theREVIEW A Sixth Form Publication
World News | Student News | Science/Tech | Media | Sport | Fashion | Creative | Misc
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edition www.theWHSREVIEW.co.uk
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In this issue: Whaling: A Controversial Industry | Pg 3 An Extra-terrestrial Threat | Pg 7,8 Warm Bodies Review | Pg 16 Lance Armstrong: A Fallen Idol | Pg 17,18
theTeam Alex Westerberg - Writer
James Phillips - Website
Anna Young - Writer
Josh McStay - Editor/Writer
Ashley Latimer - Writer
Matthew Borthwick - Writer
Challum Chapple - Writer
Meg Handley - Writer
Chris Ahart - Writer
Max Sharp - Writer
Elizabeth Robbins - Writer
Puja Gurung - Writer
Eloise Scott - Writer
Rebecca Henrys - Writer
Georgina Collins - Writer
Rei Madarani - Writer
Hayley Waugh - Writer
Samuel Bancroft - Editor/Graphics/Writer
Henry Grainger - Writer
Sarah Drozdz - Writer
Jack Jones - Writer
Stuart Astle - Writer
theEditorial
Welcome back to theREVIEW, a Sixth Form publication.
From the developments in Westminster regarding the EU, to reviews of the latest games and films, to the triumph of Wales in the Six Nations; once more we have produced a mixture of articles ranging across many topics. This edition is also home to our first ever guest column, from a man more used to gracing the sofa of the Andrew Marr show and the pages of national newspapers than a Sixth Form publication, our thanks go to Dr John Sentamu: Archbishop of York. Also, please feel free to check out the publication’s website. You will be able to view all articles to date, and browse by author and category. The website can be viewed at: www.thewhsreview.co.uk As ever; if you want to be involved, or have any feedback, please do not hesitate to contact the editors at: thewhsreview@gmail.com -The editors, Samuel Bancroft and Josh McStay Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of William Howard School. Credit to pictosaic.com for the front cover mosaic generator. Front cover image sourced from http://www.philmeadowsmusic.co.uk & http://www.designnation.de
theContents World News EU – In or Out? Sunset on the British Economy? Whaling: A Controversial Industry Oscar Pistorius faces Murder Charge
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Student News William Howard Hampers Scheme
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Science/Tech See the Future: Google Glass An Extra-terrestrial Threat Our Future - Part 2
6 7-8 9-10
Media Dead Space 3 Review Don’t Starve Review Crysis 3 Review Foals: Holy Fire Review Warm Bodies Review
11 12 13-14 15 16
Sport Lance Armstrong – A Fallen Idol Six Nations 2013 Review
17-18 19-21
Fashion What are your clothes saying about you?
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Creative ‘Isaac’ Part 3 Photography
23 24
Tom Hiddleston: UNICEF Guest Column: Dr. Sentamu, Archbishop of York Kakuro Crossword Cryptogram
25 26 27 28 29
Misc
EU – In or Out? David Cameron has announced a referendum to take place in 2017 asking whether we should be in or out of the European Union. What has changed to give rise to such eurosceptism, and is it even appropriate to open the issue up for the public to decide? An economic union between European countries can be traced back to a Europe post-WW2 struggling to revive its economies, rebuild and construct new alliances and to protect peace for the future. From this the idea of an economic alliance was formed, with support from Winston Churchill who in 1946 said “We must build a kind of United States of Europe”. However when the Treaty of Rome was signed in 1957, establishing the European Economic Community, it was signed by only six countries and centred on the economies of Germany and France. Twice Britain attempted to join the union, when the EEC’s economic growth was shown to be far greater than that of America and Britain, but both times it was vetoed by General De Gaulle of France who wanted a “European Europe”, a third superpower between the USSR and the USA, and so feared that our relationship with America would jeopardise this. Contrary to what we may envisage in light of the mood in Parliament today, it was the Conservatives who drew us into the EU and tied our economic bond with Europe all the more tightly. When Britain did enter the EEC in 1973 it was under the Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath. Only two years later a referendum was held on EEC membership under the Labour government of Harold Wilson in which 67% voted in favour of the question “Do you think the United Kingdom should stay in the European Community (The Common Market)?” The Common Market promised to raise living standards and
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improve working conditions, to promote growth and trade and maintain peace. In 1979 the steps towards a monetary union were taken in the shape of the European monetary system which only allowed currencies to fluctuate within 2.5% of each other. Margaret Thatcher in 1987 signed the Single European Act which created between member states “an area without frontiers in which the free movement of goods and persons, services and capital is ensured”. However her belief in free trade and its benefits for Britain did not make her a friend of a political union or the dictation of social rights which came with it. Continually she sought to reduce the British contribution to the EEC. Her 1988 Bruges speech opposed the creation of “a European superstate”. She condemned attempts to “suppress nationhood and concentrate power at the centre of a European conglomerate” and wanted to fight against “collectivism and corporatism”. The question of Europe was to be Thatcher’s downfall. Britain’s reluctance to get involved in political union whilst maintaining an economic one has caused other member states to accuse us of wanting to pick out the best bits and distance ourselves from the rest, essentially accusing us of being more of a parasite than a partner. Is this the case, or is our concern an issue of deeply felt British sovereignty? The public voted to belong to the European Community on economic terms. In 1991 the Maastricht Treaty created the EU with an explicit goal of a political union. Since then what the European Union stands for and what we get from it is very different to what we voted for in 1975. Many other member states have recently had referendums and a serious consultation of the UK electorate is now long overdue.
theREVIEW World News
theREVIEW World News
By Elizabeth Robbins
Sunset on the British economy? The British economy took a turn for the worse last week, with their credit status being slashed for the first time ever, by the rating firm “Moody’s”. Does this mean disaster or no difference at all? Of course, it depends on who you ask. There are sections (notably the whining Labour front bench) who mock and crow, saying the chancellor has “lost it”. Then again, analysts swear that in addition to there being little practical meaning, it may be possible to regain it. We should ask: what does a ratings agency do? And; what has Britain done to catch their attention? Firstly; ratings agencies were set up in the ruthless 19th century business world to protect, good, watertight companies from the neo-illegal “robber barons” (businessmen). P
Source: Harshil Shah Meanwhile, with China being the vast and rapidly growing economy of the world, you would think of it rising above the groaning debtors such as the US. However agencies take a dim view of China not being cooperative or transparent about its figures, so give it a double a-minus (AA-) rating.
theREVIEW World News
theREVIEW World News
By Alex Westerberg
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They took the solemn role of advising what a safe investment was. The grades (AAA), AA, A, B etc. are a mark of a company or nation’s capability to hold their obligations to creditors; although a noteworthy distinction made by the agency but quietly omitted in the boom period was that even an AAA firm was susceptible to risk. In more recent years, they have gained complexity and sway; for example Japan lost its tripleA (AAA) status in 2001 due to a crippling budget deficit. Canada, in 1997, lost the status but through austerity won it back in 2005. Fluctuations were and are important indications of the agency being on top of its figures! The US, being the world’s greatest economic powerhouse was proud holder of the status for the last decade. However in 2011, in recognition of a stupefying ($14 000 000 000) deficit and no plan to cut it back, it was knocked to double A (AA).
Meanwhile, Britain held on for longer; until February this year. Britain was made the financial centre of the world in recent years, however not without scars. Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) is a highly important guide on what interest banks can charge lending each other money. While it is true that every day, some of them can freely choose to help out a competitor by filling in a few million on their bottom line, naturally it can’t be done under the board at whatever rate suitsthere has to be a semblance of fairness. Manipulation of this rate caused a scandal which was a factor in the London centre losing credibility - thus contributing to the credit slash. The importance of the loss now is the pain dealing with the deficit: so far, we pretend that we can afford the tax shortfall, by borrowing to make the difference. However, a poorer credit rating means we haven’t got the right anymore to offer miniscule amounts of interest to investors. So the worse the rating is, the more expensive it is to maintain debt.
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Whaling: A Controversial Industry The 2011 tsunami in Japan was a global disaster which left thousands dead and many more homeless. The international community responded with an international effort to help the people of the affected regions, with countries from the USA to North Korea providing financial aid ($600,000 of which $500,000 came from the leader’s own bank account).
This most recent controversy is the latest in a long line of disputes between the whalers and protesters. The increasingly violent confrontations reached a peak in 2010 when a Japanese whaling ship and one of Sea Shepherd’s vessels collided, resulting in the loss of the latter, and causing a major diplomatic incident. Both sides blame the other for the impact.
But a recent claim by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) accuses the Japanese government of misallocating some of these funds to support the whaling industry that Japan maintains.
Source: EPA/Corbis
Source: NOAA The leader of the SSCS, Paul Watson, says that some of the disaster relief money has been diverted to the Institute of Cetacean Research (ICS), which is responsible for conducting whaling missions into international waters. Its research involves lethal sampling techniques, which means that it is a source of international controversy. Many environmental groups claim that it is a disguise for Japan to carry out ‘commercial whaling’. The organisation was unaffected by the catastrophe – and the SSCS claim that some funds were misused in order to oppose the anti-whaling protestors led by Watson. “When people around the world sent money to Japan, the last thing they thought was that it was going to protect the whaling fleet,” Watson commented to a Sunday Times journalist.
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Watson claims that the Japanese “cut one of our boats in half and almost killed six of our crew” - but the ICR accuse the SSCS Shepherd for staging the incident just to stir up more publicity. Japan’s pleas for help following the tsunami were answered by 116 governments and the total amount donated stands at £55 billion. SSCS claims that £3.5 million of this was given to the whalers. Despite all the controversy, Japan’s whaling fleet did assist in the search and rescue effort immediately following the earthquake. The fleet, which is larger than many country’s navies, carried aid workers and supplies to the worst affected areas, and injured people to medical centres. Whatever your opinion on the practice of whaling - it cannot be denied that the response to the disaster was admirable.
theREVIEW World News
theREVIEW World News
By Challum Chapple
Oscar Pistorius faces Murder Charge By Jack Jones
theREVIEW World News
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Reeva Steenkamp had been dating Oscar Pistorius for just over 4 months until the tragic incident which led to her death. The well-known celebrity figure was well known for her modelling - however she appeared in a variety of South Africa television shows. She was just 29 when she was killed.
Pistorius shot at the door four times and hit Reeva three times, ultimately a fatal number of shots. However this statement opens the door to all sorts of questions: Surely he would have noticed his girlfriend out of bed, so why on earth did he fire so hastily at the door he had no idea who was behind and was more than likely his girlfriend? Surely a quick shout ‘Reeva is that you?’ would have done the trick. Also with the recent revelations that his nearby neighbours had heard some reports about prolonged shooting and screaming it is looking more and more likely that Pistorius did not accidently shoot her. It has been suggested that the couple had in fact had a serious argument over allegations of Reeva cheating on Pistorius and that Reeva ran and took cover in the bathroom away from Pistorius – then he had in fact intentionally murdered her.
theREVIEW World News
In the early hours of the 14th of February this year Oscar Pistorius shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Was it a case of mistaken identity or a case of premeditated murder?
In 2009 Pistorius was arrested and charged with common assault by South African police for slamming a door on a woman at his home; however the charges were later dropped. Source: AP Oscar Pistorius who is one of the most decorated athletic Paralympic star ever defied all odds and became the first double leg amputee to participate in the Olympics during the 2012 London Olympics. However the 26 year old inspirational figure head faces a tough and uncertain few months ahead. Pistorius told the courts ‘It was the middle of the night, and I thought an intruder was in the house. Not wearing my prosthetic legs, feeling vulnerable in the pitch dark and too scared to turn on the lights, I pulled out my 9mm pistol from beneath my bed, moved toward the bathroom and fired into the door.’
It is worth pointing out that Oscar and his neighbours have never quite seen eye to eye after Pistorius erected an unusually large gazebo in the direct line of sight of his neighbour’s balcony. The gazebo was later taken down, however it is an indication of the frail relationship they had. Strange other points have come to light, such as Pistorius' family had an armoury of 56 guns between just six of them. This may sound startling to all of us in England, but in South Africa a significant proportion owns a few guns in order to protect themselves from armed thieves – which are a common occurrence in South Africa.
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William Howard Hampers Scheme As a pensioner life can be difficult, particularly in the winter. In difficult times helping others is even more important, and that's exactly what the Christmas Hampers scheme does. Set up 4 years ago by Mrs. Robinson, the scheme focuses on years 8-9. In the months before charities day the students and staff are asked to donate nonperishable food items towards the scheme. Students also write to companies such as McVities and kindly receive donations from them too. The food is sorted into hampers and sent to local senior citizens in Brampton, Hayton and Talkin. Due to the enthusiastic response of so many students over 100 hampers are made. Mrs. Robinson said "We are very pleased with how well the scheme is received by students and parents, and the number of donations reflects this." Year 9 student Emma Atkinson also said that they got a great feeling from helping the community and that the scheme also brought together students in the year in a way that wouldn't happen without the scheme. The delivery of the hampers initially fell to the local vicar, however since she left, the students deliver the hampers themselves. Four students (two year 8’s and two year 9’s) take time out of their lunchtimes and lessons to deliver them in January. Mrs. Robinson said "The reason we deliver them in January is that the residents we visit often haven't seen anybody since Christmas, due to weather conditions and the difficulties of getting outside at the time of year. Some residents we visit have only just come out of hospital, so they are greeted by the hampers upon their return."
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The scheme works in partnership with the tea parties held for the elderly residents, in order to identify residents who might need or want a hamper. The school receives many letters of gratitude from recipients and the reaction the scheme has been overwhelmingly positive, both for the school and the residents. Mrs. Robinson said "some [residents] even burst into tears upon receiving their hampers" also the students benefit greatly. "The scheme is well suited for years 8-9; it gives them a focus at Christmas where none existed before."
Next year the scheme hopes to extend to Longtown. To do this they will require even more donations. Mrs. Robinson hopes that other year groups and staff can help her to achieve this target. The scheme is above all a prime example of how a little thought can go a long way.
theREVIEW Student News
theREVIEW Student News
By Henry Grainger
Google Glass: See the Future After learning of Google’s latest ambition, Project Glass, I began to realise that the future that I dreamed about in my early childhood is quickly approaching a reality. However, it then struck me that we have actually been in the future for a while. In a normal, social day you can encounter the majority of people using their ‘smart device on a daily basis’. You can access the world from anywhere, wherever you like, on a small, handheld device that rests in your pocket. It can help you navigate around places, communicate with people in seconds and even plan the day ahead. Details of Google’s eagerly awaited ‘smart glasses’ are revolutionary. The search giant keeps releasing fresh details about the products capabilities. You can record videos, take pictures and video-chat people without having to reach into your pocket for a phone. This headsup display (HUD) system displays all of the information in a clean and elegant translucent box in the top right of the wearer’s field of vision. It has already been confirmed that the Glass design is modular, meaning that it will be able to be fully integrated into a pair of sunglasses or prescription glasses if required. While waiting for public transport, arrival and departure times can be overlaid in the corner of your field of view. You can receive a forecast of upcoming weather conditions while on the move. You can even be alerted to the latest news of the day.
Source: Google What Google Glass provides is a new way to present and absorb information, in a technologically exploding world. But with this, there comes controversy and concern. There are inevitable worries about wearing the device in public, and the limitations of the battery life. It is possible that the general public are slow to adopt, being hesitant to buy a device due to worries about how they look with this obscure headset. Others claim that the gadget threatens their everyday privacy, because it creates the opportunity to film anybody, anywhere without obviously aiming a device at them.
theREVIEW Science/Tech
theREVIEW Science/Tech
By Samuel Bancroft
If Google manages to successfully address these issues – then this headset of the future has enormous potential to link people closer to the online world and the resources that it offers - in an intuitive way. Google Glass has a lot of promise. If successful – it will certainly become the latest tech fashion, as well as playing a prominent role in this modern, technological society. And we don’t have long to wait. The device is expected to reach the market as a consumer device by the end of this year.
Source: Google
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An Extra-terrestrial Threat On Friday the 15th of February this year, a space rock slammed into Earth’s atmosphere in the early hours of the morning, forming a fireball that blazed through the skies above Chelyabinsk, Russia at a staggering 44,000 miles per hour. It took 32.5 seconds from atmospheric entry for the meteor to violently disintegrate 15 miles above the ground, and produce multiple sonic booms. These shockwaves from the strong explosions shattered windows, collapsed walls and injured over 1000 people. As it broke up in the atmosphere, the energy released was equivalent to 500 kilotons of TNT - 30 times the size of the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima that brought about the end of World War II. NASA has estimated that the asteroid measured 17 metres across, and weighed around 10,000 tonnes. This will have been the biggest recorded meteor to reach our planet in over a century. In response to Friday’s unexpected event the current Prime Minister of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev said "It's proof that not only are economies vulnerable, but the whole planet." And the deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Rogozin, called for international cooperation to create a functional early warning system to protect against "objects of an alien origin". He added that neither the United States nor Russia (who are responsible for two of the world’s most successful space programmes) have anything near the capability to bring down such objects. Astronomers have pointed out that the meteor could have very easily affected more urbanised areas, even the UK, if it had hit at different time of the day. This once per decade event highlights how vulnerable our planet is to the threats of outer space.
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Source: AP Photo/Nasha Gazeta So – what can be done to protect ourselves? The creation of a worldwide asteroid protection initiative cannot involve a last minute search and destroy mission. These objects need to be detected as early as possible. Regarding what to do if an object is discovered with a collision course with Earth - there have been no shortage of imaginative ideas. An initial response may be similar to the Hollywood sci-fi blockbusters of Deep Impact or Armageddon – but sending a bomb to meet the asteroid can easily end up making the situation even worse. In an attempt to prevent a concentrated impact, an explosive would just break the rock up into many smaller chunks, which would still be heading in a similar original direction. This would just result in widespread destruction. More well thought out ideas include space tugboats, which involve landing a craft on the surface of the rock, and firing its engines in order to push it away. But it won’t work for every asteroid. If one is spinning, the craft cannot land and the plan becomes completely unfeasible. And rocks with an irregular shape can make it difficult to apply a force through the rock’s centre of gravity. A gravity tractor certainly sounds like science fiction – but it’s perfectly achievable. In concept, it involves rendezvousing a spacecraft within close
theREVIEW Science/Tech
theREVIEW Science/Tech
By Samuel Bancroft
Source: Dan Durda If you’re looking for a cheap and cheerful alternative – white paint could do the job. The idea involves spraying paint on one side of an asteroid. As this colour reflects the most solar radiation, the slow but steady pressure of the sunlight could just be enough to move it out of the way.
theREVIEW Science/Tech
square kilometres. The shockwave created a quake that measured 5 on the Richter scale. It could have killed hundreds of thousands of people if it had landed in a more built up area, or plunged into the ocean, triggering a gigantic tsunami. We should not allow ourselves to become complacent. Not many events have taken place in recorded history – but there is certainly the potential for mass devastation. The asteroid deflection strategies have already been thought up. And the technological advances of these modern times have opened up many new options to detect and prevent it from ever occurring. A planetary defence system may seem inconceivable, or just not worth it. But it is well within our capabilities as a civilisation to create one.
theREVIEW Science/Tech
proximity to the asteroid and making use of the gravitational attraction between the two objects, as well as the spacecraft’s engine to apply a force. The gravitational attraction effectively acts as a ‘towline’. The force is incredibly small, but if this takes place over many days - or years if necessary - then the orbit of the asteroid can be sufficiently modified and moved out of harm’s way. It needs to be carried out at the right moment – a small alteration in the orbit at the right time can make a big difference between an impending collision and a close encounter.
It is important to defend our planet not just for the continuation of the human species, but we need to protect it on behalf of everything that has ever lived, is living, and will ever live, on this pale blue dot which is falling around a star in an immeasurably vast universe.
The Russian Meteorite event should remind us of this extra-terrestrial threat. The damage it created is nothing in comparison to previous recorded impacts in history. We shouldn’t forget about events such as the theorised asteroid impact that brought about the mass extinction of the dinosaurs, some 65.5 million years ago.
Source: Shane Torgerson
And the ‘Tunguska Event’ of 1908, which caused enormous devastation when a large meteorite exploded 10 kilometres above the surface. It knocked down an estimated 80 million trees, covering an area of 2150
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Our Future - Part 2 By Georgina Collins
Since the industrial revolution, humans have profoundly changed the Earth in many ways. The most dramatic would have to be the enormous increase of greenhouse gasses being pumped out of factories in the majority of developed countries to provide energy and materials for a population that has now reached 7 billion. So, it would seem that as the population increases, the more harm done - right? Well not necessarily. In actual fact, the countries where the growth of population is most concentrated are also the poorest. One US citizen is responsible for emitting 20 times as much carbon dioxide as most African citizens, meaning that their growth in population will have a much smaller impact on the Earth’s climate. It only spells trouble when these countries become as developed and energy intensified as the USA, Australia and China, which unfortunately is predicted to happen in the next 20 years, however some say that the damage has already been done.
Temperamental Weather
gone up by about 6 billion metric tons worldwide, which is more than a 20% increase. Almost the entire rise is due to human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels for electricity. Global warming is a very real scenario but rather than talking about the increasing loss of polar bears, the dangerous surge in tropical storms and the possibility of low land flooding is a far more crucial topic. The last few years have been meteorologically record breaking. Starting in 2010, an extreme heat wave hit Russia of all places and catastrophic flooding hit Australia and Pakistan. A year on, the extreme weather had not lifted. Rainfall records were set in 2011 in Australia, Japan and Korea whilst the Yangtze River Basin in China experienced its worst drought destroying thousands of crops. In the USA, 14 major weather events cost the government an excess of US$14 billion. And just last February, I’m sure you remember the sudden shift from freezing cold to remarkably warm. Temperatures of -18.3oC were recorded on the outskirts of London and less than 2 weeks later a high of 18.7oC was observed near Birmingham. All of these fluctuations and unpredictable events are set to become more frequent, and as temperatures around the world increase, we in the UK might not be so safe from hurricanes after all.
A Grey Haired Future Source: Getty Images One other extreme consequence of our colonisation and reconstruction of the Earth is the affect we have had on the atmosphere and climate. Since 1990, yearly emissions of carbon dioxide have
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As we improve our health care services and technology, we increase life expectancy. The average life expectancy has increased from 52 years in 1960 to 70 years in 2010 and is still on the rise. This large increase is mainly due to the dramatic improvement of health services in
theREVIEW Science/Tech
theREVIEW Science/Tech
More people, more damage?
theREVIEW Science/Tech
You may think that the percentage of elderly people is of no concern but there are many consequences that have arisen in the UK, which will most certainly affect you one way or another. Much of today’s public spending is focused on the elderly, this includes pensions and NHS funding. In 2007/08 the average value of NHS services for retired households was £5,200 compared with £2,800 for non-retired. Also due to the increase of the retired population it means more and more money must be spent on pensions. And the answer to the government’s spending bills is... Increasing taxes, which will affect us all in a few years’ time.
Coupled with this problem is the fact that the UK’s fertility rate has dropped below the replacement level of 2.1 and is now 1.9. This means that there are too few children being born and so there is a very small portion of under 20’s now in the UK. This makes our predicament much more serious as fewer children now means less adults in the future needed to work and pay for the older generation, influencing more government policies. These will include reducing the state pension and increasing the retirement age to an estimated 77 years.
theREVIEW Science/Tech
developing countries such as China and Brazil but the percentage of over 65’s is still highest in MEDC’s, especially Germany, Japan and the UK. There are 10 million over 65’s currently in the UK and that figure is set to rise to 19 million in 2050.
Unless we experience another baby boom in the next few years, our future is looking very grim indeed.
Source: Coumou and Rahmsforf (2012) WMO annual statements on the status of the global climate.
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Dead Space 3 Review The Dead Space series is known for its emphasis on survival horror. Dead Space 1, with its dark terrifying environments, became a cult classic within the horror genre. However, many fans of the series were worried when much of the horror in the game was switched to action. Did this ruin the game? Not at all, but other aspects have helped to stop it from fulfilling its potential.
Source: EA Dead Space 3 focuses once again on Isaac Clarke, who embarks on a journey through space to stop the Necromorph outbreak (Necromorphs being the reanimated corpses of the dead). This journey leads to the creation of some of the best graphic environments in modern day gaming. These range from the dark dimly-lit corridors of a space ship to the misty plains of an alien world. Each one manages to terrorise the player and make them worry when the next Necromorph will jump out; even though the focus is now divided between horror and action it still manages to scare. The combat itself is the best in the series, now that the Necromorphs can sprint at Isaac it means you have to think a lot on your feet. With the larger influence of ‘action’ in the game there are a lot more set pieces, some of which are spectacular. The graphics themselves are fantastic in areas such as racing against a falling avalanche or flying a shuttle, but throughout ‘combat’ the graphics can be a bit lacking.
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Source: Source: EA EA When EA announced that you would be able to buy crafting items to build weapons within the game there was outrage from aficionados because of the worry that this would impact on the balance of the game. However, this is barely necessary at all as whilst playing through Dead Space 3 not once does the player feel the need to use the microtransactions. Forgetting about microtransactions for a minute, you could argue that the new ability of crafting weapons within the game is one of Dead Space 3’s best features. Our hero Isaac can now find, modify and even create weapons from scratch. Along with this, another new standout feature is Co-Op. This is a very enjoyable aspect, allowing you to team up with someone and battle your way through the game. With all these positives - why isn’t it perfect? Well, a good place to start explaining this is the plot. Some parts of it, especially the last chapter, aren’t exactly bestseller novel material. Furthermore, some parts of the game are unbelievably tedious, with some checkpoints being in very awkward areas and some objectives involve a lot of back tracking. However, the introduction of Weapon Crafting and Co-op greatly increases the replay ability of the game and balances out its more negative points. Even though the Dead Space series may have seen some adjustments between the horror and action aspects, I can’t deny the fact of how good this game is.
theREVIEW Media
theREVIEW Media
By Max Sharp
Don’t Starve Review
In-game screenshot. This is a game where you are thrust right into the wilderness and left to fend for yourself. To begin with you collect materials in the area around you; world generation is random so you could end up in any biome! While exploring you might come across many interesting creatures and areas. However watch out for those spiders, because if you die it’s game over… When I was first thrust into the wilderness by a strange man, whose only advice to me was to find something to eat, I had very little idea what to do. After seeing a few YouTube videos of somebody playing it I had a basic idea where to go. I began by collecting all the resources in the immediate area: flint, twigs, grass and a few flowers. Once I had enough materials I created an axe and pickaxe so I could collect wood and stone. After getting to this point it became night time for the first time which forced me to stop what I was doing and create a campfire. After a few minutes it became light again, the game saved my progress, and I began my adventure again.
After a really bad first attempt I was determined to carry on and beat my previous record. That’s what this game is all about really. Pushing the limits and getting better with each attempt, learning as you go. Can you beat my attempt of 20 days of survival? This game features graphics unlike many other games that I have seen. The hand drawn effect the developers decided to go with really gives this game a unique feel, as if the whole environment was created piece by piece.
theREVIEW Media
theREVIEW Media
By Ashley Latimer
You view your character in an extremely strange dimension, you can rotate in a 3D view but everything is on a 2D plane. The term for this dimension is 2.5D, which is extremely uncommon in the world of games. Many strange and unique qualities are found in Don’t Starve, but you will have to find them for yourself! While the game is still in beta phase you can buy two copies for £9.50. This allows you to send a copy of the game to somebody else, or even split the cost with them. For the hours upon hours of fun you can get out of this game it’s definitely worth the price, and the game isn’t even finished!
www.dontstarvegame.com
Spiders. My worst nightmare. I decided the only thing to do was run and kill the few that followed me. After a heated battle I came out relatively unharmed. I had obtained some food from the spider’s body. I was on low health, so the logical thing that I decided to do was eat it. Wrong. Monster meat causes 25 damage.
In-game screenshot.
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Crysis 3 Review By Chris Ahart
ď ˝ theREVIEW Media
ď ˝ theREVIEW Media All article images are in-game screenshots. WARNING
CONTAINS
SPOILERS
Crysis 3 is a sci-fi FPS, and the latest instalment in Crytek's top AAA franchise. As the final instalment in the trilogy, will it be the epic finale we all expect?
Background After the console port of Crysis 2 and the subsequent decline in its graphical fidelity, many of the original fans of Crysis gave up hope on the franchise as they believed that Crytek had become more interested in money than maintaining the legendary status of the original game. After all Crysis 1 was, and still is a major benchmark for computing power and was so ahead of its time that very few people could actually play the game on high settings.
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Gameplay The gameplay in Crysis 3 is not necessarily open roam like large sections of the original game, however the objectives you are given are set out so that you have a very large choice on both linear and nonlinear routes. The addition of the 'predator bow' also encourages stealth play, especially on higher difficulty settings. What this gives you is the constant choice between the direct confrontation of using armour mode, and the stealth gameplay of cloak (invisibility) mode; where non-lethal gameplay is even possible. On-the-fly weapon and suit customisation also means you can easily adapt both your suit abilities and weapon attachments to suit the latest situation.
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However vehicle gameplay does appear poorly exploited, with only a dune buggy that you can drive in addition to a VTOL gunship; which you can take control of the gunning position for a few minutes. Personally I believe that the vehicle gameplay should be removed from Crysis, as the nanosuit is the main focus in Crysis and this only seems to work for infantry warfare.
Plot
The plot of Crysis 3 certainly makes more sense than the previous games, with an old friend of Prophet (the protagonist) providing a narrative to explain how things have changed after you were captured following the events in Crysis 2. Prophet is recruited to oppose the CELL Corporation who have become even more powerful from Crysis 2 and are generating free power from resources unknown. Prophet is not believed when he reveals to the rebels that CELL are not the real threat and that it is the Ceph, as they have been mostly destroyed. However they are soon revealed to be devastatingly wrong.
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Gameplay variety has also been greatly improved with the addition of 'hacking' where you can temporarily override turrets, motion sensors and other mechanical structures using your visor. Your visor also allows real-time tagging of enemy units, as well as highlighting enemy weak spots. Another addition is Ceph (alien) weaponry, which can be found scattered around maps or taken from alien corpses; increasing your firepower.
Crysis 3 has vastly improved its graphical fidelity from Crysis 2, and is a truly beautiful game with stunning visuals. However it is still not the major benchmarking game that Crysis 1 was; but it is still one of, if not the most visually impressive game on the market. Furthermore, the optimisation of the game is very impressive and a very high frame rate can be achieved on mid-end PC's (I can get 50fps at high settings with only a GTX 460). A major, if allegedly temporary, problem is the lack of FOV support in the game. The default FOV (55 vertical) is painful to play on, and in addition to overlarge gun models can get extremely annoying. Thankfully the console is available and among the many commands is an FOV and gun model size change, which is extremely useful. Crytek have confirmed that an FOV option was removed due to technical problems, and will become available again at some point in the future.
Conclusion With a 5-10 hour (took me 7 hours on 'normal' difficulty) long stunning campaign and a popular multiplayer, Crysis 3 is the ultimate finale we were all hoping for. For someone who is primarily interested in a singleplayer experience, the value may be debatable, but if you are interested in a truly unique multiplayer FPS than you can't go wrong with Crysis 3.
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Foals: Holy Fire Review Back in 2008, Oxford quintet Foals launched their quirky debut Antidotes, introducing the music scene to a fresh new sound. They created something which could only be described by critics as ‘Math Rock’ – guitar based, experimental indie rock, and it didn’t take long for their infectious tunes to plague the nation. Now they’re back with album number 3: Holy Fire. Released in early February, it’s already proved to be a beaming success by topping the UK album charts. One thing you notice on the first listen of Holy Fire is how much the band has matured. Vocalist Yannis Philippakis has developed the juvenile voice he had in Antidotes, to something more powerful. It’s fuelled with emotional lyrics, reminiscent of their second album, Total Life Forever (2010), but with a much darker vibe. Opener Prelude is a lot heavier than their previous work, with steady beats and very little vocals. However it’s not stimulating enough to introduce the whole album, which makes you question; is this really the triumphant return everyone has been anticipating? This question is immediately answered by the second track Inhaler – yes it is. With its peculiar instruments and funky beat, it sounds like typical Foals. That is until you get to the chorus, where out of nowhere, Yannis’s raging vocals seem to dominate the entire song. Released as the first single from Holy Fire; it is the best track by far. Late Night is another favourite. It’s everything you could want from a Foals song; brooding vocals, dark undertones and a captivating guitar solo. My Number, recently released as the second single from Holy Fire, is also a brilliantly catchy tune. Although the aim for Holy Fire was to produce a whole new sound, tracks Everytime and Stepson have strong elements of Total Life Forever in them. Similarly, tracks like Bad Habit, with its yearning vocals and elevating beat, bring you back the Antidotes days.
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theREVIEW Media
theREVIEW Media
By Eloise Scott
Source: Foals In final track Moon, the soft vocals and slow beat creates a simply beautiful melody. It has a certain atmospheric feel to it, closing the album perfectly. With a lot of albums you find that the all the songs are rather samey. Well, not with Holy Fire - every track is completely different. There are some melancholy tracks, which perhaps aren't as thrilling as others in the mix, but that makes this album all the more varied, and overall, enjoyable. They’ve experimented with new sounds, produced some incredible tunes, and created possibly their best album so far. Holy Fire isn’t revolutionary, but it’s enough to give Foals the recognition they deserve. Despite a few ‘marmite’ tracks, it’s difficult not to love this album, and I would highly recommend it if you’re looking for something new to listen to. Artists of 2013 – watch out; Foals have set the bar extremely high.
Warm Bodies Review By Meg Handley
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You may be thinking the whole ‘zomromcom’ (zombie romantic comedy) theme is becoming somewhat exhausted. I mean, we’ve all seen the renowned ‘Shaun of the Dead’ and the, perhaps less renowned yet still amusing, ‘Zombieland’ and it’s fair to say they always contain the essential elements a ‘zomromcom’ audience cherish: Suspense, wit and ironically, liveliness. Admittedly, there haven’t been numerous movies that go by this distinctive genre; but really, they can’t be that different each time - can they? In its simplest form, they’re always simple stories of two people falling in love with the slight complication of a simultaneous zombie apocalypse… Nonetheless, Levine almost realises this, so puts a unique spin on what we would expect. R’ (Nicholas Hoult) is a surprisingly humorous recently-turned zombie who sees hearty human ‘Julie’ (Teresa Palmer), daughter of zombie killer, general ‘Grigio’ (John Malkovich) and instantly and unusually, feels some kind of attraction towards her. Well, that is after he finishes eating her exboyfriend’s (Dave Franco) brains… It doesn’t take long before Julie returns his feelings and a sort of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ theme becomes apparent; we even watch the illustrious ‘wherefore art thou Romeo?’ scene; confirming the romance in the film. Further hinting at the classic Shakespearian play, is the way in which the still-living humans are strictly separated by the motionless sleepwalker like zombie kind, yet to convert into the malicious skeletal ‘Boneys’, by enclosing them in a kind of cage- like structure, transforming them into prisoners, a literal obstacle that the two lovers must learn to overcome.
Source: IMP Awards But underneath the whole humansturning-into-vicious-flesh-eaters catastrophe, there is a kind of metaphor, a moralistic lesson if you like, that we are subtly advised to take note of. The lesson of how to be human - obviously, we must not be a soulless, walker of the dead, but both Levine and Marion also teach us; that we must love to feel human. Yes; it’s cheesy, but it’s somewhat acceptable because it isn’t taught in a clichéd manner - the witty writing and elusive yet clever didactic nature of the movie make it, not only an entertaining watch but also gives us that warm hearted feeling to walk away with. I can’t truthfully say I reckon this will become a classic, legendary zombie movie, but I do think, that for now, its popularity will only grow, that is until the next ‘zomromcom’ comes along; with its new life lessons to teach us.
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Lance Armstrong – A Fallen Idol By Stuart Astle
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Having previously been considered one of the greatest cyclists to grace the sport in modern times, the 41 year-old Texan now seems irreversibly branded by many as nothing more than a cheat. Last year, the United States Anti-Doping Agency stripped him of all seven of his Tour de France titles, and in an interview with Oprah Winfrey broadcast on US TV he admitted to the taking of banned substances such as EPO and testosterone throughout his career. For me, this has been a massive disappointment. Throughout my interest in cycling, I have always idolised Armstrong, seeing him as one of the greatest role models in sport. This may sound perverse, but when one considers the feats he has completed over the last 20 years, you still have to feel at least a morsel of admiration for the man. I’m not setting out to defend his doping actions, but I do feel that some other aspects of his life and career should be made known other than these confessions which will plague him for years to come. Famous throughout the peak of his career as an aggressive mountain climber, Armstrong actually originally made his name as a one day event racer, winning titles such as the UCI Road World Championship in 1993 and the Clásica de San Sebastián in 1995. However, his career, and possibly his life, seemed to be over in October 1996 when he was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer, which had spread to his lungs and brain. Doctors gave him “a maximum” of 40% chance, but, in a manner that replicated his aggressive cycling style, Armstrong announced his intentions to “crush this thing”. For me, this sums up the real 0T
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0T
Source: Wordonfire.org Lance Armstrong, bold and cocky in the face of adversity and utterly determined to have things his way. Having had the cancerous testicle removed, he was then required to undergo extensive brain surgery to have cancerous lesions removed from his brain; an operation which could have left him blind. Still worse was to follow. In order to remove all traces of cancer from his body, he was forced to endure a gruelling four cycles of chemotherapy over three months. During this time, toxic substances designed to kill all living cells were pumped into his body, five times a week. As Armstrong described it, it was “a question as to whether the chemo killed me or the cancer first” He was pronounced “cancer-free” in February 1997. Just to have survived his ordeal with cancer was a feat in itself, but for this Texan it wasn’t enough. He began training, determined to return to professional cycling and reach his old heights of prowess. In his autobiography, he talks about how to begin with, he was too weak from chemo to cycle up hills, never mind hammer away the mountains of the Alps and Pyrenees. Like with cancer, his chances of success were slim. His contract with the Cofidis cycling team was terminated, as the directors felt he would unable to repeat his past successes. Nevertheless, Armstrong continued to persevere. Joining the US Postal service cycling team, he competed in various competitions in late 1998, before
theREVIEW Sport
It cannot be denied that 2013 has seen the cycling world thrown into turmoil by the doping allegations surrounding Lance Armstrong.
The 1999 Tour de France was an event which attracted much anticipation in the run-up to its start on the 3rd July. The lineup was formidable, despite the winners of the previous two years, Marco Pantani and Jan Ullrich. Everyone talked about the “fascinating duel” they would see between Alex Zulle and Fernando Escartin for the yellow jersey. No-one gave Armstrong and his Postal teammates a second hope. P
P
In the first stage, an eight kilometre time trial around the streets of Le Puy de Fou, Zulle quickly broke the course record with a time of 8 minutes 7 seconds. Then it was Armstrong’s turn. The entire race watched as a man who had been dabbling with death, too weak to get out of bed, tore round the course with no expression on his face whatsoever. Crossing the line, he glanced up at the screen, and gave a small smile of satisfaction at the sight of his time: 8 minutes 2 seconds, giving him possession of the prestigious yellow jersey. It was to be the first of many stage triumphs for the Texan over the next 7 years. He followed this stage victory with wins in a time trial in Metz, and after a blistering attack on the Col Du Galibier in the Alps, had built up a lead of 6 minutes over his nearest rival. This lead was never
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Source: Getty Images
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announcing his intentions “to go for the Tour”. Most dismissed his ambitions as fantasy, yet the gritty Texan and his backers thought differently. Training throughout early 1999 in the Alps and Pyrenees of France, Armstrong and his teammates, including Americans George Hincapie, Frankie Andreu and Tyler Hamilton (all who would testify later that Armstrong had taken drugs), made their preparations in their bid for the greatest title in cycling. Their training was so gruelling that Armstrong made frequent jokes over the team radio about how he would be “just doing the classics (single day races) next year”.
closed, and on 25th July, Armstrong took his place on the winner’s podium; only the second American to do so in the race’s history. He would take the same place for a record-breaking further 6 years, until his retirement in 2005, assuring him a place in the race’s history books. He had built an image as one of cycling’s all-time greats. P
P
For many, that image was shattered when, in December 2012, Armstrong announced he would no longer fight the allegations of the USADA that he had taken performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career. As a consequence, he was stripped of his record seven Tour de France titles, and banned for life from cycling. Despite this, I still hold Armstrong in great respect for his achievements in sport. Drugs or no drugs, it cannot be denied that here is a man who succeeded against odds few could be expected to survive. His brash determination and confidence showed the values of self-belief and not giving up, and few can deny that his feisty attitude brought an extra sense of excitement to the races he competed in. In late February 2013, he refused to be interviewed by the USADA, claiming he did not want to be involved in procedures which “demonised selected individuals”. For me, this sums up the true Lance Armstrong; not an innocent man by any means, but one always determined to stick to his guns, forever confrontational, and a fighter to the bitter end.
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Six Nations 2013 Review This championship has been full of the unpredictable; France finishing bottom of the table, Italy and Scotland are no longer the pushovers they once were, and a Welsh resurgence ultimately leading to their championship win. The type of rugby played varied massively with the promising 16 tries in the first round resulting in only 20 in the next four rounds combined. As the weather reduced some of the big games to tense kicking battles they struggled to live up to expectation. That said, some players lightened up the tournament with pieces of brilliance such as Scotland’s Stuart Hogg racing in to score from his own 22 and French centre Wesley Fofana beating an incredible four defenders to score, giving the tournament a more open feel in which the title was up for grabs by all six teams.
Source: Getty Images On to the teams! The French have always been unpredictable but as the pretournament favourites of many pundits (I myself backed them to win this year) a collapse on such a scale was unprecedented, one win and a draw is hardly the result a world cup finalist can be proud of. The reasons behind this failure were many - key players underperforming or out of position, for example the fly half Fredrick Michalak has had a terrible championship and the deadly Wesley Fofana was stranded on the
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wing for the first two games, and poor substitutions cost them a chance of a win over England. All of these could be blamed on the coach but most of that team was part of the squad that thumped Australia 33-6; the main reason was the Team’s attitude. In the first two games, the players showed little urgency or willingness to win and Wales and Italy made them pay. The French steadily improved to salvage a draw against Ireland and beat Scotland 23-16.
Source: Getty Images Ireland finished fifth in the table, a result you wouldn’t have predicted after the first half in Cardiff in which Ireland led 23-3 at half time. Since then it’s gone downhill, slowly at first, with a loss to England in a wet Dublin. Then in Edinburgh were they had 70% possession and plenty of opportunities but never converted them and again in the rain at Dublin where they had a disappointing draw with France after an encouraging start in the first half. The nail in the coffin for the Irish was a loss to Italy, Italy’s first victory over them since 1997. The main problem for the Irish is the number of injuries, which lead to a lot of chopping and changing in the squad. That does not allow the same group of players to gel and meant the sudden introduction of young players such as in last two matches their fly halves, Ian Madigan and Paddy Jackson, had 5 caps between them after Jonathan Sexton was injured and Ronan O’Gara was dropped showing the lack of
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By Matthew Borthwick
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Italy overall enjoyed a good campaign with fluctuating form - from the highs of beating France and Ireland to losing to Wales and Scotland. The Italians started off well with a 23-18 victory over France which shook the whole the tournament. Things looked bright for the team heading to Edinburgh but their hopes were dashed by Scotland, who won 34-10 and then again by Wales who won 26-9 in Rome. Things looked bleak heading to Twickenham, but with Sergio Parisse reinstated as captain after his ban the Italians turned the form book on its head as they pushed England all the way, ultimately setting up the title decider as a mere seven point defeat lowered England’s points difference. The Italian form continued as they beat Ireland for the first time since 1997 in a tight match where they held on to record another win in Rome and to finish 4th in the table.
first time since 2001 with a win against Ireland against all the odds and Italy were they ran in four tries despite having low amounts of possession. A win against Wales would see them as unlikely title contenders, but it was not to be as their discipline cost them dear and saw them go down 28-18 this was followed by a disappointing loss to France, 23-16. The team could possibly have achieved more if they’d had more possession rather than kicking it away to the opposition, making them reliant on defence than attack to win matches. However, this was a positive championship for Scotland in which they finished second highest try scorers with seven, an area that has been a serious issue in recent times and 3rd place in the Championship is their best finish since 2006.
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experience in the squad. Similar to France, it seems that the form they had in the autumn deserted them, leading to pressure on coach on Declan Kidney.
Source: Sky Sports
Source: Sky Sports Scotland’s first match saw them heading to Twickenham, a huge challenge, as Scotland had not won there for 30 years. It wasn’t to be this year either as England powered their way to a 38-18 victory; however the positives for Scotland were two long tries both of which were set up by fullback Stuart Hogg. Scotland then went on to record back to back victories for the
England’s campaign looked to be all but sorted after victories over Scotland, Ireland and France. All that was left to do was beat the Italians by a big enough margin, their average at Twickenham being 33 points, and then the Welsh would have had a much harder. But against the Italians they only won by seven points as they showed little attacking threat and butchered the chances they created, no more so than a seven men against two overlap. Thanks to six penalties from Toby Flood they held on to win 18-11 and set up the decider in Cardiff. An entertaining first half saw Wales only six points ahead, and then late in the game the Welsh cut loose
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to record their biggest win over England denying England the Grand Slam and the Championship. The English success to this point in the tournament had been built upon penalties and dominating teams at the break down, a tactic that worked wonders at times and no more so than in the Scottish game. The Welsh however gave away few penalties and when presented with the few opportunities Owen Farrell, often so reliable, missed them reducing the pressure on the Welsh. England’s Grand Slam dreams have been put on hold for now. Wales have now won the Championship twice within two years, in spite of seven
Source : Rugby Redefined
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Source: William Hill
consecutive defeats entering the tournament and going 30-22 down to Ireland in their opening match only serving to pile on the pressure. No player was put under pressure more than Captain Sam Warburton, injured for the French game and dropped to the bench for the Italian one. The Welsh however hit back in appalling game in Paris with George North’s late try securing them victory. They brushed aside Italy with ease downing them 26-9 in Rome. A horrible penalty covered match against Scotland at Murrayfield gave them the win that allowed them to challenge England for the top spot. To get a record victory against the team going for the Grand Slam was an incredible feat, with the Welsh dominating nearly every aspect of play a fact that was very clear in the set piece as the English scrum collapsed under pressure from the Welsh front row. Like England, the Welsh wins have been built on rock solid defence; they have not conceded a try since round one of the championship, and unlike England, have good attacking play with wingers Alex Cuthbert and George North leading the show.
What are your clothes saying about you? I’m speaking metaphorically of course, but whatever you may think - your clothes are probably saying more about you than the words that are actually coming out of your mouth. In other words the phrase ‘let your clothes do the talking’ is applying. It’s comical really, because we don’t even realise how much we actually make reference to the way we dress. Whether it’s going out shopping, to dinner, an interview, prom or even just to school there is always that ‘What am I going to wear?’ and I’m saying it’s last minute, well sometimes it is, but this question will be a constant companion in your head weeks before the said event.
Source: Contactmusic.com And do not mistake this frame of mind for being just in women; guys ponder just as much. Recently a friend got an interview for a university place and the first thing he was worrying about was, dare I say it, ‘what am I going to wear?’ It wasn’t ‘what am I going to say that will make me sound appealing and a perfect addition to the course I so want to be on.’
3 seconds of meeting someone! I mean talk about judging a book by its cover. So it’s acceptable to take into consideration whether to wear a dress or skirt, shirt or top or shoes or trainers. But then to make things even more like a number conundrum on Countdown we have social barriers and in some ways rules to overcome. Arriving at a friend’s afternoon gettogether, women everywhere all sat in their finery; dresses, heels, pearls and some have even cracked open the safe to the crown jewels by the looks of things, and here I am in a navy tailored suit, white shirt and loafers. Women are whispering and doing that not so subtle ‘assessing of the outfit glance and making a comment to the nearest person’ thing. And it can be either way - they could either like it or hate but either way I love it. Plus, I’m asserting my right to not be subjected to wearing only skirts and dresses just because I’m a woman. We didn’t get the vote for nothing!
theREVIEW Fashion
theREVIEW Fashion
By Hayley Waugh
Putting my feminist views to one side, there is one style that I have to make a judgement on and say my piece about and I am positive that there are many that will share my opinion, even if they are most likely middle aged mothers. But here it is; baggy jeans/trousers. I’ve got to say guys some of you take it to extremes. I quote from a middle aged parent ‘it looks like he’s got a nappy on and it needs emptied’, not nothing to do with any smell but the appearance. But instead of sounding like a nagging old head and young shoulders, I’m going to put something into perspective for you.
But in modern times, more and more we are judged first hand by our appearance. Apparently we are even judged in the first
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Isaac Part 3 There was a bitter and unsettling feeling
director made his way through the queue
that Wednesday morning as Isaac trudged
and stood beside Isaac with a reassuring
across the Millennium Bridge, with the
look about him. "Hey, I’m glad you could
Guildhall in sight. That morning he’d
make it! Are you excited?" he enquired.
salvaged a pair of old galoshes strewn in an old bin bag outside a small bustling
Isaac nodded. "A little", he said. A girl who
Chinese takeaway shop. They were better
was slouched in front of them turned to
than nothing and fitted his feet perfectly.
Isaac; "Isn’t this exciting! Wow - wicked
The rain trickled down his back and into
costume, you came so prepared!" Isaac
the small gaping holes in his socks,
didn’t know which way to go about her
making his feet soggy.
comment and instead of smiling and showing his gratitude; he simply said "this
"I wish I’d stuck in that care home, never
is what I usually wear".
moved" he sulked, forever blaming himself for the situation he was in, "I wonder what
Before long Isaac was hurriedly handed a
it would be like now, living amongst those
sheet with lyrics scribbled on them. Sure,
kids with problems". He savoured the
he’d learnt to read and write by the time
fresh air.
he was five, but it seemed to have been drummed out of him. The girl who had
Before he could look back he was stood
briefly spoken to him before they entered
near the Guildhall, lapping up its elegance.
approached him slowly, grinning. She had
There
forty
long auburn hair that fell gracefully by her
applicants for the play because the place
shoulders and her eyes were a meek green.
was jam packed, each and every person
"Good luck Isaac, the director said you
destined
the
have a few nerves so I just wanted to
director’s face appear through the doors
advise you to take it all in your stride,
and soon there was a mad rush to get in.
don’t rush things, you’ll wing it". For the
"He must be famous", thought Isaac to
first time in years Isaac smiled genuinely.
himself as people began shaking hands
"Thank you". He stared at the black and
with the director and began swarming
white tiles of the Guildhall and exhaled
around him in desperation for autographs
slowly. "This is it Isaac, you’ve only got a
or words of praise.
million chances in life".
must
for
have
been
stardom.
about
He
saw
"What a pleasure it is to seem such a broad mixture of future stage acts, I spot a few familiar faces", his voice burst over the top of their heads. Isaac was standing right at the back of the noisy queue when the
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theREVIEW Creative
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By Sarah Drozdz
Photography By Challum Chapple
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A Hamerkop Bird. Photo provided by Matthew Roberts.
Victoria Falls, the largest waterfall in the world. Photo provided by Matthew Roberts. Please submit anything that you would like to see featured in theREVIEW to this email address:
thewhsreview@gmail.com
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Tom Hiddleston: UNICEF If you’ve ever doubted how extraordinarily kind hearted Tom Hiddleston is, then hopefully this article will change your mind. If you don’t know who Tom Hiddleston is, then I expect you spent 2011 and 2012 locked away but I will tell you anyway. Tom Hiddleston is a British actor known best for his role as Loki in Marvel’s ‘Thor’ and ‘Avengers Assemble’ but was also in the BBC adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘The Hollow Crown’ and ‘War Horse’. Recently this wonderful man flew out to Guinea, West Africa on behalf of the charity UNICEF to find out more about their work with children, education and sanitation. UNICEF works with families, communities and governments to protect the rights of all children. On his UNICEF blog he talks of his experiences over in Guinea in great detail. He travelled from Heathrow to Nouakchott, Mauritania and finally descended into Conakry, Guinea where he was greeted by UNICEF team members and was taught about the way the country works. At the end of his first blog he writes; “It's become immediately clear that the problems in a developing country such as Guinea are enormous, but they can be simply defined as water, nutrition, sanitation, vaccination and education.” Tom visited the National Institute of Child Health and Nutrition where he was rendered speechless by the sights he saw. He saw chronic malnutrition amongst the children, many of which were disease riddled. But it wasn’t all doom and gloom as he visited another of the projects; Tinafan which is a project designed to develop the social/economic inclusion of children who may have dropped out of school, and depend on their livelihood on tiny income from labour. Tom described
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Source: UNICEF how the children were all smiles and full of happiness. Over the course of his trip he visited Focus Groups for women where they discussed vaccination, washing and breastfeeding and was the guest speaker on a French speaking Guinean radio show. He learnt about a project set to help children recruited into the army reintegrate into the community, rather than turning to crime. These people are taught practical skills such as; masonry, welding and plumbing. Not long after this, he visited a town that is deprived of the very basic human needs like water due to the country’s military that control the nearest well. Soon it was Tom’s final day in Guinea, which he spent visiting a monument dedicated to the reduction of Female Genital Mutilation. He visited a school with 130 children and the children he met were so attentive and excited to learn - not only did they care about their education, they enjoyed playing a sport that Tom described to be frantic, breathless, playful and so much fun: football. I will end with Mr Hiddleston’s final words on the trip; “All I can do now is help make people aware of what is happening, of what they are doing. That is all that I can do. For now.”
theREVIEW Miscellanous
theREVIEW Miscellanous
By Rebecca Henrys
Guest Column: Dr. Sentamu, Archbishop of York What is your advice for 16-18 year olds who are making choices about their future?
I would say, aim high! With God everything is possible! Work hard and dream big! Our young people get such a tough time in the press, and it is totally unfair.
theREVIEW Miscellanous
theREVIEW Miscellanous
By Josh McStay
Through my Youth Trust I have met young people from communities all across the North of England who are trying to improve their local areas in practical ways. They are not the problem; they are part of the solution! Our young people are not the leaders of tomorrow, they are the leaders of today. We should listen to them and learn from their experience, not fob them off. We should be channelling their hope and enthusiasm and saying “Wow, that is fantastic! Go for it!” My Youth Trust has the motto – “Be the change you want to see”. Don’t talk about making a difference – go out and be the difference! For those deciding about whether to go out to work or to stay on to university, I would say we need to do better for you. I am sorry that youth unemployment is so unacceptably high and that university is so expensive. You have not failed us, as a society we have failed you.
As Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu holds one of the highest positions in the Church of England. Whilst census figures show that the number of Christians in Britain is declining, the Church still retains an influential position on society as a whole. Dr. Sentamu is best known for his work within the Church, but he is now one of the most powerful voices in the UK for his work across many fields. One example is the courts of law where he chaired the Damiola Taylor review and acted as an advisor in the Stephen Lawrence inquiry. He is also heralded for his work as a social activist through his protests against Robert Mugabe and staunch criticism of American involvement in Guantanamo Bay. As an Archbishop, he also serves in the House of Lords. Dr John Sentamu visited the Diocese of Carlisle in January, although his schedule was too tight to facilitate an interview with theReview. A man who is used to writing to an audience of six million in his Sunday newspaper column, Mr. Sentamu offered to write a guest column tailored for us instead. By offering advice on choosing our future paths, his topic of choice could hardly have been more apt.
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Kakuro
By Puja Gurung
theREVIEW Miscellanous
theREVIEW Miscellanous
Complete the puzzle by substituting numbers 1-9 into the grid so that each column sums to the number in the triangle above it, and each row sums to the number in the triangle to the left of it. Oh, and don’t repeat numbers in any run! Good luck!
Solution
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Crossword
5
6
7
8
9 10
1
2
theREVIEW Miscellanous
theREVIEW Miscellanous
By Samuel Bancroft
3
4
ALL ANSWERS CAN BE FOUND WITHIN THE PUBLICATION
ACROSS 1 What does 'Libor' stand for? 2 Who is the main protagonist in Dead Space 3? 3 Who plays 'Julie' in the film, Warm Bodies? 4 How many years has the life expectancy in the UK increased by from 1960-2010?
DOWN 5 Where does Japan carry out most of its Whaling? 6 How many years ago was the William Howard Hampers Scheme set up? 7 Where did Tom Hiddleston recently visit on behalf of the charity, UNICEF? 8 Approximately how many times larger was the energy released by the Russian Meteor compared to the Hiroshima bomb? 9 What is the final track in Foals: Holy Fire called? 10 In what corner of your field of vision does Google Glass overlay the heads-up display?
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Cryptogram By Samuel Bancroft
theREVIEW Miscellanous
theREVIEW Miscellanous
Answer Box: A
B
C
D
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Congratulations to those who successfully completed last edition’s Cryptogram! Many thanks to the people below, who were the first few to email the correct answer. 1.
Phillip Layton, 2. Cara McAlister 3. Paul Dill 4. Stuart Astle
Please email the correct answer to thewhsreview@gmail.com
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