Redbrick- 2nd March 2012

EST. 1936

Redbrick Friday 2nd March 2012 | Volume 76 | Issue 1409 | redbrickpaper.co.uk

Academy Awards 2012: The Oscar-winners and red carpet stunners See Film, p.19 and Life&Style, p.21

New £50 million sports centre planned

Artist's impression of the front of the new sports facility – subject to change Sam Price Sport Editor

The University of Birmingham is about to submit a planning application for a new £50 million sports centre facility, aimed to be in operation by early 2015.

The new facility will be positioned behind the Guild with the entrance facing onto Bristol Road at the junction with Edgbaston Park Road, where the Gun Barrels pub is currently positioned. It will include a 50 metre swimming pool, a sports hall three times the size of the current one in the Munrow Centre, as well as a state of the art

gym, two dance studios and improved changing facilities.

The University have chosen to make a large investment to increase participation, engage better with the community, recruit students and enhance its status as one of the elite universities for sport. However some concerns have been raised about the cost of the project.

Zena Wooldridge, Director of University of Birmingham Sport (UB Sport), spoke enthusiastically about the project, 'If we're going to keep sport as a distinctive feature of campus life then we have to be bold. The whole package of what we try to provide in terms of stu-

dent experience – if you then enhance that by putting in some world class facilities then suddenly we'll make a huge impact as an institution.'

The new facility will operate partly commercially, through use by the community with its more strategic position, and will also be a key element in terms of recruitment for the University, with the facility offering a greater student experience for those paying the higher tuition fees. 'Simply having these world class facilities will make our recruitment so much stronger, as first impressions count, at Open Days and to new

students arriving at the University.

Having a much bigger pool, gym and sports hall will make such a difference.'

The new facility is unlikely to significantly change the size of the sports clubs that have performed well in recent years, but it is aimed that the development will double sport centre membership, as well as providing the capacity for further expansion of different recreational activities.

'It really is about getting more people playing more sport more often', says Wooldridge. 'There will be a little more space for some clubs and for performance sport,

but the majority of the extra space will be about engaging more students. It's about improved accessibility to the majority of the student population'.

Vice President for Sport Tim Smith was equally optimistic about the project saying, 'Students have been wanting better facilities for years and now this development could make this dream a reality for future students. It is a hugely exciting project, which will bring so much to the student experience at Birmingham, not just in playing sport but also spectating, and inspire many more to get active whilst at University.'

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Redbrick Editorial Editor Glen Moutrie Deputy Editors Victoria Bull James Phillips Online Editor Chris Hutchinson Art Director Beth Richardson Multimedia Editors Rian Lennon Owen Earwicker multimedia@redbrickonline.co.uk Photography Editors Freddie Herzog Millie Guy Anna Kirk chiefphotographer@redbrickonline.co.uk News Editors Anna Hughes Kerrina Gray Rhiannon DoyleMaw Patrick McGhee Freddie Herzog (Online) news@ redbrickonline. co.uk C&F Editors Oscar French Elisha Owen Owen Earwicker (Online) features@redbrickonline.co.uk Arts Editors Lexie Wilson Alexander Blanchard Anna Lumsden (Online) arts@redbrickonline.co.uk Music Editors Will Franklin Tamara Roper Jonathon Milnes Josh Holder (Online) music@redbrickonline.co.uk Television Editors Charlotte Lytton James Moore Russell Webb Charlotte Goodwin Abigail Salter (Online) tv@redbrickonline.co.uk Film Editors Genevieve Taylor Isidore Sanders Matthew Clemens (Online) film@ redbrickonline. co.uk

Redbrick

2nd March 2012

Food Editors James Morrison Izzy Gibbin Sophie Attwood Josh Oxley (Online) food@redbrickonline.co.uk

BIRMINGHAM

Life&Style Editors Sophie Cowling Lucy Whife Megan Jones (Online) lifestyle@redbrickonline.co.uk

Noel Martin, 52, from Edgbaston was held at gunpoint with two of his carers by thieves who escaped with a sum of money and an engagement ring belonging to Mr Martin's late wife. The attackers escaped in a silver Honda Civic.

Travel Editors Emily Booth Louise Spratt Chloe Osborne Will Spence (Online) travel@redbrickonline.co.uk Technology Editors Ruth Bradley Sam Atkins Dan Lesser (Online) technology@redbrickonline.co.uk Sport Editors Sam Price Raphael Sheridan Joel Lamy (Online) sport@redbrickonline.co.uk Crossword Editor John Rizkallah Senior Editorial Assistant Kate Selvaratnam

News Shorts compiled by Zak Bentley

Disabled man in armed robbery

FILM

EUROPE

OSCAR statues auctioned for $3million

Greek parliament approves budget cut

15 Oscars statues have been sold in an auction in Los Angeles for more than $3m (£1.8m) only two days after the academy awards took place. The prizes were handed out before the ban on selling them was put into place in 1950.

Greece approved new austerity measures as the government began implementing cuts demanded by international creditors in return for £11billion rescue package. The package involves imposing a 22% cut on the minimum wage.

LITERATURE

TECHNOLOGY

EDUCATION

COURT

iPad 3 to launch on March 7th

Cuts hit 20,000 university courses

Police apologise to Duggan's family

It is thought that the new iPad will have a vastly improved display, with double the screen resolution of the iPad 2, and a faster processor. The iPad has sold over 55million since its launch in 2010. Its Apple’s first event since Steve Jobs' death.

Universities have cut close to 20,000 courses in the past six years in a bid to tackle funding issues and a drop in student demand. Full time undergraduate courses in the UK have dropped from 70,052 in 2006 to 51,116 in 2012.

Mark Duggan’s family have received an apology from the Metropolitan police for failing to formally notify them of his death. The IPCC upheld the families complaint after Duggan's shooting acted as a trigger for last summer’s riots.

Harry Potter author JK Rowling says she will enjoy the freedom to explore new territory in releasing her first adult novel. Industry experts estimate the new book deal to be worth £5million and it will be released later this year.

JK Rowling to write first adult novel

Editorial Assistants Ellie Jarvis Isabel Mason Sarah Musgrove Ravina Khela Ellie Smallwood

SOUTH AFRICA

MEDIA

SPORT

STRIKE

Mandela released from hospital

Murdoch quits News International

Liverpool win Carling Cup final

Union threatens Olympic strike

Online Editorial Assistants Rosie Pearce Josh Taylor Eimear Luddy

Anti-apartheid leader and former President Nelson Mandela, 93, was released from hospital after keyhole abdominal examination showed there was nothing seriously wrong. Officials have said he is in good spirits resting at home.

James Murdoch has stepped down as executive chairman of News International, the UK newspaper business that owns The Sun and The Times. He will remain as deputy chief operating officer of parent group News Corporation.

Cardiff City were defeated 3-2 on penalties at Wembley

by Liverpool after the match finished 2-2 after extra time.

Cardiff’s Anthony Gerrard, cousin of Reds captain Steven Gerrard, missed the decisive tenth penalty .

The Unite union leader, Len McCluskey, has suggested strike action as a campaign against spending cuts. Ed Miliband has spoken against the strikes, tweeting, 'any threat to the Olympics is totally unacceptable and wrong.'

NORTH KOREA

TRAVEL

Enrichment of uranium suspended

Network rail to admit guilt over crash

US and North Korean officials have confirmed that North Korea have agreed that they will suspend the enrichment of uranium. Victoria Nuland also said Pyongyang had consented to a moratorium on nuclear, and long-range missile tests.

Network Rail is to admit health and safety breaches in relation to the Grayrigg crash in Cumbria. More than 80 people were hurt and a woman died.

The train, at 92mph, went over a 'degraded' set of points and went down the embankment.

Junior Art Directors Lauren Wheatley Sophie Rogers Akhil Kothari Proofreaders Rachel Ashe Nicola Barton Faye Simpson Emma Korniewski Lucy Haffenden Amy Saul Elizabeth Waind Community Manager Sophie MurrayMorris

Designed and typeset by Redbrick.

Copyright (C) Redbrick 2012 The views expressed in Redbrick do not necessarily reflect those of the editors, the Guild or the publishers. If you find an error of fact in our pages, please write to the Editor. Our policy is to correct mistakes promptly in print and to apologise where appropriate. We reserve the right to edit any article, letter or email submitted for publication.

This year's Guild election Sabbatical Officer candidates

Redbrick Guild of Students Edgbaston Park Road Birmingham B15 2TU 0121 251 2462 editor@redbrickonline.co.uk Redbrick is printed through www.quotemeprint.com: 300667.

08451

Advertising: Contact Lakhvinder Sira in Guild Marketing on 0121 251 2524

President

VPAD

VPDR

VPE

News 3

2nd March 2012 redbrickpaper.co.uk

Redbrick

Election Roundup

Come Together

First day of campaigning

Election in Numbers

Deputy Editor

Looking forward to campaigning?

Election campaigns officially started on Monday. A breakfast took place before campaigning began, during which candidates mingled with Guild media. Candidates then initiated campaigning by putting up posters amongst other things.

Redbrick has conducted a number of surveys to gauge student opinion on a range of campaign-related issues and debates. Our first poll question asked: 'Are you looking forward to the two weeks of campaigning?'

Hustings for Guild elections

Students make early decisions

Hustings were held on Monday for both sabbatical and nonsabbatical election candidates.

They took place in Mermaid Square outside the Guild and included one-minute speeches from each candidate in which they outlined their policies.

A poll conducted three days into campaigning asked on Facebook: 'Have you decided who you are going to vote for in the Guild Officer elections yet?' Voting opens today and will remain open until 4pm next Friday 9th March.

Presidential candidate debate

Gimmicks on the campaign trail

The second presidential debate in the Guild's history took place on Tuesday. Five of the six candidates campaigning for the role answered questions from students and debated issues ranging from tuition fees to graduate careers.

As in previous years, many candidates standing for sabbatical officer roles have adopted various gimmicks for use in their campaigns.

Redbrick asked: ‘Do you think gimmicks draw attention away from policy?’

Guild Election Tweet Feed

VPHC

James Phillips

VPS

#guildelections12

VPW

R.O.N.

Co-operation, as the Oxford English Dictionary puts it, is ‘the action of working together towards the same end, purpose, or effect’. And this can be one of the most crucial qualities required to achieve success in life.

Whether you are working for a big company, involved in a student group or playing in a sports team, it is essential to establish good working relationships with the people around you.

Having said this, it is almost impossible for everybody in a large group to get on perfectly and have the exact same working methods.

There are those who strive for perfection and those who are satisfied just to get the job done. There are those who will go about their business quietly and efficiently, and those who will let everyone else know exactly what they are doing and how they are doing it. What is important is that nobody loses sight of the common goal.

At Redbrick, there are many different working relationships: between section editors and writers; section editors and the committee; section editors and other section editors. Crucially, each week we have the common goal of producing a newspaper and maintaining a website which keeps the whole team working together.

Some weeks things go brilliantly, other weeks they don’t go so well, but it is the team ethic which carries us through.

I have come across many contrasting characters in my time involved here, and it is not always the case that the best sections are run by similar personalities. It is merely important that the editors are always respectful of each other.

It is important to be able to both give and receive criticism fairly and graciously. Criticism is an integral part of nearly every career path, and the better your working relationships are with your colleagues, fellow society members or team-mates the easier it is to accept. Only when everybody is in tune with each other and actively encouraging improvement can true success be achieved.

It may sometimes be necessary to swallow your pride, and take the advice and example of somebody else. You might not always get things your own way, but what I have learnt is that the phrase ‘you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’ often rings true. Allow someone to have it their way at some point, and further along the line the favour should be repaid.

This is the essence of co-operation. It is the best way to achieve something, both individually and collectively, and this applies to the vast majority of people in life. Very few career paths see anybody completely alone. A politician has their political party, a company manager has their office team and a successful singer has a whole management team supporting them.

There is always room for individual talent within a team, but for that talent to truly prosper and realise its potential then there is no substitute for the support, advice and camaraderie that the cooperation of others can bring.

To maintain the drive and ambition needed to arrive at your targets, encouragement and competition from others is vital. And when whatever grand plan you are working on comes together, the feeling is irreplaceable.

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2nd March 2012 redbrickpaper.co.uk

Redbrick

New sports centre in numbers

£50 million The overall cost of the new sports centre

3

2015 Year of the building's estimated completion

2

How many times bigger the sports hall will be in comparison to the old one

The number dance studios that will be built

Students request Virgin Media to appear on Watchdog James Brilliant Reporter

Student frustration with Virgin Media over broadband speeds in Selly Oak has intensified this week, resulting in calls for the Internet supplier to be reported to the BBC's investigative trading standards show Watchdog.

The Facebook group 'Report Virgin Media to BBC Watchdog (Selly Oak)' has at the time of print over 500 'likes' and claims that 'Time and time again the Internet provided by Virgin Media (in the Selly Oak area of Birmingham) has proven too slow to use, or has cut out altogether.' On the forum, students have been expressing their displeasure at the discrepancy between the speeds they are paying for and the speeds they are currently receiving. One student claimed that 'Between 4pm-1am we literally get 1 or less of the 30MB we pay for. If that's not an utter

failure of service I don't know what is', whilst another stated ''50mb broadband' and it's barely able to open this page.' A number of other students claimed their internet was so slow that it was entirely inoperable (even at 'off-peak' times), that they had been reduced to accessing WebCT from their Blackberry devices, and that the inability to load sites such as BBC iPlayer and YouTube was affecting their degree progress.

The quality and efficiency of Virgin Media's customer service has also seemingly exacerbated the issue of poor speeds, with students expressing anger over being kept on hold for long periods of time and the resulting costs of the call, being passed around between various customer services departments, and being hung up on.

Beccy Gaitch, a third year International Relations and Economics student said 'I called Virgin Media customer services and

UoB avoids drop in undergrad courses Rhiannon Doyle – Maw News Editor

A study by the University and College Union (UCU) has found that there has been a substantial cuts to the number of degree courses on offer at British Universities. There are almost 20,000 fewer full time undergraduate courses available now than there were in 2006. The cuts range across subjects from arts and humanities, to the sciences.

However, the University of Birmingham in contrast to the overall statistics of the country, has seen an increase in the courses offered. In 2006 at the University there were 453 undergraduate programmes on offer, whereas in 2012 there are now 459 undergraduate programmes offered.

The report has found that England has been hit the hardest by the drop in courses offered. The rise in tuition fees to a maximum of £9,000 a year is being cited as one of the reasons for almost a third fewer courses on offer. UCU have claimed that funding cuts have affected course availability, which could be damaging to the student experience of university.

The Aston Webb Building

Sally Hunt, UCU general secretary, has said 'Although students in England are expected to pay up to £9,000 a year to study, there is much less choice for them.'

There has been a reduction of 27% between 2006 and 2012 in the total number of full-time undergraduate degree courses in Britain. In England, six out of nine regions have seen a cut of a quarter or more.

In addition to the University now offering more courses, a recent poll which looked at the universities who produced the most millionaires and multi-millionaires has revealed that the University of Birmingham is seventh in the country.

The director of student employability for the University of Birmingham, Eluned Jones, has said 'University of Birmingham students and graduates strive to be the best they can be and it is a reflection of their success that we appear so highly on this list.'

Although there has been a rise in courses at the University, applications have fallen this year, with 24,467 potential students applying compared to 26,070 last year.

Mike Roberts

Selly Oak being kept on held cost me nearly £20. Once I got through they were apologetic but mostly helpless, and I got passed around to a lot of different people. Eventually they gave up, but did cut the bill I am cur-

Freddie Herzog

rently paying in half.'

In response to the complaints, Guild of Students Vice President Housing and Community Zuki Majuqwana and Selly Oak Councillor Brigid Jones have established an-

other Facebook page encouraging Selly Oak residents to test their internet speeds and post the results online. One student posted that despite paying for speed of 'ultrafast' 100Mbps (£40 a month), they were receiving just 0.1Mbps.

In light of the speeds they are receiving, some students have accused Virgin Media of breach of contract under the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 which states that 'Any goods provided under the service must also be of a satisfactory quality, fit for their purpose and as described' and subsequently cancelled their contracts.

Virgin Media do implement a 'Cable Traffic management policy' and have admitted since February 2010 that network usage in the B29 postcode is 'abnormally high'.

They have frequently assured customers since that the service is due to be upgraded in the near future.

Virgin Media were unavailable for comment.

Save the library campaign launched by University students Ella Parsons Reporter

The University of Birmingham has announced its intention to rebuild the Main Library, but plans for the new building are facing opposition from students.

On its website, the University explains that 'the current library, which was built to house a printbased, pre-digital collection, and which has grown sporadically since the 1950s, no longer meets students' expectations'.

It states that the construction of a new library is 'a once-in-alifetime opportunity to transform our campus and ensure that our students, staff, and wider community have a facility that serves their changing needs, exceeds their expectations, reflects the status of their institution, and is a source of pride for decades to come.'

However, the proposed new design, a contemporary structure that would replace the redbrick façade of the current library, has met with criticism from students.

A Facebook group entitled 'Save the University of Birmingham's Redbrick Library' has been set up to petition against the demolition of the redbrick façade, and since being created in December, has attracted over 400 members.

Matthew Key, a student ambassador at the University, and co-founder of the group, explained the reasons for creating a petition 'Primarily, I considered it inequitable that the University would think to go ahead with a decision as monumental and instrumental to the daily well-being of its students without any prior student

Inside the library consultation.'

'Secondly, after reviewing the plans myself … I found the plans drab, utilitarian and not in keeping with the beautiful aesthetic the University champions.'

'I think we all agree that the library is in severe need of a bit of refurbishment and, most importantly, an introduction of plug sockets en masse! However, at what cost should this modernisation come?

Should modernisation take precedence over the maintenance of our beloved Redbrick heritage? So far, 400 students have emphatically said no.'

Jacob Lovick, a first year English and Drama student, commented 'I think that it would constitute the destruction of the redbrick heritage that our University is known for, and would temporarily deprive students of an amazing literary resource that we come to university to use.'

As stated on the petition, the group hopes to 'urge the Projects

Freddie Herzog

Department to reconsider the submitted proposal for the new library and consider a more traditional design or, at least, to not obliterate the front façade which, not only provides useful space, but stands as a monument to our university's heritage'.

Some progress has been made in the campaign. The Guild President, Mark Harrop, has been invited to attend a 'Library Planning Group', and Key is positive that the planning team is aware of students' concerns.

Mark Harrop commented 'I have been to a planning meeting to put across the view from students regarding a traditional aesthetic and I am pushing hard for further student consultation'.

In addition a motion has been passed in the Guild that means it is now official policy that students should be consulted on architectural developments. The protest group aims to deliver the revised petition by the end of March.

News 5

2nd March 2012 redbrickpaper.co.uk

Redbrick

50

£275

50

100

The length of the new swimming pool in metres – compared with the current 25m pool

Current cost of a full year's membership at the Munrow Sports Centre

The number of sports teams competing for UoB in BUCS

The percentage increase of members predicted when the new centre is complete

Bauer flagged for breach of neutrality

Bauer's flag

Edd Bauer

Zak Bentley Reporter

Guild Vice President of Education (VPE) Edd Bauer has come under fire after he was highlighted in the Better Guild Forum for potentially breaching the Guild's policy of neutrality in the Israel-Palestine conflict by hanging a Palestinian flag from his office window.

As Bauer is part of the Guild Officer Team, his actions may have breached Guild policy, which states: 'The Guild of Students believes that it would harm campus relations and detract time from other issues that more directly af-

fect the majority of students on campus for it to side with either Israel or Palestine. Therefore it shall remain neutral by having no policy on the Israel-Palestine conflict.'

Bauer justified the flag display stating, 'Me putting up a flag doesn't give the Guild a policy. I don't side with either Israel or Palestine; I side with human rights and believe abuses should be brought attention to.'

In his capacity as Vice President of Democracy and Resources, Hugo Sumner deals with complaints about issues such as these.

He said 'I can confirm that I received multiple complaints from students about the hanging of a Palestinian flag from a window in the Guild last week. Many students complained that it made them feel uncomfortable and pointed out that it was in direct violation of the Guild's 'No Policy Policy' which was decided on by Guild Council, stating that we shall not have a stance on the Israel – Palestine issue. As a Guild for all students, we should strive to remain neutral about such a sensitive issue as no student at Birmingham should ever feel marginalised on their own campus, especially in their own Student's Union.'

A student who did not wish to be named said, 'Bauer's attempt at cheap political point-scoring does nothing to foster good relationships between students and simply makes no difference to what happens halfway across the world.'

Police appeal as student is sexually attacked in Selly Oak Anna Hughes News Editor

Police are appealing for witnesses after a 19-year-old woman was sexually assaulted in Selly Oak last Thursday.

The woman was walking down Alton Road, a street with a high student population and located five minutes away from the University of Birmingham, between 1010:30pm on 23rd February when a white male grabbed her from behind and sexually assaulted her.

The man is described as aged between 20-25, around 6ft tall and of stocky build. He was wearing

a light blue hooded top with the hood up. The man ran off after being disturbed by people passing by, running in the direction of St Lawrences Road. Police are calling for witnesses from Selly Oak or around St Lawrences Road to call the Public Protection Unit at Ladywood.

In response to the crime, Selly Oak Police took to Twitter to offer Selly Oak residents free personal attack alarms. They tweeted: 'In light of our last re-tweet, we have a limited number of personal attack alarms available. Please message us and we will deliver them.'

Birmingham South Police have

also released a video highlighting the top ten ways to protect homes from crime.

Sophie Blakemore, BCU student who lives on Heeley Road Selly Oak, said, 'I knew Selly Oak was bad for crime but this news is really scary. Personal attack alarms sound like a good idea but I don't have Twitter, perhaps they should give them out around Selly Oak?' Tom Miller, also from BCU, commented 'I do see lots of police cars around Selly Oak but there should be more as students are such easy targets from crime, especially girls walking home from nights out.'

Alton Road, Selly Oak

Freddie Herzog

The Centre for Women's Enterprise and Leadership launched at the University of Birmingham Emily Duffy Reporter

As female unemployment reaches its highest level in a quarter of a century, the University of Birmingham's Business School and the Women's Business Development Agency have teamed up to create the UK's first centre devoted to women in business.

The Centre for Women's Enterprise and Leadership (CWEL) will fuse academic research together with practical training programmes in an effort to maximise economic opportunities for women in the UK and Europe, whilst also benefiting those in the world's developing economies. It will also include a strong community focus, offering advice and business support to women in the West Midlands.

The CWEL is being implemented at a time when the Women's Business Development Agency have emphasised the urgent need for services to get

women ahead and motivated in industry. This is due to record female unemployment levels and difficult economic circumstances for many older women, who face redundancy in the public sector.

Amongst the centre's new projects will be the development of an international advisory service for governments on successful enterprise and leadership support for women. This will include schol-

The current Business School

Freddie Herzog

arship exchange programmes that will enable women in developing countries to join University of Birmingham leadership and MBA courses.

The centre will also establish the first national support service for female graduates in life sciences, helping to establish and develop businesses in the sector.

At a regional level, the CWEL promises to create a Women's Leadership Forum for the West Midlands, as well as business support programmes and networking activities for firms run by Asian women. It also looks to build confidence and provide assertiveness training for young girls schooled in deprived areas. Current University of Birmingham students are set to benefit too, with mentoring schemes, business skills training and assistance in accessing finance all being offered to them.

Sally Arkley, Director of the Women's Business Development Agency commented 'The new Centre will be underpinned by

excellent academic research but will also focus on offering practical and successful programmes. We intend to work with groups who have traditionally not received support in business to raise both their aspiration to succeed and the skills to achieve that success.'

Susan Marlow, Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Business School said: 'Our new Centre will look beyond the UK to examine how ideas of female entrepreneurship can be applied in developing countries.'

Professor David Dickinson, director of the Business School added that the 'Birmingham Business School has a long history of using our academic expertise to assist business in our region. This new centre is designed to further enhance those links, offering help for a wide range of groups, from raising awareness of business ownership amongst school-aged children to bespoke support for entrepreneurs wanting to develop an already successful idea.'

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Redbrick

2nd March 2012

Comment & Features Pennies End

Football and Finance James Dolton explores the increasing number of parallels between Premiership Football and the global economic crisis...

Andrew Peck Commentator

As the 21st century gets underway, it is time to remove from circulation one and two pence coins.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines currency as 'money in actual use in a country or other commodity used as a medium of exchange' and I would argue pennies no longer perform this function.

Nothing costs one or two pence any more, and in fact, the Royal Mint has decreed coppers legal tender only up to the rather paltry sum of 20p. Even sorting that requires time and effort that could be better used, if not by you then certainly by the people in the queue behind you.

The natural home of pennies is now vending machines; an ideal solution; you could waste your time, and have the satisfaction of watching said coinage come out as change to whoever used it next, much to their consternation. However no vending machines accept coppers any more, as they are not worth the time or cost to the vending companies to count, collect and store. The only machine that accepts them are Coinstar machines; an expertly devised con that takes your coins, siphons off 10% and gives back nothing except the ability to spend cash that was already yours.

There is a reason why they end up in jars, or are thrown as missiles by hoodlums; dead to the economy after a short useless life of failed exchange. Each one represents a small dead-weight on every transaction, and with an estimated 11 billion pennies and 6.5 billion two pence coins in circulation that's pretty substantial. Word of advice however; though pre-1992 coppers, actually made of copper worth 1.5p and 3p respectively, meaning that they are more valuable melted down than as coinage, tampering with currency is illegal... so don't do it.

'But won't scrapping pennies lead to inflation?' The skeptics query, 'or a drop in charitable donations?' No. Aside from the dubious charitably of lumping somebody with mountains of metal that cannot really be converted into goods are services ('Here's seventeen one penny coins, go and buy yourself a Freddo...') other countries, namely Australia, New Zealand, Finland and the Netherlands pulled 1 cent coins from circulation and none suffered collapses in purchasing power, or in society itself. The UK itself has scrapped coins before; the farthing, worth a quarter of a penny was dropped in 1960 and the half penny coin was in 1984.

Both had greater purchasing power when they were dropped than today's penny and neither was followed by soaring inflation. So let's scrap 1p and 2p coins and use the resulting metal surplus to, I don't know, build an aircraft carrier called 'Jubilee' or something.

The perception and subsequent criticism of Premiership Football as a joyless, soulless exercise in capitalism has become all too prominent in recent years.

Since Sky TV invented the beautiful game as we know it in 1991, wages and transfer fees have ballooned along with the profit margins and international interest. Finance dominates football, as unfortunately, does financial mismanagement.

In every league in Europe, you will find clubs who are prefixed with words like 'crisis', 'stricken' or 'penniless'.

These are clubs who are facing, recovering from or in administration, like Rangers, Portsmouth or Valencia.

These are the clubs 'without money,' It is notable, resultantly, that this seems to make little difference to their spending habits. In 2010, Liverpool FC were facing a financial crisis: they had no money for new players, were in vast debt and facing the prospect of much more. They were then 'saved' by new owners, and able to go on a one hundred million pound shopping spree.

However, the actual turnover and expenditure did not change: they remained and remain a loss making club. Whether a club 'has money' is a strangely subjective definition. Bar a handful, virtually all clubs are loss making enterprises which pay out more than they bring in: in the competitive world of transfer fees, the only way to be competitive on the field is to rely on exterior, often foreign financing.

Everybody laughs at facts like 'Manchester City's wage expenditure is higher than their entire turnover', but there is another name for the concept is paying out more than you are paid in: a deficit.

It may be surprising, but money and competitive spending dominates world politics almost as much as it does league football. Why is America the dominant power on the world stage, indeed often derid-

ed as the 'World Police'? Because they account for forty three percent of the world's defence spending.

Capital dominates success, be it on the football pitch or in the global market, and as countries compete and citizen's grumble whilst gazing over the hedge, politicians must try to stretch and scrape what capital they have.

There has been much frustration and anger levelled at the Labour government for allowi n g

us to get into such a deficient and dependent mess, b u t fans or citizens only pay attention to the financial mismanagement of governing bodies as much as it directly affects them. Take criticism of the Glazer family, who have owned Manchester United since 2007.

Whilst the club were flying high, winning three titles in a row, their shady dealings (such as buying out the club through loans that were secured against the club itself, a deal which patently makes

Premier league debt ARSENAL £136m MANCHESTER CITY £41m

ASTON VILLA £110m

no sense) went largely unquestioned. As soon as Chelsea crept above them in the table, protests abounded. Predictably, once they got back on top and made the Champions League final, it all settled down again.

Blair made it clear that he wanted a strong welfare state, a stress on the thrice mentioned education and a return to Britain as the 'society' that Thatcher had laid to rest. This meant spending out vast sums on the welfare state, sums we struggled to muster during an economic boom when money was passed out freely, and now, since wallets have tightened, unemployment has soared and credit has crunched, we are totally unable to afford.

Only since cuts in public spending have begun taking away those things we've grown accustomed

to, even regarded as a right, have we started to complain. We've flogged all our gold, we've sold off every nationalised industry we ever had and we are staring at the truth of it: we are spending more than we can afford on retaining our position on the international stage. Much like Portsmouth FC, or Rangers, our former owners overspent trying to keep us competitive against the big boys, and we must now pay the price.

The fact is that Britain is a tiny island with less than one percent of the world's population, and no natural resources. Our position as one of the top nations in the world (as proved by our position on the G8 Council, for example) is largely historical, and we must ready our-

BIRMINGHAM CITY £16m

MANCHESTER UNITED £590m

selves for when the house of cards collapses and the rest of them realise that Britannia rule no more.

NEWCASTLE UNITED £150m

BLACKBURN

BLACKPOOL £4.3m

£21m STOKE CITY £8m

SUNDERLAND £66m

2nd March 2012 redbrickpaper.co.uk

Redbrick Alexander Ross Political Commentator

Despite massive turmoil in the EU, Turkey is still keen to be a member. The decline of states such as Greece mean there is a need to re-vitalize the European economy – an emerging market like Turkey could be the necessary catalyst.

From a strategic perspective, if the EU is considered a peace making organization, having a nation bordering one of the most conflicted zones makes sense.

However, there is a question of identity. Should membership be based upon geography, culture, history, ideology or all of the above?

Fuat Keyman and Senem Aydın have contested that the principles of 'fairness and objectivity should be the basis of the EU's decision about Turkey, rather than the culturalist and essentialist discourses of Europe which privilege religion and geography over the universal norms of democracy and liberal economy.'

The crux of the argument is that the decision on membership should not be based upon Turkey's predominantly Muslim population or its geography.

This arouses the conflict of EU identity, between 'New Europe' and 'Cultural Europe'. 'New Europe' is modern, liberal, democratic. 'Cultural Europe' is traditional, defined by borders and history.

Some claim that it shares no cultural or historical similarities. This is wrong. The country has a long relationship with Europe, its empire reaching Vienna at its height of power.

Before this the land was part of Byzantium – the eastern Roman empire. In Istanbul there still remain many Christian heritage sites such as the famous Hagia Sophia, which used to be a Christian cathedral before being converted to a mosque.

Pragmatically, it makes sense, to have Turkey onside, denying them the opportunity to oppose the west. This could be particularly useful when considering the current middle-east crises in Syria and Iran.

Furthermore, unlike other middle-eastern states Turkey's political composition is secular and democratic. Membership to the Council of Europe, NATO, OECD, OSCE and the G-20 have tightened relations and nudged Turkish policy closer to western ideology.

One point of controversy in accepting Turkey into the EU concerns the many abuses of human rights that have occurred there.

The European Court of Human Rights, the top judicial body to rule on human rights violations in Europe, found that Turkey is by far the worst violator among the 47 signatory states of the European Convention on Human Rights.

There are many who state that these abuses must be redeemed before they should be allowed admittance. However, perhaps it would be easier for justice to be done with Turkey inside the EU, allowing legal pressure to be exerted.

All in all, it seems there is a strong case for union. It might help to define what the EU is as well as invigorate its economy and also consolidate its power on the international stage.

Andrew Peck Political Commentator

It was discovered by EU debt inspectors recently there was a further 'black hole' in Greek finances, to the tune of €15 billion that needed to be covered with further loans. This will inevitably involve more debt and greater austerity until further holes are found as debt creates more debt and austerity creates greater resentment.

For the sake of an ideal of a single currency real people going through real hardship; soaring unemployment of at least 20%, minimum wages cuts of 22%, while taxes are being further raised to attempt to cover the amount lost through economic contraction, tax evasion, avoidance and flat out refusal to pay. With unemployment benefits set to last only 30 weeks, and half-pay cushion of many civil service workers recently made redundant set only to last under a maximum of two years the situa-

Comment & Features 7

tion is set for a ticking time bomb when the a large proportion of the population of Greece go from uncomfortable to desperate; and desperate people do desperate things.

Greece may have been the ancient birthplace of the idea of democracy, but let us not forget that Greece has spent most of the twentieth century either under the rule of dictators, autocratic monarchs, under foreign occupation, fighting brutal political struggles between extremists on the right and left or under the rule of military juntas until as late as 1974.

This current crisis has seen Greek politics has polarise as the moderate PATSOC party, of which the fallen George Papandreou was leader, and his grandfather founded, has slumped to merely 9% in the polls and their centrist rivals New Democracy are at 18%, that leaves 73% either withdrawing from politics in disgust or persuaded by more radical alternatives, both to the right and left.

Strikes and violence are a regular occurrence in a country where the government, currently unelected and devoid of a sense of social responsibility, is forced by the EU, ECB and IMF to continue to accept greater burdens of debt and remain in the Euro. This suffering is being felt by the Greeks for the sake of a political idea of a united Europe with a united currency.

More cynically, it is the continued suffering of the Greek people for the profits of European and International Banks who do well getting high interest rates of the destitute Greek state with a worsening balance of trade and leaning on Greece to keep them from defaulting.

Being in the Euro gives Greece a currency that does not fit the needs of their economy; they need a weak currency that encourages tourism, makes imports costlier and exports cheaper. Do not get me wrong, austerity is necessary too, but the task is only manageable if they set the goals of austerity to make Greece what it can be given it's economy, not what it ought to be as an EU state.

It is ultimately inevitable that Greece will default on it's loans, abandon the Euro and reinstate the Drachma at a thoroughly devalued rate, it is the only real solution. Whether it does so as a democracy with what little stability it has left, or under the throes of anarchy and dictatorship irreparably hostile to the European project is what is now at stake.

Redbrick puts the spotlight on the European Union

European Nation With Europe reaching crisis point, we explore the complexities of a conglomerate of struggling nations. Alexander Ross examines Turkey's eagerness to join the EU. Andrew Peck looks at how Greece has become a scapegoat for deeper issues and Giles Longley-Cook questions our seeming return to the unsettled world of the eighties.

Giles Longley-Cook Political Commentator

As recent scenes in Athens attest, social unrest follows hot on the heels of economic dysfunction.

The Greek public debt crisis has been brewing for several years – a welfare state unsupported by tax receipts, compounded by the massive outlay on an unprofitable Olympic games and thrown into sharp relief by the recent worldwide financial crisis. While the Greek crisis erupted suddenly, a glance over to central Europe reveals the potential for sustained economic misery to traumatize the politics and society of a nation.

Hungary has been burdened with heavy public debts since the collapse of communism, unresolved by the efforts of successive governments. Public finances have reached a level where streets are often left unswept, and the Esztergom Basilica, seat of the Hungarian Catholic church, can no longer afford to be lit up at night. The

governing Fidesz party, not wanting to let appearances slip, heralded the new illumination of the parliament building with a lavish half-hour firework display on the banks of the Danube this August.

An estimated two-thirds of Hungarian mortgages, as well as other consumer loans for items such as cars, are held in Swiss francs. Since the financial crisis, the franc has remained steadfast while other currencies, such as the Hungarian forint, have plummeted. Many indebted Hungarians work two or three jobs in an attempt to maintain escalating repayments. Despite this, it is estimated that only 55% of the working-age population are employed, and one-third of Hungarians live in poverty. Economic privation tends to cause demoralised people to seek scapegoats for events outside their control. Hostility towards the EU, foreigners, Jews and Roma has intensified, playing into the hands of the nationalistic Fidesz.

The extreme right-wing Jobbik

The European Parliament party, which makes the BNP look tame, is now tied in polls with the previously incumbent socialists.

Since coming to power in 2010, Fidesz has torn apart laws protecting the independence of the judiciary and the freedom of the press, in the name of national strength and unity. The appointment process for heads of most quasi-govermental public agencies, university rectors included, is now effectively in the hands of the party. Many theatres are now forced to perform only Hungarian-

written material, and constituency boundaries have been redrawn, making it harder for Fidesz to be displaced in future elections.

Fidesz swept to power with hazily-defined election vows after a year of technocratic rule following the previous socialist government's scandalous collapse. Greece, Spain and Italy are now led by national unity governments following the breakdown of pre-crisis administrations. The current power vacuum and disillusionment with the effectiveness of mainstream par-

ties may lead the political expression of the broken and dispirited masses down some dark avenues.

In 2010, robberies in Athens doubled, and murders rose by a half. Both problems are increasingly blamed on foreigners – 'revenge murders' have taken place, and the neo-nazi Golden Dawn party beats and intimidates immigrants.

Twenty-one months in Hungary have set a dangerous precedent for what is possible in modern, democratic Europe when economic misfortune really begins to bite.

8 Comment & Features

2nd March 2012 redbrickpaper.co.uk

Redbrick

Opinion Matrix The Quota Predicament Views on the News

ENTERTAINMENT The Artist's success Taking five awards, including best picture and best actor in a leading role, The Artist, a French film, was a triumph at the Oscars – and rightly so. A silent film depicting the demise of the silent film, through the symbolism that a voiceless screenplay allows, is the apotheosis of good cinema. Yet there's a political moral in The Artist's success. The French are staunchly defensive of their film industry with various

MEDIA

Rebekah's Horse Condemnation of the police's involvement in the hacking scandal was revived on Wednesday by the revelation that disgraced former Sun editor and evil harpy Rebekah

quotas and subsidies to protect it.

Thus, The Artist is 'a testament to the vitality of [French] cinema', as Sarkozy proclaimed. And there is here a portentous warning for our government – as our film industry suffocates under Cameron's cuts, will a British film ever win an Oscar again?

Brooks was lent a retired police horse in 2008. The premise itself is not what is being criticised: it is sensible that the drain on public resources that the food and veterinary bills an elderly and inactive horse will muster is passed away from the public sector and tax payer. However this unusual gift has been seen as symptomatic of the dubiously affable relationship that News International shared with the Metropolitan Police, described at the Leveson Inquiry as 'at best inappropriately close and at worst corrupt'.

PROTEST Occupy London evicted The protest camp that claimed the heart of London was evicted this week. After four months of continual protest and a lengthy battle in the courts, the bailiffs finally came to clear Occupy London Stock Exchange. It is easy to dismiss this episode as an inevitable lesson in how corporate greed and inequality within Modern Britain will forever remain unscathed. Efforts to force change have failed despite

OLYMPICS

Strike Action Len McCluskey, the head of Britain's largest union, Unite, has suggested that employees should consider using strike action to disrupt the Olympics. Whilst it

Tom Cooper Commentator

The appointment of Les Ebdon as head of the university fair access body (OFFA) by Vince Cable sets dangerous precedents for the equality and fairness of university applications as well as the continued international competitiveness of Britain.

Ebdon's selection comes against significant opposition from conservative MP's, the advice of the commons business select committee and the 'concerns' of David Cameron. Ebdon has controversially promised he is prepared to use the 'nuclear option' of retributively preventing universities charging ÂŁ9,000 if they do not accept more people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. This exposes a deep ideological division within the coalition.

The liberals and Labour still maintain the worryingly backward and crude position that to solve a problem as fundamental and deeply rooted in society as this; universities should simply be forced to discriminate against rich children with better grades. This is good for no one, least of all Britain as a whole.

The issue of social mobility that Ebdon understandably highlights is not the fault of, nor a problem for universities. The claims of Liberal MP Simon Hughes that even the most selective universities like Oxford should recruit students proportional to society was meet with the subtle observation that while private schools account for 7% of the

school population they make up 33% of all A grades. Herein lies the real problem.

The failure of lower income pupils to succeed at A Levels and thus compete with their privately educated peers is a problem of our schooling systems and of an antiaspirational culture. To solve these issues the government should take responsibility for the education it provides and ensure that it is equal to anything else without the helping hand of a biased admissions office being required.

From personal experience as a privately educated student I can say that two leading universities eventually admitted, after much harassment, that the true reason for my rejection despite easily adequate grades was that they had filled their quota of people from my social background. The thought that students with lower grades now occupy these places illustrate the madness of Ebdon's attitude.

It is a noble aim to reduce the undoubted advantage of children form wealthier backgrounds, but the answer is not more discrimination. Universities are now placed in an impossible position of rejecting students with the higher grades that would raise the standards of our universities, in order to meet government quotas that are tantamount to social engineering. The attempt to create a perfect balance of social backgrounds and ethnic diversity by lazily

fudging the figures rather than achieving genuine equality illustrates the central hypocrisy of this position.

It is truly ironic that a policy intended to reduce privilege and elitism instead achieves the exact opposite. The potential for an increase in these vindictive quotas is a kind of inverted snobbery that demonstrates the worrying trend in the UK back towards politics based on envy. This resentment of any perceived privilege and an anti-success attitude at the expense of the genuine accomplishment deprives this country of the high standards of academic achievement it desperately needs to compete internationally.

A yougov poll already suggests that 62% of people believe that universities should not give underperforming state schools lower entry requirements the high performing schools. Indeed who can take a man like Ebdon seriously when his previous experience amounts to a vice chancellors position at the University of Bedfordshire, ranked 102nd out of 119 by the good university guide. A university that offers degrees such as beauty spa management, breastfeeding and carnival arts!

The future success of the UK against growing competition from Asia and Europe is reliant on ensuring the very highest standards of achievement of our brightest students, not on us discriminatorily levelling down to Ebdon's pitifully low standards.

the intentions of the protesters.

This may devalue the 'work' of those who felt strongly enough to put their lives on hold, but one feels this is an incident that will be swept under the carpet. Cretinous bankers should be held to account, but by people that hold more power than a community in tents. is expected that a man of his position should make such claims; after all, it is his duty to fight on behalf of workers, there is a touch of idiocy to the statement. The UK economy has spent a staggering amount on this Summer's games, and consequently it is vital that the expenditure is regained through tourism. To disrupt events in the aim of protesting against spending cuts will clearly reduce the income made, and ironically, could result in further spending cuts in future.

If there is any reason not to disrupt the O0lympics, it is this.

MEDIA James Murdoch Resigns It seems too little too late for Murdoch junior to be resigning. His arrogant defence of his paper's reprehensible approach to investigative journalism at the Leveson Enquiry begged the question, why didn't he resign then? Pure pride.

James Murdoch's timing highlights a clear reorganisation within News International. The launch of the Sun on Sunday is Rupert Murdoch's attempt to paper over

the cracks; it's very clear that this move on his son's part provides the paste. On the many issues that have faced the Murdoch Empire this past year, they have consistently got it wrong, in the sense that every choice has been blinded by mere arrogance.

Written by Alexander Blanchard, James Dolton, Elisha Owen, Oscar French & Owen Earwicker

Freddie Herzog and Mike Roberts

Comment & Features 9

2nd March 2012 redbrickpaper.co.uk

Redbrick

Charlotte Wilson

Customer Service Lucy Holligan Commentator

Customers, those from Britain in particular, have a long standing love affair with moaning about their all-important customer service. We are subject to this phenomenon in our everyday lives; from being served in a shop, a restaurant, to asking where Aldi's damaged food stock is kept because this term's student loan isn't stretching as far as first anticipated.

I find that there are usually two approaches to customer service that sit on either end of the spectrum and tend to be the experiences that stick in the mind the most. For example there is the 'Supermarket approach' (not that I wish to come across as disliking Supermarkets – I love it too!) where the cashier looks on, far into the distance whilst sending the week's shopping hurtling towards the edge of the checkout as you hurriedly try to catch it all.

Whilst I detest rude customer service, as it's just not necessary, another brand that I feel is equally annoying, can be found on the other end of the spectrum and which I will term 'American-style' customer service. Before your foot has even crossed the threshold of the shop, a young assistant attaches themselves to your hip and greets you with a smile so wide it could swallow you.

Instead of the casual browse that you had planned on, you are bombarded with fake compliments and constant pestering to

While it is nice to feel appreciated, my aim is to leave the shop with a product, not a friend buy the latest product. Like many of us, I am guilty of entertaining these speeches for a short while, lest I crush a few spirits. But while it is nice to feel appreciated as a customer, but my aim is to leave a shop with a product, not a friend.

Of course in terms of restaurants, you are expected to pay for customer service. Countless times I have been handed the card machine with the ten percent gratuitously added, an unwelcome assumption that any service is 'good service'.

As students we find ourselves in that weird gulf where we are not treated as children, but not yet taken seriously as adults. Therefore we become frustrated at the lukewarm response to our complaints or requests for assistance in shops.

I won't deny that there are plenty of examples of good customer service out there, but usually it is the bad experiences that stick most in our minds and threaten to leave the term dripping in irony.

Comment Cartoon

Apple Sweatshops Samuel Jones Commentator

In case you haven't noticed, we've all had a very narrow escape. Remember that issue that was around in the 90s, about sweatshops in foreign countries being used to make all those cheap things we like? Well no one thought there was any need to remember – it was ages ago!

People didn't talk about it anymore, so it was obviously fixed, in the same way that global warming is pretty much resolved now that we've all bought Al Gore's book, read half of it, and left it on a train somewhere up north.

The past year or so however brought to our attention an issue that some crazy socialists were starting to suggest meant, once again, that the capitalist global economy had ceased to be the flawless bastion of morality that we all knew it to be. It turned out Apple, the company that

makes things a bit like laptops and phones but shinier and twice the price, amongst other tech giants, was contracting out the manufacture of its products to factories operated by Foxconn in China.

These factories, which are the size of large towns and include accommodation for all workers on-site, weren't paying the fellows who make our gizmos very much.

Or letting them have much time off. Or providing them with particularly good working conditions.

In fact, so many workers had become upset about this that the factory had a rather high suicide rate. A very high suicide rate actually.

Suddenly we were faced with the possibility that not only did nasty working conditions abroad still exist, but they were used by the most profitable company in the industry. The company that is worth more than quite a lot of not-so-tiny countries. We couldn't even buy

something slightly more expensive to feel better, because Apple products are the most expensive of them all.

Don't worry though! Stop panicking! It's all sorted. Some people expressed dissatisfaction with the situation on Twitter and others posted unhappy comments on the bottom of online news articles, so Foxconn said last week they'd give all their workers a 25% pay rise.

25%! That's more than anyone is this country gets!

So, thankfully, we've all be spared the horror of having to consider, again, that maybe we can't trust enormous corporations to be entirely moral. We can rest assured that the market has an inbuilt mechanism to handle these situations. If people are being exploited, the resulting bad press will probably, once it comes to our attention, result in these people being exploited marginally less.

Sleep well. You've earned it.

VOTE MATCH

Does your little one struggle with democracy? Then try our new, all purpose candidate quiz! Fun for all the family!

Coming soon to a Guild of Students near you...

10 redbrickpaper.co.uk

Television

2nd March 2012

Redbrick

Read Russell Webb's review of Pramface at redbrickpaper.co.uk

Meet the red hot star of White Heat Hannah Lloyd-Davies talks to David Gyasi, one of the stars of upcoming BBC2 drama White Heat then you have the amazing change in Britain's cultural landscape too.

It's got all the ingredients for a good coming-of-age drama.

What is the weirdest thing you have ever had to do for an acting job?

When I was younger I did an advert where I had to walk through all these locations in London whilst interacting with computer generated characters, none of whom were there! That was really weird, but really fun.

You were a part of the stage version of War Horse – what do you think of the decision to make a film version?

It's very different appearing in the stage version compared to what the audience experience. You're not present for the entire journey, so I never really got what they had gone through. I was fortunately invited to a screening of the film and really enjoyed it, as unlike the stage version, I didn't know what was going to happen next. I would definitely recommend it.

You've been in a wide variety of film and television roles.

Which art form do you prefer?

White Heat depicts the lives of students from the 60s to the present day. You play Law student Victor, who emigrates from Jamaica to study in Britain. How did you research the role?

I had to interview my dad to research for the part, because Victor, my character in the show, came over in 1965 at the same time as him, so their journeys and experiences are very similar. I had to draw from the adversity that he

faced. I also interviewed a judge called Elroy Claxton who came over here in 1966, so it was good talking to people who had firsthand experience of what my character had gone through.

What do you think people will like about White Heat?

I think the relationships between the seven flatmates are really interesting. They are fantastic characters; the actors are really watchable. The characters hold you, but

I did a Performing Arts degree which encouraged me to try lots of different things. I had the option when I was younger to go down a more narrow route, but had a lot of dramatic and film opportunities going on, so it didn't appeal to me.

I'm fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to act in many different genres.

We will soon see you in The Dark Knight Rises, the most highly anticipated film of the year. What was it like to be

part of such a huge film?

It's been great. For me, it was the first film that I got where I'd been to America for a casting and it was pretty massive for me. So it has been one of the most exceptional projects of my career to work on.

What has been your career highlight to date?

I think The Dark Knight Rises is one of the best projects I've ever done. However, there was a moment where I had absolute down time and I didn't know where the next job was coming from, which made me really search myself and question if I really wanted to do this for the rest of my life. I came to the conclusion that this is what I love to do and have wanted to do all my life. So my wife and I agreed that this is what I should be doing, and I got the call about Batman the day after. So that whole period was a highlight for me.

Do you have a favourite actor?

Such a hard question! Denzel Washington: I'm really inspired and uplifted by his performances.

Robert Downey Jr really impresses me as well. And I love Jimmy Stewart's performance in It's a Wonderful Life. If I had to pick one though, it would be Denzel Washington. I think he's so good at making people believe his performances and is a good-looking, black leading man.

What advice do you have for aspiring actors?

I hear people say it's all about luck and being in the right place at the right time, but I disagree. It requires years of preparation and getting life experience so that you have something to really draw on.

Dancing on Ice season round-up Jenna Kirby looks at the latest rink dramas in ITV1's 'cool'-est competition As we near the end of this series of the popular ITV show, there is plenty to reflect upon. The show returned in early January with a new lineup of judges and a new presenter in the form of Christine Bleakley, alongside the ever present Philip Schofield.

Former Olympic gold winning figure skater Katarina Witt and Louis Spence, artistic director at London's Pineapple Dance Studios, replaced Emma Bunton and Jason Gardiner, joining the only original judge, Robin Cousins, on the ice panel.

The list of contestants was released a week before the show commenced; however injuries during rehearsals led to two contestants and one professional partner pulling out before the show even began.

Emmerdale's Matthew Wolfenden and Hollyoaks' Jorgie Porter emerged as forerunners early on in the series and have managed to hold onto their uncertain lead.

Robin Cousins. The show's presenters were left stunned; Schofield only managing to say in reaction: 'we had no idea [the challenge] was going to be this cruel'.

This season of dancing and drama has kept its reputation for being one of the most talked about ITV programmes.

DANCING ON ICE LIVE TOUR 2012

Birmingham NIA 27th – 29th April

65-year-old diet and fitness guru Rosemary Conley was booted out in week six, despite being the oldest person in the show's history to reach that stage. Week seven of the show introduced a new element of competition where the bottom three contestants were challenged

to the Ultimate Skills Test, a skateoff in which they had to perform 23 professional skills without the aid of their partners.

This challenge saw athlete Sébastien Foucan and singer Heidi Range leave the show in floods of tears after they failed to impress

If you love the TV show, join your favourite stars for the live tour this April. Andy Whyment, Matthew Wolfenden, Heidi Range, Chico and the reigning champion Sam Attwater will be at the NIA skating for survival, and here's your chance to be a part of the action!

Get your tickets at www.ticketzone. co.uk

Top TV tweeters Compiled by Jenny Porter

James Corden Referring to being forced to cut Adele off during her acceptance speech, 'Thanks so much for all your messages, it was a great night. Can't believe I was told to cut off the amazing Adele at the end. #Livetvnightmare'.

Vernon Kay The commotion surrounding Adele did take the heat off the One Direction boys in their slip up, 'Harry Styles thanking Radio 1 for winning an award voted for by Capital FM listeners #BOOM'.

The band apparently did not attend their scheduled interview on Capital FM...

Jenny Eclair The current loose woman's approach to fashion, 'Why does no one ever invite me to London fashion week, I am seriously LIVID about this, I have snot green tights and an orange cardi? Why?'

Noel Fielding In a frenzy of bizarre tweets, as perhaps to be expected, he voiced his regrets of joining Twitter, 'Please Twitter I just want to be who I was before I joined. Someone who was carefree and footloose x'.

Rufus Hound The comedian revealed an almost softer side with his tweet referring to his experiences in parenthood, 'Whoever invented Cbeebies deserves every honour the country can bestow #thingshungoverparentsallagreeon'.

Jack Whitehall The young comedian showed his practical thinking: 'Arrived back from holiday but forgot to buy any presents for my family. Need to find somewhere in London I can buy Toblerone'.

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Technology

Monday 27th February saw several copies of Mass Effect 3 launched into space from London ahead of the release on the 9th March.

Online learning taken to the next level direct contact may appear a big downside of the site.

Throughout the course, there are many mini-quizzes that do not count towards the grade, although there are assessed questions released regularly as well. There is a final exam at the end of each course to test what has been learnt but often the continuous assessment consists of a significant proportion of the final grade too.

Andrew Spencer Writer

A new website, Udacity, has been set up to provide free universitystyle courses online complete with tutorials, lecturers and weekly homework assignments for students anywhere in the world who wish to enrol. On completion, the student receives a certificate to show that he or she has completed that course and is given a grade to accompany it. This opens up a new incredible potential for students around the world to study subjects outside of their discipline and will result in much greater sharing of information and research across the world.

On leaving his job lecturing at Stanford University, USA, in 2011, Sebastian Thrun, (one of the three founders behind Udacity), first set up a website providing a free online course on Artificial Intelligence to people across the world. The course contained a schedule with lectures and assignments available at certain times throughout the course, with strict submission deadlines. After seeing the potential of offering not just one course but a whole range, he went on to co-develop Udacity which now has two additional computer science courses, CS 101 Building a Search Engine and CS 373 Programming a Robotic Car. These are very much based on Stanford University courses, containing all the com-

plexity and content involved in the real classes. Both online learning experiences began on February 20th and are running for seven weeks. At the end of the courses, Thrun hopes the students will have the skills to either build a search engine like Yahoo! or Google, or the know-how of the fundamental algorithms required to make a selfdriving car.

To demonstrate the level of difficulty of these courses and who could enrol for them, suggested 'prerequisites' are provided on the site for each module. For example, the CS 373 module indicates that students should already know some Linear Algebra, Basic Probability and the Python Programming Language.

A big benefit of conventional university courses is the ability to consult a tutor or lecturer to gain help on an assignment or class exercise for example. Udacity provides this in the form of recorded 'office hours'. Once a week, the top questions from the online discussion forum on the site are taken and answered by the course lecturers in a recorded video. Of course, this means there isn't direct interaction and this could cause problems such as students not being able to go through a problem step by step with a tutor where they may be struggling. The forums help solve some of these problems because there is a faster turnaround of responses but, for many, the lack of

Get the knowhow to make a self-driving car Between them, the co-founders David Stavens, Mike Sokolsky and Sebastian Thrun have been able to develop a very clever and elegant site providing a fresh approach on a major part of everyone's life: education. On the webpage there is an indication of a huge variety of computer science courses which will be available this year. For the moment, if you have an interest in technology and computer science, keep an eye out on this site because it may well provide a dream course for you some time soon.

For anyone else, this could be the start of something very big because, before long, other subjects will probably begin to have their own online courses for students.

This is definitely the start of online university education. How long it will be before the concept becomes integrated into many people's everyday lives is difficult to tell, but it seems inevitable that it will happen one day.

Sky Go arrives on Android: was it worth the wait?

Dan Lesser

Online Technology Editor

On 20th February, Sky released Sky Go for Android devices. Sky Go is Sky's online service, and delivers both live TV and on-demand content to compatible devices. Up until the release of this Android app, availability was limited to PCs Xbox 360 and iOS devices since the initial release in July 2011. An app for Android devices had been promised by Sky ever since then, and on paper Sky have delivered on their promise. However, if you dig deeper, you'll be disappointed.

To start, the app is only sup-

ported on eight phones. While this does include some of the most popular handsets, such as the Samsung Galaxy S series and the HTC Desire and Sensation, there are a multitude of Android phones that aren't supported. The less powerful handsets have good reason to be left out, but when new phones such as the Nexus S didn't make the cut, there's a problem. Sky say that this lack of support is down to differing screen resolutions across devices, despite the majority of phones having 800x480px screens.

Own one of the many Android tablets released in the last few years? Well, you're out of luck as well. Sky claim that a 'lack of market penetration' means that no Android tablet supports Sky Go. This shows real laziness on Sky's part. It is also down to the various SDK's in current circulation on the Android platform.

Sky Go will not work at all on devices running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). So, even if you own one of the eight phones that is supported, if you decide to upgrade to the latest version of Android, this support is instantly lost.

Admittedly, the supported phones

Redbrick

2nd March 2012

do not currently have such an upgrade available to them, but when they do, owners could be put off by the lack of Sky Go support.

Of course, none of this will bother you if you do have a supported phone, but a lack of any on-demand content probably will.

Android users have access to live TV only, so even if you can run Sky Go on your phone, the app simply doesn't live up to the iOS version, which can view live TV and ondemand movies. It's sad to think that Android users have been waiting seven months for Sky Go, and the result is simply not yet ready for commercial consumption. Updates need to come fast if there's a chance of saving this once promising app.

Disagree with Dan? Have your say online or find us on Twitter: @Redbricktech

Top 3 Retro Games

As picked by Film Editor Genevieve Taylor

Two of the things that maintained my geekiness through a dungarees and Spice Girls-laden 90s childhood were my beloved SNES and Playstation. I didn't have many games but I think I had taste, for a ten-year-old kid at least, and Donkey Kong Country starred the already established titular ape as well as his, depending on your mood, highly comical or highly irritating nephew Diddy. As always with apes it was bananas‌ literally bananas, as the goal was to retrieve Kong's stash of delicious yellow fruits by swinging, swimming and, for some reason, riding really fast in a mine cart.

#2 40 Winks A bonkers jester and a sexy warrior chick team up to defeat a dark monster threatening to eat their town; what's not to like? Pandemonium was a colourful, psychedelic romp featuring dragons, mushroom realms and a lot of very handy cheats. Your aim was to reach a magic Wishing Engine where you'd be greeted by a terrifyingly creepy-voiced dungeon master. The engaging story and amazing score made this game top of the list.

two older brothers to guide me in the way of awesome RPGs, arcade games and classic Nintendo goodness.

The full top 5 is available online at www.redbrickpaper.co.uk/tech

#3 Donkey Kong Country 40 Winks is an underrated gem.

You play as one of two children, Ruff or Tumble, trapped in a crazy dream realm ruled by villain Nitekap and his evil sidekick teddy Threadbear. You had to free, unsurprisingly, 40 Winks, cute little creatures responsible for good dreams and beat the evil, wonderfully named Hoodwinks. There were all kinds of different, magical dreamlands themed with haunted houses, cavemen and space.

#1 Pandemonium

Power shift from wind to nuclear Joshua Lindsey Writer

Amid growing public opposition to wind turbines, the government has unveiled plans to increase the role nuclear power will play in the UK's energy economy over the next eight years.

The Department for Energy and Climate Change has published figures that suggest by 2020, 12 per cent of the UK's energy will come from nuclear power. Increasing the UK's reliance on nuclear energy whilst building more offshore wind farms is expected to reduce the national grid's reliance on coal-fired power stations.

Over the next eight years, the overall lifespan of existing nuclear power stations will be extended by ten years, according to the government's report. Two new nuclear power plants are also expected to be connected by 2020, allowing the government to meet its targets on carbon reductions.

This report comes as 100 conservative MPs sign a letter to the Prime Minister David Cameron urging him reduce subsidies to onshore wind farms. This letter is designed to reflect the public opinion on wind farms, which many believe to be costly and unattractive. Tory MP Chris Heaton-Harris has said that 'the more the true, full cost of wind energy is exposed the more

you have to ask why we continue to back such an expensive and intermittent source of energy'.

The latest figures from the government have revised the role wind power will play in the UK's energy mix. Wind farms will now produce 4GW less energy than originally expected. This reduction will be balanced by an increase in the use of nuclear energy.

However, given the increased attention nuclear energy has received over the past year it is not clear that this new energy mix will be palatable to the UK public either. Nearly a year ago the Fukushima disaster saw the meltdown of three nuclear reactors following the TĹ?hoku Earthquake. As the anniversary of the disaster draws nearer, public fears surrounding nuclear energy will no doubt be heightened.

Redbrick

redbrickpaper.co.uk

2nd March 2012

Arts

13

Praise undeserved, is satire in disguise.

– Alexander Pope

The Human Essence

After hundreds of years of satire in Britain, it seems that it's undoubtedly still alive – and with all the debauched vibrancy of its past. In this Redbrick Arts special, Alexander Blanchard talks to The Guardian Cartoonist Martin Rowson, Oscar French examines the link between satire and student activism, and Elin Stone provides us with our own campus satire.

Alexander Blanchard Arts Editor

With British politics divided between a middle-of-the-road, pragmatic third way – a politics seemingly too inane to excite mockery – and an absurd fanaticism, so hysterical as to place itself beyond parody (e.g. the BNP or the EDL), one might well ask if the future of political satire and political cartoons is precarious. Before I can ask, however, whether political satire can retain the vibrancy of its past, I'm given what seems an unequivocal yes.

'Political satire is really what it means to be human', Martin Rowson tells me. 'We've had over 10,000 years of satire – just as long as there have been hierarchies of power, and kings and leaders.

'It's ingrained in our species; laughter is a defence mechanism.

If we couldn't laugh at these idiots in power, and the mistakes they make every day, then we'd go mad'.

And, for Rowson, the imperative to laugh at these 'idiots' is just as strong as it ever was.

'This is the worst government of my lifetime', Rowson says.

'They're just a bunch of PR men; a government who don't have any experience and who hadn't planned anything prior to the election. Before George Osborne became chancellor he was re-folding towels in Selfridges for fuck's sake.

Actually my wife doesn't allow me to think about George Osborne as my blood pressure gets too high'.

Nevertheless, Rowson finds satire an emollient to this madness; 'we're very lucky in this country that we've had almost uninterrupted satire for hundreds of years.

In 1695 Parliament forgot to renew the Licensing Act, bringing an end to formal government regulation,

then the satire just started coming and hasn't stopped since. Satire is a constant in society, there's a social meaning in it, an escape in mockery'.

Whilst any irritation or dissatisfaction shown by the satirist's victim is met with a proud schadenfreude.

'They should never say they dislike how we're drawing them, that just spurs us on. We're the lowest, meanest bullies. Clegg hates being drawn as Pinocchio, and at the Conservative Party Conference last year Cameron asked Steve Bell 'When are you going to get that damned condom off my head?'– well I think a condom on his head is the least he deserves given all the lives he's ruining'.

Though the complaints from politicians and death threats from the public are taken merely as compliments – 'I've been getting death threats from around the world; luckily a lot of these people don't have passports and are too thick to know where I live anyway' – it is the caprice of editors that can pose the biggest hindrance to satirists.

'I used to draw for Scotland on Sunday before they told me they couldn't afford me, which was a joke given the pittance they were already paying me. It was at the time of the Iraq war, of which the editor was in favour, whereas I was against it. Every morning, every time I tried to submit a cartoon, it was like Stalingrad; the battles we used to have over opinion. The political cartoon is a visual column. It's not quite an illustration, though not quite a column.'

In the end Rowson managed to win out, and now, with The Guardian, he seems to have it a lot easier; 'the only thing Rusbridge ask of myself and Steve [Bell] is that there isn't too many body flu-

ids – common decency I suppose'.

Though for other satirists, the obstinacy of the more authoritarian editors can have a devastating effect on their careers and reputations.

'Get that damned condom off my head' 'I had a good friend who used to draw for The Evening Standard when Max Hastings was editor.

Max had a strict house style, refusing to allow speech bubbles in the cartoons and deciding the captions himself. Anyway, my friend would go out and purchase the later edition of the paper after submitting his cartoon, and find that Max Hastings had changed the cartoon's caption to something completely different, something irrelevant to the subject in the drawing.

Well of course people look at the cartoon and think 'what's the point in that'? My friend said he would just stand in the street and cry. It can ruin you. It's odd – I mean you wouldn't change Polly Toynbee's column, unless there was a good legal reason to do so'.

Notwithstanding editors, the scope of the satirists work and

their very reputation is yoked to the variations and fluctuations of current affairs; clearly, a slow day in the news can be troubling.

'There are some days when you just think 'fuck I've got nothing to do' – but I've got to do something or I'll be dropped from the newspaper'.

Yet, with a hiatus in sensationalist stories and big headlines, satire helps to anchor current affairs through its constancy – helping to inform us of the news that other outlets may neglect.

'Our parochial press is ignoring the big issues abroad. It's got attention deficit disorder. The news is a bit like an animal, a bit like a dog, it runs around, not quite sure what to do, not concentrating, and sometimes it just chews on a bone for a while'.

So, does satire and political cartoons have a healthy future?

'Do you know when political cartoons began appearing in newspapers?' Rowson asks me, 'it was the 1900s.'

'Originally they were just individual artefacts, but after 200 years they finally got into newspapers. We're now parasitic on them, but it's relatively new'.

Finally, Rowson once again asserts how essential satire is to the human condition – 'it will always be important to recognize the power of the medium'.

Previews

Go to redbrickpaper.co.uk/arts to see a selection of the best work by history's greatest political satiricists and cartoonists

Watch This presents: Mean Girls The 48 Hour The Underground 4th March £4

The Boy With Tape on His Face The Glee Club 4th March £8

Chicago The Alexandra 5th – 10th March £17.50

Marlene McKenzie: Lite mac 7th March £7

Hogarth's (1697 – 1764) most famous work is probably Beer Street and Gin Lane (1751) – Beer Street showing the happy effects of drinking English beer, whilst Gin Lane showed the effects of drinking gin, a harder liquor which caused more problems for society.

Gillray (1757 – 1815) most often targeted George III, who, after examining some of Gillray's sketches, said 'I don't understand these caricatures'. During the French Revolution, Gillray took a conservative stance, and would later ridicule Napoleon.

David Low (1891 – 1963) was most famed for his Colonel Blimp depictions. With a trenchant cynicism, he criticised, amongst others, the policies of Adolf Hitler, a stance which saw him placed on a Gestapo death list.

Steve Bell (b. 1951), The Guardian's principal editorial cartoonist, claims to be the first cartoonist to spot Margaret Thatcher's 'mad left eye'. He currently draws David Cameron as a condom.

Seen/Unseen: Lunchtime Gallery Talk The Barber 8th March Free

14

Redbrick

2nd March 2012

redbrickpaper.co.uk

The Lobotomy of Marco Leroux

Redbrick Arts spoke to director Alex Parker about his inspirations, immerse theatricality and the rewards of putting on an entirely original drama.

Your play, The Lobotomy of Marco Leroux starts next week. What can the audience expect of it?

The play is completely immersive. The audience is invited

to Atomicus, a decaying insane asylum in a forgotten corner of Europe, where a group of mad, but wonderful, inmates have commandeered the office of the Warden in order to hold a grand party. This

party is held to celebrate the life of their good friend, Marco Leroux, who is due to be lobotomized that evening. Our hosts include a schizophrenic, with only one personality; a pyromaniac who is also an excellent chef; an insomniac who could send everyone else to sleep and someone with bipolar disorder with what appears to be a cheese fetish, as well as many others. They have decided to celebrate the life of their good friend by staging a play for us entitled The Life of Marco Leroux, and the audience are, of course, all invited to help out. Some key elements of the production however are missing.

All, bar one, of the inmates have no clue why their insane friend was committed to the institution, and he is most reluctant to divulge this information to the others.

Where did you get the inspiration for the play from?

The inspiration came from a number of sources. At the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2010 I saw a lot of improvised shows which I thought were a great basis for characters, but sadly meant that they could never have a future given that the shows were made up on the spot every night. I loved the concept of big and broad characters, but set against the back drop of something serious and noncomedic like an insane asylum. I devised the characters by inventing them in their own worlds first before throwing them all together in the same room and seeing how they reacted. In terms of the immersive aspect, I owe a lot to Belt Up Theatre, probably the leading

company dealing with immersive theatre. They showed me the way to make the play work - until I considered involving the audience as part of the production I couldn't find a way to establish a connection between the audience and the characters.

How was the rehearsal process?

The rehearsal process has been really interesting. Aside from all of the fun, which comes naturally from working with a fantastic and hilarious group of actors, I've found it personally very fulfilling to have my work dissected in so many ways. Everybody has their own interpretation of the text and the characters, which really comes across in the performances and gives it more of a three-dimensional feel.

What are the challenges or benefits of putting on an entirely original piece of theatre?

The biggest challenge to staging new theatre is advertising.

Putting on Macbeth is a bit easier for the production team because they don't need to generate that initial buzz about the play, everyone knows about it already and the name draws you in. However with this we've had to work really hard to get the name of the play into the heads of everyone at the Guild, which hasn't been easy. However we're all really confident about it now, since it was chosen by Watch This last December there has been a great buzz - I think people are excited about the overall concept of it as an immersive piece, which gives

us a really good USP to promote the play with.

The easiest thing about staging new theatre is that we can alter the production as much as we want to suit different aspects. If a scene doesn't work, we change it and so on. It's also great to be able to stage something that's lived in my head for about 2 years. I'm a strong believer in elitism through art: If you have an idea, stick to it and don't let people interfere, collaborate with your team by all means, but don't let anybody change the overall vision of the piece or it will end up as something you lose faith in from Day One. Is there anything you want the audience to take away from the play?

If there's one thing I want the audience to take away from the play, it’s a new attitude towards theatre. A lot of the themes and ideas in the production have been done before; it's modelled upon very classic methods and old tricks of the trade: The comedy is there to entertain; the immersive element is there to make you think.

I wanted to put on a spectacle, something that people could leave thinking ‘I've never seen something like that before’, that's why we've fused classic theatre with metatheatre, slapstick with romance, even thrown in some tap-dancing and a few songs here and there. It's going to be something very unique and very entertaining.

impressive realism created by the staging itself seems to lend itself perfectly to the play. ‘I was looking for somewhere new to stage it, and when having chosen this play, the Harvey Milk Room immediately came to mind.’ Also, Doyle points

out that it is, in fact, a room with a kitchen in. And what could be more fitting for a kitchen sink drama?

Creativity aside, there is a wonderfully tangible passion emanating from the cast and crew; an enthusiasm for the project that

inevitably becomes entirely contagious. This is an excitingly original production, and not one to be missed if you can help it.

The Lobotomy of Marco Leroux will run 8-10th March in The Amos Room.

Look Back In Anger Lexie Wilson Arts Editor

Look Back In Anger is a play that will initially be familiar to a lot of people. It is regarded as a mile stone within British theatre. In its harsh, and at times unyielding, language, gritty presentation of reality and the focus on the working class in the post-war years, Osborne’s 1956 play rightfully takes its place amongst some of the nation’s modern classics.

Based solely on both the reputation of the text and Article 19 themselves the production would have been an entirely commendable and exciting effort. However, what Article 19 have done is even more arresting, in that this production seeks to reassert the relevance of Look Back In Anger’s themes of disillusionment and resentment in today’s society. Redbrick Arts got the chance to speak to director Patrick Doyle about the forthcoming production.

A play without a ‘main character’ in the traditional sense, Look Back In Anger traces the repercussions of this changed society amongst a group of people whose lives are intimately interconnected, despite their varying difference in backgrounds. Doyle describes it as a play depicting these archetypal 'angry young men', and follows their ‘struggling to come to terms with having nothing to fight for’ in the cultural and economic vacuum of the 1950s. The subsequent exasperation comes to be embodied most obviously in the character of Jimmy, a twenty-six year old man

railing against the injustices of the world surrounding him, and we as an audience see ‘glimpses of his barrage of rage.’

Equally, we see this cultural frustration seep outside his own personal confines into his marriage to Alison, who was raised in a middle class environment and whose relationship with Jimmy is tension-fraught, and, Doyle suggests, ‘a rebellion against her own upbringing.’ They share their marital home with Jimmy’s long-time pal Cliff, and the situation reaches breaking point with the appearance of Alison’s upper-middle class best friend Helena into their lives.

The buzz around this production, however, is centred around the decision to ‘not overtly modernise it,’ but to demonstrate how fluidly it maps onto our 21st century English culture. ‘Some of the stage directions have been altered to make it fit, both with the room and with the characters, which was fun.’

The clash between classes; the frustrations of the nation’s youth and the ongoing economic stability mean that arguably Look Back In Anger is more relevant than ever, in our culture wherein there is continuous suffering with unemployment and apathy. Doyle draws attention to a line in the play that resonates hugely: ‘Jimmy went to a university, not a red brick but a white tile.’

To mirror this innovation, the play will be the first ever to be performed in the Harvey Milk Room. The intimate nature of a smaller room, combined with the

Look Back In Anger runs til the 3rd March in The Harvey Milk Room.

Arts 15

2nd March 2012 redbrickpaper.co.uk

This Week

Redbrick

Birmingham Royal Ballet presents Hobson's Choice at The Hippodrome

Photo: Bill Cooper

Annabelle Collins & Lucy Mold Critics

Hobson’s Choice is not your conventional ballet. From the very first notes of the overture the mood was lively and mischievous, foreshadowing the tone of the performance.

Set in Lancashire, the first character we encountered was the drunken shoemaker Henry Hobson, who is a tragically comic figure throughout. We soon sympathise with his long-suffering daughters

who dream of escaping their childhood home and finding true love.

The ballet began with a distinctly slapstick element to the choreography, yet the dancers still maintained their elegance.

The Pas De Deux danced by the younger sisters and their sweethearts continued to successfully combine comedy and the graceful elements you would expect from a ballet.

Without a tutu in sight the colourful Edwardian costumes added a sense of lightness and

contextualised the ballet making it extremely accessible.

Although the principal dancers, particularly Elisha Willis and Robert Parker, danced impeccably the standout performance was given by the Salvation Army dancers.

Here the dancers were perfectly unified both with the music and each other. They demonstrated flare and incredible stamina with a challenging sequence of jumps provoking applause and delight from the audience.

With such a display of talent it

seemed a shame at moments when the music was wasted on simple mime, instead of further showcasing the dancers’ skills. Having said this, the animated acting drew the audience into the story ensuring their attention was not lost throughout.

A scene which embodied the light-hearted nature of the overall performance was the Sunday afternoon in a park in which couples effortlessly waltzed across the stage.

The duet by Willis and Parker was a real highlight in which dance

was used to express the blossoming romance between them, although rather reluctantly in the case of young cobbler Will Parker.

From the set to the costumes, every aspect of the production was uplifting, complemented by an inventive musical score and intuitive choreography.

Perfect for both the beginner and the ballet connoisseur, there can be no question that Hobson’s Choice is the perfect antidote to winter blues; it truly is a feel-good ballet.

to laugh in the midst of a bloody murder, but the fast paced script and witty asides help to alleviate the tension.

With the pill popping employees struggling to regulate the colour of their urine, their drug addled haze is often both comical and unsettling for the audience.

In their race against time to remedy their dark situation, the strain begins to show as the characters experience every emotion from rhapsody to rage. The

cast complement each other well but at times it was hard to hear their exclamations in the jarring acoustics of the Deb Hall.

The airy feel of the venue detracted from what should have been a claustrophobic experience, and the occasions where actors stepped into the audience accentuated this loss of intensity.

As with much of Butterworth’s work, the action takes place in one location, and the audience should feel as though they are trapped in the same way as the characters.

But this was a relatively minor flaw in an otherwise confident piece from Article 19, who left the audience bereft and bewildered as the play drew to a poignant close.

Article 19 presents Mojo at Deb Hall Anna Hughes & Charlotte Lytton Critics

Upon realising one’s father has been brutally chopped in half and deposited in two dustbins, most might react with a mixture of fear, horror and despair.

But not A d a m Hartnell’s p s y chotic Baby, whose erratic

temperament throughout this production of Mojo kept the audience guessing.

This assured all-male piece was anything but predictable, with murder, paranoia and the threat of genital mutilation lurking at every corner.

Set in the seedy underbelly of a club in 1950s Soho, Jez Butterworth’s black comedy still packs a punch.

N e w kid on the block Silver Johnny is every pro-

moter’s dream, and Atlantic Club owner Ezra isn’t prepared to let him out of his sight. But after manager Sam Ross disposes of his rival, Silver Johnny is fair game, and it’s up to Ezra’s son Baby and the rest of the club’s employees to get him back – before it’s too late.

J a m i e Hughes as Potts lights up the often bleak scenes with excellent comic timing and quips aplenty. It may not seem right

Billy Connolly at Symphony Hall James Kinsey Critic

Billy Connolly's appearance at Birmingham's Symphony Hall was similar to a spaghetti junction comic marathon.

At the age of 69, and after four decades of spitting out hilarious yarns, 'The Big Yin' still has the wild eyed enthusiasm and stamina of a 20 year old.

Appropriately, the stage backdrop saw a young muscular Connolly as part of Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man. Perhaps though, there was a hint of irony here as physically there is nothing youthful looking about a shaggy-haired, disgruntled Scotsman, whose right hand continually shakes, nor is there any iota of symmetry

or proportion to his digressional comedy.

Whether he intends it or not, his messy tangential style, where distracted by a thought, he will digress into several different episodes only to return to the original joke, is a genius technique. It sits perfectly with the self-conscious persona of an aged man who suffers intermittently with memory loss. Frequently, after coming to a dead end he would ask himself: 'where was I? I cannae remember', only to pluck the original joke out of the air and start again.

Amongst the jumble of content, there was not much that is particularly current about his act apart from a joke about the recently deceased Frank Carson, involving a singing act (a niece and an Uncle with no legs) named 'Si-

mon and Half Uncle'; a reference to Scottish independence and a quick jibe at Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, yet even this seemed out of date. There were also a few quibbles about his anathema to technology, but this came across as unoriginal and revealing of his age.

Connolly was at his best when, defying his years, he regaled stories of youthful pranks and childish humour. Amongst the best of the crop was his inability to find his way out of a telephone box whilst drunk; kissing dead corpses whilst stoned; sellotaping stink bombs to the bottom of train toilet seats and abusing the sensibilities of innocent maids in hotels.

Having painstakingly pieced together the hectic yarns and tangents of the evening, you realise

there is nothing new or revolutionary about his comedy. He may have been voted the most influential British stand up by a recent Dave television poll, yet the younger generation of comics need not fear him as a rival.

N e v ertheless, Connolly transcends them. He is most definitely part of the comic furniture of Britain. His iconic appearance, voice, style and his simple ability

to tell a funny story still makes an evening with the Glaswegian simply unmissable.

See more of this week's reviews at redbrickpaper.co.uk/arts

16 redbrickpaper.co.uk

2nd March 2012

Music

Follow us on Twitter @redbrick music, or visit our website at www.redbrickpaper.co.uk/category/music.

Also, tune into our radio show every Wednesday from 6pm on BurnFm

$#*! My Dad Sings To

Redbrick Playlist: Collaborations Jonathon Milnes Music Editor

#1. Kanye West ft. Jay-Z & Nicki Minaj – Monster #2. Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure #3. Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse – Body and Soul #4. Kenny Rodgers & Dolly Parton – Islands in the Stream #5. Sonny & Cher – I Got You Babe #6. Aerosmith & Run DMC – Walk This Way

Charlotte Lytton TV Editor

Oh Daddy dearest. You have taught me much over the years: that it's okay to quote Spanish game shows in day-to-day conversation, that 6ft3 men can have a penchant for both football and musicals, and that hiring sumo suits and a bucking bronco are perfectly acceptable activities for one's 50th birthday party. But more than this, you have shown me that being completely and utterly addicted to cheesy music is a pretty darn great vice to have.

Okay, so there were times when I didn't appreciate you serenading me with McFly, or closing

your eyes (whilst driving) during a particularly powerful S Club harmony. But now I look back on those days with fondness, and the many car journeys we have spent both lamenting and laughing at your music taste are not only sweet memories, but good blackmail fodder.

Yes, I have long kept your partiality for talent show rejects under wraps, but it's time to let others know your dirty secret. Fame Academy, Pop Idol, X Factor; it doesn't matter what trash they're churning out – if some fledgling pop act has tried and failed on a telly talent show, they can always count on your support to boost CD sales. Not many people can sing

Redbrick meets...

Eva Hibbs Critic

'Wait, where are we?' Joe from Metronomy looks around the stairwell of the o2 Academy, 'Oh Birmingham!' Yep, Birmingham.

Metronomy have reached their one stop in the Midlands as part of this year's NME Awards Tour. Arriving early that morning – he tells me it's normally 3am when the bus gets into the next tour destination – he hasn't quite ventured out yet: 'I've been to the Bullring, and I've been down the road to get a sandwich.'

Joe did, however, use Birmingham's skyline as inspiration for the cover of their first EP, Nights Out. 'Most English cities don't have a skyline you see. It's basically only London and then Birmingham. I love that it has an interesting skyline.'

Draped between steps in a hoody and jeans, I feel like we've been sent out of class to think about what we've done. Well, we at least talk about what he's done.

'We've been to Australia and Asia,' he tells me, a little exhausted. 'It was good... It was hot.' But although Metronomy can gather the

Redbrick

crowds on the other side of the world, Joe seems somewhat relieved to be back on home turf.

'The reason I don't know where we're at,' he says, with a smirk on his face, 'is because we've had so much time off between the shows. It's been great though, getting to see all our friends around the country who we haven't seen for ages.'

So he doesn't know where he is, and he doesn't know where they are in the tour.

He counts the dates on his NME pass: 'one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Seventh!' Metronomy, accompanied by Azealia Banks, Tribes and Two Door Cinema Club, have been working their way down the country for the past month. Joe says, 'We knew we were going to have to do another English tour anyway, so when NME approached us, this just seemed like a really nice way of doing it.'

'Nice' seems an

David Sneddon, Shane Ward and Joe McElderry's 'hits' word for word, but you can, dad. And you do.

In fairness, you're a pretty cheerful guy, and as much as I cringe when you regale my friends with the Hairspray soundtrack, it's clearly this upbeat, mainstream madness that's keeping you young.

As a Sixties baby, you could have blessed me with the lyrical stylings of The Rolling Stones, Led Zep and many more legends immortalised in the music hall of fame.

But instead, you opted for soul divas, girl bands and Elton John.

I always knew there was a reason you encouraged our obsession with the Spice Girls, Lighthouse

Family and Will Young, concert tickets you were more than happy to pay for (so long as we let you come along too), and the way you stare longingly at the programmes in the aftermath of their performances demonstrates what a true pop devotee you are.

Some people might cite their wedding day or the birth of their children as momentous life events, but the occasion I know has affected you most profoundly throughout your 50 years is undeniably the Take That reunion concert we went to last summer. Yes, Dad, you bought them 'as a present for Mum,' but there was one person with tears in their eyes at the end of that show, and it wasn't her.

Metronomy apt way for him to describe the tour so far; he tells me it's been 'Relaxing, enjoyable and lovely.'

Not exactly what you would gauge from the crowds of pent-up, sweaty adolescents, but perhaps he's talking about behind the scenes.

'It's working really well, because there's no pressure.

No one's trying to out-Tribe Tribes, or out-Two Door Two Door.' And, he says he's not surprised the tour sold out so quickly, humbly giving credit where it's due to Two Door Cinema Club: 'I like them because they're really popular but no one expected them to be.' So with an eclectic four band line-up, would the NME tour satisfy our appetites for the indie, for the alternative and for a damn good night?

Yes, yes it would.

Azealia Banks and Tribes kicked it off, everyone in high spirits, cider flowing over heads and g u y s w i t h P a u l

Weller haircuts nodding by the bar. Metronomy showed no signs of being burnt out; they got everyone moving. She Wants and Everything Goes My Way proved their potential as dance tracks, and old classic Heartbreaker was still a worthy favourite of everyone in the crowd. Moreover, for the duration of Two Door Cinema Club's set, we (yes, we) were jumping up and down like kids at a school disco. It was just plain fun, alright?

Metronomy showed no signs of being burnt out; they got everyone moving

Music Round-Up V Festival announce The Stone Roses as a headline act this year.

Adele's album 21 overtakes MJ's Bad in an all-time biggest selling albums chart.

NME controversially label Gaga's Born This Way most pretentious album ever

Music 17

2nd March 2012 redbrickpaper.co.uk

Redbrick

Coming to Brum this week...

The Redbrick Music Guide to...

Brand New

Jason Derulo Laura Marling Symphony Hall 02/03/12

In a new feature, we aim to bring you a condensed guide to those bands you may have heard of, but wish you knew more about. In our first installment, we look at Brand New Jenna Kirby Critic

Brand New, the alternative rock band from Long Island, New York, have been simmering in the background for over a decade, releasing four albums which have each been innovative and have seen them progress from a pop-punk group to cement their status as creative geniuses of alternative music.

Their closest taste of commercial success came in 2007 when their second album, Deja Entendu, was certified gold status. But while

Essential Mixtape

It A Name Festival, the mainstage of The Bamboozle in New Jersey, and made an appearance at Glastonbury in 2009.

By far their biggest show, however, kicking off the 2010 tour, as they played to over 12,000 people at Wembley stadium.

Having recently completed a UK tour in February 2012, Brand New are back in the studio working on the successor to 2009's Daisy.

Lead singer Jesse Lacey has tentatively promised to write something happier, as 'we are tired of bumming you guys out'.

Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades Deja Entendu Seventy Times 7 Your Favourite Weapon You Won't Know The Devil & God Are Raging Inside Me At The Bottom Daisy Okay I Believe You, but My Tommy Gun Don't Deja Entendu Mix Tape Your Favourite Weapon

Deja Entendu – 2003 A clear departure from their last album, Deja Entendu was widely praised for the completely different sound it offered. The songs are much more experimental and play around with texture and structure, breaking the pop-punk mould that had become rather clichéd. The album name means 'already heard' in French, a statement about modern rock music. Nearly four years after its initial release, the album was certified Gold.

The Devil & God are Raging Inside Me – 2006 Brand New's major label debut sold about 60,000 copies on first release. The band were devastated when unfinished demos were leaked; four of which made it onto the final release. The album shows the band's further progression towards heavier sounds and darker topics, with 'Limousine' which deals with the infamous Long Island crash, where a girl of just seven was killed by a drunk driver.

Daisy – 2009 The first single from this album, 'At The Bottom' was released in August 2009. This album represents the band's final realisation of their desire to, as Lacey put it, incorporate 'strange things' into the albums.

For example, the first song, 'Vices', features gospel music in its opening sequence. 'Sink' epitomises the band's progression as it is chilling enough to feature in a horror movie sequence.

Josh Holder

leased last May. The band's folk-pop style instilled the performance with great energy, ensuring a roaring approval from the audience. The highlight came with 'This Phantom Life', which began with a flute solo that sounded stunning live.

The track burst into life with a full combination of guitar, flute, violin and drums resulting in a rich sound with a positive feel; odd for a track that was introduced as 'a song about death'.

The band's small talk had a

common theme, with The Glee Club main room being compared to a dart's tournament hall and the band offering the audience the opportunity to suggest darts inspired nicknames for each member.

The crowd interaction boosted the joyful atmosphere of the room, with everyone seemingly delighted by the performance. With such an ample back catalogue of songs, it can only be a matter of time before The Leisure Society's critical acclaim is matched by commercial success.

Tribes who, although vocally talented and looking the part, failed to connect with the audience as the other acts were able to.

Following Tribes, Metronomy, sporting their trademark push lights on their chests, performed a mesmerising set drawn mainly from last years album 'The English Riviera'. The highlight for me, and so it seemed for many, being singles 'The Bay' and 'The Look' which left me feeling euphoric.

The guitar rifts and electric feel of the band saw the crowds bouncing in minutes and prepared everyone for the night's headliners.

Opening their set with adrenaline filled album tracks 'Cigarettes in the theatre' and 'Undercover Martyn', headliners Two Door Cin-

ema Club accompanied by blinding strobe lighting held a fantastic stage presence. In between playing tracks from 2010 album 'Tourist History', the band also previewed a handful of new tracks from their forthcoming album, these included 'This is Moon' and 'Handshake' and left the fans excited for the new release. Reminiscent of summer 2011 the four piece from Bangor finished with single 'What You Know' as the surging masses (slightly sweaty by this point) went wild. Not surprisingly, the band were then chanted back on stage for an energetic encore finally ending on rapturous 'I Can Talk' and leaving fans overwhelmed by another incredible performance from Two Door Cinema Club.

they may never be a chart-topping success story, their focus as a band will always be to create interesting and complex music while pleasing the cult following they have cultivated over the last ten years.

Something else that they have developed is a reputation for being an impeccable live band, with finely tuned performances full of energy. This reputation has earned them tours performing alongside the likes of Blink-182, New Found Glory, Taking Back Sunday and Dashboard Confessional.

They've played the UK's Give

Brand New – Discography

Your Favourite Weapon – 2001 Brand New's debut album is made up of power-chord heavy, pop punk songs about the highs and lows of teenage life. Catchy choruses and angsty lyrics have made up some of their most loved songs, such as 'Seventy Times 7', 'Jude Law and a Semester Abroad' and 'Mixtape'.

As Brand New's music developed, these songs were phased out from their live shows, until 2009 when they made a heady comeback – to the delight of many fans.

Live Reviews

The Leisure Society The Glee Club 26/02/12

Online Music Editor

The Leisure Society arrived at The Glee Club after their October tour was postponed due to a Laura Marling support slot. Fortunately, the crowd's reaction confirmed that the show was worth the wait.

With the six-piece band crammed onto the tiny stage of The Glee Club, the intimate performance featured tracks from both of their LPs, with the focus on their 'new' album, which the band joked isn't particularly new, since it was reHayley Wallace Critic

Two Door Cinema Club O2 Academy 18/02/12

Up-and-coming American rapper Azealia Banks opened the night with a somewhat sombre response from the crowds of indie fans who had clearly flocked to the 02 more eager to see headliners Two Door Cinema Club. Her performance of single '212' got the crowd moving but it was her cover of The Prodigy's 'Firestarter' at the end of her set which seemed to enthral the audience.

Rapping over electro beats, her filthy lyrics were not my cup of tea, but I can't deny her captivating stage presence. After Miss Bank's short set, next up were Nirvana influenced Camden-based band

Nick Lowe Town Hall 03/02/12

Matt Cardle Symphony Hall 5/03/12

Maverick Sabre HMV Institute 6/03/12

Gabrielle Aplin Rainbow 8/03/12

The Redbrick Music Awards Have your say

Oh Adele. 6 Grammys and 2 Brits and you're still not happy. Not to worry though – we're putting together our very own Redbrick Music Awards – the cream of the crop of 2011. We'll award those we feel were left out, and those who didn't even get a look in at all.

Want to get involved? Suggest us the categories, artists, songs and albums that you felt got left out this year and send them to music@ redbrickonline.co.uk, or tweet us @redbrickmusic.

18 redbrickpaper.co.uk

Redbrick

2nd March 2012

Film

'You said when the sun hits this ridge just right, these hills sing. Well, pal, I was dragged all over those hills and I did not hear any singing..'

The Emperor's New Groove (2000)

The Beginner's Guide to... French Cinema

Film News

Beth Ditzel partage ses films français préférés pour votre éducation. Ooh la la!

Does the idea of having to read the subtitles of a confusing and pretentious film make you want to exclaim 'Zut Alors!' or even 'Sacre Bleu!'? Well, think again.

Absolute Beginners

If you're looking for an easy way to get into French Cinema, Amelie (2001) is the film for you. Directed by Jean Pierre Jeunet and starring the beautiful Audrey Tatou as the eponymous character, you are transported into the heart of Paris, with all its quirks and charm.

Venture further into Jeunet's style with his second

collaboration with Tatou in Un Long Dimanche De Fiançailles (2004), in which he tells the story of one woman's search for her fiancé, who has been missing in action since the end of WWI. Jeunet's offbeat style can be found throughout French cinema; an excellent example being the little seen Jeux d'enfants (2003), starring a young Marion Cotillard and heartthrob Guillame Cantet as childhood friends that continue a game of dares into adulthood.

Classics

Delving into the history of French film, you can't miss the sublime works of Francois Truffaut, especially his intense portrait of misunderstood youth and rebellion in The 400 Blows(1959).

Perhaps his most famous work depicts the ultimate ménage a trois in Jules Et Jim (1962), the

tale of a relationship between a writer, his best friend and his girlfriend. On par with Truffaut in terms of godlike status in French cinema is Jean Luc Godard. Any Francophile will direct you towards A Bout De Souffle (1960), one of the most influential films of the French New Wave and a crime thriller that holds up even today.

Matthew Clemens Online Film Editor

Die Really Hard

Modern Greats

Unmissable is the critically acclaimed La Haine (1995) depicting ethnic tension and violence in the suburbs of Paris starring Vincent Cassel, most recently seen in Black Swan. Another exemplary work is Louis Malle's Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987), which ranks alongside the Italian Life Is Beautiful (1997) as a stunning portrayal of the Holocaust through the eyes of a child. Two films that have garnered much attention in recent years are the multi-award winning The Class (2008), set in a tough Parisian school rife with racial tension, and Jacques Audiard's tour de force; the prison drama A Prophet (2009).

Recent Films

Although Marion Cotillard has been venturing into Hollywood of late, she is still starring in many of her native French films, most recently being 2010 comedy-drama Little White Lies, starring The Artist's Jean Dujardin. Speaking of The Artist, the 1920s isn't the only period that director Michael Hazanavicius recreated; the 1950s and 1960s are brought vividly to life in the 0SS 117 series. Dujardin stars as the titular agent in these hilarious spy-caper parodies.

This is only a soupçon of films, but try a few of these titles and you'll be as French as frog's legs. Bonne chance!

Five of the Best: Films that make OAPs cool

Luke Jones claims his free bus pass to take a daytrip through the very best of the golden oldies

#2

1 #

The Queen

The sole film with a female lead in the list is by no means the least important. Helen Mirren's Oscar-winning performance as our Head of State is a reminder that, whether you're pro-monarchy or a staunch republican, there are few people that could do the job as well as our Liz. Rumours of a comedy sequel featuring King Charles are both terrifying and completely made up by me.

Greetings Die Hard fans, just a brief update for all those crazy about everything John McClane.

Although many know this, there will definitely be a Die Hard 5.

The latest gossip suggests that John's son Jack will take front and centre, replacing both his daughter and Justin Long's geek hacker from the fourth instalment. Most exciting of all is that Aussie sensation, Jai Courtney AKA Varro in Spartacus: Blood and Sand has already been cast in the role and considering how fantastic his performance was in Starz's fantastic series, it's very exciting.

Star Wars IV

the high-point of #4 asspace-based fantasy or a Star Wars either stands

film involving a bunch of people with silly names and ostentatious swords. Yet, there is no denying that its characters have become icons, none more so than confusingly monikered star wizard ObiWan Kenobi. Want proof? Try typing his name into Microsoft Word. Even spell-checker recognises him.

'The Rock' is a god

(Ok, so that headline isn't technically accurate but demi-god doesn't fit). Brett Ratner, producer/director of such 'classics' as X-Men: The Last Stand and Horrible Bosses, has his sights fixed on Greek mythology. Ratner has been brought in to adapt Steve Moore's comic-book series Hercules: The Thracian Wars.

But who will play Zeus's favourite love child? Well, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, obviously. It's just an unconfirmed rumour so far but sources suggest that 'The People's Champ' is currently in talks with MGM to take on the role, so it looks mighty likely.

Up Everyone knows that the first ten minutes of Pixar's 2009 tearjerker are pretty much perfect, with the lives of adventurer-in-the-making Carl Fredrickson and wife Ellie presented in all its ups and downs via montage. Proving that audiences, and children especially, will sit through an adventure film with a man who should be claiming his bus pass as the lead, Up's message of leaving the past behind and making the most of the time you have left is important for young and old alike.

The Other Artist

#3

Shawshank

A career-maker if ever there was one, Morgan Freeman's turn as wrongly convicted Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding may have spawned dozens of imitations but it still stands as the definitive wise old man performance. Fun fact: the film was meant to end with Red looking at the noose after his release from prison, but was changed to a meet up with buddy Andy Dufresne for a more uplifting conclusion.

Gran Torino

'old man' per#5 definitive formance. A lonely vetGran Torino is Eastwood's

eran of the Korean war, his views are challenged by a grudging relationship with his Asian next-door neighbours and the gang violence that comes crashing into his life.

In parts laugh-out-loud funny, in some tragic, if this proves to be Eastwood's final appearance on film it will serve as a fitting denouement.

It's been confirmed that Antonio Banderas will be filling the shoes of celebrated surrealist painter, Pablo Picasso. The biopic, entitled 33 Dias [33 Days] will focus on his creation of Guernica, a mural he spent 33 days making, whilst touching on the destruction of the Basque Town of Guernica by the Nazi Luftwaffe. Sounds like a juicy part indeed and given that the rumour machine has Banderas down for Fidel Castro in a currently unconfirmed biopic, things are looking very good for the Spanish born actor.

Redbrick

Film 19

2nd March 2012 redbrickpaper.co.uk

Reviews The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

UNMISSABLE

EXCELLENT

GOOD

Film Editor

Director: Francis Lawrence Cast: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Peter Stormare Cert: 15

Critic

Director: John Madden Cast: Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel, Maggie Smith Cert: 12A With this film John Madden does not take us on a journey in time, as he did in Shakespeare in Love, but rather we travel with seven ageing people to a place far in the East; it takes us to a hotel in Jaipur, India - namely The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

And exotic it all is! It starts

with a view from an English home in a calm typically English neighbourhood, which transforms all of a sudden when the seven characters find themselves on the streets of Jaipur. The colours seem to explode on screen and it is hard to spot the main characters in the crowd until they reach the rundown old hotel with its very optimistic, young manager.

The setting and the storyline do become stereotypical and a tad dull when the emphasis focuses too much on the differences between old and young, English and Indian.

However, plenty of witty dialogue and entertaining scenes make the

TRAGIC

Constantine

Isidore Sanders

Patricia Webersberger

POOR

movie a pleasure to watch.

In the beginning, the film seems merely a stage for celebrity cameos (Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Smith, etc). However, they become more and more individual characters who unveil their various lifestories. Their ways of coping with age, life and a new culture is what gives the movie a thoughtful and warming touch.

All in all, you can have a great laugh no matter how old you are.

So be invited to a 'home for the elderly so wonderful that they will simply refuse to die.' !

!

! !

! !

!

Keanu Reeves may not always be a favourite for leading man. His delivery is off-centre, his looks are unconventional and his choice of roles is occasionally questionable.

However controversial his casting as the quintessential, blonde, British asshole John Constantine, Reeves brings something intangibly perfect to this grim comic-book adaptation.

Constantine is an exorcist, demonologist and former guest of Satan, who dodged death and dedicated his life to 'buying' his way into Heaven.

Reeves is surrounded by a stellar ensemble cast. Notable mentions include Tilda Swinton as the piously confident Gabriel; Djimon Hounsou as the danger-

ously ambiguous Papa Midnite and the most unsettling, swaggering and utterly unique depiction of Lucifer from the inimitable Peter Stormare.

Constantine's setting is equally gripping. From the design of the 'half-breed' fallen angels and risen demons, to the battered touches on Constantine's weapons and props; the art direction is flawless.

This is especially true of the depiction of Hell. Permanently trapped in the seconds following a nuclear holocaust, the highways of Los Angeles become a claustrophobic wasteland for the scavengers of the dead – not to mention the hoards of the damned trapped beneath.

As Constantine faces a break in the concord between Heaven and Hell, he also battles his own aggressive cancer, and the haunting loss of those around him. A tortured soul, who is as much of a jerk as he is a hero. He may not be the best hope for mankind, but beggars can't be choosers. !

!!

!!

!!

!

The 2012 Academy Awards: A Retrospective Film Editor, Genevieve Taylor, runs down the awards ceremony which seriously challenges your ability to stay awake Big Winners 5 The Artist – Best

Director, Best Actor, Best Costume Design, Best Score, Best Film

5

Hugo – Art Direction, Cinematography, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects

2 The Iron Lady – Best Actress, Best Makeup Big Losers Moneyball – 0 wins

6

nominations,

War Horse – 0 wins

6

nominations,

Best Supporting Actress Octavia Spencer The Help

Sunday night saw the stars, and Angelina Jolie's leg, flock like crazed Spanish bulls to the red carpet for the ultimate celebration of 2011/12's filmic efforts: the Oscars. The ceremony was led by Oscar veteran Billy Crystal, opening with a trademark Billystars-in-skits-of-this-year'sfilms segment which featured a kiss with George Clooney and, bizarrely, a version of Midnight in Paris starring Justin Bieber.

Crystal was charming as ever but unfortunately couldn't quite bring the excitement needed to revitalise the ceremony. His opening song paled in comparison, creatively and performancewise, to the efforts of Hugh Jackman a few years ago.

The Artist was undoubtedly the big winner, taking home five awards and three of the biggest in Best Director, Best Actor and the final award of the night, Best Film, for which Uggy the dog took to the stage for a cuddle with human pal and Best Actor of 2011/12, Jean Dujardin.

Things became very meta as the film-love continued to go to films about film-love; Hugo swept the technical categories. However, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo's Best Editing win was a big surprise – probably the biggest of the night in an otherwise quite predictable show. Another slight shock came in Meryl Streep's annoying defeat of Viola Davis in the Best Actress category.

Best Actor Jean Dujardin The Artist

The celebrity presenters made an OK, if occasionally sub-par effort, ranging from Sandra Bullock's slightly endearing presentation of the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in supposed Chinese, which was actually German, to Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis's Best Original Score presenting wearing white suits and clashing cymbals.

All in all it was a slightly disappointing ceremony with largely predictable results, a far too short contribution from The Muppets and not enough Uggy. It really seemed like a bit of an insignificant blip in the history of usually entertaining Oscars nights and hopefully next year, things will improve. The cries for Robert Downey Jr hosting in his Iron Man suit begin now!

Best Actress Meryl Streep The Iron Lady

Quotes of the Night 1. 'Meryl, mamma mia! We were in Greece, we danced, I was gay, and we were happy' – Colin Firth 2. 'Wow, victoire, formidable!' – Jean Dujardin, imagining what George Valentin would say when winning if he spoke 3. 'Nothing can take the sting out of the world's economic problems like millionaires awarding each other golden statues' – Billy Crystal, host 4. 'You're only 2 years older than me, darling – where have you been all my life' – Christopher Plummer, to his Oscar

Best Supporting Actor Christopher Plummer Beginners

20 redbrickpaper.co.uk

Life&Style

Redbrick

2nd March 2012

L&S review Marni for H&M and Kate Moss as the new face of Mango online at: redbrickpaper.co.uk/category/lifestyle

Fierce & Finished

L&S writers experience Fashion Week 2012

Fierce Lara Edwards

Senior Life&Style writer

Oscars: With stunning dress choices from Angelina Jolie and Cameron Diaz, The Artist winning a host of awards and L&S fave Meryl Streep picking up Best Actress, this year’s Academy Awards did not disappoint.

Harvey Nichols' Fashion Weekend: For those of us who were unable to attend fashion week – work commitments anyone? (Cough, cough) Harvey Nick’s S/S ’12 catwalk shows held at The Mailbox on 3rd and 4th of March showcase their new collections for free.

April Shacklock Writer

In the beginning, I felt almost intrusive sitting in the press lounge amongst the plethora of iPads being used to tweet to millions of followers, updating eagerly anticipated blogs and listening to journalists talk about which after parties they had been invited to. But, by the end of it, I was sat on the front row clutching my goodie bag thinking 'I could get used to this'.

Last week was London Fashion Week for Autumn/ Winter '12-'13 and I had a press pass.

Day one of LFW, for me, was about experiencing the emerging designers (mostly due to the fact that as a newbie, I didn’t get invitations to the prestigious shows); including Sister by Sibling, Florian Jayet, Christopher Raeburn, Shao Yen and Carlotta Actis Barone.

The Holocaust themed show by Carlotta Actis Barone was the show of the day.

Showcasing many different options for evening wear, all the dresses were partnered with Hunter wellington boots, a risqué choice but the audience were charmed by this new approach to opulence.

On day two, I had to work a transferable dress which would see me glamorous from day to night. I started the day at Ubuntu’s International Project. The most original and beautiful shapes I saw all week were here in Jose Hendo‘s small collection of dresses and jackets entitled ‘Resonance’, which used bark-cloth in various reds, sage

green and mustard.

At the House of Evolution show, there was the juxtaposition of this year’s X Factor contestant Kitty Brucknell wearing a, shall we say, adventurous dress by Nikita Karizma and Nadine Merabi’s sultry yet luxurious collection.

After that it was on to the House of Evolution’s after-party at Cirque Du Soir. A passion fruit cocktail was never more than an arm’s length away and once the club was writhing with glamour, the circus girls were released.

Dancing, fire-eating and juggling was performed in nothing more than nipple tassels and thongs.

Fashion Week was one bizarre experience after another. My last day of covering LFW was Tuesday, where I saw Dion Lee’s presentation, Ozwald Boateng’s intimate show in his store on Savile Row and Math Collective’s catwalk show. In the long wait between shows (and because I heard they served free brownies at 3:00 pm) I spent a couple of hours in the press lounge where I got talking to various industry people including the founder of www.aboutchelsea. co.uk and stylist/blogger/fashion journalist Adela Cechova (http:// adela-stylefile.com/).

Unfortunately, I had to forfeit my invitation to Ozwald Boateng’s after-party that night as a result of the unfashionable calling of assignment deadlines. Hopefully I’ll be returning to the fashionable courtyard of Somerset House in September for the Spring/Summer 2013 shows.

Tola Osundina Writer

'OMG! Those girls were wearing flats!?’ were the first words I overheard as I was ushered into the gates of Somerset House. Yet these words did not reflect the laid-back atmosphere of the fashion-lovers inside. In fact, the most popular trends that evening were centred around two extremes – Jeffrey Campbell Lita’s and Topshop’s studded faux leather loafers paired with either feminine sheer midi skirts or biker-style cut-off denim shorts. Either way, blazers were a constant!

The schedule for the evening permitted shopping designer brands at discount prices (yes!).

Various stalls were situated across three different wings. The East Wing accommodated chic lines from Twenty8Twelve by Sienna Miller to Jaeger Boutique, and with prices starting from as low as £20, I was left drooling as I clung onto my favourite pieces.

The South Wing was essentially a more expensive version of Brick Lane – vintage galore! One collection, ‘Never Fully Dressed’ promoted the neon brightness and high glamour reminiscent of seventies fashion while ‘House of Liza’ was Versace-elitist with price tags far exceeding £200. Needless to say, my student budget definitely would not stretch that far!

With cocktails flowing, music blasting, extravagant accessories and a buzz of excitement, the Show Space Box was where the

party was at! But, I was forced to scurry through in hopes of finding the best possible spot for the 7 o’clock catwalk show. I was seated in the third row at the very beginning of the catwalk so I had the perfect view.

The lines highlighted the trends for this Spring/Summer so I remained diligent in taking notes.

Holly Fulton’s collection took the luxurious touch she gained from working at Lanvin, and combined it with an individual flair for Amazonian glamour, filled with unique prints and detailed embellishments. Palazzo pants, twenties’ shift dresses and clashing prints were all the rage.

Christian Louboutin hooked up with her to produce a fierce peep-toe modification on the clogs trend – yes, keep an eye out for it this summer! The Prim Rose trend line and Antipodium provided similar interpretations on the upcoming trends, both featuring soft pastel colours, representative of an idyllic American suburban summer.

The main difference was in the shoes – while Miss Prim Rose is classy in her pastel pumps, Antipodium would throw on white plimsoles for a casual touch. The night ended on a high with Jasper Conran’s clean lines, subtle monotone linen outfits consisting of dresses and matching head ties.

Simply beautiful.

My conclusion on the evening: bring on London Fashion Weekend, September 2012!

Save, Spend, Splurge: The Platform Sandal Maddie Kilminster Writer

As the warmer weather rolls in bringing with it an onslaught of spring/summer trends, we can hardly see the wood for the trees in the sandal department! Let’s focus on the key little (or should I say chunky) trendsetter this season: The Platform Sandal. Whether you’re splashing out for a Milano break or staying local on the Cornish sands this shoe can work for your budget.

SAVE New Look produce the trend for shoppers on a budget - a bargain at £29.99! Why question it?

Lift any summer outfit day or night with these hefty statementmakers.

SPEND Oh how we love Topshop!

Plunge yourself right into the summer chunk trend with these Lisbon Bucklewood heeled sandals. Utter steals at £68!

SPLURGE If you’re feeling classy, have a well-earned spree with these MICHAEL by Michael Kors Brown Faye platforms for £150.

Model campaign against sunbeds: 11 of the UK’s leading modeling agencies including Storm, Elite and Models 1 have teamed up to raise awareness about the dangers of sunbeds. As the sun starts to beat down on Selly again, it’s so tempting to top up your tan but in this case fake is always better. At £2.99 a bottle, St Moriz is a life saver.

Summer lists: The only thing getting my group of friends through our 3rd year workload is our summer 'to-do' list of activities to do before we leave uni. Electric Cinema, Alton Towers, picnics in Lickey Hills. The best forms of procrastination.

'Shakira Attacked By Sea Lion': Without doubt the best headline we've seen in Heat! magazine for a while! Luckily it was only a scratch on the finger. A hilarious over reaction.

Finished Alice Bravery Writer

JT playing Elton John: The singer-turned-actor has been confirmed to play Elton John in his biopic. Really?!

Lent: It’s only a week in, the healthy snacks have lost their appeal and we’re already craving chocolate. Bring on the Easter Bunny!

The Brits: When the most exciting thing that happens is Adele ‘flipping the bird’ after being ushered off stage by schedule obsessed TV execs, you have to ask yourself, is rock 'n’ roll dead?

Abusive Tweets: Matt Lucas has announced his decision to quit Twitter after a follower made an inappropriate joke about his dead ex-husband.

The Dictator: Sacha Baron Cohen all too conveniently getting his Oscar tickets back at the last minute. While we can’t wait to see the movie, we can’t be the only ones thinking publicity stunt!

B[r]um weather: Has our sunshine peaked and gone?

Life&Style 21

2nd March 2012 redbrickpaper.co.uk

Redbrick

D.I.Y: Face Masks

And the Oscars for Best Dressed 2012 go to...

Kate Pitney & Anna Fearon Writers

With the stresses of looming deadlines and the intensive workloads, perhaps it is time you de-stress by making a homemade beauty treatment.

Homemade face masks are one of the cheapest and easiest DIY beauty creations. These face mask recipes are both delicious and nutritious. Here are our tips on how to make a face mask for your skin type, whether you have sensitive, dry, oily or combination skin.

Face Mask Technique: Begin by cleansing your skin and then apply your homemade face mask. Leave on for 10-15 minutes and then rinse-off with warm water. Gently dry your skin and apply your usual moisturiser.

Megan Jones & Sophie Cowling Life&Style Editors

The Redbrick Life&Style team showed their commitment to the fashion world by tweeting and live blogging until the early hours of Monday morning in order to find you the best Oscar Red Carpet looks straight from the home of

Hollywood glamour. The stars really pulled it out of the bag for the biggest night of the Award Season, so compiling the best looks is a real challenge. Here are our four favourites: Jessica Chastain chose a black and gold strapless Alexander McQueen gown which had fashion journalists everywhere swooning.

Milla Jovovich opted for

a shimmering one-shoulder Elie Saab couture gown. The designer was a popular choice for the celebrities with Bérénice Bejo, Katie Holmes and Kate Mara also sporting the gorgeous gowns.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Tom Ford creation really took our breath away looking effortlessly elegant in a white gown, together with a matching cape - an Oscar

fashion innovative risk that without doubt paid off.

Meryl Streep stole the show in a bespoke Lanvin gown made from eco-certified fabric which was part of Livia Firth's Green Carpet Challenge. This is a particular triumph for Firth's eco-friendly couture challenge as Streep matched her Oscar statuesque gown with an actual award for Best Actress.

'Ashton Kutcher is now single' Desert Island 456 females like this Beauty Product

Geraldine Tovey Writer

Recently on my Facebook news feed I have seen a wave of breakups, some of which from couples that I considered being very committed, which shocked me. Maybe this pattern is connected to Spring bringing a fresh start, or more likely these splits are completely random. Either way I have begun to think about the very public nature of Facebook relationships and whether they are really a good idea.

My girlfriends and I have spent plenty of time gossiping about people who we know and their relationships, often coming up with outlandish theories to explain why couples are or aren’t together. Looking at this speculation in hindsight, would I want people to talk about what is going on in my personal life? The answer is a definite no. I have seen a few friends getting dumped on Facebook, and the aftermath has not been pretty.

If I am listening to ‘All By Myself’ and consuming far too many glasses of red wine, I don’t want this information to be shared with hundreds of people. With the new timeline, relationships come up as huge stories on our profile, meaning that even the less observant Facebook users will see any

changes in relationship statuses.

Aside from the potential for heartbreak, I would also be worried about people judging the person that I was with on Facebook, or worse, people judging my profile!

We have all been there and asked: “Why is she with him?” and often unfairly, without actually knowing the person. For all we know, the people who we have dismissed on the basis of looks could be very nice, charismatic and funny.

I have spoken to some of my friends about this issue, with them offering a variety of opinions. My housemate has been with her boyfriend for over a year and wouldn’t consider posting it on Facebook.

On the other hand, many of my mates have stated that they just want to broadcast that they are happy with someone, and that they would be suspicious if their partner wouldn’t want to show off their relationship online.

Both perspectives are completely understandable, but for me and an increasing number of other people, putting our personal lives on Facebook is not something that we are willing to do. Whether I spent Valentine’s Day watching a chick-flick with my girls or out for a nice meal with a guy that I am seeing is quite frankly nobody’s business but my own.

Honestly, the thought of making my relationship ‘official’ on Facebook makes me shudder, not just because I am a commitmentphobe, but because of the fact everyone you know can see it. Although we all may have hundreds of friends on Facebook, how many of them would you be happy to tell intimate details of your personal life to?

Sarah Murray Writer

Fingers crossed I never get stuck on a desert island. With skin as pale as mine I’d be burnt to a crisp in under a minute. Saying that, I know the one beauty product I would definitely take with me would be the Garnier Miracle Skin Corrector BB Cream (£9.99 from Boots).

BB Creams, or Blemish Balm Creams, are pretty new in the UK. The idea is that they are a moisturiser, sunscreen, primer and foundation all in one handy tube.

This particular BB Cream leaves skin feeling radiant, smooth and thoroughly moisturized, as well as giving a decent SPF and good coverage. You can use it by itself on good skin days or as a primer when you need a little more cover. A truly multitasking product and something everyone needs to try.

Rebecca Atherton Writer

For anyone that possesses even a slight interest in serious high fashion, Fashion Toast is an essential. Started back in 2008 by model and designer Rumi Neely, the blog has gone from strength to strength over recent years, winning Rumi both Best Personal Style Blog and Blogger of the Year awards in 2011. With its minimalist design, professional photography and serious attitude towards fashion, Fashion Toast is a perfectly balanced fusion of elegance and cool. Rumi models clothes in destinations that would make any girl envious, and despite the blog’s professionalism, it’s still accessible, personable and addictive.

Use it to steal outfit ideas for a far tighter budget.

Butter Mask for Sensitive Skin: Method: Take a tablespoon of unsalted butter.

Add a small amount of ground porridge oats and a tablespoon of natural yoghurt. Mix together to form a thick consistency. Apply to face with a makeup brush.

Results: Butter is an excellent source of vitamin A, which helps to rejuvenate skin. Vitamin A has been known to improve the skin’s texture and to stimulate blood supplies to deeper collagen fibres within the skin. Oatmeal has calming qualities and the yoghurt will help sooth your skin. This is a really nourishing face mask; it really feels like its sinking into your skin and soothing it, leaving you with a radiant glow.

Oatmeal Mask for Dry Skin: Method: Pour a quarter of a cup of porridge oats into a blender. Mix ground oats with two tablespoons of honey. Add half a cup of water. Apply to face with a makeup brush.

Results: The honey has fantastic moisturising qualities, leaving your skin feeling silky smooth.

The consistency of the face mask feels odd on the skin. This is a very messy face mask but it’s definitely worth a try for the soothing effect!

When trying it out we couldn’t resist having a little taste. Delicious!

Banana mask for Oily skin: Method: Blend two bananas, two tablespoons of honey and the juice of one lemon together to form a thick paste. Apply to face with a makeup brush.

Results: Bananas are full of highly moisturising agents, making the skin flexible and super-soft.

But they are also non-oily so they're good for combination skins. Honey has antibacterial qualities which reduce the likelihood of breakouts.

This mask smelt amazing but it looked disgusting! What’s worse is that it overflowed onto our hair, causing it to matt; definitely wear a towel on your head for this one!

22 redbrickpaper.co.uk

2nd March 2012

Food

Redbrick

Food Fact

Around 30% of people will have attempted to give up something for Lent. 8% will give up chocolate; 7% junk food; 6% sweets and 6% alcohol

Making Lent last: A helping hand Sophie Attwood Food Editor In this modern age, Lent is not so much a time just for those with a deep belief in its Biblical origins, but rather a time of reflection and a chance to try to improve ourselves with a somewhat healthier lifestyle. Many of us jump on the sacrificial bandwagon, safe in the knowledge that we are facing this together. Safety in numbers: we will face the sugar withdrawals, the mood swings and the newfound lethargic outlook on life together.

I'm on day three of a life without chocolate, whilst a course friend attempts to navigate through each day without the taste of take-away food. In our Facebook poll, you told us that Coca-Cola and chocolate were your top two vices, whilst crisps and alcohol followed closely behind. To help you complete the challenge over the next forty days, we've decided upon some recipes so that you can cheat – without cheating.

Beetroot chocolate cake is a really good way to get the buzz of chocolate without caving in.

For this, you will need: 1 large cooked beetroot 200g plain flour 100g cocoa powder 1tbsp baking powder 250g golden caster sugar 3 eggs 2tsp vanilla extract 200ml sunflower oil Preheat the oven to 190C/gas mark 5. Blitz the beetroot in the food processor and add the rest of the ingredients except for the oil.

Add the oil separately at a steady stream. When all of the oil has been added, tip the mixture into a lined loaf tin. Cook for an hour.

Sweet potato wedges are packed

with vitamins and dietary fibre.

These are a healthy and tasty alternative to regular chips and a way of avoiding those unwanted snacks.

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6 and lightly grease a baking tray. Mix olive oil and paprika in a large bowl then add the sweet potatoes, sliced lengthwise into quarters. Bake for 40 minutes and enjoy.

Non-alcoholic cocktails.

Why settle for water during these 40 days ahead? Instead you can enjoy a juicy mango fizz or refreshing mint lemonade.

Mint Lemonade.

Large handful of fresh mint leaves, picked Juice of 6 lemons, and zest of 3

Recipe Book: 100 Mince Dishes Josh Oxley Online Food Editor The more loyal and observant readers may have noticed that mince has been at the core of my previous articles and thus it seemed only appropriate to do my

first cookbook review on Linda Doeser's 100 Mince Dishes from 1 Easy Recipe. Her book also encapsulates another of my themes, which is demonstrating the ease of making tasty and healthy food with very limited culinary skill, or effort. Before embarking on my attempted critique of this book, it is worth noting I have no professional or even previous experience in doing such a thing. Therefore, I am going to judge the book on a purely biased opinion, which I hope may persuade you to purchase this, in my view, wonderful cookbook.

The book begins with a general glorification of the versatility, quality and economy of beef mince, and its ability to be cooked in large portions then frozen, which can be so easily incorporated into student life. It then states the basic mince recipe which forms the basis of the book: 1 kilo of fresh beef mince, 1 finely chopped onion, 1 finely chopped garlic clove, and some salt and pepper The book is then split between

sections entitled 'Easy', 'Favourite', 'Comforting', 'Spicy' and 'Special'.

I would argue that there is nothing to differentiate between the sections and so when choosing a recipe, go for what excites your taste buds rather than which section suits your mood. My personal favourites are beef & tomato soup (p.14), beef & noodles (p.26), chilli burgers (p.144), chilli con carne (p.148), and, for the more adventurous, beef with red peppers, fruit & nuts (p.209).

Aesthetically the book is wonderfully colourful and beautifully presented. Every recipe incorporates two pages with one page dedicated to clear, easy-to-follow instructions, and a precise ingredient list. On the other page there is an enticing photograph for you to compare your own creation with and weep. So, if beef mince is really your thing and spaghetti bolognese every day is getting somewhat tiresome then definitely try this intriguing, if somewhat specific, book.

3 tbsp sugar cane syrup Sparkling mineral water, to top up.

Place the mint leaves in a tea towel and bruise with a rolling pin.

Mix with the lemon juice, zest and sugar cane syrup in a pitcher. Top up with sparkling water and add more sugar to taste. Serve over ice in a Highball glass.

Mango Fizz 2 scoops of mango sorbet 1 tbsp ready-made fruit salad 2 tsp passion fruit syrup 2 tsp grenadine Ginger ale, to top up Place the scoops of mango sorbet and the fruit salad into a glass. Pour over the passion fruit syrup and grenadine. Top up with ginger ale. Serve with a spoon.

Plates for a Pound Emma-Clare Dove Writer As term draws nearer to the end, so does your student loan. Now's the time to be saving those pennies and something's got to be sacrificed. But with these tasty and easy meals that only cost up to £1, it doesn't have to be the quality of your dinner.

French Onion Soup Heat some butter in a large pan and cook the onions on a low heat for about 20 minutes, so they are soft but not brown. Slightly increase the heat and keep cooking for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally so they don't burn, until the onions become sticky and caramelised. Add up to 1.2 litres of beef stock and, if you have any, a dash of wine. Bring to the boil, season, and leave to simmer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, toast some

bread, drizzle on oil, add cheese and then grill until golden. Serve on top of the soup.

Cheese Omelette Whisk two eggs in a bowl with a dash of milk and season with salt and pepper. Melt some oil in a frying pan and pour in the eggs. Leave until it's cooked and set, then sprinkle over some grated cheese and carefully fold the omelette in half. You can also add extras such as tomatoes, ham or peppers.

Stuffed Jacket Potatoes with Leek and Cheese Sprinkle salt over your potatoes and prick them with a fork. Bake in the oven for about an hour at 220ºc. Once cooked, carefully scoop out the centres of the potatoes. Mash together with chopped leek, grated cheese and a bit of milk. Pile back into the potato skins and bake again until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

Redbrick

Travel

redbrickpaper.co.uk

2nd March 2012

23

Travel Quote of the Week:

'Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life' – Jack Kerouac

Christchurch Earthquake: Discussing the aftermath one year on

Charlotte Callaghan Reporter

Will the land of the long white cloud be able to regenerate the iconic city of Christchurch? 12 gruelling months after the disaster, the outlook seems promising.

The devastation caused by the Christchurch earthquake is firmly etched on the minds of people all across the world. Many watched the news in awe, shocked at the sight of the city being ripped apart by nature. The magnitude 6.1 quake claimed the lives of 185 people, injured many more and caused billions of pounds worth of damage.

On the anniversary of the disaster, the citizens of Christchurch remember the victims of the earthquake. People across the world follow the struggle to rebuild the city, in the hope of bringing it back to its former glory. The damage has been so extensive, however, that progress is slow and costs are running high.

Descriptions such as 'wasteland' and 'rubble-strewn' are not likely to encourage the average tourist to vault across the Pacific

to visit Christchurch. The desolate landscape of the urban centre, coupled with the widespread coverage of the catastrophe, explains why Christchurch has not been receiving quite the number of tourists it had enjoyed pre-earthquake.

Many people think of the city as a disaster zone, and reports show that many citizens are even choosing to migrate out of the city.

Australia alone welcomed record numbers of migrants last March, almost double its normal intake.

Much of the beautiful architecture of the city has been destroyed, and attractions such as the landmark cathedral have been damaged to such an extent that whole areas of the inner-city are cordoned off to the public.

Despite slow progress, Christchurch has declared itself open for business in many sectors, including tourism. More than 95 per cent of its shopping facilities are back in action. A 'restart' vibe is emanating across the city, further encouraging shops and businesses to keep the city buzzing.

The 'pop-up city' is Christchurch's innovative solution to the slow progress of reconstruc-

Picture of the Week

tion. Shipping containers have been tastefully redesigned to house all sorts of shops, restaurants and bars. The 'restart' projects enable Christchurch to offer a fashionable and alternative entertainment scene, attracting more and more visitors everyday. Lonely Planet states that the city is 're-emerging as one of the most exciting cities of New Zealand'.

One of the most affected areas of the tourism sector is accommodation. Many of the large hotels in Christchurch have suffered from severe damage, and only 14 out of 36 hotels are in operation. Unfortunately, the reconstruction of hotels is restricted by the need to develop other sectors of the city.

Many tourists have not been able to receive the four-star accommodation they would normally expect, but many are happy to simply have a bed to sleep in, and the number of cancellations has barely risen.

There is still a lot to see and do in Christchurch - there are many nature-based activities on offer, and the majority of visitor attractions are still open. Being close to the coast, Christchurch is the per-

New Zealand Fact File: When to go: The best time of year for travelling in New Zealand is October-April, which is their summer season.

Flights: Range from £750 to £1,000; accurate for October 2012.

Where to stay: Around the World Backpackers.

From £15 per night; free internet plus other add-ons Be sure to always book ahead, as despite plenty of accommodation they book out fast.

Exchange rate: £1 (GB) to $1.89 (NZD) (Correct 28/2/12).

Want more info?

For information including accommodation and sightseeing advice visit: www.christchurchnz.com/planyour-visit/earthquake-update. aspx

Armchair Traveller Book Review: The Jolly Pilgrim Chloe Osborne Travel Editor

Angkor Wat Temple by Emily Booth

fect base for all those who have a keen interest in wildlife. Swimming with dolphins, whale-watching and albatross encounters are just some of the activities on offer.

The surrounding countryside also contains many gems; the tranquillity of punting or relaxing in the thermal spas and stunning lakes contrasts with the devastation of the urban centre. Still, the city itself remains popular; there is a certain lure to experience the revitalisation of Christchurch and feel a part of the catastrophic landmark event.

Many want to help out in a time of need, whether by taking hands-on action in the effort to rebuild, or simply travelling there to support the local industry and boost the economy. The daily struggle that faces the people of Christchurch should in no way be belittled - many are still trying to survive in very difficult conditions.

However, Christchurch is trying its hardest to become the tourist destination that it once was, and with so much still on offer, there is no reason why it should be struck off the beaten track of New Zealand's most popular destinations.

Christchurch by Channone on Flickr

The Jolly Pilgrim is the debut of travel enthusiast and worldly philosopher Peter Baker, and is the perfect reading material to get any travel fiend's blood pumping.

This meaty travel memoir chronicles Baker's fascinating two year journey across Europe by bicycle, to Istanbul, through Asia to India, hitch-hiking through Australia, South America's highlights, and finally ending in Guyana.

Along the way Baker recounts tales of the strange mix of eccentrics and dreamers that he meets, of the books he reads, and of his growing attraction for making small talk with the inanimate in his lonelier moments - firstly his bike Nelly and then his tent, Nguthungulli, meaning 'father of the whole world' in Koori.

This is a collection of emails that Baker sent home during his long journey, and inserts from his Big Black Diary. On top of this are his own musings, as well as his own infectiously optimistic argument that basically, it's all going to be ok.

Baker concocts his thesis during moments of isolation along his journey, and narrates how he began to put The Jolly Pilgrim together as his ideas came together,

and his experiences of the modern world fed into his growing hypothesis about the future.

'enough to get any travel friend's blood pumping' As he travels further out of his comfort zone, Baker is able to lead the freewheeling life of a travelling 'neo-hippy' and explore the far flung corners of the earth with the locals.

En-route, he makes it his mission to read key religious texts objectively, pondering about their places in the modern world. His wonderfully evocative descriptions of Machu-Pichu, Sydney, Tuscany, Angkor Wat, Calcutta and Buenos Aires are enough to make the reader want to book themselves onto the next plane to anyway and immerse themselves in the cultures and colours that he so eloquently portrays in his book.

The sheer magnitude of experiences that he describes seems incredible, as does his ability to apparently remember the names and appearances of over 1000 people that he met along the way; but I

guess that's what the Big Black Diary was for.

Baker narrates his pilgrimage in such an amusing and optimistic fashion that it will surely inspire a new generation of travel fans to follow his lead, and decide for themselves that not only is travel a fascinating, mind opening, stimulating experience, but that an active interest in the history and trends of global population is a worthwhile and enthralling study.

Despite enduring theft, dehydration, loneliness, heart break, and even the unexpected contraction of a bee allergy; when Baker emerges in Guyana, he has fulfilled a pilgrim's destiny, and is happily expectant of a better future for humanity.

This was a truly mind-blowing read, and I would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in travel; although do take care, as it may cause a tendency to throw down your nearest ring binder and declare that you must leave immediately for similar travel experiences.

Baker's evaluation of the world today is both fascinating and insightful, and I can certainly see this becoming a bible in its own right for anyone with a tendency to see themselves as a world citizen, eco friendly hippy type. This book really is going to go places.

24

Redbrick

2nd March 2012

redbrickpaper.co.uk

Sport

Men's Squash The squash first team had a crucial quarter-final game against Sheffield. Find out how they did on page 26

Meet the VPS candidates The Guild elections take place between 2-9 March 2012 and every candidate is furiously trying to gain as many votes as possible before the results are announced on 10 March. This year, there are three candidates for the Vice President for Sport position. The VPS leads sports societies, widens sports participation and represents all students' sporting interests. Redbrick Sport writer James Newbon talked to them.

What are pledges?

your

manifesto

Guive Shafie: I have four pledges that make up ASKG. A is for affordable pricing for sports facilities. S is for a sports tab on my.bham that will enable you to book facilities and check results. K is for kick start BUCS in Birmingham to bring the BUCS champs to Birmingham in the next three to four years which will tie in with the new facilities.

G is for growing our sporting healthy community. This would involve working with the Welfare Vice President to have sports demonstrations on the Vale or maybe even healthy cooking demos and more advertisement of sports opportunities.

Tom Garry: Firstly, to save students money with a loyalty card at the Munrow Sports Centre, both for those that are in teams and anyone that signs up for the gym, so that they can get discounts.

Secondly, to use student media to promote our teams as well as possible. We have fantastic teams at this University and I want to highlight that through things like video highlights online, a live score sports app, and events similar to XpLosION but for other sports as well so that everyone can have their moment in the spotlight.

And thirdly, to increase healthy living through things like more bike racks on campus and lower calorie options in Joe's bar.

James Hughes: I have three pledges. One is to increase participation in sport through participation wings at all sports clubs. A second is to lobby in order to decrease gym fees and to make them more flexible through one month and fortnightly fees as well as fee freezes over student holidays. A third is to have a more sporting Guild that works with Munrow, targeting linkage between the two so as to represent students better in sport.

Why do you want to be VPS? GS: It started in my second year when a close friend was VPS and from that I got to know what the role entailed and how they have to manage the balance between UB Sport (AU) and the Guild. Sport is a passion of mine and something I would like a future job in; I see this as a good opportunity for that so I'd be crazy not to take it.

TG: I want to leave a lasting legacy towards University sport and change the culture to make people want to get out and support our teams. On a personal note I think it would be a fantastic experience

and I have the skills to achieve a lot in a year that I can take pride in.

JH: I believe I am dedicated towards sport at University. I am driven and organised yet also fun and easy to work with. Consequently, I think I can get the best results.

What sporting experience do you have?

GS: I've been playing water polo since I was 7, so when I came to university I took it up. I was also involved in swimming at BUCS level for one year. At Water Polo I was secretary and captain for a year each. And in my year abroad I trained with a professional water polo team in France.

When I first came to university, I wanted to take up different sports so I tried American football and volleyball but obviously water polo had to take precedence when there were clashes so I've ended up focusing on that with some swimming as well.

TG: I am currently Head of Sport for Burn FM and I contribute to Redbrick online. In the past six years I have been on 16 committees, 10 of which have been for sport, in roles such as club match secretary and fixtures' secretary. I run local leagues in Milton Keynes and I work for the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) as a tournament official organising tournaments.

As part of that I was selected to help organise tennis at the Olympics as a senior tournament official.

Playing-wise, I played tennis to county level and captained hockey, football and cricket at school. I also did triathlon until shin splints put a stop to it. I just do sport, sport, sport.

JH: I am involved in two clubs at the University. One is the Athletics and Cross Country club and the other – which is my real passion – is Cool Runnings. It is because of Cool Runnings that I believe that all sports should have participation wings so that anyone can come and join sport and feel involved for a lower price. On a personal level I am a cross country runner at BUCS level.

What do you think you can bring to the role?

GS: From playing with the professional team in France I understand the differences between the French professional set-up and the amateur set-up in England. That will help with the differences in set-up between the profit making AU and non-profit making Guild. I

also have experience working with the AU when helping to hire a new water polo coach.

I also bring passion for sport with hard work and commitment and I am motivated to push my policies through.

Guive Ask Geeves Shafie

TG: I hope that I can bring professional experience from my work with the LTA. From this I have learnt what it's like to have to discuss and negotiate, which will help in liaising between the Guild and AU. I have also gained experience in marketing and organising competitions, which I intend to do a lot of to promote our teams. I will bring passion and enthusiasm as I love Birmingham and watching our teams; even travelling to away matches to watch and commentate.

JH: Because I have been in touch with two clubs, I know how the AU runs. Things like kit ordering, sponsorship, booking track facilities and the problems that these entail. I know about these things and can therefore deal with, and fight to improve them. It's about the little things when running a club.

What are your plans for the campaign?

GS: The first day didn't go very well: after having had BUCS semifinals all weekend it was a little unplanned and disjointed. But I plan to get my name out there through lecture shout-outs and talking to sports teams. I also have the gimmick of 'Ask Geeves' which means I can dress as a butler. And the water polo team might do something special on Friday but that's still in the works.

TG: I have the Top Gear theme and have a Stig costume. There will be a Facebook event inviting people to meet or have their picture taken with The Stig. As well as door knocking and lecture shouts, I'll be talking to teams to try and get feedback on what they want.

JH: You might see me darting around in a peach costume to represent James and the Giant Peach. You'll see huge banners around campus and you never know I might be giving out some peaches on Thursday and Friday.

Finally, tell us in five words why you should be VPS. GS: [To provide] Elite infrastructure whilst raising participation.

TG: To leave a lasting legacy.

JH: Sport should be student-led.

Age: 22 Degree: Int Business with French Hometown: Cheltenham Life ambition: To go to Fab every week Best known as: Water polo captain

Age: 20 Degree: Environmental Geoscience

Tom Top Gear Garry

Hometown: Newport Pagnell (near Milton Keynes) Life ambition: To represent my country for sport Best known as: Head of BurnFM Sport

James And the Giant Peach Hughes

Age: 21 Degree: Political Science Hometown: Torquay Life ambition: To be the best I can be, whilst doing something positive for the world.

Best known as: Founder of Cool Runnings.

Redbrick

Sport 25

2nd March 2012 redbrickpaper.co.uk

Sport Thoughts Redbrick Sport Online Editor Joel Lamy laments the detachment of sport from everyday life, pointing out that sport at its emotive best is at our fingertips...

Dazzling Danby puts Revenge served cold Brum to the sword by hockey hotshots Women's Football

Northern Premier

Birmingham 1sts

3

Leeds Met 1sts

5

James Dolton Sport Reporter

Watching football these days, it's easy to forget its roots as the game of the people. Players change clubs all the time, usually encouraged by agents looking to make money for themselves. When you see the likes of Asamoah Gyan, who joined Sunderland for £13 million in August 2010 only to go on loan to UAE club Al-Ain a year later, it is easy to bemoan how detached football has become from the real world.

Such is its global appeal that a new Indian Premier League was recently created where Robert Pires was signed for $800,000 to play for just six weeks. He will be joined by Fabio Cannavaro, the former World Player of the Year and World Cup winning captain who has recently been plying his trade, alongside Gyan, in the UAE. Football is a beast like no other: matches are built up for days and analysed afterwards for even longer. Fans will go abroad in the summer just to watch their club play in a pre-season tournament such is their dedication.

This is nothing new, of course.

But it is important to remember that sport is not just players on massive contracts, living in their own world away from the people that pay their wages. I say this because in the next few weeks some of our University teams will attempt to achieve glory in the BUCS trophies and in their respective leagues. They have trained hard all season just for this chance of victory.

Charlotte Wilson

I have been writing for Redbrick throughout my time at university and have watched a number of matches, mainly as a reporter. That number has decreased this year due to my online commitments but I always follow the teams' results and watch whenever I can. I hope as we reach the business end of the season that you will join me in watching our sides over the next few weeks.

This is sport at its very best – untarnished by money, played in the right spirit and achieved as a team without individuals hogging the glory. And for that, it deserves our support.

After a superb start to the season, a recent blip had seen Birmingham languishing in mid-table.

Could they improve against Leeds Met, who beat them 4-2 last time?

Birmingham women's football firsts put in a good performance but were dealt a painful loss due to an inspired goal-scoring showing from the Leeds Metropolitan captain Sarah Danby in a dramatic game at Metchley.

Birmingham couldn't have wished for a worse start, when after barely 60 seconds a well-struck left footed effort from the edge of the box by Leeds captain and cen-

the score level. The pressure told when, minutes from the interval, Redgrave picked up the ball on the right and shot past a helpless Edwards onto the underside of the bar. The ball bounced down and invitingly up for the powerful Danby to nod in her second, leaving Brum trailing 2-1 at the break.

The second half began inauspiciously: any attempts to go direct were easily cleared by the hulking Leeds centre halves, but Birmingham remained the better side in the wide positions. On 60 minutes their hopes were dealt a huge blow when Danby earned her hat trick with the best goal of the game, an outrageous thirty-yard strike that flew into the top left corner. However, Birmingham responded well when almost straight from the kick off a napping Leeds defence let both Follis and substitute Rachel Charles charge unmarked between the centre-backs from a speculative long pass: Follis reached it first and made amends for her earlier profligacy by laying it square on a plate for Charles, who duly slotted into an empty net, making

Emma Follis was a threat but Danby stole the show tre forward Danby tickled the base of the right post and trickled into the net. In these early stages Leeds looked a much better side; on 15 minutes, they fashioned a great chance when a neatly threaded through-ball played Jodie Redgrave in. However, keeper Amy Edwards was off her line quickly to pump the ball away. This clearance found Brum's Francesca Boggi's feet on the right touchline; she jinked past her marker and laid on a perfect cutback for Emma Follis, who curled a neat finish into the bottom left corner for an excellent counter attacking goal.

The home side seemed to draw confidence from this equaliser. After good build up, a through-ball from captain Charley Clarke sliced open the Leeds defence. Follis could perhaps have looked inside for Lucy Ridgeway but instead shot agonisingly into the side netting.

In the latter part of the half, Leeds came back with a vengeance.

A smashed Jodie Redgrave strike was clawed wide by Edwards in impressive style, and from the resulting corner it took a valiant block from Nicole Nyman to keep

George Kilick

it 2-3 with just under half an hour to go.

Birmingham then managed what seemed impossible 15 minutes from time, when their best attacking outlet Follis made a neat interception in her own half and went on a spectacular mazy run, beating the winger outside and the fullback in before a delightful finish levelled proceedings at 3-3.

However Leeds and their captain Danby still looked threatening and it was she who broke Birmingham hearts. First she played an elegant reverse pass to Jodie Redgrave whose shot was blocked for a corner. The Leeds captain herself swung in the set piece, which beat every player and the despairing hand of Amy Edwards to fly directly in, leaving Brum totally deflated. They poured forward in search of an equaliser but to add further frustration a bouncing ball just inside the Birmingham box was duly dispatched by Danby minutes from time, incredibly her fifth goal of the match. Birmingham were lively in the final five minutes but couldn't force a goal, and the final whistle blew on a bizarre game with the score 3-5.

Men's Hockey

Premier North

Birmingham 1sts

5

Durham 1sts

1

Joshua Reynolds Sport Reporter

League leaders Durham knocked Birmingham out of the BUCS Championships in the semi-finals last weekend. Brum were itching to set the record straight.

It was top of the table versus second at Bournbrook on Wednesday, as the University of Birmingham men's hockey first team took on Durham, hoping to both avenge last week's BUCS Championship semi-final defeat and also give themselves a chance of beating the league's current pacesetters to the title. One would have thought, then, that this would have been a hotly contested and tight affair – think again. Birmingham ran out 5-1 winners on the day, outclassing their opponents from the first whistle onwards.

However, though the home team undoubtedly deserve all the credit for having brushed the visitors aside so comfortably, it must be noted that, for reasons unbeknown to all those in attendance at the match, Durham decided to put out a team which bore no resemblance to the side that claimed a place in the BUCS finals in Nottingham last week, with only one of their starting eleven (the goalkeeper, Lewis Ankress) having featured in the semi-final tie. Several members of the Birmingham camp saw this as disrespectful and will thus take satisfaction from the fact that they sent their northern counterparts home with their tails between their legs.

It was all Brum in the early stages, but they could easily have gone behind 10 minutes in but for the fantastic goalkeeping of Patrick Smith, who kept out the away team once from open play before

making a remarkable double save from the ensuing short corner.

Moments later, returning captain Pete Jackson, who was sorely missed in the semi-final, netted from a short corner to give his side a deserved lead. Ankress was then called into action twice in quick succession, keeping out one shot before spectacularly diverting an effort from Andrew Stott wide.

At this point it could easily have been 3-0 to Birmingham, but they were made to pay for not capitalising on their dominance in possession when Durham found an equaliser through a short corner, with James McCarthy providing the finish.

That was about as good as it got for Durham, who from there on in were made to look vastly inferior to the hosts. Sam Hiscock picked up on a loose ball to put Brum 2-1 up three minutes before half-time, and just before the whistle blew for the break, Smith made another outstanding stop, tipping a vicious effort from a short corner onto the post. This led one spectator to speculate that he looked as though he was 'on steroids.'

After the interval it was oneway traffic, with Jack Cousins getting himself on the score sheet and Pete Jackson grabbing his second goal of the match within five minutes of the restart. 20 minutes then passed largely without incident, but Nick Bandurak was on hand to put the icing on the cake for Brum seven minutes from time, completing the rout.

Thus, what promised in the build-up to be a thrilling encounter ended up being a mismatch, though Birmingham's Ben Stoney rightly pointed out after the final whistle that the Midlands outfit had 'played well as a team'.

With just two points separating the two teams following the match and only two games left of the current season, Brum will now be going all-out to win their remaining fixtures, so that should their match day opposition falter between now and the end of the campaign, they will be there to snatch the league trophy from under their noses.

Birmingham were dangerous from short corners

Meurig Gallagher

26 Sport

2nd March 2012 redbrickpaper.co.uk

Redbrick

Brum set up Loughborough Cup showdown Men's Squash Championship Quarter-Final

Birmingham 1sts

5

Sheffield 1sts

0

Frankie Conway Sport Reporter

Birmingham firsts, who are at the top of their Premier Upper league played a quarter-final cup game against a Sheffield side that haven't yet lost a game either.

Brum in battle Michael Drury

Birmingham stretched their unbeaten run and kept their hopes of defending the BUCS trophy title alive on Wednesday afternoon after a convincing 5-0 victory over an outclassed Sheffield team.

Olly Rawlins, fresh from his run to the final of the BUCS individual championships 'B' event, was the first to take to the court for the home side. In a consistent display, Rawlins was able to establish territorial dominance of the mid-court, keeping his opponent guessing with a mix of deep drives and deft drop shots. Birmingham's number four was able to complete a comfortable 11-7, 11-4, 11-6 victory.

Sheffield, who were defending a winning run of their own this season, needed an instant response.

However, the away side soon found themselves in deeper trouble as the hosts' number five, Josh Taylor, chalked off a comprehensive 11-3, 11-5, 11-6 victory. In a display of real variety, Taylor showed greater guile to his play, constantly wrong footing his confused opponent. Going two-nil down, the writing was really on the wall for Sheffield.

Step forward Sam Watts. The away captain has been a central part of his side's rise from division two to the Premier League and given this was to be his final fixture in Sheffield colours, Watts wasn't going to subside without an almighty scrap. But in his way was the Birmingham number one, Ashley Harris, who finished in a highly creditable fourth position in this

year's BUCS individual championships. The match had the makings of a special encounter, and it didn't disappoint.

A fiercely contested first game hinged on a quite stunning rally mid-way through the game. Harris seemed to have his opponent on a string, pulling him to all corners of the court with apparent ease. But displaying phenomenal speed and determination and after twice using the back wall to retrieve shots, Watts somehow pulled the point out of the wreckage. Seemingly shaken by Watts' tenacity, Harris lost the next six points and with it the first game. The away man continued to dominate in the second with his powerful forehand proving a potent weapon throughout.

At two-nil down the Birmingham man took a time out and composed himself.

With a new shirt on his back, Harris came out with renewed intent and slowly began constructing a way back into the match.

With the score at two-all, Harris went into 'batten down the hatches mode' and hardly missed a ball in the last game. A fatiguing Watts let his frustrations run away with him towards the end: his racquet bearing the full force of his ire. A final error from the Sheffield captain consigned him to a 6-11, 8-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-2 loss. With the result secured, both Birmingham captain, Richard Shellam, and number two Olly Mapp, recorded straight sets victories to round-off a one-sided

5-0 victory.

The Brum boys will now head into the semi-finals on the 17th March in high spirits. Shellman could hardly conceal his excitement after the game, commenting, 'we played well. We're looking strong and fit going into the semi-finals.'

Adding to the first team's glory, the Birmingham seconds also had reason to cheer after their 5-0 win against the Loughborough seconds to complete a perfect day for the home team.

Birmingham Sharks 57 Cambridge

21

Ian McNicholas

Aussie Rules Correspondent

The Aussie Rules team is going from strength to strength. Having beaten Oxford two weeks ago, could they do the same with Cambridge on a bigger pitch?

Birmingham's Aussie Rules team travelled away to Cambridge last weekend, returning with a victory against a team who have a history reaching back to the early establishment of Association Football in the UK. Usually confined to 9-a-side games on rugby pitches, Birmingham's lack of experience of 18-a-side, which can be played on an oval field as large as 180m long, was certainly cause for concern. Most of the team have never encountered a field or squad of such a large size before, with only a couple of the Sharks having played any full-field footy at all.

The Aussie Rules team are one of the fastest improving in Brum

This inexperience was quickly dealt with in the match thanks to Birmingham's aggressive commitment to the ball, which presented the team with many opportunities to put points on the scoreboard.

The first quarter saw Birmingham take an early advantage. Having emphasis on their midfield and half-back line, the visiting side were able to keep Cambridge at bay from scoring, whilst managing to send the ball into their own forward line several times. Howeverthe experience of the home side's Australian players was immediately evident and Cambridge were able to come away with points each of the few times they were within scoring range. Birmingham edged by quarter-time due mainly to their frequent attacking plays, with a goal eventually coming from some well timed fancy footwork on the line from Ian Kafka. The score after 20 minutes was 14-8 in favour of the visiting side.

The second 20 minutes of the match proceeded in a similar fashion to the first. The ball was sent end-to-end down the long field continuously, but the experience of Birmingham's own Aussie Steve Ingham and Tim Smith was enough to keep Cambridge from goal-scoring opportunities. Intense running from midfielders Ed Clampit and Andrew Mawson swept the ball forwards, presenting the goal to the visitors several times. Achieving more accuracy in their shots than in the first quarter, Birmingham went into the half-time break leading 34-15. The pace and endurance of the younger Birmingham squad finally began to become apparently throughout the second half of the game. The

Squash Graded Open

The University this weekend (3rd-4th March) is hosting the UoB Graded Open squash tournament, in which some of the top ranked players in the world will be strutting their stuff. There is a cash prize of ÂŁ500 for the winner of the A draw which is headed up by world number 33 Chris Ryder.

Finals day on the Sunday starts at 11am and is not to be missed; head down to the Munrow Squash Courts to support Birmingham's players!

Swing when you're winning

The men's golf firsts beat Leeds Met 1sts 3.5-2.5 to wrap up the Premier North league title with one game to spare. The team have been unbeaten this year to leave their rivals trailing in their wake.

They can now look forward to a BUCS Championship quarterfinal clash in two weeks against Stirling, who have one of the best golf set-ups in the UK.

Badminton Champs The Semi-finals Birmingham vs Loughborough Leeds Met/UWE vs Manchester Date: 17 March 2012

Brum avoid Cambridge Blues Aussie Rules Football

Sport Shorts

large oval field favoured them, with kicks into space usually being chased down by one of the visiting players. Cambridge were denied any points; instead having to deal with resolved man-to-man marking. One chance resulted in a scrap on the goal-line, but the ball was eventually cleared by defenders Seb Goodwin and Ollie Di-Lieto.

Starting the final quarter with a considerable deficit of points, Cambridge put in one last effort but were no match for Birmingham's unyielding midfielders. The ball found itself being sent out of bounds frequently by exhausted players, yet ruckman Matt Godfrey stepped up to win nearly all the throw-ins, as he had done all game. A tired Cambridge defence began opening up, with a final goal coming from a long distance shot from Birmingham's powerful attacking midfielder Ben Massey, to put the final score Birmingham 57 -21 Cambridge.

Visiting Australian spectator Nathan Scott was particularly impressed with the Sharks performance. 'General attack on the ball was really good', he said. 'The team move the ball surprisingly quickly considering [their] inexperience.'

Having now beaten all University clubs in England, Birmingham's footy team is gaining significant respect throughout the country, with a final remark from Scott saying, 'players would walk straight into my side back in Australia.'

Did you know?

The Aussie Rules club was set up by current VPS Tim Smith

The Yonex All-England Badminton Championships return to the NIA, Birmingham next week from Tuesday 6th March until finals day on Sunday 11th March.

The best players in the world will descend upon Birmingham, with the likes of Nathan Robertson, Rajiv Ouseph, Jenny Wallwork and Elizabeth Cann flying the flag for Great Britain. Tickets are as cheap as ÂŁ13 for a day, and can be bought from www.theticketfactory.com or 0844 444 9994.

Other Results and Next Week's Fixtures Men's Football 1sts beat Leeds 1sts 4-0 Women's Hockey 1sts beat Durham 1sts 3-1 Men's Lacrosse 1sts beat Cambridge 1sts 25-3 Netball 2nds beat UEA 1sts 3928 Rugby League 1sts beat Loughborough 3rds 34-16 Men's Squash 2nds beat Loughborough 2nds 5-0 Next week's first team fixtures on campus: Game of the week: Women's Basketball vs Nottingham Trent 1sts Munrow Sports Hall 5.30pm Men's Badminton vs Newcastle 1sts Munrow Sports Hall 2pm Women's Badminton vs Loughborough 1sts Munrow Sports Hall 2.30pm Women's Fencing vs Manchester 1sts Munrow New Gym 2pm

This week in...

1977 Harry Redknapp was born 65 years ago today. The Spurs manager, recently acquitted from a high-profile fraud case, still retains hope of winning the League despite being 10 points behind Manchester City.

2011 Arsenal's season took a turn for the worse as a late calamity between Laurent Koscielny and Wojciech Szczesny gifted Birmingham City a 2-1 victory and the Carling Cup. The result had a detrimental effect on both side's campaigns.

Couldn't make it up When trying to impress a girl, it's probably best not to do so in full view o f 37,000 Twitter followers.

Whoops! John Carew ignored this and sent a series of amourous chat-up lines to pop singer Rihanna. She also failed to respond, a fact not ignored by fellow fans and players.

This week on the Redbrick website...

Six Nations

Wednesday Debate

Two articles of interest this week.

Tom Williamson reports on the effects of Liverpool's Carling Cup win; Felix Keith argues that Roberto Mancini should give Carlos Tevez a chance to play after a five month lay-off.

'Is Alastair Cook the best batsman in the world?' A controversial statement, but Redbrick's cricket supremo Felix Keith believes he is, whereas Joel Lamy (none other than the Online Sport Editor) takes a wholly different line.

Where are they now?

Weekend Wager

Tottenham's title bid received a crippling blow on Sunday with the 5-2 defeat to local rivals Arsenal.

Expect United to pile on the woe for the faltering Spurs.

Club in Focus... Rowing The University's rowers are headed by their coach Richard Poole, who won gold in the National Championships when he was a rower.

He joined in 2011 and has revolutionised the club. Beginners have now competed in both national and international events a mere 18 months after first getting in a boat.

The senior squad train in Worcester, but there's also a boathouse in Birmingham itself.

The club have been high achievers in the BUCS Championships and

Scribble box

YouTube search: Mullery Goal of the Season

University of Birmingham Rowing

After a two-week period in which his season has fallen apart, the Arsenal manager has (for the time being) silenced his critics after crushing rivals Tottenham Hotspur 5-2 in the North London Derby.

jxm874@bham.ac.uk

Scott Parker

Parker completed a meteoric rise by captaining England for the first time in his career during the plucky 3-2 defeat to Netherlands on Wednesday. It remains to be seen whether Parker will be the next manager's captain of choice.

and Villains...

Christopher Samba

the men's 4x have not only become national champions, but have also won silver at the European Rowing Championships. They're always on the lookout for eager beginners and with team ethic of the

Mordo Nahum Puzzles Editor

Completed crosswords to be submitted to the Redbrick office.

(Redbrick Office located in the basement of the Guild)

Phone Number:

Arsene Wenger

A new phenomenon is sweeping the USA: Linsanity. The Harvard-educated basketball star, who plays for New York Knicks, has wowed audiences with a series of stunning performances.

He has begun to attract the attention of the UK media.

This week's Classic Goal happened on a cold January FA Cup tie in 1974. Fulham, with the ball on the near side, fired in a crossfield ball and Alan Mullery connected with it perfectly from 25 yards out. The volley flew into the top corner, leaving the keeper with no chance.

This week's prize is a £5 Waterstones Gift Voucher

Email Address:

Little more can be said about the man who has made more appearances in the Premier League than Manchester City.

The script was written for him when, on his 900th appearance for Manchester United, he scored a 90th minute winner.

Jeremy Lin

Club Captain: James Manfield

The Redbrick Crossword

Name:

Classic Goal...

Man United to beat Tottenham (6-4) Sunday 4.10pm

Olympic Countdown

Please complete this form before you hand in your completed crossword into the Redbrick office.

Ryan Giggs

Talking Football

Fans at Portsmouth got a surprise midweek when they found first team players in the office flogging tickets for their upcoming game.

The club, which has gone into administration twice in three years has had to lay off over thirty fulltime staff.

From 2007-2017, the Olympics are estimated to bring in £1.47 billion to the City of London. It was confirmed that the games will also come in under budget, with the £500m reserve fund untouched.

Heroes...

As the Six Nations gears into life once more, James Dolton examines the divisive issue of the weekend, centering around the England vs Wales clash: was the referee correct to not award David Strettle a crucial try?

He may not have been the most creative player on the pitch, but aside from punditry, Dion Dublin has been publicising a new instrument that he invented during a spell at Norwich City. Called 'The Dube', it's based roughly on the Cajón and has even been used by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

147 days to go

Sport 27

2nd March 2012 redbrickpaper.co.uk

Redbrick

Across

Down

1. Cartoon; comedian (5) 5. Red makeup (5) 8. Additional (5) 9. Instrument; body part (5) 10. Cloth used on snooker tables (5) 11. Pulsate (5) 12. Speak; complete (5) 13. Sarcasm (5) 14. Choose (5) 17. Cash register (4) 19. Skin (anag.) (4) 21. Clean with a broom (5) 24. Unit of length (5) 25. Chuck out (5) 27. Misbehave (3, 2) 28. Layout (5) 29. Components; separates (5) 30. Spear (5) 31. Rush (5) 32. Early (anag.) (5)

1. Lawn game involving hoops and mallets (7) 2. Strength (5) 3. Middle (6) 4. Go without food (6) 5. Long-eared animal (6) 6. Mythical horned creature (7) 7. Foe (5) 15. Rule (3) 16. White snooker ball (3) 18. Marine crustacean (7) 20. Appease (7) 21. Metal fastener (6) 22. Lengthen (6) 23. Condiment (6) 24. Expenses (5) 26. Loner (anag.) (5)

upmost importance, the club also hold regular formal and informal nights out, contributing to a 'phenomenal' social life. Their training hours can be found on the UB Sport website.

His half-hearted at- t i t u d e this season has finally got the Congolese centreback a transfer away from Ewood Park – to Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala. Samba could have stayed to help Blackburn stave off relegation and move to a Premier League club in the summer, but has instead jumped ship for the money.

1_2_3=4=5_6_7 _=_=8____=_=_ 9____=_=0____ _=_=a____=_=_ b____=_=c____ _===de_f_=_== g_h_=_=_=i__j ==_=k_l_m===_ n____=_=o_p__ _=_=q____=_=_ r____=_=s____ _=_=t____=_=_ u____=_=v____

28 Sport

Sport

2nd March 2012 redbrickpaper.co.uk

Redbrick

Who will be your next VP Sport?

Redbrick puts the questions to James 'and the Giant Peach' Hughes, Tom 'Top Gear' Garry and Guive 'Ask Geeves' Shafie, p24

Durham draw derails title bid Women's Lacrosse

Northern Premier

Birmingham 1sts

7

Durham 1sts

7

Joseph Audley Sport Reporter

On a high after last week's BUCS Championship semi-final victory, Birmingham needed to beat Durham by two or more goals to remain in contention for the league.

Birmingham's challenge for the Northern Premier league title almost certainly came to an end as Durham secured a draw after coming back from a four-goal deficit. The draw was not enough for Birmingham to win the league outright and a win for Durham against Warwick next week will confirm second place for the Midlands side.

At the beginning of the day Birmingham needed to beat the visitors by two or more goals in order to remain in the title race.

Durham coach Rebecca Greenslade expressed her excitement for the game, 'we're super pumped and excited to face the competition that is Birmingham. We hope to hold on to the two goal advantage but they're a strong team. It will be intense.'

The home side were coming off the back of a thumping cup win

Despite having a 5-1 lead, Brum couldn't hold on Hannah Macdowell against Exeter last week and coach David Abini believed that this was the confidence that the side needed. 'We've got the winning mentality from last week's experience but we know that this is going to be a different game – they're a completely different side so we're going to approach it in a slightly different way.'

Durham came flying at Brum from the first face-off and immediately surged forward. A fierce Durham attack led to the opening

goal, with Lulu Rowland scoring for the visitors.

The home side were not deterred; an immediate response came in the form of a Kirsten Lafferty equaliser. The co-captain set the example for the rest of the team and Birmingham's style of play grew in confidence. Fluid attacks and carefully constructed passing led to a flurry of goals from Emily Hughes and Fizzy Keeble. Lafferty bagged a second and an audacious turn and finish from Hollie Har-

rington made the score 5-1 to Birmingham.

Durham were sloppy from each restart and struggled to retain possession. The game required the title contenders to up their game and the team proved their worth by refusing to let their heads drop.

Pushing out of defence in rapid fashion and catching Brum on the counter-attack, Durham pulled one back just before half-time, with Jo Hitchcock scoring to make it 5-2.

The second half started just as the first ended; the home side seemed in control and knocked the ball around deep in the Durham half. A Birmingham penalty resulted in the visitors regaining possession and the hosts looked vulnerable under Durham's dangerous counter-attacks. Sure enough, the visiting side made it 5-3 through a Biddy Biggs goal.

With Birmingham still two goals ahead, the side's confidence did not dwindle and Lafferty instantly replied from a penalty deep in the Durham half. Durham responded with a well-worked effort from captain Tash Bott after holding much of the possession.

At 6-4 Durham seized their opportunity and hit Brum hard.

Hannah Sims slotted past Birmingham goalkeeper Rachael Foster after two good saves and the visitors then equalised through a Madeleine Dale goal. Losing their two-goal advantage and the lead, Birmingham had to dig deep and ensure that they did not lose their

grip on the game. The last five minutes saw Birmingham score once more to make it 7-6, but Durham were not done. Laura Elliott hit home for Durham and the game finished 7-7.

This meant that Durham are one win away from securing the title, a game that Greenslade is confident about, 'we have to win.

Today we went down but didn't give up or let our heads drop.'

Abini was frustrated by the result but praised the girls' performance, 'they all played really well, we just let it slip. Durham had lots of possession and a strong attack.'

Birmingham must now look forward to their next games against Manchester and Edinburgh and focus on beating Cambridge in the BUCS Championship final to secure some silverware this season.

Epée expertise sees Brum wrap up league Men's Fencing

Midlands 1A

Birmingham 1sts Leicester 1sts

128 111

James Newbon Sport Reporter

Birmingham's fencing first team were unbeaten heading into the match, and needed a victory to secure the league title and a place in the promotion play-offs.

The men's fencing first team secured the Midland League 1A title and 30 BUCS points with an impressive 128-111 victory over Leicester University. Despite losing the Sabre weapon the team went onto win a close-fought Foil and a comfortable Epée to secure the overall hits victory. The win leaves Birmingham clear at the top of the table by an unassailable margin with just one match left to

play and ensures they go into the promotion play-off against teams from Northern 1A, Scottish 1A and the bottom placed Northern Premiership team.

The hosts got off to a disappointing start in the Sabre. Only Max Rowe-Haynes could emerge with a positive hits score for Brum as they lost the weapon by 38 hits to 45.

And the Foil appeared to be going in the same direction, as, despite an early bout win for Pascal Delaney, two losses by Tom Parkin and one from Rowe-Haynes saw Birmingham slip 12-20 behind. But Delaney then came to the rescue with his fast foot and sword-work, securing a 13-2 bout win to put the home side 25-22 in the lead.

That lead was short lived however, as Rowe-Haynes and Parkin struggled against the away side of Alex Tai, Steven Conroy and Gordon Fletcher. Going into the final bout of the weapon Brum trailed 35-40 and required another stunning performance by Delaney if they were to win the weapon. Fortunately for the hosts Delaney de-

livered; taking his bout against Tai 10-1 to give Birmingham victory in the weapon and ensure they were only three hits behind heading into the Epée.

And the Epée proved to be the hosts' strongest event, as the team of captain Greg Carty, Parkin and Rowe-Haynes all emerge with positive scores to their name.

And with Carty's hit whilst the scores were still at 23-13 securing the league title, Birmingham were finally able to celebrate. With a jubilant atmosphere amongst the home camp, a relaxed confidence swept through the team who went on to take every bout to win by the comfortable margin of 45-25.

After the match, Carty was delighted by his team's performance despite their failings in the Sabre; 'We knew the Sabre was our weakest event and we were missing Lawrence Read as well so we knew it would be tough. So it was good to get it out the way first and by the time it got to the Epée we knew what we were dealing with. So obviously I'm disappointed with the Sabre but impressed with all the team in what was a really good

Brum held their nerve in a close contest to take the league Millie Guy performance', said the captain.

And he singled out special praise for Rowe-Hayne's performance in the Sabre and Delaney's performance in the Foil before adding what a good season his entire team had produced.

With a now meaningless fixture against bottom of the table Loughborough seconds next week, thoughts will turn to the promotion play-off in which they'll hope to carry on their unbeaten league form.

INSIDE Turn to page 25 to find out about a thrilling football match between the Birmingham women's first team and Leeds Metropolitan