Issue 1371

Birmingham takes centre stage Exclusive interviews and live coverage available at redbrickonline.co.uk Turn to pages 4 & 5 for an inside report on the Question Time Debate

REDBRICK

7th MAY 2010 ISSUE 1371 VOL 74

THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1936 Guild Awards Winner: Most Outstanding Society 2010

www.redbrickonline.co.uk

News

Gradball ticket frustration Ingrid Matts FINAL YEAR students hoping to attend this year's Gradball have been left feeling bitterly disappointed with the organisation of ticket sales last Friday. Criticisms leveled at the event's organisers range from the limited amount of dinner tickets made available to final years, who spent hours queuing, to the subsequent censorship of complaints made on the Gradball Facebook page.

Tickets for the event went on sale on Friday at 9am and students began queuing from as early as 2am. However, those who arrived at 7.30am, and waited for up to five hours, were left without a dinner ticket. This was due to the small number allocated to this part of the evening, as this year is the first time in recent years that Gradball is being held on campus. Although the overall amount of tickets has been increased by 1500, the proportion of dinner tickets made available was significantly reduced to just 800. Guild Sabbatical Officer Emma Packham guaranteed in March that these would be specifically for final years, stating that: 'As dinner seating has been reduced we have reserved these especially for graduates.'

Aston Webb lit up during the final Prime Ministerial debate Photo: Pete Blakemore ~continued on page 2~

Decision over Aitken amended Glen Moutrie Catrin Shi HOUSING and Accommodation Services (HAS) has amended its decision to make Aitken Wing in the Vale Village entirely postgraduate next year.

The new decision opts for a split between undergraduates and postgraduates (with block A remaining undergraduate). HAS will also use Chelwood accommodation to help handle the new population of students.

This came after weeks of

work from Ed Sparkes, VP of Housing and Community, and the Aitken RA to try and amend the decision that the University had made on its own, allegedly breaking University policy and failing to understand the implications of their decision upon the residents.

Furthermore, the timing of the decision to re-open Chelwood also means that the Guild will have no input to its fees. At ÂŁ6,812 per year, this will place it in the five most expensive accommodations that the University provides.

The University's motivation for this change was so that more time would be available to renovate the Spinney in Pritchatts Park, which is entirely postgraduate accommodation, all with 50-week contracts.

The previous set-up would only have given the University two weeks to renovate. In order to find more time, they chose to swap Aitken's undergraduate accommodation with the Spinney's for the 2010-11 academic year. This change would allow ten weeks to renovate the postgraduate accommodation.

The University has now conceded to a split between undergraduates and postgraduates in Aitken, an outcome that saw all parties better off and took on board the concerns of the Guild and the RAs. However the concern lies with the manner in which the University initially handled the decision.

Ed Sparkes was himself only informed of the change in March, after the decision to turn Aitken fully postgraduate had been made. ~continued on page 2~

6

News investigate the fate of 19 Gales

Features

10

Sam Howe delves into Cambodia's past

Arts

19

Discover the ins and outs of nudity

Sport Simon Hall interviews Jonathan Trott

26

2 News

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010

Calendar GMTG present Anything Goes 4th-8th May in the Deb Hall. Tickets £5, available on the door, from www.gmtg.org or in Joe's from 12-2 on weekdays.

Kids Adventure 'Sponge the Sabbs' fundraiser Friday 7th May, 12pm in Mermaid Square. Come along to throw wet sponges at your officer team in aid of this volunteering project.

Article19 present Alice in Wonderland 12th-15th May at 7.45 in the Deb Hall. Tickets £5. See wonderlandplay@live.co.uk for details.

Coniston Adventure Weekend 21 – 23rd May. An action-packed weekend of adventure amongst some of England's most beautiful scenery. Contact coniston@bham.ac.uk for bookings and further details.

Summer Jobs Fair Wednesday 2nd June, 11am to 3pm in the Underground in the Guild. For last minute summer jobs and parttime work.

Showing of Clash of the Titans 11th June at 2pm at the Electric Cinema. Rosetta, the Journal of the Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity, invite students to an exclusive screening of the 1981 classic film. Tickets cost £3 and include a free slice of cake. Contact els391@bham.ac.uk for further details and tickets.

Gradball frustration

Contd. from page 1 However, the Guild has now come forward saying: 'students were able to purchase two tickets per person, with no restrictions on the invited guest/ second ticket.' Questions have been raised as to why Birmingham final-years were not prioritised over other guests from within and outside the University.

Students have also criticised management of the queuing system. Security guards did not arrive until 8.30am and failed to prevent large numbers of students from pushing in. This prevented many students who had arrived much earlier from getting a ticket when they would have otherwise been successful.

Third-year English student Rachael Swanston said: 'I have an exam paper being released in four days, why weren't tickets made available online?

That's five hours of revision I'll never get back.'

Moreover, many students continued to queue for several hours after the Dinner tickets had sold out, unaware that After-

Dinner tickets would be widely available over the next few days.

Students airing their grievances on the Grad Ball Facebook page noticed that the group's administrators were deleting their comments. Further comments enquiring as to the reason for this were deleted again. The latest post from an administrator states any feedback should be sent to the Guild's feedback e-mail address, though some enquiries sent to the event's specific address have remained unanswered.

In a statement the Guild has said that 'the Guild of Students would like to apologise for the frustration and disappointment caused to our members in relation to the ticket sales for Grad Ball 2010 … It is with regret, that operational issues arising from a change in logistics for 2010 have resulted in a number of unforeseen problems.'

For those who managed to purchase a Dinner ticket, there remains confusion as to where they will be eating.

Dinner menus are now

available on the Guild of Students website. Redbrick has been informed that the booking system will go live at 12pm on 17th May. Ticketholders can book a table for up to 10 people (a group of friends can nominate a 'lead') giving the names, ticket numbers and dietary requirements of all those to be seated at that table. They will also state the chosen venue, allaying fears that friends who had queued together would struggle to sit together on the day.

However, all venues will still be allocated on a first come first serve basis, much to the frustration of some who had queued early to ensure their place in the Great Hall. Alex Beard, finalyear English and Media student, said 'I got there at 6am, but if I'd known I wasn't guaranteed Dinner in the Great Hall I wouldn't have bothered.'

The Guild welcomes any questions or feedback, which should be directed to gradball@guild. bham.ac.uk.

The full statement can be read at Redbrickonline.co.uk.

Thefts cause concern at Munrow Centre Catrin Shi THE security of the changing facilities at the University's Munrow Sports Centre has come under question after a large sum of money was stolen from a Birmingham sports team on Sunday.

The Birmingham Lions, the University's American football team, had a total of £172 stolen from their belongings whilst playing at Metchley pitches against Hertfordshire Hurricanes in the afternoon.

Mobile phones, iPods and other valuables had been left untouched.

Eight players were stolen from in total. The police have been informed and are underway with the investigation, however there have not been any further developments.

It is believed that the incident occurred at around 4pm, when a player went back into the changing rooms to find his money had been stolen.

It is hoped that a CCTV camera situated outside the gym will be able to give further evidence for the case.

John Zinkus, President of the Birmingham Lions, said the team were 'shocked' that the event had occurred.

'We have been using the Munrow facilities for a good number of years and have never had any problems,' he explained.

'We refuse to believe that any of the team members would have had anything to do with it. There must have been a problem with the locking system on the changing rooms.'

The Munrow Centre

maintains that the changing rooms were locked during the duration of the team's absence. Bess Jones, speaking on behalf of the Centre, said:

'We do have a security system in place to ensure the safety of belongings.

However, unfortunately incidents such as these do occur, and we strongly

suggest that teams take their valuables with them to the playing areas to prevent thefts from happening.'

The Munrow Sports Centre on campus. Photo: Lucy Percival

Aitken to mix undergrads and postgrads Contd. from page 1 He believes that the decision process violated University policy on Consultation of Students about Major Changes, which states that 'a major change, as a minimum materially impacts on a cohort of students.'

Should any change qualify by this it must be brought forward for student consultation.

When approached

by Ed Sparkes with the Policy, Lesley Stewart of

HAS (General Manager of Student Accommodation) stated that 'this is the first I have seen about the consultation process so apologies if we have not adhered to the policy'.

The originally proposed changes would have only been in place for one year, which would have lead to a complete re-structuring of the student hall community – something that has been highly contested by both the Guild and the current Aitken RA. As the smallest hall

on the Vale, Aitken Wing boasts a strong community spirit, which has historically had a high participation in student elections and social events. In a recent redbrick survey 83% of Aitken residents felt that they felt that they belonged to their hall, 24% higher than the average across halls. It was argued by the Guild that in restructuring the student demographic of the hall, this community spirit would be effectively knocked out of sync, and would take some time to

recover.

Josh Swanston, President of Aitken Wing, felt that 'it was simply the lack of consultation in the process and the way it was sprung on us as a 'minor change' when realistically it had a major impact on the way in which we as the Aitken RA would have to cater for our residents and ensure their welfare.'

The university did not intend to cause harm as pointed out by Josh Swanston and Ed Sparkes, and it proved this by coming to a compromise

on the decision. Yet what it showed is a failure to appreciate the impact of such as decision upon the student body.

Ed Sparkes said: 'they should never have done it in the first place, and I believe the University broke their own policy, but I'm grateful that they were willing to compromise and involve students once we had spoken out. I hope that with this compromise we can keep Aitken spirit alive and postgrads looked after.'

Briefs Funmi Olutoye LATE-NIGHT BROAD STREET BUS SERVICE DISCONTINUED NATIONAL Express West Midlands have stopped buses operating on Broad Street on weekends after 8pm due to traffic.

The well-known bus operators have decided to suspend all services at these times beginning this weekend.

National Express West Midlands demand that the road should only be used by public transport and taxis at these times.

A spokesman from the bus operator said 'Our buses are delayed by an average of 20 minutes.'

Critics of the change call the decision an 'overreaction.'

Club goers will now have to catch buses from Sandpits Parade and Ladywood Middleway.

Buses affected will be 21, 21A, 22, 23, 24, 29 and 29A. UNIVERSITY STAFF MEMBER ROWS ACROSS THE ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY of Birmingham Sport staff member Norman Beech, and his son James, have become the first British father and son team to row across the Atlantic after taking part in the Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race 2009, in support of their chosen charity, WaterAid. James, 19, has become the youngest man to row the Atlantic.

Both men began to row on January 4 2010 from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua in the West Indies on March 27 2010. They rowed a total of 2,548 nautical miles.

Their 83-day expedition has raised over £50,000 and will go towards assisting the work of WaterAid in Tanzania.

GUILD HAIRDRESSER RELOCATED AS PART OF RENOVATION UPPERCUTS hairdressers have moved upstairs in the newly re-designed Guild of Students building.

Uppercuts is now on the second floor (top floor) of the Guild and is currently open for business.

You can find your way there by accessing the stairs opposite the back entrance of the Deb Hall and next to the Amos Room.

The reception is fully kitted-out with consoles, coffee machines, sweets and more.

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4 News

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010

Election in Birmingham

26th March - Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne delivers his verdict on the Budget at the University

12th April – Labour launches its campaign manifesto in Edgbaston with a focus on 'renewing' Britain.

19th April – Gordon Brown visits the Selly Oak constituency and visited the Maypole Children's Centre to highlight Labour's successes in childcare over the last few years.

ELECTION 2010 review – University of Birmingham Ned Murray THE University was transformed on Thursday 29th April as journalists, television crews, politicians and hundreds of policemen descended onto campus for the third and final Prime Ministerial debate.

The debate gave the University the unprecedented opportunity to showcase its architectural and academic grandeur to a global audience. The institution's famous redbrick buildings provided the backdrop to television coverage throughout the day and University staff were a readily available source of expert opinion.

Vice-Principal and Provost Michael Sheppard told Redbrick: 'We were obviously delighted and very exited when the institution bid and succeeded in hosting the third debate and it has been a positive opportunity for this University.'

The Avon room, normally used for lectures and exams, was the designated area for media

desks and interviews. The press room was a hub of activity after 2pm, when BBC and Sky began conducting interviews with leading members of the print media.

The media worked extensively across campus and were the most engaging part of the day for most students, many of whom had the chance to appear in the background during Sky News, ITN News and Al-Jazeera's coverage from University Square.

The Great Hall provided the grand host setting for the debates that did not disappoint in engaging the public for the last time before the country headed to the polls.

The debate itself was arguably the most policyheavy debate of the three, with all the leaders outlining what public services would be protected rather than specifically laying down where cuts in public services would come.

The Prime Minister outlined his party's plans to protect frontline public services – a familiar theme

of the Labour Party's election campaign. This included specific references to the NHS, schools and policing. The only area he specifically stated cuts would come included a public sector pay and pension freeze and a restructuring of government.

David Cameron made references to investment in the country's science base and making sure great universities, such as Birmingham, are producing scientists and entrepreneurs. He also made references to investing in apprenticeships and attacked the Government for wasting money in this area.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg focused more on the nature of cuts to public services, including scrapping biometric passports, a public sector pay freeze, withdrawing tax credits to the top 20 percent of recipients and a withdrawal of the Eurofighter Typhoon defence project.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson steps out of a University of Birmingham hydrogen fuel cell car as he makes his way to the debates. Photo: Pete Blakemore

And Question Time too...

James Williams AS the Great Hall emptied, and the Avon Room was abuzz with spinning, another political event got underway on campus last Thursday night, shortly before eleven o'clock. BBC One's flagship political debate programme, Question Time, was broadcast live from the sports hall

in the Munrow Centre.

Question Time has taken place in the University Great Hall before, however, for obvious reasons they were forced to relocate to an alternative space.

The Question Time audience, which boasted many University of Birmingham students, were shown the debate on a big screen before a quick turnaround to the live

broadcast.

Its host, David Dimbleby, was rushed across from the Aston Webb building where he had been chairing the Leaders' debate.

Before the show went on air, Dimbleby encouraged the Question Time audience to 'be as raucous as you want, show how you feel, you will be the first members of the public to give your reaction

to the Leaders' debate on air'.

The audience in the three debates have been forced to not react to Brown, Cameron or Clegg in any way; governed by one of the infamous '76 rules' that were agreed upon in March.

The Economy was the theme of the Prime Ministerial debate, and this unsurprisingly filtered through into the major-

Students watch the debates live on a big screen on the Bournbrook rugby pitch. Photo: Tom Flathers

ity of the Question Time show. The panel were challenged by the audience to 'stop treating the public as children' and to make it clear what cuts the parties intend to make if elected. The consequences of a hung parliament, immigration caps and the increasing influence of Presidential style politics were also discussed.

The Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable was on the panel and was uncharacteristically subdued throughout the hour long show. The 66 year old looked very tired after three weeks on the campaign trail, and was even told by Dimbleby that he looked 'rather jaded'.

The Conservatives held back their decision as to who to put on the panel until late on Thursday.

This sparked rumours that David Cameron might take a huge, but arguably much needed, political gamble and appear on the show himself. However, as the many groans of dismay and cries of 'Who's he?' from the audience highlighted, Liam Fox, the Shadow Defence Secretary eventually represented the Tories.

Alex Salmond, the

First Minister of Scotland was also on the show, in the same week that he unsuccessfully undertook legal action against the BBC for excluding the SNP from the third Leaders' debate.

Alongside was writer, broadcast and Daily Mail columnist Janet Street Porter, who complained that the Leaders' debate had been too 'macho' in its style.

The final panellist, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls was jeered as he entered the Sports Hall as his continued unwavering support for his close ally Gordon Brown did not receive much sympathy.

After the show ended Balls came over to a small group of Birmingham students and apologised that no Labour politicians, apart from Peter Mandelson, had actively been around campus talking to students during the day.

Question Time has been broadcast live for the last three weeks in order to give instant reaction to the debates, but the show is usually pre-recorded around two hours before it is broadcast every Thursday night.

News

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010 27th April – The Selly Oak constituency candidates attempt to persuade students through debating party policy in the Aston Webb building.

28th April – Cabinet minister Ed Miliband, was grilled by sixth form students at the Birmingham Metropolitan College and was told that he had 'blood on his hands' due to the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan.

29th April – The third of the first ever televised prime ministerial debates was held here in the Great Hall of the University of Birmingham.

5

30th April – During a visit to South Birmingham College, Nick Clegg was challenged by a student about his plans to create internships for 800,000 unemployed teenagers, saying they amounted to 'a worthless piece of paper'.

Birmingham hosts pivotal Debate Samuel Lear comments on the effect that the University had on the election If one thing can be taken from the debate held at our very own University of Birmingham, it would be that the majority of floating voters are none the wiser as far as their voting intentions are concerned.

The reactionary polls suggest that David Cameron gained the upper hand on the debate, although it appears that it has not given him enough to ensure an overall majority.

Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat economic spokesman, in an interview given to Redbrick stated that Gordon Brown was 'the clear loser'.

This is a view shared by the national polls, where it was almost a universal third place for the incumbent Prime Minister. However, in the Redbrick poll conducted of 200 people, Gordon Brown gained 50% of the vote. Further testament to the suggestion that partisans will back their man

no matter what.

Ultimately, the media have failed to gauge the feelings of the undecided.

On the debate itself, its aim was to enlighten and inspire a disenchanted public on the credibility of the political establishment, as well as an opportunity for the three leaders to outline a vision for the future of our nation.

Was this achieved?

Possibly...

On one hand, there is still the general public antipathy towards its Members of Parliament on the matter of their expenses claims, and it is highly likely that the voting turnout will be a record low.

Moreover, the polls suggest that voting intentions have remained unchanged; although a rise in the popularity of the Liberal Democrats is apparent, this might not reflect in significant gains in seats in the Commons.

On the other hand, it

George Osborne

is clear through the mass gatherings on campus that the debate generated huge excitement within the University, and it is difficult not to walk five metres without overhearing a political conversation.

Interest in politics has soared since the first debate, and this could perhaps be the renaissance that this country so desperately needs.

The University of Birmingham can take a lot of

credit for that – it hosted a showpiece event that encapsulated the entire nation.

Log in to www.redbrickonline.co.uk to read further comments and interviews that include Peter Mandel-

son, Vince Cable, Alex Salmond, Theresa May and others.

Also log in to read reports, and reaction to the General Election itself.

Students enjoy the debate in New Joe's. Photo: Lucy Percival

Yvette Cooper

Paddy Ashdown

have to take the three deI thought Gordon Brown did a " "I think the debate went re- "You bates together. I personally really powerful performance, ally well and the University put on a good show and we're very pleased with the way the debate went...

think Labour is now out of this I think it is a straight fight between us and the Tories...

David Cameron was assured, prime ministerial and showed the leadership qualities the country needs. I think he really pulled the rabbit out of the hat tonight.

I think the significance of Nick Clegg's mastery of this art in the last three debates has been that to give people a different choice they haven't had before.

A choice to change our country and the way it's run.

"

"

talking about substance and how you make sure the economy keeps growing and you don't go back into recession...

We've always said that this has got to be about substance not style. We know that Cameron and Clegg do the touchy feely stuff.

"

6 News

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010

Marathon men volunteers hit the road and run miles to raise funds for Kids Adventure Ned Murray

The volunteers from Kids Adventure from left to right: James Sheen (Volunteer Coordinator), Jack Grylls, Adam Coxsell, Luke Cousins, Andrew Carr, Rosie Farrance-White (Kids Officer). Photo: Lucy Percival

QEH Death Rate excessive Anna Brown RESEARCH undertaken last month has revealed that Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth hospital, located on campus, has excessive death rates and a shortage of nursing staff.

The Queen Elizabeth hospital is run by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB), one of two NHS Trusts under review in the West Midlands.

Professor Sir Brian Jarman carried out the research that highlighted the abnormally high death rates in 25 trusts across the country, and said that thousands more patients had died than would be expected between 2007 and 2008.

Each trust had over 150 more deaths than expected throughout that year, totalling 4,600 unexpected deaths. He has called for an investigation following his findings.

Sir Brian, who is an emeritus professor at London's Imperial College School of Medicine, said that after a decade of 'no action' he strongly felt he 'needed to say some-

thing.'

Nikiesha Lee, a second year medical student at the University of Birmingham, said she and her fellow students had not been made aware of the inquiry into the Queen Elizabeth's death rates, and stated that she was 'concerned' at the revelation.

UHB has also been criticised for higher than average levels of unexpected patient deaths.

According to the annual Serious Untoward Incident (SUI) Report.

Across South Birmingham, there were 14 unexpected deaths in the last year, which is a comparatively high amount.

The report also found that UHB, the NHS Foundation Trust responsible for running Selly Oak hospital as well as the Queen Elizabeth, reported an unprecedented 87 SUIs. 16 of these incidents were classified as 'clinical,' including the use of the wrong blood for a transfusion, a missing biopsy and 'the inappropriate use' of a commode.

FOUR University students have successfully completed a marathon in order to raise funds for their society. Representatives of the student group Kids Adventure travelled to Paris over the Easter holiday to take part in the city's annual marathon.

Though the marathon was the climatic end of months of training for Jack Grylls, Adam Coxsell, Andrew Carr and Luke Cousins, it was also an achievement in the face of adversity for two of the group's members, who ignored doctor's orders to successfully complete the marathon.

Grylls, a third-year Maths student, decided to risk the chance of permanent damage to his feet while Cousins, also a third-year Maths student, ran despite a hereditary heart condition.

The Marathon covered a route that included some of Paris's most famous landmarks, passing the Champ Élysées, the Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower, while the race be-

gan and ended at the Arc de Triomphe.

Grylls told Redbrick: 'I hadn't eaten for four hours before the race, so when a French guy handed me a banana and a piece of cake it was an offer I couldn't refuse. That was definitely the worst decision of my life so far.'

The group were also offered wine, which they gratuitously accepted, as they entered the home straight.

Cousins said: 'We went straight to McDonalds where I ordered a Big Mac and two baguettes. I also had a massive steak later on – I couldn't stop eating!'

So far the group have raised an impressive £1,738.20, though they are still looking to reach their target of £3,000. The group are also planning to take part in the Coventry Half-Marathon, where they will be joined by fellow volunteers James Sheen, John Tomlinson, Dan Zas, Tim Browne, Matt Laband and Simon Fairbanks.

Kids Adventure is an entirely student-run project that looks after children from around the

West Midlands from dis-

'The atmosphere was incredibly friendly.

There were people calling your name and cheering you on.'

Jack Grylls advantaged backgrounds on week-long holidays.

The project runs three times a year and is based locally at the Bilberry Hill Youth Centre. In recent years the group has struggled to raise the funds it requires to function each year. Though funding comes from various sources including sponsorship, trust funds, cakes sales and bucket shakes, the group has had difficulty to cover its entire annual budget of £20,000.

To donate to Kids Adventure please go to http://www.justgiving.com/JackandAndyRunTheParisMarathon to donate to the Paris Marathon or http://www. justgiving.com/KidsAdventure-versus-Coventry to donate to the Coventry Half Marathon.

Farmshop facing closure to make way for Spar extension Edwina Moorhouse CAMPUS farm shop '19 Gales' is facing eviction following the expansion of the University Centre.

It was revealed at a tenants meeting on 29th April, to which the proprietors of 19 Gales were not invited, that a new Spar will be created from the unit where 19 Gales is currently located along with unused units to the back. The developments planned have not accommodated for a 19 Gales unit or an extension of their lease.

The farm shop has been in University Centre since 2008, and is known for its commitment to employing students. Kay Hollingshead, co-owner of the business, explained that eviction would cost the current three students and manager their jobs.

She was also eager to stress that 19 Gales was not refusing to pay rent on the property.

Problems first arose in the last week of March, when the shop was given notice by the University that they would not be renewing the lease and the premises were to be vacated by 23rd June, al-

though reasons why were left unknown. It was at the initiative of 19 Gales Manager Lindsay Maddocks that the owners discovered the plans to enlarge Spar. This is in addition to extending Café Go with a mezzanine and stalls.

Although Mrs. Hollingshead suggested the University catering department may extend their own range of fresh products into Café Go and Spar, this is unconfirmed.

The business sees this as a problem worthy of dispute because the goods would undoubtedly be similar to those currently found in 19 Gales, such as batons. The shop is known for being environmentally friendly and has received positive student feedback.

All produce including their vegetables and meat products is homegrown or home reared, and not delivered from a factory.

Student employee Charles Dangibeaud has created a Facebook group in protest of the proposed changes, and membership has snowballed with over 3,000 members at present. Speaking to Redbrick, Dangibeaud expressed how it was vital to support the cause of local stores who are 'vital to

the survival and diversity of a community.' He also argued that the developments were 'against the University's key values of maintaining diversity and encouraging people to eat fresh food.'

In response the University released the statement: 'The decision has been taken not to extend the lease on 19Gales Farmshop in University Centre.'

'This decision is part of a wider plan to review the food offerings at University Centre as it does not offer the breadth of

appeal to meet the needs of the University's diverse community of students and staff.'

'Significant investment is planned for University Centre to create the best possible experience for those who use it, including more seating areas, and improved catering outlets.'

'The University will continue to support local producers of food through its purchasing decisions and the Farmers' Markets.'

The 19 Gales Farm Shop. Photo: Lucy Percival

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010

&

7

Features

Comment

Review: Joe's Bar

Clocking Off

Victoria Bull visits the Guild's relocated and refurbished bar, and tells us why it is not your average Joe

Comment & Features Editorial

IF you haven't yet been to the newly refurbished and relocated bar in the Guild – I'm surprised. Because it seems to be perpetually packed with students, either simply checking out the newest novelty on campus (sorry Starbucks, you're so Semester 1) or sampling the never before seen menu.

Last Friday, my fellow diner Matt and I, took a trip to campus' latest addition. It was absolutely packed and the only place we could find to sit was next to the open door.

The terrace it led on to seemed like a cosy place to sit, eat and enjoy the breeze, but unfortunately we had chosen a day with cold, hard relentless rain.

I am sure with the previous day's beaming sunshine it would have been the perfect setting. Never mind, we thought, and gave the Guild's newest social offering the benefit of the doubt.

I shall use this opportunity to explain why I haven't yet used the bar's name. I am an English student and this is a newspaper, so butchering the English language with a grammatical error is not my priority: 'Joes' or 'Joe's'? The place is filled with apostrophe-related contradictions. For the purposes of ease and what I think makes more

which it is now supposed to be, answers on the back of a postcard would be appreciated.

Back to my Joe's experience, where Matt and I sit, freezing next to the door, deciding what to eat from what is a fairly limited menu. However, the option of getting any hot food at all in Joe's is a new development, so the fact that you can choose from pizza, pasta and jacket potatoes is certainly a novelty. We follow protocol and order at the bar. I was told the kitchen had closed due to unexpected demand of orders, and ironically this exchange took place next to a sign saying, 'Only food purchased from Joe's bar may be consumed in Joe's bar' – an apparently all too hopeful and overconfident statement in itself.

All this aside, we decided to wait for the kitchen to re-open which, to give the staff credit, happened in under an hour, and the service thereon was extremely quick. Despite the lack of much variation outside the realm of pizza and pasta, our mains were very reasonably priced and tasty, and the idea that you can pay the same price for a whole pizza, a calzone or half a pizza served with a jacket potato and coleslaw I think is genius – and does

A surprisingly quiet Joe's bar. Photo: Kimberley Faria sense, I am christening it 'Joe's' for the rest of this article – because I feel it is a bar belonging to Joe. However if anyone knows

serve to offer a little more variety on your plate. Unsurprisingly the flavours available in both the pizza and pasta departments

are nothing particularly ground-breaking – all the usual suspects are there: Margharita and Hawaiian, Carbonara and Bolognaise.

The one to try would be the Himalaya – a sort of 'all of the above' pizza that claims to be piled high with every topping from all the other pizzas on the menu.

cream, which is a good choice if you are insanely full. If, however, you're sharing (or just fancy taking up the gauntlet alone).

'University Challenge' is a glorified but still very tasty chocolate sundae served in what could have been Goliath's goblet – delicious!

All in all, Matt and I

The menu, minus apostrophe. Photo: Kimberley Faria As well as the confusing apostrophes included and removed from various signs within the bar, we noticed that over-exaggeration was also rife across all sides of the cube-shaped menu. Perhaps no one is going to believe that they really sell a 'Mile High' onion pole, but the 'University Challenge' is described as being 'Probably the LARGEST dessert in the world' – a dubious statement in anyone's books. Nevertheless, we ordered what are probably the two extreme poles of the dessert spectrum – the recipe for a chocolate induced coma, and a mouse's equivalent. These of course are the University Challenge itself, and then another fun, novelty menu item called, imaginatively, the 'SMALLEST dessert in the world.' Priced at only 50p, we were presented with a shot-glass of chocolate mousse and whipped

were frustrated by the long wait for a table and food, but this is to be expected in the frenzy of the opening week. We found the food to be great value (mains range from £2 to £5.75) and although it isn't fireworks, it is still enjoyable. The décor is fun, modern and studentoriented, but still manages not to feel like a Hollyoaks hang out, and if last Friday afternoon is anything to go by, the whole bar has a really buzzing atmosphere. My partner in crime, Matt, agreed that despite a few 'teething problems' the new Joe's is a great venue for doing lunch with friends on campus or having a cold drink when, and if, the sun is out. Although heed a warning; be wary if you're a grammar freak like me.

Jude Hill discusses how his Ancient Greek revision has given him hope on gay rights WHAT can I talk about in my editorial this week when the past month has consisted of bingeing on revision?

Maybe I could talk about the one night out I have had, perhaps I could talk about the view of my desk, or maybe I could talk about my revision. I will be talking about my revision.

One of my modules this year has been looking at the Ancient Greeks, who seem to have had some novel ideas about homosexual people, women and foreigners. I know that this does have some contemporary links, perhaps the BNP and certain members of the Conservative Party should wear togas.

One of the most interesting aspects that I have been looking at has been the homosexual relationships that seem to have been rife and socially acceptable in Greece. Despite it being a way of humiliating a man it also seems to have been widely acceptable in general society.

One of my favourite facts about the Greeks is that when you catch a man in bed with your wife you have two punishments available to you. One is to kill him, whilst the other far more novel and twisted idea was that he could take the man into the centre of the town and insert a radish where a radish should never be inserted. This radish is meant to represent a man being emasculated and given female attributes.

This kind of punishment and humiliation made me think about the various views on homosexuals in our society. How far does

our society respect gay relationships?

I know that when I was younger the worst insult that you could say to most young boys was 'you are such a gaylord!' Now having no experience of how primary school children interact with one another I cannot possibly say that this is no longer the case.

However I believe there was widespread condemnation of the Conservative MP who said that people who own bed and breakfasts should have the choice to turn away gay people if they did not want a gay couple staying in their house. This was greeted with such huge outrage from almost all sections of society that it gave me faith that gay people are finally being accepted in the same way that heterosexual people are.

I cannot say that every single member of society would be in support of gay rights, but I believe that we are heading in the right direction. Our generation may be facing high unemployment and huge government cuts but I believe it will be the first generation ever that treats gay people with absolutely no difference to heterosexuals.

One of the most promising things that has given me this thought was when I said to my friend's younger brother that the song playing was by Marvin Gaye he burst out laughing. When I asked him why he was laughing so hard he said 'As if there was a man called Marvin!'

8 Comment & Features

Stop the cuts, call the fuzz

Stephanie Jenner discusses the recent protest at the University of Sussex following significant financial cut backs LAST November the University of Sussex announced plans for major financial cuts, consisting of staff redundancies in so-called 'unpopular' subjects, the crèche, security and student support. Understandably, these decisions were extremely unpopular throughout the campus; as commented by student James Brown for the University of Sussex's student newspaper The Badger: 'One cannot help but see the absurdities that lie within the concept of

appropriateness of this response. To justify police interference with the sit-in, which in itself was not an illegal activity, the University claimed that students intimidated staff and held them hostage, stole from offices, were trespassing and violent.

However student reports claim that the demonstration was peaceful with a fun atmosphere and live music. Furthermore, the University ignored all of its own disciplinary procedures by instantly suspending these six stu-

ignored students' voices, but actively tried to stifle them, which I feel shows how students are gradually being seen as a source of cash and little else.

While the combined pressure of unions, politicians and the public resulted in 'The Sussex Six' being reinstated, this is still cause for serious concern. However it is even more concerning that such large and dramatic protests were felt needed by the students of Sussex in the first place.

Sussex has closed depart-

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010

In Brief

Not every little helps Victoria Bull BREAD: check. Milk: check.

Credit card: Err, sure, why not? House: hang on – what?

We all pop into Tesco for a few of our everyday necessities and I'm sure there are those of us who opt for the Tesco mobile service, or perhaps take out some of the many loan or insurance plans the company provides.

But isn't Tesco's new plan to build four mini-villages in the UK going just a little too far?

You did read that correctly – it's expected that the go-ahead for Tesco to build over 400 homes will be confirmed later this month. Each village is to be situated around a Tes-

co store and there are rumours of the retail chain creating hotels, parks and even schools in the newly developed areas.

Surely this is an ominous step towards what could be a Tesco monopoly on the food we eat, the household goods we use,

Tesco has an outlet in every postcode in the UK (Source: BBC) the money we borrow and spend, and now the places we live and socialise.

If we were to use the consumer giant as our supermarket, bank, and estate agent there is a danger, as pointed out by the New

Economics Foundation in a recent article in The Times, that Tesco 'will end up with more information about you than the government'; I question if this is acceptable from a company whose main interest is profit.

While it must be argued that there is a shortage of affordable housing in this country, an entire estate coloured completely blue, white and red is not the answer. What would be next: a Tesco Value education for the children of future? The possibility of Clubcard points every time we flush the loo?

I certainly hope that convenience doesn't outweigh our common decency on this matter.

Does neutrality exist in news?

Caroline Mortimer

Physical clashes between students and police. Photo: Jon Stone making mass redundancies and sweeping cuts in academic expenditure, whilst simultaneously erecting lavish new buildings and signposts, making unnecessary changes to the library entrance and renaming most buildings on campus.'

In reaction to these plans, students founded the 'Stop the Cuts' campaign. This group demands 'that the University administration makes no compulsory redundancies and resists student fees and cuts in higher education spending. It argues for the reining in of executive pay, the postponement of new building projects, and the protection of academic freedom' according to its Facebook group.

On Wednesday 3rd March, 'Stop the Cuts' held a protest in support of the staff who had called for strike action because of the finance cuts.

This peaceful demonstration culminated in the occupation of Sussex house.

However they were met by a reported 16 riot police vans with dogs, tazers, gas and pepper spray. The police made two arrests, and six students were suspended.

Serious questions have been raised over the

dents, none of whom were given a solid reason or provided with evidence for their suspensions, nor were they allowed to explain or defend themselves.

This heavy-handed action by the University resulted in further demonstrations against both finance cuts and the suspensions, including an eight-day sit-in in the Arts building and an academic staff one-day strike.

The University's student union, the NUS, local media and local politicians also got involved and the suspended students were eventually reinstated.

However, the University confirmed its plans for cuts a few weeks later during the Easter vacation, a move questionably motivated by desire to avoid further student involvement.

With universities increasingly being run like businesses, shown by the promotion of cash-yielding courses at the expense of those that champion learning-for-learning's sake, the 're-branding' of campuses, and the consistently swelling salaries of Vice-Chancellors, it suddenly becomes clear as to why Sussex did not welcome student investigation. They not only

ments, downsized staff and cut support provision for their students, yet their Vice-Chancellor has continually received pay increases and money is spent in unnecessary areas around campus, such as new building signs.

The rise in tuition fees was sold to us as necessary to support student education. However there is little evidence of this extra money actually finding its way to the improvement of course provision and learning experiences.

Students at Leeds were prepared to support their academic staff in strike action in reaction to more finance cuts and potential redundancies, Middlesex University has recently closed its Philosophy department despite it being their highest research-rated subject. And now Sussex attempted to remove the rights of students to protest at how their money is spent and how their education is run.

We need to support our fellow students in their campaigns for proper education provision as well as be interested in our own, as universities become increasingly profit-oriented, potentially at the expense of our learning.

THE opening line of the Guardian's editorial last Friday on the General Election read: 'Citizens have votes. Newspapers do not'. This may be so but the latter certainly influences the former.

This is perhaps why the Guardian waited until a week before the country went to the polls to come out in favour of the Liberal Democrats because of their stance on proportional representation.

Beforehand they had an official platform of 'neutrality' so as to allow readers to make up their own minds.

The Guardian's attempt to remain neutral is commendable, some of the newspapers supporting the Conservatives

during this election have been notoriously defamatory of the readers who were attracted by 'Cleggmania' and demanding, sometimes in the most hysterical of ways, that the readers vote according to the newspaper's line. However, although every newspaper does not have to resort to such heavy-handed campaign in favour of a certain political party, to simply take a side in the debate does not mean you will suddenly become wedded to a certain political idea, at the expense of fair comment and balanced argument.

People, after all, still have free will and even before the Guardian announced its support for the Liberal Democrats, writers such as Polly Toynbee and Oliver Burkeman (writer of

the 'British Obama' article) were anything but neutral when commenting on the election campaign. But that does not mean that the readers were persuaded by their argument. So clearly, no matter what the commentators said, they did not make the readers

'Citizens have votes.

Newspapers do not.' vote a certain way. It is evidently impossible for these commentators to remain neutral, therefore a certain amount of bias is fine as long as you are writing to persuade rather than preach.

Honest journalism: a paradox?

Rosa McMahon HONESTY is always the best policy. In my books, there is no such thing as a 'white lie' or a matter of obscuring the truth for the good of others.

Ignorance is not bliss.

Being exposed to all that is available, and making informed decisions upon that is what makes us rational, reasonable and knowledgeable beings.

This is by no means an elitist opinion, bellowed from an ivory tower and I am not saying that I have

always told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, certainly not. Yet it was last weeks 'bigoted woman' comment and the media circus that set upon Gordon Brown, and his 'victim', which made me question the journalism industry, the very one which I wish to make my career in. I wish to write about real, honest, social issues that perhaps, in some naive way, could make a difference.

The tactless relentless probing by journalists of Gillian Duffy for a reaction and the hounding of Brown for a comment,

that he was certainly entitled to make and subsequently apologised for, portrayed the media in an ugly, dishonest light. A journalist's role should be to inform the masses, not to mislead them.

Everyone enjoys some scandal, and that is why I would buy a glossy magazine. Yet when I pick up a broadsheet, or turn on the news, I want to hear what is real and true, so I can form my own opinions, rather than be influenced by those who do not wish to be utterly informative.

Comment & Features

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010

Parlez-vous français?

9

The Government removed modern foreign languages from the compulsory GCSE curriculum in 2002.

Ed Paton-Williams discusses how this decision will affect students in later life IT is no secret that Britain is bad at foreign languages. Nearly everyone who has taken a holiday in Europe has at some time had to rely on a resident of their host country being able to understand and speak English. It seems unlikely that this is going to change any time soon.

Just 44 per cent of pupils

schools where 41 per cent of pupils chose a language GCSE at 14 compared to selective and independent schools with 91 per cent and 81 per cent of pupils taking a language GCSE respectively. In 1996, 6.4 per cent of A-level entries were languages, a figure that had dropped to 4.8 per cent by 2009.

and instead pushed for an increase in language learning in primary schools, which took a further seven years to introduce. Learning languages at a younger age is indeed crucial; our ability to learn new words progressively decreases from the age of 10 and those who have learnt a language find it much

Learning another language goes beyond the books. Photo: Claire Veale took a foreign language GCSE in 2008 compared with 78 per cent in 1999.

The situation is much more severe in comprehensive

The reason for this is clear. In 2002, the Government removed compulsory language studies from the post-14 curriculum

easier to learn others later in life. Unfortunately, the consequences of making languages optional at GCSE are dangerous not

just for pupils' university and job prospects, but also for the British economy and military.

Universities such as University College London and the London School of Economics have begun to insist on a GCSE in a foreign language to distinguish between applicants and it is expected that others will follow. Most multinational companies require their employees to have at least one language. Indeed, very few businesses have no contact with other countries but the pool of language speakers available for businesses to choose from is rapidly decreasing.

The depletion in the number of foreign language speakers is also hitting the translation industry. The amount of spoken and written material which needs to be translated into English is substantial and increasing quickly but there are fewer and fewer translators to do the work. And with the British armed forces cooperating ever more with other European armies, the need for military translators is huge.

There are significant advantages to learning a language beyond just

being able to converse in or translate a foreign language. The communication skills learnt in language study are applicable to any walk of life as is

then, is a diverse range of foreign language speakers.

This can only be achieved by introducing foreign languages to primary school pupils as well as to com-

'Our ability to learn new words progressively decreases from the age of 10.' the greater understanding of English that acquiring another language brings.

Foreign literature and film can also be enjoyed without relying on translations or subtitles.

Part of the problem is, of course, that it is widely thought that 'everyone speaks English'. Having spent a year living in Berlin – hardly a backwater of Europe – I can safely say that this is a myth. Many do speak English but it is wrong to say that English is, or should be, universally spoken in the rest of Europe. Another issue is perhaps that while our fellow Europeans have English as an obvious second language to learn, it is not clear which languages Britons will find most useful.

What Britain needs,

pulsory post-14 language learning. Pupils should listen to the music and watch the television and film of other languages to make language learning seem more exciting. The current two hours a week of GCSE course study is inadequate to learn a language. To keep this learning fresh, A-level students should do a course in a foreign language.

If our government wants to ensure that Britain's school leavers are prepared for university and the workplace and that the British economy is equipped with the necessary foreign language speakers, they need to restore languages as a compulsory part of GCSE learning.

10 Comment & Features Lane's domain

Tom Lane talks geese, ugly halls and University alumni I DON'T know about you, but I find I get arrested much more often in summer. It's hard to explain. I so rarely wake up before sunset during the long winter months that I find I descend into a hibernation, from which I eventually emerge with an excess of unhealthy energy. So much of our time at university is spent discussing plans for the few weeks of decent weather that the university tags on to the end of our year, that once they finally arrive it's almost impossible to contain yourself in such a heavily policed area.

It's unfortunate that many of our traditional summer time activities – fence-jumping, reallocating public property, making 'unofficial' use of golf courses – tend to fall on the wrong side of that blurry line that is the law. And this year things are even worse – they've just outlawed a drug that half the country was on last term. So to cheer both of us up this week I've been reading about a famous Birmingham alumnus who still achieved a successful TV career after his misdemeanours landed him in hot water during his residence, many years ago, in Chamberlain Hall. You will no doubt be aware of this monstrous structure, although it has mercifully been defunct since before most current students arrived.

By all reasonable standards it was grim.

I'm told that when it was constructed the University depicted it as state of the art; you can call me soft if you like, but I find it difficult to imagine there was ever an age in which the definition of luxury was seventeen people per corridor living in broom cupboards with one shower, a couple of fridges and the common fear of catastrophic inferno between them. students from the posher neighbouring halls used to wittily inform the Chamberlainers that they lived on a council estate, and the Chamberlain residents responded in an equally droll manner, delivering bricks through their windows. Because there wasn't much else to do there and, as it was a very tall tower, people in Chamberlain mostly amused themselves by throwing things off the roof.

All kinds of debris would come flying from the top floor on a regu-

lar basis: rotten fruit and vegetables, kitchen appliances, those rubber balls that bounce three times the height they are dropped from, used condoms, televisions after England matches, and so on. And one day, a young English undergraduate kidnapped a goose from the lake nearby, strapped its wings down with tape, and flung it from a fifteenth storey window.

He was caught, banished from the hall, and forced to sleep for the rest of the year in his car. This student's name was Chris Tarrant. It appears, incidentally, that Tarrant continues to harbour enjoyment from chucking things even in his old age. Three years ago he was arrested for attacking a fellow diner in a Nottingham curry house; he later admitted to 'lobbing' an item of cutlery at them, but insisted it had only been a joke. All this from the seemingly genial quiz show host who didn't look capable of saying boo to a goose, let alone heartlessly tossing one to its splattering death.

You will hopefully be wondering at this point whether any other well-known Birmingham alumni are shrouded in notoriety. That timehonoured battle-axe of the Conservative Party, Ann Widdecombe, best known for insisting that pregnant prisoners should give birth in chains, once cast her wide shadow over these grounds. Another politician to have studied here was Chen Liangyu, the extravagantly corrupt ex-mayor of Shanghai, now incarcerated himself. Closer to home, there was Neville Chamberlain, who made concessions to Hitler, and also Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon, who made concessions to musical credibility. On the other hand, we have had the good and the great here as well: eight Nobel Prize Laureates, various writers and artists and – praise the lord – Lizo Mzimba, the Newsround legend who once edited this very newspaper.

And, of course, any institution of this size will necessarily have had its fair share of more colourful figures. I have a friend at Leeds who likes to boast that Harold Shipman was accommodated as a fresher in the same building as him. But even Shipman stopped short of animal cruelty.

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010

Cambodia: an unrecognised past After a harrowing visit to its capital, Phnom Penh, Sam Howe documents Cambodia's tragic and bloody history TO many people, when you mention the words 'Khmer Rouge' – they're oblivious to who or what they were.

Perhaps you have heard of

university or starting jobs unimaginable cruelty was taking place in Cambodia; the crimes for which are only now being pinned

dia in early 1979.

It is the commandant of this hell who is currently on trial in Cambodia, yet his case has barely blipped

A torture room at S-21: the faded picture on the wall revealing the true horror of the Khmer Rouge regime. Photo: Pete Blakemore Polpot, but it's a surprise when anyone knows that the Khmer Rouge were responsible for Asia's very own holocaust. Despite the fact that this brutal regime was responsible for the genocide of onefifth of Cambodia's population, Cambodia's past is still clouded in mystery. It was a genocide which took place following Hitler's Final Solution, 30 years later, in the 1970s, while the world looked on blinded

by Polpot's so called 'social programme'.

Not only did the communist regime of the Khmer Rouge kill 1.5 million people, but it did so in the most inhumane way possible. Not only did families get torn apart when city dwellers were sent to farm rice to satisfy the mad bent of the regimes notorious leader, but at the same time Cambodia was flung back into the dark ages. Once the 'pearl of Asia', a jewel in France's colonial crown, Cambodia's infrastructure was regressed by 20 years.

And you can still see that when you visit Cambodia today, evidenced by the lack of surfaced roads and a comprehensive sanitation system.

I was lucky enough to teach in the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, with the University's International Volunteering project (InterVol) last summer. While I was there I got to live and breathe Cambodian culture, which included learning of the countries sad and desperate past – and what a heartbreaking past it holds.

When our parents were just finishing school, at

upon the perpetrators. Intellectuals, doctors, civil servants, police, army personnel, ideological opponents and those that simply 'got in the way' were murdered for being supposed 'enemies of the state'. And it wasn't just Cambodians who were murdered; British, Australians and New Zealanders were too.

Tuol Sleng, or S-21, is the name of the prison where 15,000 met their deaths. It's a modest building, set in a leafy suburb of Phnom Penh city. Towering lime trees line the streets, revealing little of the inhumanity which took place underneath their shadows. An entrance though a yellowwashed wall brings you into the compound that had been originally built as part of a Secondary school, but during 1975 this school was turned into a centre of torture.

The classrooms were emptied, the students scattered with their parents (if they were lucky) throughout the countryside to work the paddy fields. Meanwhile the high school – once a place of learning, enjoyment and fun was turned into a place of hell. Classrooms which used to have times tables painted onto walls were soon haphazardly divided by hurriedly built cells. The stench of death is still present as you walk around this mausoleum.

The iron beds which were used to torture so many still remain, with photos above that show how their final victims were found when Vietnamese troops finally liberated Cambo-

on the international media's radar. It has taken 30 years to bring the perpetrators of these crimes against humanity to justice. In the Extraordinary Council Chambers of the courts of Cambodia, international and Cambodian judges supplied by the UN are painstakingly trying to aggregate the blame of the 1.5 million who lost their lives at the hands of the Polpot regime. In 2009, on my visit, Duch,

ing the baby off the third story floor of the prison.

Another female witness, testifies how Duch played a key part in 'evacuating' those who lived in the capital to the countryside. She recalls how her husband was sent to the North, her children to the East and she to the West to work the paddy fields. Now an American citizen, the woman, assembled behind two-inch thick glass, tells the court and the audience how her husband was murdered by the regime and how she has since not been able to make contact with the children. This heartbroken woman does not know whether she has any family left at all. Finally, the true impact of the Khmer Rouge's obsession with death is highlighted when a New Zealander is beamed into the courtroom via video link. His brother, a keen sailor, was unlucky enough to stray into Cambodian waters in 1977. He was captured, interned in Duch's S-21, and then stacked high with tyres and burnt alive, accused of working for the CIA. The cruelty surrounding his death isn't abnormal, if you take a tuk-tuk 20 minutes out of the city centre to the killing fields there is further evidence of these crimes against humanity. Victims here had their throats slit or were bled to death. Further witness statements highlight the poison spread by the regime: one of which re-

Faces of just some of S-21's victims. Photo: Pete Blakemore the head of the notorious S-21 prison was being put on trial. In a courtroom, paid for by international funds, international and Cambodian lawyers and judges tried to determine the crimes for which Duch is responsible. A previous guard under his command, claims Duch took a woman into a custody room, raped her, before taking her newly born child from her and throw-

members gangs of eight and 10-year-olds heaving on a gallows rope, hoisting at the other end their tortured schoolmaster.

The trials continue.

Finally, after 30 years in the dark, Cambodia can start the long process of healing its still very raw wounds.

Film

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010

Opening Credits

Alex Jacques & Rosie Willmot They said we’d run out of protracted metaphors for this section, that we’d compared Simon Fairbanks’ ramblings to just too many things: St Patrick’s day, cold pancakes, it looked as if opening credits had seen its last metaphor, but then came along the 2010 general election, and you know what, it really reminds me of the film section this week…

Michael Brownlee's formerly safe seat looks under threat with his outrageous claim that Hot Tub Time Machine is a five star classic, meanwhile Rob Watts and Matt Davis resemble David Cameron and Gordon Brown slogging it over the key issue of immigration/Ridley Scott's merits as a director, and Simon Fairbanks is akin to the seasoned campaigner still trying to seem ‘down with

the kids’ by reviewing Iron Man 2, our film of the week.

The usually bitter Sam Jansen is the floating voter, unsure whether he can ever be convinced by The Disappearance of Alice Creed, while Izzy Sanders and Genevieve Taylor do their best impressions of Andrew Marr and Hugh Edwards informing you of upcoming comic book films and film news respectively.

Finally, there’s a contrast in fortunes for the party leaders as Rosie Willmot shows everyone just why she’s worth four more years in charge with her Silverscreen on the classic When Harry Met Sally. However there are problems for me; I'm dealing with accusations of an expenses scandal not being helped by a ropey review of Cemetery Junction. Enough with the politics, there’s a section to be read. Enjoy.

Film of the Week

11

Simon Fairbanks is still here at 45! and he's reviewed Iron Man 2

Iron Man was the surprise hit of 2008. It resurrected a career or two, gave director Jon Favreau a ticket to the A-list and brought a relatively unknown superhero into the mainstream.

A sequel was inevitable, but there is no luxury of a surprise attack this

time. This is Favreau's difficult second album and expectations are beyond high.

In short, Favreau is sticking to the sequel formula, aiming for bigger, darker and funnier. And he just about manages it.

The original Iron Man was a three-star film with

a five-star casting choice in Robert Downey Jr. Favreau seems to have worked this out because he gives Downey Jr free reign as Tony Stark: bantering with machinery, showing off to the cameras and getting drunk in his Iron Man suit. We finally have a superhero who is more watchable without the mask.

But rather than rely solely on one performance, like the Depp-centric Pirates franchise, Favreau brings in more inspired casting choices. Scarlett Johansson is simmering in skin tight leather, Don Cheadle is solid as best buddy Rhodey and Mickey Rourke is menacing – if underused – as tattooed, parakeet-loving, Russian rival Whiplash.

But Sam Rockwell steals the show as fellow billionaire Justin Hammer.

He is the wannabe Tony Stark, clumsily trying to be hip but wallowing in frustrating inferiority.

Rockwell is hilarious.

And let's not forget Samuel L Jackson who finally gets adequate screen time as SHIELD leader Nick Fury. Jackson is effortlessly cool and looks great in an eye-

patch. Most excitingly, he has signed a nine-film deal to unify all future instalments of the longplanned Avengers franchise. Speaking of which, stay until after the credits for a sneak peak at Thor's hammer.

Favreau delivers highoctane action sequences, and the stand-out highlight is Whiplash devastating the Monaco Grand Prix. Shame it wasn't used as the finale. Plus, there is a comical playground scrap between Stark and Rhodey in their Iron Man suits.

The second act is dialogue-heavy and it could have been darker. The fan-favourite 'Demon in a Bottle' storyline is overlooked. Plus, it lacked the exhilarating opening of the first film.

But who cares? This is a superhero movie scripted by the guy who wrote Tropic Thunder and directed by the guy who made Elf. It’s a crowdpleaser, so join the crowd and quit moaning.

VERDICT To end on a pun, this isn't any old iron. This is entertaining blockbuster gold.

Reviews HOT TUB TIME MACHINE

CEMETERY JUNCTION

...Alice CREED

Michael Brownlee

Alex Jacques

Sam Jansen

Director: Steve Pink Starring: John Cusack, Craig Robinson Certificate:15

Director: Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant Starring:Christian Cooke Jack Dolan, Tom Hughes Certificate:15

Director: J Blakeson Starring: Eddie Marsan, Gemma Arterton Certificate: 18

I've always been a sucker for silly comedies, so I wasn’t surprised when I was laughing hysterically five seconds into Hot Tub Time Machine. What did surprise me is not just how the laughs kept coming and coming, but also how clever and original this film was.

The film centres around three forty-something guys and one teenager who, whilst partying in a ski lodge hot tub, get transported back to 1986.

The three older guys soon realise they are at a weekend trip they attended 20 years earlier. To other people they look like their twenty-something counterparts and must retrace their actions before they can get home.

The film is silly, and trust me, it knows it.

There are various fourth wall references to the absurdity of the plot, which just makes it even funnier. I was pleased to see John Cusack finally

back in a good film and relative newcomer Rob Cordry really impressed me. Clark Duke, whose face you will recognise from Kickass, deserves his rising stardom in Hollywood and he plays the 21st century kid lost in an 80's world brilliantly here. However, the film is made by Craig Robinson, who fans will know as Daryll from the brilliant US Office. His self-hating, over-the-hill character is hilarious as he re-enters his youth.

The film has so many great 80's pop-culture references that it made me feel nostalgic about a decade I wasn’t even born in! Chevy Chase even has a decent sized cameo.

Hot Tub is easily the funniest film since The Hangover and I encourage anyone looking for choke-on-your-popcorn laughs to go and see it.

On the basis of Cemetery Junction Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have an Oscar-winning screenplay within them.

Note the word 'them': Gervais's solo Hollywood offerings have been lacklustre and unimaginative at best, however twinned with Merchant there's vitality to their work that’s unique.

Their feature debut is a type of film that isn’t made anymore, it's not pinning for awards, but it does want to expose a part of forgotten Britain, and manages this with a warmth and wit not found usually within the kitchen sink genre.

The coming-of-age narrative is fairly unoriginal: set in 1973, protagonist Freddie Taylor (Cooke) rebels against his Dad and mates Snork by shunning the family and joining an insurance firm, this funnily enough leads him to his childhood sweetheart and big-

ger questions about life.

So yet another British film that doesn’t deliver?

Not quite. The film is made by the razor sharp dialogue you’d expect from the writers, although the comedy will alienate some Gervais sceptics.

However the real strength of Cemetery Junction is the superb acting of Christian Cooke, Jack Doolan and the remarkable stand out performance of Tom Hughes as Bruce. Hughes' portrayal as a young teen struggling to come to terms with his broken family is one of the finest debut performances you’re ever likely to witness.

A typical film done in an atypical way, with superb performances and a happy ending to boot.

On the basis of this it won’t be long before Gervais is going to have yet another award to prattle on about.

Vic (Marsan) and Danny (Compton) are two excons with a plan.

Kidnapping Alice Creed (Arterton), daughter of a wealthy businessman, they hold her to ransom for two million pounds.

Their scheme is faultless: straight out of a crime novel, it would appear.

However, to quote Hitchcock, 'in stories things usually turn out the way the author wants them to, and in real life they don't'. As events progress and personalities come into play, the seemingly fool-proof plan starts to unravel, with the dynamic between captor and captive constantly evolving.

What makes this film stand out from the crowd is its total lack of padding. Every scene, every event, every line of dialogue is relevant to the story’s progression, and as the balance of power shifts between Alice and her kidnappers, you begin to see how the past

affects the present, whilst simultaneously shaping the future. Indeed it is only at the film's climax, when the picture is complete, that you realise the full significance of the relationship between characters both seen and unseen.

Those who enjoy the occasional surprise in their films will find much to revel in here. There is literally nothing about The Disappearance of Alice Creed ,not even the meaning of its title, that should be taken at face value. With excellent performances from all three cast-members and with more twists than a radical feminist’s undergarments, make no mistake about it: this is not your average kidnap thriller.

As both writer and director of this Manx masterpiece, Blakeson surely has a bright future ahead of him.

12 Film Top Ten: Upcoming comic book films

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010

Genevieve Taylor saves the geeks amongst you a week of research, in the final top ten of the year.

POW! BANG! WHAM! These are the sounds of comic book movies smashing box office records. Here's a sequel-free list of the next super protagonists to crash onto our screens.

10

10. Runaways ETA: Unknown Essentially The Breakfast Club with superheroes, this comics series is also

by Brian K Vaughan, and features a gang of kids who discover their parents are supervillains.

9. Y: The Last Man

9

ETA: Unknown A brilliant apocalyptic comedy action comic, Y:The Last Man is written by Lost writer Brian K. Vaughan and concerns a plague which wipes out every male on Earth, except eccentric escape-artist Yorick.

8. Jonah Hex

ETA: Summer 2010

8

7

A rare Western-style comic book movie, Jonah Hex (played by Oscar-nominated Josh Brolin) is a scarred bounty hunter seeking out the man who destroyed his life. The film also features fanboy-favourite Megan Fox and the excellent Michael Fassbender.

7. The Losers ETA: 28 May 2010 Chris Evans (not the radio one!), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen’s Comedian) and Zoe Saldana star in this action flick about a team of hunted rogue agents out for revenge.

6. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World ETA: 6 August 2010 Simon Pegg's pal Edgar Wright directs a star-studded adaptation of the teen comedy comic about a boy who’s got to fight a girl’s seven evil exes (including Superman himself Brandon Routh as well as Chris

6

Evans) to win her heart.

5. Deadpool ETA: Unknown The first Ryan Reynolds starrer of the list, Deadpool sees the wisecracking assassin from X-Men Origins: Wolverine get his own much-deserved show!

When it gets a script and director that is.

4. Thor ETA: 20 May 2011 Brit thesp Kenneth Branagh directs his Wallander buddy Tom Hiddleston as villain Loki, while Chris Hemsworth (new Kirk's dad in Star Trek) stars as a disabled doctor discovering his godhood. Check out the post-credits of Iron Man 2 for a tease of his hammer (and that's not a euphemism!)

3. Captain America ETA: 22 July 2011

5

Just-cast Chris Evans (AGAIN!) is no stranger to superheroes, having played Johnny Storm in The Fantastic Four. And the actor should bring charisma to weaklingturned-all-American hero, 'Cap', in this World War 2-set origin story.

2. Green Lantern ETA: 17 June 2011 From director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale), superhero shoe-in Ryan Reynolds stars as intergalactic crime-fighter Green Lantern alias Hal Jordan.

1

1. The Avengers ETA: 4 May 2012 Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and the Hulk: all the big guns in one superhero geekfest! The Avengers directed by Buffy's Joss Whedon is set to make fanboys (and Marvel bigwigs) everywhere wet themselves in anticipation!

2

4 3

Film

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010

Justified vs Unjustified

13

Ridley Scott: still a cinematic innovator, or over the hill? Our writers go head-to-head, violently Matt Davis

Rob Watts

THERE is a mysticism following Ridley Scott, and it celebrates a unique cinematic personality who repeatedly spiels parables of romanticism and legend. Knighted, awarded and fully recognised for his tenacious array of movie accomplishments, Scott's colourful resume instantiates itself upon history. For sure, there have been a few periods of motion-picture woefulness, but there is an extensive list of highgrossing blockbusters securing Ridley as an illustrious force.

A sense of magnitude enshrines Sir Ridley and the reasons are evident: Alien, Blade Runner, and Gladiator to name a few.

Scott produces authentic awe-inspiring productions using detailed CGI artwork, breeding his distinctive status. Scott's movies are intelligently sealed with the traits of his artistic qualifications, and scenes such as those in Gladiator are composed and layered with perfection. Encapsulating a wonderful diversity into his decorated pictures, with three academy

'Let's have a Ridley Scott marathon' was a suggestion once aimed at me.

Erm, no thanks. In order to watch Scott's previous two films (before the upcoming Robin Hood) I would have had to surrender almost five hours of my incredibly precious student time and this I shall never do for Sir Ridley. What's that, I hear you say? I should never judge a film by its runtime? Well in this case I can and I will.

For a director whose sophomore effort was the seminal Alien, with its deft and brilliant blending of both sci-fi and horror, it is interesting that he has not managed to make one good film since.

Blade Runner was boring, dark and made little sense, and as evidenced by the multiple re-cuts Scott has made since, it's a mess. It is influential only in that other directors have seen the opportunity to make similar dystopian mind-fuck scifi's that use as source material, and subsequently ruin, unfilmable Philip K. Dick novels.

But what about Thelma

awards Ridley has generated an iconic status that is fully recognised by his cultish following. Taming the cinematic bully of Russell Crowe is one feat, but Scott has worked hard to implement elaborate character representations into both his bizarre and epic productions.

Ripe at the age of 72, Scott will undeniably be subjected to journalistic criticism after splurging out nearly thirty motion pictures in just as many years. However, Sigourny Weaver's performance as Ripley and Susan Sarandon in Thelma & Louise define the avant-garde concepts that Scott innovatively applies to the traditional male film types. Ridley's

revolutionary genres and iconic leads have seduced feminist approval, and he furnishes his cinematic canvas with vigour.

There is a consistent labyrinth of emotion between Scott's compelling protagonists and a passionate essence is captured via enchanting musical scores (Maximus and Caesar in Gladiator, Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer in Blade Runner.)

Visual expertise and theatrical flair warrant respect in this industry, and Scott's originalities definitely qualify. Ignore the critics, Ridley's quirky versatility shepherds entertainment to the masses. 'Are you not entertained?'

Silverscreen

and Louise, that tale of two women on the run that re-imagines the buddy film and highlights real female strength?

Boring and far too overhyped, much like everything Scott has done since.

He ruined the Hannibal Lecter series, which quite frankly needed no continuation in cinema after The Silence of the Lambs.

Hannibal was overlong, boring and gratuitous, and Lecter became a parody of himself.

Then there are those films with Russell Crowe, his protĂŠgĂŠe. He is fat in these films right? Well, yes, but that really doesn't mean the film is any good, especially if he pairs up with Scott. Gladiator was

Film News

Rosie Willmot The basic concept of Rob Reiner's When Harry Met Sally (the idea that men and women can't be friends, 'because the sex part always gets in the way') is simple, timeless and wonderfully universal. A cynic's love story, set against the vibrant backdrop of New York City, the film spans twelve years in the lives of Harry Burns and Sally Albright, moving from Chicago after college. When Harry and Sally first meet, they hate each other. Then they're friends for a long time. Then they're not.

And then they fall in love.

The beauty of this film lies not only in its central premise, but in the way it is carried off with such a perfect level of scepticism.

Harry spends most of the film agonising over a messy divorce, interjecting every apparently happy conversation with his bitter, stinging wit (including an impeccable meltdown scene in which he describes why no-one should never get married). Meanwhile, Sally goes through life unwaveringly positive, rebuffing Harry's constant pes-

simism with her own brand of clever and often waspish retorts. Their chemistry is flawless: just the right amount of sexual tension to keep it interesting, yet not so intense that we feel like we're racing towards the film's climax (pun intended). The story meanders along at an ideal speed, set predominantly in a conversational format that lets us absorb it at our own pace, savouring the characters' subtly-articulated gender differences that have been completely overplayed in recent romcoms (remember The Ugly Truth?).

Intermittent scenes of elderly couples describing how they met

add another angle to the humour, as do the bursts of physical comedy that include Meg Ryan's infamous orgasm scene. I'll have what she's having.

When Harry Met Sally is perfect in every way.

Setting, screenplay, soundtrack, cast: all have been chosen with such sensitivity that the film moves effortlessly between comedy and drama. Sexy, charming and constantly applicable to everyday life, with a perceptive yet controversial premise, this is a film for anyone who's ever looked at a close friend and thought, 'Perhaps... we could...?'

Izzy Sanders So, the holidays are over, exams are upon us and the only thing that could possibly distract us from the horror of it all is the promise of a range of tantalising movie tidbits.

And following an Easter Holiday of exciting revelations, this weeks Film News promises you all the knowledge you could possibly need in these hard times.

The date of Batman 3 has finally been set for July 2012, and by the look of it, 2012 will be a year

of promise: The Hobbit, Star Trek 2, Spider-man and The Avengers are all planned for release in the coming year year. Talking of The Avengers, images have finally been released for Marvel's Thor. Chris Hemsworth's costume carries the gravitas of the character, maintaining the key elements while avoiding possible silliness that fans of the franchise know well.

News has reached me that the economic downturn has begun molesting the multi-billion 'friendliest corporation on earth' with Disney dramatically

a snooze-fest with some good action scenes, and both American Gangster and Body of Lies were once again too long and lacking any kind of excitement.

Which leads to Robin Hood, or should I say Gladiator: Sherwood Forest. Snore.

And so to sum up, Ridley Scott makes boring (did I mention that?), baggy and overlong films that aren't worth wasting half your life watching. It always says a great deal when directors have to return to the franchise that gave them their name.

Yes, Alien prequels one and two are in development right now. Oh, and have you seen his face?

He needs a good slap.

scaling down the budget for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. After squandering $300m on the previous, At World's End, Gore Verbinski and his team will have a paltry $200m to spend on the fourth in this lucrative series.

Reportedly this will see Depp and co. grounded, with less galavanting on the water and fewer sprawling action sequences. I would personally settle for a coherent plot.

Legendary director Mel Brooks (producer, The Fly and The Elephant Man) is supposedly working on a 'flat-out horror film' entitled Pizzaman. Not the most terrifying title ever, but after such a long silence, there's no knowing what turn his Brooks' could take next.

And finally, my worst piece of news this week: crushing the souls of movie goers everywhere, Paramount Studios have purportedly passed on producing Anchorman 2.

Director Adam McKay recently tweeted 'So bummed. Paramount basically passed on Anchorman 2. Even after we cut our budget down.

We tried.' Here's hoping it is just a tough negotiation ploy!

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Editorial

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010

15

REDBRICK EDITORIAL

Please send all letters to letters@redbrickonline.co.uk. Letters/emails for publication must be marked 'for publication' and include your name and course title. Letters without these details will not be published. We reserve the right to edit letters.

When the General Election descended onto campus the BBC left us behind Nick Petrie THIS is essentially my final editorial because in my concluding piece I shall be saying my goodbyes and it will be meaningless to many of you; an indulgence afforded the Editor each year and for which I now apologise.

The University has played its part in 2010 General Election by hosting the final leaders' debate. Campus had been preened to perfection and the Great Hall was lit up like a Christmas tree (a very grand Christmas tree). The night before the debate the location had become an open secret amongst many students and an air of excitement was building on campus. Yet despite the intense media focus on the University and on the city of Birmingham, I felt that student issues had been left squarely off the agenda.

There has been little discussion of higher education cuts and possible tuition fee rises and this didn't change last Thursday. I was very disappointed in the way the BBC conducted the day; whilst the University was playing the gracious host very well, the media largely ignored student issues. Yes of course students were interviewed throughout the day, but I felt it was a token gesture towards students rather than a serious attempt to garner student opinion.

Aside from Mandelson's tour of the hydrogen fuel cell project and a few other politicians spending a brief five minutes on campus, little attention was paid to students and their concerns. Unlike at the Bristol debate where the leaders addressed the crowds outside, they were whisked away to party specific events and again students were ignored. Many of the students we spoke to felt very disengaged with the process taking place on their campus, feeling it was just beyond their reach. I was very lucky to be involved as press, with direct access to the politicians in 'spin alley' and we were able to gather reaction and feedback. Yet I know this was a one-of-a-kind experience that I was afforded – the average student was excluded from the event.

This wasn't the Universities' fault; the BBC was in complete control of the day and I certainly believe they could have done more to engage and involve the average student.

The Guild managed to get a very visible 'vote for students' presence on campus throughout the day with pink t-shirts. The impact of the campaign organised by NUS will hopefully been seen throughout the tuition fee review.

However with the lack of discussion of student specific issues I feel let down by the process. I think that by hosting the debate on a campus, wherever that may

have been, means that the BBC and the politicians were obliged to engage with students to a higher degree. However, others have argued we were just a venue and nothing more; a mere 'Great Hall' not a university; not a centre of student concerns and opinions, but pretty grounds and a media centre. The day was a great advert for Birmingham, our successes and our innovations as a university, but I can't help and feel disheartened how student issues were treated, both on the day and throughout the general election campaign.

The day itself was an interesting mix of intense policing, hours of anticipation and a media circus that Redbrick played its own part in throughout the build up.

Every party's line was faithfully trotted out to anyone who would listen and this continued at the Question Time debate that took place later that night. So what does it all mean? – It is possible that by the time you are reading this we will know the result of the election and whether we have a hung parliament due to the meteoric rise of Nick Clegg. It would certainly be interesting if an accurate assessment of the impact of the TV debates could be made. Have floating votes been secured by the sound bites, jibes and posturing of the leaders or has it been the hard work on the doorstep of the not so prolific, but just as dedicated

grass roots activist?

The argument has been made to me that by hosting the debate on campus more students than ever will have been aware that an election is taking place, that we will have higher levels of engagement and that student participation in particular is going to be impressive. Yet I am afraid that voters will be voting on the combined four and a half hour performances of three individuals across three debates. This is no way for a general election to be decided and I am concerned about what it means for the future as the media pushes for the debates to become bigger spectacles in future elections. As the media becomes even more pervasive in our general lives it is gaining a far greater impact in its ability to shape our preferences and influence our decisions (I should know, I wrote a dissertation on the topic). However the decision of who to vote for should always be your own and I hope that everyone reading this exercised his or her right yesterday.

I have often argued this year that students waste their voice and their collective power through not caring enough, I hope that this is not the case this time around.

New committee elected:

The Redbrick Awards:

On Wednesday the 28th of April the members of Redbrick elected a new committee to see us through the coming year. The students elected into the positions of Editor, Deputy editor, Online editor and Treasurer were:

Nominations have been submitted and the awards have been judged.

Editor: Samuel Lear Deputy editor: Victoria Shires Deputy editor: Sam Langtree Online editor: Micaela Winter Treasurer: Jonathan Craven The outgoing committee would like to wish the new elected editorial team the best of luck for the coming year, it is a challenge, we are sure you are up to it.

Congratulations.

(The AGM minutes will be emailed out to all members shortly – if you have any questions please email them to: questions@redbrickonline.co.uk)

Apologies Redbrick would like to apologise to Izzy Sanders who was not credited for the Television Top Ten: Doctor Who in Issue 1370 of Redbrick.

Editor Nick Petrie Samuel Lear Deputy Editors Jessica Tarrant Nadine Baldwick Victoria Shires Sam Langtree Online Editor Pete Blakemore Micaela Winter Treasurer Jonathan Craven Pictures Editor Thomas Walters Chief Photographer Lucy Percival l.percival@redbrickonline.co.uk

Multimedia Editor Dan Southall News Editors Ned Murray Helen Crane Glen Moutrie news@redbrickonline.co.uk Features Editors Jude Hill Seb Mann Rosa McMahon features@redbrickonline.co.uk Lifestyle Editors Jessica Geary Alex Beard lifestyle@redbrickonline.co.uk Film Editors Alex Jacques Rosie Willmot Elmley de la Cour Matt Davis

film@redbrickonline.co.uk Music Editors Erica Vernon Alex Spencer Will Franklin Charlie Bailey music@redbrickonline.co.uk Arts & Culture Editor Sian Gray arts@redbrickonline.co.uk Television Editors Natalie Timmins Joe McGrath tv@redbrickonline.co.uk Travel Editors James Bunting Ed Gordon James Cull travel@redbrickonline.co.uk

We are in the final stages of arranging a venue and the evening will consist of a photography exhibition, dinner, the awards ceremony and an after party.

We will be sending out a full list of nominations shortly so that everyone is aware of what awards they have been nominated for. Everyone is welcome to attend the awards night (capacity permitting) and we would encourage all of those that have been nominated to buy a ticket and attend.

Alex Jacques our very eligible film editor will be compering the night, which will also include a look back over Redbrick's year, our failures and our successes and where we think we can be in the future.

So we hope that you wish to join us at the Redbrick 2010 Awards – any questions please send them to: awards@redbrickonline.co.uk (Ticket information will be made available by email as soon as we have confirmed the final details, please keep an eye on your emails to ensure you are aware of when they go on sale) Sport Editors Simon Hall James Phillips sport@redbrickonline.co.uk Crossword Editor John Rizkallah Editorial Assistants Natasha Williams Jonathan Gilbert Anna Reynolds Copy Editors Felix Rehren (head) Kate Ashley Ingrid Matts

n.baldwick@redbrickonline.co.uk

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Copyright (C) Redbrick 2009 Redbrick strives to uphold the NUJ Code of Conduct. 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.

To contact us:

Redbrick Guild of Students Edgbaston Park Road Birmingham B15 2TU 0121 251 2462 editor@redbrickonline.co.uk www.redbrickonline.co.uk Advertising: Contact Aimee Fitzpatrick in Guild Marketing on 0121 251 2524 or a.fitzpatrick@guild. bham.ac.uk Redbrick is printed through www.quotemeprint.com: 08451 300667.

16 Music

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010

JUKEBOX Kele – Tenderoni BLOC Party lead vocalist ditches his bandmates for a laptop and his landfill indie-club sound for dingy warehouse dubstep.

The grimy new aesthetic is solemn, personal and effortlessly enjoyable, in fact, it's everything you loved about Bloc Party in the first place, without all those needless 'guitars'.

The Boxer can't come soon enough.

LCD Soundsystem Drunk Girls

–

NOT much has changed for James Murphy, the rotund champion of new disco. Dirty punk rhythms and tongue-in-cheek vocals typify this lustful, rollicking track. Like a Jagerbomb on a blustery Tuesday morning, it'll go straight to your head.

Neon Indian – Sleep Paralysist THE Ollie Cromwell of the Chillwave Revolution, Alan Palomo strikes again with a standalone honkypop stunner. Sleep Paralysist, following up his landmark debut Psychic Chasms, teases more than taunts at a more problematic outlook on life to come from the Texan synth-pop playboy.

Caribou – Odessa THE intimate opener from the Canadian's latest offering Swim is as likely to pluck your heartstrings with its tale of love and loss as it is to give you itchy feet. Electronica with this degree of emotional depth is hard to come by.

Four Tet – Sing THE depth of Four Tet's latest electronic offering is truly apparent here.

Clinical beeps and sharp samples whirl together, emulating a forlorn robot.

This description could be a painful aural experience, but the end result is both surprisingly soft and emotionally resonant.

Robyn – Dancing on My Own Confidence meets insecurity over full, throbbing electro-pop. It blends Be Mine! Robyn – in the corner, watching you kiss her – with theswagger of Konichiwa Bitches but, really? All that matters is that she's back.

WELCOME to this term's first Redbrick Music, and my last. We've decided to use this transitional period to try some new things so, while it might be a bumpy ride, the Music section should hopefully be new and exciting.

First, we've got Jukebox. Look left: it's a collection of what we're listening to at the moment.

What is 'hot', if you will, in

the minds of the Redbrick Music team right now.

Probe, meanwhile, had a test run last term but we'd like to reintroduce it.

It's our way of talking to you – the stunningly pretty Youth of Today – about new bands which deserve your attention.

And if you don't like new stuff? Turn over to find the first of Redbrick's Essential Albums, which

Album Reviews Laura Marling I Speak Because I Can

7 David Inkpen MARLING'S much anticipated second album comes as a mixed blessing for her fans. After Alas I Cannot Swim finished abruptly after half an hour, I was left searching for metaphors for my anticipation of more and

after a three year break, my yearning is finally answered by I Speak.

Devil's spoke initiates proceedings and you can tell immediately this is going to be a completely new Marling; more refined, mature and increasingly dark.

A fair few morbid tracks interspaced with the faux-cheery Darkness Descends, the sweet Goodbye England and the fantastic Alpha Shallows which mixes classic al guitar with choral epicness.

This is a big departure from her more folk based first album and I was hoping for something a bit longer than 35 minutes long. Overall a good album and definitely worth a listen or ten.

Redbrick meets...

Chris T-T

David Inkpen meets the mate of Frank Turner and furry Bill Bailey lookalike Chris T-T 'I do think with X-Factor we're on our way out, I think actually it's the sort of culture that works in a very indulgent society...

We need real soul and we don't get it from X-factor and people are realising, that the culture we get to replace it with won't necessarily be brilliant.'

Chris T-T is the multitalented singer-songwriter sensation from Brighton.

RB: Do you prefer playing by yourself or playing with a backing band?

'It's so tough – I'm in the middle of one of the most fun tours I've ever done, I've played some re-

ally good gigs and there's been some really good crowds ... I'm playing a whole new bunch of stuff, so right now I'm preferring playing solo gigs. The best possible gig? I don't know ... I can't pick, I love them both. Right now, I want to be playing this album solo.'

RB: What is your favourite track off your new album?

'My own favourite song at the moment is Love Is Not Rescue. I can't talk about some of the things on the album as some of it is too close to home. That's one that I

Music Diary

came out nearly four decades ago. That'll show the whippersnappers.

So that's your lot. It's quite a large amount to stuff into these meager two pages, with a mostly new team. As we said, expect bumps, but hopefully we'll stick the landing.

(And, quick plug, if you miss me, just visit www.Alex-Spencer.co.uk)

Armoured Saint La Raza

5 John Asquith THE Californian veterans have returned with their first album of new material in ten years, and many of their fans are already hailing it as the best album of 2010. While it's easy to see the pure metal roots and sophisticated execution, these claims could well be premature.

The whole album sim-

Friday 7th Rihanna LG Arena – The NEC

Saturday 8th

ply lacks the force of the band's contemporaries.

The unnecessarily long intros to many songs break down the momentum that could be built up over the fifty minutes running time and the result is something that may have been passable in the late 90s but simply doesn't cut it today. On the other hand, the execution is a worthy acknowledgement of the musicianship of all five members of the band.

It is good to hear performers at the top of their game; unfortunately this aspect is not matched by the album construction.

This album is far from terrible, but it leaves little impression and is therefore only really of any interest to the established loyal (and nothing if not a little deluded) fan base.

Atticus Black Tour O2 Academy 3 Shady Bard The Flapper

Sunday 9th Lightspeed Champion O2 Academy 3 Airship Hare & Hounds

Monday 10th Boys II Men O2 Academy Faust Rainbow Warehouse

Tuesday 9th Gogol Bordello O2 Academy The Big Pink O2 Academy 2

Thursday 11th Jamie Cullum Symphony Hall

can sing a million times and it still hits me in the tummy every time I sing it and you have to get that if you do what I do.'

RB: What are you doing from now until next year?

'I've got support shows, going to do a second leg of this tour in cities that I didn't cover ... another bunch of festivals in the summer. Also I'm releasing an album of improvised jazz instrumentals (genuinely improvised) which will come out within the next six months.

'Then also I would like to this year get an album by the band out but instead of calling it Chris T-T and the Hoodrats or Chris T-T, call it The Hoodrats ... we had a bit of a revelation that people don't dig the band because they want me and

my lyrics, but people love the band. We can't do a headline tour as me because that's not what people want from me so we're going to try do an album as the band.... We want to be like Dinosaur Jr. Or the Pixies, we don't want to be Chris T-T and a semiacoustic backing band....

I really want to try it anyway, really heavily lean on them for arrangement and probably some co-song writing, work out a way of doing that and some of the songs the music to be actually written by the band. That's my year – that gets me to the end of this year.'

PROBE

story. Nevertheless, at Redbrick we have decided that now is the time for change and so I introduce to you, Sarah Blasko.

Blasko has just released her third album, As Day Follows Night, and I promise you that it is more than worth a listen.

If you like the raw sound of Laura Marling's folk, the experimental energy of Florence and the Machine or the quirky Pop sound that is Regina Spektor then, Sarah Blasko will without a doubt satisfy your new music hunger.

We Won't Run is the first single from Blasko's

newest album. This number opens with earthy drumming, soon met by Sarah's elegant vocals and a twinkling piano melody. Each track of As Day Follows Night is equally enchanting and undeniably loveable. A personal favourite is the closing number, 'Night & Day,' which from the very first note proves that Blasko is not just another one hit wonder.

Sarah is currently touring alongside Temper Trap, but will also perform at Brighton's Great Escape Festival and Secret Garden Party.

Ellen Tout on folk's new hope from Down Under: Sarah Blasko AUSTRALIA: the home of Rolf Harris, Kylie and a couple of thousand kangaroos. However, if none of those tickle your fancy then I have a solution …

Sarah Blasko. In her home country Sarah has become a household name, but if you travel across the waters to the UK then the charts tell a different

17

Music

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010

Spotlight On...

Collaborations

Ellen Tout answers the ultimate question, is it okay for artists to whore themselves out?

THIS is something which I have been thinking about for a while. I mean, how many bands can one person actually be in? Is there a limit? Or more importantly, should there be?

Take Dave Grohl, for example – he's talented and funny, and therefore can get away with being in two bands at the same time. Not to mention the

money he's probably still reaming in from Nirvana.

I'm sure I'm not alone in my love for Dave Grohl.

Thousands of people, including myself, sat in an internet queue for hours in an attempt to purchase tickets for Them Crooked Vultures. I must add that this was even before they had released a single song! Is it fair that a band can gain so much publicity based on the fact that they include members of Foo Fighters and Led Zeppelin?

Clearly Foo Fighters' drummer Taylor Hawkins thought he would get in on

Live Reviews Wild Beasts 11/3 @ University of Warwick Anluan Hennigan WITH two superb albums, sell-out shows across America and Australia, and music critics salivating over their every move, Wild Beasts are a band well and truly in the ascendancy. The Kendal quartet must have thought they'd regressed to a more embryonic time, then, when faced with a sparse crowd on the first night of their UK tour.

Undeterred, they proceeded to prove yet again why they are streets ahead of anything else British indie has to offer. Live, the contrast of Hayden Thorpe's countertenor and Tom Fleming's world-weary croon is just

as thrilling as it is on record, backed all the time

by Chris Talbot's Caribbean rhythms. A low-key and uncommunicative presence on stage, it is just as well that the music is more than capable of doing the talking.

With songs as wellcrafted as the anthemic This Is Our Lot and the cinematic Two Dancers, there is nothing left to say. By the time the Julie Andrews-meets-Vincent Price slumber of Please Sir chimes in, the words on the lips of the captivated crowd is undoubtedly 'can we have some more?'

Faith in British music restored? Check.

the act. Introducing: Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders! I am currently listening to a streaming of their album which can be found on their website.

It is undeniable that the album is pretty good. It combines the modernity of Indie music with the traditional sound of Them Crooked Vultures.

However, is it really fair that millions of bands are struggling to gain recognition, while massive names are releasing more and more material under different names?

On the other hand, they have worked incredibly

hard for their success, so perhaps they deserve the benefits.

Take a look at Pete Doherty, solo artist and front man for The Libertines and Babyshambles.

He even collaborated with The Streets on Prangin' Out. Equally, Carl Barât branched off from The Libertines and into Dirty Pretty Things. Or, Alex Turner, the fame and fortune of Arctic Monkeys was not enough; he also fronts The Last Shadow Puppets. Even bands like The Dead Weather are getting in on the act, calling themselves a 'supergroup.' The Dead Weather have an awesome sound and consist of Jack White (White Stripes AND The Raconteurs), Dean Fertita (Queens of The Stone Age) and more.

As I think more about the idea of collaborations, Dizzee Rascal comes to mind. All of Dizzee's biggest hits have in fact been collaborations. Recently the radio waves have been filled with the sound of his partnership with Florence Welch. The same goes for his 2008 hits Dance Wiv Me. I personally was considering starting my own 'supergroup'. I'm thinking Dave Grohl, Lily Allen, James Hetfield and myself, (of course).

Nerina Pallot 27/4 @ Leamington Assembly Matthew Barton THE only Midlands stop on Ms. Pallot's latest jaunt was in the Laurence Llewellyn Bowendesigned surroundings of the Leamington Assembly.

Pallot, best known for the (not entirely representative) Everybody's Gone to War, has blossomed into a classy pop singer-songwriter over the course of three albums. She's attracted the attention of Kylie Minogue and, gulp, Diana Vickers.

But it's as a performer in her own right that she shines. Her songs, which marry literary sophistication with pop sensibility, form a melodic emotional bond with her audience.

Performing on keyboard and electric and acoustic guitars, we were treated

Essential Albums #001

Led Zeppelin – IV Charlie Bailey WHAT is there to say about Led Zeppelin's seminal IV that hasn't already been said? Well I'll have a crack. Picking up after the tepid success of III this was the album that really sent Zeppelin stratospheric. The first four tracks make up possibly the greatest A-side in history: Black Dog, Rock and Roll, The Battle of Evermore and of course: Stairway to Heaven. Thats right, the track that has become the scourge of guitar stores, and inspired more badly sung and played covers than Hallelujah originates from this LP and it's even better than you remember. Clocking in at over eight minutes it became reportedly the most re-

quested song on radio stations in America during the 1970s, despite never having been released as a single.

Hitting the top spot in the album charts of countries all over the world, IV was the defining album of their career, combing the pomp and grandeur of their later work on Houses of the Holy with the down and dirty blues stomp of their previous three albums. More than anything this album showed that the band were more than the fallout from the Yardbirds and capable of world domination in a peculiarly English way.

The combination of great songwriting and musicianship combined with the audible swagger of the band makes IV an utterly essential album.

Laura Marling 16/4 @ The Alexandra Theatre Eva Hibbs to a closer examination of her Steely Dan-esque chord progressions on the likes of Real Late Starter.

Elsewhere, ballads such as Sophia and It Was Me put her closer to Tori Amos, and a spellbinding cover of Rickie Lee Jones' Skeletons highlighted her versatility. She's also something of a comedienne, with sparky between-song banter almost (and her experimental, tour-only EP Skeleton Key) worth the price of admission alone.

If you like your singer-songwriters self-deprecating, not over-earnest, and unafraid of writing a good pop song, you could do worse than catch Nerina Pallot next time you get the chance.

HAVING looked forward to the gig for two months, we did what you always accidentally do the night before something exciting and ended up barely able to lift ourselves out of bed. Having just about managed it, we found ourselves in the midst of a civilised affair. Middleaged couples shared wine, one woman read her book patiently, and we felt the need to put jackets over the rips in our jeans.

After two intervals Laura graced the stage.

She was accompanied by an orchestra of bearded men in cardigans. There was a nod between them and Devil Spoke, her current single, started up.

Cellos and pianos bounced off one another, vocals

echoed and she gave the impression of having matured years since walking on. Marling sings convincingly about mid-life crises and leaving her baby in a forest: she's still only 20.

The acoustics were hauntingly good, and the audience was silent throughout, especially when she stood alone to do a few acoustic numbers. During Night Terror and Goodbye England, icy blue lights framed the stage while her chilling voice sent knives down our spines.

Although she complained about the annoyance of encores and promised that her last song was definitely the last, we still lingered hopefully for a few more minutes.

18 Arts & Culture

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010

Dance:

Theatre:

C!RCA @ The REP

Rachael Hogg C!RCA is an amazing combination of contemporary dance, circus skills, acrobatics and gymnastics.

The work as part of the International Dance Festival is an amalgamation of three of Australian company C!RCA's previous works – The Space Between, By the Light of the Stars that are no Longer, and Furioso, as well as the inclusion of some new elements.

One of the appeals with C!RCA's show is the intensity and discomfort that the audience is subjected to due to the nature and danger of the acts performed. One minute, performers are flying through the air, the next they're performing near to impossible suspensions and lifts. There was an interesting mixture of stunning group work and powerful solos, which each group member showcasing their favourite skills.

These included extreme hula-hooping, work on suspended ropes, body contortions, trapeze work (in which the guy balanced on a trapeze with just his head), and a humorous exploration of the hands which culminated

in a handstand performed on just three fingers.

The music and lights of the show really added to the performance, creating a drama and powerful emotional charge, which wrenched the audience through humour, uncertainty, discomfort, and sheer amazement.

The strength, fitness, and flexibility of all performers was certainly mindblowing, and mildly depressing.

Some slightly sadomasochistic elements to the performance were definitely apparent, including one of the women literally walking all over

Not Just A Suitcase@ The Mixing Bowl a man in a pair of red glittery stilettos. Similarly, a solo performance to a seductive rendition of Radiohead's Paranoid Android by Sia, involved a woman feeding a balloon up her nose and out of her mouth. Somehow however, it still appeared somewhat lyrical.

Overall, C!RCA's show was a beautiful and intense 80 minutes which you really have to see to believe. Artistic Director Yaron Lifschitz concludes: 'To be a performer in C!RCA, you need the body of an athlete, the soul of an artist, a joyous spirit and a fearless heart.'

Photo Courtesy: The REP

Teodora Barzakova You might not have even heard of Mixing Bowl Theatre in Birmingham but it exists. It's in Custard Factory, just next to that pool, but you would not have noticed it if you have been there only at night-time.

They try hard to find their place in the fringe theatre scene, which turns out to be a tough task.

My expectations for the quality of the performance were lowered the moment I read 'a fast paced and family friendly piece of physical theatre suitable for ages 6+' in the description of the play. It would probably be a fascinating performance if you are 8 years old. However, there weren't any kids in the audience. And it definitely wasn't fast-paced. It was cute and simple, lacking an interesting message or idea. Also, I have seen better attempts for physical theatre.

Not Just a Suitcase is about a girl who does not get along with her mother and dreams of exploring the world. One day she sets on a journey with just a suitcase. Various relatively exciting things happen to her and she learns that people can have fun

without speaking the same language.

It was meant to be physical theatre, which is usually a highly visual form of performing. It was meant to focus on physical work of the actors and on a story told with their bodies. This play was a very poor attempt. Not to mention that they actually spoke all the time in a weird 'fast-paced' manner.

Only by doing this were they able to explain what was happening, instead of providing a visually pleasing acting experience.

However, it certainly wasn't all bad. The live music set on stage comprised of a violoncellist and a DJ, certainly an interesting mix. Although the performance could have been staged and acted a lot better it still remained an interesting watch in an otherwise unheard of venue.

The Mixing Bowl is the brand new fringe-based theatre venue at the Custard Factory Warehouse in Digbeth. For more info go to: www.rogueplay.co.uk

Photo Courtesy: The Mixing Bowl

Fashion:

Art:

Get Your Rocks Off @ Custard Factory

Objects of Affection @ The Barber

Laura Rudolf Get Your Rocks Off at Birmingham's Custard Factory was an innovative, new collection of music, artistic fashion, media and beauty with an aim to show an alternative side to Birmingham.

The show was sponsored by the high street store, River Island and so was a mix of their new collection and a few vintage pieces as well. A few of the models were quite obviously very amateur and unprofessional, which was a shame because the majority stood out as very talented catwalk models.

Nevertheless I found that people tended to notice, and therefore, watch the more professional acting models. The clothes ranged from very alternatively vintage to much more up to date high street clothes, quite typical of River Island. There was definitely something there for everyone, male and female alike.

There was supposed to be various stalls around the venue selling and promoting vintage clothes, hair stylists and beauticians, but unfortunately they all decided to pull out at the last min-

ute. This was very disappointing because it would have really added to the atmosphere of the event, particularly in between performances when there was often a short pause and delay.

Alongside the fashion retail students were the media students filming the event. One media and production student, Rachel O'Brien commented that the night was running smoothly but she was 'very disappointed that the stalls had all decided to not turn up.'

As an introduction to the evening three amateur performers presented

their original pieces of music as a form of light entertainment, and also to promote their work.

Two of these were very impressive solo performers with their own songs and music.

Similarly, after the show, the more professional Scarlet Harlot's came on the stage as the starring performers and presented their music to the audience.

Overall the night was an exciting experience with an obvious buzz and anticipation among the performers and audience alike.

The perfect setting for a fashion show.

Sian Gray AFTER the death of Raphael in 1520 it was the thoughts of the PreRaphaelite artists that Art had become stagnant, and that in order for it to be resurrected it would need to reject the growing Mannerist styles that had been adopted across Europe and instead return to nature.

Along with the founding members of the PreRaphaelite brotherhood; Dante Gabrielle Rossetti and John Everett Millais, the group is also associated with the lesser known artist John Brett.

The ideas of the Brotherhood had a profound effect on Brett, their belief that landscapes should be drawn and painted whilst in the open air was adopted by Brett and the techniques to reject repetitive formulas in order to record each individual and unique detail ensured his success as a great landscape painter.

Indeed his two most infamous landscape paintings; Stonebreaker and Val d'Aosta earned him the respect and praise of the well known art critic John Ruskin.

However, although his

name often rests amongst great landscape artists, it must not be assumed that his portraits are any less gripping in their detail and charming in their individual style.

Now, celebrating this obscure artist the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, is exhibiting some of his greatest portraits in a unique exhibition that has been described as 'ground breaking'. Featur-

ing portraits on loan from across the country, the exhibition co-curated by Ann Sumner and Christiana Payne, is as stunning as it is compelling. For those interested in the Pre-Raphaelites, Brett's exhibition is simply unmissable.

Exhibition on April 30th until 4th July at the Barber Institute.

Brett's Christina Rossetti No. 1

Arts & Culture

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010

Arts News: Memorials and Museums...

Remembering Alan Sillitoe...

Sam Langtree As a second year English student, I was one of many this year who briefly studied Alan Sillitoe and his breakthrough novel Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, a post-modern classic account of the original lad drinking, smoking, brawling and working his way through life with hedonistic abandon.

Sadly Sillitoe died last Sunday at the age of 82, but his legacy will remain strong on the back of this novel which the Guardian described as allowing him to 'elbow his way into public notice' a phrase fitting for the author first described as one of the first

'Angry young men' of the 1950s.

With the current election revealing the class differences and uneven levels of equity across the country, Sillitoe's 'Don't let the bastards grind you down' although hardly a social message, still carries the same weighted importance that it did 52 years ago when Saturday Night was first published.

The reason for Sillitoe's success could perhaps be labelled down to his writing straight from a working class perspective rather then having to adopt an artificial persona as many famed upperclass authors had down before.

This gave Sillitoe's

Alan Sillitoe: Angry Young Man.

Reevell on the national drought of art funding... writing a gritty, realistic edge and the way he managed to find poetic reasoning in the crude, seemingly brutish actions of his characters remains a unique quality of his even in the present day.

In other news, writer Stephen Vizinczey's 1965 novel, In Praise of Older Woman has been re-released by Penguin after being out of print for almost 20 years.

The novel, which at the time was an international bestseller for over 72 weeks, garnered excellent reviews when it was first released. Vizinczey explores a young student's experiences with middle-aged women who teach him about sex, love and the ways of the world.

It is a welcome surprise that publishers such as Penguin are returning to out-of-print classics as well as seeking out more contemporary writers. In a period where careers in publishing seem to be experiencing a drought, resourcefulness and inventiveness will certainly keep these companies producing engaging, nostalgic and relevant material that fights again the idea that the novel is losing relevance. Review to follow.

James Reevell Amidst all the election hype of last week, you might have missed a major arts funding announcement, with a new four million pound museum being planned. Brilliant, right? So why weren't Saggy, Air-brushed and Perky crowing about this coup during the debates at our fair University last week. For the very simple reason that it had nothing to do with them, with the museum being paid for

by Tracy Emin to showcase her work once she is dead. This is deeply worrying because, besides the

Sian Gray When posed with the question of whether nudity is necessary in art, it seems hardly a question at all. The immediate reaction would be, of course it is. Think of some of the greatest art in the world and somewhere on it there will be a little bit of nudity: the bodies of Botticelli, the bathers of Ingres, the fractured, but no less topless, models of Picasso. Yes, of course nudity is necessary. However, what must also be remembered is that the art of then is no longer the same as the art of today.

There was a celebration of the body, a cheer for curves and voluptuous, sensuous types. The body showed mans closer with nature, and more often than not connoted some kind of biblical story or reason. Here is where the problems lies for the art of today.

Spencer Tunick isn't using the body to celebrate it, he's using it for his own purpose to win media attention and proclaim himself oh so unique and coolly controversial. Really, what is the point in having a load

of nudist spotter around Salford? I wouldn't call that art.

The body is exploited in the art of today, not celebrated. It is used to gain attention. Whether it is covered in tattoos, grossly overweight or worryingly thin, the naked bodies of today are exploited for the convenience of the artist, and for their financial benefits.

So no, nudity is not necessary for a great piece of art, so why are we still addicted to it?

Let's get one thing straight here, Spencer Tunicks masterpieces have gained international success, they're popular the world over. The twisted bodies, all of different shapes and size and colour, form together and work together to create a unique and unnervingly beautiful piece of contemporary art. The naked models give out the boldest message of all: that man is united.

Spencer Tunick's latest installation.

mitting that there will be cuts but that the lottery will help, before wandering off to snog Rupert Murdoch. Perky doesn't have a policy and doesn't want one, actually removing their own policy from their own website. Saggy does have policy, a lot of it, but it's a grumpy status quo, with improvements from the lottery, before off camera saying, 'You bigoted columnist, of course there will be cuts.'

So it's a grim time to be an artist, all parties suggesting that philanthropy is the answer, where wealthy individuals help fund arts. The problem with this is that generally wealthy people want something back from their money, like control of the exhibition. With the Wallace Collection whoring itself out to stage Damien Hirst's 'If I vomit paint will people still like it?' exhibition, in exchange for a revamp, and Emin and Hirst both building there own mausoleums, (sorry museums) this could be a worrying sign of things to come. When only artists and wealthy people decide what art we should remember, that doesn't really sound like art at all anymore, maybe propaganda would be more fitting.

Previews

Yes, it celebrates the body...

Alex Jacques

question of how narcissistic you must be to decide that you deserve your own museum, it also raises the question of where the money for new museums is going to come from.

The parties have largely ignored the arts at this election, due to the simple nature that they are all about to devastate them. The general consensus seems to follow the if you fart in a crowded elevator never admit it rule, with all parties funding proposals so damaging they must hide them. Airbrushed's party say that arts funding is 'safe' with them, whilst vaguely ad-

Will this be the Mona Lisa of our time?

Debate: Is nudity necessary in art?

No, it's tacky and degrading..

19

Standing side by side are strangers that could not look more different and yet here they are, standing together, at their most vulnerable and natural.

If they weren't naked they could be anyone; a Topshop mannequin or a football hooligan adorned in their finest pound shop attire. Here, they are themselves with absolutely nothing to hide behind.

The naked body exposes the naked truth and here, the message could not be stronger nor could it be more needed at a time when mans relationship with his neighbour is one of hostility and mistrust.

If we were refused to portray nudity in Art we would be devoid of some of the greatest artists in the world, past and present. We already have to censor the way we live our lives, watch out for our political correctness and follow every mind numbing fashion trend. If we censored the body we might as well accept defeat and render ourselves as robots of the modern world.

A welcome break from the stress of exams...

We'll Meet Again @ Symphony Hall, Saturday 8th May, 7.30pm –A nostalgic, musical salute, 70 years on, expect much of the music from the 40s to come back with full orchestra. Tickets £15.50-35.

Dara O' Briain @ The Hippodrome, Monday 10th May – Wednesday 12th May, 7.30pm – Everyone's favourite host and satirist takes to the stage with witty and sardonic humour. Tickets £19.50.

Rwanda: Past, Present, Future @ The Drum, Monday 10th May – Friday 4th June, 10am – 6am – An exhibition that looks at the trauma and the recovery of the people of Rwanda. Free admission.

No Idea @ The REP, Tuesday, 11th May – Thursday, 12th May, 7.45pm – An off-beat look at the construction of theatre and what a play should be.

Tickets £10.

Calamity Jane & The Changeling @ The Crescent, Tuesday 11th May – Saturday 15th May, 7.45pm – Two very different performances featuring music and madness go back to back at the Crescent. Tickets £11 each.

Lee Mack @ The Alexandra, Thursday 13th May 8.00pm – The sarcy comedian brings his acid tongue to Alexandra theatre. Tickets £19.50.

Paul Merton @ The Alexandra, Friday 14th May 8.00pm – The legendary Have I Got News for You host is on fine form with a new array of surreal stand-up. Tickets £24.50.

Noises Off @ The REP, Friday 14th May – Sat 5th June, 7.30pm – A comic romp with plenty of summery humour that promises to raise the roof of the REP. Tickets £10-32.

20

Travel

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010 I am E goes, d. I am a ne I w Tra vel of tra haven't don e v e l an ove Editor. As l in g all in the . I ha ing ove it ven't s rly large a r the mo ee T howl throug aj Mahal, o n the sun g unt r hear lint h Mac gone o d c u half w t for milk u Picchu. I the wind o a Nominated for ten with P y to Moroc ne night and 've never Academy Awards, co ed e f or chil ro the lorr , making fas nded up the Box Office hit y d t frie d r e r iv n e such in Ind has made Mumbai ia. All r or built a nds an illu s t schoo t t h h r a at I ious and the Dharavi t en l the sin ded in oh-so position is have done t slums almost a o a g l b qualif e w o hemian worst ild att conce necessity when y me f emp att nig iv travelling to Ingest t ed. Nor does empt at 'cy hts in a ho t at inter-r or c ra a t dia. The film a hund vel story to it appear th ling' Bavaria el in Madrid iling t r a a illustrates Redbric ed years ago have happen t I will be hat could e nd v e e . t k d r be h a Mumbai's way e w n s d in as on strong I miss ce tw seeme est its o d e of life in both and no pointless. T Easter hiat d it. The as crazy broth editor. Th e b r us and er h the infamous my tw mal service he national by the cloud rolle s gained sus igslums and news o-ish had be d tained t in an ime t ha ye e Probab privileged ly not ars of trav n resumed. d done it to he team rea d rolled out flight, over . Than Timing editor el, is ssemb while death, life, includtr k a Redbric nd I, have n fully, it doe aveling. Doe it seems, is everyone ha led, coverage ing shots of s s d o n ot my this b out-go k Office un t had to st n't have to the iconic best q een repatria be. I'm make me an aware ep fre ing Tra te uality. id s ricked Taj Mahal o v h n e f e al Tra ot in t Nor, f d, faced and ro l editors w the work v rom e h in l is t E and Chatrao ings o ditor? old gu lled, u alone. ere th the h f a n J pati Shivaji sailing rd, the fore til we're abl e Virgil to o the world t eady, hedonis ames, my f . e runner e u Terminus. s, the to actuall r Dante. W o which we tic world o llow y get t e've be f the retirin n o F u r w b e h g Trav el Edit ese words n coaxed an elong. The ther to the d cajo ors. T to prin led h t. east lies the Land ank yo u. Far So here's t , of the Rising Sun. Japan ewell. o And fa the offers various film loca- g e n t i n e a n ' s ir

Lights, camera, vacation!

Liz Crump watches a lot of films name of travel...

We've all seen the films but just how much do their locations inspire us to seek them out for ourselves? Is it a superficial phenomenon just for film buffs or do we travellers see behind the plot and want to discover the real inspirational locations, be they near or far?

It can't be denied that locations across England have seen an up in their visitor ratings since the divisive series of Harry Potter hit the big screen.

From Christ Church College in Oxford, which served as Hogwarts' Great Hall, to Gloucester Cathedral, many tour companies across the country would be happy to capitalise on your short holiday break.

However, a little further afield, and I'm sure not a wasted ticket, is the land of Hobbits. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (20012003) has made New Zealand soar onto 'must travel to' lists for a vast amount of people, and not just the fanatics. New Zealand is an enchanting country and the film series certainly did its landscape justice. Specialised tours to the film sites of Middle Earth are not hard to come across.

If you wish, however, to tour the lands at your own pace New Zealand's Department of Conservation has compiled a list of locations along with scene details and even their GPS coordinates. A little too far one may argue!

Another dream holi-

day destination is that of the Caribbean, the location for the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy (20032007). Whether the storylines reeled you in or not, this trio of films must have inspired you to experience the wonderful, lush Caribbean. St. Vincent and the Grenadines, part of the Windward Islands, are the main film locations, with Port Royal located in Wallilabou Bay. The island of Dominica was also used. Parts of the film sets still exist and locals and guides alike will be more than happy to tell you of the frivolous adventures of the film crew, particularly Johnny Depp and his rum-fuelled antics, while unquestioningly pouring you a few along the way!

Another tropical destination, Thailand, has lured numerous backpackers to its shores after it served as the film location of The Beach (2000).

It was filmed on Hat Maya, the main beach of Phi Phi Leh Island, near Phuket.

The backpack melée of the Khao San Road in downtown Bangkok also features, however, it is certainly not a must see if you're after the portrayed 'paradise'. The incredible waterfall is Haeo Suwat Falls in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand's secondlargest park. Additional scenes were also filmed on the islands of Brabi and Phuket.

Remaining in Asia, Slumdog Millionaire (2008) has really put India on the map for more than just the intrepid traveller.

tions that have inspired travellers for years; Kyoto, one of Japan's most culturally rich and scenically striking city can't help but draw you in. Film locations for Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) include the Kiyomizu temple and the Fushimi Inari shrine. Although partly filmed on set in California, it certainly doesn't detract from the more culturally evocative and beautiful destinations Japan has to offer away from its immense metropolitan centres.

A film that may have bypassed those of us that are not linguists or foreign film buffs is The Motorcycle Diaries (2004). A fascinating film based on the true story of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, it not only offers an insight into the young Ar-

life, but it also provides a vision of Guevara's epic journey across South America from Argentina through Chile, Peru, and Colombia to Venezuela.

Great locations such as Buenos Aires, Lago Frias (Argentina), Temuco Atacama desert (Chile), and Cuzco and the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu (Peru) are used. Any traveller will be beguiled by the marvel that is South America.

Perhaps a controversial set of films to include is the Twilight Saga (20082010). Although they may not have captured everybody, it seems its film location of Forks, Washington D.C. has been inundated by Twilight enthusiasts. Port Angeles is the fantasy playground of the two main characters, Edward and Bella. The Bella Italia restaurant is the lo-

Clockwise from top: Dharaki slums, Mumbai, India. Slumdog Millionaire (2008). Photo credit: Leclercle on Flickr.

Koh Phi Phi Leh, Thailand. The Beach (2000). Photo credit: Greg Knapp on Flickr.

Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto, Japan. Memoirs of a Geisha (2005). Photo credit: MShades on Flickr.

cation of Edward and Bella's first date; cringe!

Bringing the sun, sea and sand option a little closer to home, the Greek Islands are a fantastic location for any holiday and without a doubt set the scene for any romantic film. The island of Cephallonia was the film location for Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001) – a film that explores all varieties of love and which draws you to the beauty of the island. A more recent and fun film that captures the splendour of the Greek Is-

lands is that of Mamma Mia! Filmed on Skopelos, Skiathos and Corfu – the Sporades Islands – many of the sets used still remain.

From the tumultuous landscapes of New Zealand to the quaint citrus groves of the Greek Islands, even if it's not about the films, it can't be denied that such film locations make for some of the most awe-inspiring and beautiful destinations in the world.

Travel news bites Ed Gordon Baghdad flight ends in farce The first flight between Baghdad and London landed this week after a twenty year hiatus of the route. Unfortunately, due to Britains longest running legal dispute, the plane was impounded upon its arrival at Gatwick. Kuwait is demanding reparations for ten planes that they owned but were stolen by Iraq during their invasion in 1990, and because the legal actions are taking place in a British court, the Iraqi Airways flight has been grounded.

Airline offers volcanic ash insurance Flybe have started to offer travellers 'Volcanic Ash Insurance' in an attempt to ensure that they can recoup future losses due to more ash clouds closing British airspace. The £6.99 stand alone charge will cover £2000 for holiday costs that cannot be recouped, as well as £105 a day for the travel and accommodation costs of repatriating yourself to Britain.

Wheelchair athlete cannot fly One of Britain's top wheelchair athletes has been denied access to an Eastern Airlines flight after he was told he would have to walk up stairs to board.

Richie Powell, 39, was due to fly to Scotland to take part in an athletics event when he was told that he would be unable to fly because of the stairs leading into the plane. Even after offering to hoist himself up using his arms, he was still denied access.

Check out my package Package holiday companies are reporting a boom in sales following the ash cloud crisis. Travellers are said to be looking for the safety offered by booking through an agent, with Thompson reporting 20 per cent increases.

Dangerous Donkeys Donkeys are annually killing more people than plane crashes. So don't be Jesus, get your ass on a plane.

Travel / Television

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010

Travel beyond the beaten track

21

Louise Spratt urges prospective travellers to go out, explore, and maybe help the world at the same time THINKING about adventurous travel, I'm sure it wasn't that long ago that the dangerous expeditions to the far, wide and high corners of the earth were left only to the most audacious, fearless or down right bonkers travellers and the fleeting thought of following in their perilous footsteps was just that; a fleeting thought.

Whether this phase was recently left behind or not, is a thing of the distant travel past, the truth is that travel has come a long way. Nowadays, we find ourselves in the age of adventure travel where no mountain is too high, no route too long or chal-

lenging and no meteorological conditions too testing.

Through the media, friends and even Facebook group invitations, I've realised that travel has taken another turn and that, not content with seeing new places or even with self-discovery, travellers are ever eager to push themselves to the limits – physically, mentally, emotionally and any other way possible!

Heck, even so-called celebrities are giving it a bash in the name of charity. I am greatly amused by this somewhat vain sign of the times; once the unknown pioneers of

Photo by QuiteLucid on Flickr

such travel gained fame for breaking records and venturing into the equally unknown but now their voyages and achievements seems to be so commonplace or, dare I say it, so 'last year' that they have

'For me, credit of true achievement and dedication goes to our fellow students' become basic requirements for maintaining celebrity status.

From Ewan McGregor's long, though hardly physically taxing, motorbike trek around and then down the earth, to Radio 1's Chris Moyles and his team of B-list celebrities hiking up Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief. You could easily be fooled into thinking anyone who is anyone is getting in on the act.

Furthermore, every other documentary on the box is probably going to be an episodic escapade of hand-held camcorder footage and unpleasantly angled close–ups of sweaty, frosty or teary faces on a ludicrous mission—all in the name of cutting-edge journalism.

I respect these des-

perate celebs and crazy bloggers or journalists for raising shed loads of money for good causes and providing an hour's entertainment, direct to my lounge, a few nights of the week but I reserve my utmost admiration for a select few. For me, credit of true achievement and dedication goes to our fellow students, friends or family members who have pushed themselves to the maximum – be it for charity or a life-enhancing challenge – just like the celebs or journos, but they do it without the sneaky support of camera crews or financial backing for top of the range equipment.

Lacking thousands of listeners, viewers, or a massive fan base, they know they won't make a scratch on the million pound charity records and can't afford a personal trainer to keep them on track, but they are determined and dedicated nonetheless to do something amazing. I'm very proud and in awe of the handful of courageous, and yes slightly loopy, students from our own University who are busy training and fundraising in order to climb Kili or Mount Everest as we speak. You know who you are adventurers and I salute you!

Redbrick Travel Suggests...

Climb Kilimanjaro

If Chris Moyles can drag himself up the side of the largest mountain in Africa, then so can you. Honest. Not only will you get to compare your times to that of countless celebrities, but you will be able to have a cheeky weekend of 'preparation' checking out the sights and sounds of Tanzania. As Charity Travelling goes, this is very popular and relatively easy to organise. www.climbmountkilimanjaro.com has loads of useful information about how, when and why to get there.

The Paris Cycle

Charity Ride or not, cycling is one of the most enjoyable ways to travel.

It gives your surroundings a sense of immediacy that trains, planes, and automobiles can only dream of. A long cycle will involve more preparation than scaling Kilimanjaro, though often the best training is during the ride. Travel essentials are chafe-lube, a bike-pump and a good map. If you're in a rush and trying to get from Alton Towers to the Eiffel Tower and back in ten days, then a support van may be a good idea.

Try www.londonparisbikeride.co.uk for more ideas.

The Mongol Rally

It's not cheap, and it's not easy, though it's certainly an adventure. Choose your start line from a number of major European cities and head east until you hit Ulaan Baatar, capital of Mongolia. The only rules are that your car has to be at most 10years old, and about a 1.2ltr capacity. Apart from that, you're on your own. Cross the Kazakh desert or go up through the Arctic Circle, there's no end to the options. The organisers estimate a journey of anywhere between 8,000 – 10,000 miles. At journeys end, you can sell your vehicle, or turn round, and head home. For more information go to www. mongolrally.theadventurists.com/

Couch-surf

Everyone is buzzing about this new phenomenon.

Why not give it a go and crash a stranger's couch for a night or two? There are sofas to surf worldwide so cut the cost of accommodation and meet someone new. Go to www. couchsurfing.com

The kids are alright

Coach Trip

Now in its third season, Rachel Rogers explores the secrets to Outnumbered

Matthew Williamson orders us to join the trip...

FROM the makers of Drop the Dead Donkey, Outnumbered is currently in its third season, and so far, it has not grown old.

The programme follows the daily lives of a typical family, set against mundane routine.

The parents struggle to balance work, raise their children, and find their own relaxation time.

Pete, played by Hugh Dennis from Mock the Week fame, and Sue, played by Claire Skinner, juggle their three children – Jake, a typical thirteen year old who pushes his parents to the limit, nine year old Ben, who has a very active imagination, and Karen, a confident, questioning seven year old.

A common pit-fall of sitcoms is to portray children and teenagers in a stereotypical way, with the writers putting words into the mouths of children and telling them how to play the characters.

Outnumbered, however, has a greater sense of realism as much of it is not scripted. The children only get an outline of the

DAYTIME TV is notoriously popular amongst the student population – Loose Women, Jeremy Kyle and This Morning are all personal favourites.

But there is a glittering rose amongst the wealth of daytime TV thorns that is hugely unappreciated – Channel 4's recently concluded Coach Trip.

The concept is simple. Seven couples travel around Europe, Asia and Africa for fifty days on a coach tour. At the end of every day, there is a vote and the least popular couple is given a yellow card; two yellow cards and that couple is asked to leave and a new couple joins the tour. So what makes this simple idea into reality-TV gold?

Like all great shows, the success of the concept rests on the characters within the programme.

Most of Coach Trip's appeal lies with Brendan, the coach's personal tour-guide. Whether it's crying when contestants get voted off, shouting at the mischievous members of the group or flirting outrageously with a

story from which they improvise their conversations. You get a fantastic impression of a child's thought process as they whisk the adult actors away with convoluted stories, which often include aliens and dragons.

The children push the parenting skills of Hugh and Sue to amusing levels, asking awkward questions such as, 'What's a colonoscopy?' and 'Is it just Muslims who blow up planes?' with an innocence that only a child could get away with.

When told to not do something, they pick out the hypocrisy of their parents, doing so with such

wit that one wonders how much the child actors are, in fact, prompted by directions or if they do in fact make it up as they go along.

The programme shows that no matter how hard parents might try to bring up their children, it is an uphill struggle all the way.

On one such occasion, Hugh tries to encourage good values in his daughter saying, 'You have to treat everyone's views with equal respect,' to which Karen replies, 'What? Even idiots? Even people who want to stab you in the eye with a pencil?' The truth in her

A passionate scene from Outnumbered.

words is brilliant.

Something else I am sure is recognisable to parents is the teenage sarcasm of Jake, who is growing up and competing with his father, alpha-male style.

Where the individual plot outlines are predictable and uncomplicated, the dialogue is far from this. The children speak with a mixture of unsophisticated language and phrases cunningly borrowed from their parents such as 'I've said this time and time again,' which is entertaining coming from a seven year old.

It is amusing to see the cast leave the set script, particularly with Ben and Karen, with much of the laughter from Hugh and Claire clearly being real as they don't know what the children will come out with next.

They say one should never work with children in television, but this is certainly an exception to the rule. The children supply the show with it's uniqueness and charm.

Greek tour-guide, Brendan is one of the most watchable and likeable realityTV stars of recent years.

There is always a wide range of contestants and, when vote time comes around, it is not hard to get emotionally involved (the less said about Carla and Angie's bitter departure, the better). And unlike faltering shows such as Big Brother, Coach Trip doesn't have any kind of public vote we don't control who goes and stays and the format is more gripping as a result.

There are also genuinely funny and dramatic moments. The group do two activities per day, ranging from sight-seeing through to white-waterrafting. The travellers don't always get along and confrontation inevitably develops. One couple only lasted one day before they were asked to leave after a row on the coach became violent! Throw in secret alliances and an abundance of game playing and you have a gripping format, perfectly placed in the teatime slot.

22 Television

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010

Top Ten: Comedy underdogs

Total blackout?

Charlotte Lytton looks into the underrated TV heroes who brought us comedy gold.

10. Jim Trott– The Vicar of Dibley

5. Mickey Shameless

Parish councillor Jim was a man of few words, but knew how to make us laugh. His constant declarations of 'no no no no no…yes' didn't do him any favours when appearing on Deal or No Deal, but he had the rest of Dibley in stitches with his slow wit and endearing stammer.

His proposal to the vicar may have been turned down, but Jim earned a place in our hearts.

Being a part of the Maguire clan isn't easy, but when you're a closeted homosexual living amongst a brood of red-blooded males, things can get pretty tricky. Inappropriate relations with canines not included, Mickey never fails to get a laugh, although often for the wrong reasons.

9. Barry – Extras

Keen botanist and grammar Nazi Alan may not be popular with his work colleagues, but his perpetual stuttering in times of tension and deep affections for co-worker Joanna won the audiences hearts.

Vehicle theft and dwarfmurdering aside, this doctor likes to play by the rules, and chides anyone refusing to do so.

Poor old Shaun Williamson – as if being pushed off a cliff and left for dead by his villainous spouse on Eastenders wasn't enough, he can't get any acting roles either. Now the assistant to quite possibly the world's worst agent, 'Barry off Eastenders' spends his days fielding calls from BT and licking envelopes.

8. Salem Saberhagen – Sabrina the Teenage Witch This feline megalomaniac was the pinnacle of the late nineties/early noughties kids TV era.

Sentenced to one hundred years as a pet after attempting world domination, his quick one-liners and petitions to change the name of Friday to 'Frid-yah' added a new, furry flavour to the show

7. Mrs Doyle – Father Ted Cake-bearing Mrs Doyle was rarely seen on Craggy Island without some sort of tasty refreshment in hand. With an excessive zeal for her work duties, staying awake all night just in case someone needed a cup of tea was no great ask, and she had the audience were eating out of the palm of her hand.

6. Karen Walker – Will and Grace Never has so shrill a human as desperate housewife Karen Walker graced the small screen. Promiscuity, alcoholism and a flirtation with prescription drugs were standard fare for the stepmother from hell.

Maguire

–

4. Dr. Alan Statham – Green Wing

3. Manuel – Fawlty Towers He may be more famous for the notorious 'Sachsgate', but affable Spanish waiter Manuel is undoubtedly a British comedy icon.

A well-meaning patriot with a desire to please, Manuel is sadly often on the receiving end of Basil's utensil-based violence, but his enthusiasm and passion never seem to falter.

2. Karen Brockman – Outnumbered It seems bizarre to place a pre-teen ahead of seasoned professionals, but nine year old Karen is a legend in the making.

Overly inquisitive and somewhat lacking in tact, she's definitely not afraid of letting rip on sensitive social issues.

1.

Chandler Friends

Bing

–

While everyone else was worrying about Ross and Rachel, it seemed that unrivalled underdog Chandler Bing was being overlooked. The king of sarcasm and sweatervests provided quality entertainment through each series, and proved himself to be a hopeless romantic as well as just a barrel of laughs. Could this guy be

Following the return of Flashforward to our screens, Natalie Timmins decides whether the cult show has a chance of being renewed for a second series.

AFTER a disastrous start to its television life, ratings gradually plummet, it seemed inevitable that Flashforward would blackout before the end of the series.

However, the midseries break seems to have brought the show a new lease of life, perhaps giving its cheeky reference to 'The End' in 2016 a possibility of being seen.

Promising to fill the void that Lost fans would embrace in May 2010, Flashforward seemed to be too preoccupied with becoming its predecessor. Hiring Lost alumni Sonia Walger and Dominic Monaghan (Penny Widmore and the tragic Charlie Pace respectively) only served to fuel the fire of its status as the Lost replacement.

Throw into that the attractive FBI agent to replace the attractive doctor, both in pursuit of a mystery, and already it was dangerously close to having no originality.

The plotline itself was thought-provoking, to say the least: if you saw two minutes and seventeen seconds of your future, what would you do? Change it? Avoid it? Succumb to it? With the characters fighting for their lives, we've saw heart-breaking decisions and life-changing mira-

cles, letting the present be dominated by the future.

But then some decisions haven't been entirely well-received: the lack of chemistry between Olivia and Lloyd begs the question of why she thinks he's worth kicking her husband out for, while it's impossible to think that Bryce and Nicole will be denied their own relationship in favour of a relatively unknown girl. Throw into the mix that an AA sponsor turning ninja to save his daughter, and the plots seem determine to play against everything the audience feels they know about the characters.

The mid-series break (an annoying phenomenon in recent television series) didn't look promising: viewing figures had crashed much

like a certain plane on a certain island. Rescue looked doubtful, but loyally seeking out the programme's resolution, viewers tuned in upon its return to be greeted with a pleasant surprise.

Someone, somewhere, twigged that the show's sparkle needed polishing, and it gave us epic results.

With Demetri's escape from what we thought was certain death, Dyson Frost's evident mad genius streak and shock murder, and Janice's big reveal as the mole (the pregnant mole, no less), it seemed that the mouth-to-mouth had work and Flashforward had been successfully revived. With writers coming and going more often than Simon gets away with obvious murder, the creative juices are flowing with wonder-

fully gripping results, and with viewing figures finally on the increase, help came just in time.

Instead of separating the intense drama and emotions, everything is linked together, leaving us feeling a lot more comfortable with the choices the characters faced – just look at Janis and Demetri's decision to create a life to fulfil dreams that could otherwise have been shattered.

The next two episodes see the return of Alex Kingston as Agent Banks, Nicole struggle to decide whether to tell Bryce she knows where Keiko is, Mark promising to help Simon find his kidnapped sister Annabelle, Aaron finding his daughter Tracy's captors, Janis being told to kill a fellow agent, and the final reveal on the day the flashforward's predicted: it looks set to be a busy couple of weeks.

The energy and vibrancy of the first episode has returned, and with the creators promising a 'satisfying' finale, we can only hope that this lucky streak holds out to give us the answers we've so desperately been seeking.

So we've seen a future for Flashforward… what did you see?

Box Bites: Easter round-up Simon Fairbanks EASTER was a time of eggs, dissertation-writing, election buzz and one very pesky Icelandic volcano. It was also a hectic time for television with several big events taking place.

Since the end of last Semester, there have been several great shows returning to our screens: The Great British Menu is back on BBC2, Simon Cowell returns with Britain's Got Talent and, of course, Doctor Who is back with a different face, new companion, redesigned TARDIS and a brand new logo.

Any concerns over Tennant's departure have now been completely extinguished. Matt Smith has been incredibly watchable as the Eleventh Doctor. Quirky, energetic but wise beyond his years, Matt Smith has potential to be the definitive all-rounder.

However, Karen Gillan has been the real find.

The companion hasn't been this bold and sassy since Sarah Jane first hit our screens.

Aside from the re-

turning favourites, there has been a selection of brand new arrivals. The remake of cult 70s show, The Prisoner, is now a regular Saturday night feature on ITV. The action has shifted to contemporary America and stars Hollywood A-listers Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen. Reviews have been mixed but it is still worth checking out.

Another new arrival is Band of Brothers spin-off, The Pacific. Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks are again on-hand as executive producers and aim to tell the story of World War II on the other side of the world.

Featuring Kamikaze pilots, flamethrowers and the kid from Jurassic Park, this is unmissable television.

Unfortunately, a few old favourites have departed over Easter to make way for all of this new television. 24 has now been cancelled, officially ending at the end of its current season.

Will Jack live through to its conclusion? Well, considering a film is being prepped, I'm sure there is no need to worry.

And we have also

lost The Bill. Completely unexpected but hardly surprising, The Bill has dragged in recent years and reduced itself to a soap opera. At least this will free up more ITV money to spend on original hard-hitting drama.

The departures similarly extend to the presenters as well. Jonathan Ross and Adrian Chiles are both leaving the BBC. Claudia Winkleman has been announced as the new host of Film 2010 whilst Chris Hollins and Chris Evans will job-share in Adrian's absence on The One Show.

Finally, the General Election has been storm-

ing television (and campus). History was made with a trilogy of televised debates, allowing the three party leaders to openly debate policy in front of the nation.

Polls by ComRes and YouGov both agree that voter turnout looks set to be record-breaking this year because of these accessible and popular TV debates.

And it was great to see so many of our students on TV talking about the debates last Thursday. You all looked great. Who said students were apathetic?

Lifestyle

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010 Hello from Alex, Rob and Briony Welcome back to the most fun-filled semester of the academic year. We would like to thank you for taking time from your rigorous revision timetables to have a nosey around our first issue as Lifestyle editors.

We have a variety of delights to distract you from the mountain of lecture notes you have to trawl through. This includes Julia's guide to new make-up ranges from high-street stores that won't break the bank and Stacey tackles the difficult issues surrounding abortion in Utah.

No doubt all of you are suffering from preexam nerves and a great deal of pressure right now, so Rob has a look at different ways to deal with stress and anxiety and Lifestyle gets all political to give our view of the General Election and how the result will effect you.

Lots of Lifestyle love, BROB aka Briony and Rob

Beauty: Cheap & chic cosmetics Julia Whiting As you may have already noticed, high street stores have embarked on a new endeavour to provide high street shoppers with the latest catwalk looks. Not only are we able to find low cost, high fashion garments on the high street, but we can also find affordable, chic and ontrend makeup ranges.

Gone are the days of premium prices for statement lipstick, nail varnish and eye shadow; say hello to the bargain beauties of deep red lips, soft smoky eyes and vibrant nails.

Some of our favourite high street names such as H&M, New Look and Primark already have their own make up ranges and other brands such as Topshop are about to launch highly anticipated collections.

H&M The H&M collection is one of the best so far, selling

low-cost and functional makeup brushes, mirrors and other makeup tools for around £15.

There is also a diverse collection of eye shadow, nail varnish and blusher.

The eye shadows come in a small pot with an applicator making it easy to create different effects, and the colours are versatile neutrals which are very on- trend.

Prices range from £2.99- £7.99, keeping well within the student budget.

Look range is quite similar, but focuses on colourful nail varnishes and eye shadows rather than lipsticks and other makeup products.

Topshop Topshop takes high street makeup to another level by collaborating with makeup artist Hannah Murray, who is renowned for her work on the London catwalk scene.

The range which is due to be released in the next few months is infused with Topshop chic and seasonal trends, allowing shoppers to obtain this season's looks from head to toe.

The products are encased in funky yet simple packaging and are priced between £4 and £12, keeping within the student budget once again.

'Why are women being forced to consider causing their own miscarriage?'

thing deeper behind this issue that needs to be addressed before women are forced to consider causing their own miscarriage?

Deliberate miscar-

Pregnant women exercise, they drink coffee, they wear heels, heavens above they might even have a small glass of wine, but this law could, in theory, see all of these activities labelled ‘intentional, knowing or reckless’.

A woman could be prosecuted for not wearing a seatbelt if she experiences an accident in which she loses the

baby (as if suffering two traumas is not enough).

Women in abusive relationships could be charged for staying at risk whilst being pregnant.

Mothers who have problems with substance abuse can go to jail for feeding their habit whilst pregnant - a threat that is not likely to encourage them to seek rehabilitative or prenatal help.

If a pregnant woman falls down the stairs and is accused of doing it deliberately, she can be prosecuted. And as the bill only exempts pregnancy losses that take place under a physician’s care, even midwives could end up being victims of HB12.

The problems with this law are endless. It actually serves to open more negative ‘loopholes’ that the Utah governor, Carl Wimmer, aimed to close.

The incident that brought the issue to Wimmer’s attention was when a pregnant 17-year old paid a man $150 to beat her in the hopes of inducing a miscarriage.

I don’t know about you

Mason Lounge - It’s noisier than the library, it’s always exceptionally hot, but lately it’s been quiet enough to do work, get a computer and still have Café Go only a few metres away.

Summer plans - Yes, there are exams to be taken and revision to be done but who isn’t thinking about where to jet off to once that’s all done? The queues in STA prove that.

Revising in the sun - Trying to sweeten the bitter revision pill by lounging on the grass or moving the kitchen table to the garden. No revision gets done but the thought is there.

Redbrick’s penultimate issue - The end is nigh and we’re all buzzing in the office to make sure the Guild’s most outstanding society goes out with a bang!

New Joe’s - And especially the Facebook campaign to correct the punctuation error in calling it ‘Joes’.

Vandalised Tory posters - Whether you're anti-Conservative or not you can't escape these little nuggets of hilairous vandalism dotted across the country and Facebook profiles alike.

Finished Ugg Boots - Not only do you look like a teddy bear but your feet must be slow cooking in there!

Voila! We no longer have to spend a fortune to achieve that high fashion look. Happy shopping!

Having to get up early to bag a spot in the library - Revising is hard enough without yawning every 12 seconds.

The Rainbow ice cream van by the Bournbrook pitches - If you’re going to promote something to students probably best not to misspell words like ‘comming’.

Only two issues left from Redbrick 2009/10 - The final two issues?! Only two issues! Two?!

Stacey Barnes investigates the reality behind the law riage is deemed ‘criminal homicide’ by Utah state law, if it is a result of ‘intentional, knowing or reckless behaviour’.

The problem I have with this statement is where to draw the line; at what point does a particular behaviour or activity become ‘reckless’? Any number of normal activities could fall under this heading if someone else can argue that it endangers the unborn child.

Fierce

The first day of change - What today’s government will do that yesterday's failed to.

Culture: Utah bans 'intentional miscarriage' When I told my friends about an article I had read online recently about Utah’s contentious 'miscarriage bill' (clause HB12) I wasn’t sure how they would react. To be honest, I didn’t know how I felt about it myself. Is it right to support a law that will ban deliberate miscarriages? Or is there some-

Fierce & Finished: James Bunting

The flowers on campus - Reminding us why we pride ourselves in such a beautiful campus after the dreary grey of a Selly Oak winter. Wordsworth would have been suitably impressed.

Primark & New Look If you are on the hunt for cheap, colourful makeup, Primark is by far the best option. The low cost range is saturated with neon colours, glittery eyeliners and diamante fake eyelashes. Primark also sell cheap applicator sponges, brushes and other tools.

It must be noted that the quality of these products isn’t very high, but then the item is probably only intended for a couple of mad nights out! The New

23

but something in this story says to me that instead of being ‘sick’ or ‘depraved’, this girl was desperate.

Re-reading books you hated the first time around Textbooks, novels, critiques, whatever it is it’s worse in the second attempt; especially when you have an exam resting on it.

David Cameron’s make-up - You want to look good, we get it, but learn some control man! (this control goes for fake tan too for those on campus verging on the orange side of brown).

Baby Blue - Ordering an electric blue hoody and being sent a baby blue hoody has been a source of much constenation in the Redbrick office for the boys who fell foul of it.

The women of Utah are in a difficult predicament.

If they want an abortion, they are restrained by complicated legislature, lack of access to abortion clinics and rising costs, not to mention the shame associated with abortion in Utah’s (predominantly Mormon) society.

In trying to protect ‘basic human rights for the unborn’, HB12 threatens to ruin the lives of the mothers who suffer a traumatic loss, only to be subject to interrogation.

If the women of Utah were able to get legal abortions if needed, laws like HB12 wouldn’t be necessary.

Gap Yah 2 - Gap Yah was brilliant, spawning an abundance of Facebook groups, catchphrases and impersonations. But in the entire three minutes of Gap Yah 2 there is only enough to produce the slightest titter of comedy.

The first day of change - What today’s government will fail to do that they promised to yesterday.

Website of the Week: thefitfinder.com - 'Witness the Fitness' Seen some 'hot stuff' on campus? Check out this online version of the Metro's Love Struck. A guilty pleasure to break up revision. Warning: may prove addictive.

24 Lifestyle

An apple a day

Stress: The sinister side

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010

Lifestyle's election low-down: How does it effect students?

By the time you are reading this our country will have a new Prime Minister; the next man to run, govern and guide Britain into a new decade of politics.

Amongst all the confusing spin and jargon, what are they actually promising?

As students we don't always have the time (or stamina) to read through manifestoes and get clued up with each party policy, so we're here to tell you exactly what is being said and how us students are going to be affected.

Briony Singh's 3-step guide to each main party policy CONSERVATIVES

Rob Lewis You just have to love the two pronged stress fest that is the end of the spring term. You've handed in those final essays only to be confronted with the prospect of several three-hour exams sitting on a rickety chair next to someone who reeks of confidence, has colour co-ordinated stationary and obviously didn't spend the Easter break watching back-toback episodes of Lost.

But, what if your neighbour's endless mind mapping and exam practice is down to something a little more sinister than good old-fashioned hard work and dedication? Like a growing number of UK

hair loss, general lack of motivation and sleep problems. When coupled with an increase in stress a vicious cycle can begin, leading to long-term health problems and ultimately depression.

Obviously, it is natural to worry about essays, exams, rent, relationships and all the other sources of stress that student life throws up. But, how do you cope when these regular 'stressors' become too much, resulting in the debilitating effects that up to a quarter of the population will suffer from at some point?

I'll admit it, I was, as a friend once labelled me 'a crazy stress head mess' almost unable to control my anxiety under pressure, until I came to

'I have burnt healing incense, smoked loads of cigarettes, done breathing exercises and took long walks, all to no avail.' students, they could have been using Adderall, a drug used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

When used in non – sufferers, Adderall actually increases concentration, retention of information and the ability to stay awake. Sounds tempting, no? Well, before anyone schedules a GP appointment and starts researching the symptoms of ADHD it is worth knowing that illicit use of the amphetamine based prescription drug has been linked to severe physical dependence, increased blood pressure, mental health issues, and most worryingly boys, anecdotal evidence of penis shrinkage! Not to mention the awful feeling that comes with knowing that you are, frankly, a dirty cheat. I think I will stick with espresso, thanks.

In an exam or some other performance situation stress is often what gets you through, as we are hardwired to channel stress into positive performance. It is when it creeps into your everyday existence that the problems begin.

Symptoms include fluctuations in weight,

University and realised I had to consciously monitor my stress levels, or seriously risk my mental wellbeing.

I have burnt healing incense, smoked loads of cigarettes, done breathing exercises and took long walks, all to no avail. But, strangely, after a bumper essay season and with exams looming I am a vision of cool, well, maybe luke warm.

No, I am not an Adderall junkie, but instead I have come to accept my propensity for stress and learnt to work around it.

I try, not always successfully, to plan my workload and police my thoughts so any anxiety can be replaced with a shiny, happy thought. Yes, I know it is a cringe-worthy cliché, but it works for me.

Party Leader: David Cameron Three key policies: 1) Creating schools which are state funded but independent of local authority control.

2) Aim to eliminate the bulk of the UK's debt within five years, beginning in 2010 with £6bn in public spending.

3) Ensure only economic migrants who will contribute to the British economy are admitted.

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS Party Leader: Nick Clegg Three key policies: 1) Cut £15bn of lower priority spending per year to protect front-line services, whilst reducing debt at least as fast as Labour plans, beginning in 2011.

2) Create a National Border Force with police powers and reintroduce exit checks at all ports.

3) Scrap university tuition fees over six years.

Students count for between 10% and 30% of voters in 45 seats, according to the NUS website. Over two million of us.

What does it mean if they have won?

What does it mean if they have won?

The Conservatives claim they will deliver an extra 400,000 training opportunities over the next two years, introduce an early repayment bonus on student loans which are repaid ahead of schedule, and work to improve the way that universities are funded so that students get a fair deal.

The Conservatives have been pushing the 'Vote for Change' slogan since the beginning of their campaign, and they are trying to emphasise the difference between a reinvigorated Conservative party and a 'weak' Labour Government.

It is generally accepted that students tend to lean towards the more liberal parties; but if he holds true to his word, Cameron will hopefully be giving us the fair start we need in a time when jobs are sparse and a degree isn't always enough to guarantee employment.

Although, as Nick Clegg was quick to point out, the Tories' plan to increase tuition fees could mean students leave University with £44,000 of debt and a difficult road to finding that dream job.

In terms of university students, Clegg's strongest card is suggesting to scrap tuition fees over six years. Although us current students may not be here to see it happen, they do claim that within their first year in power they plan to scrap tuition fees for final-year full time students.

They also claim they will keep students in the job market after they leave university by paying any young person completing an internship or work experience £55 a week for three months.

The Lib Dems have really latched on the appealing concept of political and social 'fairness' in a bid to clean up politics; particularly applicable since the expenses scandal ripped open the current system.

It seems that if they have won the election their policies for education are a positive step forward for universities, yet Clegg's vague economic planning and lack of political experience could be his downfall under the pressure of the coming term.

LABOUR Party Leader: Gordon Brown Three key policies: 1) Increase front-line spending on childcare and education but at a slower rate than in recent years.

a hung parliament?

WHAT IS SO SCARY? Basically, a hung parliament is when no party has a majority of MPs.

2) Targeted increase in public spending over the next year to sustain the recovery, before cutting the debt by more than 50 per cent by 2014.

3) Continue to tighten the newly-created pointsbased immigration system.

What does it mean if they have won?

Labour pride themselves on having improved the quality and level of fairness within education during their reign, including improvements to the numbers of children coming out of GCSEs with five or more A*-C grades.

What does this mean for us? They have made a pledge to guarantee a job, training or work experience for young people aged 18-24 who have been unemployed for six months; good news for those of us who may be coming out of uni with uneasy thoughts of the colossal job-hunting search ahead of us.

With Brown's steady hand in terms of the economy, if they stay in office their pledges to slowly help recover the economy by boosting public spending seems like a smart move.

For example: Labour may try and form a minority government, but this could create big problems when trying to get political business done.

The other case could prove to be the most likely: a coalition government is formed by two of the parties with their combined number of MPs providing a majority.

Undecided voters make up 15% of the electorate.

However, Brown has been heavily criticised for his public demeanour (his meeting with Gillian Duffy being one of his biggest gaffes to date). It is questionable how much the general public will support him after such huge opposition from Conservative and Lib Dem voters.

A lot of scare-mongering from the press has caused people to fear the repercussions of a hung parliament; however it may seem beneficial at this time of political turbulence to create a united force between parties, which, according to polls, is what the public like to see.

Whatever the result, the next four years are going to be difficult not only for the government in office, but for us. There is no running away from the £700 billion debt or the increasing university costs and decreasing number of jobs. But if tackled efficiently, we shouldn't be returning to the Stone Age anytime soon, so don't go selling off your laptop just yet.

Sport

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010

Brum's archers target better recognition

25

Jonathan Gilbert delves into the world of archery and discovers a sport in organisational turmoil but with a potentially bright future IN March, a total of 400 university archers convened in Sheffield for the BUCS Championships. Importantly, it was the first time that archery had been included as part of the week-long Championships, a stirring climax of the university season.

This importance, however, seemed to have evaded the competition's organisers who chose Sheffield United FC's Academy, with minimal lighting, as the venue for the indoor tournament.

Those shooting towards the end of the day had to thus, rather ludicrously, combat the darkness. To compound the archers' misery, results for the Championships remain unpublished.

Jeffery Puckering, Birmingham Archery Club's captain for the coming year, believes that the organisers' disdainful deficiencies are indicative of a general reluctance to respect the sport and accept it as mainstream: 'This was one of the biggest shoots in the country, one of the biggest events of the Championships. Yet archery, once again, did not get the coverage that it deserves. Besides the poor lighting levels, there were only three judges. There was no website coverage.

We weren't even provided with the BUCS t-shirts that are supposedly given to all competitors. We still don't know the results, although we believe that experienced longbow archer James Cram claimed bronze for the University.

At Birmingham we are one of the biggest sports clubs, yet also one of the most forgotten.'

The Archery Club, which can boast Great

Britain Olympian Naomi Folkard amongst its alumni, has just below 70 members this year, 18 of whom traversed the Pennines to compete in Sheffield.

Apart from BUCS, the club competes more regularly in the regional Indoor League of BUTTS, an acronym for Birmingham University Toxophily and Toucan Society. The league, the most competitive university league in the country, was started by the University in 1995 and constitutes seven rounds, each hosted by one of the seven competing universities, which include Oxford, Cambridge, Loughborough and Nottingham.

This year, the club finished second in the novice category, for those in their first year of competition, and sixth in the experienced. However, despite the novices' satisfaction of ending the season as runners-up, a twinge of disappointment accompanied the achievement.

Having maintained first place throughout the tour-

it's difficult for us due to the fact that universities such as Warwick, Loughborough and Nottingham have a number of Great Britain internationals and an older contingent.

We are, though, proud of the home-grown talent we have nurtured at the club.'

The club now shifts its focus to the outdoor season under the renewed leadership of Wigan-born Puckering. The BUTTS Outdoor Championship beckons on 23rd of May, to be hosted by the University, whilst the club will also take control of organising the BUCS Outdoor tournament in June.

After the contempt shown by the external organisers in Sheffield, Birmingham will certainly treat university archery's second showpiece of the year with the respect it deserves, instilling pride from within.

Training has already switched location from the confined basement gym of the Gillett Centre, on the University's Selly Oak campus, to the extensive

'At Birmingham we are one of the biggest sports clubs, yet also one of the most forgotten' Jefferey Puckering nament, the team would have clung on to top spot had they shot just two more points in their last meeting. Unfortunately, it was not to be and fierce rivals Nottingham were eventual victors.

Puckering is hopeful of improvements in next year's competition: 'There is no reason why we cannot finish in third or fourth position. However,

Selly Oak playing fields just beyond. Members train three times a week – Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays – with each gruelling session lasting for four to five hours.

As with all sports, dedication is a prerequisite for achieving success in archery. Jim Taylor has previously represented both Oxford and Nottingham and is the club's

Photo courtesy of Archery Club most experienced member: 'I often train up to four times a week and will train until two or three in the morning,' says the compound archer. 'It is an extremely mental sport in which consistency of action is key. A lot of the time you are competing against yourself. It is extremely addictive, but if you put the effort in you get the results.'

Andrew Iles, who relinquished the club captaincy in March, explains how novices who get hooked are able to develop at the club: 'The learning curve is a quick one in archery. But then you need to change your technique in order to continue improving and get to the next level.'

The beginner may also find that high quality archery equipment is not cheap: bows, arrows, finger tabs, arm guards, quivers, sights and clickers often carry a hefty

price tag. 'A set of archery kit can cost £2,000,' continues Iles, 'but the club has its own equipment which novices can use until they want to invest in their own gear.'

During his tenure, 21year-old Iles promoted an initiative designed to encourage the participation of new members. Those who feel they may be interested in the sport can pay £5 for five introductory sessions at the start of the academic year. Alternatively, during the first two weeks of the current summer term, 'have-a-go' sessions have been held, specifically targeted at Guild societies.

Coaching, meanwhile, is of the highest standard.

Greig Middleton, a Great Britain Olympic and Paralympic trainer, is the hand of guidance for novice and experienced archers alike.

An inclusive, convivial and successful club, Puckering still feels that

its low profile prevents the archers from reaching their full potential. The Sheffield BUCS catastrophe was representative of a more acute problem, partly in evidence at Birmingham. 'The Archery Club requires new equipment,' says the club captain. 'Danage foam [which the targets are placed against], for example, is incredibly expensive, about £400 a block. We've applied to the AU for funds, but we're perceived as a smaller club and, therefore, don't receive the necessary funding.'

Birmingham's archers thus continue, with spirit and joviality, and hope that their ever-growing membership and professional coaching setup will give them the foundation to reap the rewards of true commitment and arduous training.

BUCS and the AU will finally need to sit up and take notice.

Cyclists prove to be the wheel deal Alex Saunders ON Saturday 24th of April, the University road cycling team won a total of seven medals individually and for team Birmingham in the BUCS 10 Mile Open Time Trial, hosted by Cambridge University.

The team of nine riders arrived just outside Cambridge at twelve o'clock eagerly anticipating the day's racing that lay ahead. As with any cycling events, despite the differing team colours and fast-paced competition, a friendly atmosphere welcomed all the riders. Once the team had signed up and col-

lected their race numbers time passed quickly as competitors checked over their bikes, pumped tyres and began their individual warm-ups.

The women riders were up first. Ciara Horne, Louisa Blamiers and Jess Waterfal all put in strong performances, achieving high personal goals.

Horne completed the 10 miles in 24 minutes, 56 seconds securing her the bronze medal. The fastest two women's times from each university made up the team time. Blamiers in combination with Horne won second place beating strong Cambridge rivals into third.

The men's event was

next and consisted of 100 riders, six of whom wore the blue, red and gold kit of Birmingham with pride.

Ralph Jones was first out for the men, followed

by Alex Saunders. Both

pushed hard for respectable finishes. Team captain Mark Brown was next up and raced the course in 24.25 grabbing 32nd place in the final standings.

Liam Roberts and

Alex Saunders in action for Brum

Neil Dallaway were next to finish for Birmingham in 26th and 14th respectively. The day's racing was drawing to a close when rider number 120, Xavier Disley, rolled up to the start line. As he clipped into his pedals and the one minute countdown began, his heart and mind were set on bringing home gold. Disley, coach to the rest of the team, set a blinding time of 21.54.

With Disley hoping for gold, an unbearable wait in front of the scoreboard at race HQ ensued, as gradually results from later riders worked their way back to the event organisers. As the last times were published disappointment

and joy were both noticeable on Disley's face: he had missed out on the gold but still finished 3rd, which ensured another medal was added to the Birmingham kitty.

Once all the times had been calculated, the fastest three Birmingham men (Disley, Dallaway and Roberts) came 3rd overall in the team event, bringing home even more medals to cap off a highly successful day's racing for all. On the way home talk turned to next year's event. With more training, who knows how much the team could achieve in 2011 on top of the extremely high standard set by the team of 2010.

26 Sport

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010

Trott seeks swift England return Simon Hall speaks to England and Warwickshire batsman Jonathan Trott about England rejection, Twenty20 and life back in county cricket MONDAY evening saw England's new-look Twenty20 squad kick off their World Cup campaign in a rainaffected defeat against the West Indies. However, one man was conspicuous by his absence in that encounter: Warwickshire batsman Jonathan Trott.

The South Africa-born Trott was sensationally left out in favour of new blood after England coach Andy Flower publicly criticised him for his slow innings against Pakistan in Dubai in February.

England have since gone on to scrape through to the Super 8s thanks to

not just cricket. You see it happening all over the place. I thought I had a pretty good tour of South Africa in the one-day games and Twenty20s, with a couple of good scores in and around the sixties.'

While the decision to drop Trott from the England squad seems to defy all logic from an outsider's perspective, he was reluctant to criticise the selectors: 'Maybe I didn't have the best game in Dubai and perhaps I got it wrong on the day so it was probably a fair decision. But it makes you work harder to

'It's a disappointment not to be selected,

that's the only word for it'

a very fortunate no result against Ireland. Until the adverse conditions set in, England looked to be heading for a humiliating defeat to supposedly inferior opposition. Their batting display was well below par with wickets tumbling frequently in a situation tailor-made for a batsman of Trott's calibre and style. The move is even more unfathomable when one considers that he was the leading run scorer in domestic Twenty20s in 2009.

The Warwickshirebased man has clearly taken the decision hard and told of his feelings when he received the bad news: 'Of course it's a disappointment not to be selected, that's the only word for it, but that's international sport for you,

get back in the team rather than give up. I want to play in all three forms of the game for England, so it's important that I work hard to get back in the team.' This demonstrates the admirable determination and focus that Trott will need if he is to force his way back into the selectors' reckoning.

While England were making hard work of progressing in the West Indies, Trott was back playing for Warwickshire, the county where he has made his name over the last few years. Not only was he playing but also top scoring impressively against Kent in a four-day match, sending a timely reminder to the England selectors of what the team is missing out on.

Nevertheless, Trott

seems to be embracing life back at Edgbaston and believes the current crop of Warwickshire talent has the potential to spring a few surprises this year.

'I'm enjoying being back at Warwickshire playing with the boys that got me to England. At the end of the day we've got a job to do so its important that we go back and help the boys when we're not playing for England.

'We've got a strong team this season. We are a good one-day outfit at the moment, and our four-day game is coming along. Our seam bowling has been excellent. Edgbaston is often seen as a bit of a graveyard for seam bowlers, but conditions have been conducive this season.

'It's tricky at this time of year. We lost two games we probably should have won early in the season and it was going that way against Hampshire, but we rallied well and put a good score on the board'.

With the likes of Ian Bell and Trott himself in the squad, supported by the raw talent of youthful players such as fast bowler Chris Woakes, this promises to be a very exciting year at Edgbaston.

On the subject of student life, Trott was keen to emphasise the benefits that Warwickshire and Twenty20 cricket as a spectacle can offer to Birmingham students.

'It's a great day to have with your mates, a chance to get a bit rowdy and it's a perfect start to an evening. Then you can go on to the Gun Barrels before heading off somewhere in town for the night!'

COMPETITION TIME!

WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO THE WARWICKSHIRE VS NORTHAMPTONSHIRE TWENTY20 MATCH AT EDGBASTON ON 3rd JUNE! TO BE IN WITH A CHANCE, SEND YOUR BEST AND FUNNIEST SPORTING PHOTOS WITH YOUR NAME AND CONTACT DETAILS TO: SPORTS@REDBRICKONLINE.CO.UK Entries close at midnight on 28th May 2010

Photo courtesy of Warwickshire Cricket Club

Trott (right) celebrates another impressive score With Warwickshire currently offering ÂŁ5 entry for their first home Twenty20 fixture to all Redbrick readers, it looks like Twenty20 fever will be hitting Birmingham

this summer.

It remains to be seen whether England's decision to leave Trott at home was the right one.

The team's performance thus far indicates that

they are crying out for someone with his capabilities, but England's loss is Warwickshire's gain and it promises to be an exhilarating year of cricket in Birmingham.

Sport

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MaY 2010

Bedford bank holiday for athletes

Regatta success for UBBC Jessica Morris

The men's relay team won the silver medal

Sara Treacy LAST weekend the University's athletics team competed in Bedford at the BUCS Outdoor Championships. The three days brought with it a mix of performances for the team akin to the somewhat variable weather conditions.

With many of Birmingham's athletes qualifying through opening rounds on day one, Brum's first medal came on the second day from scholar Simon Phelan who soared over 2.07m, to win easily in the high jump. Fellow Birmingham student Karl Robbins finished 4th with a clearance of 1.95m.

Meanwhile on the track, Josh Lilly pulled away from training partner Phil Hinch from the University of Wolverhampton to secure 1st place in the men's 10,000 metres.

The sprints saw scholar Ed Aston through to the final in the 400 metres and Ollie King, Rebecca Williams and freshman Jermaine Al-

W

exander impressing in the 200 metres. In the long jump Steph Klenynhans was unlucky to finish 6th in a close final while in the men's pole vault Nick Cruchley finished in a similar position. The mixed fortunes continued in the relays where both 4 x 100m teams failed in the heats but the 4 x 400m men looked good in qualifying.

Nick Goolab got Monday off to a great start, opening up a three-second lead over St. Mary's Rory Chesser in the last 200 metres to win his first competitive 5 kilometres.

Shortly after, Alison Leonard took the women's 800 metres crown emphatically, bravely leading the field from gun to tape to record a time of 2.09 minutes in windy conditions.

Chris Smith finished a respectable 6th in the men's race. In the 200 metres Williams claimed bronze after running four personal bests in the short sprints. In the discus event Rachel Backhouse added a

bronze to her collection of silver and gold, which she won in in 2008 and 2009 respectively. The day was not without drama either as first year Lara Thomas was momentarily submerged when she fell, victim of the formidable water jump halfway through the women's steeplechase.

The 1500 metres finished off the individual events and Birmingham were well represented with all six men and women in the final. An exciting battle in the men's race saw James Wilkinson clench bronze with Joe Durrant only one second behind in 6th. In the women's event Sara Treacy finished a credible 5th. The penultimate race of the day saw the women's 4 x 4 team of Lucy Dowsett, Kate Hindle, Leonard and Williams narrowly missed out on bronze. The men's team of Zach Saucede, King, Smith and Aston finished the weekend on a high note with a silver just behind winners Loughborough.

OVER the May Day weekend 4,000 university rowers flocked to Nottingham's National Watersports Centre to compete at the 2010 BUCS Regatta, among those battling out for the top places were the University of Birmingham Boat Club (UBBC). For most university rowing clubs and certainly UBBC, BUCS Regatta is the pinnacle of the year where students from all over Great Britain put into action the tough and competitive training that they have endured all season, on a two kilometre course.

The competition got underway on Saturday when UBBC's novice rower Sarah Pomeroy, claimed bronze in the Women's Beginner Single category; the University's first single scull medal at BUCS Regatta. Pomeroy's exhilarating performance saw her leading through the start of the race before dropping back to fourth place, however her determination in the last 250 metres saw her push back to within half a second of the silver. Pomeroy's victory is one to be especially celebrated due to her limited sculling experience and the fact that her decision to enter the category was a last minute one that enabled only ten days of actual race preparation.

Later in the day came the Men's Champ Single Sculls which saw UBBC's senior sculler, Rob Wallace, take to the course.

Wallace was certainly in great form, but a calf strain suffered one kilometre into the first heat affected his performance when he was ahead of

Hertfordshire University's Dave Bell, the defending champion and former 2008 Thames Challenge Cup winner at Henley.

Wallace still turned heads and had university coaches comparing him to Zac Purchase, a gold medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Sadly, Wallace narrowly missed out on a place in the final after a re-occurrence of the injury in the Repechage.

Sunday's phase of the competition saw turbulent weather that proved testing to rowers who fought

hard to overcome the side and tail winds that overwhelmed the course.

However, Birmingham's Men's Champ Lightweight Coxless Four battled through the adverse conditions to claim 5th place in the final heat. Despite not medalling, the four were only two seconds from EUSA consideration and only five from gold in a performance that was significantly stronger than previous years.

UBBC'S Women's Champ Lightweight Coxless Four were also on great form, taking 5th place in their final heat and once again demonstrating Birmingham's capabilities as a club that consistently appear among the top universities in regatta fi-

Sponsored by Waterstone's at the University of Birmingham This week's prize is a £10 Waterstone's voucher

Redbrick 1371

====1_2_3_4_5 6=7=_=_=_=_=_ 8____=9______ _=_=_=_=_=_=_ 0_______=a___ _=_=_=_=b=_=_ c_____=d_____ _=_=_=e=_=_=_ f___=g_______ _=_=h=_=_=_=_ i______=j____ _=_=_=_=_=_=_ k________====

nals. Sunday proved victorious again for Wallace and team mate Max Gerrard whose stunning performance saw them take Gold in the Intermediate Double Sculls. The pair comfortably beat Reading's intermediate crew, despite the fact that their team boasts several GB Under 23 squad members.

UBBC's novice rowers were also on form in Monday's events, demonstrated by the Women's Beginner Eight, who claimed an eventual 5th

The women's beginner eight in action

=the===redbrick==crossword= Mordo Nahum

27

Across

Down

1. Revealed, confessed (9) 8. Flying _____, LA-based DJ; type of flower (5) 9. City in Israel (3, 4) 10. Type of makeup (3, 5) 11. Jab (4) 13. In a crazy manner (6) 14. Transparent part of eye (6) 16. Killer whale (4) 17. Type of fuel; sore knee (anag) (8) 19. Viral infection (7) 20. Well done! (5) 21. Female pharaoh (9)

1. Devoted follower (8) 2. Couch (6) 3. Flower; girl's name (4) 4. Benefits from losing a job; never say cape (anag) (9, 3) 5. Leader of the Tories (5, 7) 6. Long-running rock band with hit albums Rumours and Tusk (9, 3) 7. Type of race that could be contested by athletes or horses (12) 12. South American country (8) 15. Rented room (3, 3) 18. Hit, strike (4)

place in the final heat.

The girls continually impressed throughout each heat and a particularly outstanding semi-final performance saw them achieve a time of 7:29.33, which was one second quicker than the previous guaranteed gold medal time and also faster than the time of the eventual winners in the final heat.

Overall, it was a great weekend for UBBC: a club who are rapidly gaining a greater reputation on the university rowing stage and whose performance continues to improve with each and every season.

And, as always, the loudest chant to be heard over the May Day weekend was for Birmingham.

Last issue's solutions:

bejeweled=gbh e=u=a=e=r=i=u lesmiserables l=t=t=w=f=s=t assistant=c=l ==o===y=e=o=e castro=editor h=t=e=e===t== i=o=leviathan e=r=e=o=w=e=o friendlyfires l=e=t=v=u=o=e yes=seedlings THINK you've cracked it? Pop your completed crosswords (and bribes, naturally) in to the Redbrick office with your NAME, COURSE, YEAR and EMAIL ADDRESS for a chance to win a £10 voucher for the University's Waterstone's branch.

The deadline for entries is Tuesday 11th May 2010.

Last issue's winner was Eleanor Smith.

28 Sport

REDBRICK 1371 / 7th MAY 2010

SPORT

27 Athletics A round up from the BUCS outdoor championships

26 Cricket Comp Win Warwickshire v Northamptonshire twenty20 tickets

French fried by British brilliance Photo: Tom Flathers

Birmingham's blue and red army storm through the French defence

Men's Rugby Union 1st: Birmingham v Paris 52-14 Blayne Pereira A RARE spectacle graced the Metchley fields last Saturday as Birmingham played host to an international fixture, welcoming the University of Paris.

The game was organized

by Seamus McKimm, a Birmingham student currently on his year abroad

in Paris as part of his course, Law with French, with all proceeds going to the charity, Wooden Spoon. 'I'm very nervous, it's taken a lot of work to even get this far,' was what McKimm – playing for the Parisians – had to say before the big game, while Birmingham's Claude Springer was much more optimistic: 'Although we don't know too much about them, we should beat them as they normally do uncontested scrums.'

Keeping in line with the international feel, there was a small brass band present to play the national anthems – and if that was a contest, the French definitely won with a rousing, heart-felt, rendition of La Marseillaise. The visitors started

brightly, stealing an early The French could have line-out before Luc Benereplied immediately but planc saw his penalty atBeneplanc's accuracy tempt agonizingly bounce was again lacking as his off the crossbar and uppenalty attempt missed rights and back into play. left. However, the visiGuillaume Héritier also tors did eventually take a saw his attempted pass to shock lead as Héritier put Marin Brunel intercepted, up the five points before which would otherwise Beneplanc finally put the have seen Brunel race ball between the posts for down to score an uncona 7-5 lead. Ultimately, it A frenchman scraps forthe possession tested first try. Beneplanc was hosts who would would also miss two more have the last say in the drop goal attempts in a half as good work from very scrappy, and surSmith and Pete Matthews prisingly close, first quarset-up McVittie for his ter (yes, this game was second try, which Gardner played in quarters). converted. It could have Birmingham started been three for McVittie the second quarter in a had he not unfortunately much more composed mis-controlled when put and attacking mode and through earlier in the first Matt Smith found Henry quarter.

McVittie to open the tryThere was a definite scoring, although Matt post-season feel to proGardner missed the difficeedings which was evicult conversion attempt. dent in the large number

of half-time changes by the hosts, with McVittie among those being withdrawn. The level of rugby remained of a fairly disappointing standard generally, although that was probably as much to do with the game being a friendly, as the uncontested scrums. Having said that, there were still many notable bright sparks from Birmingham and they cruised away in the second half as the French seemed to run out of steam. Two tries for Ed Burton and a stunning seventy-yard interception return from Smith saw the game effectively end as a contest; before Stefan Cooksammy burst through into clean air with a dazzling run to rack up more points. Matthews set up Gardner for

try number seven before Stringer muscled his way through a trio of desperately tiring Parisians to make it 52-7. The French did have the last word though, netting a consolatory try as time expired, with Beneplanc's fantastic conversion being the last action of the game.

It was a well-deserved try for the visitors, who had reached the hosts' tryline several times in the game without being able to punch it in.

'I'm absolutely knackered!' was McKimm's immediate response to the game, 'we aren't the biggest bunch but I'm proud of the team's performance. We had a great first half.' Stringer, meanwhile, simply suggested a headline, 'Muscle Mansion Smash the French'.

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