok le s s t h an te n s e cond s f rom t he re st a rt t houg h for re fe re e S teve G ray to i nte r ve ne. Povet kin s lu mp e d i nto t he rop e s af te r a p owe r f u l le f t ho ok b e fore u lt i m ate ly t u m bl i ng to t he f lo or aga in.

Jos hu a h ad done wh at K l it s ch ko cou ld not ma nage f ive ye ars pr ior, a w i n by T KO agai n st t he m ighty

Russ ia n.

Af ter t he f ight Jos hua s a id: “Povet kin is a very tough cha llenger, he proved t hat w it h go o d le f t ho oks a nd counter punche s. I ca me in here to have f un, a nd give it my b e st . I knew he wa s st rong to t he head but wea k to t he b o dy. I wa s j ust m ix ing it up.”

“It could have b een s even, m ay b e nine, m ay b e 12 rounds to get him out of t here, but t he ult im ate a im wa s to b e v ictorious.”

The v ictory for Jos hua come s le s s t ha n a day a f ter t he WBC cha mpion D eont ay Wilder a nd Tys on Fury s ea led t he dea l for t heir f ight on 1st D ecem b er.

The next f ight for t he E nglishm a n come s on 13t h April b ack at Wem bley, w it h t he opp onent yet to b e decided.

“I’ve ca rried t he burden of t he heav y weight div is ion for s ome yea rs now,” Jos hua sa id. “It wa s a ll a b out me f ight ing Wilder, f ight ing Fury, f ight ing Klit s chko, f ight ing D illia n, f ight ing Povet kin. That ’s a ll t hey were intere sted in, me f ight ing t hem a ll.

“I w ill a lways kno ck t hem dow n, one by one, but p eople have to b e p at ient . I’m happy Wilder a nd Fury a re f ight ing a nd go o d luck to b ot h of t hem . I have no intere st in who w ins. I’ ll f ight b ot h of t hem .”

Who he f ight s w ill have to b e decided b e fore t he p a ir cla s h in L A later t his yea r. “I don’t wa nt to wa it unt il D ecem b er for him to w in t he f ight , have his re st a nd t hen st a rt negot iat ing b ecaus e I’ ll st a rt t ra ining for t he f ight in ea rly Ja nua ry,” Jos hua s a id. “I wa nt to get t he f ight p encilled in a s s o on a s p oss ible, t his s ide of C hrist m a s s o I know what I’m do ing next yea r.”

The guys at On The Loan ask whether football can be enjoyed on student budget James Gill Head Sport Editor Welcome to a brand-new add ition to The Mancunion .

On the L oan is not ju st a bout g iving you a m atch re p or t , but a rev iew of the whole expe r ie nce from d iffe re nt tea ms in the North-We st. It ta ke s the we a lthy world of fo ot ba ll and asks, can it be e nj oye d on a stude nt budge t?

We st art with Manche ste r Un ite d Wome n agai n st S he ffield Un ited Wome n .

The Match : Manche ste r Un ite d Wome n we re play i ng thei r first home league ga me in 13 ye a rs, h aving b e e n di sba nded in 2005 in orde r for the clu b to foc u s on the i r youth s et-u p. H av ing won the ir first ga me in the Wome n’s C ha mpion sh ip a re s ound ing 12-0 away at Aston Villa , we were exp ecting big th ing s from a s ide with a you ng and promi sing squ ad .

Alex Greenward, the for me r L ive rpool playe r now tu rned Manche ste r Un ite d capta in , s a id in he r programme note s th at the ta rge t of the clu b th is ye ar wa s to retu rn to top d ivis ion h aving re -e nte re d in t he lowe st ( s econd ) div ision . Give n the ir pe r form a nce on Thursd ay n ight, th is am bition doe s not look pa r tic u larly cha l lenging to ach ieve. With E ng la nd lege nd C a s ey S toney watch ing on as the new Un ite d m a n age r, t hey s e t to work again st She ffie ld Un ite d on a we t Thu rs d ay eve ni ng.

After twelve comforta ble m inute s, L au re n Ja me s wa s brought down in the a re a , a nd Katie Z e le m co oly converted the p en alty. L ate r, She ffie ld force d a ra re, but exce ption al, save f rom ve te ra n ke e pe r C h a m be rl ai n .

Ha ns on, however, ru ine d a ny ch a nce of a n e q u a l i s e r for S he ffield by adding Un ite d’s s e cond , c utting in f rom

w ide and c u rl i ng an e f for t ove r Ho b b s i n t he Sheffield ne t .

If t he f i rst h al f Photo: On the Loan proved how dominant Un ite d cou ld b e, t he s e cond h al f h ad u s st aple t hem dow n as t it le favou r ite s, w it h L au re n Jame s — just s i xte e n ye ars old — pu l l i ng t he st r i ng s i n t he m id f ield and pl ay i ng b ot h at t ack i ng and de fe n s ive role s, such was t he sp ace op e n to he r. S he w i l l b e a com m and i ng i n f lue nce whe reve r t h i s exc it i ng Un ite d te am e nd up.

S u b st it ute L i z z ie A r not w rapp e d u p t he p o i nt s w it h a t ap - i n m idway t h roug h t he s e cond h al f. A com for t able 3 - 0 w i n con f i r me d Un ite d re m ai n top of t he t able.

T he Com mute : T h i s i s t he are a whe re M anche ste r Un ite d Wome n m ay st r ug g le gai n i ng st ude nt su pp or t . T hey pl ay t he i r home m atche s at L e ig h S p or t s Vi l l age, whe re bu s e s are more f re q ue nt to Wigan , rat he r t h an M anche ste r. To ge t t here f rom Fal low f ie ld we h ad to d r ive an hou r and a h a lf, and alt houg h we h ave t rave l le d f u r t he r for m atche s, t he M anche ste r r u s h hou r t raf f ic was i n f u r i at i ng . T hat t raf f ic i s m ade u n avo id able g ive n t h at t he game s k ick of f at 19: 00.

T he re are a lot of more lo cal game s t h at we w i l l cover i n t he com i ng we e ks and mont h s, but we re com me nd go i ng to watch M anche ste r Un ite d Wome n i f you h ave a car, not le ast b e cau s e of t he exce l le nt pr ice.

T he Cost :

The rea s on we st a rted On the L oan wa s to f ind fo ot b a ll to watch w it hout hav ing to go over our st udent budget .

Ma nche ster United Women of fer excellent va lue for money. A £ 5 t icket w it h a f ree progra m me — a lt hough t hat m ay have b een due to it b eing t heir f irst home league ga me — m a ke s t his one of t he cheap er tea m s to at tend in t he lo ca l a rea .

I w ill adm it t hat On the L oan ha s caus ed my pie int a ke to ris e ex p onent ia lly a nd, w it h no meat a nd p ot ato ava ila ble, I re s orted to t he chee s e a nd onion. What surpris ed me a b out t his wa s t hat it didn’t t a ste like sick in a p a st ry, but act ua lly q uite nice. The pie a nd a Pep s i s et me b ack £4 . 30, a nd I a ls o had to prov ide a few q uid for p et rol.

Overa ll, a night at t he fo ot b a ll cost me £12. 30, which in t he mo dern age, is ext remely rea s ona ble, e sp ecia lly a s you a re s eeing one of t he b e st up a nd com ing tea m s in E nglish Women’s fo ot b a ll.

S core: 8 . 5/10 - We ca n’t f ind a ny fault in t he cost , but we did get ra ined on a fa ir bit a nd t he s econd ha lf wa s a bit f lat w it h United lo oking s o com fort a ble.

O n t he L o a n ca n a ls o b e found on Inst agra m , @ ont helo a n for more fo ot b a ll ex p erience s b ot h in t he UK a nd a bro ad.

Interview: James Richardson

Photo: Emery PR

Sport Editor James Gill talks to the iconic host of Football Italia about the show and whether ex-pros or experts are better for analysis games James Gill Head Sport Editor Ja me s Rich ard s on is a footba ll broadca ste r, podcast host , and jou rn alist who spe c ia lis e s in Ita lia n le ag ue S e rie A. H is love for a ll th ing s Ita lia n wa s spa rke d by a gi rl he met in Rome, 199 0, wh ich re su lte d in h im le a r n i ng the l a ngu age and the le ag ue. T h at g irl sta rte d a ch a i n of eve nt s u ltimately cre ating one of the g re ate st foot b al l shows of all time, Ch a n ne l 4’s Footba ll Ita lia .

2 6 years after it debute d , Footba ll Ita lia still hold s a pl ace in the hearts of thos e who watche d it eve ry we e k . “ There were a u n ique com bin ation of c irc u m sta nce s i n the e arly 90’s th at cau s e d it to be succe s s fu l a nd t he bigge st factor of them a ll wa s Pau l Ga s coig ne. Eve ryone wa s de sp erate to s ee j u st how he wou ld ge t on in It aly. ” S ays Rich ards on .

“O n one h and, b ecau s e it wa s the big ge st te st a n E ng l i s h fo ot baller cou ld h ave at the time a nd s e cond ly be cau s e he hadn’ t played anywhe re in 18 month s. ” Ga s co ig ne mi ss e d the entire 19 9 1/92 s e a s on a fte r su ffe r ing a ruptured cruciate liga me nt in h is rig ht k ne e wh i le

“The staple of English pundits that float around don’t really have any expertise to bring to it” pl ayi ng for Totten h a m Hotspu r. Du r ing h is re cove r y, there was a med ia circ u s a bout whe the r he wou ld s ig n for Italian clu b L az io or not, wh ich he eve ntu a lly d id for £ 5. 5 million . “ We were all really i nte re ste d to s e e how he wou ld do, whether he was still Ga z z a . S o you h ave th at a nd t he fact t hat it was e ss entia lly the on ly footba ll th at wa s on TV becau s e Sky h ad ju st ta ke n the E ng lis h First Divi s ion away.” “ It was als o in Italy whe re we h ad j u st h ad a re al ly succe ssf u l World Cu p with Ita lia 9 0. The re wa s a g re at vi be arou nd thos e stad iu m s, thos e s a me g rou nd s whe re we had s een the World C u p ta ke place. A ll the big st ars of that World Cu p we re still playing the re. It fe lt a lmost l i ke a window into anothe r world of footba ll. ” “ You wou ld n’ t h ave thos e th ing s now, not le ast

b e cau s e eve r yone’s s che du le i s s at u rate d by fo ot b a ll.”

T h at ce r t ai n ly i s one of t he d i f f ic u lt ie s for t he mo dern fo ot b al l fan , a we alt h of opt ion s and l i m ite d t i me m ake s it d i f f ic u lt to k now wh at to watch . “I t h i n k ce r t ai nly for Fo ot b al l It al i a, do i ng a prop e r h ig h l ig ht s s how wit h context of who t he s e pl aye rs are and wh at t he s e game s me an i s s ome t h i ng t h at we re al ly don’ t s e e al l t h at much of on T V [ nowad ays ] .”

“We don’ t ge t a prop e r S p an i s h s how or a prop e r It al i a n s how. We we re do i ng s ome t h i ng along t hos e l i ne s on BT w it h t he Eu rop e an Fo ot b al l S how b e fore it wa s cance l le d , but t he re w i l l always b e a pl ace for a s how l i ke Fo ot b al l It al i a. ” Nowad ays you can f i nd R ich ard s on on BT S p or t ’s Ch ampion s L e ag ue G o al s S how. Hoste d on BT S p or t 1 it h as a p ane l of ex p e r t s, one for e ach of t he top Eu rop ea n le ag ue s, who watch al l t he n ig ht ’s game s g iv i ng opi n ions and an alys i s on t he ac t ion as it h app e n s. T he most at t rac t ive asp e c t of t he s how i s t h at eve r y go al i s s how n, al low i ng t he v iewe r to h ave a rou nde d k nowle dge of the we e k ’s ac t ion .

H av i ng a p ane l of ex p e r t s rat he r t h an pu nd it s wa s s ome t h i ng R ich ard s on was ad am ant ab out f rom t he out s e t . “W h i l st a for me r pro can g ive you a u n iq ue i n s ig ht on how to pl ay t he game, whe n you’ re de al i ng w it h fore ig n m atche s t he re i s no p o i nt i n h av i ng s ome one w it h on ly a c u rs or y k nowle dge, or s ome one who ha s ju st re ad s ome re s e arch note s i nto a f i xt u re. T hey won’t b e able to g ive you any t h i ng b eyond t r u i s m s, whe rea s an ex p e r t or jou r n al i st w i l l b e able to re al ly br i ng you i n for m at ion t h at you wou ld n’ t ot he r w i s e ge t . ” “Un le s s t he pu nd it i s s ome one who h as m ay b e pl ayed at t h at clu b te n ye ars b e fore, most of t he t i me you’ ll b e g iv i ng t he m more i n for m at ion t h an t hey are g iv i ng you , wh ich i s not re al ly t he r ig ht dy n am ic for pregame or p ost game an alys i s. I’ m re al ly a st rong b e l ieve r t hat pu nd it s can b e ex-pl aye rs, on ly ex-pl aye rs can k now wh at it ’s l i ke to b e on t he pitch , but e q u al ly, i n te r m s of su m m i ng u p a game it ’s not l i ke t hey are t he on ly one who can do it .”

“If you we re to buy a newsp ap e r and al l t he m atch re p or t s we re w r it te n by ex-pros, I don’ t k now how much f u n t h at wou ld b e. We t r u st jou r n al i st s to do t he jo b of re p or t i ng and an alys i ng i n pr i nt and i n ot he r for m s of me d i a s o why pu nd it r y s hou ld on ly b e t he prov i nce of for me r pl aye rs i s s ome t h i ng t h at I’ m not cle ar on .”

“I g ue s s t h at ’s ju st t he way it ’s always b e e n done but p ar t ic u l arly as I s ay w it h fore ig n m atche s, t he st aple of E ng l i s h pu nd it s t h at f lo at arou nd don’ t re al ly h ave any

ex p ert is e to bring to it . It m ade tot a l s ens e to us e p eople t hat act ua lly know a nd underst a nd what t he s e ga me s a re a nd BT wa s completely on b o a rd w it h t hat .”

Wit h t he re sult s of t he s how b eing s o p os it ive t here have b een ca lls to int ro duce ex p ert s a nd j ourna list s to ot her progra m s such a s Match of t he Day. “I t hink everyone in t he count ry ha s a v iew on what t hey would do if t hey were in cha rge of it a nd it ’s dif f icult b ecaus e it kind of b elongs to everyone.”

“E q ua lly it ’s ext remely dif f icult to plot a n editoria l cours e t hat ’s go ing to up s et t he lea st a mount of p eople, but I do t hink you could do t hat more w it h shows like t hat . It is a s how t hat , in a s much a s t hey t ry a nd do ot her t hings, ha s a lot of t hings t hey haven’t t ried to do yet .”

Anot her p otent ia l opp ort unity is for Match of t he Day, highlight ty p e, s hows of dif ferent Europ ea n league s. “I t hink one of t he is sue s is a n audience for t hat b ecaus e t hings a re get t ing increa s ingly f ragmented. Sky did have t he right s for L a L iga a nd t hen t hey, for whatever rea s on, decided it wa s n’t a v ia ble t hing. BT got rid of t he Europ ea n Fo ot b a ll Show a nd I gue s s [t he] audience wa s pro b a bly a signif ica nt rea s on for t hat .”

“I t hink now t hat everyone watche s telev ision on dem a nd it mea ns t hat p eople ca n catch up whenever t hey wa nt . S o I a b s olutely t hink t here is ro om for a highlight s s how for t hings like t he It a lia n a nd Sp a nish league s. Everyone love s to s ee It a lia n or Sp a nis h go a ls but most p eople would st ruggle to f ind 90 m inute s of t heir Sat urday or Sunday night to s it dow n a nd watch two foreign tea m s in a league which t hey m ight not have to o much skin in t hem s elve s.”

“A prop erly put toget her a nd ex pla ined highlight s show t hough is a lways s omet hing t hat w ill b e p opula r, p erhap s even more s o t ha n t he live ga me s.”

Wit h BBC , BT Sp ort , Sky, a nd now E leven Sp ort s ow ning right s to dif ferent league s it is b ecom ing increa singly dif f icult , a nd ex p ens ive, to keep up to date w it h what ’s go ing on rega rdle s s of t he form at . “You need t hree sub s cript ions now to watch t he bigge st league s. I t hink it must b e rea lly ha rd for t he average v iewer. It cost s me a fort une but t hen it ’s kind of what I do a ny way.” “ Then aga in if you go b ack 20 or 30 yea rs no b o dy rea lly ex p ected to b e a ble to watch a ll of t he s e t hings on TV. We had a brie f p erio d in which suddenly t here wa s every t hing a ll over t he place a nd now we a re revert ing to a n era in which you m ay b e sp ecia lis e in one league.

There’s no q ue st ion a b out it t hough, it is f rust rat ing for a lot of p eople to not b e a ble to follow t he sp ort t hey love in dif ferent count rie s.”