Issue 5

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16th OCTOBER 2017 / ISSUE 5

‘Terrified’ students rely on Facebook for safety advice Students do not feel that there is enough of a security and police presence in and around South Manchester, a Mancunion investigation has revealed Cameron Broome and Rosa Simonet News Editors

Questioning our curriculums

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Protecting free speech on campus

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Recover fromHealth a heavy World Mental day night

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Students are relying on Facebook groups for information on muggings, burglaries and attacks that are happening across campus, an investigation by The Mancunion has suggested.

The revelation comes after more than 7,500 students signed a petition titled “Greater Manchester Police & Andy Burnham: help us to make Fallowfield safe for students” in response to a recent spree of criminal activity targeting students across South Manchester. One student aptly tells The Mancunion: “I am terrified of being attacked — whether mugged or sexually assaulted — whenever I walk around Fallowfield.”

133 criminal acts were reported in August 2017 alone, including 15 burglaries, three robberies, six personal thefts and 29 reports of violence and sexual offences.

The number of incidents is believed to have risen since students arrived back in Manchester from September, and official figures may underestimate the extent of crime taking place with one student telling The Mancunion: “I didn’t report it to the police because what’s the point?” following a burglary.

Speaking to The Mancunion, University of Manchester student Matthew Harvison, creator of the widely signed petition, said: “I thought it was important to finally raise some sort of awareness of the daily issues facing students living in and around the Fallowfield area.

“Burglaries, muggings, sexual assault and other violent crime are all real issues happening regularly within Fallowfield, however since the start of the latest academic year, there has been

an influx of house burglaries. Some action needs to be taken.”

Alluding to where they find the latest news about these incidents, one student told The Mancunion that “if we miss a Facebook post, we’ve missed a vital bit of news”, adding that they “find it baffling that we have to rely on updates on the Fallow buy/sell page to find out when and where burglaries and stabbings are taking place.”

This was echoed by a fellow student who said that “on a daily basis, we see reports on Facebook of muggings, burglaries and sexual assaults,” with another student commenting on the “constant flow of horror stories on

Fallowfield [Facebook] Students Group.”

Despite campaigns such as ‘Reclaim The Night’, another revelation from the investigation was that female students feel, in particular, feel vulnerable at present in South Manchester.

“As a female, I feel particularly vulnerable at night in Fallowfield,” said one student said, while another described a “terrifying” experience in which she was approached by a man that told her that “a girl like you shouldn’t be walking around on her own.”

Students’ Union Communities Officer, Jack Houghton, said the Student Officer team take “the safety of our students very seriously” but accepted that “a lot of the time students don’t know about the schemes” provided by the Students’ Union.

Despite having a “fantastic communications team”, Jack said that the Students’ Union needed to be “further modernised” and “brought more into the 21st Century”, suggesting that an “online advertisement campaign” could help raise awareness of available student support services.

Jack told The Mancunion that the Student Officer team are working with “strategic analysts” who will “offer advice on how to make the most effective content”, including “utilising video content.”

Jack was clear that despite the apparent recent spike in criminal activity, the Student Officer team “don’t want to rush into a decision” on longterm initiatives for improving student safety, adding that scheme has to be “very thought out” so they “don’t cause issues down the line.”

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Despite this, in the short-term, the Students’ Union is “working on a number of initiatives to help students feel more secure” Jack said, including “increasing the number of street lights in Fallowfield, Withington, Rusholme and other areas” adding that “all new lights will all be LED so are brighter and therefore offer more protection from dark streets.”

Jack is also working to establish “a ‘Night Owl’ scheme consisting of student volunteers that will be trained in first aid, safeguarding, well-being training and selfdefence to safeguard vulnerable people”.

He hopes this will “demonstrate that we do not need G4S” in and around South Manchester, which he said was “not needed” but indicated that the “University is difficult to budge” on that particular matter.

Matt Harvison told The Mancunion he wasn’t well acquainted with the G4S,” “in fact I didn’t even know this was a thing until people posted it on the Facebook discussion.”

“I can only think these guards are patrolling the university-owned halls and accommodation, not on the dark roads that many of Fallowfield’s students live down.”

In The Mancunion’s investigation, students were also particularly critical of

the current security and police presence in and around South Manchester.

One anonymous student said “it is ridiculous that the university and police care so much about shutting down house parties yet won’t put police on the streets”, said one student, echoed by another student who called for security and police in the area to “stop targeting house parties and start focusing on making people feel safe.”

Akin to the security services provided

by G4S, Jack conceded that “some level of mediation” was needed between students and community residents but believes his proposed ‘Night Owl’ scheme will help improve relationships within the community whilst simultaneously also “caring for students.”

In response to the petition, Greater Manchester Police said: “Our officers on Division work closely with our partners at the university, Manchester Student Homes and the city council to ensure students are able to enjoy the city without fear.

“As part of our student safe operation we have increased our patrols in and around the campus area and this will be in place throughout term time and beyond.”

They have also advised students to follow “some simple steps such as being discrete when using mobile phones in

public, locking windows and doors at the front and back of properties as well as keeping valuables out of sight in and out of the home”.

The University said: “The University’s first concern is with the safety of students.

We work closely alongside to the Students’ Union to raise concerns with the police and Manchester City Council at regular meetings and the police have invested additional resource through Operation Student Safe. This year, as part of the Manchester Student Homes partnership, which is a jointly funded department of The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, we have already visited more than 350 student properties in Fallowfield to provide advice on safety and security.”

“We have reached hundreds of more students with information on campus and in accommodation during Welcome Week, where we also handed out equipment including light timers and personal alarms. We issue ongoing targeted communications to accredited landlords regarding safety and security.

“Students should report all crimes to the police and any student who needs support should contact the Students’ Union or the University’s support services.”

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Photo: Rosa Simonet

Our kid Liam is back

Antwerp Mansion forced to reduce capacity

Ticket holders to Antwerp Mansion’s Regression Sessions event on Saturday night had their tickets revoked last minute due to fire hazards

Photo: Antwerp Mansion

Will Phillips News Reporter The Manchester Fire Brigade forced Antwerp Mansion to temporarily reduce its capacity last week for an event hosted by Regression Sessions.

Regression Sessions issued a statement and apology on Facebook to those who had purchased tickets for the ‘Space Safari’ event via Skiddle: “Due to an order set by the Manchester fire brigade the capacity at Antwerp Mansion has been temporarily reduced. We were notified about this only today.”

As compensation, Skiddle ticket holders are to have their costs refunded and will be given free tickets to Regression Sessions’ Halloween event at the O2 Ritz Manchester.

Since the decision, Antwerp Mansion have yet to release a statement on Facebook or Twitter but did speak to The Tab Manchester. Referring to the decision, a representative for the venue said: “Unfortunately this is correct and we have had to reduce our capacity by around 15 per cent. We are extremely sorry that this will disappoint some people

who would have wanted to attend our events this week, especially Regression Sessions [on Saturday night].

“This has happened very suddenly and although we have been working hard with the authorities in the last 48 hours the problem was not able to be solved in time, although a solution has now been agreed.

“We absolutely will resolve the problem next week as we have been working very closely with the authorities to deal with the issue they raised. This is only a temporary problem.”

Capacity problems persisted at the event, with attendees taking to social media to voice their complaints as the club reportedly introduced a one-in-one out policy for the night.

Temporary restrictions have continued since the event, with MotherFunkers having to limit ticket sales for its event on the 12th of October in accordance with the reduced capacity.

As of yet there has been no further information for when and if the temporary restriction will be lifted.

Volunteering opportunities for students to be showcased at fair “Employers value student volunteering because they look for rounded graduates”, Head of Careers Service said ahead of Volunteering and Social Justice Fair Cameron Broome Head News Editor The University is hosting its annual Volunteering and Social Justice Fair on Tuesday the 17th of October in Academy one.

Open from 11AM to 3PM, the fair is an opportunity for students to talk to a diverse range of charities and not-forprofit organisations and find volunteering opportunities to get involved with during your time at university.

One of the charities at the event will be Barnabus who work to improve the lives of people with experience of rough sleeping and homelessness. The charity have a dropin centre, shop, allotment and furniture upcycling project.

Given the visibility of homelessness in and around Manchester, Barnabus volunteering opportunities are likely to be of interest to many students passionate about social justice, however up to 100 different volunteering organisations will be at the fair from a wide range of sectors including health, environment, sport, culture and social inclusion.

Games p15 Image: University of Manchester

How quickly do you finish your games?

In relation to the event, Tammy Goldfeld, Head of the Careers Service, said: “We strongly encourage all our students to attend this important event. It may not strictly be a careers fair, but by taking part, our students will boost their career prospects.

“Employers value student volunteering because they look for rounded graduates who have developed a range of skills outside of their degrees. Also, many companies place high importance on social responsibility and seek graduates who are socially and communityminded.”

The fair will also present the new Social Justice Challenge, the second strand of the University’s Ethical Grand Challenges programme.

Second year undergraduates can take part in the Social Justice Challenge which launches on the 17th of October and will be delivered via Blackboard.

This online Challenge explores four themes from a social justice perspective; Higher Education, Mental Health, Trade and Energy, and is the second step towards achieving the Manchester Leadership Award.

Music event to raise money for anti-trafficking society

“Help us fight exploitation while having a good night!” said president of the Students Against Human Trafficking society ahead of upcoming musical fundraiser

Apologies Contact us Editor-in-Chief: Kirstie O’Mahony editor@mancunion.com Deputy Editor: Tristan Parsons deputyed@mancunion.com

Fashion p17 Bratz Dolls: a blast from the past or a fasion icon?

Head News Editor: Cameron Broome Deputy News Editor: Rosa Simonet Deputy News Editor: Amy Wei E: news@mancunion.com Science & Technology Editor: Kieran O’Brien E: science@mancunion.com Features Head Editor: Catherine Bray Deputy Editor: Raine Beckford E: features@mancunion.com Head Opinion Editor: Sam Glover

Last week, The Mancuniuon ran an article called “George Osborne makes a quiet first visit to Manchester” that wrongly attributed a quote to General Secretary Alex Tayler.

Deputy Opinion Editor: Jacklin Kwan E: opinion@mancunion.com @MancunionOp Head Film Editor: Eloise Wright Deputy Film Editor: Jamie McEvoy E: film@mancunion.com @MancunionFilm Fashion Head Editor: Talia Lee-Skudder Deputy Editors: Amy Nguyen and Sophie Alexandra-Walsh E: fashion@mancunion.com @MancunionFash Head Music Editor: Hannah Brierley Deputy Music Editor: Yasmin Duggal E: music@mancunion.com @MancunionMusic Books Editor: Ayesha Hussain E: books@mancunion.com

The quote in question was actually said by by Campaigns Officer Deej Malik Johnson.

The Mancunion would like to apologise for any confusion caused.

@MancunionBooks Games Editor: Jeremy Bijl E: games@mancunion.com Food & Drink Head Editor: Anokhi Shah Deputy Editor: Daisy Tolcher E: foodanddrink@mancunion.com Arts Editor: Cicely Ryder-Belson E: arts@mancunion.com

Head Sport Editor: Sam Cooper Deputy Sport Editor: Arthur Salisbury E: sports@mancunion.com @mancunion_sport Chief Subeditor: Jack Casey Subeditors: Joal Ansbro, Daniel O’Byrne, Ciara Gartshore, David Cheetham Letters & Complaints: complaints@ mancunion.com Legal: legal@mancunion.com

Theatre Editor: Sophie Graci E: theatre@mancunion.com Head Lifestyle Editor: Sophie Macpherson Deputy Lifestyle Editor: James Johnson E: lifestyle@mancunion.com @MancunionLife

Advertising: Paul Parkes E: paul.parkes@manchester.ac.uk Phone: 0161 275 2942 The Mancunion @themancunion

Cameron Broome Head News Editor The University of Manchester Students Against Human Trafficking society is hosting a live music event to raise money for charity “Stop The Traffik”.

On the 18th of October in Solomons Cafe Bar, Withington, the society will host an event titled “Sing For Freedom” in celebration of National Anti-Slavery day.

Entry is free but raffle tickets will be sold throughout the night and donations will be welcome, raising funds for “Stop The Traffik”, an NGO that works on human trafficking prevention.

Raffle prizes include a £40 restaurant voucher, drinks, a Junkyard golf voucher and other drinks prizes!

Organiser of the event and president of the society, Tor Gosling, said: “There are currently more slaves in the world today than there have been at any point before in global history. Tens of thousands of those slaves are in the UK, being exploited in our home cities and towns.

UoM Students Against Human Trafficking works with two charities, Stop the Traffik and Hope for Justice in the hopes of stopping the slave trade and getting help to its victims.

On Wednesday 18th, we’re having a fundraiser for that goal — we’re hosting a live music event, Sing For Freedom, at Solomon’s bar. With a line-up of five local live music acts and a raffle with prizes such as a £40 Wagamama’s voucher, you can help us fight exploitation while having a good night!”

A guest speaker from “Stop the Traffik” will also attend the event, and live music artists are set be be announced.

Image: Imagens Evangélicas

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UK’s largest meat supplier violates food safety standards The University of Manchester calls for reassessment of the UK’s food system after the

Squatter hell for Salford students

poultry meat company which supplies Aldi and Tesco among others has been found repacking old meat Leah Marlow News Reporter ‘2 Sisters’, the UK’s number one supplier of poultry meat, was outed by an undercover investigation for serious food safety breaches.

Following the investigation into food safety breaches and professional misconduct within a ‘2 Sisters’ poultry factory, the University of Manchester’s European Food Crime Research Group called for a re-examination of the functionality of the whole food system.

Last week, footage was released showing employees of the largest supplier of meat to UK supermarkets failing basic hygiene practices, manipulating food safety dates, repackaging unsold meat and mixing older meat with new.

The Food Standard Agency say its inspectors had previously audited the site as it announces its own investigation on the back of The Guardian’s and ITV’s evidence of potential regulatory breaches at the chicken processor.

Video evidence depicted employees re-labelling the ‘date of kill’ of the poultry meat, potentially to extend the use-by dates of these products on show in supermarkets, thus furthering the value of the product. The ‘2 Sisters’ company supplies over a third of poultry products eaten every day in the UK, and is stocked by major supermarkets including Marks and

Spencer, Aldi, Lidl, and Tesco.

The University of Manchester’s European Food Crime Research Group expressed little surprise at the nature of the malpractice. This comes from the investigative findings for the Economic and Social Research Council’s “Understanding the Challenges of the Food Supply System,” which argues there are structural problems within the food market. This allows unethical and unhygienic practices to become commonplace in routine food processing, production, and distribution procedures.

With profit being the main motivation of food processing for many supermarkets, some of which struggle to compete within the highly competitive food market, it is clear hygiene practices are being compromised.

Given the extortionate amount of food fraud incidents, it seems unethical behaviours can be easily concealed behind usual business practices. This indicates a large-scale problem within the food system.

The Food Crime Research Group emphasised that it would be a mistake to individualise the ‘2 Sisters’ company as solely responsible for committing such ethical malpractices. Such attacks on individual companies and suppliers defer from the main issue of the flawed food system itself, which lends itself to fraudulent practices becoming normalised in the pressured environment of the current market.

Image: Sam HOney???

Sam Honey News reporter

Image: EU2017EE @ Flickr

University launches interactive tree trail “People have a very personal relationship with the trees that they see each day” said Urban Green Managing Director as University launches tree trail

A group of students in Salford have been forced to share their home with a squatter in a nightmare housing dilemma.

The close-knit group of friends had received confirmation that three tenants would be staying in their Mildred street property over the summer, however, plans were complicated when one male tenant refused to vacate the property.

The man, who has been described as “very defensive” was first noticed by students who were moving back into the property at the start of September.

The individual has declined to pay rent, yet remains in the house, seemingly indefinitely.

The ordeal has meant a second year International Business student has been unable to move in and is now resigned to living at home in Eccles.

Although the student’s rent has been waived, the group of friends are understandably frustrated at being split up.

One of the flatmates’ told The Tab,“I just think it’s disgusting. He

Image: University of Manchester

Voting opens on the 24th October Kirstie O’Mahony Editor-in-Chief Students at the University of Manchester have until Wednesday 18th October to stand to be representatives of their Union.

The Students’ Union has a range of Student Officer roles which filled by a cross-campus election each October. They offer training, for the role and support and advice throughout the year. You will also receive resources to aid you in fulfilling your duties as an officer.

The officer positions are broken down into teams. They are Liberation, Faculty,

Student COmmunity and Other. Within those categories there are lots of roles students can apply for, such as Black Minority Ethnic (BME) Officer, Humanities Undergraduate Officer, Fallowfield and Withington Officer and Working Class Students’ Officer.

To stand, students will need to go to the Students’ Union website and search student officer elections. There they will find full role descriptions, as well as a form where they can upload their manifesto and create a slogan for your campaign.

Voting will open on the 24th October.

Cameron Broome Head News Editor The University of Manchester has launched a new interactive Tree Trail encouraging people to learn more about trees across campus.

The trail has been designed as a web-based app which can be used on smartphones, and participants are encouraged to take their own tree photos and share their comments via Instagram; each tree has its own hashtag to make identification easier and there is a dedicated Instagram account (@UoMSust).

Led by the University’s Environmental Sustainability team, three distinct trails have been developed that highlight 50 of the 1,500 trees across Oxford Road Campus, North Campus and Whitworth Park..

Julia Durkan, University Sustainable Campus Officer at The University of Manchester said: “Trees are important for nature, the environment and our health and wellbeing but are often overlooked.

“We wanted a Tree Trail that would engage and connect with staff, students and the local community and believe the innovative use of smartphones and social media will help us appeal to a much wider audience.”

The aim of the project is to encourage students, staff and the local community to discover the “physical and mental health benefits associated with nature and the outdoors” and learn more about trees.

Working with Urban Green and

City of Trees, the Tree Trail has been developed by the University’s Environmental Sustainability team as part of the University’s Living Campus Plan.

Scott Fitzgerald, Managing Director at Urban Green, said: “People have a very personal relationship with the trees that they see each day. We want people to use the Tree Trail to feel a sense of ownership — the trees on campus are ‘their trees’ and we look forward to seeing the Tree Trail grow as people share their own photography and comments.

“We hope the Tree Trail is both educational but also helps foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of some of Manchester’s many amazing trees.”

knows full well that the five of us all found the house to live together as a five.”

Due to the current terms of the law, the man cannot be pressured to leave at any time, despite the possibility of a 6-month prison sentence.

There have been consistent calls to modify what many see as inconsistent and ineffective laws on squatting rights.

The group have reported the issue to their lettings agents, but in the meantime cannot hope to have any influence over the man himself, who remains in their home.

As reported in The Tab, the group of friends attempted to question him over his situation but said he began shouting and behaving in a defensive manner.

The risk of squatting is a worry for many students moving into housing for the first time, especially in Manchester, where the presence of three universities sees an annual rush for houses, usually beginning as early as November.

And finding alternative arrangements is increasingly difficult, with a scarcity of options available - especially as renting in a group is fundamental to finding affordable accommodation options.

Burnham announces £1.8 million homelessness plan The City Council is investing £1.8 million in “real solutions” for the city’s homeless as fire stations and hostels open their doors to rough sleepers Cliona Linehan News reporter

Last chance to stand in the student officer elections

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The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has this week announced a £1.8 million investment to develop a wide range of measures to address the many people sleeping rough on the streets of Greater Manchester.

The £1.8 million investment, one of eight social impact bonds (SIBs) approved by the government, is planned to augment services helping people find and keep homes and deal with addiction and mental health.

In addition to these services, all 41 fire departments across Greater Manchester will work with the GMCA and the local community to provide food and sleeping assistance in the evenings, a welcome idea with winter fast approaching.

According to statistics from the charity Shelter, an estimated 189 people were sleeping rough in Greater Manchester between June and December of 2016, and an estimated 4428 people were homeless, a figure 30 percent higher than the previous year. Despite these challenging statistics, Mayor Andy Burnham remained determined in his goal to end rough sleeping in Greater Manchester by 2020.

“This new money will provide real solutions to help people to get off the streets and find warmth, safety and a better life with work,” Burnham explained in a public statement.

Alongside the development of services available to the homeless community in Greater Manchester, the Greater Manchester Reform Board joined in Mayor Andy B u r n h a m’s calls to the government to halt the n e w

Photo: Mussi Katz@Flickr

Universal Credit benefits scheme.

“This is not a political point,” Burnham claimed, adding that “If [Universal Credit] goes ahead as planned we will see a much greater problem unfold in front of our eyes.”

Under the new Universal Credit benefit scheme, 18-21 year olds will no longer get housing benefits unless they can prove that they meet an exemption, an additional criticism to the minimum 42 day wait for the first payment to reach claimants. Students in the Fallowfield area expressed their concerns over the new benefit situation.

One student told The Mancunion, “Well with everything getting more expensive, rents are just going to become more and more impossible to afford, so the homelessness problems in Manchester are only going to get worse.”

The efforts to help the homeless was bolstered this week as the ‘Stop, Start, Go’ homeless hostel opened in Cheetham Hill. The hostel currently has 12 beds, which will soon rise to 15, providing medium-term accommodation alongside giving support to people trying to return to education and find somewhere more permanent to stay. Hostel resident Mohammed Abdulkarim said: “Since coming to SSG, I have started college and sorted out my health […] my future looks good now.”

Mayor Andy Burnham is still committing 15% of his salary to his Homelessness Fund. He said in a public statement that “there is still a huge challenge in front of us. There is good work already being done […] We always have to challenge ourselves to go further.”

The new service is expected to reach the streets of Greater Manchester by the end of October, helping people sleeping rough through the critical winter months.

Manchester International Festival enjoys record-breaking success

Biennial festival brings more money into local economy than ever before

Max Brimelow News reporter This year Manchester’s biennial International Festival enjoyed success as the 18-day event brought a record-breaking £40.2 million into the local economy, up from just under £39 million at its last outing in 2015.

The 2017 event was seen by bigger audiences than ever before with over 300,000 spectators attending the festival, which featured over 380 performances of 32 different commissions and special events.

This year was the sixth edition of MIF since it was first established in 2007, and the first under its new artistic director John McGrath. It included a more productions than ever before and an increased amount of free events, which is thought to have been a major contributor in drawing its largest ever crowds.

Perhaps most gratifying of all for the festival’s organisers was the unparalleled level of engagement from the local community, as Manchester’s residents pitched in to help cement the event’s status as fundamentally rooted in its Mancunian setting.

The festival opened with a celebration of Manchester, with over 100 residents invited to walk a huge catwalk in Piccadilly Gardens. Local engagement in MIF productions grew dramatically this year, with over 28,000 hours logged, a three-fold increase on 2015. Programmes such as Jerwood Fellows and Creative50 helped emerging Manchester artists stake a real claim in this year’s event.

Working with 68 different education partners, more than 4000 people also participated in the Festival’s Creative Learning programme, which was expanded significantly.

John McGrath, Artistic Director and CEO of MIF recognised the city’s central role in the event’s success: “Everyone has spoken of how special Manchester felt… This engagement with place and local stories was often cited by our international visitors most as one of the things they most appreciated about MIF17.”

Whilst the festival is firmly embedded in Manchester, it remains a truly international celebration. Artists came from a wide array of nations, from China to Iceland to Germany. At least 11 of the shows featured at MIF will go on tour to destinations as far-flung as Sydney, Vienna and Hong Kong.

The festival’s international reputation as an incubator for new, up and coming emerging talent continues to grow – part of this year’s success was the significantly stronger online imprint it made. Digital engagement with creative content from the MIF reached 1.5 million people around the world.

Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, was buoyed with the festival’s success. “Manchester takes centre-stage at the heart of a cultural revolution that will be unrivalled in the UK and beyond.”

“The maths alone confirms our belief that cities need culture, as much as culture needs cities like ours that continue to support, nurture, and positively embrace all that the arts have to offer.” After a fantastic year in 2017, Mancunions can be very excited about the festival’s next outing, which takes place from 4 – 21 July 2019.

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Finally free from freshers’ flu?

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UoM academic news this week...

The important and interesting stories from the university this week.

New advances in science bring the prospect of curing the common cold more closer than ever, explains Aliya Ismangil.

Aliya Ismangil Science & Technology Reporter We’ve probably all experienced a cold, if not once then multiple times in our lives — and catching one often feels more likely while at university. On average, adults suffer two to four colds every year, while for children it can be as frequent as 10 per year.

In the UK, we spend about £300 million each year on cold remedies and treatments, despite many of the medicines having little evidence to prove their efficacy.

The problem with treatment lies in the fact that there is no one culprit. Today, scientists recognise seven main strands of virus responsible for colds: rhinovirus, coronavirus, influenza and parainfluenza viruses, adenovirus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and metapneumovirus.

Each of these has serotypes, a sub-virus, of which there are 200 in total. When you consider that, it’s not hard to see the difficulty in protecting against all of them.

Scientists are currently focusing their effort on the rhinovirus. Although the smallest in size, it causes up to 75 per cent of cases of colds in adults.

Failure to find a cure for the common cold is not for lack of trying. The first attempt at isolating a vaccine was in the 1950s, using Louis Pasteur’s method of injecting a small amount of the virus to induce an immunological response, and therefore immunity to further infection. But those who had been vaccinated were just as likely to catch a cold than those who had not. And for a while, science seemed to have given up on trying; the last clinical trial on humans was in 1975.

This was until last year, when Sebastian Johnston, of Imperial College London, co-authored an editorial in the Expert Review of Vaccines that claimed: “New developments suggest that it may be feasible to generate a significant breadth of immune protection.” Johnston says, “the data is limited, but it’s encouraging.”

In 2003, teamed up with Jeffrey Almond, professor of virology at Reading University, he argued that making a vaccine for all 160 serotypes of rhinovirus isn’t necessary.

All rhinoviruses are essentially the same internally; what changes is the outer shell. When comparing the genetic makeup of rhinovirus, Johnston and Almond found a specific protein on the virus shell that was common across many serotypes of the virus. They injected a vaccine made up of rhinovirus serotype number 16 into mice. They then tested the immunological response against serotypes 1, 14 and 29.

The results were promising, as white blood cells in the mice responded to all three strains.

Photo: CSIRO @Wikimedia

What’s interesting is that number 14 and 29 are not genetically similar to number 16 in the original vaccine. Science, it seems, has never been closer.

The biggest barrier now is funding. The resources needed for this research are too much for most universities to fund — this means looking to the pharmaceutical companies. But as a big profitable pharmaceutical company, you’re unlikely to want to invest in a product that customers buy once, instead of the cold symptom remedies that fly off the shelves every year.

Almond, however, makes the economic case of worker productivity loss. In the UK, nearly a quarter of days taken off work were due to cold-related illness, which amounts to about 34 million.

A US survey found the total cost of the loss of productivity due to being off work for a cold or tending to children who were suffering one was $25 billion (£19 billion) each year.

In August this year, Johnston had just received funding from Apollo Therapeutics, allowing him to test more strains of rhinovirus. Johnston believes that developing a vaccine against roughly 20 different serotypes has a high probability of protecting against all strains of rhinovirus. “At that point, I think we’ll be at a stage where we’ll be able to go to major vaccine companies,” he says.

So we might not be completely free from freshers’ flu yet, but a cure for the common cold no longer seems impossible, and not even too far away.

UoM creates new test that can prevent breast cancer Women with a particular family history of being diagnosed with breast cancer are on track to be able to be tested for breast cancer risks Shivani Kaura Science and Technology Reporter A genetic test, planned to enter clinical practice within the next six months, has been set up at the Manchester University NHS Foundation (MFT).

Women in the 21st century are more likely to be affected by breast cancer than any other type of cancer and having a parent or sibling who has had the disease could make women twice as more likely to suffer from breast cancer too.

Becky Measures, speaking to the University of Manchester, carries the BRCA1 gene mutation. Measures, who had a mastectomy at Wythenshawe Hospital this year, expressed, “When they find that they have the BRCA1/2 gene many women fear that they have to take action immediately. The new test will give women more options and help them to make a more informed decision.”

Researchers at the university have developed a genetic examination which will accurately determine breast cancer risk in women who do not test positive for BRCA1/2 gene mutations.

The BRCA1/2 gene mutation has been found to cause hereditary cancer, however, only around 15 to 20 per cent of the “underlying inherited genetic trigger for the condition” as stated by the university.

The identification of the mutated gene in an individual could lead to scientists being able to refine the breast cancer risk, according to research published in The Journal of Medical Genetics, which has been funded by the NHR and Prevent Breast Cancer programmes.

When trialled on 451 women, the genetic test was found to assess breast cancer risk based on genetic variations – single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in one’s DNA – leading to researchers discovering that mutations of 18 SNPs were an indication of breast cancer risk of women who did not carry the BRCA1/2 mutations in their genes. However, these genes were shown to have minimal effect in isolation, but when integrated could easily increase or decrease breast cancer risk considerably.

The women that were used in the trial were a mixture of those who had a family history of breast cancer and those who did not. It was found that 112 women had the BRCA1/2 mutation which led to comparison of a control group of 1,605 women being examined who were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Out of the 1,605 women, 691 had the BRCA1/2 mutation, suggesting that this information could save millions of lives if the genes are modified.

Photo: Darkostojanovic @ Pixabay

Health Secretary announces more places for student nurses Tabitha Hanks Contributor Earlier this month, at the Conservative party conference, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt revealed new plans to increase the number of nurse training places by 25 per cent. Last week he made a further speech announcing the cap on nurses’ wages would finally be lifted this year, allowing for a rise above the current 1% limit.

The new plans will increase the number of university places for nursing degrees, as well as introducing a new scheme to train nursing associates into registered nurses via a four-year apprenticeship.

These plans represent the biggest increase in nurse training the NHS has ever seen and will bring the total number of new student nurses up to 25,850 in 2018, with 5,000 new places on offer across the UK. The new Nursing associate apprenticeship will take place

“on the job” within the NHS. It will take 4 years to qualify as a registered nurse via this pathway. The apprenticeship will allow trainees to earn as they learn, as well as skipping the £9,250 per year fees of a regular nursing degree. However, the new role of nursing associate was only announced last year and has yet to see any nurses qualify from the two-year training course While Hunt’s new plans may provide a higher volume of staff, many have questioned why the funding of these new training places since NHS nursing bursaries were revoked this year.

Medical and dental student are eligible for NHS bursaries to help with the cost of living and tuition fees, whereas nursing students must rely solely on funding from the student loans company.

A second-year student nurse at the University of Manchester said “I think that it will help with the lack of nurses…[and] the pay cap needed to be lifted.” However, she went on to add “[I] think it’s unfair that someone will eventually be able to have

the same role as me after being in a paid apprenticeship for a few years… whilst I have to do a degree alongside working full time with no wage.”

Hunt recently announced a similar promise to medical students, pledging to increase the numbers of places at medical schools by 25 per cent to 6,500 each year, in order to increase the number of Junior doctors entering the NHS in the wake of Brexit.

The NHS is under a great threat of staff shortages as the UK approaches Brexit in 2019. Over 150,000 staff in the NHS are European. Changes to the freedom of movement of citizens throughout the EU and UK may jeopardise the jobs of many of these workers.

The new plans revealed by the conservatives are an attempt to counteract the anticipated drop in staff numbers and equip the NHS to handle the transition.

new genetic markers in clinical practice within the next six months.

“We are committed to improving cancer prevention through research and, with funding from the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre, we plan to develop new screening strategies and biomarkers for other common cancers, including womb, bowel, ovarian and prostate.”

The study gave evidence that suggested that “women with the BRCA1/2 mutations who currently choose to have a mastectomy could reduce their risk by a third – from 50 to about 36 per cent.”

Prevent Breast Cancer, a programme which worked very closely with the university, did a Predicting Risk of Cancer at Screening SNP study on 10,000 women were 455 went on to develop breast cancer, affirming the results of Professor Gareth Evans’ research.

Lester Barr, chairman of Prevent Breast Cancer has stated that, “With more accurate genetic testing, we can better predict a woman’s risk of developing the disease and therefore offer the appropriate advice and support, rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach.

“It’s so exciting to see this additional test go into clinical practice, as it’s this more tailored method that will help us on our mission to protect future generations from breast cancer.”

The University of Manchester focuses much of its research on cancer preventing development. It uses interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-sector partnerships, as well as using state funds to tackle the disease that millions of people suffer from.

...continued from page 6

Photo: liverpoolhls @Flickr

Researchers predicted an overall risk estimate, using the blood samples of each participant to find their genetic makeup which was then considered alongside other risk factors.

These included: age at first assessment; family history of first and second-degree relatives; age at first child; first period and menopause; height and weight; and history of prior noncancerous disease.

Professor Gareth Evans, speaking to the University said, “This new test will help women at risk of familial breast cancer to make more informed decisions about their care. “BRCA1 and BRCA2 are just part of what we should be looking for when assessing risk and in Manchester we plan to incorporate screening for these

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Features

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BLACK HISTORY MONTH

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BLACK HISTORY MONTH

A Student Life

Interview

Creator of the Fallowfield safety petition Photo: Matt Harvison

Students in Manchester have become the victims of a recent surge in crime, Kizzy Bray meets the UoM student petitioning the police and mayor Andy Burnham to take action for safety in Fallowfield

Photo:

Ignored Histories: Empire in Education with Anindita Ghosh

Continuing our black history month coverage, Ellie Tivey talks to UoM senior lecturer Anindita Ghosh about why history classrooms around the country are severely lacking in education on colonialism and how this affects our understanding of the world Ellie Tivey Contributor Our education system woefully ignores our imperial history, leaving it noticeably absent from our lower school curriculum. This week, I spoke to Dr Anindita Ghosh, senior lecturer of Indian history at the University of Manchester, concerning the absence of central historical periods, such as the British empire, from our history classes. She said: “Ignoring the empire is like ignoring the Norman Conquests or the role of Romans in Britain. It is so very integral to British society and cul-

“By excluding topics such as the Bristish Empire and British slave trade we are perpetrating a sense of “alienation” amongst our growing minority populations” ture,” and she’s right. Yet we are not taught about it.

I’m sure I speak for many of us when I say my lower school history education was practically caked in World War history, smothered with Tudor England and an America-centric view of the Cold War was our dose of ‘diversity’. Our curriculums ignore the fact that we once occupied one of the largest empires in history. Why do we not learn about this pre-GCSE, before studying history becomes a choice? What effect is it having on our society as a whole?

My discussion with Ghosh began with a focus on existing movements that actually are campaigning for this issue. To name just one, ‘Liber8 My Curriculum’ is an organisation that tours students’ unions and universities across the UK raising awareness.

Is this really the best approach we can be taking? As Ghosh rightly states, “it’s a start, but debate by itself is not enough.” As with any soci-

etal and cultural issue, debate and discussion can only get you so far.

“There have to be some proactive steps taken on the part of the government, on the part of institutions.”

One solution she presented was getting more hires in histories of colonialism and slavery, racism and migration in our higher education system. University is where we find our future teachers, members of parliament, people who can change our future for the better. If we get people interested in a more diverse curriculum at a university level, hopefully this will translate into a move from our predominantly White European perspective in education in the future.

Following this, we discussed the effects of our current shambles of a government on the education system. Tory cuts have led British education into a state of what innumerable news outlets have aptly described as a ‘crisis’. There are many problems facing teachers these days; should diversification of the curriculum still be a primary issue?

To which Ghosh replied by saying “yes” about five times in a row. Cuts and hardships to educators are, let’s hope, things that will come and go. Lack of diversification has immeasurable impacts on our society as a whole.

A repeated theme throughout our discussion was how the empire, for all its many, many flaws, provided our culture and our people with a connection to other cultures and peoples that we otherwise would not have had. Ghosh referenced jazz culture and the ‘supermarket samosa’ as prime examples. These things are “so standardized that you don’t think twice about ‘how did this arrive here? What’s the history of it?’” If we expand our education beyond the whitewashed content we are fed now, maybe we will be able to “appreciate this addition of culture and not just gloss over it.”

I followed this up with a rather more hard-hitting question, blunt and to the point: what, in her opinion, is the reason that we don’t discuss these areas of history in education? To which she promptly replied, “collective guilt.” But she went on to say, “I really don’t see why that should act as a block.” Aside from the occasional talk of reparations and compensation, as a whole “the world has moved on.” reluctance” that is “dividing our histories into ‘ours’ and ‘theirs’ [thus] dividing people in our very midst.”

In Manchester alone, the Asian populace is up 14.4 per cent and continues to rise, with Black and Mixed Race residents up 8.6 and 4.7 per cent respectively. “By denying its past”, she says, “Britain continues to deny its present.”

Photo: Anindita Ghosh

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Which led me to my next question: what was her response to the main argument for us keeping imperial education out of our schools: that we should ignore it because to discuss it would be of detriment to our national pride?

She conceded, “it does bite, it does hurt” to face up to our imperial past, “but the historical truth is that modern Britain is a product of empire as much as it is a product of industrialisation.

By owning up, Britain would be growing up and moving on.” And she rightly added, “by that same token, we should also deny the fact that women were not allowed to vote,” or that the Somme was such a disaster, but we don’t. We didn’t even mention the fact that Brexit has already had a suitably damning effect on our national pride, you only had to go to last Sunday’s march to see that.

We need to overcome what An-

indita articulated as the “institutional reluctance” that is “dividing our histories into ‘ours’ and ‘theirs’ [thus] dividing people in our very midst.”

In Manchester alone, the Asian populace is up 14.4 per cent and continues to rise, with Black and Mixed Race residents up 8.6 and 4.7 per cent respectively. “By denying its past”, she says, “Britain continues to deny its present.”

Ghosh rightly addressed the sense of identity and ownership that comes along with historical education: “Everyone wants to own the histories they are taught, everyone wants to have a sense of belonging.” By excluding topics such as the British Empire and British (no, not American) slave trade from our lower school curriculum, we are perpetrating what Ghosh described as a sense of “alienation” amongst our growing minority populations.

To end on a slightly more positive note, Ghosh and I discussed the work that the University of Manchester is doing to tackle this issue. According to Ghosh, UoM has really “taken the lead” amongst the Russell Group community in encouraging diversification. One form this innovation has taken has been the Manchester Access Programme, which supports students from underprivileged and minority backgrounds through university.

My own degree path displays how Manchester is addressing the lack of diversity in education; since starting I have studied two modules about colonial history.

But, as Ghosh says, we need to do more, and “the onus is as much on the majority community to promote integration and partnership as it is the minorities.”

The Creative Space The Creative Space is a monthly profile showcasing the best of the University of Manchester’s original talent. Are you a singer, songwriter, filmmaker or designer? Do you have a poem, short story, play or illustration you’re dying to share?

Send it to us at: features@mancunion.com and we will feature the winner at the end of the month!

Matt Harvison is a third year UoM student studying Fashion Buying and Merchandising with a big fight on his hands.

After a surge in criminal offences in Fallowfield in the last couple of weeks, as previously reported by The Mancunion, Matt took the initiative to start an online petition directed to the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, to make Fallowfield a safer space for the students and the wider community that live there. I talked to Matt to discuss how the petition came about, what it aims to achieve and it’s incredible response from students, families, friends and even the national press At this moment in time, the petition holds almost 8,000 signatures from those who feel like Fallowfield’s protection by the police and government is inadequate, and who are seeking preventative action and acknowledgement of the increase in burglaries, muggings, and assault in the area.

Matt lives in Fallowfield himself. I greet him at his third year house, which happens to be situated on a road that is frequently reported for crime on the Facebook page ‘Fallowfield Students Group’ (FSG), which has become what I can only describe as some sort of Manchester neighbourhood watch scheme in recent weeks. Daily posts litter the page warning students of recent attacks, muggings and ‘dodgy’ looking guys clambering over bins to stare into the windows of residences in the area.

“I just saw every single day there was a different post about crime. I started the petition around the time of the guy that got attacked with a crowbar” Matt tells me. “The same week a close friend got burgled in broad daylight, which just made me think that this could honestly happen to anyone. I decided enough was enough.”

Matt’s house is warmly lit with candles and two readily waiting pumpkins, uncarved on the table. Matt’s house is a home, and I’m sure all of us will agree with him when he exclaims “your home is supposed to be the safest place in the whole world!” Yet the safe haven we seek after a long hard day of university stress is beginning to be compromised.

Not feeling safe in your own home, even with the doors locked, is not a small issue; the petition seeks change, and within the first 24 hours of it going live it had already garnered 4000 signatures.

“For me, that was proof that it was a big enough issue for everyone and something that needed to be tackled.” Matt explains. “It wasn’t just students signing but other members of the community too — the families and elderly people in the area are just as much at risk to attacks.”

Within two hours the petition attracted journalists from The Tab and after contacting the press, coverage of the

petition was becoming national news, with Matt appearing on BBC Manchester radio, in an article with the Manchester Evening News as well as having his face (unknowingly) splashed on the ITV Granada news site.

Making some big noise for Fallowfield is what the petition needs, but with the central focus being Andy Burnham and the police, I asked Matt whether he had heard from the mayor himself yet. “His office has definitely been made aware of the petition” Matt nods, “but I haven’t heard anything from him yet. The Students’ Union has spoken on student safety and though some of their statement did seem good, half of it to me seemed like empty promises.”

Matt is referring to a statement made

by UoM Community Officer Jack Houghton. The document, released online talks about a ‘night owl’ scheme “consisting of student volunteers that will be trained in first aid, safeguarding, well-being training and self-defence” and an increase in street lights around Fallowfield amongst other proposals.

“The street lights thing has been said for years and it still hasn’t happened” Matt points out. “I know they have an increase in police patrol for big events like Halloween and Freshers’ Week but to me, that implies the crime is brought about by students. We can be rowdy and have house parties, but here we are talking about people’s safety, people’s lives.”

“I think the patrol of G4S should be implemented more in student accommodation, but in private tenancies where most of the crime is happening, we deserve police protection as much as any other members of the community. In a way, I don’t think the responsibility lies with the uni. They should pick up some slack — surely this will affect their student intake — but this should be a priority for the police.”

Matt doesn’t seem to hold any anti-establishment views when it comes to the police, in fact, he praises their work in the months after the Manchester terror attack, but believes that there is more that can be done. “It’s an issue of coordination. At the Tory conference, there were around 100-150 officers around, which I’m sure was necessary, but it shows they do have the officers and it’s a matter of priority. ” So what’s next for Matt? Though he hasn’t heard from Andy yet, he hopes the petition will lead to the two meeting sometime soon. “I’d love to have all this out with him!” He laughs. “I voted for him because I thought he was going to be a good leader and I believed in what he stood for. I still think he is a good guy and hopefully will come and talk to me about this.”

If you don’t feel safe in Fallowfield and want government action, you can find Matt’s petition here. For all Matt’s qualities and ambition, one man’s voice is not enough. Together we could really make some noise.

Opinion

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Freedom of speech should be defended on campus Freedom of speech is under threat on university campuses, as students we should be defending it, argues Will Phillips

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Free speech has certainly proved to be a contentious issue over recent years and this is especially true on university campuses.

A report by Spiked earlier this year highlighted the astonishing levels of censorship existing across universities all over the country. The study showed that at most universities, ideas and free speech have been actively censored on campuses.

Here at Manchester, we have had our own issues with prohibition of free expression, with the Charlie Hebdo magazine being banned from the Refreshers’ Fair in 2015. In the current climate, a satirical, albeit controversial publication should be heralded as fundamental for the liberal cause against growing extremism over the world, not cited as offensive.

This week, Balliol College at the University of Oxford banned Christian Union representatives from having a stall at its freshers’ fair, due to concerns over the harm it

could inflict on freshers. This was a clear violation of religious freedom and freedom of expression and did nothing to dispel the myth that students cannot tolerate diversity of thought.

Linda Bellos, a lifelong equal rights campaigner and key figure during the 1980’s feminist movement, was last week uninvited from speaking at Cambridge university because of her views on transgender politics. If an equal rights campaigner, who for decades has fought for the defence of minority rights cannot discuss potentially contentious views, then we really have reached a troubling level of censorship.

The list is endless and is a disappointing indictment of the current culture of ‘safe-spaces’, no-platforming and banning-frenzies that appear to have taken hold at some of the top universities in the world.

After all, if you can’t discuss controversial issues at an institution designed to foster the free exchange of

ideas, then where can you?

Freedom of speech is of course not an excuse to allow hate speech, but a regrettable conflation of hate speech and offence has occurred.

Offence is subjective, what one may find offensive, others may find enlightening, perhaps even amusing.

The sooner we treat students as individuals who are capable of forming their own opinions and not as belonging to certain groups who take offence as a collective, the better.

As students we should be objecting to such blatant denial of individuals’ right to freedom of expression. Whether we agree with a view or not, it is not down to the will of a small group to prevent a debate from being held. As a politics student I was in fact pleasantly surprised to see that a large portion of fellow students believe in uncensored free speech and the right to espouse even provocative views.

This suggests that the problem of censorship is not necessarily an issue of a monolithic ‘snowflake’ student bloc, rather, controlling and out of touch Students’ Unions.

It is not just Students’ Unions though that actively seek to undermine liberal values, it is also clear that universities themselves have engaged in active censorship of unpalatable ideas. It was here at Manchester that a Jewish Holocaust survivor had the title of her speech censored upon order by the Israeli embassy.

Facilitated by the University of Manchester, the speech entitled: ‘You’re doing to the Palestinians what the Nazis did to me’ was labelled “unduly provocative” and the speaker Marika Sherwood was forced to alter the title and tone of her address.

Problems of political correctness ultimately pose a threat to academia. Recently, Bath Spa University’s ethics committee prohibited James Caspian from writing a potentially significant thesis on transgender people who had undergone surgery and then regretted the decision, due

to its potential to cause offence. In circumstances like this it is not just free expression which is threatened, but also the welfare of the transgender community. No one knows as of yet whether this research could prove to be a vital step in preventing post-surgical suicide, but because of pressure within universities to avoid offence at all costs, it is unlikely any advances will be made.

Such a state of affairs in educational institutions is worrying. We come to university to debate, to be challenged and to expose ourselves to new ways of understanding society. We may even concede that our preconceptions about the world before we came to university were mistaken. The motivations behind safe spaces well may have been out of an admirable cause to protect students, however, when we ban, dis-invite or censor opinions out of fear of causing offence, what we are doing is not protecting student welfare, but sheltering adults from views that exist in wider society.

By preventing ideas from being discussed, we are not eradicating them from existence and from people’s consciousness. All we achieve is a stifling of their visible presence.

Ideas cannot be removed through bans, no-platforms and the premise of being offended, they manifest whether being expressed or not.

We defeat ignorant ideas by challenging them and crucially, by winning the debate. I don’t recall the accusations of racism preventing Brexit, or the no-platforming of speakers sympathetic to Trump stopping him from becoming president.

As potentially the next generation of leaders in this country, we cannot ignore problems of intolerance and ill-liberalism forever. Why not confront them now and show wider society that students can be a positive and capable force for challenging ideas out in the open? It would certainly be a legacy that students of the 1960’s would be proud of.

We will win the war against intolerance through debate, not avoiding it.

Opinion 11

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Film and media continue to let down survivors of sexual assault The way that film and television portray sexual assault is pernicious and dangerous, argues Jessica Hyer T h e way rap e i s p o r t raye d i n t h e m e d i a o f t e n fa i l s t o re f le c t t h e e x p e r i e n ce s s h a re d by t h e m aj o r it y o f s u r v ivo rs.

Rap e s ce n e s i n f i l m a n d t e lev i s i o n a re d ra m at i z e d , o f t e n d e p i c t i n g e x t re m e ly v i o le nt rap e s ce n e s .

A wa r p e d p e rce pt i o n o f rap e i s p re s e nte d t o t h e p u b l i c, a f fe c t i n g t h e way we p e rce ive t h e b o u n d a r i e s b e t we e n rap e a n d co n s e n s u a l s e x . T h e re fo re, s u r v ivo rs ca n o f t e n fe e l t h e i r e x p e r i e n ce do n o t e a r n t h e m t h e r i g ht to b e de f i n e d a s a s u r v ivo r, m a k i n g t h e m le s s i n cl i n e d t o t a ke a c t i o n a ga i n s t p e r p e t rato rs .

C r i m e d ra m a s s u ch a s C S I a n d C r i m i n a l Minds often de p i c t serial rap i s t s u n k n ow n t o t h e i r v i c t i m s a n d b r u t a l s ce n e s o f rap e , d u r i n g wh i ch p hys i ca l m a rk s a n d a n a b u n d a n ce o f ev ide n ce b e co m e ava i l a b le t o t h e aut h o r it i e s .

Howeve r, a s Rap e C r i s i s U K s t at e s, a ro u n d 9 0 p e r ce nt o f rap e v i c t i m s k n ow t h e p e r p e t rat o r p r i o r t o t h e o f fe n ce, a n d rap e o f t e n le ave s l it t le t o n o ev ide n ce o r p hys i ca l m a rk i n g s , e s p e c i a l ly a s s u r v ivo rs o f t e n fa i l t o re p o r t t h e c r i m e fo r lo n g p e r i o d s o f t i m e.

A s wo m e n , we a re t au g ht n o t t o go o ut at n i g ht a lo n e a n d t o b e wa r y wh e n o n t h e st re e t s o ut o f fe a r o f b e i n g rap e d by a st ra n ge r, ye t t h e s e k i n d s o f s e x u a l a s s au lt s o n ly m a ke u p 1 0 p e r ce nt o f rap e s i n t h e U K . We a re n o t t au g ht h ow t o de a l w it h rap e s t h at a re ca r r i e d o ut

by t h o s e we l ove , a n d it i s co m m o n fo r v i c t i m s t o co nt i nu e t o e n g a ge i n n o r m a l re l at i o n s h ip s w it h their at t a c ke rs .

H oweve r, v i c t i m s t h at go d ow n t h i s p at h s h o u l d n o t b e p e rs e c u t e d o r d i s c re d it e d a s s u r v ivo rs .

I n E n g l a n d a n d Wa le s a lo n e , a ro u n d 1 2 ,0 0 0 m e n a n d 8 5 ,0 0 0 wo m e n a re rap e d eve r y ye a r. O n ly 1 5 p e r ce nt o f s u r v ivo rs c h o o s e t o re p o r t t h e rap e t o t h e p o l i ce .

I n my o p i n i o n , t h e fa c t t h e i r n a r rat ive d o e s n o t co m p ly w it h t h e way rap e i s p o r t raye d i n t h e m e d i a p l ays a hu ge p a r t in this.

“In England and Wales alone, around 12,000 men and 85,000 women are raped every year. ” W h e n it h ap p e n e d t o m e, my rap i s t t o l d m e t h at I co u l d n’ t co m p a re mys e l f t o s o m e o n e t h at wa s t a ke n o f f t h e s t re e t by a s t ra n ge r a n d rap e d at n i g ht , b u t h e wa s w ro n g . A rap e d o e s n’ t n e e d t o co m p ly w it h a ny g ive n n a r rat ive to b e d e f i n e d a s rap e . I f n o n- co n s e n s u a l s e x o cc u rs , a rap e h a s t a ke n p l a ce .

1 3 Re a s o n s W hy, a f i c t i o n a l s e r i e s

Photo: @UoMSalcStudents @Twitter

Photo: Sander van der Wel @Wikimedia Commons

The difficulties of students suffering from depression have been gradually eased into discussion at The University of Manchester, and the subject now makes regular appearance; just last week an entire day at the Students’ Union was dedicated to events aimed at improving the wellbeing and support networks of those who feel they might be struggling with their mental health.

Why, if depression amongst students has become a topic of regular conversation, does post-graduate depression barely make its mark on the agenda?

Living alone for the first time, having to grow

accustomed to new friends and a new city, and the pressure of managing financially on a student loan, paired with a crushing combination of exams, lectures and multiple deadlines makes for a student experience that could cause even the most stable of young people to experience a mental meltdown from time to time.

Nothing, however, can prepare graduates for the sheer lack of direction and structure they experience once they have left education. The entire maturing process achieved at university feels instantly reversed, with students forced to give up their social and financial independence by moving home.

i s s o i m p o r t a nt fo r t h e p u b l i c t o s e e . Ye t , wh e n H a n n a h re t u r n e d h o m e a f t e r t h e rap e , a c lo s e u p s h ows b r u i s e s o n h e r b a c k t h at we re c au s e d by B r yce ’s f i n ge rs , co m p le t e ly d e s t roy i n g t h e t h a n k f u l n e s s I fe lt fo r t h e way t h e rap e wa s p o r t raye d p r i o r t o t h i s . A s id e f ro m t h e i n h e re nt v i o le n ce o f a rap e , B r yce ’s fo rce d id n o t co m p ly w it h t h e e x t e nt o f d a m a ge o n H a n n a h’s b o dy.

F i l m a n d m e d i a co nt i nu e t o fa i l wo m e n a n d m e n wh o a re v i c t i m s o f rap e . R ap e d o e s n’ t h ave t o b e d ra m at i c o r i n c re d i b ly v i o le nt t o b e d e f i n e d a s rap e . A rap e c a n t a ke p l a ce i n f ive m i nu t e s a n d le ave a b s o l u t e ly n o p hys i c a l s ca rs .

F ro m my e x p e r i e n ce , it ’s t h e a f t e r m at h t h at t r u ly hu r t s . A v i c t i m s h o u l d n o t h ave to b e s u b j e c t e d to a ce r t a i n leve l o f s u f fe r i n g i n o rd e r t o b e d e f i n e d a s s u c h , a n d t h e s e p o r t raya l s o f s e x u a l a s s au lt s a re d a m a g i n g t o b o t h s u r v ivo rs a n d t h e ge n e ra l p u b l i c a l i ke a s t h ey wa r p o u r p e rce p t i o n s a n d a l low p e o p le t o ge t away w it h rap e t h at d o e s n o t co m p ly w it h t h e n a r rat ive s t h at a re s h ow n .

The corporate commercialisation of female empowerment is degrading, argues Opinion editor Jacklin Kwan

By Tilly Gambarotto In theory, her argument is logical. Young people should take the necessary time to reflect upon their ambitions, perhaps make the most of the chance to live abroad or get a better sense of the opportunities available before rushing into the first job offered to them. Such breathing space might prevent a delayed case of the ‘graduate blues’, in which young professionals find themselves trapped a job that they took out of fear or panic.

In reality though, most graduates simply cannot afford to spend time out of paid employment, and Curnock Cook’s suggestions are decidedly too middle class to provide any substantial consolation to those students struggling financially.

Careers and counselling services within universities need to establish a means by which they can encourage students to start thinking about post-graduate life, whilst also reassuring students that it is perfectly normal to experience a ‘limbo’ phase, during which career paths or life ambitions might be hazy and overwhelming.

Furthermore, counselling services should make clear that a helping hand can be extended to those students who have left the university, and that support is not abruptly cut off come the summer holidays.

Perhaps the simplest cure for those suffering from the ‘post-graduate blues’ could be the fundamental knowledge that, essentially, everybody else is going through the same thing.

re co u nt i n g a t e e n a ge r ’s j o u r n ey t owa rd s s u i c id e , b e c a m e re g a rd e d a s h i g h ly co nt rove rs i a l . S eve ra l o f t h e g rap h i c d e p i c t i o n s o f rap e a n d s u i c id e we re c r it i c i z e d a s t r i g ge r i n g a n d h a r m f u l d e s p it e wa r n i n g s s h ow n b e fo re e p i s o d e s .

O n e p a r t i c u l a r s ce n e s h ows t h e m a i n c h a ra c t e r, H a n n a h , rap e d by a n a c q u a i nt a n ce n a m e d B r yce fo l low i n g a p a r t y. S h e re m a i n s i n t h e h o t t u b i n h e r u n d e r we a r a f t e r B r yce j o i n s h e r, b u t g ive s h i m a b s o l u te ly n o i n d i c at i o n t h at s h e w i s h e s t o e n g a ge i n co n s e n s u a l s e x .

H e ro u g h ly h o l d s h e r b a c k , k i s s e s h e r s h o u l d e r a n d n e c k a n d s ays “ we ’ l l j u s t go n i ce a n d e a s y. ” S h e d o e s n o t o u t r i g ht t e l l h i m , “ n o” , o r at t e m p t t o f i g ht h i m o f f, s h e j u s t c lo s e s h e r eye s a n d wa it s fo r t h e rap e t o e n d . S o m e c r it i c s h ave h a i le d t h e s ce n e , c a l l i n g it a n “o bv i o u s rap e ” , s h ow i n g t h e s ce n e f ro m H a n n a h’s p e rs p e c t ive , d e s p it e h e r i n a b i l it y t o s ay “ n o. ” S p e a k i n g o f t h e rap e H a n n a h s t at e s : “ I d id n o t s ay n o o r p u s h h i s h a n d away. A l l I d id wa s t u r n my h e a d , c le n c h my t e e t h a n d f i g ht b a c k t e a rs . ” T h i s wa s s u c h a re a l a n d raw d e p i c t i o n o f rap e t h at I b e l i eve

Stop trying to sell me feminism

Photo: Jay Morrison @ Flickr

Post-Graduation Blues Need a Place on the Mental Health Agenda Some find that their educational progression based on advice to ‘study what you love’ provides, at best, a shaky basis for eluding the well-known career market trap; need a job to gain experienced, too inexperienced to get a job.

Those who go back to old retail or hospitality jobs understandably feel discouraged, especially when surrounded by those friends lucky enough to have found their dream job, or those who are not yet too crippled by student debt to deprive themselves of the opportunity to go and ‘find themselves’ travelling. In such circumstances, it is not all that surprising that graduates struggle with the ‘blues’, or in some instances more severe cases of mental health issues.

The fact is that universities are guilty of overselling the power of a degree at a time where enrolment is at an all-time high. Regrettably, the market in degrees follows rules not all that different to those of economics; the more there are, the less they are worth.

This is not to say that studying a degree is of no value, but simply to suggest that students must be prepared for a period of — perhaps unemployed — transition once they graduate, and must not become disillusioned if the promises of fulfilling and prestigious career options do not instantly present themselves at graduation.

Mary Curnock Cook, the recently retired head of UCAS, commented that graduates should not worry about finding a job straight out of university, and advised that they spend time volunteering or travelling before making the first job application.

Photo: US Department of Defence

Walk into Harvey Nichols and you will see that Dior has recently released a new line of t-shirts that have the bold slogan: “We Should All Be Feminist” — the t-shirt retails for around £500. Turn on the television and you will see commercials for tampons that make them sound like the new symbols of female liberation. Do a quick search on Google and you will find endless results by Buzzfeed that list “Feminist Items You Need For Your Home Immediately.”

When did things become so ludicrously absurd?

There’s been a dramatic shift in the cultural attitude towards the feminist movement since its first-wave conception in the late 1800s. What used to be a deeply offensive idea, the idea of women being owed political, economic, and social equality, has now taken a spotlight in mainstream consumerist society.

Any product that has any relation to women whatsoever, such as make-up, high heels, household decor, or clothing, is angled and sold as ‘feminist’. It is interesting to note

that many of these goods were seen in the late 90s to be tools of patriarchy that were all meant to channel the attention, esteem, and hard-earned capital of women into frivolous hobbies that distracted them from challenging male superiority.

It is clear that the products themselves have not changed, but in a brilliant marketing move, our perceptions of them have.

These consumer products are incredibly problematic in many ways. Firstly, they tend to dilute the feminist message into depoliticised slogans that emphasise individual spiritual liberation rather than structural reform. You will never see advertisements for makeup that depict women being harassed on the street or even in the workplace on the basis of their image.

Instead, makeup advertisements are geared towards messages of ‘feeling confident and empowered’. It boils feminism down from a harsh protest against institutionalised gender discrimination to trivial and patronising affirmations of self-improvement. Sexism goes from being a wide social problem

to one centred around the self-esteem of individuals.

This deep misrepresentation of obstacles facing women causes people to trivialise and dismiss the feminist message. And women are taught that their feelings of isolation and alienation from their society are caused by their own shortcomings rather than centuries of exclusion.

Furthermore, this distortion causes an anxiety that can only be solved through consumption. Commercials tell women to realise their desire for equality by buying products, otherwise their empowerment may not be valid. People are told that the most meaningful way they can express their support for feminism is through buying a t-shirt with a slogan on it.

This trend of ‘conspicuous consumption’, i.e. consumption meant to be seen and validated by other people, capitalises on our anxieties to be socially recognised as morally progressive without demanding any profound, impacting change. Every second spent engaging in this spectacle would be a second spent broadcasting reductionist pseudo-feminist values and not demanding deeper reforms.

Also, let us not forget that this feminist rebranding often veil deeply misogynistic institutions. Dove launched a ‘Real Body’ campaign that aimed to increase body positivity amongst women, but Dove is owned Unilever which also objectifies women to sell pubescent boys Axe deodorant.

When this hypocrisy is allowed to exist, there is no pressure for the system of gender inequality to change. Corporations will

continue to superficially subvert gender roles with one hand whilst perpetuating those same prejudices with the other simply to turn a profit. The hypocrisy makes it harder to recognise and thus dismantle harmful establishments.

Whilst I am sure that the individual people working at these corporations are not malicious in any way, issues as complex and as insidiously damaging as sexism just do not belong in a 40-second ad that also has the goal of selling you denim jeans.

It is not just feminism that has been affected by unavoidable commodification. Other civil rights groups like the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement rightly condemned a Pepsi ad that starred Kylie Jenner apparently solving centuries of state violence against minorities by giving the police a can of soda. The question then becomes why corporations are allowed to treat female victim-hood in the same condescending and grossly reductionist tone.

It is time that we fiercely reject the watereddown, depoliticised versions of feminism being fed to not only our generation, but to the ones even younger.

Young boys must be taught the gravity of suffering their counterparts encounter, and how to best support the women in their lives.

Young girls must be taught that the greatest response to the bigotry of the systematic discrimination they will face is not through what they buy but through who they are, what they want, what they’ve done, and most importantly, what they will do.

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ISSUE 5 / 16th OCTOBER2017 WWW.MANCHETSERMEDIAGROUP.CO.UK

Our kid Liam is back...As you were

8/10

- Th

e st o f Y

This song is best enjoyed at full volume, ears ringing and head banging the whole way through the choruses.

H My ero

The Foo’s are my heros’ and this speaks to me, we forget that people we idolise are just normal people at the end of the day.

Rope -

‘Degausser’ do contain themes of love the tone is completely different. Songs like ‘Jude Law and ‘a Semester’ are more vicious and aggressive in a more f**k you kind of way.

The overall tone is more upbeat than anything has done since with it being bolstered up by a punchy Pop Punk sound. However, this does hold back the album with a more simplistic approach with little variation.

Only ‘Soco Amaretto Lime’ and ‘The No Seatbelt Song’ provide some slight variation with a more stripped back sound.

While Your Favourite Weapon may not hold up as well as it did in 2001 it did lay the groundwork for Brand New to allow them to become the band that they are today. Is it worth a listen today? Maybe.

I wouldn’t recommend it as a starting point for anyone wanting to get into Brand New, The Devil & God are Raging Inside of Me or Science Fiction would be better choices, but if you have been listening to the band for a while and want to see the change then go ahead. Otherwise, it’s probably not worth it unless you want to feel nostalgic, as it’s quite good at that.

eB

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8/10

A powerful that you absolutely cannot not sing every word to, and make alll the ugly faces that come with it...

ou

to the beat when prompted.

Between songs, JP would address the crowd and repeatedly expressed his gratitude for everyone there.

He also explained that he’d been sick and unable to speak for a couple days before the show but was soldiering on. To be honest, he may as well have been in perfect health because his vocals did not show his sub-optimal state. The good vibes were practically palpable in the air thanks to the chemistry between JP, his band, and the crowd. The latter was composed of people of all ages, proving that good music clearly transcends generations.

After the show, Cooper stood behind the counter to meet his fans. I decided to stay with my friend to shake his hand and thank him for the show and the photos. His handshake was firm and his look was warm and friendly. As he autographed my photo pass he said: “Here’s to many more, you’ll go far.” An absolutely charming man, to say the least.

JP Cooper deserves the praise he gets and much more. The man is a sublime showman, a fantastic singer with an astounding vocal range. He’s humble, charismatic and genuine, qualities that seem rare in the modern music scene dominated by egomaniacs.

This show definitely goes down in my books as one of the most pleasant concerts I’ve had the pleasure of attending.

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Middleton-born JP Cooper puts on a hypnotising and sublime performance at the O2 Ritz

of all those feelings and with it celebrating the 16th-anniversary last week it only seems fitting to look how Brand New started.

In 2001, Brand New was different back then. Their style of music was more akin to Pop Punk than the flirtations with Indie, Post Hardcore and Art Rock they implemented on Science Fiction this year. It’s a younger Brand New that is finding their way with their music.

This doesn’t mean it’s bad. Songs like ‘Seventy Times 7’ and ‘Secondary’ are discography highlights with their blaring chorus and catchy hooks still holding up today. Some fans will even hold this album up as their best work as seeing anything else after as more of a devolution though I would disagree as that’s a disservice to a band that has always been trying something new.

Despite the band changing their sound considerably since Your Favourite Weapon, the album is still very Brand New. You’ll still find that emotional punchy sound here but it’s presented in a different way and with different themes. Relationships and breakups are way more common and even though later songs like

P re t e n e h

r -

Stonesy blues elements, like the upbeat ‘You Better Run’ and ‘I Get By’, the originality of which compliment the brilliant Gallagher-ness of other tracks.

Lyrics are questionable at times, despite Liam

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Photo: Album Artwork

As a cohesive piece of listening it flows remarkably well, the tracks arranged in a form which undulates between mellow acoustic and rumbling electric, experimenting with genres and dabbling in unexplored forms. Credit to you Liam Gallagher — you’ve lived up to your ‘Bold’ roots, whilst appealing to more than niche Oasis fans with thought-provoking tracks. love you Liam.

Don’t ever change.

Live Review Callum Pinder Music Contributor

Rewind This week in music history

An Ode to Bon Iver

Contributor Millie Nettleton left her heart at Blackpool Opera House

If I were to name one song I could listen to for the rest of my life, it would be this.

Everything about it screams perfection.

- T

than cling on to the audacity of Definitely Maybe ”

Record Reappraisal: Brand New As it reaches 16 years old Ciaran McLaughlin revists Brand New’s album, which now, isn’t so new.

Your Favourite Weapon

We’re gonna stay eighteen sixteen forever Do you remember being 16? The pressures of growing up, getting into relationships and being full of angst.

Well if you don’t then the Brand New debut album, Your Favourite Weapon, is probably a great reminder

erlon Ev

“This record does more

They say honesty is the best policy, so I’ll go by that Mind’ and ‘Perfect Strangers’ which he introduced by saying. I answered a last-minute call to action a cou- saying that many people, myself included, expected ple hours before the show. I’d heard of JP Cooper him to be a dance/pop artist but he was clearly an but I couldn’t name a single song of his off the top of acoustic pop type of guy. The crowd at The Ritz were my head. Instantly, I started my research and listened to his work. ‘September Song’ and ‘Perfect Strangers’ were instantly recognisable to me and I expected a pop show with dance beats, not my area of expertise. It was also the first show I photographed so I was also unprepared for that part of the night.

As JP Cooper stepped on the stage of the O2 Ritz, I stepped into the photography pit with two other photographers who were very kind and gave me space to work. Our man, JP’s vocals were instantly hypPhoto: Tobias Soar notising, I knew I was in for a good show. While doing my thing with my camera JP was cool, calm and a bit cheeky, looking straight into the treated to the first live performances of his new songs from his recently released debut album ‘Raised Unlens of my camera as I snapped away.

Once I got back into the crowd as a spectator, Cooper, der Grey Skies’. Always on key and with an envious of course, sang his hits ‘September Song’, ‘She’s On My vocal range, the songs were well received by the audience who sang back the words and clapped in time

Photo: Album Artwork

by Hannah Brierley

de

Tobias Soar Music Contributor

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The first listen of Liam Gallagher’s album feels more like a highly anticipated cultural event than an album release. Social media has magnified speculation and excelled expectation, heightened by the Britpop star’s curious Twitter ramblings, and anticipation as to whether the album would be a half-arsed, rehashed Oasis or a replica of less successful Beady Eye material.

Good news, it’s neither.

People may have expected the ‘Rock’n’Roll Star’, larger-than-life Liam to dominate the record with brazen lyrics, and a hard-faced attitude. The 90’s lad-about-town persona does saturate the undertones of the album, though this record does more than cling onto the audacity of Definitely Maybe.

Rather, it reflects upon this, demonstrating maturity and nostalgia, sometimes reminiscent of 90’s neo-psychedelia.

‘Wall of Glass’ and ‘Greedy Soul’ show off Liam’s raspy tones, a nod to his former self but a breath of fresh air on the album, in amongst ‘Champagne Supernova’ - esque apologies in the form of the beautifully sentimental ‘For What It’s Worth’. On first reflection it seems to be an expression of re-

seeking help for the record — we don’t blame you Liam — you never claimed to be the brains behind Wonderwall. ‘Chinatown’, though drawing us into Liam’s captivating world, borders on the ridiculous with rhymes including ‘Telephonic doses, eliminate neurosis’. There’s a few instances of reusing age-old Oasis metaphors usually relating to the sun and sky, but the music is spot on and the vocals cannot be faulted.

g

Gallagher masters experimental genres, saturated with 90’s swagger and dazzling ‘Liam-ness’ says Deputy Music Editor, Yasmin Duggal

gret to Noel and their relationship, but when read deeper seems to address two decades of apologies for being Liam Gallagher.

“Look for the girl, the world is surreal” begins ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’ style track, ‘When I’m In Need’, as Liam himself strums away on the acoustic. It’s a sign of the latter half of the album which draws upon country, Rolling

Top 5 Foo Songs With The Foo Fighters UK arena tour announcement, I thought it would be fitting to revisit just 5 of the reasons we all fell in love with them.

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Album Review

Music 13

ISSUE 5 / 16th OCTOBER2017 WWW.MANCHESTERMEDIAGROUP.CO.UK

“Give me some rope I’m coming loose I’m pulling for you now”

I cried when tickets for the 22, A Million album tour sold out.

As an angsty, anxiety-filled adolescent, it was Bon Iver that nurtured me through my uncertain early teenage years. Those first, stripped bare tracks from For Emma, Forever Ago pacified me on early morning drives to school, and the subtle electronic elements of tracks like ‘Holocene’ had the ability to force emotions into me when it felt like I’d forgotten how to feel (thank-you, teenage hormones).

So, colour me happy when I hear that Bon Iver cancelled the European part of their tour due to “personal reasons.” Don’t get me wrong, it was probably something difficult or devastating and I felt sorry for whichever band member was effected and all — but it suddenly felt like I had magic powers. Out of sheer force of will, I had manifested Bon Iver tickets into availability. So, the night before my 19th, I nabbed myself some. Happy birthday me.

I first heard Bon Iver at Latitude Festival in 2012. It was my second festival, after Leeds fest 2011, which was just as cold and damp. As I sat, 14 years old, in shorts, a wet jumper and a not-so-waterproof waterproof, struggling to read my kindle as the day got darker, you can probably guess that I wasn’t a very happy camper. But as the ethereal vocal harmonies at the beginning of ‘Perth’ sailed into my earlobes, I distinctly remember looking up. The blend and timbre of those voices, reminiscent of the kind of echoes you hear in swimming baths, transported me instantly to a state of calm bliss.

While the sound of 22, A Million is radically different, the beguiling presence of Bon Iver is just as compelling as ever. In contrast to his early more acoustic works, such as the infamous ‘Skinny Love’, the new album features sounds described by the Guardian’s Kitty Empire as “hyper-modern balladeering.” The captivating vocoder isn’t exactly the background track for your next dinner party. Rather, balladeering in it’s true, poetic sense; it demands to be listened to, it deserves to be deciphered. When asked about the sonic makeover at the album’s press conference, Justin Vernon, the group’s front man, explained his search for new “sparks”; and he was successful. 22, A Million, with its audio distortions, indeed crackles with excitement and novelty — an excitement which couldn’t translate better to stage.

Bon Iver chose the somewhat surprising venue of the Opera House at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens for their show in northern England. The hall itself, plastered in a pastel-hued rainbows, not

unlike the sampled snippets in his album, is just the kind of secret gem you’d expect Vernon to pick out. The stage was set on three raised circles, nothing special, until the band walked on, when bulbs around their bases began to glow, the tolling loop of opening track ‘22 (OVER S∞∞N’)’ chiming out the speakers. The fresh and regenerative sound was a theme for the entirety of the concert, where no track was performed as you might have heard on the album. Take the layered saxophones of ‘8 (circle)’ for example; pared down for stage and only one saxophone available, each part was sung vocally by the band members. Even the old greats like ‘Blood Bank’ were transformed anew with a gritty electric guitar backing. Bon Iver’s sound was evolving further, and watching it live was breathtaking.

The concert closed with what Vernon described as “the best song ever written”: ‘A Song for You by Donny Hathaway’, just Vernon and keys. Since the gig, it feels like I’ve been floating around in a strange, sad state of transgression, something I was struggling to explain until my dad, or musical dietician, phoned and described it perfectly: “I miss being in his aura.” Bon Iver, live, feels like having a spell cast on you, and until it wears off, reality seems suspended. A small price to pay for one of the most profound musical experiences of my life.

Tickets for the London dates in late February are on sale now. I’ve already got mine.

The Venue to create ‘New Legacy’ It has been just over a year since The Venue changed management. While previous opinions of the club have been mixed, it has recently managed to attract some attention; this year, their freshers’ week was the biggest and busiest they have ever had, with over 5,000 students coming through the doors.

The club, which is located on Jackson’s Row, was previously only thought of as the other indie club.

But it appears it has gone through puberty, so to speak, and has come out the other side re-established and independent — or should I say indie-pendent...

It’s now complete with its very own photo booth to print those drunken memories you want to keep forever, and a retro street fighter game which you can play while your friends get in the next round. However, you won’t be waiting too long, as they have opened a second ‘Voodoo Lounge’ bar inside, meaning you can get those jäger shots quicker than ever before.

As if that wasn’t enough, they have designed a chilled ‘nan’s living room’, a place where you can sit and chat with your friends without having

What do you call a dog that does magic tricks?

A Labracadabrador 16th October 2001 - Two security guards were fired after not letting Bob Dylan into his own concert.

17th October 2009 - Johnny Depp presented Keith Richards with the ‘Rock Immortal’ Award at the, Scream Awards.

18th October 1982 - Ne-Yo was born, (Originally called Shaffer Chimere Smith),

19th October 1991 - Oasis played their first live gig with Noel Gallagher in the band at The Boardwalk in Manchester Photo: Wikicommons

20th October 2003 - Amy Winehouse released her debut album, Frank, which has now sold over a million copies.

to endure the pouring rain and cigPhoto: Wikicommons arette clouds of the smoking area.

21st October 1976 - Keith Moon played his last show And if sitting around and having a with The Who in Toronto. On 7th September two chin wag isn’t your cup of tea, maybe you want to go have a boogie; the years later he died from an overdose of a sedative. whole music and lighting system has had a complete re-vamp too, including CO2 blasts, confetti canons, and Photo: Wikicommons strobe lighting, making sure your night out is as exciting as possible 22nd October 2014 - Kasabian won best live act and with new experiences and things to discover around every corner. best act in the world at the Q Awards It has to be said, the new managePhoto: Album Artwork ment’s efforts have really shined through. And as well as all the improvements they have already made, there are constantly new ideHannah Brierley as in the pipeline.

Music Editor Whether it be: Indie-pendence on a Saturday, Jamming on a Wednesday, Feeling Thirsty on a Thursday The O2 Ritz, 4th November ping from work from his previous er with the final song ‘Mountain to or You’re Living Forever on a Friday, 2014 album First Mind, combined Move’. In keeping with the rest of the the Venue has made sure that there Everything that Nick Mulvey does with tracks from his new album set, it was a tantalising combination is calm and collected. Absolutely Wake Up Now. There’s an almost of slow drums, swallowing your enis something for everybody. zero per cent of his aura is in any f lawless magic in the air, the way the tire being, and incredibly beautiful But don’t take my word for it, grab way rushed, uptight or rushed. His audience is compelled to be calm. lyrics.

Nick Mulvey is a beautiful hurria red stripe and see for yourself. performance at the O2 Ritz was no Like a beautiful dream, it’s relaxing We’ve blagged free entry for all different from this, and he exuded and soothing listening to the smooth cane of emotions to listen to. His muvocals and array of different sounds sical presence has the power to hold readers before midnight until the complete zen. a tightly fixed grip on his audience 27th October, just mention The Mulvey, who studied Ethnomusicol- that Nick uses. ogy whilst at university, has always ‘Never Apart’ possessed an under- to hang on to every word and every Mancunion on your way in! used what he’s learned in his solo water vibe. Whilst listening you felt note. Mulvey’s talents are second to work. This is still true, and it has to like you were f loating effortlessly none, which is clearly obvious to see be said his new album is no major in a completely still sea, in the dead and hear. leap from his previous work. How- of the night. The occasional echoed ever, his music fills a niche, and it sonar sound which was used as the 7/10 works perfectly for him. underlying beat was so clever and The evening kicked off with ‘Re- calming to listen to. “Knowing who membering, Unconditional’ and we are, and our place in the stars and ‘Meet Me There’ gently tickling now we are never really apart, from everyone’s eardrums with accurate- the whole of it all.” ly delicate acoustic guitar melodies ‘Imogen’ was another song which and gorgeous angelic harmonies stood out. Mulvey spoke about the from the supporting female singers origins of the song, stating that there (one of which is his partner!). Mul- was a storm occurring at the same vey sang past favourites such as ‘Cu- time as his baby was being born. He curucu’ and ‘Fever To The Form’, dur- decided to write the song about all ing which dedicated fans sang the that was going on whilst storm Imolyrics back to him with love, prompt- gen was happening. He also told the ing him to even start over with ‘Cu- crowd that his baby was originalcurucu’ as he enjoyed hearing it ech- ly named after the storm, but as he Photo: Hannah Brierley oed back to him so much. turned out to be a boy they swiftly The mellow songs ebbed, f lowed called him Inka instead. and poured into the each other, dipThe performance was tied togeth-

Live: Nick Mulvey

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Music

ISSUE 5 / 16th OCTOBER 2017 WWW.MANCHESTERMEDIAGROUP.CO.UK

Live Review: Neighbourhood Festival Neighbourhood returned to Manchester, taking over 12 venues across the city and showcasing new talent. Here’s what contributors Jack Greeney, Olivia White and Deputy Music Editor, Yasmin Duggal, got up to Yasmin Duggal Deputy Music Editor

Alternative bands take Neighbourhood by a storm Blossoms ft. RNCM ensemble @ MMU Union — 9/10 Tom Ogden and Charlie Salt blessed the Opening Party with a beautifully intimate and understated set, accompanied by the RNCM ensemble. A cacophony of harp strings, brass and strings added new elements to Blossoms’ finest hits, re-imagining the tracks to sound fresh after a year of touring the debut album. Tom held the crowd in the palm of his hand, his mellow charm on form as per usual, vocals flawlessly edgy as at every gig. Heartwarming, wintery b-side ‘For Evelyn’ was welcomed with surprise, its elegant melancholy mirroring the Manchester weather battering the outside. A treat came with the finale in the form of Tom and Charlie’s karaoke tune, a cover of The Beatles’ ‘Ticket To Ride’. The ensuing singalong in the Mancunian venue proved a fitting conclusion to Blossoms’ huge year, as their synthy-heartbreaker melodies have clearly captured an adoring fan base.

Peace @ Albert Hall — 9/10 Familiar, organised, indie chaos filled the famous hall as Harry Koisser sauntered on, adorned with retro specs and a military jacket. The crowd were fully on board despite the daylight streaming through the windows. An eclectic set list which featured both albums and ‘1998 Delicious’ triggered a tumultuous reaction of mosh pits and singalongs, while Harry’s flawless vocals were met with gasps of amazement. Energy rippled and spines tingled as Peace put on a show and a half, proving they may have been away, but they have much more

to give.

The Vryll Society @ Sound Control Basement — 10/10 “If you’ve taken anything, you’re about to get your money’s worth right about now” promised Vryll Society frontman, Mike Ellis. What followed was a psychedelic party... imagine upbeat Tame Impala with a front man’s dance moves that make Ian Brown look serene. Intros and outros dominated, saturating the basement of Sound Control, whilst intimate lighting suited the occasion as the band became silhouettes, bringing vibes of a 60s nature into the room. Their songs are niche, and it’s exciting to see bands still making music of this fashion today.

Photo: VRYLL SOCIETY - Olivia White

The Old Pink House @ Revolution — 7/10 This up and coming band brought energy and a good effort to Revs, with storming passion which, at times, uplifted run-of-the-mill songs and elevated instrumentals to a higher level. It was a decent attempt at a powerful indie impact, the last song in particular providing some variation in synth and regular structure. The band clearly displayed musical prowess and dedication to putting on a visceral live show, though it would stand them in better stead to find their own niche if they are to break through the rising talents of rivals. They were entertaining — credit where credit is due — but to make a lasting impact they need to stamp a POS on that impressive energy.

Photo: JAWS - Olivia White

Interview: The Strypes Contributor Jack Greeney Chats with up-andcoming Indie Rock band.

Olivia White - Contributor

Jaws round-up NBHD with a swamped, endorphin inducing set Nifty Birmingham trio Jaws were the last act of the festival playing at the Bread Shed to an audience that were only entering on a one in, one out basis. Opening with ‘Just a Boy’, the first track from their most recent album ‘Simplicity’, Jaws plunged us straight into their very classic gritty, adolescent roots. Despite much of Jaws’ music exploring the highs and lows of being a teenager, make no mistake in presuming their songs are just a phase. Frontman, Connor Schofield manages to perfectly entwine his soothing vocals with both equally remedying tunes such as ‘Think Too Much, Feel Too Little’ and ‘Stay In’ whilst also mastering the complete opposite with angsty, raw ‘What We Haven’t Got Yet’.

Having never seen Jaws live but being a big fan for a number of years now, I have to admit I was just as nervous as I was excited. Given Connor’s style I had my hesitations about whether or not his voice would be lost amongst his counterparts however from the moment they entered the stage it was clear I had deeply underestimated their craftmanship in performing. This canny, intricate trio enveloped the audience in a charged

ambience which sent electric shocks down my spine. From little groovy guitar licks laced with reverb and distortion to echoing, weighty drum beats Jaws fuse together and create grooves within their songs that will linger, bouncing around your head weeks later.

Despite being part of the heavily contested indie-rock genre, Jaws are unique in their ability to communicate sophisticated lyricism and intense themes throughout both their debut album ‘Be Slowly’ and ‘Simplicity’ which appears to particularly connect with the youth of today.

Even though I was a little disappointed that my favourite song ‘17’ from their newest album did not feature on the setlist, a song that really engages with the inner turmoil of anxiety and adolescence, it’s clear that Jaws have latched onto the subconscious of every single member of their audience who flawlessly sang back every word, clutching onto any lines they can identify with.

If you’re looking for a groovy yet complex band who leave a profound blow to your inner thoughts, Jaws are the band for you.

9/10

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Upcoming The Howl and The Hum infuse the air with a live performance that leaves you feeling empty in the most fulfilling way, says Contributor, Olivia White The Howl & The Hum are a York-based alt-rock quartet who opened Neighbourhood Festival 2017. They were the first performers at the Deaf Institute, and I genuinely could not have chosen a better band to begin the day myself. I find it very difficult to compare the Hum to any other modern band that I have seen, as their live performances are second to none. Intense, compelling, and atmospheric are the three words that I would use to describe this potent quartet. Frontman Sam Griffith’s vocals ooze warmth and safety yet are underpinned by a curious element of insanity which comes to light in songs such as ‘Manea’ and ‘Murder’ coupled with his impulsive and impassioned body flinches.

Griffiths is accompanied by the musical efforts of his fellow band members, fusing together to create a spine-tingling and extremely emotive composition. Given the intimacy of the gig, this resounded off each wall to create a thick sweeping blanket of emotion, infusing the air with what I can only describe as electrifying nostalgia. The unfeigned lyrical style of The Howl and the Hum accompanied with the progressive structure of their songs is really where the treasures of this band can be found. The 4-piece utterly submerged themselves in the pure, raw and gritty ambience that radiated from their combined efforts and this could be seen in their perfectly synchronised movements which filled the stage. To quote a friend I met there, “I can’t tell whether the pounding in my chest is from the drums or if it’s my own heartbeat.”

This leads me onto their single ‘Godmanchester Chinese Bridge’, Which features on their newest EP (also named af-

ter the single). Honestly, I could have written my entire review on The Howl and the Hum’s performance of this song alone as it will always hold a special place in my heart. I will never forget the day I stumbled across them and heard it for the first time, with lyrics that parallel a heart to heart exchanged between two old lovers. Sam guided the audience through an intensely profound journey of heartbreak and sentimentality before dropping an explosion of guitar laced with Sam’s eerie repetition of “and if you’re lost, I will be waiting.” ‘Godmanchester Chinese Bridge’ is an incredibly evocative, nostalgic and melancholic song that leaves you missing someone you’ve never even met.

Words can’t begin to convey just how special The Howl and the Hum are live, don’t miss out on the next big upcoming modern band.

9/10

Photo: Olivia White

It may be AM hours but the Strypes are already off their coach preparing for their set at Manchester’s Neighbourhood Festival. Lead guitarist Josh McClorey leads me upstairs backstage at the Ritz and we’re chatting about the buzz an inner-city festival brings to a place like Manchester. “No need for wellies either,” he adds. We join the others, singer Ross Farrelly, bassist Pete O’Hanlon, and drummer Evan Walsh in the dressing room. The boys had just arrived from playing Glasgow — “always fucking crazy” — and despite the considerable coach journey, all come across exceptionally accommodating and friendly.

There are scarcely signs of grogginess; although young (jealousy-inducingly so) The Strypes are seasoned tourers.

“It’s nice to be on the cycle again. And we remembered our last show at the Ritz as being a particularly good one.”

The band are on the road touring Spitting Image, the third album of their short career. It’s another record of exactly what we’ve come to expect from The Strypes: fast paced Indie rock with an underlying blues the band describe as “unconscious”.

After all, a shared interest in the genre was what got them together in the first place. “Blues is naturally ingrained into us, I think. As well as being the only fucking scale I know how to play.”

This album feels important. The weight of pressure and expectation from the previous album lifted, this time the recording freedom was the most they’d ever had. Producer Ethan Jones “let the songs breathe” and let the boys stay independent. “We’ve been lucky, they let us have it.” Spitting Image, they say, is the closest one of their albums has ever sounded to live performance: “unhinged.”

Speaking of live action, I ask how they handle the relentless schedule they’ve had and still have to come. The answer seems to be the necessity of it, to “push yourself through.”

Next: back to the US (“a dream”) and Japan, where they recorded their live album, soon after. First though, they’re here in Manchester as one of the biggest names on the festival ticket; their show is expected to draw one of the largest crowds of the day. They’re seeing Declan McKenna while they’re here, Man and the Echo, and David Keenan, who they toured with before. “The Subways have a cool logo too.”

An often probed area of any Strypes interview is their beginnings. One minor Irish radio hit recorded around school hours lead to a “flurry of buzz and hype”; one week playing in London and the band from Cavan signed a record deal. They truly exploded onto the scene by late 2012, everyone from Dave Grohl to Sir Elton counting themselves fans soon after.

They played Jools Holland, Castlefield Bowl, toured with Arctic Monkeys, even got themselves on Letterman in the US. But as we talk it’s clear there’s far more to this band than just pace out the blocks: they’ve got the legs to run the distance too. “It’s all about the gigs” says Josh, “and the testament to it is today.”

This is a band who feel at home on a stage. They only got together to have fun playing live music originally anyway.

Things have come a long way since though; now there’s far finer details considered. We get talking about image: “It should be one of the most important things, every aspect about a band should tie in. There hasn’t been a musical movement that’s come without an image.”

Still, there’s far more to it than just the serious stuff. For all that’s been written of their maturity at young ages, I ask them the least mature thing they’ve ever done. Pete says covering everyone’s beds with cheese.

Later at the festival, the band put on a hell of a show. The crowd are fully involved in every direction. Josh’s guitar solos roll out effortlessly. Ross’s voice is strong and Evan’s drumming tight. Pete throws off his bass and leaps into the crowd as the show comes to a close. They were right: they are living for the live performance. And as a result, a live performance from The Strypes is certainly one to behold.

Games 15

ISSUE 5/ 16th October 2017 WWW.MANCHESTERMEDIAGROUP.CO.UK

Feature Album

Speedrunning

A quick history of the subculture

Review

Divinity: Original Sin 2 David Uncle Contributor

Chris Glover Reporter Sp eedrunning” is t he act of play ing t hrough a game w it h t he s ole purp os e of complet ing it in the faste st t ime p oss ible. Whilst t he concept ha s b een around s ince t he very b eginning of v ideo ga me s, t he practice ha s evolved over t he yea rs to form one of the large st sub cult ure s in ga m ing to day.

G a me develop ers event ua lly to ok not ice of players’ p a ss ion for sp eedrunning t heir ga me s, a nd f rom as early a s t he 90’s b ega n to facilit ate a nd incent ivis e playing t hrough levels a s fa st a s p os sible.

C la s sic f irst-p ers on-s ho oter D O OM a llowed players to s ave “demonst rat ions” of t heir runs us ing in-game s of twa re, whilst 1997 ’s G oldenEye 0 07 gave acce ss to cheat s if players could complete levels under cer tain t ime lim it s.

Fa st-forwa rd to to day a nd sp eedrunning has transformed f rom a s m a ll num b er of o b s e ss ive players in niche internet forum s to a huge, st ruct ured community.

To day, m a ny world-cla ss sp eedrunners m ake a living f rom live-st rea m ing t heir record at tempt s on popular v ideo ga me s, a nd t he form at of live sp eedruns has proven p opula r enough to launch a bia nnua l char ity marat hon na med G a me s D one Q uick.

Since it s incept ion in 20 10, it ha s ra is ed over $1 2 million for t he P revent C a ncer Foundat ion a nd Doctors Wit hout B orders cha rit ie s, whilst t he youtube page which do cument s t he live runs ha s clo cked up an impre ss ive 10 0 m illion v iews.

Sp eedrunners comp ete in dif ferent categorie s such as ‘Any %’ — s imply reaching t he end of t he ga me as quick a s p os sible, ‘ 10 0%’ — reaching t he end of t he game and picking up a ll collect ible s, a s well a s va riat ions on the s e which st ipulate whet her t he player ca n us e glitche s or not .

There a re a ls o ga me-sp ecif ic categorie s which add ext ra cha llenge or f un to t he comp et it ion — completing t he notorious ly dif f icult Da rk S ouls s erie s whilst blindfolded, for exa mple. My p ers ona l favourite of the s e is undoubtedly a sp eedrun category for get t i ng banned f rom C lub Penguin in t he q uicke st t ime p ossible.

O f ten, when a n Any % sp eedrun get s s ha red to mainst rea m a nd ca sua l ga mers v ia plat form s like the UniL ad G a m ing a nd G a m ing Bible faceb o ok p age s, the comment s a re f lo o ded w it h p eople compla ining about the player a bus ing glitche s in t heir sp eedruns.

The det ractors a re q uick to la b el such sp eedr uns as ‘cheat ing’, w it h s ome bra nching out into philos ophical a rgument s a b out how sp eedruns a re not how game s are mea nt to b e enj oyed.

For me, it ’s t he ex plo it at ion of what a re, in many cas e s, ga me-brea king glitche s t hat m a ke sp eedrunning such a n a rt form . Every sp eedrunner comp et ing for the world record is acutely awa re of t he s a me glitche s and us e s t hem to o. It ’s like watching a 10 0 met re sprint in which every comp et itor is up to t heir eyeb a lls in steroids; a sup er-enha nced sp ect acle in which b ecaus e ever yone is cheat ing, no -one is.

Furt hermore, t he s e glitche s a ren’t j ust easy, cheap t ricks — t hey’re a lmost a lways signif ica nt ly harder than complet ing t he ga me using convent iona l means. I recent ly watched a sp eedrun of a Ratchet a nd Clank title in which t he runner proudly adm it ted to sp ending over 10 0 hours p erfect ing j ust one j ump glitch.

Ma ny such glitche s a re ‘f ra me-sp ecif ic’, which means t he releva nt but ton(s) must b e pre ss ed during one spe cif ic f ra me; which, for 30 f p s ga me s mea ns it must be t imed to 1/30 t h of a s econd.

B ecaus e every ga me a nd it s mecha nis m s must be studied a nd m a nipulated in completely dif ferent ways, each t it le t hat players sp eedrun ha s it s ow n sub culture, with it s ow n history, it s ow n j a rgon, even it s ow n celebr itie s.

Ye s, Any % sp eedrunners a re most ly not playing the ga me a s it wa s intended to b e played, but t his doe s not mea n t hey’re go ing aga inst t he spirit of ga m i ng.

All ga mers f unda ment a lly undergo t he s a me competit ion: player vs ga me. Sp eedrunners simply t ake this one step f urt her: instead of merely comp et ing against the ga me in it s intended form at , t hey comp ete against its very mecha nics a nd co ding, apply ing pre s sure ever ywhich-way unt il s omet hing give s, a nd t hey can shave one more s econd of f t heir play t hrough.

It ’s ea sy to not im mediately rea lis e how technically impre s sive a nd complex world record sp eedr uns are.

E ach one repre s ent s t he culm inat ion of what is, in s ome ca s e s, decade s of knowledge ga ined f rom the tirele ss t ria l-a nd-error of a group of dedicated runners. E ach run is like a f leet ing piece of a rt , releva nt only until a q uicker run is achieved.

Photo: BagoGames@Flickr

I won’t lie, I went into Divinity: Or iginal S in 2 s ceptical.

As s omeone who pre fers first or third pers on RPGs to is o metr ic one s, I was pois ed to get a S team re fund if I didn’t like it. What I found, however, was one of the r iche st, funnie st and be st RPGs I’ve ever played.

T he be st thing about Divinity is the abs olute freedom given to the player. T here is ver y little handholding, reminding me of the star t T ES III: Mor rowind, where the player is cut loos e with little assistance. T his create s a s ens e of awe and exploration from the star t.

T here’s a wide range of playable race s, from elve s to undead lizards. You have a choice between s everal ‘or igin’ characters, or a completely custom one of your own. I highly recommend your first playthrough be with an origin character, as they have their own unique que stline s and dialogue.

Don’t be put off by them being pre- made. You can still fully customis e their abilitie s. For example, the undead character, Fane, is meant to be a wizard, but I played him as a roguish necromancer who backstabs his foe s, be fore raising them from the dead to fight their for mer allie s.

You for m a par ty of four characters, each being totally customisable. T his means you can cover pretty much all role s. If one of your characters doe sn’t work out, you can re spec them once you get past the first two areas.

Undead characters offer a unique twist. As you’re undead, people won’t react kindly to you. For tunately, you can hide your skeletal for m. T here’s more: healing po tions actually har m you as an undead, whereas pois on potions heal you. Your bony fingers can be us ed to pick locks, and as a skeleton, you can even play dead to avoid getting hur t in combat for a couple of tur ns. It’s this kind of detail that make s Divinity one of a kind. Fane als o has s ome of the wittie st and most enjoyable dialogue in the game.

L ar ian S tudios encourage creative gameplay, which can lead to super- e ffective combos. One of the most power ful

An old-style RPG that turns out to be one of the best.

8/1 9/10

is what I lovingly call the ‘chicken combo’. You us e an ability that make s an enemy take damage whenever they move, then us e a spell to tur n them into a chicken which force s them to r un around like mad. You s ee where this is going. T his make s shor t work of basic enemie s, and is still e ffective against boss e s.

T here’s als o the hilar ious ability called ‘pet-pal’. T his lets you speak to animals, granting the player hints, treasure and even more que sts. I went on a que st to avenge a dead chicken, becaus e its deceas ed spir it asked me to, obviously. Ever y single animal in the game is there fore e ss entially a character, which is fantastic.

T he combat is challenging, yet deeply satisfying. T he multitude of abilitie s means combat is unpredictable and exciting, with endle ss possibilitie s. T here is no level s caling, s o often if you cannot win a fight you must re tur n later. Telepor tation is a big par t of combat, and you get acce ss to it fairly early. It’s us e ful for moving your par ty out of danger, or for telepor ting enemie s into lava.

T he stor y is engaging and has s ome sur pr ising twists, but the real highlights are the side que sts. Whether free ing an ice dragon from a curs e, helping a merchant find his stolen cargo or leading a dog to his owner, they’re great and they’re ever ywhere. T he bigge st motivation to explore is s o you don’t miss out on the s e excellent distractions from the main que st.

L ar ian thought of ever ything, as s een in the Game Master mode, where you can make your own campaigns for co- op using pre- made stage s and ass ets, and act as a D&D Dungeon Master. You can combine this with T he Divinity E ngine 2, which give s you the full dev- kit to make your own worlds or add- ons. Given time and practice, it’s possible to make a whole new feature- length campaign, giving Divinity unr ivalled longevity. T here’s als o a PVP arena if you’re intere sted in combat.

T he co- op mode is als o great fun, e specially when planning combat tactics or just explor ing the world.

Divinity: Or iginal S in 2 has changed my view of is ometr ic RPGs, and I may go and play its predece ss or. It’s what all RPGs should str ive to be: a tr ue s ens e of adventure, tonne s of loot, and infinite possibilitie s. T he minimal handholding can make this game daunting to begin with, but it’s well wor th pers ever ing for what is sure to be one of the be st RPGs ever to grace PC. Revirewed on Windows 10

Retro Corner

Half-Life 2: The past and future

After ten years, where are we now?

Ciaran McLaughlin Contributor Ten years after the release of Half-Life 2 Episode 2, let’s look back at the series and its future.

What’s the longest you have waited for something? I doubt it gets much longer than ten years because that’s been the case for Half-Life fans.

The Half-Life franchise has always innovated. The first game revolutionised storytelling in video games. It told a story through the medium of the gameplay itself, making it far more immersive than anything before.

Half-Life 2 changed the way that games used physics engines. The engine was impressive compared to its contemporaries and with the ‘gravity gun’, the depths of the engine were truly on show. Even the episodic format tried to innovate - even though it never reemerged as a convention in gaming until popularised by Telltale games some six or seven years later.

With all of the success of the series there is still that one lingering question: where is Half-Life 3? Well, no one is sure.

The episode format has been ditched by Valve but this surely doesn’t mean that the whole series has been abandoned — it was a critical and commercial hit, after all.

People have suggested that Valve is waiting for the next innovation. Virtual Reality was hailed as the saviour for the series but seems to have gone the way of motion controls, with the technology and its associated games still not quite ready for mainstream consumption.

There has been speculation if Valve are still interested in making another Half-Life, or indeed any other games. Their online game distribution platform, Steam, has proven to be a major success with them making more money off that than making their own games, which may signal a shift in business model.

The last game they released was Dota 2 in 2013. The last linear story-driven game was Portal 2 in 2011, so it does seem that their interest in making such games has faded.

The writing may seem to be on the wall for Half-Life, but earlier this year Marc Laidlaw, the lead writer for the Half-Life series, dropped a blog post enigmatically titled, “Epistle 3.”

It details a letter written by the mysterious, “Gertie Fre-

mont,” detailing his final adventure. This article is clearly a reference to Episode 3 and how it would have ended the HalfLife 2 story arc.

I won’t spoil it here but there are implications. Laidlaw could have known that we would never see another game so tried to give use some closure, or maybe he just wanted to say how it would be if he was still at Valve.

Either way, he does comment about the current state of Valve in the final paragraph. He mentions that most people he knew that worked on the games have left, so while this doesn’t mean the end or that no one in Valve is interested in making another Half-Life game, it does seem less likely that we’ll see the end.

Ten years since Episode 2 the effects of Half-Life can still be seen in the industry. It’s a shining example of what some would call the golden era of Valve and it’s a shame that we may never see another game in the series.

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16

Fashion & Beauty

ISSUE 5 / 16th OCTOBER 2017 WWW.MANCHESTERMEDIAGROUP.CO.UK

Interview: Imelda Fossu, creator of Let Us Find It

Fashion and Beauty Editor Talia Lee-Skudder met up with Imelda Fossu, the founder and CEO of Let Us Find It, an online search engine that connects you to all of your favourite brands. Fossu talks about her goals for the brand and plans for the future the pieces and you need a plan for every possible scenario.

Where I went wrong when I first started out is that I used to only plan for the best case scenario but then I’d only have that one plan. For example, I’d plan that Amber Rose is going to do a post and it will make X amount and with that money I will do this, this and this. But then Amber does a post and we don’t make any money and that’s when it goes wrong so I had to learn that really early on because I was counting my chickens before they’d hatched all the time.

Photo Credit: Imelda Fossu

F

ollowing her rejection from the University of Edinburgh, 23-year-old, Doncaster born Imelda Fossu, packed her bags and headed to Australia to spend a year travelling. Her travels became the inspiration behind launching her own fashion business Let Us Find It, which is now based in Ancoats, Manchester.

The premise behind the business is simple, just search your favourite celebrity and shop their best looks available on the internet through the medium of Let Us Find It. Imelda has managed to secure big names, such as Amber Rose, to promote and feature on the site, but reveals her main goal is to take the company global and connect with brands from developing countries. Imelda reveals the company’s ethos and her goals for the future.

What is your vision for the company?

Our vision is for borderless commerce. We want to put brands from all over the world onto one platform and the way we’re trying to do it is through celebrity culture and influencer culture. This is why we’re building these celebrity partnerships, but really we’re doing that to help the brands whose products are the foundation of what we do. Celebrities encourage the consumer to buy the products, I know that’s what influences me especially when I’m shopping.

was so difficult to get them on board and see the vision I had.

Some of the biggest brands understood what I was planning to do but really you have to be there to make the deals, so once I got back to the UK communication was lost with them.

We made loads of flyers and got it translated to Khmer (the official language of Cambodia) and went out on the streets and the markets. Some of the reactions I got were so weird, some people said online shopping is cheating but those were the older people. Now I know I need brands that are already established in these developing countries.

When do you think the company will be at the point when it is exactly how you envisioned it?

If you’d have asked me when I was 19 I would’ve said, “I want to be retired by the time I’m 25”. I turned 23 in March and so now I’m like oh god I’ve got two years to find a husband, get married and sell the company. Now, I think its going to take another five years at least to get real good traction, for it to be like okay this is where it is, this is the dream and then it would just be scaling it up. I think to achieve the perfect tech

So you’ve learnt about how to run a business just as you’ve gone along?

Yeah and I’ve made loads of mistakes, I always say you have to fail and fail very quickly. The times where I’ve not failed quickly are the times where I’ve had the most stress. When this website was delayed for a year I was in pain for a year because I didn’t know if it was going to go well or not. You constantly have to trial your ideas to see if they will sink or float and that’s really stressful. I feel like I’ve failed a lot but I’m learning through it, you have to make mistakes to go forward.

16-25 year olds because I think they’re the most progressive. We’re a different generation where we’re more exposed to new things and we’re not so afraid of new things anymore.

My brother, who’s 17, he’s cool so I am always asking him his opinions on things because he will have a fresh interpretation. So that’s why I’m pitching it to these progressive people because they will enjoy the idea but also get the most out of it.

I came up with the idea in October 2014 whilst I was travelling, and then created the company in January. I spent so much of my backpacker money on clothes in Australia and one of the things I bought was a floppy hat, they were really in fashion at the time, and I paid $60 for it. When I got to Cambodia I was shopping in the markets, wearing my floppy hat, and I saw exactly the same hat with exactly the same label, probably from the same factory, it was the same colour, same everything. Except these hats cost around $3 each and the woman on the stall was desperately trying to sell them to me. That just hit home for me because there was this woman who was so desperate to sell just one $3 hat and I had just walked into a shop and paid 20 times the price for it in Australia.

It was in Cambodia that the idea for LUFI really started.

Everyone had smartphones and everyone had Facebook, they were all connected online, so I just wanted to create this platform where these people would be able to sell their goods and maybe even to the UK, US and Australian customers.

On her return to Australia, Imelda was so keen to begin her business that she spent $50 AUD of her backpacking fund to meet with a web developer and discuss her plans. She had no experience with tech and her fashion experience was limited to her own interests, yet she was determined to bring her plans to fruition.

Originally LUFI was a search engine and I had wanted to set it up in Cambodia. So I spent a month living in Cambodia in 2015 and went to speak to loads of Cambodian brands. It

I was going to do International Business with French at the University of Edinburgh but I fell down on my French grade.

I was really picky about the University I wanted to go to because I saw it as a really big investment of my time and my money so I didn’t want to go through clearing and end up at University that I didn’t have my heart set on. I didn’t just want to go for a laugh, it sounds silly because I was only 18 but it was so serious for me and I wanted to go and do really well. I just assumed that everything would go perfectly and chose two of the top universities in the country for my two choices, so when I didn’t get in I just thought well it’s not for me then. If I’m not good enough to go to these places then I don’t want to go, so I went travelling instead.

Who is your ideal customer?

When and how did you come up with the idea behind Let Us Find It (LUFI)?

“Our vision is for borderless commerce. We want to put brands from all over the world onto one platform”

You didn’t end up going to University, what happened there?

“90 per cent of businesses fail in their first year and of that 10 per cent, 90 per cent fail in their second year and now we’re nearly at year three” Photo Credit: Imelda Fossu

will take at least another 18 months and I think that’s when we’ll see a really big change in the business. I think in five years I’ll want out and be ready to go live on a beach. I think in five years that’s when we’ll want to make the company public and do something big like that, and I think that’s when I’ll want to step down as CEO. Imelda hopes to make LUFI a social shopping site in the style of an Instagram feed, where you can connect with your fellow shoppers and stalk your favourite celeb styles.

What’s your typical working day?

There is no typical working day. Usually, I have to do all the boring admin stuff but a lot of it is business strategy.

Harriet, Imelda’s sister and managing director of the company, interjects: That’s where Imelda spends 98 per cent of her time, its just strategy, strategy, strategy. How do we do it?

When do we do it? Where do we do it?

Imelda: If I’m not doing it I’m thinking about it. It’s like a chessboard all the time and you constantly have to move

What is your most proud achievement so far?

I think I’m most proud that we just continue to survive and change. 90 per cent of businesses fail in their first year and of that 10 per cent, 90 per cent fail in their second year and now we’re nearly at year three. I think for me I’m proud that we keep soldiering on and keep going because a lot of success is about perseverance.

There have been a lot of tough times with the business, when it would’ve been easier to give up than to carry on. The celeb stuff and meetings with brands is so cool but I think the fact that we’re still here and still working to make a success of the business, I’m proud of that everyday.

Check out Let Us Find It at www.letusfindit.com and stay tuned for exciting new developments on the site.

Fashion & Beauty 17

ISSUE 5 / 16th OCTOBER 2017 WWW.MANCHESTERMEDIAGROUP.CO.UK

Balenciaga’s new meme: the CROC

Fashion player of the week: Petra Collins

Deputy Fashion and Beauty Editor, Sophie Walsh dubs Petra Collins the next big thing Name: Petra Collins Birth: 21 December 1992, Toronto, Canada Occupation: Fashion photographer, artist, artistic director, fashion model At the age of eighteen Petra Collins failed her senior year of high school.

Six years later, she’s shot major campaigns for Gucci, Adidas and Calvin Klein to name a few. She’s photographed Kim Kardashian for Wonderland magazine, Bella Hadid for Vogue and Samuel L . Jackson for The New York Times. Most recently, she has made a name for herself in the music industry, directing the hazy, suburban dystopia that is Selena G omez’s music video “Fetish”. The IRL best friends collaborated to create a horror based love child where a dazed G omez chews on glass and writhes in a giant freezer full of peaches. No stranger to the opposite side of the camera herself, she has also modelled for the Gucci Bloom perfume campaign.

Her dreamy photography is a siren amongst a sea of crisp, largely male powered fashion images. From hyper-intense neon’s reminiscent of buzzing electric diner signs to the pastel haze of lazy summers in Lolita-like Suburbia, her work can be described as nostalgic. Often favouring a film camera instead of digital, her shots have the vintage look of golden era film stills.

Inspiration comes from the amalgamation of old school, Hitchcock style voyeurism and Lovelace era pornography (she owns a collection of vintage lad’s mags for colour research).

However, what makes her work so unique is that it is told entirely from the perspective of the female gaze. Her photography is part of today’s third wave feminism; no longer afraid to visually display female sexual empowerment or to challenge gender stereotypes. For example, with an Instagram following of 634K, she has pioneered a hyper-feminine aesthetic now echoed across the platform. Girls are embracing traditional ideas of womanhood

Photo Credit:petrafcollins@instagram

like associations with natures f lora and fauna, and the colour pink. But at the same time openly celebrating the female body, for example, rejecting the stigma around body hair and periods.

From high school dropout, she has built up a sparkling career purely through hard work and an adolescent vision of what fashion photography could be. Struggling academically at school, she took refuge in creating instead. Starting in her home, taking pictures of her younger sister, after a series of breaks in an industry that recognised a need for a refreshing new perspective, she is now a recognised talent. Petra Collins is no doubt a name we will be hearing a lot more of in the future.

Fashion contributor Ella Searle, examines the underlying intentions of Balenciaga’s latest Croc creation In Manchester, current fashion trends are always at the forefront of attention and we can see this fashion nostalgia everywhere we look, especially in the fashion-conscious student community.

In the 1920s when wealth and power were of the utmost importance, fur was worn with pride and seen as a symbol of people’s status in society. As activists began to protest the use of fur on animal rights grounds such as PETA’s ‘I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur’ campaign in Japan in 1992, it was worn less frequently as a fashion statement for fear of public shaming. However, the creation of faux-fur brought back this style to our wardrobes for cheaper prices and a clearer conscience. In this month’s Vogue, the likes of Céline, Michael Kors and Kurt Geiger pictured their models draped with opulent fur coats – fur has certainly not lost its lavish charm. Coloured fur has also risen in popularity over the past couple of years, with high street stores such as Topshop and Urban Outfitters selling a myriad of pink, purple, orange fur garments and accessories – you name it, it works with fur!

In the 1980s, fitness wear was at the height of fashion and in this era, new synthetic fabrics were developed and used to create new exciting garments using innovative materials such as Gore-tex, Sympatex, Nylon. The popular noughties brand Juicy Couture produced the iconic velour tracksuit which was a massive hit among a new wave of celebrities who were often spotted by the paparazzi going about their lives in bright pink plush glory; namely, Britney Spears who ordered a bespoke Juicy tracksuit for each member of her wedding party in 2004 to Kevin Federline. However, the hype consequently faded

Photo Credit: 151878285@N06 @flickr

into obsolete by 2007, but now it is making a surprising comeback. Whilst active-wear as day-wear is pretty much a weekly if not a daily occurrence for the general public, what better time for the label to make a comeback?

Vetements launched a cherry-red Juicy all in one at the catwalk shows in Paris which moved onto leading department stores such as Bloomingdales and Harrods stocking the new line of Juicy sets.

For as long as I can remember throughout my teenage years no girl would be seen dead in any other jeans than a high-waisted, super skinny-legged pair. Nevertheless, we now see an influx of flares filtering back through from the 70s and girls are even daring to wear the low-waisted hip bone-skimming jeans we thought Kate Moss could only ever pull off.

Here are just a few of the recycled trends that pay homage to our past fad fashions, you’d be surprised to see how much history you have currently in your wardrobe.

Being called a Brat has never felt so good Fashion and Beauty Contributor Nicole Lloyd delves into the latest beauty trends influenced by our childhood Bratz dolls We can now say that our childhood fashion icons are now back, and have taken social media by storm. Bratz are no longer just an inspiration to tiny tots, but to the youngwomen of tomorrow. The brand with the mantra “It’s good to be yourself; It’s good to be Bratz” is back by popular demand, inspiring young girl’s wardrobes everywhere.

The #Bratzchallenge is trending across Instagram and Twitter, girls are trying their hardest to pay homage to the fantastic fivesome. The new trend involves girls doing their makeup in the style of Bratz with dramatic eyebrows, full eyelashes, lip liner, glossy lips, and edgy clothing. Even celebrities have been compared to Bratz dolls over the years with the likes of people like kylie Jenner, Rihanna, The Spice Girls etc. Just a bunch of Bratz really. Looking like a doll is no longer just for Halloween.

Bratz is an American product line of fashion dolls and merchandise by MGA, originally consisting of four but later expanding to five dolls in 2015 (Cloe, Yasmin, Sasha, Raya, Jade), they took over 40 per cent of the fashion doll market. The dolls rock fashion-forward clothing, always following pop culture trends

closely.

The team behind the dolls are real-life fashion designers. They have designed for real people, including many famous faces, such as Cher.

The Bratz dolls are commonly associated with big chunky platform boots, f lared trousers, glitter and more glitter anything in fashion pop culture trending, you name it Bratz have worn it.

It’s possible to get the Bratz look whilst keeping on the student budget. Brands such as NYX offer an array of high quality pigmented palettes, from Smokey eye to bright popping eyeshadow. Morphes 35 c and 35 b palette offer bright bold colours from greens to pinks if you’re looking to stand out, not to mention Morphe is in the holy grail of makeup bloggers eyeshadow palettes. You can’t forget the glossy lip accompanied by lip liner. Brands such as Fenty Beauty, NYX, kiko, L.A. colors or even a £1 lip gloss, can get the job done. Glitter, glitter and more glitter cannot be forgotten, that blinding highlight is calling for you. Makeup revolution, Primark, kiko are examples of cheap but dazzling highlighters perfect for that bratz look. Just remember be inventive, be you, just put a little Bratz on it.

Photo Credit: alexbabs1@flickr

Film

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Sara

Blade Runner 2049

Director Herman Yau dropped by at HomeMcr for a very interesting Q&A following the screening of Sara

James Gill Film Critic Throughout his directing career Denis Villeneuve has proved that regardless of budget or genre, he can create a great piece of cinema. Blade Runner 2049 is Villeneuve’s second foray into existential science fiction, a sequel to Ridley Scott’s timeless 1982 classic, and it is truly staggering in scale.

There is a distinct step away from the original in terms of style but he continues to build upon both the world and themes Scott developed. Similarities can be seen between the two, for instance both involve an unfathomably powerful corporation who manufacture replicants, androids who are superior to humans in almost every way, except for their lack of empathetic abilities. In 2049 the original corporation has been bought out by another, helmed by an extraordinary looking, ironically blind, Jared Leto. In preparation for the role he partially blinded himself and because of that he won’t be disappointed at how few scenes in which he appears. His intentions are sinister however most of the work beyond brooding is done by his assistant Luv (Sylvia Hoeks).

The plot centres around Ryan Gosling’s K, a replicant Blade Runner tasked, like Harrison Ford before him, to hunt down other replicants living illegally. After each ‘retiring’ of a replicant K must endure the Voight-Kampff test, a bizarre psychological assessment to determine if his human to android balance is still correct after a traumatic experience. The sterile, emotionless nature of his employment is a product of the bleak, dystopian world he lives in. At home

he is greeted by his girlfriend Joi, played by Ana De Armas, who is sumptuously attractive, albeit holographically.

A sad product of technological advancement, the waifu of today’s culture has long since been replaced by an A.I girlfriend so complex that it makes that of Spike Jonze’s Her look cheap and tacky. The main downside to a holographic significant other is the impossibility of physical intimacy. To overcome this Joi arranges for a prostitute to come to the minuscule flat they both live

“2017 seems to be the year in which Harrison Ford finally cares about his acting performances again” and, in perhaps the strangest thing I have ever seen, have sex with K whilst she layers her holographic body over that of the prostitute, their two separate bodies flickering over one another. Even in love he can’t find a human touch.

This idea of humanity is explored throughout the film, most poignantly so towards the end. K pauses outside a building and extends his arm, snowflakes gently land upon it before quickly melting. Inside that building is a female character (Carla Juri), who’s compromised immune system traps here in a large, sterile bubble where she

Photo: Ma_Co2013 @ Flickr

can is forced to invent her own reality. We watch as she too extends her arm, holographic snowflakes gently landing upon it before glitching out of existence. Both feel empty in their inability to experience life in its purest form.

Roger Deakins, regarded by many as the pre-eminent cinematographer of our time, nominee of thirteen Academy Awards, winner of none, will undoubtably receive his fourteenth for his incredible work here. Few would deny his work should have earned him at least one golden statuette and this I feel, although I hesitate to make such bold predictions, should be his year. The 2049 version of Los Angeles was horrifically miserable, truly deserving of the dystopian name and when K travels to Las Vegas, he

“Villeneuve’s second forray into existential science fiction [...] is truly staggering in scale”

plemented beautifully by Hans Zimmer’s score, although beautiful is not an attribute you would not easily assign. It’s harsh, disjointed and unmelodic, and unless you sat through to the end credits there would be no indication that it was indeed composed

by Zimmer.

Next on the agenda for Villeneuve is Frank Herbert’s science fiction epic Dune.

There have been several attempts of a big screen adaptation and all have failed. David Lynch’s version was deemed sacrilege to fans, Alejandro Jodorowsky’s version, had it received funding, would have certainly changed cinema forever, with Pink Floyd, Salvador Dali, Orson Welles, Mick Jagger and many more attached.

The seed of that film, denied the water to sprout, was so significant as simply a seed that it influenced fantasy films of the future like Ridley Scott’s Alien. Interestingly Ridley Scott was attached to Dune for seven months before the death of his brother Frank made it too tough to continue. Now, just as he took over the reigns on Blade Runner, Villeneuve will take over the reigns on Dune, and I for one am sure we are in very capable hands.

4/5

encounters a world so different yet somehow still dystopian. That wretched, angular world which Deakins created is com-

Review

The Reagan Show

“Take that Mr Gorbachev”; a charming look at Ronald Reagan’s persona through White House archival footage

Tobias Soar Film Contributor

Photo: Film Poster

Review

Review

Review

A ce le br ity pre s ide nt who e njoys d i st rac t i ng jou r n al ist s s it s i n t he W h ite Hou s e wh i le t he t h re at of an i mp e nding nucle ar war lo om s… You m ay as su me we’ re t al k i ng ab out D on ald J. Tr u mp but , al as, t he su bje c t of T he Re aga n S how i s, of cou rs e, Ron ald Re agan .

T h i s do c u me nt ar y, comp os e d e nt i re ly of news re p ort s and fo ot age f rom t he W h ite Hou s e arch ive s, i s d i re c ted

by S ie r ra Pe t te ng i l l and Pacho Ve le z . It ’s a 78 m i nute p eek i nto t he m an , t he p e rs on a, t he ch arac te r t h at was Rona ld Re agan , rat he r t h an t he s e e m i ng ly ste e ly- eye d 4 0t h pre side nt of t he Un ite d S t ate s of A me r ica.

T he pre s e nt at ion i s re f re s h i ng ; t he f i l m m ai nt ai n s a 4 : 3 asp e c t rat io ak i n to t h at of cat ho de ray t u b e te lev i s ion s e t s, w it h cleve r e d it i ng t h at i s accomp an ie d by a g reat s ou ndt rack . No, t he mu s ic i s n’ t me morable, but t h at ’s p erfe c t for a do c u me nt ar y. Cre s ce ndos al lude to a g re ater s e n s e of d ram a or u rge ncy i n ce r t ai n mome nt s, wh i le a pl ay f u l me lo dy w i l l u nde rl i ne come d ic mome nt s s catte re d t horoug h ly t h roug hout t he f i l m .

D ue to Ron ald Re agan’s b ackg rou nd as a st ar on t he s ilve r s c re e n , m any s aw h i m u n f it for pre s ide ncy. Un fazed, he st and s h i s g rou nd whe n q ue r ie d ab out t h i s i n i nterv iews, by de cl ar i ng t h at b e i ng pre s ide nt i s me re ly an act , a s how i f you w i l l , he nce t he t it le of t he do c u me nt ar y. T he fo c u s on t he PR war wage d b e twe e n t he USA and t he US SR on ly go e s on to f u r t he r re i n force t he ide a of Re agan b e i ng t he st ar of t he world’s most watche d re al ity te lev i sion s how.

T he w r ite rs, Jos h A lexande r, F ranc i s co B e l lo, and Pacho Ve le z , don’ t s hy away f rom de pic t i ng Re agan as a bit of a bu f fo on , and m ake it cle ar as to why m any d i s approved of h i s le ade rs h ip. Re agan’s de fe n s ive Cold War p ol icie s e s s e nt i al ly e nde d t he p e r io d of de te nte b e twe e n t he USA

a nd t he USSR, pushing t he Arm s Race forwa rd instead of s low ing it dow n or bringing it to a ha lt .

The p acing of t he f ilm , a s noted prev iously, is s et by t he great s oundt rack a nd edit ing. However, t he s e element s ca n’t s ave t he s erious dip at a round 50 m inute s into t he runt ime of t he do cument a ry. It ’s a lmost a s if t he whole t hing runs into s ome q uicks a nd a nd st ruggle s to get out b e fore t he credit s roll.

Watching Rona ld at tempt to deliver a st atement , lo oking dow n in f rust rat ion a nd rep eat ing it mult iple t ime s while t ry ing to pronounce a s enator’s na me to no ava il, s erve s a greater purp os e t ha n b eing comedic relie f; it ’s a cha rming, hum a nis ing lo ok at Rona ld Reaga n t he m a n, not t he pre sident .

Na ncy Reaga n, of cours e, is om nipre s ent a s t he driv ing force b ehind t he pre s idency. F rom her prompt ing whisp ers to her husb a nd when he forget s his words in t he m iddle of a sp eech to her st at ing “I t hought I m a rried a n actor! ” in a n interv iew, she help s to reinforce t he fo olishne s s of her hus b a nd while s imult a neous ly convey ing t he hum a n a sp ect s of t he f ilm .

D e spite losing it s fo ot ing two t hirds into it s runt ime, The Reaga n Show is a n enj oya ble do cument a ry t hat offers a dif ferent insight into t he live s of Rona ld a nd Na ncy Reaga n during t he former’s pre s ident ia l term . However, if p olit ics, p a rt icula rly world or America n p olit ics, during t he 70 s a nd 8 0 s a ren’t your cup of tea , t his do cument a ry w ill prov ide not hing but b oredom for you during it s brie f runt ime.

3/5

Film 19

ISSUE 5 / 16th October 2017 WWW.MANCHESTERMEDIAGROUP.CO.UK

ISSUE 5/ 16th October 2017 WWW.MANCHESTERMEDIAGROUP.CO.UK

Photo: homemcr.org

Sana Ditta Film Contributor

From the onset, Yau does not disappoint, choosing to open Sara with a vivid depiction of the titular character being sexually abused by her stepfather as her mother does nothing to stop him. This results in a rather naïve 14-year-old Sara Ho (Charlene Choi) running away from home and finding refuge in parks or 24-hour food joints. At this point, she meets the good-natured Kam Ho-yin (Simon Yam) and embarks on a rather unconventional and predictably destructive relationship.

Cut to present day and Sara is now a journalist working on an exposé piece. Betrayed by her boyfriend, she leaves for Chiang Mai. Here, she meets Dokmy (Sunadcha Tadrabiab) and becomes increasingly interested in her story; that of a young girl selling herself for money to provide for her family – a harsh yet cruel reality for many.

The film is based on Yau’s personal observations in Thailand – a country infamously known for its sex industry. He states that he wanted to shed more light on the age-old industry but wanted Sara to be more of a commentary on real issues that will hopefully raise the audience’s awareness; it’s no wonder then that Dokmy’s character is from Thailand.

Yau manages to successfully bring the two narratives together by paralleling Dok-my’s story of underage prostitution with the abuse that Sara suffered with during her childhood. Both are characters that essentially sell themselves in the hopes of pursuing a better life but one is painted as much“glossier” than the other. Sara pays Dok-my to reveal her story for an article before going on to help Dok-my escape her life; perhaps, this is Sara’s way of facing her own past but it is evident that the naivety of teenage Sara resurfaces in assuming that she could protect Dok-my. This is made abundantly clear when Dokmy runs away from her new home.

Sara and Ho-yin’s relationship is one that is problematic from the beginning. The teenage Sara exchanges sex for a spot in a grade 1 school. Whilst it’s easy to empathize with Sara’s story, Hoyin – a middle-aged man – is a character I feel ambivalent about; it is unclear if he truly does have feelings for Sara or just using her for sex. This is further emphasized by the fact that he never makes their relationship public and is good at keeping his personal life private; Sara spies on him brief ly only to discover he is a married man with a family and a devout Christian.

The relationship is a clear abuse of power on Ho-yin’s behalf but Yau is excellent at making you forget the morality of this by portraying the two as having genuine feelings for each other. At times, you find yourself wanting the relationship to work out despite the foundations upon which it was built on. Still, the film is not merely a simplistic portrayal of Sara being a victim, as she then exploits Dokmy for her story.

Despite the hard-hitting storylines of both Sara and Dokmy, Yau chooses to end the film optimistically, showing that there is a way of getting information out into the world without it being filtered through corrupted institutions. However, this does little to gloss over the fact that the film does not tell you a lot about the industry itself, which possibly stops it from being a much more memorable and poignant film.

My main concern is that the little that is portrayed is somewhat overshadowed by Sara’s and Hoyins unconventional relationship.

Sara is a compelling film highlighting the true exploitation faced by many around the world with remarkable characters and great acting by Choi but just falls short of being unforgettable.

3. 5/5

Daphne Emily Beecham shines above the rest in neurotic indie drama Lucas Hill-Paul Film Critic After a cinematic year dominated by masculinity – whether challenged in Dunkirk, ridiculed in Free Fire or celebrated in Transformers – it’s refreshing to sit down and be rewarded by a genuine and earnest female presence. While Wonder Woman’s success at the box office looked male-dominated cinema square in the face and demanded it move, her character never felt as tangible or true as Emily Beecham’s Daphne.

A disillusioned, thirty-something Londoner, Daphne is a junior chef who drinks to avoid the stupidity of daily life and dabbles in psychology, healthy cynicism and Slavov Žižek. “You had to Google him, didn’t you?”

Daphne asks of both her boss and the audience, firmly establishing her character as wilfully, yet healthily pretentious and, later, nihilistic. Once Daphne witnesses an act of violence, she comes to realise that her scepticism and motivated detachment has bred a feeling of emptiness. Though the focus on such a passive and neurotic character removes some of the narrative thrust the film needs, Daphne works as both an ode to the well-read, cynical intelligentsia and a warning that life is ultimately about making connections.

Proceeded by skillful rooftop shots of a drunk or hungover Daphne meandering around London that lend the film some visual splendour and establishes her isolated role within the sprawling city space, the connections that our protagonist does succeed in making are a mixed bag. It’s obvious that Beecham is the film’s best performer, with many of the supporting players struggling to keep up with her piercing realism. Scenes intended as improvisational banter are frequently in danger of becoming too awkwardly British, though thankfully the most prevalent supporting presence, Nathaniel Martello-White’s David, is likable enough to forgive his clunky missteps.

Though Peter Mackie Burns’ feature debut could easily be mistaken for a particularly well-produced episode of television, the shooting manages to find a

Photo: allocine.fr

balance between filmic and practical. Daphne’s style is simple without being clinical, and frequently manages to find some unexpected beauty in the grime of backstreet London, the flour and sweat of the kitchen and the peaceful solace of Daphne’s squalid and homey apartment. Nico Mensinga’s scripting is suitably sharp, full of natural monologues and competition, colourful language and sarcasm, it made for easy watching knowing that, if the cinematography fell short of stimulating, the dialogue was always in safe hands.

Despite wishing the film to explore the seediness of London a little more, it manages to subtly navigate race and class relations that pertain in modern Britain. The man involved in the critical moment of violence is an Asian shopkeeper, and the film successfully, but not forcefully, highlights the violence faced by working-class migrants. Though it loses some of this edge throughout the subsequent narrative, themes of connectivity and cultural divides culminate wonderfully in the film’s well-earned final moments that play so convincingly, it’s hard to imagine the film ending in any other way.

Daphne’s slow and occasionally uncaring pace often clashes poorly with the slow awkwardness of its supporting performances, but Beecham is biting and strangely likable enough to hold attention. Her contempt and self-destruction may prove grating for some viewers, but taken as a deconstruction of the pessimistic intellectual it’s largely successful. Beecham and Burns work hard to construct Daphne as endearing and substantial character, despite her emptiness, to invariably fulfilling results. A great character study before a great film, Daphne introduces an exciting new talent whilst effectively challenging the smug neuroses of embittered intellectuals.

2/5

Review

The Sleep Curse

Image:fareastfilm.com Photo: Ma_Co2013 @ Flickr

Herman Yau and Anthony Wong reunite for The Sleep Curse

Esmee Samsworth Film Critic The Sleep Curse (2017) see director, Herman Yau, and Anthony Wong reunite in collaboration after they found success in the early 1990s with cult horror films The Untold Story (1993) and Ebola Syndrome (1996). Their partnership was when it began, a happy one, one that promised well-crafted, interesting stories as well as scares and about as much gore as any horror fan could wish for.

However, one can’t help but question if this partnership which used to provoke audiences, has gone the way of other creative relationships like Johny Depp and Tim Burton; has familiarity and ease lead to a loss of objectivity about what makes a film truly entertaining?

The premise of The Sleep Curse, is an interesting one.

Wong plays neurologist Lam Sing who is drawn into his families past when an old love interest, Monique (Jojo Goh) comes to him for help concerning her brother’s extreme insomnia that has turned him into something of a deranged psychopath. We later finds out that the curse threatens to effect everyone within the families. The beginning of the film starts off strongly, (indeed, this is probably one of Yau’s most masterfully produced films) with grainy found footage from the 1990s featuring Monique’s brother as he succumbs to the curse. It’s eery and powerful, the kind of scary that leaves you walking out of the cinema feeling like someone is following you.

However, from there the film descends into chaos. Part of what makes good horror, is the suspense, the growing anxiety you feel as you watch. It’s the unknown that leaves the lasting sense of fear lingering with long after a films ended. With The Sleep Curse, Yau forgoes this subtle build of fear by revealing the entirety of the plot within the first hour, in favour of shock body horror and copious amounts gore.

The middle section of the film drags as we are transported from the present day and taken back in time to World War Two in a series of flashbacks. The past actions of the characters’ fathers are to blame for the curse, and whilst Wong who also plays Lam Sr. does alright, he doesn’t plumb the depths of his horror skills with either role. What made his performances in The Untold Story and Ebola Syndrome so terrifying and consequentially brilliant, was his ability to make you truly believe he was on the edge of madness at all times. In The Sleep Curse, I’m just not sure I believe it.

In the attempt to make The Sleep Curse frightening it’s almost as though screenwriters, Erica Li and Lee Sing have flung as many elements of the horror genre as they could think of at a wall and hoped that a few stuck. The result is a film full of jump scares and gratuitous violence and gore — including full body mutilation, and graphic torture and rape scenes. Yes, there are moments that will make you jump with fright, but they do not linger.

The ending does manage to make sense of the chaos and more. It is grotesque in it’s violence, to the point of being a little ludicrous, but it works. The underlying fear is there as well as the body horror that makes the Saw franchise look like Child’s Play.

If you’re a fan of slashers and don’t mind too much about plot, then The Sleep Curse is something you’ll want to watch, however if you’re after something with a little suspense and eeriness then maybe give this one a miss.

2.5/5

Books

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ISSUE 5 / 16th OCTOBER 2017 WWW.MANCHESTERMEDIAGROUP.CO.UK

Feature

Protest: Stories of Resistance – an afternoon with Maxine Peake Megan Moore Books Reporter On Sunday the 6th of October, the Manchester Literature Festival welcomed Manchester’s very own activist and actress, Maxine Peake, to The Dancehouse; as the Patron for Comma Press, where she presented a new collection of short stories aptly named Protest: Stories of Resistance.

The book contains fictional accounts of individuals involved in, or affected by, protests in the UK, whilst remaining true to the history of democratic statements between 1381 and 2003.

The stories range from accounts based on the Suffragettes on hunger strike to mixed race couples and their inspirations from Malcolm X’s visit to Smethwick in 1965.

The anthology heavily focuses on the emotional impact that politics and protest has had on the lives of those that history has seemingly chosen to forget.

Peake introduced herself and the collection, describing its focus as one that is “re-imagining the history of British protest through fiction,” and the blurred lines between riot and revolution. The collection touched upon the Suffrage movement, beginning at home in Manchester and how it was initially being treated as radical and delusional.

We were often reminded of how attempts to make political, social, and even humanitarian progress through acts of protest are received with dismissal throughout the afternoon, and it became very apparent that the speakers’ pieces were very emotionally charged.

Guest speakers Michelle Green, Kit de Waal, and Courttia Newland read extracts from the short stories that they had submitted to the collection.

The group stressed the way that the different relationships of their characters were affected either by their inspiration from or involvement in protests.

Newland focused upon the poll tax riot that occurred in March 1990 — specifically the way in which the relationship between the two central characters is shifted due to their involvement in the riot — when it begins to become physical, rather than peaceful. Newland himself recounted how he was tempted to get involved in the march when attending University and hearing of it, but concluded against going.

Michelle Green’s piece focused on the Suffrage movement, but I found it interesting that she commented on how, very often in history we only remember the figure heads of movements, such as Pankhurst or Davison, rather than the thousands of working class women that upheld the cause and fought for their rights with desperation and vigour.

It made me question whether the way in which we are taught history is still relevant. The things that are overlooked, more often than not, are incidents that are deeply controversial, painful, and clearly adhere to less commonly held views.

Titled ‘There Are Five Ways Out of this Room,’ Green’s short story draws a lens on the practice of force feeding imprisoned activists due to their going on hunger strikes, and exposes in graphic detail the brutality of the practice. Green confirmed that the narrator of her short story was initially based on Annie Kenny, but wanted to give a voice to the unsung heroes of the Suffrage movement — Green’s passion for the forgotten women of the Suffragette movement and the gravity of their ordeals was very moving.

In the Q&A session after the readings of all three authors, the expression of concern and hesitancy when embarking upon the task of fictionalising history became apparent.

I suppose one way of approaching the issue is that, where acts of protest and resistance have been rendered ‘radical’ and have been largely opposed, it is no wonder that throughout history they themselves are suspended and become a sort of fiction. Consequently, these lessons were not taught for a while.

Tales of irrevocable trauma and heavily scarred

personal narratives are at times so unsettling that it is no wonder that history can become fictionalised.

As part of the project the writers worked with historical experts in order to ensure the accuracy and attention to detail of their piece. Those covering more recent protests managed to talk to individuals who had either attended or been affected by the protests. Waal commented on the difficulty in trying to balance fiction with fact, ensuring that critical details weren’t “glossed over” or dismissed as to remain true to history.

Waal’s contribution to the anthology documents the struggle of a mixed-race couple living in the West Midlands during 1965, surrounded by conservative opinion towards people of colour and keeping their affair secret as to avoid the public scandal that they knew it would inevitably evoke.

Speaking of her own experience as a child, Waal recounted how she had awareness of her “difference” in coming from a mixed-race family, disclosing how her and her mother would frequently be spat at on the street, and that “there are still lots of brick walls that have to come down”.

Newland also discussed his experiences with racism as a child, facing slurs and hurtful comments at school and his mother facing the same harassment when she would come to pick him up.

The visit of Malcolm X in Smethwick was seen as a bold statement at the time. Walking through the predominantly white areas and receiving verbal abuse from the inhabitants. The outward presence of activism against this vicious hatred was inspiring to many. “I think it’s almost impossible to write without being political,” Waal says.

In her closing speech, Peake recited Carl Sandburg’s ‘I Am the People, the Mob’, a poem that perfectly summed up the topics discussed throughout the afternoon and the aim of the open

“I am the people — the mob — the crowd — the mass...

Do you know that all the great work of the world is done through me?

I am the audience that witnesses history.” Carl Sandburg discussion following the Q&A session.

With a strong message of revolution and rising against injustice, the crowd’s applause and hum of feet pounding the floor shook The Dancehouse.

The power of the people was a prominent theme throughout the afternoon, we have the power to make our voices heard and impose real change on the issues that we are concerned with. Literature forever remains a strong medium for political and social commentary and forever remains a vehicle for change.

Peake and her guests highlighted to me both the progress that we have made as a society to get to where we are, but also how much more needs to be done to achieve equality for all regardless of gender, religion, sexuality, or race.

So what’s stopping us? As the next generation, we can make the biggest difference of all. Never settle.

Never endure. Protest.

Photo: The Mancunion

Review

Malika Booker at the Manchester Literature Festival Poet Malika Booker talks politics at the Manchester Literature Festival Maisie Scott Books Reporter The backdrop to the reading by Malika Booker on Sunday the 8th of October was the International Anthony Burgess Institute, an old industrialist building with red brick walls and lofty ceilings, an appropriately un-stuffy setting for an emerging London poet to perform.

The rows of red velvet clad chairs set out for the audience to sit on and the upturned wooden crates for the water jug and microphones to rest, oozed a characteristically Mancunian edge. Arriving "just off the train," Malika Booker instantly dazzled as she took to the stage, stopping to enthusiastically greet a friend on the cheek as she walked up to the stage it became evident that some familiar faces had come to support Booker with her performance.

The focus Malika Booker was asked to work on for her commissioned event was based on U.K. politics, but her approach also knitted it tightly to her own Caribbean background. Seamlessly, Booker unified British political turbulence with Black History Month, which runs throughout October.

However, she confessed it was not without complication due to the fear that you may "lose the poetry" because you are trying to respond to current affairs.

Understandably, it can be hard to find poetic beauty whilst considering a dismal political climate that contains deeply divisive figures such as Donald Trump and our very own Nigel Farage.

Despite this, Malika Booker was still able to offer her captivated audience a new poetical compass by which to navigate the post-Brexit seas by breaking down speeches by key players such as the headmistress tones of Theresa May, adding an extra Caribbean flavour.

First, she dissected the actual speech of the political figure in question and then she placed it in a couplet with her own Caribbean-inspired response. To considerable comic effect, she made a distinction between the political jargon and her own response by leaning to stage left when quoting from the speech, and to stage right when speaking her own thoughts.

On some level Booker’s use of bodily movement to show the distinction between the fat cats of politics and her private reactions, is reflective of a general feeling in society that those with all the power aren’t actually able to — or choose not to — enact the will of the people. Her theatrical movements reinforced the top-down nature of British politics, leaving UK politicians seem like little more than trustees of an unquantifiable amount of power.

She swiftly undressed UK politicians in her poetry by linking their characters and manner to her chosen animals, which subsequently informed her poetical response to the politician's speech. An unforgettable set of distinctive images of Caribbean animals were planted into the audience’s minds — Theresa May as the ram goat and Nigel Farage as the crapo frog.

Brexit was powerfully presented as analogous to a divorce. May’s Florence speech was used

to encapsulate this sense of two lovers parting.

A highly transactional divorce was exposed in which one party knew they had to part, but for the sake of the children, it was decided that it would be best if the couple could still work together.

Cheekily stated in her poetic response, Booker exclaimed: “we do wish for the EU to succeed like outside woman creeps to please."

Manchester itself had a heart-warming starring role in Malika Booker’s performance as she spoke highly of the tender, lyrical qualities the speech that our Mayor, Andy Burnham, gave following the Manchester Arena bombing. Labelling the speech as a “delight” and praising how he so astutely grasped the spirit of the people at such a sorrowful time, Booker certainly knew her crowd with her tribute to Manchester, telling us we’ve “Got to be proud of Andy”.

A few highlights from Booker’s previous poetical works were also read. A recent piece, Nine Nights took centre stage, due to the charisma with which it was delivered and the way it spun a traditional Caribbean funeral on its head.

Booker emphasised that in the Caribbean community funerals are a big affair and that it is all “what happened?” and “what was she wearing?”.

The timely resurrection of the dead young man, Lazarus, midway through the poem shattered this sense of social order most spectacularly. The greatest tragedy no longer being a youth’s funeral, but that a mourning dress is to go to waste "Mr Power start moan bout the good good money he dash way on pretty funeral frock for Betty and now she can’t even use it."

The background to the poem consisted of primary research into how Caribbean people perceive funerals which she achieved by interviewing people on the streets. This firstperson basis to her poem, adding an element of social anthropology into her work as well as considerable laughter, was a recurring theme throughout the evening.

Malika Booker was keen to praise the Royal Literary Fund who supported her when she was at her most "dire — financially" prior to becoming a fellow at the University of Leeds.

The RLF also can be credited for the motivation behind the event. The association works as a benevolent fund to help writers suffering from economic hardship; previous benefactors include writer, James Joyce and poet, Dylan Thomas.

Many partnerships have been established between the RLF and universities including our very own.

RLF writing fellows can be contacted through the University of Manchester to help give students guidance with their writing style and essay structure, independent of the university.

What was most striking about Booker’s work and her manner was her honest, playful approach. She maintained that poetry is becoming increasingly popular as people are realising that the language of politicians is failing them. Booker’s energy bounced off all four walls and left us not with a taste of despair about the current political state, but rather a final warming message that if our newspapers and politicians are failing us then poetry can be used to help find meaning in the midst of this political zoo.

Photo: The Mancunion

Food & Drink

22

ISSUE 5/ 16th October 2017 WWW.MANCHESTERMEDIAGROUP.CO.UK

Review: Don Giovanni

Indy Man Beer Con 2017 fairly successful. I started with CAKE, an IPA from Garage Beer Co. It looked a bit… wrong? — it’s the cloudy one in the main picture — but it was a decent IPA with a peachy aftertaste.

Following that was Siren’s Yu Lu loose-leaf pale, which I’d recommend to anyone who’s a fan of tea. A friend who is very into her dark beer recommends Siren’s Rum Barrel Broken Dream, a twist on their staple breakfast stout, Broken Dream.

She assures me that the — quite complex — method of ageing coffee beans in rum barrels before incorporating them into the beer brewing process had delicious results. I can’t stand stout so you’ll have to take her word for it.

This is the fourth year I’ve been to IMBC and I’ve always eaten one of Almost Famous’ offerings, however this year they were nowhere to be found, having been replaced with Patty Smith’s. Their queue was quite long — which presumably says good things about their burgers — and I was starving so I decided to go off the beaten track. Diamond Dogs had been at a previous IMBC, but hotdogs have always been something I’ve ignored.

I went for ‘The Boss’ dog, featuring pulled pork and BBQ sauce and didn’t regret a thing: the sausage was decent and was complemented well by the topping. It also had the benefit of being very clean to eat, versus my usual festival experience with Almost Famous.

After the hotdog, I made the decision to switch to gin. Three Rivers were testing the waters for gin at IMBC and were offering a G&T garnished with a black cherry for 1 token, or a gin/ginger/ grapefruit/IPA cocktail for 2 tokens.

The G&T was a welcome change to beer and my gin-drinking friend and I went back for several more, however, I wasn’t a fan of the cocktail. Actually, I’ve yet to have a beer-based cocktail that I would say worked. Their offerings were arguably better value for money than beer. Hopefully, the positive reaction of attendees will lead to a larger gin selection in subsequent years for people who like the atmosphere, but not beer.

As the evening came to a close, there was one more drink I had to try and it was soft serve beer. Buxton Brewery had slushie

Recipe: Pickling Contributor Felix Sanders

There was a brilliant Chef’s Table episode about a 60-year-old Zen Buddhist nun called Jeon Kwan. Jeon cooks for the other monks at her temple as well as the occasional visitors. It’s a brilliant episode for a number of reasons, but the way they talk about her cooking is something special.

They talk about time being one of the most important ingredients in her food. And I’d never thought about it before but it is so true. In fermentation, time is everything. It’s a variable that you can’t speed up, whether you’re ageing meat, brewing beer or, in Jeon Kwan’s case, making soy sauce.

Time is an inescapable facet of pickling. Cornichons and gherkins have been in my childhood fridge since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. My grandfather has a shelf in his fridge dedicated to pickled goods... my blood is, quite literally, diffused with pickle juice.

Here is a pickled cucumber recipe.

Ingredients 150g Water 100g White Wine Vinegar, or blend with cider vinegar 50g sugar 1 pinch salt 1tbsp of chopped dill 1 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced Method Heat all of the ingredients in a pan over a low heat, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved. When the sugar has dissolved, transfer the pickling liquid into a container and allow to cool in the fridge. Once cool, place your cucumber in an old jam jar or similar airtight container, cover with the pickling liquid. Store in a cool, dry place.

You could eat the cucumber the next day and taste the pickling, or wait a month and the flavour will have changed. Let time do its business.

machines with them and were using them to make the head for some of their beers.

The result was a very chilled, refreshing drink — Myrcia Oatmeal Hopburst IPA — that helped with some excruciatingly hot salt and pepper fries from Dim Sum Su, which, while delicious, lacked the peppers I would have expected.

Once again, IMBC was a great evening with as wide a selection of food and beer as you could hope to find in any single place in Manchester. The addition of gin was a welcome one, and one I hope is further expanded in subsequent years.

The return of Karkli with their lentil based snacks — available in pubs around Manchester — and Blawd Bakery were welcome — even if I made a poor flavour choice. I’ll be going again next year and would recommend it to beer and food lovers alike.

Photo: Alex Wilby

Photo: Alex Wilby

Koreana: a quiet background murmur of the British dining scene So, another year, another edition of the Michelin guide and Manchester is still starless. Does anyone care? Must we all worship at the pillowy shrine of the Michelin man?

The kind of atmosphere and price range of Michelin restaurants is not what keeps me excited about food in Manchester.

I’m in it for the small places, the old places, the fill you up and send you on your way with a glow places. Nothing too heavy on the wallet, and if possible, I like a little narrative with my food. Some history, some background.

Koreana is Manchester’s oldest Korean restaurant. It lies on King Street West, just down the road from San Carlo, the city’s Italian titan. On first appearance, Koreana is everything San Carlo is not. The former you descend into down little flight of steps, the later is a bright and loud affair that screams its name.

Koreana is unpretentious and has a fantastically accommodating front of house. I was dining with the Redhead, and despite her asking what everything on the menu tasted like, attempting to hustle free pickled cucumbers and generally talking the waitress’s ear off, the waiters remained kind and calm.

They opened in 1985 and for a restaurant to keep its doors open for three decades is no small feat. Restaurant years are like dog years. Restaurants come and go with the ebb and flow of taste and trend, but by consistently cooking unambiguously tasty food, and having a front of house team that really give a shit, Koreana has remained a heritage classic of the Manchester restaurant scene.

Their prawn spring roll is a testament to the enduring success of Koreana. Everyone has eaten a thousand spring rolls in their life, one bad Chinese takeaway blurring into another. The spring roll rarely stands out or is memorable.

But this particular prawn spring roll made me pause, it was delicious, there were tangible chunks of prawn nestled amongst the pastry, where so often can be found unidentifiable homogeneous mush.

One thing that’s definitely worth mentioning is the value for money. In a time were restaurant goers are spoilt for

Pork Belly Vindaloo Contributor Sam Pigott

Contributor Millie Nettleton

Contributor Alec Wilby IndyMan Beer Con (IMBC) takes over Victoria Baths in Rusholme for 4 days, filling each pool and several side rooms with different breweries and other exhibitors. Braving the September rain provided access to the food area, where a range of street food vendors toiled away to keep attendees relatively sober.

Tickets for the Saturday evening session were £13.50 but you need to book quite early (around the end of May) to get into the more popular sessions. In addition to beer, cider and artisanal soft drinks have been available for the last couple of years. New this year, however, was gin, courtesy of award-winning Manchester brand, Three Rivers.

At IMBC, one token is £2.50, or you can get 11 for £25, new this year were food tokens for £1. One drinks token gets you 1/3 of a pint — or one G&T — working out at £7.50 a pint. IMBC was cheaper in the past, but after some upset last year, it seems that attendees have accepted the price hike as permanent. I bought £25 worth of beer tokens and £10 of food tokens and later traded in excess drinks tokens to buy more food.

One of the big hits last year was the doughnuts from Blawd Bakehouse, with one of my friends insisting that they were worth the entry cost. After finding a table, I went straight to their stall and bought a peanut butter custard doughnut — pictured above — for £3. They also had a couple of jam and a couple of custard types on offer, as well as cherry pie.

It pains me to say that after a year of anticipation, I was a little disappointed. The dough itself was excellent, much softer than I expected but not to the point where it collapsed after a bite. The filling was the wrong choice. I should have gone for jam.

Blawd Bakehouse has apparently been operating out of Common although, since the last IMBC, I’ve not managed to get one of their doughnuts. They should, however, be opening soon in SiOP SHOP in the Northern Quarter, I would recommend giving them a try.

I’m not really a beer person so I tend to just pick drinks at random and suffer the result — although I would say this year I was

Food & Drink 23

ISSUE 5 / 16th OCTOBER 2017 WWW.MANCHESTERMEDIAGROUP.CO.UK

Contributor Felix Sanders

choice, perhaps more so than ever, price-point becomes an increasingly competitive issue. Monday to Friday you can get a bulgogi or a bibimbap with a side, for £12-14.00. We opted for the kimchi pancake and aforementioned spring roll.

Bibimbap and bulgogi are two staples of Korean cuisine.

The former is a rice bowl adorned with a choice of fish, meat, and vegetables. A raw egg gets placed in the middle and we were encouraged to start gently stirring the dish, that way the hot ingredients begin o to cook the egg. Bulgogi translates to ‘fire meat’, and is thinly sliced and marinated meats cooked over a barbecue or in a pan.

So many dining fads come and go, Korean has always been a quiet murmur in the background of the British dining scene. Never shouting particularly loudly about its presence, Korean food is probably alien to the majority of Brits. But in Manchester, ignorance is no excuse, we’ve got Koreana, Ban Di Bul and Seoul Kimchi. Eat up.

Now a second year at Manchester, I have walked past Don Giovanni many a time.

Whenever I do, I struggle not to salivate at the beautiful dishes and stylish people I can see through the big glassy windows. “One day, I will eat there.” I say to myself. “Are you talking to yourself?” My housemate says back.

Lucky enough for me, Don Giovanni decided to grace us mere mortals — students with heftily overdrawn bank accounts — with a 50 per cent discount throughout September, even when eating à la carte. This was a deal running through August, which was extended by popular demand. Finding out that I had a shot at dining in the Manchester Italian of my dreams on the 27th of September, just three days before the deal closed, had me instantly booking a table. The website was as stylish as the restaurant itself, and the booking system was practical and efficient, especially since I could do it all online; my battered phone’s dysfunctional speakers and microphone tends to lead to conversations that go something like “pardon?” “Sorry?” “Yes — oh wait no, I said.” You get the idea.

A benefit of the deal was that, aesthetically speaking, DG was at it’s finest. Thriving with people at the tables and the bar, even on a Thursday at 6:30 pm it felt like I was in one of those New York bars popularised by the Sex and the City Girls. I felt so cool to be sitting at their marble topped bar, sipping on orange and cranberry juice — a combination of hangover and freshers flu had left me not in the mood for alcohol, though it should be noted that the bar at Don Giovanni is one of the best stocked I’ve ever seen, and according to their cocktail menu, they’re willing to fix you whatever your heart desires.

The interior is a combination of warm orange tones, cool marble, and cream, bare walls. The windows are great for people watching and the booths could fit a host of people. Cool, Latin jazz was filtering out of the speakers and the hum of conversation had a way of making your own conversation seem more intimate.

No surprise then, that DG has been voted most romantic restaurant.

After splitting a very tasty, fresh bruschetta for starters, my housemate and myself, of course, ordered the lobster risotto — with the intention of choosing something I couldn’t normally afford/cook myself/just eat anywhere. Normally £19.95, it cost us £12, which was pretty bloody great. One of the things I liked most was, although it was a swanky restaurant, they certainly didn’t do the swanky restaurant thing where they serve you just two mouthfuls. Oh, boy, no — I received a whopping

big plate of risotto, perhaps enough to defeat your average man, but it was, nevertheless no match for me. In terms of bang-for-your buck, if I was earning, I would consider the prices pretty reasonable — and they were particularly so when sweetened by the deal.

It was perfectly scrummy, but I do consider myself a bit of a risotto connoisseur, and it was a little watery. The lobster was de-shelled and mixed in to the risotto, which was nice because I hate the faff and have a habit of cutting or burning my fingers when left to DIY. The slight downside to this was that the lobster was a little chewy, maybe due to cooking a little further in the risotto, which was nice and hot. But all of this, is really fine tuning, I still thought it was delicious.

There was only one real let down of the whole evening, and to gastronomes out there, it’s the famous struggle; pistachio ice cream. Myself, and my flatmate have both been hunting for Manchester’s best pistachio ice-cream since we both bonded over memories of the real stuff found in Italy itself. If you’re a foodie, and not allergic to nuts, you’ll know that proper pistachio ice-cream is a somewhat muddy green colour with a thick texture, and if you’re really lucky, actual chunks of nut in it. Then there’s the imposter stuff; basically, vanilla icecream dyed pastel green with food colouring and a bit of amaretto mixed in to imitate a nut like taste. The imposter has the texture of soft scoop. With the impression that this was an Italian restaurant with quality of ingredients at the heart of it’s principles, I assumed that I couldn’t go wrong; it had to be the legitimate stuff, right? Nope.

For £4.50, I received 4 scoops of pistachio imposter ice cream. Now, the quantity was fine, great even, for the price, and there was one of those little chocolate wafer cigarillos in the top, which was pretty tasty. But it was the wrong damn ice-cream! I ended up eating it because I’d paid for it, not because I was actually enjoying it, which is something I never thought I’d say eating in one of Manchester’s award-winning restaurants.

I can only assume, that these little refinements of quality, the over cooked lobster and slightly watery risotto were the result of a restaurant rushed off it’s feet, all concessions I’m willing to make due to the sacrifice of cost. But the ice cream palaver left me wondering, perhaps I had built up preconceived ideas in my head.

With the service oh so polite and efficient, and an aesthetic that would make your date really impressed, DG screams ‘high quality.’

Unfortunately, food wise, that’s just not quite what I got.

Ingredients 1 tsp each of Coriander Seeds, Cumin seeds, Black peppercorns, Cardamom pods, ground Fenugreek 2 Curry leaves 1 tbsp finely diced fresh ginger 3 cloves of garlic finely diced 1 tsp Turmeric 1 tbsp each olive oil and cider vinegar 500g pork belly cut into 2cm cubes 2 onions 1 red chilli 2 green chillies 1 tbsp tamarind paste 1 tbsp soft brown sugar Optional - 1 cinnamon stick, 4 lumps of charcoal and 4 cloves 1 pack microwave rice Method Preheat oven to 170C Place an ovenproof pan onto a medium heat. Once heated add the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorns, fenugreek, curry leaves and cardamom pods. Dry toast for approximately 1 minute to release the flavours.

Once toasted tip the spices into a pestle and mortar and grind to a powder. Add the garlic, vinegar, oil, turmeric and ginger to this mix and grind further.

In the same pan add the pork belly and brown with a little salt. While the pork is browning slice the onions and once the meat is browned add the onions and the paste to the pan. Reduce the heat and cook for 10 minutes to cook out the ingredients in the paste.

Finely chop the chillies (the three chillies used here will produce a fiery curry. Simply cut down on the number for a more gentle flavour) and add to the pan along with the tamarind paste and sugar. Place the pan into the oven for 20 minutes until the mixture has begun to almost blacken.

Remove the pan from the oven and place onto a hob at a high heat. Add 300ml of wa-

ter and bring to the boil. Once boiling reduce to a simmer. At this step you can add any veg that you want to add to your curry. Small cubes of potato, cauliflower and red peppers work well.

This step is completely optional but if done does add a fantastic flavour as well as being pretty showy if you’re cooking for friends.

Cut the cinnamon stick into 2cm sticks. Using a gas hob or any naked flame such as a lighter, take the charcoal and cinnamon stick and heat over the flame until they are smoking. Once smoking place them into a ovenproof ramekin along with the cloves and place the ramekin into the centre of the curry. Drizzle over a very small amount of olive oil so that smoke is produced from the charcoal and then seal the pan tightly with foil and place into the oven for 40 minutes or until the meat is soft.

Serve with microwave rice cooked as per packet instructions.

Photo: Sam Pigott

An innocent act of kindness

Editor: Anokhi Shah

Innocent have employed two campus reps AKA ‘innocent angels’ to express random acts of kindness in the form of a cute innocent smoothie and a personalised hand written note.

Hannah says “it is so satisfying seeing someone looking stressed in the library and handing them a simple smoothie to brighten up their day.”

Innocent’s motto is “helping people live well and die old,” their smoothies are packed with 100% natural ingredients.

This month Hannah and Esme will be around campus lightening your day with the core range of smoothies. These smoothies are dressed in adorable hand knitted woolly hats and 25p from each smoothie goes to Age UK. These little woolly hats fight loneliness by helping raise money for activities in local Age UK centres where many older people can socialise by partaking in lunches and dance classes. Since starting off as an idea in 2003, people in the UK have knitted over 6 million hats which has raised over £2 million! On top of this Innocent donate 10 per cent of profits to charity

makes an amazing mixer. Slightly less innocent but a splendid low calorie gin and tonic.

The smoothies are slowly being introduced into the cafes around university so you can always get smoothies for yourself if the angels can’t find you.

“Helping people live well and die old” Photo: Kieth Ape Photo: Millie Nettleton

Each month they will be giving out different ranges of innocent products, from super smoothies (a personal favourite) to innocent bubbles which

Photo: Innocent

Arts

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Feature

Theatre 25

ISSUE 5 / 16th OCTOBER 2017 WWW.MANCHESTERMEDIAGROUP.CO.UK

ISSUE 5 / 16th OCTOBER 2017 WWW.MANCHESTERMEDIAGROUP.CO.UK

Orbit Festival Special: Review

Remembering Partition with New North South

Review: Art on Paper Three studio spaces come together to challenge the assumed role and medium of paper

The Whitworth welcomes Raqib Shaw with a palatial yet haunting new installation Florrie Badley Bella Jewell An opulent melting pot of East and West, fantasy and reality: Raqib Shaw is the next feature in our ten week focus on the New North South programme across Manchester.

Upon entering the Raqib Shaw exhibit, what is immediately evident is the true drama of his work. The amalgam of selected drawings, textiles, and medieval coins — taken from the Manchester archives — is intermingled with his vibrant enamel works and dynamic sculptures, creating an ‘experience exhibition’ of theatrical proportions. As a backdrop to the scene, Shaw’s intricately designed wallpaper — commissioned by the Whitworth — adds depth and a mystical atmosphere to the room, tying the collection together.

In fitting with the theme of the New North and South, the installation appears to blur the boundaries between Eastern and Western artistic tradition. Using the rich colours of the East to depict ethereal scenes, created using the ancient Asian cloisonné technique (shaping enamel paints into gold outlines with a porcupine quill) one unexpectedly notes artistic tropes synonymous with the Western Baroque and Renaissance movement, including that of the ‘Flemish Primitives.’

The central focus of his magnificent work Selfportrait in the studio at Peckham (after Steenwyk the Younger) II (2014-15) appears to be a convex mirror, over which the crouched central figure, which seems to be Shaw depicting himself as an oriental re-imagining of St Jerome, looms.

While one may not immediately take note of this aspect, what is intriguing is that the depiction of convex mirrors in art was a key aspect of the Early Renaissance ‘Flemish Primitive’ movement. In fact one of the Flemish masters, Jan van Eyck, most famously incorporated a convex mirror into his oil painting, The Arnolfini Marriage (1434), claiming that it represented “the perfect eye-witness in the truest sense of the term.”

Seen in the reference in the title, Self-portrait in the studio at Peckham (after Steenwyk the Younger) II, it becomes clear that the allusion to this Flemish movement was intentional, as Hendrick van Steenwyck the Younger played a large part in the Flemish Baroque movement.

Shaw’s depictions of plentiful and dynamic imagined scenes seem akin to the fantastical yet further references to the Western Renaissance and Baroque periods appear throughout the room. Most notably in Shaw’s choice to display

a collection of Renaissance and Medieval coins originating from Mantua, Milan, Padua, and the Kingdom of Naples — which are on loan from the Manchester Museum.

Furthermore, in his piece Self Portrait as Bottom (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) Shaw portrays himself as a Shakespearean creation wearing a form of oriental kimono. One cannot fail to notice that concepts of the Western Renaissance of Europe are a key influence in Shaw’s work.

Having been born in Calcutta and growing up in Kashmir, before coming to London to study at Central Saint Martin’s School of Art, Shaw appears to project this assimilated identity in his work. The intriguing combination of Eastern techniques, symbolism, and colour, with that of Western Renaissance and Baroque artistic traditions creates work which questions the snobbery with which art historians have tended to overlook the art of the East, favouring its Western, European counterparts.

In this captivating installation, Shaw marries two geographically separate artistic movements, reflecting the beautiful pluralism which Manchester celebrates in its diverse yet united community.

The Raqib Shaw exhibition runs from 24 June November 2017.

At the cutting edge of commercial art in Manchester, there are three gallery spaces on Mirabel Street exhibiting works based almost exclusively on paper: PS Mirabel, the Sloe Gallery and the Paper Gallery.

The possibilities of art on paper have largely been ignored until recently. Matisse was probably the first artist to really recognise its potential in the 1950s. It had always been a more informal support, reserved for preliminary sketches and print reproductions. But its meaning has changed since the rise of tech in the twenty-first century. The act of printing a document onto paper is more formal now. Offices send out emails saying “please consider the environment and don’t print this email unless you really need to.”

In reality, however, paper is even more recyclable than it was before. Half of the letters we receive are disposable spam mail which we never read. And you can easily lose a piece of paper.

Compared to the stability and security of the computer hard drive, it seems unreliable. This is an odd, contradictory meaning which has made art on paper more interesting. Are we supposed to keep it safe, or are we supposed to throw it away?

The most exciting show on display is Mural at PS Mirabel. It is a series of paintings, drawings and illustrations created on imposingly large pieces of paper. There is a tactile freedom to these floor-toceiling artworks, which is reflected in the general styles that the 16 artists have used. The informality is what makes this work engaging.

Mural offers an unusual way to experience artworks on paper. Normally they are a manageable, A4-size or slightly larger. And normally they have to be framed, because they are more vulnerable to damage. The loud colours in some of the pieces in Mural compete with one another, but despite their overwhelming presence, the paper puts them on an unremarkable equal footing which allows you to take them all in individually.

Eventually, the work which stands out (for the right reasons) is Mark Eden’s simplistic pencil sketch, of a Goya-like Pope being impaled by something. The work which stands out for the wrong reasons is Christine Lawley’s jarringly kitsch cardboard-cut-out memorial to the victims of the Manchester terror attack, titled ‘VICtorious’ after Ariana Grade’s Nickelodeon TV show.

The most mature work currently being shown on Mirabel Street is undoubtedly Northern Chronicle: A Live Drawing Exhibition by Robert Sukatorn. The artist has a five-week residency, which he will use to create work from life in the

Sloe Gallery every Saturday. Sukatorn’s drawings are an intelligent interpretation on the style of courtroom sketches. Old fashioned pen-to-paper, is still the only legal way to visually record courtroom proceedings.

Although the live element isn’t as convincing as it sounds, it does provide a nice focus to the exhibition which is made up mostly of small impromptu sketches. Among them are empty spaces on the walls, where new drawings will gradually appear.

In Cut/Copy/Paste at the Paper Gallery, Sarah Eyre draws on a tradition of surrealist collage, recalling the use of photography by feminist artists in the 1980’s-90’s. She generates manipulated images of an empty wig, a bob hairstyle taken out of context. Her images do not offer much new to collage itself, but if you look closer you can see the edges of the superimposed images peeling away from the surface, behind the frame. This gives her paper-based mediums a three-dimensional movement which resonates with the vibrancy and activity of the other exhibitions.

Also on display at the Paper Gallery, this time displayed in a gloomy and gothic studio setting, is Ilona Kiss’ series entitled Visitors. Kiss adopts a more traditional shaded-pencil technique but gives it a cosmic, refractory update. Like enlarged tarot cards hung on the walls, her drawings romantically re-mystify the Bristol Board, which is the paper medium she works on You can flick through racks of artworks for sale by an array of artists in this room, but you feel like an intruder as the eyes of Kiss’ creations follow you around the room. All three galleries are based in the same intimate complex of studios and artists’ spaces, so if you head down on a Saturday you can see them all in one go.

Mural, Northern Chronicle, Cut/Copy/Paste and Visitors are exhibiting every Saturday until November 11th.

Robin Sukatorn Photo: Sloe Galleryh

American pranksters humbly donate proceeds to the We Love Manchester Fund

Comedy group, The Tenderloins — more commonly known as the Impractical Jokers — have returned to Manchester to kick off their tour after mere months since their UK debut back in January.

Sal, Murr, Joe and Q delighted the audience again and again with their own special brand of improvised humour.

The show was opened by comedian and actor, Steve Bryne. Aside from his previous accolades — such as opening for Kanye West — Byrne has also been friends with the Jokers for many years so it seemed the obvious choice that he should open for them on the UK leg of their tour.

It is fair to say that crowd wasn’t exactly with him at the start, with a few scattered titters from the audience. This may be because of the cultural differences and his Trump jokes not exactly causing stir, however he soon cottoned on and realised that au-

members and behind the scenes clips of the show.

The video clips were a sure favourite of mine and everyone else, if anything it allowed us to see how the friendships of The Tenderloins has remained the same over the years only to be lovingly put under the spotlight by Comedy Central.

When they asked the audience how many of them had been to a show of theirs before, a lot of hands went up, much to the surprise of first-timers — like myself. They used this to segue into moments in previous live performances where people have seen them before and then began to tell elaborate and almost unbelievable tales about fans that became friends — however all of these were backed up with photo evidence, making the stories all the funnier.

The second of the two standing ovations that the Jokers received came nearer the end of the show, when they said that they were donating all proceeds made tonight back into our great city via the We Love Manchester Fund — set up following

Orla Quilligan reviews Javaad Alipoor’s exploration of what it is to be a young Muslim man today.

the Manchester Arena bombings to support the victims and the families.

This humbling moment from the group really touched everyone in the audience and you could tell that every word about how they loved our city, was true. This emphasised the clear value they have to preserving the joy of live entertainment and performance, and was a testament to their showmanship.

It was clear to see everyone enjoyed the night however if shows that don’t follow a particular structure, aren’t your cup of tea, this is not the one for you. What makes the Jokers special is the fact that their minds are racing towards several ideas at once and those moments are unique to each show.

The show as a whole was certainly one of pure energy and excitement; seeing their own brand of comedy, live and evolving in front of my eyes was a real treat, and the energy that they brought out was electric and instantly mirrored by the audience.

Bourgeois & Maurice’s flamboyant neo-cabaret takes over HOME. Anuli Changa Reviewer

Orla Quilligan Reviewer Isis — it’s a huge and controversial topic to cover.

Upon first reading the premise of Javaad Alipoor’s The Believers Are But Brothers, BBC’s recent miniseries The State sprang to mind. I was certainly anxious that a one-man show would struggle to match such a captivating portrayal of Islamic State but I soon realised these fears were completely unfounded.

Alipoor was clear from the beginning that this show wasn’t in fact trying to tackle Islamic State as a whole but was focusing strictly on young men today and the way in which they can be radicalised online: “It’s about men. It’s about politics. It’s about the internet.”

Alipoor split the show between direct audience address and pre-recorded projection on the screen where he told the stories of the four young men the play centred on, often interspersed with online videos. During these projections, Alipoor sat with his back towards the audience, leaving him as an anonymous figure; a clear and striking symbol for all the young men he

spoke about.

In turn, when Alipoor spoke directly to us it was off the cuff and familiar. There was no illusion here of there being anything fictional about the play; he was simply relaying to us his experience online and the people he had discovered. By the end of the show the audience had certainly warmed to Alipoor, undoubtedly due to his candid and frank delivery about both very funny and very sombre topics.

It’s definitely worth mentioning too that the show featured a really innovative feature; we were all added to a WhatsApp group before the show which Alipoor communicated to us via throughout the show. One could easily dismiss this as an unnecessary gimmick but in practice it seemed entirely fitting that a play highlighting how easily young men can be sucked into radical settings, should do the exact same to us, constantly lighting up our faces with notifications of altright memes and death threats sent to feminists online. It was

particularly when Alipoor then used the WhatsApp chat as a narrative force, speaking to us from the standpoint of someone radicalising us, that the method really came into its own.

The set was minimal but effective in creating an underlying feeling of threat throughout, as a man sat behind a projection screen throughout the entire show, staring at his computer screen, faintly lit by the red glow of his mouse.

Overall, the show never really broke out of its feeling of tension even though we were frequently able to laugh along with Alipoor. At the end, we read aloud messages on the group chat which left us with a feeling of doom.

Although Alipoor was careful to mention the obvious positives of the internet, the message was clear: ‘Now, we lose ourselves in the inky blackness of our screens’.

I’d suggest you lose yourself for an hour at HOME to experience this work in all its horror, relevance and ingenuity.

Flamboyant doesn’t even begin to cover Bourgeois and Maurice’s performance.

Self-described as drag aliens singing about politics, it was a captivating show from beginning to end. Wowed by costumes simply drowning in sequins, the audience gets 75 minutes of musical madness from this ‘sibling’ duo. As the audience, we are referred to as humansexuals (that is the right spelling), which was just the beginning of the whimsical extravaganza we were in for.

The script was devilishly cynical and half the time what we were all thinking (or guilty of doing). The show starts with a reminder of human laziness in the face of major issues in the world. Most of us have signed an online petition or posted on Facebook giving our thoughts and prayers to the victims of the latest disaster, saving the world from the comfort of our smartphones and laptops — does

Orbit Festival Special: Review

Review: Mobile As I write, I’m sitting at a table in the bustling café of the HOME complex. About an hour ago, I was munching on a biscuit in a tiny white caravan, tucked somewhat jarringly between tall steel and concrete buildings.

My feet are a bit damp — I got caught in the rain, as usual — but otherwise I’m working in relative comfort. Incidentally, working and comfort are some of the main topics we explored during our 40-minute journey into the condensed universe of the caravan.

We started with a little icebreaker. The weather was still acceptable, so we sat outside as we told each other a little bit about ourselves upon request of the protagonist, Catherine (Shona Cowie). There were six of us, all women of different ages, which created a nice sense of intimacy. We told snippets of our lives, unwittingly foreshadowing the stories we would hear throughout the show; the backgrounds of ordinary, real people serve as constant inspiration for The Paper Birds, who put together this little gem

based on interviews conducted across the UK. Then Catherine, cheerful and polite, welcomed us into her mum’s home. It was a cosy spot, messy but not shabby. She started narrating in the same casual manner as before, dwelling on considerations about what it means to come from a workingclass background. At this point, they seemed random, borderline hipster: assertions such as “Class is blurred nowadays” and “we are so quick to label ourselves and others” were lumped together with the likes of “with the Internet everyone is connected.” But nothing is random in this piece, not even the biscuits we shared or the pot noodles left lying around. Gradually, her narrative solidified, her assertions developed into a theme: the emotional toil brought about by the split between the working and middle-class.

In parallel, the caravan slowly turned into a spaceship. With seamless use of lighting and sound, the realist, personal story we had been following gave away to a surrealist and universal tale

that really help anyone?

Bourgeois and Maurice had seamless transitions into original songs that were darkly patriotic and also damning to British values. Maurice on keys was fantastic! With no music in front of her and a hilarious ‘am I bothered?’ attitude, she was a wonderful contrast to the camptastic character of Bourgeois. Impressively, the singing and harmonies stayed tight regardless of whether Bourgeois was tap dancing or strutting into the audience.

They planned to save the world with a piano, sequins and a touch of light mascara (if you describe light mascara as the most extravagant fake eyelashes I’ve ever seen!). They may not have quite saved the entire world, but certainly provided joy and laughter to a packed theatre.

Just when you thought you’d heard the craziest of the songs, there was another and another!

A personal favourite being the ‘love song’ that compared love to the way we all feel about our smartphones.

Never a dull moment in the show, with the pair being interrupted by themselves on FaceTime and later hacked by a virus of their multiple personalities. There was a delightful feeling that the audience were constantly in on the jokes, as little skits in between the songs were so well timed that it was hard to imagine them being scripted. Everything from the ‘off stage adult baby’ to take care of as an excuse for a costume change, and Maurice appearing with her trombone for the finale of the show, was so wonderfully streamlined and so politically incorrect, an absolute joy to watch! The so- called neocabaret had psychedelic, soulful vibes that Bowie himself would have been proud of. A unique and wonderful performance.

Orbit Festival Special: Review

Margherita Concina Reviewer

Photo: Self-portrait in the studio at Peckham II theWhitworth

dience participation was the way to our hearts and laughs. The picking of audience members to join him on stage as part of his ‘boy band’ was a delight to watch and his trademark to-the-point humour came into light here — as well as the 4 men giving a lady the best lap dance of her life!

The moments before we get to see the Jokers, a clip of all their best moments from the show is played and then we are welcomed a group who seem honoured to be welcomed by a standing ovation, before they’ve even said anything. Even if this is not your type of humour, you are sure to be amazed by the connection between the Jokers and their fans. Part of this definitely comes from the fact they come across as exactly the same as they do in their show, and therefore when you see the joy they bring their fans, you realise the connection is very rare.

The show as a whole is brilliantly concocted of a mixture of moments: from rehearsed anecdotes, improvised grilling’s of begrudging audience

Review: The Believers Are Review: How To Save The World Without Really Trying But Brothers

A caravan plays host to an exploration of social mobility in 21st century Britain.

Review: Impractical Jokers

Tara Bharadia

Orbit Festival Special: Review

of crossing boundaries between classes, and our protagonist respectfully stepped aside to make room for the voices of others. What’s remarkable about this transition is that the play never strays away from solid, tangible experience. I’ve seen pure imagination stem out of a realistic beginning before, a trick as old as The Chronicles of Narnia (and just as powerful if well-used), but this play manages to elude surrealism even as it savours it. Fantasy helps us reach for the stars and, in The Paper Birds’ own words, “want more, more than our parents.” However, for better and for worse, our roots always pull us back to Earth.

No matter how successful, the characters feel like they’re stuck between two classes, two parallel dimensions that is, and nothing can transcend that divide. On the other hand, Catherine’s unyielding relationship with her mother proves invaluable when her comfortable life proves to be more fragile than our elevationobsessed society would have us believe.

Review: Instructions For Border Crossing Anuli Changa reviews Daniel Bye’s interactive mediation on borders, Anuli Changa Reviewer “Does anyone want to come and play Jenga with me?”

A thoroughly unorthodox beginning to Instructions for Border Crossing. As I sat across from Daniel Bye, playing a civilised game of Jenga and discussing fear and Harry Potter, I had a feeling this show would be unpredictable.

Written and performed

by Bye and impressively directed by Alex Swift, the work of Edward Shorter is reimagined into a thoughtprovoking and interactive performance piece. Shorter is an internationally-recognized historian of psychiatry and the author of numerous books, including those that explore psychiatry and asylum. Bye explains how a simple game of Jenga can be so much more when played either side of a guarded border.

Intertwined with fascinating audience volunteers (almost as eloquent as Bye himself), we learn about a girl who is sneaking across a border after destroying her British passport. The story is cleverly portrayed with lighting changes and seamless voice and accent modulations.

Each audience participant

aided the next section of the story by exploring the properties of an electric fan with a microphone, or creatively lighting the Jenga tower with a torch. These seemingly random actions become the sounds of a train and a helicopter circling a block of flats. Bye surprised me with his care in listening to the words of each volunteer and remembering them by name and their comments throughout.

This performance was meticulous and well thought out, from the minimal set of a table and chairs to microphoned airport barriers enhancing the sound of borders being opened and closed as each new volunteer entered the space. The audience is taken on a journey through raucous laughter and quiet contemplation as we are asked to raise our hands if we agree that we are courageous, tenacious, willing to rebel (or not). The underlying question seems not only to ask how one might cross a country’s border, but how to cross borders of ‘the norm’ and rebel against conformity.

The climax of the performance built as we were

engrossed in short sketches in which the audience played opposite Bye, following words on a projection. Sometimes the audience played the border guards and sometimes the ‘victim’. A strange kinship seemed to form in the audience with this powerful performer, as we conformed for the sake of a dramatic piece, seeming to dip in and out of reality.

Bye was both a piercing — to the point of intimidating — character, as well as surprisingly comforting, as we discovered the fears and courage we share in this selfselecting audience. What do you fear? Failure? Brexit?

The sharp, well-executed transitions between dramatic sketches and conversation left you wondering if you felt at ease or deeply uncomfortable.

Bye illuminated numerous glitches in the fabric of society in a decidedly brave way, dependent on the audience’s participation. I was left questioning everyday conformity and in awe of Bye’s ability to relate to an audience made up of such different people, uniting us with his performance.

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Lifestyle

ISSUE 5 / 16th OCTOBER 2017 WWW.MANCESTERMEDIAGROUP.CO.UK

Do I have to pay council tax?

ISSUE 5/ 16th OCTOBER 2017 WWW.MANCHESTERMEDIAGROUP.CO.UK

Lifestyle

27

Travel story: Flamenco in Andalusia, Spain

Photo: Photo: Jack Sophia Greeney Macpherson

Photo: Advice Service

Senior Advisor Rebekah Ollerenshaw explains the ins and outs of council tax and how you can avoid it Rebekah Ollerenshaw Senior Advisor Renting a house for the first time is exciting, but there can be lots of different bills to deal with. One bill you might not have to pay is your council tax bill.

Council tax is a fee charged by local councils to help fund their services. However, not everyone is obliged to pay it. If you are a fulltime student, then you do not have to pay council tax. This includes periods when you are on interruption, providing you intend to return to the course.

But just because you’re exempt, doesn’t mean you don’t need to tell the council. If you live in one of the following postcodes: M1, M4, M8, M9, M11, M12, M13, M14, M15, M16, M18, M19, M20, M21, M22, M23 and M40, then

search for council tax on Manchester Council’s website and complete the online form for students.

“If you are a parttime student on a low income or if you are entitled to government benefits, then you might be eligible for council tax support”

Avoiding the study abroad blues

Settling back in after a year abroad? James Johnson talks you through falling back in love with Manchester James Johnson Lifestyle Editor Pa rt a king in a year abroad is a le ap into t he great u n known , and ca n be a d au nti ng prosp ect for many. Grappling with new cultu re s and everyd ay expe r ie nce s ca n be extremely exc iting but e q u a lly unfa mi l iar, and wh ile we wou ld a ntic i pate st ruggling du ring the first cou ple of we e ks i n a foreign land, we don’ t g ive a s much t hought to when we re tu r n to ou r home cou ntry — we’ve live d he re be fore, we know how it works, wh at cou ld be d ifficult a bout th at? Howeve r, th is ca n be just a s difficu lt, if not fa r more s o.

Returning home af ter a g re at ye a r of unrele nting tou rism ca n s e e m a little bit of a step backward s. You’ re like ly to be t hri l led th at you’ re re u n ite d with you r frie nds and family, but once a ll of the a necdote s b egin n ing with “on my ye a r a bro ad” h ave been told , you m ay find yours e l f exp eriencing a ‘ reve rs e -c u l-

tu re -s ho ck ’ . It can fe e l d i f f ic u lt , but it ne e d not b e — we lcome b ack to one of t he world’s g re ate st c it ie s !

I f you’ re re t u r n i ng f rom a ye ar abro ad , you’ re li ke ly to h ave l ive d he re i n M anche ste r for at le ast a ye ar or two. You’ re a ls o like ly to fe e l as t houg h you k now eve ryth i ng t he re i s to k now ab out M anche ste r. T h an k f u l ly, you’ re com i ng b ack to one of t he most dy n am ic pl ace s i n the world . Take a t r ip home for a mont h or two a nd you’ re l i ke ly to f i nd a m as s of new cof fe e s hop s, pu bl ic eve nt s, and s hops h ave spr u ng u p, al most out of nowhe re.

Fa ll back i n love w it h you r c ity ! T he re re a lly is no l i m it to t he nu m b e r of d i f fe re nt th ing s to do and s e e wh i le you’ re i n M a nche ste r. You m ay h ave l ive d he re for q u ite s ome t i me, but t he re i s l i ke ly to b e a che ck l i st of t h i ng s you’ve neve r ac t ua lly gotte n arou nd to. Pe rh ap s you d r ive pa st the W h itwor t h eve r y d ay w it hout going ins ide, or p e rh ap s t he re’s a p ar t

Some students will need to collect a paper exemption certificate from the university. If you live in a postcode that is not listed, you are an international student with dependents living with you, or if you are a postgraduate research student awaiting your visa, then visit the Student Services Centre (number 57 on the campus map) for an exemption certificate.

Unfortunately, part-time students and non-students do have to pay council tax.

However, if you live with full-time students and are the only person in the house that is liable to pay council tax, then you will receive a 25 per centdiscount. The full-time students you live with do not have to contribute towards this cost.

If you are a part-time student on a low income or if you are entitled to government benefits, then you might be eligible for coun-

of tow n you’ve ye t to check out . E it her way, t he s he e r var ie ty on your do orstep

“You might be returning from glorious continental European architecture.

The thought of returning to a corner of the library’s blue section can seem a little underwhelming” i s l i ke ly to he lp t h at t ra ns it ion b ack to you r home tow n , he lpi ng you to cont inue to d i s cove r new t h i ng s a nd ex p erience s, ju st l i ke du r i ng you r ye a r a bro ad.

Photo: James Johnson

cil tax support to help you pay for it. Contact the Students’ Union Advice Service for more information on this and any other housing issues.

“I f y o u a r e a f u l l time student, t he n yo u do n o t h av e t o p ay council tax.”

C ha nce s a re if you st udied a bro ad at a b eaut if ul foreign inst it ut ion, you’ve b een surrounded by st unning C a nadia n v ist a s or glorious cont inent a l Europ ea n a rchi tect ure whilst undert a king new cla ss e s.

The t hought of ret urning to a corner of t he libra ry’s blue s ect ion ca n s eem a litt le underwhelm ing s o — cha nge it up ! The univers ity’s ca mpus is st rew n w it h gorgeous a nd underus ed st udy sp ot s for you to t a ke adva nt age of. Try w rit ing up your lect ure note s in The Ma nche ster Mus e um’s st udy sp ace, or rev is e for your Ja nua ry exa m s in C hrist ie’s Bist ro in t he old q uadra ngle.

C om ing b ack to your home inst it ut ion a f ter a yea r a bro ad is a dif f icult t ra nsit ion t hat m a ny fa il to a nt icip ate, but it rea lly do e sn’t have to b e a s glo omy a s it s eem s ! G et involved, cha nge it up a nd fa ll b ack in w it h t he city t hat you ca n’t help but love.

Photo: hellosputnik @Flickr

Sophia Macpherson recounts how she fell in love with Spain’s flamenco dance Sophia Macpherson Lifestyle Editor There is no question that dance is an artform, and that a dancer’s movement can be used to express a wide range of emotions.

Flamenco, the dance birthed in southern Spain, is a prime example of beauty created through skillful dancing. The term ‘flamenco’ can also be associated with the musical traditions of cante (singing), toque (guitar playing), jaleo (vocals), palmas (hand-clapping) and pitos (finger-snapping) which come together with the dance to create an atmosphere of pure sensory pleasure.

Last Easter, I spent two weeks in Andalusia, where I travelled from town to town with my family. I was lucky enough to indulge in the sensory-rich settings of the flamenco houses. Flamenco houses are abundant around there and most are nothing short of amazing. However, finding an authentic and intimate setting could prove difficult, especially during peak tourist

times like Easter. Experiencing this atmosphere was to me immensely emotive, and by least, completely enjoyable; it was a

“ The s e f l amenco hou s e s b o ast aut hent ic ity and t he au ra of Sp ain t h at keep p eople coming back for more.”

also meant that I would be thrown into the kind of place that Spanish locals would enjoy themselves. For me, travelling to and experiencing a new place means to temporarily walk in the shoes of the people who live there.

Below are five of my favourite flamenco houses that I had the pleasure of visiting during my stay in Spain. To me, these flamenco houses boast authenticity and the aura of Spain that keep people coming back for more.

La Casa del Flamenco — Seville, Spain Le Chien Andalou — Granada, Spain Kelipe — Malaga, Spain

beautiful portrayal of what Spain has to offer culturally.

To my advantage, I had a few family friends who resided in different parts of the south of Spain and so, I was given insider tips on where to go for the real Spanish experience. This often did not only mean seeing the flamenco dancers in action but

Personally, I found that Easter in the south of Spain was the most pleasant time of year to go; plenty of sunshine in a light breezy

How to detox after a heavy weekend

C l e a n s e w it h h e r b a l t e a s . Te a s l i ke c a m o m i le , fe n n e l , m i nt w i l l h e l p wh e n yo u fe e l yo u r t u m my i s c hu r n i n g . Fo r s m o ke rs o u t t h e re wh o s u f fe r t h at d r y t h ro at t h e n e x t m o r n i n g — le m o n , g i n ge r a n d m a nu k a h o n ey w i l l ge t yo u r vo i ce b a c k a n d t h at co u g h go i n g .

Sophia Macpherson discusses natural remedies to help your unavoidable post-weekend hangover Sophia Macpherson Lifestyle Editor A s I ’ m s u re i s t h e c a s e w it h m a ny, I ap p ro a ch t h e we e ke n d w it h a p o s it ive a n d p ro d u c t ive at t it u de t owa rd s s t u dyi n g , o n ly t o wa ke u p o n t h e Mo n d ay s t i l l wa l low i n g i n t h e p it s o f a h a n gove r h avi n g co mp le t e d v i r t u a l ly n o t h i n g . H avi n g re a ch e d my f i n a l ye a r o f u n ive rs it y, I f i n d t h at t h e re i s n o way o f avo id i n g t h o s e we e ke n d s. T h ey a re b o u n d t o h ap p e n b e i n g a s t u de nt , b e i n g yo u n g , a n d b e i n g i n M a n ch e st e r — a rg u a b ly, t h e b e st c it y fo r n i g ht l i fe i n t h e U K . A n d s o, a s mu ch a s yo u t e l l yo u rs e l f yo u wo n’ t d o it a ga i n , t h e b e s t s o l ut i o n i s j u s t t o f i n d a s o l ut i o n t o t h o s e i mp e n d i n g h a n gove rs .

Re a l i st i ca l ly, wh e n hu n gove r, t h e re i s ve r y l it t le t h at yo u wa nt t o d o a n d t h at yo u w i l l d o. L u ck i ly, yo u d o n’ t h ave t o e n d u re t h at h e a d-p o u n d i n g h a n gove r m o re t h a n o n ce. To a l l t h o s e o ut t h e re, l i ke m e , wh o wa nt t o fe e l b e t t e r wh i l s t m a k i n g m i n i m a l e f fo r t , h e re a re s o m e t ip s fo r yo u r ro a d to re cove r y.

Ke e p t h e d r i n k s f l ow i n g ! A n d by d r i n k s — I m e a n wat e r. S e e m s s i m p le b u t I a m a v i c t i m t o fo rge t t i n g h ow i m p o r t a nt it i s .

A l l a lco h o l d o e s i s d e hyd rat e yo u a n d s o

Jardines de Zoraya — Granada, Spain La Cava — Cadiz, Spain

Swe at , s we at , s we at ! W h e t h e r t h i s m e a n s go i n g fo r a r u n o r wh at eve r it i s p e o p le d o i n t h e g y m s , ge t t i n g yo u r b o dy go i n g a n d yo u r b lo o d p u m p i n g m e a n s m o re c i rc u l at i o n o f ox yge n t o yo u r b ra i n . T h e m o re yo u s we at — t h e m o re yo u ge t r id o f t h o s e t ox i n s . T ip : my p e rs o n a l favo u r it e i s go i n g t o t h e s t e a m ro o m a n d j u s t s we at i n g it a l l o u t t h e re .

L e t yo u r b o dy re s t . W h i l s t t h i s s e e m s

“I ap p ro ac h the we e ke n d w it h a p os it ive and p ro duc t ive at t it ude towa rd s st udy i ng , o n ly to wa ke u p o n t he Mo n d ay st i l l wa l low i ng i n t he p it s o f a h a ngove r ” t h e e a s y a n s we r i s t o go wh e re yo u ge t t h e m o s t hyd rat i o n — H 2 0 !

day accompanied with quaint cool nights.

Travelling-wise, prices from Manchester to towns/cities across Andalusia prove to be fairly kind to our student budgets.

Manchester to Malaga: depart on the 27th, return on the 5th or 11th (if you want to indulge and stay longer) — from £80 pp Manchester to Granada: depart on the 26th, return on the 4th — from £90 pp All flight details correct as of 4th of October 2017.

Photo: The Blue Diamond Gallery

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l i ke t h e l a s t t h i n g yo u s h o u l d d o wh e n yo u h ave co u nt le s s o f t h i n g s u n f i ni s h e d , it i s v it a l . Eve n a s h o r t 2 0 - m i nu t e n ap c a n s o r t yo u o u t fo r t h e re s t o f t h e d ay a n d t h e n m a ke s u re t o ge t a n e a rly n i g ht l at e r o n .

Ice g re e n t e a . A lt h o u g h t h i s i s a p e rs o n a l re m e dy, it h a s n eve r fa i le d m e .

T wo g l a s s e s o f i ce - co l d g re e n t e a w i l l m a ke yo u fe e l re b o r n — g re e n t e a h e l p s w it h n au s e a a n d h e a d a c h e s a n d t h e co l d t e m p e rat u re wa ke s yo u u p.

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Mixed emotions for men’s and women’s varsity The women secured a strong 17-5 win, while the men succumbed to a 21-10 defeat

The conversion was missed but the 12 point lead of UoM looked unassailable for MMU. The game finished at 17-5 and the winning UoM team celebrated with their fans.

After a race between the two mascots, which MMU’s bird won easily, it was time for the men’s game. The 2016 encounter saw MMU defeat UoM 10-5 so UoM were hoping for a chance at redemption.

It was not long before MMU were ahead. Having been awarded a penalty, their number 10 made no mistake and put three points on the board for his side. In opposite fashion to the women’s game, it was MMU who started brightest; the opening penalty was being built on with some good rugby.

UoM, meanwhile, were struggling to get going and were forced to kick it long just to get the ball out of their own half. This relief was short lived though, as MMU regained possession and pushed UoM back into their own half.

The work of MMU allowed their number 5 to score the first try of the game and give the team an 8-0 lead.UoM continued to look for a way out and eventually they got their reward.

UoM continued to look for a way out and eventually they got their reward; Ross Bennett squeezed the ball over the try line and Charlie Reed converted to take the score to 7-8 in favour of MMU. Then four minutes later, UoM converted a penalty. Reed made no mistake to give UoM the lead for the first time.

After taking the lead, UoM were on top. A try was ruled out and a penalty kick was narrowly missed. With UoM in the ascendency, it was perhaps harsh that MMU were to go ahead again.

A penalty from a good distance was converted by the MMU number 10 making the score 10-11 in their favour. The penalty was the last kick of the first half and after a sluggish start, UoM fought their way back into it and can be considered unlucky to go in at halftime down.

In the same way the UoM women dominated the second half, the MMU men did so here. They started on the front foot, pushing UoM into their own half more and more. This eventually resulted in the number 5 getting his second try of the night, and number 10 proceeded to score the conversion.

Another penalty converted by MMU’s number 10 gave UoM a mountain to climb, which unfortunately they were unable to do. The game ended 21-10 to MMU, and their fans proceeded to storm the pitch, lifting their players aloft in the air.

Both games consisted of an even first half performance met with a strong second-period display. So the 2017 Varsity ended with victory for the UoM women, but defeat for the men.

Photo: hirobi @Pixabay

Sam Cooper Sports Editor

Friday the 6th of October saw the two Manchester universities go head to head in the 2017 Varsity at the AJ Bell Stadium. The doubleheader was opened with the women’s game as they looked to continue their winning streak over their MMU rivals.

It was UoM who started the brightest, forcing MMU back into their own half, and with only eight minutes on the clock they secured the first try of the evening. Nyamedo Hannah showed a good turn of pace to get past the MMU defence and put her side ahead. Megan Grant-Harris converted and UoM found themselves with a seven-point advantage in the opening stages.

The MMU fans were certainly the louder of the two as they looked to pick up their team from the early setback. From the first UoM try onwards, it was all MMU as they looked for a way back into the game. UoM defended well though, and

MMU did not have any clear sight of the try line.

The half an hour mark was approaching as MMU did manage to get points on the board.

Number 13 of MMU pushed high up the field, which in turn allowed the number 3 to score the try.

However, the conversion was not taken and UoM maintained their lead, which had now been cut down to two points.

Despite the uneven scoreline, the game had been a fair, balanced contest and the sides went in at the break with the 7-5 scoreline intact.

The second half was a different affair though, as UoM really pushed to gain dominance. Just ten minutes after the restart, Hannah scored her second try of the night and while GrantHarris was this time unable to convert, UoM extended their lead to 12-5.

The game was drawing closer to the end, and there were some nervy moments as one try and a successful conversion would put MMU level. Any unrest was put to bed though as a scrum win gave Zoë Childs Ford the chance to power her way to the try line.

England: same story, different competition

James Gill gives his two cents on the current state of English football James Gill Sports Reporter

Another international break over but the same old headlines are plastered on the back pages of newspapers: “England seek out another unconvincing victory”. Supporters know this all too well, telling themselves this game will be different, this game we will thrash whatever lower tier Eastern European side we are up against.

Lithuania and Slovenia were the sides, 1-0 wins in each, both goals by Harry Kane. It is obvious from these games that when faced with a better team such as France or Germany, we will have enormous difficulty in breaking the defence down.

England do have a good record in qualification though. In fact since the disastrous 2008 failure we have only lost one game. That sounds phenomenal, so why doesn’t it feel it?

Regardless of manager the style of play has always been so uninspiring, these last two games perhaps among the very worst of them. In the second game in Vilnius, Southgate played a 3-4-3 formation. One that he has since chosen for the World Cup, and therefore the problems we saw could be attributed to players learning the system. The typical 4-4-2 being scrapped in favour of a formation that will “help us play out the back”, but the problem I feel isn’t the formation, it’s the squad of players we have to choose from.

Gone are the days of Gerrard, Lampard, Beckham, Scholes, Owen and Rooney. We no longer have a large selection of world class players and most of the players in the current squad don’t even start for their clubs. Clubs in a league which frankly isn’t the best in the world anymore, who can’t reach the latter stages of the Champions League.

To perform on the world stage we need a creative spark, someone that drives England forward, risking those passes into small space. The only player who fits the bill is Adam Lallana who is currently in Qatar recovering from a thigh injury. I personally don’t think he is a good enough player to warrant the hopes of the country being pinned upon him but there are worryingly few alternatives.

When you watch the football that we played in these two games there were two different plans of attack going on.

Firstly, they would try to pass through the centre but would not try any risky passes and so retreat back to the defence and try again. The second method was to pass it out wide to Rashford, who isn’t actually a wide player he’s a striker, or Sterling in the hopes that they could use their pace to beat defenders and create something that way. Both Slovenia and Lithuania are not good teams by any means yet even they very quickly found England out and put a stop to those wide attacks. What is left after that? Well nothing and that is the problem Gareth Southgate has to work out.

Henderson, as much of a solid, reliable footballer that he is, refuses to make those through balls or passes into smaller spaces for our forward players. The sheer amount of runs Rashford and Sterling made that, if they received the ball, would have led to 1-on-1 or 2-on-2 situations was incredible.

They are talented footballers that can score goals given the service. As a result of this England will almost certainly either scrape through the group by the skin of their teeth and lose in the next round or not make it out at all. The failure to create chances will be the core reason for this.

Harry Winks did come into the side against Lithuania and was one of the better performers, showing he does have the intelligence to drive England further up the pitch with good

Photo: Ben Sutherland @flickr

passing, but he’s still very young and inexperienced. He’s the sort of player that, more so in the next competitions than this one, England should build their team around.

Imagination and creativity are traits that we desperately need to have any impact beyond qualifying and there is hope on the horizon. This summer the Under-19’s won the Euros and the Under-20’s won the World Cup. What is important is those players get nurtured, coached to make intelligent passes and not necessarily the easy passes. In the next 4-12 years I think we can reach the latter stages of a World Cup or Euros, just don’t expect anything in Russia.

Odds of England winning the 2018 World Cup: 20/1 (Sky Bet & Bet 365)

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ISSUE 5 / 16th OCTOBER 2017 WWW.MANCHESTERMEDIAGROUP.CO.UK

West Dogsbury: Non-League Day 2017 Dogs all over the shop at West Didsbury & Chorlton

ArthurSalisbury Spors Reporter

MEET & EAT

The truly great ideas combine the ingenious with the obvious, the ideas you discover rather than invent. We’ve all looked at a Jackson Pollock and thought ‘I could do that’, but the fact is you didn’t, and he did. Their beauty is their simplicity and their blatancy, that he was the first to do what now seems so axiomatic. In such a category we can place the latest initiative from our friends over at Brookburn Road: Non-League Dog Day. Of course! Of course Non-League Dog Day! Free entry with a mutt or a pooch at West Didsbury & Chorlton AFC. The post-punk indie miserablists Half Man Half Biscuit once noted that “even men with steel hearts love to see a dog on the pitch”. But how about 30, Nige? Some big, some small, some with scarves, some singing along and some just wanting to watch the game.

Of course the Sky Sports cameras were there to patronise the hell out of you, and their video report of the day is so very revealing. “Just another day in non-league football…”, the sequence opens with a clip of a man laying down corner flags while walking a dog, the voice over inviting you to chuckle at the old-timey ways of these humble, simple creatures from a bygone age. We are then asked to appreciate that it is “an initiative to bring much-needed funds to a club run mainly by its volunteers.” Ah, yes, those much-needed funds. If only Sky Sports could help at all, but alas, the company spunked all its money on a consultancy firm to tell them what a football supporter is and wants — the answer of course being a man in a bar scarf playing a one-two with his hatted son on the way to the match, thoughts full of 4-4-2s and 4-3-3s, and definitely content with the 40-odd quid he’s paying for the privilege of a late defeat at West Brom.

West Didsbury & Chorlton are a club with personality. It’s becoming a very valuable commodity in non-league football, with what I suspect will be an ever-rising deluge to the regional divisions of Premier League supporters who can’t stand anymore because they can’t stand anymore. The average Mancunian can already visit Salford City or FC United of Manchester, clubs with very strong and very distinct identity, if he or she wishes to remind themselves how fun football is. They’ve also got Stockport down the road if they want the opposite experience. It’s a credit to West that they have been able to get themselves noticed, with a supporter culture perhaps closer to Dulwich Hamlet in South London rather that any of the local non-league big boys.

West are a ‘trendy’ club. Now. I would like to make clear at this point that I am not Rod Liddle. I do not think that football supporters forming a progressive political climate around a non-league club is anything other than a posi-

Jamie McEvoy Spors Reporter

Heartbreak for Castleford as Leeds Rhinos surge to victory at Old Trafford

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goals back for Gate. The first, a beautiful post-clipping drive from 25 yards out from Jack Williams, the second an equally beautiful (in a different way) goalmouth scramble resulting in an own goal.

4-2 might have slightly flattered the visitors but hey, who’s counting? A highly entertaining day out in the Hallmark Security League, and a shame that the Sky Sports cameras pissed off after ten minutes. West move up to 7th in the league, and if they do push on to promotion into the giddy heights of the Northern Premier League Division One North, they’ll miss afternoons like this.

Leeds end Castleford’s fairytale

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tive for the game. I do not think that it is alienating to the long-standing, semi-mythical, Bovril-supping traditional supporter — any long-standing fans of clubs with a recent surge in attendance figures that I have spoken to have been delighted at the effect of atmosphere and revenue. I also do not think that it is a middle-class phenomenon, a lazy accusation often thrown at clubs successfully engaging their communities, as if one could infallibly infer a person’s economic relation from choice of flag, drink, nail colour, whatever. Hats off to West Dids. and all that follow them.

Excepting the Northern League (whose declination to become a feeder league to the Alliance Premier in 1979 for parochial reasons left it at a level that it was, and is too strong for – eight of the nine most recent winners of the FA Vase have been of the Northern League), the North West Counties Football League is arguably the strongest at Step 5. I’m used to Essex Senior stuff and the step up, though actually a step across, is undeniable.

Squires Gate were the visitors on Saturday, 22nd in a division of 23 and having lost 14 of their previous 16 fixtures.

West, on the other hand, sitting in 8th, were eyeing up that ambiguous second promotion place, a place that, due to another year’s restructuring, no-one I spoke to quite understood. But, there it is on the table, a second dotted line that bisects the Runcorn Town / Runcorn Linnets duopoly and separates them from the rest.

West play a very attractive attacking style, perhaps accentuated by some flimsy defence, but not greatly so. Steve Settle’s side had scored four goals in each of their last four games before Saturday and, on the evidence of the first 20 minutes you’d have bet on them doing so again. You’d have been right. It took only three to take the lead, Ben Steers with an awkward cross that no-one, including ‘keeper Mike Hall, was able to get on the end of. Squires Gate really needed to weather the following 20 minutes to keep the game alive but lasted only another 15 before Steer finished for two, Tom Bailey putting him through with a ball that humbled the Gate’s centre halves.

It wasn’t a pathetic performance from Squires Gate. They didn’t wilt, even with a canine collective on their backs, but the quality wasn’t there. In some noticeable rain they dug in, seeing it through to half-time just the two down. 2-0 down after twenty minutes is just as bad as 2-0 down after an hour, but somehow it doesn’t seem so. West remained on top but Gate were beginning to sneak up the pitch, so it was with some relief for home supporters when Matty Kay headed home from Steer on 73 minutes. Another Steer classic ten minutes later found Tom Bailey, who took the score to a more accurate 4-0.

West may have scored 24 goals in their previous six games, but they also conceded 18. Their defence was caught complacent and, perhaps, cold, when a late rally brought two

A series of Castleford errors and a superb performance by captain Danny McGuire ensured Leeds coasted past a disappointing Tigers side to win a record eighth Grand Final.

After a nervy opening for both sides, Leeds drew first blood 12 minutes in, when Tom Briscoe leapt to bring down Danny McGuire’s kick. Kallum Watkins scored the consequent conversion.

Leeds were on top, and six minutes later Watkins thought he’d given his side the chance to double their lead after sliding past the Tigers try line. However, video ref Phil Bentham quite rightly denied Leeds the points. It was not the final Castleford were hoping for, and Leeds looked determined to write their own ending to the Tigers’ fairy-tale season.

Castleford were on the ropes, but in the 30th minute, league top scorer Greg Eden burst forward, only to fumble upon being tackled at the last minute. The Tigers appeared galvanised, yet Leeds remained dominant.

The Rhinos ended the half 7-0 ahead with McGuire dispatching a drop goal in his final game for the side.

Castleford entered the second half seemingly invigorated. However, after yet another fumble from Greg Eden of all people, McGuire stole in to go over and seal four more points for the Rhinos, a mere seven minutes into the restart.

Just before the 60 minute mark, Briscoe scored his second try of the game down the right wing, with his teammate Watkins also getting on the score-sheet for the second time with his successful kick.

The slippery conditions were giving the Tigers all sorts of nightmares, and after another fumble, McGuire darted in

again to get a finger-tip to the ball, all but winning it for the Rhinos. After an effortless conversion by Watkins, Leeds were 23-0 up with ten minutes to play.

With six minutes left on the clock, it looked like Greg Eden had gone over to give Castleford some consolation, yet he was denied by the video ref, arguably somewhat harshly. It was a truly miserable night for the league leaders.

Just as McGuire’s final appearance for his side looked as if it could not be more poetic, he sent another ball between the posts with his second drop goal of the game. Yet he did not have the final word, as with one minute to go, Alex Foster went over to ensure Castleford at least came away from their first Grand Final with points.

Not the tight final many had hoped for, and devastating for a Castleford side who had absolutely dominated the league table. Nevertheless, it was a fitting end to illustrious careers for McGuire Rob Burrow at Leeds, and yet again another sell-out fixture with an electrifying atmosphere at Old Trafford.

Man of the match: Danny McGuire The Grand Final proved to be a fairytale ending after all, just not for Castleford. An emphatic performance from the Rhinos skipper, and a perfect ending to his Leeds career.

Hull KR fans’ mouths will surely be watering at the prospect of him joining their side next season.

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UoM Women fall to late defeat Two goals in the last ten minutes for Liverpool John Moores University condemned the University of Manchester to a league-opening defeat

Non-League Dog Day

Sam Cooper Sports Editor On the first day of the Northern 2A 2017-18 season, UoM faced the visiting Liverpool John Moores at a wet and windy Armitage.

With the rain temporarily halting, the game got underway and Liverpool were the side who started strongest. Lining up in a 4-1-4-1 formation, Liverpool hoped to get in behind the back four of Manchester and were routinely looking for space in the channels.

It was the away side that registered the first attempted goal, a looping effort that went over the bar. Liverpool were enjoying more of the possession but were looking unable to create anything with it, while Manchester were dangerous on the counter.

After absorbing the Liverpool pressure well, Manchester looked to spring a quick counterattack with Daisy Stewart managing to break clear, but her shot was wide of the post.

Despite Liverpool’s retention of the ball in the opening stages, it was Manchester who had the better chances.

Stewart’s wide effort was followed by a blocked shot as the hosts looked to get ahead.

These efforts resulted in corners and UoM were finding some joy in these set plays. Aiming for captain Megan Clarkson resulted in a chance for Liv Abbott as Clarkson managed to head the ball towards goal, but Abbott was just unable to reach it before the keeper smothered it.

The first half progressed and the possession stats equalled out as UoM shook off any pre-season lag. They grew into the game and were creating more chances than the visitors. The corner count was rising as they continued to look for Clarkson but a welltimed tackle from Evie Foster stopped a dangerous Liverpool counterattack.

With 26 minutes on the clock, the away side registered their first shot on goal. It was a tame effort that was easily saved, but the away manager was pleased with the build-up play.

Back at the other end, UoM were inches away from being awarded a penalty.

The foul was deemed to be just outside of the box and Stewart stepped up. Her effort hit hard but the power on the ball caused it to rise up and over the bar.

The half-hour mark passed and the Liverpool manager decided to swap his wingers in the hope of getting more joy.

This was not to be though, as the sides ended the first half level.

The opening of the second half was markedly different for the hosts as they started on the front foot. With more dynamism to their play, they were looking to hurt Liverpool, and four minutes after the restart they got the game’s opening goal.

A beautifully weighted diagonal pass met the run of Elise Scalding who proceeded to calmly take the ball around the keeper and slot the ball into the empty net. It was a goal that UoM deserved in the opening periods of the second half.

A minute later, Manchester had a good chance to double their lead. The ball fell kindly to Stewart who found herself inside the Liverpool box but after controlling the bouncing ball well, she fired the shot over the bar.

After 15 minutes of Manchester being on top, Liverpool clawed their way back into it. The game passed the 65-minute mark with it once again being an even contest between the two sides despite Manchester’s goal advantage.

With it being the first game of the season, there was understandably some fatigue in the players of both sides.

Searching for that two-goal safety cushion, Clarkson looked to find Ester Guerzoni with a great lobbed pass but Guerzoni couldn’t make anything of it.

If Manchester were to get their second goal it was looking like it would come through the work of Guerzoni. A last-ditch tackle was required to stop a counterattack from her and after a questionable offside decision, the referee deemed Guerzoni’s attempt to be a miss rather than a save despite the Liverpool keeper clearly palming the ball away.

With 80 minutes on the clock, Liver-

pool got their equaliser. A corner not being cleared properly resulted in a goalmouth scramble and number 38 of Liverpool managed to prod the ball into the net to tie the game at 1-1.

The Liverpool pressure was building as they decided whether to go for the win or stick with the one point they had.

Their pushing forward resulted in a very soft penalty going their way. More a tangle of legs than a foul but the referee, after much dubitation, pointed to the spot. Liverpool’s number ten set the ball down but saw her effort saved. A centrally hit low effort was grasped by keeper Caroline Strasenburgh as she saved her side from going 2-1 down.

The full time was drawing nearer but there was just time for UoM to be victims to a cruel slice of luck. A tame effort deflected off Katie Newton on its way to the net. The original effort was going to the bottom right of the goal but the deflection saw it change path to the bottom left and resulted in Strasenburgh being completely wrong-footed.

The goal was almost the last touch of the game, and UoM can count themselves hard done by with a 2-1 defeat.

After the game team captain Megan Clarkson said: “It was a difficult one as it was the first game back from summer. Standard wise, I think we’re up to it. It’s just getting to know each other as a team, knowing how each other play.

That’s going to take time obviously.”

When asked about the difficult start, Clarkson explained it, saying “it was the first 10, 20 minutes that was really difficult. Just getting on our feet because a lot of the girls, as I said, haven’t played football with each other. It’s just figuring out how each other play and that came quite quickly I thought. Towards the end of the game, fatigue kicked in more than anything else.”

Despite the late defeat, Clarkson was keen to focus on the positives “I wanted to cry, it was really upsetting, but you learn from it. You don’t focus too much on the negatives, just on what you need to improve.”

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Photo: Freddie Wilcox

Leeds end Castleford’s fairytale

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итрий Голубович Photo: Jamie McEvoy @TheMancunion

Varsity 2017

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Photo: hirobi @ Pixabay