RGU Radar // 3 // Spring 2014

RADAR MAGAZINE ISSUE 03 FEB/MAR 2014 RGUUNION.CO.UK

THE OFFICIAL FREE MAGAZINE FOR RGU STUDENTS

THE BEARDS

LET’S

E T A R B E CEL RGU T N E M E V E I H AC

T A T N E D U ST

rgu student achievement awards ball 2014 FRIDAY 28TH MARCH ABERDEEN MARRIOTT HOTEL

3 course meal arrival drink ceilidh & live dj

PLUS AWARD PRESENTATIONS, 1/2 bottle of wine & TRANSPORT TO AND FROM VENUE tickets: £32.50. for more details and ticket availability, visit THE UNION’S STUDENT BASE ON UNIVERSITY STREET

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ion

CONTENTS

THE TEAM

FOLLOW US ON RADAR - RGU magazine

@RADARRGU

EDITORS NOTE

WELCOME TO YOUR NEW LOOK RADAR MAGAZINE!

NEWS & EVENTS STUDENT LIFE ENTERTAINMENT BEAUTY, HEALTH & FASHION SUCCESS SPORT

ext.green2@rgu.ac.uk

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NEWS & EVENTS STUDENT LIFE ENTERTAINMENT BEAUTY, HEALTH & FASHION SUCCESS SPORT

ext.green2@rgu.ac.uk

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NEWS & EVENTS STUDENT LIFE ENTERTAINMENT BEAUTY, HEALTH & FASHION SUCCESS SPORT

radar@rguunion.co.uk

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NEWS & EVENTS STUDENT LIFE ENTERTAINMENT BEAUTY, HEALTH & FASHION SUCCESS SPORT

diana.b@rguunion.co.uk

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NEWS & EVENTS STUDENT LIFE ENTERTAINMENT BEAUTY, HEALTH & FASHION SUCCESS SPORT

Have you ever wondered how your fellow students get on at RGU, how different their courses are to yours and what you have in common?

Well Hollie Bain aims to investigate how the other student studies with some Q&As with Media Student, Joanna MacQueen.

What’s the best thing about studying at RGU? Probably getting to study what I enjoy! Media is a diverse course from lectures to getting to create your own films so it’s always varied!

Why did you choose to study Media?

I knew I was interested in Media from school, but I wasn’t sure of what I wanted to do with it. And so RGU offered quite a broad course that covered a lot of areas, so hopefully I’ll be able to find an area within it that I want to work in.

What the hardest thing about your course?

Having to explain what media is when people ask you what you study. And having to check out filming equipment from the technicians!

What’s it like when creating a full project from scratch?

A little overwhelming at first, and so you put it off for ages. And then finally, when you do start on work there seems so much to do! But it’s great when you can finally say you’re finished!

What’s a normal week at university like for you?

We have about 3-4 modules a semester, with usually a lecture and a tutorial/computer lab session once a week for each. So honestly, we’re not very busy- usually we get at least one day a week where we don’t have classes.

You’re part of the Christian Union, What does that involve?

I am! Specifically I do any publicity we need such as designing flyers or maintain Facebook pages and so on, which is kind of my area as a media student! As a CU though, we have weekly meet ups usually in planning for our bigger monthly events which we hold for everyone and anyone. We’re not trying to force anything upon people; we just want to get people thinking and let them know that we’re here if they’re ever curious or interested in Christianity or Jesus. The events can be things like acoustic nights where we have some great performers and usually a talk on a topic that might interest folk. There’s also usually free food involved too!

Do you think coming to University has been worthwhile? What’s your favourite aspect of it?

Definitely! I really like what I study and I think just the people I’ve gotten to know are great.

You have more freedom when you come to uni, you’re pretty much allowed to live the way you want to live, which means there is a lot more responsibility but also more independence, which I love the most!

Hollie Bain hollie.b@rguunion.co.uk

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NEWS & EVENTS STUDENT LIFE ENTERTAINMENT BEAUTY, HEALTH & FASHION SUCCESS SPORT

Hunting for a part-time job while you are at University can be as easy as one, two, three - as long as you’re prepared. But don’t worry, getting things sorted out isn’t as scary as it might sound. All you need to do is follow through several steps and be persistent in your search until you find something that suits you.

The first thing you might want to figure out is your schedule.

University comes before work and skipping lectures because your employer is requesting it is a no-no. RGU recommends that students work no more than 16 hours per week during semester time. Before filling out application forms, you need to know your timetable in detail. Some offers display specific hours, when you would be required, which could be quite helpful in determining whether the place is right for you. It’s also quite useful to have a realistic idea of just how much time it might take you to travel to the workplace to avoid being late.

The next step is to start working on your CV. This task can seem quite demanding and daunting, because you need to identify your skills and qualities that make you a suitable candidate. If you’re looking for opportunities to boost your experience, trainee programs or volunteering are just a few examples. But once you’ve given it enough thought, it becomes much easier for you to get an idea of what kind of positions your experience is suitable for. If you’re on a fresh start when it comes to employment, don’t sweat it! Many part time positions for students include training, which will give you a good head start.

Keep in mind that each job offering is different and might require different skills, so it would be best to edit your CV for each one individually. This is just to make sure that you have emphasized the right features. To save time, have a general template that you can tweak quickly when necessary. If you’re not sure how to make your CV’s design more appealing, you can always do some research on the Web to see what employers consider the best.

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And let’s not forget about the cover letter. Some websites don’t require one, but in the majority of cases, it would be best to include a cover letter to your application. If you decide to slack off on this step, just image how competitors for the same position with a cover letter seem so much more serious and appealing than you. While a CV is in a much more technical style of writing, the cover letter should be tailored specifically for the position and employer and needs to explain why you’re the best option they have.

Persistance is key!

If you want a good chance at finding the best part-time job for you, don’t stop applying. Search, search and search. Then apply, apply and apply some more. Don’t stop, until the calls for interviews start coming your way. Persistence is key!

When someone calls, what happens then? The interview is probably the scariest part of the whole process, but you can get through it. Do your homework. Research the company, make sure you’re well acquainted with the products and services they offer. Additionally, give some thought to answers to questions such as ‘What do you think makes you exceptional from the other candidates?’ or ‘Can you give us an example of a time when you’ve handled a difficult situation?’. Employers want to know whether you would be suitable for their working strategy and you’re just a stranger to them when you walk through the door. Just be yourself and show them why you’re the best. Give it your all, be confident and don’t forget to smile.

For advice about finding part-time work during your time at RGU speak to the University’s Careers and Employability Centre, which can be found in the Faculty of Health and Social Care building. Take a look at their newly launched online career toolkit at www.rgu.ac.uk/mycareertoolkit, which provides information on finding a part time job, writing a CV and preparing for interviews.

Vesen Kasen vasilena.s@rguunion.co.uk

NEWS & EVENTS STUDENT LIFE ENTERTAINMENT BEAUTY, HEALTH & FASHION SUCCESS SPORT

Johann Beardraven is a man on a mission. As a member of the Australian comedy folk band The Beards, he wants everyone to join their facial haired crusade and embrace the virtues of having a beard. For Johann, taking this message to the North East wasn't a difficult decision. The band has ventured into Scotland before, and he has fond memories of their last visit.

“We are very excited. When we were in Scotland last time, we saw some excellent beards and I'm sure Aberdeen will be no different. You can actually create the word beard by rearranging Aberdeen!”, he points out.

It's a big year ahead for the band, with promises of a new album being released and their biggest ever tour to date.

“We'll finish up the new album after the current tour and release that later in the year. There's also a big Australian tour coming up that we're really looking forward to, and who knows, maybe we'll be back in the UK at some point as well.”

Johann also has an interesting story regarding the band's origins. “We actually started The Beards in 2005 as a side project to support another band we were in at the time, which was our main focus. From there, we realised that we enjoyed writing and singing songs about beards so much that we decided to abandon non-beard songs. We've never looked back!”

Before he heads off to continue his beard-related antics, Johann has a few words of encouragement for our readers.

“We're all really excited to travel up to Aberdeen and we look forward to seeing how all of your beards are progressing.

Even if you're not part of the bearded masses yet, there's still plenty of time for you to grow one before the show. Beards are awesome!”

In regards to career highlights and stand out moments, performing at the opening ceremony of the 2009 World Beard and Moustache Championship in Alaska is a personal favourite of Johann's. “We got to play in front of some of the best beards in the world there, it was fantastic. But overall,

The Beards will perform at the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen on Sunday 2nd March as part of their 'Euro-Bout To Grow A Beard' tour. Tickets cost £9.90 and are available from www.aberdeenperformingarts.com.

Eoin Cheyne eoin.c@rguunion.co.uk

the main highlight is just waking up every day, looking in the mirror and knowing I have a great beard. That's what it's all about.”

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NEWS & EVENTS STUDENT LIFE ENTERTAINMENT BEAUTY, HEALTH & FASHION SUCCESS SPORT

gabriele.m@rguunion.co.uk

Grant Stengs grant.stengs@rguunion.co.uk

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NEWS & EVENTS STUDENT LIFE ENTERTAINMENT BEAUTY, HEALTH & FASHION SUCCESS SPORT What made you get in to music?

Music has always been a huge part of my life and it goes back to my family firstly. Since I can remember there's always been music playing in the house pretty much all the time. My Dad is a huge music fan and has been playing his tunes in the house for years and years, so I'm definitely a sucker for a song from Air Supply or The Beatles.

My mum has a really musical family which probably plays a huge part in my love for it. I think watching people perform live on TV and listening on the radio influenced me to pick up the guitar and start writing my own songs. Also being pushed to play the violin in primary school had it's influence. I didn't enjoy it that much, but it all led to me playing guitar so for that I'm so thankful!

Who is your idol and why?

My idol musically is John Mayer. I only started listening to him a couple of years ago but since I did, I was certain he would be my idol for life. He gets a lot of grief about his personality and attitude, but strictly speaking about his songwriting style and musical ability, he is just awesome. His first album 'Room For Squares' will forever remain my favourite album due to it's pure and honest storytelling. I also love how he has been successful in the music industry by following his heart and written whatever he felt was right, not for what the people may feel. He follows his own path and explores genres freely such as blues, acoustic, eas-listening, country, pop and rock. I recently saw him live in Amsterdam and it was THE best gig I attended and probably ever will attend. Wow. Where do you get your emotions from when you write your songs?

That's a tough one. Every song I have written is full of truth and honesty. Where I get the feelings from would most simply put come from life experiences I go through. There's no limit to what I'll write about, it just depends on how exciting and intense my life is in that moment.

“Music has always been a huge part of my life”

What is the new song called and what’s it about?

It’s called 'Anchor' and it's about someone special to me. The anchor is the metaphor in the song that represents her and how she keeps me human when things can become a little crazy or too much. I wrote the song in the summer time and it's one I'm proud of. I released it on Monday on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon MP3 and many other online stores. It's free to listen to on my Soundcloud page too.

Gemma Stewart editor@rguunion.co.uk

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radar//ISSUE 03//FEB/MAR 2014

NEWS & EVENTS STUDENT LIFE ENTERTAINMENT BEAUTY, HEALTH & FASHION SUCCESS SPORT

RUMOURS OF FLEETWOOD MAC

This month, we've had the chance to talk with Rumours of Fleetwood Mac drummer and head promoter Allan Cosgrove ahead of the band's visit to the Granite City in March. Here, Allan tells us a little bit about their current tour and the reason behind its name. “We've called it 'Fleetwood Mac Forever', which was really a tribute to the band's staying power after all these years. Fleetwood Mac are still touring to this day, and it's recently been confirmed that Christine McVie is rejoining the band. Our shows kind of act as a compliment to the original band's performances.”

'THAT'S FLEETWOOD MAC!' Perhaps surprisingly, Rumours of Fleetwood Mac wasn't always the plan. “We started out 14 years ago by chance more than design”, Allan admits. “At the time, we were all original artists and were in the studio together for a recording session for an American root beer advertisement. The goal was to try and recreate the sound of Heart, the American rock band.

When we'd finished recording and the producer played it back, he shouted out 'That's Fleetwood Mac!'. From then on out, after we received permission from Mick Fleetwood himself, Rumours of Fleetwood Mac was born.”

Taking on the task of performing for a hugely dedicated fanbase like Fleetwood Mac's is something Allan takes very seriously. “These shows have a lot to do with poetic licence. If the original artist gets something wrong, fans can be forgiving and look past it. But when a tribute band makes a mistake, it's a different game altogether and they're less likely to be forgiving. Obviously you don't want to offend or anger anybody so that's very important to us.”

In terms of what Rumours of Fleetwood Mac brings to the table, Allan explains that tributes can specialise in certain areas of the performance. “For me, there's a couple of different camps when it comes to tribute acts. You have the lookalikes, who go out there in costumes and dress up to try and look like the band they're emulating. On the other side of things, you have those who focus more on the sound and the vocal similarities to the original band. I'd say we definitely fall into the second category, the sound, and we base our performances around that.” Allan is keen to point towards the Peter Green era for some of his favourite Fleetwood Mac tracks. “I'm a big fan of Oh Well, Man of the World, that kind of stuff. I think the sixties era in general was just fantastic.

Fleetwood Mac were a massive entity even before the Rumours album in 1977.”

He also offers his thoughts on the band's continued popularity in today's era of music. “I think part of the reason for that is that people weren't selective about the music they bought.

There was no such thing as downloads and if you bought a vinyl record, you had entire albums which have then been passed down from generation to generation. I think a lot of bands look back to that Peter Green era for the classic blues rock that you still hear today.”

So what does the future hold for Rumours of Fleetwood Mac? According to Allan, there's a lot to be excited about in 2014.

“This year we're taking Rumours of Fleetwood Mac into America for the first time, so as you can imagine we're really looking forward to that. To be honest, we're all just looking forward to the upcoming years of performing in general. Every gig is great, we're very privileged to be where we are today.”

Rumours of Fleetwood Mac will perform at the Aberdeen Music Hall on Sunday March 2nd as part of their 'Fleetwood Mac Forever' tour.

Tickets are available from £25.85 at: www.aberdeenperformingarts.com Eoin Chenye eoin.c@rguunion.co.uk

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editor@rguunion.co.uk

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sarah.m@rguunion.co.uk

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eoin.c@rguunion.co.uk

katie.k@rguunion.co.uk

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NEWS & EVENTS STUDENT LIFE ENTERTAINMENT BEAUTY, HEALTH & FASHION SUCCESS SPORT

hollie.b@rguunion.co.uk

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NEWS & EVENTS STUDENT LIFE ENTERTAINMENT BEAUTY, HEALTH & FASHION SUCCESS SPORT

charlotte.d@rguunion.co.uk

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NEWS & EVENTS STUDENT LIFE ENTERTAINMENT BEAUTY, HEALTH & FASHION SUCCESS SPORT

arham.a@rguunion.co.uk

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NEWS & EVENTS STUDENT LIFE ENTERTAINMENT BEAUTY, HEALTH & FASHION SUCCESS SPORT

Dear Welfairy,

Dear Welfairy,

I’ve been having a pretty awkward time recently because I really like one of my flatmates. I don’t know if I could risk confessing to him, because what if things don’t turn out well and we still had to live together?

“Welfairy, My friends all like Liquid but I prefer The Moorings.

How do we survive this major barrier?”

How long is the lease? If this is Student Halls and you are moving out soon, then just go for it! Confess your undying love! Worst that happens is it will be awkward for a short time, but hey you might even get something out of it!

Although if you are going to be flatmates for some time, then ‘mates’ is all you should be. Keep your eyes open as there may be other fishes out there that you may have the same types of feelings for.

Get new friends! JOKES JOKES. Listen, there needs to be compromise! I understand these are two completely different scenes, but if you are out with good people, then there is fun to be had! Let’s see, Liquid/ Institute Monday &, Friday and Moorings Tuesday & Saturday (Wednesday and Sunday is rest days!). Then switch over the following week? Or, just try somewhere new altogether! Aberdeen is not short of bars and nightclubs so try them all out and you may find that there is a perfect fit for all of you.

‘Welfairy Godmother’

‘Welfairy’ BTW its Institute old school, not liquid!

Dear Welfairy,

to Uni that a distant relationship would not work for you. What you need to do now is tell her honestly that you should go your own separate ways. Preferably face to face but skype works too (you can just switch your computer off if it goes wrong). Try not add salt to the wound, don’t give her a blow by blow account (naughty!) of all your antics, but explain that you’re having a great time at University and meeting lots of people and you want her to do the same. Remember to say she means a lot to you and always will… something along those lines.

“The girl I was seeing at high school still thinks we’re in a long distance relationship but I’ve moved on – how do I let her down gently without telling her about last semester’s ‘activities’?”

Dear Mr Infidelity, Oh poor quine. Firstly for dating a cheater (yes cheater, if your ‘activties’ means sex) and secondly for believing that long distance relationships work. You should have had the decency to at least just be honest with her before you came

Hello Cherub!

Welfairy Godmother

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charlotte.d@rguunion.co.uk

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hollie.b@rguunion.co.uk

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editor@rguunion.co.uk

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editor@rguunion.co.uk eoin.c@rguunion.co.uk

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arham.a@rguunion.co.uk fatima.j@rguunion.co.uk

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editor@rguunion.co.uk

NEWS & EVENTS STUDENT LIFE ENTERTAINMENT BEAUTY, HEALTH & FASHION SUCCESS SPORT

editor@rguunion.co.uk

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NEWS & EVENTS STUDENT LIFE ENTERTAINMENT BEAUTY, HEALTH & FASHION SUCCESS SPORT

Photography courtesy of: Bobby Gavin

fatima.j@rguunion.co.uk

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