Indigo issue 743

indigo 30.10.12

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indigo

contents

Page 3: STAGE: Can the stage can be just as powerful as the screen? Or has modern film technology raised the bar too high?

Pages 4-7: FASHION: for our first fashion shoot of the academic year, indigo introduces you to a rather attractive selection of this year’s freshers Pages 8&9: MUSIC: more music reviews, because our boys do it better than anyone else, and an interview with achingly-cooler-that-wewill-ever-be band, Bastille Pages 10&11: FEATURES: the features team take you through the halloween season, and introduce you to Durham’s Channel 4 star with the magical memory

Page 12: FOOD & DRINK: indigo shows you how to turn your Halloween prop leftovers into delicious and simple meals

Page 13: FILM & TV: indigo has a UK exclusive on the new series of Peep Show.

Page 14: BOOKS: we take a look at the poetry of John Donne, and discusses his significance to audiences today

Page 15: TRAVEL: indigo hears what it’s really like to live and work onboard a yacht in the Mediterranean More articles on palatinate.org.uk. Front page photo: Asher Haynes

Tuesday 30th October 2012 | INDIGO

Indigo Editor: Alexandra Groom indigo@palatinate.org.uk

editor’s letter

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ello and welcome back to indigo! We hope you enjoyed the last instalment. This is the Hallowe’en Edition, but only if you want it to be. We have tips on how to not waste those delicious pumpkins and how to stand out (in the right way) in costume, but if this ‘holiday’ isn’t your thing, fear not, we also have some escapism for you in the Travel section and a UK exclusive (we know people who know people…) on the new series of Peep Show.

We’ve also made a change to the back page, and I’m slightly nervous about the potential backlash… Are you ready? Ok. Here we go- the cryptic crossword is now a Sudoku... This is a trial as I had a few requests. If you feel strongly either way, send me your thoughts. Nothing too abusive though please, I can be pretty sensitive. I may even put both in next time if I get enough of a response. #yolo. Talking of controversies, in the Fashion section we have our annual fit fresher photoshoot. To those of you who have not come across this before, let me explain. Like our friends at Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and iD we like to put pretty people in pretty clothes and take pretty pictures to make our magazine look even prettier.

However, being students with degrees, we didn’t actually have the time on our hands to scout every single fresher. Messages were sent out across a wide range of university life, asking for nominations, and these were the eight with the most votes. Don’t be disheartened if you didn’t hear about this and think you should be on the pages! There will be many other photoshoots happening throughout the year, and these are open to everyone, not just freshers. If you would like to take part as a model, photographer, stylist or anything else, email the fashion team who are always looking for new talent. That’s all for now, we really hope you enjoy these pages, and as always, if you have any thoughts, queries or general musings that you feel would make your reading experience more enjoyable, then please send us an email. Oh, and Happy Hallowe’en! AG

Hallowe’en...

“This sarcastic festival reflects, rather, an infernal demand for revenge by children on the adult world” - Jean Beaudrillard

INDIGO | Tuesday 30th October 2012

stage

Stage Editor: Victoria Ferguson Deputy: Gabriel Samuels stage@palatinate.org.uk

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She’s behind you...

Andy Earnshaw argues that even in the age of movies, theatre retains the power to make your blood run cold

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s soon as Tesco starts stocking Halloween Haribo, one’s mind turns towards darker things: shorter nights, colder walks home and the season of scariness. This year when this time came around, I was asked an interesting question: in this age of special effects, CGI and audiences that are increasingly indifferent to all things blood-spattered and decapitated, can the good old-fashioned medium of theatre still be scary?

Over the summer I had the good fortune (or the misfortune, depending on the state of your nerves) to see Stephen Mallatratt’s The Woman In Black. Mimicking a line so often repeated throughout the play, I must confess that “I do not believe in ghosts.” I am in fact somewhat cynical about ghost stories in general and particularly about the modern horror genre. However, even if modern horror has been rendered almost ridiculous in its gory excess, the theatre retains the ability to exploit hor-

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Computer graphics have changed the rules for what ‘realistic’ means ror to its full and true capacity.

But what is it that actually makes a movie or a play ‘scary’?

Is it the quality of the special effects? Is it how loudly that jarring minor chord can be played after an eerie, prolonged silence? Or is it something more subtle and psychological?

One cannot deny the appeal of CGI and clever visual theatrics to enhance horror. The success of the SAW franchise and the fascination surrounding films like The Human Centipede demonstrate just how much freak shows still intrigue the horror-hungry.

Even outside of this genre, James Franco’s role in 127 Hours shows the extent to which our society has a kind of twisted love for all things gruesome. So, in this sense, CGI has left theatre in the dust. The early scare tactics of fake blood and prosthetics have had their clunky charms replaced by slick, digitised HD. Computer graphics have changed the rules for what ‘realistic’ means and theatre cannot hope to keep up with such a level of visual detail.

But is this actual horror? I am not convinced that having your stomach churned by visual debauchery is the same as the sensation of semi-paralysis that descends as you anticipate that ‘something terrible’ is about to happen. To me, that is the key. True terror lies not in what does happen, but in what could happen. The most terrifying part of The Blair Witch Project, for example, is the final scene. We all know that something bad is going to happen; it is only a matter of when.

If this is the case then theatre has more than a good fight left in it, even in this digital age.

To say that my greatest moment of fear in that theatre was my neighbour’s foot brushing against my calf is not a ringing endorsement of The Woman In Black, but it does show that the theatre can create an almost tangible tension. When that foot touched my leg, it was the affirmation that something bad

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Theatre has more than a good fight left in it, even in this digital age was going to happen and there, in that suspense, lay true terror.

A truly scary movie or play engages one’s imagination rather than just feeding one’s eyes with gore. This is perfected through suggestion, music and immediacy. These three elements, particularly immediacy, ensure that the stage will always have a place of honour in the horror genre. In a play, we are far more connected to the actors than we could ever be in the cinema or in front of the television. In the theatre, we cannot escape the fact that these people are real. These people exist. This enhances the whole illusion that what they are going through on stage is also real.

The Woman In Black has been terrifying audiences for more than 20 years Illustration: James Crosland-Mills Horror movies like The Blair Witch Project can try to recreate this sensation with techniques like amateur photography and characters speaking directly to the camera, but the television screen still forms a comforting barrier to that alternative reality. In a theatre, the immediacy is inherent. It is inescapable.

So, to the person who asked me whether the theatre can be

scary, whether it still has a place for a modern audience, I would say yes, it really does. My honest opinion is that theatre has the capacity to be more terrifying than film. There is no screen to remind you that this is all imaginary and, with those theatre seats packed so closely together, there is always someone’s foot waiting to brush against yours and make you jump out of your seat.

Michaelmas show round up

Lettice and Lovage

The Dumb Waiter

The Durham Revue

Senate Suite, Castle

Assembly Rooms

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Great Hall, Castle

“Lettice Douffet frequently insists that she doesn’t do ‘mere’ and it can certainly be said that there was nothing ‘mere’ about this performance at all.”

“The cast and production team of NADSAT’s The Dumb Waiter timed this showing of Pinter perfectly. Forde and Drury’s acting has set high standards for the host of forthcoming productions this term.”

Harriet Mallinson

Annabel Coaker

««««« “The Durham Revue are so wonderful to watch: each time you watch them, you feel like they’ve created it all specially for that one night.”

Alexandra Groom

Tuesday 30th October 2012 | INDIGO

4 fashion

fresher fashion

The indigo fashion team and a selection of this year’s freshers took over the Castle after a summer of going gold, our new boys and girls go purple for Palatinate Photography: Tom Weller Make up: Sirens Beauty Salon

INDIGO | Tuesday 30th October 2012

Fashion Editors: Lois Bryson-Edmett & Cordelia Yeung Deputy: Jess McGahan fashion@palatinate.org.uk

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fashion

Tuesday 30h October 2012 | INDIGO

Make up and hair by Sirens Hair & Beauty, Durham Market Square The boys wear their own finest dark suits Clare and Freya wear dresses from Topshop, Ruby wears stylist’s own dress while Genevieve’s dress is model’s own

INDIGO | Tuesday 30th October 2012

Fashion Editors: Lois Bryson-Edmett & Cordelia Yeung Deputy: Jess McGahan fashion@palatinate.org.uk

Rowan Williams, University College.

Freya Semken, St. Cuthbert’s Society.

George GeorgeMallett, Day, University Collingwood.

College.

Clare Pemberton, John Snow.

Joe Chappell, St. John’s.

Ruby-Tiger Hawkins, University College.

George Mallett, University College.

Genevieve Ainsworth, Collingwood.

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Tuesday 30th October 2012 | INDIGO

music

The storming of the Bastille Robin Marshall chats dangerously dictatorial machinations and drug deals gone awry with London-based Bastille ahead of their first ever Newcastle gig

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n expectant, tightly packed crowd almost refuses to let Bastille through as they battle to storm the glorified platform that is the stage of Newcastle’s The Other Rooms.

Temperatures rise and victory is finally secured, but it’s a defeat which the young audience is happily prepared to concede as the enthralling first few notes of ‘Icarus’ are offered up, set to a backdrop of dialogue sampled from Requiem For A Dream.

Hailing from south London, the pop quartet, consisting of lead vocalist Dan Smith, bass guitarist Will Farquarson, percussionist Chris Wood and keyboardist Kyle Simmons, are no strangers to battle. Having played at over thirty festivals this summer, the only one slight debacle of their travels occurred at Wakestock Festival in Wales, which looked, according to Farquarson, “like something out of the Somme: mud everywhere.”

“It was all flooded on the way there and we took a country road in our tour bus and it couldn’t go up a hill, so we had to get out and we were literally running up a hill in the rain.

By that point we’d already missed our stage time twice, it was Woody’s birthday and we’d been in the bus for ten hours. We’d watched a whole series of Dexter.”

All this is recalled jokingly, the comfort of retrospect imbuing their shared memories with a fondness that verges on nostalgia. Sprawled across two sofas, they display a comfortable affinity for one another that is reinforced by equal amounts of both

respect and cheek. Despite this, it is clear that Smith is the creative genius of the group. Asked who holds the most power amongst them, Woody points teasingly to Smith: “Dictator. Is that not drastically clear?”

The reference is to Smith’s earlier solo work, the classical elements of which arguably permeate and even structure Bastille’s sound. Smith writes and demos the songs first before they all come together to work out how to play them live.

“Dan will come up with some crazy weird drum patterns. I spend a little while trying to figure out some sort of octopus routine to pull it off, and that’s quite a challenge itself – which I quite enjoy”, says Wood.

The band, who formed in 2010 when “some drug deal went wrong and Dan ended up owning [Kyle]”, according to Wood, were signed to major label Virgin Records in December last year. The relaxed means by which they approach their work, their good humoured and light-hearted attitude towards it is certainly endearing.

Despite this, acquiescence to the demands of those who foot the bill is inevitable, as Smith elucidates: “Major compromises in my mind are things like me having to be in a music video, which is something that I never wanted to be in. Even though I’m still not massively happy with that having happened, that’s the kind of thing that for most other bands it wouldn’t even occur to them that that was an issue. It just

Bastille perform live in Newcastle Photo: Katie Sheppard

what’s on? gig guide OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 30 Grammar / Fishtank, Lucy Rose / 02 Academy 31 Spector / 02 Academy 1 Spiritualized / The Sage 2 1977 / The Big Jug, Field Music / The Cluny

happens to be something that I didn’t want to be a thing for us.”

Entertaining is something they do well. Out on stage, Smith’s musicality is hard to miss as he searches for anything within reach from which to draw sound.

He quickly settles upon the low ceiling, tapping away at it with a drumstick on crucial beats from the get-go, and later including Wood’s stomach in his repertoire of instruments.

From the first chord of third song ‘Overjoyed’ the audience immediately takes over, collectively overwhelmed by the intimacy of the gig, chanting the opening line: “Oh I feel overjoyed.” The song is a stirring one, caught up in a sense of

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It is precisely this modest, laidback attitude towards the music industry that is what makes Bastille so appealing

movement effected by dramatic pauses that echo the haunting lyrics, “I hear you calling in the dead of night.”

Perhaps Bastille’s success lies in their ability to innovate by fusing various genres into something special. Hits like ‘Sleep-

song’ are predominantly pop songs with R&B-cum-classical nuances that instill their formulaic looping structures with fresh sounds. Their catchy cover of City High’s ‘What Would You Do?’, arguably the song for which they are known best, is greeted with enthusiasm precisely for this reason. Maybe not realising the title is in fact a rhetorical question, the crowd’s response is a little overzealous. Slightly taken aback at first, Smith quickly warms to it, and the battle begins anew.

Announced as their last song, ‘Flaws’ begins amid wild excitement. A truce is made as Smith leaps into the audience and proceeds to mosh with those surrounding him, thereby embodying the principle of humility implied by the words, “All of your flaws and all of my flaws, they lie there hand in hand.”

It is precisely this modest, laidback attitude towards the music industry and the role they assume, or rather humbly ‘unassume’, in it, that is what makes Bastille so appealing. When asked about their forthcoming album, they jokingly worry about having to “sell it out of the boot of a car.” It’s a highly unlikely scenario; more worrying, perhaps, will be the impending battle to lay a hand on a copy.

Bastille are due to release their debut album in March 2013

3 The Futureheads / The Cluny 4 The Killers / Metro Radio Arena 5 Penetration / The Cluny 6 Grammar / Fishtank 7 Eddi Reader / Gala Theatre 8 Rod Picott / Old Cinema Laundrette 9 The Proclaimers / Newcastle City Hall 10 Soft Bullets / Vane Tempest Sessions 11 Ed Sheeran / The City Hall, Newcastle 12 Deaf Havana / O2 Academy

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For more Music coverage visit palatinate.org.uk

INDIGO | Tuesday 30th October 2012

Tame Impala / Lonerism Modular Records

««««« Ruby Lawrence

After over a year of festival slots and television appearances, Jake Bugg’s self-titled debut has finally arrived - and it does not disappoint.

Hyped by many famous fans, including Noel Gallagher, Jake Bugg is riddled with influences from half a century ago all the way to 90’s britpop. At only 18, this effort is all the more impressive, and the wisdom which sharpens the tales he tells confirms him as one to watch.

The album opens with single ‘Lightning Bolt’, a fast-moving foot-stomper that shows Bugg’s skill in matching lyric with music, both as catchy as each other.

Lonerism, the follow up to Tame Impala’s Innerspeaker, is a welcome return from the WesternAustralian psyche rockers.

Some may say that the hallucinogenic soundscapes are a little too frequent on this record, but in my opinion Parker has managed to blend them reasonably well with the hard-hitting riffs to which Impala fans have become so partial.

Those hoping for the musicianship found in ‘Half Full Glass of Wine’ and ‘The Bold Arrow of

Time’ could accuse the repetition of opening track ‘Be Above It’ of monotony. However, the flangey, synthesised staccato is a fitting introduction to a psychedelic journey from modern day Perth to the basements of 60’s Liverpool in its rock and roll heyday.

‘Elephant’ is the in your face boneshaker that we moody blues lovers are desperate for in these plinky-plonky, indie-cindy times.

With a hint of Black Sabbath’s Sabbra Cadabra, the album’s first

single transports the listener forward in time to July 2013, kneesdeep in mud, swaggering through the middle of Pilton’s finest pop party. Venturing into all things prog, pop and stoner-rock, the song writing seems rooted in both liberation and yearning.

It is a 70’s hard-rock inspired, aptly named homage to Plant, Page and co., which makes you feel like you’ve just embarked on a narcotic induced trip to Led Zep II. ‘Why Won’t They Talk to Me’

‘Simple As This’ is a one-song showcase of how Bugg is really from another era - “Memorise the mantra, Confucius says/But it only let me down”, draws from that world-weary songwriter of time gone by.

It’s this nostalgic approach which confirms Jake Bugg’s appeal; the nasal, clinching voice lends itself well to a Dylan-esque storytelling style and the lyrics, though so evidently written by an 18 year old - ‘skin up a fat one, hide from the feds’ - tie themselves together in the choruses with timeless lines like in ‘Two Fingers’ - “I got out,

I got out, I’m alive and here to stay.”

Songs like ‘Trouble Town’ and ‘Seen It All’ highlight the hazardous past he’s leaving behind, having spent his youth in Clifton, Nottingham in one of the largest council estates in the UK. Jake Bugg is a young man destined for greater things yet still remarkably grounded and aware of what brought him to the position he’s in today.

The standout heartbreakers are, of course, ‘Broken’ and ‘Country Song’. The former finger-picks itself first into a slow folk jam but then bursts into a swansong of

backing vocals and wistful melisma from one of Bugg’s less rocking moods. ‘Country Song’ unsurprisingly follows a clear country influence, using falling chords that pull at the tension of ‘Will I see you again?’ and crumble as he too falters; “Please just come on back home.”

The rock, folk, blues and country influences all collide here to collate what, after a few listens, can appear to be a very polarised album. Young yet old, heartbreaker and heartbroken, with a clear path to the future yet a desire to remember where he came from. “Something is changing” Bugg sings. And something is.

The full Disclosure 9th October

Digital Newcastle Jack Collins

For those of you who don’t know Disclosure, they’re a pair of brothers originally from south London, aged 17 and 20, and have been producing some scene-changing tracks over the last two years.

Their latest offering, ‘Latch’ entered the UK charts at 22 and continues to rise, marking Disclosure’s entry to the big time for good.

Part of Joe Goddard’s new Greco-Roman empire, the brothers have broken into the public eye through featuring heavily on new Ministry of Sound mixtapes and supporting Hot Chip and SBTRKT on their UK tours.

Disclosure took to the stage around midnight, to the roars of

Music Editors: Patrick Bernard & Alex Denby Deputy: Robin Marshall music@palatinate.org.uk

an adoring crowd. As soon as they dropped their first track, all anyone did for the next three hours was dance.

Ultimately, it was a techno/house set but what made this special was that every time the duo dropped one of their own tracks, all hell broke loose.

Their remix of ‘Running’, orignially by Jessie Ware, was the first real crowd pleaser, but it didn’t take long for them to get to the new single ‘Latch’, at which point, there was pandemonium on the dance floor, with screaming girls and fanboys alike crushing to get closer to the brothers marshaling the decks.

Although ‘Latch’ was played twice and ‘Control’ was also included, to a similar reception, this was less about Disclosure showcasing their own music and more about their ability to work a crowd.

The ‘My Intention is War’ beat was used again and again, whipping the crowd up into a fenzy, but they never actually dropped the track.

It didn’t matter by this point though - every new beat was being greeted with more fervent dance moves and by the time the set finished, to thunderous applause and cheers, we were all absolutely knackered, but reassured by the fact we’d just had one of the best nights out of our uni lives so far.

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and ‘She Just Won’t Believe Me’, on the other hand, have a cathartic quality that’s refreshingly unexpected.

A personal favourite song from this album has to be ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’. Todd Rundgren and John Lennon, two of the band’s biggest inspirations, should be proud to think that their music helped bring this nostalgic tune to our ears. Lonerism is a more than worthy follow-up to Innerspeaker.

Jake Bugg / Jake Bugg Mercury Records

««««« Sofia Smith-Galer

for your ears only Adele / Skyfall

Liz Lawrence / Rooftops Tame Impala / Elephant fLako / Honey Drips Bastille / Flaws

Lapalux / The Hours

Bat For Lashes / Marilyn MØ / Pilgrim

Toro Y Moi / So Many Details

Jake Bugg / Lightning Bolt Flume / Holdin’ On

Soft Bullets / Another Chance Splashh / Need It

The Killers / Miss Atomic Bomb Crystal Castles / Wrath Of God How To Dress Well / Cold Knights

Tuesday 30th October 2012 | INDIGO

10 features

indigo lends a helping hand with all things Halloween Halloween essentials 1. Carve a pumpkin A toothy grin on the windowsill is exactly what every home needs - even if it isn’t an artistic masterpiece. All you need is a pumpkin from Tesco and a sharpish knife. Can’t find a pumpkin in time? Then get creative! Squashes, apples, gourds and melons can all be sculpted, even if you can’t quite squeeze a tea-light inside.

2. Decorate the house Adorn your house with spooky accessories. Spider webs can be made by squeezing PVA glue onto a sheet of cling film to peel off when dry. Hang paper chains in black and orange or strings of cut-out spiders and bats from the ceilings. Stick silhouettes to your lampshades to cast eerie shadows in the room. Poundland is really your best bet when it comes to plentiful, cheap and tacky decorating materials.

3. Dress for the occasion Fancy dress is crucial, particularly in Durham. Typical costumes are ghosts, vampires, black cats, witches, monsters and skeletons. There’s no excuse not to join in if all you need is a holey bed sheet. Take a trip to the cloth man before it’s too late. But first, please read our guide on what not to wear, to avoid the awkward “what are you?” questions.

4. Stuff yourselves If pumpkin pie doesn’t suit your sweet tooth, swap butterfly cakes for bat cakes, jelly for brains and gingerbread men

for gingerbread skeletons. Toffee apples and worm-shaped sweets go down a treat if you can’t bake yourself. For a savoury option, sausage rolls or bread sticks can easily become severed fingers with a creative make-over. Alternatively, load up on Haribo from Poundland to give out to trick or treaters, then eat them all yourselves.

5. Throw a party Let’s be honest, we students know how to party. Download a spooky soundtrack, brew a cauldron of punch and entertain with ghoulish drinking games.

Apple bobbing and doughnuts on strings are classic ideas to get the night started. If you’re not up for heading out after, find a horror film and play the zombie drinking game. Drink everytime a zombie appears. It’s really that simple.

6. Watch some fireworks Durham Police and Fire Service used to have a firework display at Aykley Heads, but now you have to trek out to Beamish Museum to see the show. The doors open at 6:00pm and the bonfire will be lit at 7:00pm. Don’t forget your campus card for discounted entry!

Don’t forget Grey College’s fireworks display on the weekend, a must see for anyone in Durham on November 3rd. Either find yourself a suitable vantage point, or follow the crowds to the college grounds to see the action up close.

Emily Woodhouse

Halloween: ‘tis the time to unleash your fancy dress creativity Photograph: Sophia Chan

Costumes best avoided...

Are you wondering what to wear this All Hallows’ Eve? Tired of the standard Ann Summers outfit and the odd blood splatter/ your normal clothes with a few props from the indoor market?

Well, before you finalise your plans, take a look at this list of costumes we very much don’t recommend: Jimmy Savile Last year it might have just been creepy. This year, let’s just say it’ll be a little bit more than that.

Now I can feel the more incendiary of you lot thinking this would be hilarious, but please for sensitivity’s sake AVOID JIMMY.

Photograph: Flickr ID - indigoprime

Your ex You may want to bathe in the musky scent of the hoodie that

they left at yours, and catching sight of yourself in the mirror may fill you with bittersweet memories, but this is another one to avoid (even if you do add a stab wound to show just how over them you are). This is particularly unfortunate if you’re on the pull, as that useful icebreaking conversation ‘what are you dressed as?’ will get you nowhere.

The Go Compare man That massive easy-to-make moustache might be appealing right now, but when that painted cardboard is actually attached to your face for the whole evening you might be feeling a little differently. And after you’ve had the theme tune sung at you twenty million times and random looks of hatred from everyone you meet, you might

agree that this one’s best left as an amusing idea.

Usain Bolt You will only Enough said.

disappoint.

Anyway, the list could really be endless – the only other bit of advice I would give is to pick a costume and go for it. I don’t want to see any half-arsed, semi-baked, can’t-really-tellwhat-you-are-supposed to be costumes careering down the Bailey on the way to Klute, yeah?

It doesn’t matter what you go as if you commit to it – Boris Johnson, Rosie the Riveter, your favourite vegetable, whatever you want - just go all out and have a very happy Halloween!

Jess Batterbury

INDIGO | Tuesday 30th October 2012

Features Editor: Sophia Chan Deputy: Emily Woodhouse feature@palatinate.org.uk

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A mental ‘photo-diary’ Sophia Chan interviews Aurelien Hayman about his amazing memory

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ast month, a Channel Four documentary was aired featuring ‘the boy who can’t forget’ - Aurelien Hayman, a third-year English student at Castle. I was in Vietnam at the time, and my parents rang to tell me my friend had made the news in Hong Kong. I had no idea how big it would be, and neither did most of his friends.

The programme talked about a condition called ‘hyperthymesia’, or ‘highly superior autobiographical memory’. He is able to recall certain memories of his day from any dates given at random to him. Intriguingly, this level of detail only starts from around 2003, and becomes very precise from 2009 onwards. He could probably fill in a rough calendar of his life by each day and write, in his own words, a “kick-ass autobiography.”

As seen on the documentary, he is able to recall throw-away details like the state of weather or what day of the week it was if you give him a random date from the calendar. Incredibly, he is the only person in the UK to have been identified with this phenomenon so far, and it is very rare in the world. In an interview on BBC morning, Professor Giuliana Mazzoni from Hull, who has been conducting tests with Aurelien, stated that researchers in California in the past ten years have had around twelve candidates.

Aurelien tells me his memory is rather like having Dumbledore’s Pensieve in his head – he

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His memory is rather like having Dumbledore’s Pensieve in his head is able to dive headfirst into the strands of memories swirling around his brain at will. The funny thing is he didn’t even realise he had such a special memory until last year, when he spotted a YouTube video featuring

The ability to remember the events of every single day of your life: a pain or a gain? Photograph: Henry Norman an American woman who could do the same – and the revelation amazed him more than anyone else. Even his parents were gobsmacked. They knew he had a good memory but had no idea how unique it actually was.

Does it make work life much easier for him then? Ironically, even though he can remember the days he did revision, he can’t actually remember the things he revises.

Another question that everyone seemed interested in was whether it bothered him if he remembered sad or unpleasant memories from the past. But Aurelien tells me it doesn’t affect him that way at all because it’s purely a visual image that he sees. It’s also a voluntary thing – he can choose when to take

out the mental photo album and flick back through time.

I test him and ask whether he remembers what he did on the 28th October 2011. Without hesitation, he recalls it was a Friday and that his shower flooded, causing water to fill the living room of his student house. But how do we know this information is accurate? I throw another date at him, the 7th August 2011.

He immediately remembers being in Paris with his cousins and how that night also marked the first of the London riots back in the UK. When filming the documentary he got flown out to Venice to get a brain scan since, bizarrely, it’s cheaper to have one done there instead of in the UK. It was one of the first times this kind

of scan had been done, and the psychologists were very excited since the scan seemed to reveal the way in which connections in Aurelien’s brain were much thicker, and thus able to work more efficiently.

What wasn’t shown on air was his near death experience.

He left one cent in his front pocket, and if it had been in his back pocket it would have shot through his body because the magnet is so strong! Apparently the researchers were not amused over the damage that could have been done to an extremely expensive piece of equipment.

So, what next? Since psychologists know nothing about how memory truly works, hopefully examining this phenomenon

will help explain or simply shed light on memory conditions such as Alzheimer’s. Airing the documentary will also mean that more people might realise they have the same kind of memory.

In the meantime, relative fame has caught up with him – he got asked for his autograph in freshers’ week and even NBC in America asked to interview him.

It’s also funny hearing about the fan mail he receives. One amusing facebook message was “Hi, just read about your power and wanted to be in your 26th September 2012 memory so I sent this message to you.”

However, right now, he’s still dashing about my room looking franctically for his lost room keys.

Tuesday 30th October 2012 | INDIGO

12 food & drink

Food & Drink Editor: Kirsten Riddick food@palatinate.org.uk

The art of treating, not tricking

Turning your lantern leftovers into lunch

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epending on your plans for tomorrow evening, you may or may not have a pumpkin to wake up to on the 1st of November.

If your gurning lantern has been used as a sick container/ ash tray during a house party the night before, it’s probably time to part ways. If, however, your Halloween lantern is still relatively intact, then you’re in luck.

Too often, the pumpkin is consigned to the bin as soon as everyone has removed the last remnants of their Poundland slutty witch costume- and it shouldn’t be.

Pumpkin, and indeed the rest of the squash family, is the perfect vehicle for autumnal ingredients. Here, roasting concentrates the flavour, whilst the thyme and chilli counteract the natural sweetness of this veg-

etable.

Top with feta and serve in a warm salad, toss through pasta or pair with cold meats - this is an incredibly versatile recipe.

It’s also guaranteed to make you feel smug about your thrifty leftover use. Remember: a pumpkin is for life, not just for Halloween.

Recipes and Photographs: Kirsten Riddick

A recipe for smashing pumpkins • Preheat oven to 200C. • Remove seeds from pumpkin or squash, and cut into large chunks.

• Place pieces on roasting tray and drizzle liberally with olive oil.

• Sprinkle over fresh or dried thyme, some chilli flakes and the zest of a lemon. Top with sea salt then toss so vegetables are all coated.

• Roast for about thirty or forty minutes, until tender and caramelised.

Restaurant review: Mrs Mustard

Does Saddler Street’s newest restaurant cut the mustard? Seb Inglis-Jones investigates

H

aving usurped Hide’s prime slice of real estate on Saddler Street, Mrs Mustard, the new restaurant in town, sits proud and prim behind a new lick of brown paint and a promising epithet: ‘Totally scrumptious food emporium’.

Now as any student population would attest to (and Durham is no exception), if a restaurant, coffee shop, bar, pub or club is to triumph in tugging on the heart and wallet strings of said population, it must possess some particular and cohesive vibe.

Let me explain. You might go to Flat White because it’s cosy; because the hotchpotch décor, charming service and quaint tea cups tickle your fancy… just as the food in Zen is consistently appealing, the internet in Nero fast, and a pint in the Swan is a tenth of the price of entry into Academy.

The million dollar question, then, is does Mrs Mustard have an alluring vibe, a convincing selling point? In terms of layout it hasn’t shrugged off the Hide exoskeleton – the tables could be ex-Hide - but new contributions include brass cooking pots and pans, a whimsical fireplace and one or two bookshelves presenting the tasteful detritus of Mrs Mustard’s kitchen.

Particularly appealing are the multiple ceiling lights that hang, individually, like jelly fish tendrils. A few niggles distract from the otherwise homogenous flavour of the place: the Costaesque wall prints, the garish toilet sign, but these are mere niggles to anyone other than a true cynic. Not too bad so far.

The cuisine is quintessentially British, boasting a lavish selection of meat dishes, and with prices ranging from £9 to £20

Mrs Mustard and her team have vaulted straight to the top end of the student budget. At that price it had better be good I hear you say. Well, I’ve got good news and bad news.

I have been to Mrs Mustard twice now, returning because the pork belly and king scallops I had as a main course (from the dinner menu) was one of the best dishes I can remember having: a bouquet of taste and texture, the sort of thing you’d expect to find in one of London’s finer restaurants.

Keen to re-live these dizzying flavoursome heights, I returned for lunch, ordering miniature Yorkshire puddings with roast beef and gravy followed by spicy prawns wrapped in flatbread whilst my companion ordered a chicken and bacon salad. Everything was beautifully presented: the gravy arrived in a miniature

cooking pot and the salad was fluffy like a newly brushed Persian cat, but this is where the compliments stop I’m afraid.

In terms of taste, the word that springs to mind is ‘average’.

The beef was slightly dry, nondescript (as were the Yorkshire puddings), and saved only by the gravy, whereas, whilst the prawn wraps were ok, I found myself musing over the many dishes

Durham could offer for £9… a superb mushroom risotto from Zizzi perhaps.

So here’s the wrap, if you’ll forgive the pun: I thought, upon my first visit, that Mrs Mustard might be a new epicentre of fine dining in Durham. The pork belly was genuinely sensational.

It was, however, let down by its peers; so much so that I could not confidently guarantee a good meal to a friend looking for a sure thing.

What, then, is the selling point?

It’s pricy and the décor does not exude any idiosyncrasy. If you choose your dish wisely, perhaps on recommendation, you will have a pleasant surprise, but there is nothing I can put my finger on to suggest that Mrs Mustard will be anything other than just another restaurant, and I say that with a sigh.

INDIGO | Tuesday 30th October 2012

film & tv 13

Film & TV Editor: Alex Leadbeater film@palatinate.org.uk

The Peep Show must go on Durham’s student cinema is back...

After a thrilling summer of film The Bede Film Society is proud to announce their showings for the coming term. With Dolby surround sound, a 35mm film projector and Durham’s biggest screen, it is the best cinema experience you can get in Durham.

Celebrating its fiftieth year, The Bede Film Soc brings you one of the year’s best films each and every weekend, as well as special Wednesday night showings.

The society also offers a wide array of sweets, including the legendary pick and mix as well as bags of popcorn and chocolate.

Drinks and alcohol are allowed in all screenings and can be purchased from The Vernon Arms just a stones throw from the cinema.

The entirely student-run society is proud to announce its upcoming films for the rest of Michaelmas term here in indigo: Brave 3rd and 4th November

The Expendables 2 10th and 11th November

David Mitchell and Robert Webb as duo Mark and Jeremy in Peep Show Photograph: Objective Productions

Lawless 14th November The Watch 17th and 18th November The Bourne Legacy 25th November Anna Karenina 28th November Looper 1st and 2nd December The Campaign 8th and 9th December The Bede Film Soc’s showings are in Caedmon Hall in Hild Bede.

Box office opens at 7:15pm with films starting at 8pm. Admission is £1 for members and £3 for non-members. Email hildbede. filmsociety@durham.ac.uk to join the mailing list. Visit www.bedefilmsoc.com or like The Bede Film Soc on Facebook for more info.

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For reviews of all the Bede Film Soc’s upcoming films, head to palatinate.org.uk

In an indigo exclusive, Rachel Aroesti went behind the scenes of the eighth series of the legendary sitcom and spoke to producer Phil Clarke about ten years of Mark and Jez, and to find out whether Peep Show is as good as ever

W

alking through the Peep Show set feels eerily familiar. And no wonder.

Eight series, ten years of Mark and Jeremy, mean this painstakingly mundane flat, with its graffiti-covered lift and half-finished paintwork, has been home to two treasured internal monologues for almost half my lifetime. It also means it has served as the setting for the longest running sitcom in Channel 4 history.

Relocated to Elstree Studios after building work rendered the Croydon original unfilmable circa series three, the flat is “an anchor”, says Peep Show producer Phil Clarke (who seemed visibly shaken by the “horrific” decade-milestone), “if they stopped sharing the flat, there’d be no series – we need that physical proximity.”

That the set preserves some realism also seems of importance to the creators – perhaps as a vestige of Peep Show’s initial dogma: to be

‘as real as possible’. “Over the years we’ve strayed from that,” says Phil, “we worry about it less now.”

He is referring, in part, to the sitcom’s storylines, now more obviously products of the form than of real-life experience. But another thing which was inevitably going to threaten any verisimilitude as the series passed was Mark and Jeremy’s necessarily cartoonish interdependence: as Phil concedes, “not many people approaching 40 share flats.”

This arrested development is important though, if not entirely plausible. The battle in Peep Show between reality and the desire to reject it, fought out between the characters’ ideas of themselves and their actual existence, is something which stems from the show’s inception. “When Peep Show started Mark and Jez were 27. Rockstars die at 27. At 27 you have to meet the real world”, says Phil.

It’s a world which has crept up on

the characters slowly, as it did and continues to do on its audience, until suddenly there are babies,

“

Peep Show is “working towards its conclusion”

multiple failed marriages and even (in this series) the faint promise of worldly success.

What’s also gradually made itself known is a change in image, from zeitgeisty to, as Phil will admit, “establishment.” The fact remains that although the show itself has remained consistently original, and consistently true, it just isn’t the ultra-realistic ‘alternative’ sitcom it once was. Why not?

Part of the reason has to be Mitchell and Webb themselves, who in their other work have come to represent a cosier side to British comedy. But perhaps audiences have also become more comfortable with the show because it’s done its job very well. I think we probably recognise these portraits of the modern man with less anxiety now.

This isn’t the end for Peep Show, but it is “working towards its conclusion” according to producer Phil. Far from being concerned that these one-time cult characters have lost some of their edge, he seems more alarmed that Peep Show is still at the forefront of TV comedy, anticipating the day when “something leftfield will come and make it old-fashioned; and if it doesn’t, there’s something wrong.”

Peep Show Series 8 hits the nation’s screens on Channel 4 on 9th November

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Tuesday 30th October 2012 | INDIGO

books

Books Editor: Justina Crabtree books@palatinate.org.uk

Labour of love: Catherine Malpass unpicks the romantic entanglements of John Donne’s poetry

Words that make love come unDonne J ohn Donne – lawyer, priest, poet – essentially an incredibly clever man. This sharp intelligence shines through in his poetry, characterised by its lofty eloquence and unexpected yet somehow perfectly chosen conceits. But beneath this immaculately polished exterior lie raw and often volatile emotions.

In reading Donne’s poetry, we are treated to an insight into the musings of the man himself, not merely the persona of Donne as poet.

Donne’s collection of Songs and Sonnets reveal his all-toohuman tendency to over-think.

His musings on love in particular have remained continuously fascinating, not least because many of his private meditations reflect thoughts we still have today. Donne famously stated that, “I will have no such readers as I can teach.” Whilst Donne’s poetic prowess is amazing on an intellectual level, it is his emotional subject matter that readers most easily engage and empathise with.

Donne’s own love story is one of many complications. Some of his richest poetry concerns Anne More, a woman that inspired in Donne a combination of both spiritual and earthly love. How-

ever, the poet married Anne against the wishes of her family, an action that was effectively career suicide for him. Donne’s relationship was eventually accepted, yet he was forced to lived a life of poor economic existence as a consequence of his forbidden feelings. Possibly Donne’s most apt comment on the affair was simply: “John Donne, Anne Donne, Undone.”

The stages of this love story can be traced through Donne’s

“

Beneath the polished exterior of Donne’s poetry lie raw and volatile emotions

poetry. The relationship’s origins can easily be imagined in the famous opening lines of ‘The Good-Morrow’: “I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I did, till we loved?” An existence without love cannot be imagined, as the strength of the poet’s feeling

now defines him. The emotions are all-encompassing, powerful enough to “[make] one little room an everywhere.”

In ‘The Undertaking’, Donne discusses his forbidden love.

For the poet, marrying Anne is, a “braver thing than all the Worthies did” – the Worthies being the nine supreme heroes of history. Donne encourages his readers to understand the paradoxical nature of his relationship: the elation and compulsion of love alongside the shame and frustration of its illicit nature. Whilst Donne boasts of his self-control and prowess, he is simultaneously aware of his limitations as a human being. The clandestine nature of the love affair may make Donne appear a more courageous man, yet it undoubtedly drains him.

One of Donne’s most didactic poems is ‘A Lecture upon the Shadow’, forming the last leg in the journey that is his relationship. Here, Donne becomes love’s veteran, displaying a more detached view on the feeling of love. The poem lacks the immediacy of ‘The Good Morrow’ or the defiant nature of ‘The Undertaking’, as its tone seems to be predominantly one of resignation.

For the poet, “love is a growing or full constant light, and his first minute after noon is night.” The seasoned speaker, through the symbolism of shadows, appreciates the disguises that lovers will put on in the first hours of their relationship to impress one another. At midday, the shadows fade as pure love is reached, only for these shades to lengthen again as night beckons. Donne, writing later in his career, seems to have learnt love’s lessons. This more cynical outlook implies a broad range of perspectives on love – Donne’s writing covers its joys and pains, illusions and realities.

This journey through one man’s intense self-analysis leads to an understanding of the paradoxical nature of romantic relationships. Each love story follows a similar prototype, yet has its own unique imprint – and both of these viewpoints are explored in Songs and Sonnets.

As Shakespeare, one of Donne’s contemporaries, once stated in A Midsummer Night’s Dream: “The course of true love never did run smooth.” This aphorism well describes Donne’s tragic love affair, which, being immortalised in his poetry remains accessible to readers today.

A love letter to Donne photograph: Nicoletta Asciuto

Patricia Robles

Recently indigo had the pleasure of speaking to Michael Kalisch, editor of the new Oxford-based journal Literary Papers. The journal aims to publish material bi-annually, giving students at the country’s universities the opportunity to publish their poetry and prose alongside reviews and articles.

Explaining his reasons for creating the journal, Kalisch says: “From my own experience of getting stuff published - and more regularly rejected - I felt there wasn’t a publication that allowed me to step from being published in small journals to a big one. The idea also came about from a belief that student writing is of a very high standard, and deserves a national audience.”

Kalisch emphasises that Literary Papers will be predominantly student material from universities across the country, providing the opportunity for essay writers and critics in addition to poets.

Academic rigour is central to the character of this journal, moving away from “confessional or angsty prose and poetry” as Kalisch puts it, favouring “concision and left-field thinking”. The overall aim is to “get the journal firmly established as a leading student journal”.

The idea has been financially supported by the HSBC Bursary Competition, as one of their winning entries last year. It also has the encouragement of Oxford senior academics as well as a board of academic advisers from across the country, making the scope of Literary Papers far more professional than other existing student-based creative writing publications.

A new kind of journal

INDIGO | Tuesday 30th October 2012

travel 15

Travel Editor: Dan Hunt travel@palatinate.org.uk

The bay of Monaco is a prime location for mega yachts and their owners Photograph: Alexandra Groom

Hard work on the high seas Lydia Cole describes the real experience behind working on a yacht in the Mediterranean

W

hen I tell friends I spent a month of this summer working on a yacht cruising the Mediterranean, they are unsurprisingly jealous, imagining a jet-set lifestyle and great pay.

Yes, it’s well-paid and tax-free. And yes, you meet some exciting people and get to travel, but the realities of working on a yacht are so different to what I imagined, and worlds apart from the luxury enjoyed by the guests.

It is hard to resist the glamour of a job as yacht stewardess. The generous salary would pay off my Klute-induced overdraft. I pictured myself posing on the fly deck in large sunglasses and a skort, admiring a tanned deckhand and deigning to serve the odd drink or fiddle with the ropes, before disembarking for an afternoon’s shopping in St Tropez.

Sadly, the real picture when arriving at rainy Heathrow at 9am was more disappointing. Here I was met by your stereotypical seaman, and bombarded with a list of

duties. Short, scrawny and reeking of cigarettes and alcohol, his teeth resembled those of a walrus, whilst the shirt, tan and deck shoes were replaced with a more questionable cropped trousers and a tatty leather jacket. Hesitations aside, we boarded the plane and discussed what was expected of me, and I rapidly realised my skills in fixing a fender and tying cleat hitches would need some work.

Conveniently, the only alcohol sampled (three glasses of wine) went the Captain’s way, and I high rolled on an orange juice, and 45 minutes later we arrived in sunny Italy.

My enthusiasm for the sun and the gorgeous surroundings was dampened when we got to Porto Mirabello, where I would be cleaning and repairing the boat for four days, with only the captain for company before the owner arrived.

Keen for some time alone, I spotted a beach bar with rooftop pool, donned my kaftan, and had Jilly Cooper, Marlboro Lights and Blackberry at the ready, only to be sum-

moned back by the captain. Seven hours later, hands sore and ears battered from the foul language of this sea-faring ‘landlubber’, I made my escape from my favourite cleat hitch and polished chrome.

Wishing never to look at a deck again, I soon changed my mind when some handsome Italian crew members invited me onboard for an aperitivo. It would’ve been rude not to!

Stumbling back less-than-sober several hours later, I discovered my friend had shut the passerelle.

For those uninitiated in the intricacies of yacht engineering, the passerelle is essentially a drawbridge, without which it is near impossible to board a boat. With the aid of a friendly fisherman I hauled myself on the boat weary, sunburnt and missing a deck shoe, retiring to my tiny cabin to reflect on my whirlwind first day.

The next few days were not a blur of Chanel, but of chamois leathers and cleaning products. Once the owner and his family arrived, our

cruise from Italy, around Corsica and along the Cote d’Azur began.

6am missions to find boulangeries in unfamiliar ports and housekeeping became my daily routine. I became the world’s expert on chopping vegetables at sea, to which my Elastoplast-wrapped fingertips are testament. Increasingly I became ready for my harbour side siesta.

Afternoon duties can vary; from sorting laundry, to cleaning the exterior of the boat, babysitting, preparing dinner, cleaning more fixtures with a toothbrush, fetching crates of bottled water from port or polishing silver – there is never an idle moment onboard!

Washing plate upon plate in the galley, I found myself peeking at the beach through my porthole, longing to top up my tan. I began to create amusing distractions from my sea view, from the stunning, and sometimes amusing, scenery (the sites of laying anchor at a Corsican nudist harbour speak for themselves!) Though desperate for a change of air, trying to catch fish

with a fat, naked Italian man in a very small rowing boat was not a viable alternative.

My journey was full of beautiful landscapes. Bonifacio in Corsica is truly spectacular, where you enter the port through a cutting in the cliffs, filled to the heavens with crumbling houses, high up on the rocks overlooking the sea. The Cours Saleya market in Nice is incredible; teeming with jewellery and 21st presents at a fraction of Portobello prices. I also managed to brush up my French skills, liaising with port authorities each day, and chatting to crew from other boats.

Working on a yacht provided an alternative way to travel whilst working, and in a stunning environment. That said, you may need cooking qualifications and most likely childcare experience.

Sadly, I can certainly confirm that rumours of boozing, sex scandals and high-living amongst crew at sea are, on board my boat at least, indeed rumour.

Tuesday 30th October 2012 | INDIGO

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Sudoku-Puzzles .net Sudoku, Kakuro & Futoshiki Puzzles

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i742’s crossword answers ACROSS

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food: If you’re a liver out, you’re going to be heading towards serious carbohydrates around now. Nothing to be ashamed of, just make sure it’s healthy, because the wrong kind of stodge can sap energy levels. Check our food section online for recipe ideas to help beat the chill as winter sets into your kitchen.

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fashion: It is now officially welly time. And no, they are not snobby or cringe, they are warm, waterproof, and non-slip. You simply cannot argue with that.

For some of you, Hunters will be essential. For others, Cath Kidston / Union Jacks are still du jour, and for those of you who frankly don’t care, well honestly the choice is nearly endless.

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music: If your head can no longer deal with loud, pounding beats, then we recommend Fleet Foxes. In particular, Ragged Wood. Relaxing without being soporific, and upbeat without making you feel like you’re in a nightclub. Again.

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film: The new James Bond is now out! It’s on at the Gala until the 1st so make sure you get a chance to see it. In case you haven’t noticed, we kinda like James over here.

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cult: Krispy Kremes is opening today on Silver Street at 10am! They gave us enough free ones at the Freshers’ Fair, it’s only fair to pop in and say hello!

visual arts

indigo diary

Sudoku 9x9 - Hard (138744262)

the back page

november essentials

‘(Manicule) More’ is an exhibition currently showing at Durham Art Gallery by local artist, Edmund Francis. His striking sculptures explore the manufactured objects which surround us every day, but often go unnoticed. Charlotte Hallaways reports on her visit to the exhibition and a talk with the artist...

Read the full article at palatinate.org.uk In the next edition our visual arts section will be making its debut in print, after huge success online. If you want to get involved, please email visual.arts@palatinate.org.uk.

photography competition

On this day:

1470 - The Yorkists are defeated and King Henry VI returns to the English throne 1485 - Henry VII is crowned King of England 1831 - Nat Turner is arrested in Southampton County, Virginia, after leading the bloodiest slave rebellion in the history of the US 1864 - Four prospectors discover gold in Last Chance Gulch and found Helena, Montana.

1918 - WW1 ends in the Middle East after the Ottoman Empire signs an armistice with the Allies 1922 - Benito Mussolini becomes Prime Minister of Italy 1925 - Britain’s first television transmitter is created by John Logie Baird 1942 - 3 seamen from HMS Petard board U-559 and retrieve data which leads to the decryption of the Enigma Code 1960 - The UK’s first successful kidney transplant is performed in Edinburgh by Michael Woodruff 1985 - Lift off for mission STS-61-A, Space Shuttle Chalenger’s final successful mission

Winning entry: Light tracks show the path of a midnight swing in the Church Street Playground.

Photo by George Sylvester

We want your best photos! Next edition’s theme will be ‘Remembrance Sunday’.

Email them to indigo@palatinate.org.uk by midday on Sunday 11th November for the chance to have your photo printed!