Seren - 196 - 2007-2008 - December 2007

ISSN 1755-7585

Christmas Issue 2007

CLAM UP!!

OCEAN SCIENCES CONTROVERSY SPARKED BY 3.4 INCH CLAM

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3.4 inch long clam has caused a wave of controversy around the world. Scientists from our own School of Ocean Science discovered what is believed to be the longest living animal known to science, a quahog clam Arctica islandica, and cut an end to its 400-year life span by cleaning out the flesh and putting the shell to one side. It was only when the shell was examined a year later that the true age was established.

It was believed to be between 405 and 410 years old before its untimely death, and it is unknown just how much longer it could have lived if left on the sea floor. Ming would have started its life from lava on the sea floor when the first Queen Elizabeth was on the throne and William Shakespeare was writing his plays. It beats the unofficial record of the oldest animal, another Icelandic clam found in a museum, by about 30 years. The oldest known animal outside of the mollusc family was Adwaita, a male Aldabra Giant Tortoise who lived to 256 years. Many people feel that the University scientists involved should have been doing their part to protect Ming, instead of killing it in the name of research. It is however, very likely

that longer-lived individuals of the clam species remain to be found, as Icelandic waters seem to provide the ideal conditions for the extreme longevity of the species.

The clam was dredged up from Icelandic coastal waters in 2006 during a data collection cruise as part of the EU Millennium project.

The project is a collaboration of scientists from 15 European countries working together to investigate climate change over the last 1000 years. The clam, (nicknamed ‘Ming’ after the Chinese dynasty on the throne when it began its life), was in a load of 3,000 empty shells and 34 live molluscs taken up from the sea floor by team members Paul Butler and James Scourse.

The true age of the shell was not discovered until earlier this month when post-doctoral scientist Alan Wanamaker drilled through the

and climate change. The age of the clam can also be calculated by counting the layers in the shell. The shell only grows at a rate of 0.1mm a year during the summer months when the temperature is warmer and there is a large food source available.

While ancient clams may give us an insight in the climate over the past 400 years, it seems another direction of study is also being taken.

Help the Aged, the UK-based charity

shell to count the growth lines.

The Arctica islandica mollusc is often called the ‘tree of the sea’ as the annual growth lines in the shell give rise to a wave of information about environmental conditions such as salinity, seawater temperature and available food. Analysing the shell helps towards understanding the link between changes in the ocean

Inside SUPPLEMENT NERS IN IN W D E S N A s i XM BANGOR Th Issue

that provides help and support for disadvantaged older people both here and overseas has awarded the university a £40,000 grant for a preliminary study into how these animals can live to extraordinary ages. It is believed that the clams may have evolved exceptionally effective defences which hold back the destructive ageing processes that normally occur.

Said Chris Richardson, the Bangor-based team leader, “What’s intriguing the Bangor group is how these animals have actually managed, in effect, to escape senescence [growing old].”

“One of the reasons we think is that the animals have got some difference in cell turnover rates that we would associate with much shorter-lived animals.”

“If, in Arctica islandica, evolution has created a model of successful resistance to the damage of ageing, it is possible that an investigation of the tissues of these real life Methuselahs might help us to understand the processes of ageing.”

While the funding couldn’t come at a better time for a department that suffered huge budget cuts at the end of the last academic year, supporters of the charity seem less pleased.

MUSIC COVERAGE

Members on the website forum voiced their concern that such a large amount of money was going to fund research on molluscs when the money could be spent on the direct aid of people in need. Through the charity’s ‘Cows ‘n Things’ gift-giving service, the money given to the university could have provided 100 emergency shelters to protect older people and their families in emergency zones against extreme weather conditions, at a cost of £400 each. Indeed, even research into increasing the quality of life, rather than the length of it seems a more favourable outcome to many supporters.

It is possible that a portion of the School of Ocean Science’s already cut budget could be directed into this study. Money, that many students argue, could be much better spent getting the standard of teaching and undergraduate research back to the standard of what it was in past years, where Bangor was seen as one of the best Marine Biology departments in the UK.

Katherine Sandford

BUSA sults fixtures and , retable s

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Seren - Christmas Issue 2007

Contributors

EDITORIAL

have regular meetings with substantial turnouts, and we have more people than ever working on the design and layout of Seren, as well as the content itself.

This issue is themed, but certainly not dictated by the festive season. In the supplement, we have a guide to all the places to eat in and around Bangor. The page has been designed carefully, so you have a choice between whether you want to save the pennies or splash out, and it is quite comprehensive in its research.

As well as this, the features page has a guide on what to buy at Christmas for him and for her.

Editor: Jack Peat Jo Caulfield Katherine Sandford David Horn Carolan Goggin Stephen Davies Matt Richins Robyn Noden Bethan Williams Bianca Murray Emma Dixon Siobhan Holt Chris Thompson Elizibeth Stephens Rachel Clayton Rachel Eales Loran Perkins Sam Evans Will Varley Matt Bonney Heather Walker Sophie De L’ orme Jennifer Stanley Liam Randall John Jackson Sion Wyn Laszek Alice Weston Aimee Bessant Willow Manuel Rachel Stretton Chris Carter Robert Mann Paul Johnson Joe Firth Chris Samuels Liam Watson Laura Reilley Chris Hilderbrand Jeremy Murray Becki Law Spencer George Photos by Laurie Phillips; Sarah Rugaen Hankey; Paul Davidson; Holly Wiseman Proof reading: Lexi Hindley; Carolan Goggin Production Consultants: Daniel Turner; Emma Dodd Design: Sean Austerby Thankyou to all who made it happen

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ello and premature festive greetings to all readers. This issue, the third of the academic year, has shown immense changes in the way Seren works. As an ever expanding newspaper, we are now beginning to develop an ever expanding team, and the inner workings of the student newspaper are becoming more advance and complex by the day. I am more than happy to announce, that apart from my editorial, I have not written a single article in this issue. As an editor, I have wrote more than my fair share of articles in the past, and it gives me great pleasure to sit back and watch other people write about everything and everything from current issues in Bangor, to advice at Christmas to the reminiscence and remembrance of the past. From a newspaper that was once dictated by only a few, we now

BANGOR 4TH LEAST EXPENSIVE UNIVERSITY TOWN IN THE UK

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or most students, day-to-day life can be a real strain on the bank balance. Food, rent, bills (and the occasional alcoholic beverage perhaps) all cost money – something that in a student life is gold dust. However, it seems here in Bangor things aren’t as bad as they could be. A table published in The Independent and compiled by Push.co.uk reveals Bangor University to be the fourth cheapest in the UK in terms of living costs to students.

The table uses a ‘cost of living index’ to assess the value for money a university town can offer. This comprises factors such as rent on (and off ) campus, an average basket of shopping and the cost of a pint. According to this scale, Bangor is amongst the lowest in the country.

“We’re delighted that Bangor comes out so well as an inexpensive place to live and study.

We do focus on the whole student experience at Bangor, and that means student support, af fordability,” said Carys Roberts, Bangor University’s Head of Student Recruitment.

It seems then, moaning about money in Bangor, might not go down too well with your student friends in other cities…

Lifestyle Lifestyle is a new addition to Seren, and is a combination of many smaller areas that were included in previous editions. Sophie De’ Lorme has been a regular fashion critic for over a year now, and her column will now be a included in this section, along with other fashion critics, such as Matt Bonney this month.

Food is also going to be a featured slot, with pub/ restaurant reviews, as well as home made suggestions. The website featured in this issue was of particular interest to me. notbeansagain.com is to me the answer to all student food problems. Shopping in a students lifestyle

25 years of Seren The archive team have now almost completed their journey back through time. They have met on a regular basis to scan old copies of Seren dating back over decades. Throughout the year we have been commemorating the last 25 years of Seren, and in the last issue of the year, we will have a Silver Anniversary edition. In this issue, the archive team have collected past issues from 1998-2003, all of which are available to view on page five.

Features The features page is also rather busy this time round.

Many students will be looking into private or rented accommodation for next year, and there is a guide to finding your perfect house. As well as this, there is an interview with neighbours star Alan Fletcher, and a few festive articles to top it all off.

MEN CHARGED WITH MURDER OF BANGOR STUDENT wo men accused of murdering a stu-

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dent from Bangor after a night out in Liverpool city centre have appeared in Liverpool Crown Court. Simon Taylor, 20, and Keith O’Dea, 22, are accused with the violent murder of Sion Hardy, 24.

Mr Hardy, who was from Bangor but studying at Liverpool University, died from a brain haemorrhage in the early hours of November 13th. Police were alerted to the incident by ambulance crews, who had been called to the scene after the victim was assaulted. Mr Hardy was kicked about the head several times and left dying in a pool of blood.

His uncle, BBC broadcaster John Hardy said: “Siôn was the apple of his mother, father and sister’s eyes. Losing such a fun-loving young man has obviously been a huge blow to the family.”

On social networking site BEBO Mr Hardy’s profile reads: “My name is Siôn and I come from Bangor in North Wales. I work at the planning department at Anglesey county council but currently studying for my planning degree at the University of Liverpool. I love football and support Manchester United and Wales. If there’s anything else you want to know, then just ask!!!”

The pair will next appear in court on March 3rd. Three other people are still on police bail in connection with Mr Hardy’s death

Jo Caulfield

will generate recipes from this. Ingenious!

Music Anyone who has been at this University for more than a year will vouch for the fact that its musical reputation is dire when it comes to the live scene. In the past, only acts such as Goldie Lookin Chain and Rachel Stevens would come close to Bangor, and even they were only once in a blue moon. Now, this semester alone, we have had the likes of The Pigeon Detectives, We Are Scientists and if that wasn’t enough, Karl Kennedy! And to celebrate the fact that Bangor’s scene may not be dead, we have dedicated a whole page to the activities of the last few months, with interviews and reviews from all of the bands.

Sport

is never consistent and is often very hap hazard. It is therefore commonplace to find your fridge full of completely random ingredients you wouldn’t know the first thing to do with.

The Ingrediomiter featured in this website, allows you to enter the food you have left, and it

P

Jack Peat

BOREDOM IN BANGOR?

ot noodles, twelve hour lie-ins, Jeremy Kyle and the very occasional lecture.

Sound familiar? Apparently, according to many of our parents (and much of the media) as a student, that is all that we do. Now, perhaps you object to this stark generalisation of our entire social group? Well, according to the Higher Education Policy, the average UK student only dedicates around twenty six hours per week to the study of their course – and this includes time spent in lectures and those obligatory seminars.

If this is the case, you may ask what students do with the rest of their time? The answer seems to be: nothing. Many students find that once they get to university, through Freshers’ Week and over the excitement of living in a new place with new people, they find that one thing characterises their university experience: boredom.

As we all know, across the UK, students find the best way to cure this boredom is by drinking and socialising. However, although this seems to be enough to keep most students happy at university, here in Bangor it appears not to be the case.

In the 2008 university guide published by The Times, Bangor has the seventeenth highest projected non-completion rate in the UK. When applied to the Times methodology, this resulted in us being fourth from the bottom in their table of 123 Higher Learning Institutions.

Why is this? Seren canvassed a few students’ opinions to try and find out.

“There’s nowhere to go out!” said Marie Lennon, a Psychology first year student, “one

o s l a : N E R E S e n i l n o e l b a l alavai

Sport has been literally overloaded with content this month. The main article is on BUSA Wednesday’s (or a lack of one) which has been a hotly debated issue around the university for some time now. We have also decided to start including BUSA results, fixtures, and tables in the section, to keep everyone well informed in sporting matters (for why else are we here!).

So all that is left for me to say is have a very merry Christmas, a happy new near. Happy reading!

of the main attractions of the student lifestyle is the party potential. Here, there are two decent night clubs and only a few decent pubs.

After a while, the novelty really wears off.”

Another student expressed concerns about the university halls: “Emrys Evans? How is anyone expected to live there? Although the university are building new accommodation, it’s a bit of a shock to come to university and co-habit with cockroaches.”

The main theme expressed by many of the students we asked was that as the location of Bangor itself is so remote, the nightlife and the university social scene should be used to compensate. It seems that this is not the case. What about work then? Do we not have enough academic study to occupy ourselves with?

Apparently, here in Britain university students do not take full advantage of the opportunities at hand. According to the Digital Journal, university students in Germany dedicate around thirty five hours to the study of their courses, proving that there is always work to be done. However, even these hard workers fall short compared to students in Portugal, where around forty hours is seen as normal for weekly revision.

So, does this mean that we are not taking our studies seriously? Perhaps if we spent more time studying, we’d spend less time being bored. Maybe people expect too much from university. Maybe that’s why so many students leave Bangor.

Jo Caulfield

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3 QUESTIONS ABOUT STUDENT DEBT? HERE ARE SOME ANSWERS:

Seren - Christmas Issue 2007

Dr Drums!

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fter five years of post graduate study and a total of eight years study Dewi Ellis Jones has achieved a doctorate in Music Performance and Composition in Music. A student at Bangor University, he is the first person in the country to do so.

Hailing from Anglesey, Dewi has studied from renowned figures such as Dame Evelyn Glennie, Dr Pwyll Ap Sion and Simone Rebello. ‘I was lucky enough to study composition…with two of the country’s leading percussionists.’, says Dewi. In his eight years leading to the Phd, Dewi has had many achievements. In 2001 he achieved a BMUS (Hons) and went on to get a MA degree. On top of this Dewi has a LRSM Performance Diploma from the Royal Schools of Music.

‘Welsh Universities such as Bangor [are] at the forefront’, Dewi explains regarding his doctorate.

Even without his doctorate Dewi is very involved with music. Dewi is Wales’ only full time solo percussionist. He has featured on both TV and radio programmes. As well as this Dewi is also a freelance Orchestral and band percussionist. Not including freelance work Dewi is the principle percussionist in ‘Ensemble Cymru’. ‘Ensemble Cymru’ have been called ‘ambassadors for all that is good about music-making in Wales these days’.

Aside from this Dewi is also involved with other projects such as the recording of a new CD. Dewi is also involved with Trinque, a project including Claire Jones (Harpist) and Rhys Taylor (Clarinettist/Saxophonist).

‘The degree would not have been possible

Dr Drums: Dewi Ellis Jones

without their support [lecturers]’, says Dewi.

However Dewi also points out the importance of support from his family and girlfriend ‘and the constant encouragement from my parents, grandmother and girlfriend’.

Dewi is described as a ‘top bloke’ by those who know him. A musical talent, Dewi Ellis Jones has a bright future ahead of him in the musical world. Currently Dewi is busy touring North Wales and says ‘each concert brings with it new and exciting experiences’.

On 1st December Dewi performed at the Prichard Jones Hall, Bangor. He will also be playing at the launch of Claire Jones’ new CD on the 10th December.

David Horn

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few weeks ago, during the Queen’s Parliamentary opening speech, it was announced that the government are selling £18 billion worth of student debt to the private sector. This figure constitutes nearly a third of the £55 billion the Student Loans Company (SLC) expects to loan to students over the next ten years.

Press coverage of this event was minimal, as the announcement seemed to mean little to anyone but students. But what does it really mean to us? Will we all be paying back double what we have borrowed?

The government said any panic is unfounded and has promised the sale will make no difference to the terms and conditions for individual borrowers. It said it will retain control of the loan arrangements, including interest rates and repayment schemes.

It seems then, that the changes shouldn’t affect us too much. However, considering that only a few months ago interest rates on student loans doubled to 4.8%, many students feel they are being financially punished for wanting to further their education. At the time of the rate rise, the SLC explained that its interest rates were calculated annually in September, on the basis of the March Retail Price Index (RPI). “Using this figure allows us to get a true reading of the value of what has been lent as the value of the pound fluctuates,” said Ian McLaren Thompson, a spokesperson from the SLC, “It does not, and is not intended to, produce any surplus for us”.

THE BLUDGEONER T

he Bludgeoner noted with extreme interest this week whilst avoiding thoughts of Christmas shopping that researchers at some university or other (obviously a bit keen as the Research Assessment Exercise deadline swings by) have discovered that chimps are more intelligent than students. Putting aside that they were from the media studies course at Nottingham Trent (the chimps that is; the students were studying Russian literature at Cambridge) the Bludgeoner enjoys a good bit of scientific endeavour – in fact just the other month some chap at Menai Bridge was out on the University yacht and hooked himself a centuries-old clam for dinner. The Bludgeoner suspects that an aged mussel isn’t comparable to a finely antiqued wine, apparently it was the oldest living creature ever found. They named it Sir Ming, for some reason – after a spot of digging the Bludgeoner finds out it’s an amusing reference to some Chinese man who used to be involved in politics.

University is a voyage of discovery in so many ways; another chap from the library department was giving the attic a spring clean and found an old letter from some famous Welsh chap which was in all of the papers. Who needs to go on Bargain Hunt when you’ve got your own set of Antiques Roadshow experts just hanging around giving occasional lectures and moaning about the latest management initiative?

Despite his morbid terror of having to go near to his local High Street in order to purchase overpriced goods for people he hasn’t seen in 11 months (and why be so scared?

Every week in the paper there’s someone shopkeeper or other moaning that no-one visits him anymore), the Bludgeoner is very much looking forward to Christmas this year; in fact it can’t come round quickly enough in the Bludgeoner household. This child-like glee is of course tempered by the fact that the Bludgeoner is reaching an age where he only gets crap presents. A voyage of discovery in

itself, one would surmise. It’s easy enough to get a young chap some Lego or that stuff in a pot that makes fart sounds, but there comes a time in your life when people have to play it bland simply not to cause offence. The Bludgeoner looks forward to plenty of socks and the odd bit of Avon shower gel.

to your tutor you are more or less considered to be studying in Welsh. The number of people actually studying in Welsh is much lower.

Bangor is the biggest provider of Welsh courses in Wales. We are also in a university that is leading the way with regards to Welsh courses, being the first university to offer some science modules in Welsh. Compared to other universities that fail to offer even the most basic courses through Welsh we are lucky, but this still isn’t enough.

Funding is also a big problem, at the moment Welsh education is given some £1.5 million a year and although this sounds like a big sum of money, it’s only 0.5% of the total amount spent on higher education in Wales.

The alternative paper we presented to the ministers asked for an increase up to 5% so that we can establish a Welsh College that’s worth having. Unfortunately HEW are only suggesting an increase of 1% in their paper. We were also asking that this extra funding is independent to the rest of the funding of higher education

in Wales.

Why do we need to spend so much on this many people? There are many students who want to study in Welsh but just don’t have the opportunity. This is especially true in specialised subjects but why? There is difficulty from both sides with some courses. The terminology is thought to be complicated, we hear them most often in English so it’s very difficult to get used to using Welsh terms. Lecturers feel they don’t have the terminology to be able to give Welsh language lectures and students feel they wont understand the terminology.

There is also a problem where some schools don’t offer courses in Welsh because there isn’t a progression in the university, and the universities don’t offer Welsh modules because students don’t ask for them, because they haven’t done them through Welsh in school.

So something needs to change. The government need to take this step forward and give Welsh education the chance it needs.

Yet still, ‘tis the season to be jolly – and what’s not to be jolly about? Who wouldn’t be jolly, what with constant rain, nippy weather and the constant thrum of life beating about one’s temples? Oh yes, the Bludgeoner knows the very best thing about Christmas: it’s nothing.

Nothing and plenty of peanuts, with a smattering of James Bond.

The Bludgeoner lives in Iran, with his three children and stash of enriched uranium.

WELSH EDUCATION CAMPAIGN

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n Tuesday the 27th four students from Bangor went to Cardiff in the name of Welsh Education. Higher Education Wales (HEW) were launching their paper on a Welsh College in the Assembly for the ministers and the important people in the Welsh education sector. We too went to the bay with our alternative paper that was put together by Rhys Llwyd, Welsh Language Officer for NUS Wales and Menna Machreth from Cymdeithas yr Iaith, the Welsh Language Society.

We have been campaigning for a Welsh College for a few years now but what is it all about? Even though you can study some courses through Welsh there is quite a limited choice. Around 15% of students in Wales study their A Levels through Welsh but by the time they get to University this number drops to just 3%. However this figure is quite misleading. To be part of this figure you only have to be studying something through Welsh – and that ‘something’ can be as little as 25% of a 10 credit module. So if you just speak Welsh

Bethan Williams

This explanation did not stop huge hostility from many students across the country and the NUS itself. Many students expressed their hostility through social networking site Facebook. The group “Protest Against Huge Student Loans Interest Rate Hike, 2.4% to 4.8% has attracted nearly 13,000 members. It seems that there is more than just a little concern about this issue.

The vice-president of the NUS, Wes Streeting said: “We are obviously extremely concerned about any increase in student debt.

Graduates are in a precarious position when they leave university; many work in low paid jobs and can’t even begin to think about the property ladder, families and pensions.”

Repayments of student debt are calculated on the basis of what a borrower earns, not just on what they owe. This means that while the total amount owed will increase faster with

the new 4.8% rate, the sum of individual payments will be unaffected. However, any increase in loan amount will mean an extension in the time it takes to pay it back. And it’s not just the students that are concerned with the government’s handling of our hard earned debt.

Professor Michael Driscoll, Vice-Chancellor of Middlesex University and Chair of the CMU Universities group is seeking assurances that any funds raised from the sale will be invested in higher education.

He said “If student debt is sold off, the Treasury will have capitalised future income streams from students. Whatever the merits of this approach, it would provide an important one-off opportunity to address the backlog in capital investment and the teaching infrastructure in universities which has not yet been addressed by the Government. Universities and students will be keen to have assurances that any sale will bring forward this much needed investment rather than being used to plug gaps in the Treasury’s finances.”

None of us want to see our debt increase, but it seems that in today’s financial climate, interest rate rises are unfortunately inevitable. If you do have any concerns about the amount you will be paying back, or how the changes affect you personally, you can contact the Student Loans Company direct on 0845 607 7577.

Jo Caulfield

NEW CONSTITUTION FOR NUS

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uesday 4 December was an incredibly important day for the National Union of Students (NUS) as a new constitution based on a governance review instigated back in April was finally passed at Extraordinary Conference.

For Bangor, involvement in this governance review started in March, when we held a referendum on whether we should disaffiliate from NUS. Although our students ultimately voted to stay affiliated to NUS, a relatively high proportion of students voted to leave, enough to give the National Executive Committee (NEC) a bit of a fright.

Our referendum was one of fifteen disaffiliation referendums held around the country last year, a clear sign that something was wrong with NUS. The NEC recognised this, and at Annual Conference back in April, they proposed to instigate a far-reaching governance review, a proposal which was passed by an over-whelming majority.

For those of you unfamiliar with governance, it is essentially the processes and structures an organisation is based on. NUS’s governance structures have become bloated and convoluted over the years, and needed a complete overhaul to turn it back into an efficient, democratic organisation.

The governance review was led by a Governance Review Steering Group consisting of the National President, the National Secretary, four members of the NEC, representatives from two trade unions, three governance experts and two student officers. I was one of those two officers, giving Bangor a huge input in this extremely significant governance review.

The review process involved substantial consultation, with 550 written submissions and verbal submissions from consultation events held up and down the country. The steering group considered all the submissions, synthesising them into a final set of proposals to present to the NEC. Once the NEC had approved the proposals, 25 students’ unions around the country (including Bangor) submitted calls for an Extraordinary Conference to discuss and vote on the proposed new con-

stitution.

This Conference was held in Leicester on Tuesday 4 December and was attended by approximately 400 students’ unions and 800 delegates. After a long day of debating and impassioned speeches, Conference finally approved the new constitution with well over the two-thirds majority it required.

So what’s different? The main change is that the roles and responsibilities of different sections of NUS are much clearer. The NEC has been abolished and will be replaced by two separate bodies: a Board which deals with the administration (e.g. finance, human resources, legal compliance) and a Senate which deals with the political side of things, such as running campaigns, lobbying Parliament and setting interim policy.

The renamed Annual Congress will still be the primary policy-making body and will still be enormous. But the introduction of Zone Conferences (e.g. Higher Education Zone, Welfare Zone, Union Development Zone) to discuss and pass some policy in advance of the Annual Congress will speed up the policymaking process considerably, allowing broadly consensual policy to pass before Annual Congress so that we can spend time debating the more contentious issues.

In the past, Conference has spent so long debating a controversial policy motion (such as whether NUS should campaign for free education or to ‘keep the cap’ at £3000 per year) that policy that would have been passed easily (such as creating a Mature Students Officer) didn’t even get discussed.

The changes themselves are extremely broad and far-reaching, and will allow NUS to use less resources on lengthy processes and more on improving the lives of our students.

It may take a year or more for the changes to be truly felt, but Bangor students should be proud that we played such an integral part in this reform.

For more information, visit http://www.officeronline.co.uk/library/governance/274840. aspx

Carolan Goggin

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STUDENT VIEWS CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE

2nd Year Marine Biology & Oceanography Student

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he department has gone downhill.

There is not a lot of support as there are hardly any lectures with the new 20 credit modules that have been introduced.

I feel that we are being pushed into a single direction of study, rather than having an open choiceas there are no module options. Last year you could choose from five or six different modules, and you really felt you were studying what you were interested in. The lectures were broader and more in-depth.

The practicals seem to be very similar to what we were doing last year so you don’t feel that you are learning anything new. The timetable varies weekly with 14/15 hours of study one week, then only three hours the next.

I was looking forward to working more with Andy Yule and John Lachford as they were brilliant lecturers who knew their subjects very well and were very helpful, but they both left at the end of last year.

I came 300 miles away from home to come to Bangor University as it was supposed to be the best for Ocean Sciences, but I now feel I could have easily gone to Plymouth or Southampton and got as good a, if not a better, standard of degree.

[On the news that Bangor

scientists killed the oldest clam]

It’s a bit stupid really, but it sounds like a genuine mistake.

1st Year Marine Biology Student

I

really like the course but I’m disappointed that I wasn’t given any module choices at the beginning of term as I was expecting.

Some of the modules are not very in-depth and it feels like the lecturers are rushing to get through all the content.

We’ve had quite a few cases of lectures being cancelled with no warning, but I’m finding the practicals really enjoyable. I can see why some of the recent changes could be detrimental for some people, but I’m looking forward to doing a written dissertation rather than practical-based project, as it fits in better with my working style.

[On the news that Bangor scientists killed the oldest clam]

I’m not too bothered really; there are probably plenty of other old clams down there.

Seren - Christmas Issue 2007

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MEN VERSUS WOMEN: ARE WOMEN BEING PAID LESS?

he treatment of women in the workplace has greatly improved over the last few decades. For a start we were allowed to work! The days of women being no more than stay at home mothers are over.

The lure of success on the career ladder has led to many women holding some of the highest professional positions in the world. Currently women already outnumber men as doctors and solicitors; two of the world’s most highly paid and qualified professions. However a recent article in Glamour magazine revealed that the gap between women’s and men’s salaries is alarmingly high.

Reading that article led me to investigate just how much women are discriminated against in the work place. If you’re considering a job in a male dominated industry and you think that in this day and age women and men are paid equally for doing the same job, you may be in for a slight shock.

Women graduates are paid less than their male counterparts from the very beginning of their careers; men are earning at least £1000 more than their college classmates within

Women of child bearing age suffer, because they’re seen as a financial liberty to employers. three years of leaving university, according to a study by the Higher Education Statistics Agency. This is not only a disgrace to a supposedly equal society but to the professions that treat women as second class employees.

So why are women treated differently to men in the world of work? Despite the Equal Pay Act being established thirty seven years ago, a woman doing the same job as a man will lose out on an estimated £330,000 by the time they retire. The question that needs to be answered here is: why are women still being financially discriminated against in the workplace? There have been many supposed reasons for this but none that I would personally consider valid.

For example, it is suggested that women of child bearing age suffer, because they are seen

as a financial liability to employers who would have to pay for maternity leave.

But is anything being done about this? Are women’s attitudes as much to blame for this injustice? The answer is both yes and no. Many women are content with being paid less than their male counterparts in exchange for great-

er job satisfaction and less stress. On the other hand there are some women who simply will not stand for unfair treatment. Perhaps the most high profile of these cases was that of Julie Bower, a former city analyst in 2002. After presenting evidence in front of a tribunal that her male colleagues were being paid bonuses of up to £650,000 in contrast to her £25,000, she was awarded a record £1.4 million in compensation. Perhaps this proves the statement ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’.

In terms of demographics in the UK, Northern Ireland has the smallest pay discrepancy with women earning 0.2% less than men.

The South East has the biggest gap with men earning 17% more than their female counterparts. So exactly why should men take home an extra £460 per annum because of their gender?

With more and more women training for jobs in male dominated industries such as engineering, architecture and quantity surveying; why shouldn’t this be reflected in pay standards? An Equal Opportunities Commission survey showed that the national pay gap is worsened by women taking part time roles after having children.

However while pay discrepancies for wom-

en in general are dismal, the gap for women from minority ethnicities is abominable. 67% of black graduates are more likely to be studying but twice as likely to be unemployed.

For years, girls have been outperforming boys at A levels and more young women enrolling at University. Why is it then, that women are seen (and treated) as second class employees? Kat Stark, Women’s Officer for the National Union of Students said: “Many women are unaware that they are being paid less than men - in order to tackle this, the government should force employers to reveal how much they pay their employees.”

Glamour magazine’s recent survey revealed reactions of women in these professions who had no idea they were being paid less than their male counterparts. Claire Smith, a recruitment officer, found out she was being paid £2000 less per annum; she said “It’s ridiculous that someone’s sex should impact on their earning potential.”

“It’s ridiculous that someone’s sex should impact on their earning potential.”

So what remains to be said about the pay discrepancy between men and women? In a society that supposedly treats us all as equals, the figures leave a lot to be desired. As a woman studying for a degree in a male dominated industry, I am shocked and appalled. I had been under the impression that this chauvinistic attitude towards the female race had been dispelled along with women aspiring to be like Samantha from ‘Bewitched’! So all that remains to be said is, to any young women reading this, when you land your dream job, will your salary reflect the work you put in to get there?

Bianca Murray

WAR HERO EXHIBITION AT MAIN ARTS LIBRARY

O

ne of Wales’ biggest heroes can be found in Bangor University’s Main Arts Library this month. No, it’s not Glyn from Big Brother, it’s legendary First World War poet Ellis Humphrey Evans, better known by his bardic name ‘Hedd Wyn’ (which translates as ‘white peace’).

An exhibition of some of his material is currently on display in the Shankland Reading Room which contains, amongst numerous other items, a draft of the Eisteddfod Chair winning poem ‘Yr Arwr’ (The Hero) and a letter written by him ‘from somewhere in France’.

‘Yr Arwr’ was written in 1917 under the nom-de-plume ‘Fleur-de-Lis’, whilst Hedd Wyn was in the 15th Battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He was sadly killed in action on the fields of Flanders at Pilkem Ridge, near Ypres on 31st July 1917, but was awarded the Eisteddfod Chair (the highest accolade an Eisteddfod entrant can be granted) posthumously in September of that year at the Birkenhead National Eisteddfod. The chair was subsequently draped in black cloth, and became known as the ‘black chair’ of Birkenhead. For the many Welsh families that experienced loss in the First World War, the black chair came to symbolise their empty chairs at the family dining tables.

The letter provides a poet’s view of life ‘behind the lines’ but instead of focusing on the

horrors of war, it provides the small moments of beauty that Ellis found to contemplate on and chose to share with the reader. In one part of the letter Ellis almost predicts the symbolism of the Remembrance Day poppy by saying that France’s flowers will be doleful in the

future and a sad wind will blow over her acres because the colour of blood will be in one and the sound of sorrow in the other: “blodau prudd fydd blodau Ffrainc yn y dyfodol a gwynt trist fydd yn chwythu achos fydd lliw gwaed yn yr un a swn gofid yn y llall”.

VOULNTEERS ARE GO!

Professor Gerwyn Williams, Head of the School of Welsh who specialises in the literature of the First World War, says: ‘reading the letter and imagining the conditions in which it was written offers a direct and unique connection with the poet. It’s an excellent example of the treasures to be found in Bangor University’s Archive, a rare manuscript which brings to life the experience of studying the work of an important man’.

Ellis Humphrey Evans has also been immortalised in a film bearing his bardic name, ‘Hedd Wyn’. Made in 1992 and starring Huw Garmon as Hedd Wyn, it was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film in the 1994 Oscars, as well as winning numerous Welsh BAFTA Awards. It’s moving storyline and extremely impressive war scenes makes it one of the best Welsh language films ever made.

Hedd Wyn is clearly a Welsh legend and whether you speak the language or not the exhibition is definitely worth a visit.

The exhibition is at the Shankland Reading Room, Main Arts Library, Bangor University is open between 9.00-21.00 Monday, 9.00 – 20.45 Friday and 12.00-17.00 on Saturday and Sunday.

Emma Dixon

W

elcome to the Student Volunteering column! Every Seren issue, we will be filling you in on what the society has been up to, what we plan to be up to, and how you can get involved!

Student Volunteering has moved from strength to strength this semester; beginning with an incredibly successful Moulin Rouge night at Academi. The night, filled with raunchy fun and fancy frivolity, went off without a hitch, raising just over £800 that will contribute to the many SVB projects. Thank you to all that turned out for it!

After adopting our new SVB Manager, Helen Munro, volunteers have never been more involved with working in the community. Upcoming events include the annual Christmas Tea Party on Saturday 8th December and a sponsored silence on the Sunday. We’ve also been maintaining our in regular beach cleans, clearing rubbish and clutter off the beaches and into our bin bags.

A new addition to SVB as of this Semester is “RAG”, a project with the simple aim of raising funds for charity. So if you have any wacky ideas for raising money or wish to be on the committee please get in touch with Helen!

SVB’s Chairperson, Biddy Andrews, and Social Secretary, Abi Moore, were also spotted on Children In Need’s live show on Friday 16th November after holding a giant ‘Twister’ tournament outside the SU building; all proceeds going to Children In Need.

Finally, we are always looking for volunteers to join us in our escapades. If you’re interested in taking part in any of the projects or have any ideas for events please contact Helen Munro at svb@undeb.bangor.ac.uk or 01248 388021.

Matt Richins & Robyn Noden

5

Seren - Christmas Issue 2007

25 YEARS OF SEREN 1983-2008

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25 YEARS OF SEREN

“57 fire alarm s, is 57 days too many? ” SEREN, March 1999 rable but memo saw a brief ntent. Under m iu n n le the Mil eren’s co he turn of rkngs of S l, Seren became as in the wo nel ce n o fa C t’ u o O ab aintaining of Jamie ip h it was in m and cutrs o as it ic et h st the ed ae er e v nt co s uniqu artling fro cktail” ursuing a keen on p resulting in some st ional “Molotov Co as garde e, tcc ag o an er e v av th co h s it as well as lemic wit rown into t, o p ar l te ea as rr be th and-p ixed su else could en a which m segment d whatever of all, there was ev an s w ie rv re ly te u g n in in , te ck ry l’s o et el po ost sh O’ Conn erhaps m in 2000 all things! f r o o it n the mix. P io ed ct own as shion se art apstepped d student fa -concept brief - he t his high as u w b r o s it ie d as ed is stu trate on h reading. to concen scinating fa r fo es ak m h ac ro p

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25 YEARS OF SEREN

ROSTRA PROP DESTROYED

S

tudents were in uproar last month after property belonging to the society ROSTRA was vandalised by members of the University security team. The members of the society discovered that a prop, a 4 foot cube box that was to be used in ‘Twelfth Night’, had been destroyed on the evening of November 15th. The frame was an important piece for the production and part of the set designed to act as a jail during one of the key scenes, as well as to be used throughout the play. Certain members of the society had spent over £150 pounds on the structure and the materials to make it with some students contributing money from their own funds. The frame has since had to be rebuilt from the salvaged remains and even materials; such as wood and paint have had to be bought again. As a result ROSTRA are now suffering financial difficulties since they have not broken even and some of the students simply want security to take responsibility for their error.

They had originally been hard at work constructing the frame in Powis Hall on the Wednesday night but had been forced to move and find a new place to finish the construction. They had checked with security and had been requested to place the prop by the toilets, in the foyer of Main Arts. The team had been working on it religiously for nearly four days until the early hours of the morning. However, the Producer of ‘Twelfth Night’, Lance Cain, discovered the frame and all their tools and materials were missing early on the morning of the 16th. After asking the security department, on more than one occasion where their

equipment had been moved to, they informed him that it had been destroyed as it blocked the entrance to the disabled toilets and was considered a fire hazard. Security also argued that they had not obtained permission for the frame to be housed there, however the students strongly deny this allegation. ‘Members of security saw that we were constructing the frame down stairs’ argues ‘Twelfth Night’ di-

rector, Jennifer Campion. ‘They vandalised a frame that could have been dismantled’ she explains. It is believed that a member of the security department destroyed the whole frame by shattering and demolishing it by hand with a hammer.

Security also claimed that they had tried to contact the society before they cleared the area and destroyed the frame, but according to both Lance and Jennifer, no one had been contacted by the department. Both members of the society have been extremely upset by the whole fiasco, as Jennifer Campion explains, ‘when I found out that they had destroyed

the frame I was very upset and the member of security I spoke to was very rude.’ ‘He told me to be more polite in the future which I just found offensive since they hadn’t been polite enough to ask us personally to move the frame’ adds Jennifer. Lance emphasised how ‘aggressive and rude’ they were towards them and how a member of security stated that they ‘won’t do ROSTRA any favours again.’ ‘We just want the University to take action against those involved’ explains Lance and Jennifer; ‘and for someone to take responsibility.’

Apparently since the incident, the Head of Security, who allegedly gave permission for the frame to be destroyed, has been ‘very upset by the whole incident’ and has apologised to Bangor University’s Communications and Societies officer, Carolan Goggin.

Seren have contacted the head of Security here at Bangor University, Tony Monument.

He was however unable to comment on the situation as a full investigation is currently being carried out by Senior Management of the Estates and Facilities Department.

However this appears to be the last straw for many drama students and explains why these students are not taking this issue lying down. They currently have over one hundred and fifty students’ signatures on their petition. However, they want to do more to stop this happening again and to make security realise that what they did to their property was totally unacceptable. So if this issue has angered you and you want to do more, then why not make your voice heard and join their Facebook group, ‘petition for fair treatment for students.’

Siobhan Holt

L

A

s term-opening gambits go, October 1998’s front-page headline “Model Caprice gets up close and personal with Bangor rugby club” certainly takes some beating. It also proves par for the course for a five-year period that saw Seren cover a lot of different ground and saw some very interesting articles written, such as the ‘Ye Death Page’ article that appeared in that same October issue. Included was a tongue-in-cheek rundown of the Top 5 Ways To Die, two of which were “Being Eaten By A Hippo” and “Underneath Nicholas Cage”. Scandalously, as I’m sure you’ll agree, no Health and Safety Disclaimer was issued with this frivolous article. Tut tut.

00 REN, March 20

999 saw for the most part a continuation of the text-heavy print that typified the year previous, as well as a humorously self-effacing style that us student-y types seem loath to avoid. Hence, the February 1999 issue of Seren had a bracket dividing “Old News” from “Very Old News” (there were mini-Seren updates for some months), as well as some news pieces presented in a hypothetical Q-and-A interview format. This particular issue also contained the delightfully catty ‘Ask Sister Rosetta’ column, in which she dispensed all manner of topical advice. One letter even has a bloke writing in asking Ms. Rosetta how he can stop his girlfriend giving him enemas. I kid you not. In light of this not-altogether-serious revelation, student life today begins to look mighty tame.

two pages devoted to such topics covering a protest carried out by Muslim members of the Bangor community in April to decry prejudicial treatment both in Bangor and Israel, as well as publicising the All-Wales Festival For Peace. Other memorable segments from this issue include the appearance of SU President candidates in drag, “Mystic Kitty Predicts The Future…” (Horoscopes presented through the medium of Hello Kitty figures), and “Far Out East”, a segment on Japanese cinema including Audition, which was also reviewed in last month’s Seren copy.

ens doors.” SE

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ards on Nor ealth Hazmal Site” (J un the workin gs of the U e 2001) and niversity it (October self 2001). On a lighter n but no less ote, critical, Apr il 2001’s ed tion came with Mich iael McGea “Ten Thin chin’s gs I Hate… ” ra ‘faux-tradit ional nonse nt that had nse’ and ‘c porate Naz ori whores’ in its sights. Th year’s prin t run also is contained view of the a rebawdy - an d unspeaka awful - E bly rotica Isla nd game, basted in pr lamint by Dar ien Graham Smith with the memor able the girls I meet in Tim line “like e, Erotica land sells it Isself on the promise of but ultimat sex ely delivers only breast s”.

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25 YEARS OF SEREN

ruary 2001 “Save the Time-tanic!” SEREN, February 1998 “Rolf confirmed for ball” SEREN, Feb “Who ost-September 11th, it’s hard not to get the feeling 001 also sa ’s ars w the rovi e is that Seren seems apolitical in the immediately folng of the way? ” paper’s crit i ical eye on t any SERE lowing months, at least compared to the two previous serious topics such N , M as the Arm 1 genocide (A years, but May 2002’s edition addressed this concern with 9 9 en a ia 9 n rch pril 2001), “H

Stephen Davies

THE RANT

BY SPENCER GEORGE

ike most students here at Bangor University, I find most of my evenings taken up with completing coursework and essays in an attempt to better my understanding of the degree on which I have embarked.

To help with my studies I often revert to a technique that to date, has academically put me in good stead. I call it the ‘Channel 81 technique’. I sit at my desk with a mug of tea, a pad of scribbled notes and turn the TV on to Freeview channel 81, also known as BBC Parliament.

Whilst others might prefer to listen to the radio or play music I find that the monotonous sound of MPs debating often boring and tedious issues offers the perfect environment in which to concentrate on my work.

However, on occasion, BBC Parliament offers coverage of a debate worth listening to.

With the recent self destruction of the Brown administration there have been plenty worth taking note of. More often than not any statement made to the House of Commons and any debate that might follow is drowned out by the incessant shouting, squabbling and bickering offered from both sides of the house.

A few weeks ago though, this was not the case. For when the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, stood at the dispatch box and delivered the news that the personal details of some twenty five million child benefit recipients had been lost in the post, the only thing to be heard was a collective gasp of horror.

The personal information in question included bank account numbers and sort codes that should it find its way into the wrong hands, could have devastating and disastrous consequences. Alistair Darling tried to pass the buck on to a junior official for not following the correct procedures put in place by the government.

However, it was the previous Chancellor, now our esteemed Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who made the decision to merge the Inland Revenue and HM customs.

This decision bequeathed an organisation so dysfunctional, with its burdensome and complex structures that it allowed such valuable information to be handled in such a sloppy, careless and cack-handed manner.

Unsurprisingly, stories are now emerging of other such cases which unlike the two missing disks, were resolved quickly with no apparent lasting damage.

What makes this so toxic for Gordon Brown and the labour government is that the missing disks saga fits a pattern of incompetence and ineptitude. The disclosure of the missing disks calamity came just 24 hours after it emerged tax payers may not see the safe return of the £24 million of their money which Alistair Darling had lent to the sorry state that is Northern Rock. This followed the previous week’s announcement that Jacqui Smith and the Home Office had allowed 5,000 illegal immigrants to work in security jobs, including that of guarding the Prime Ministers car, yet had neglected to inform the House of Commons because the news would not be “well received by the media.”

Gordon Brown may have been vying for the day when he could get his hands on the keys to number 10 but I bet he wishes that Tony had kept the job for just a few more months.

As has been pointed out by many commentators, Gordon Brown wants to control everything yet controls nothing. As the man who was in control of domestic policy under Tony Blair and now as the man running our country, Gordon Brown must take full responsibility for the catastrophic events of the last few weeks and the consequences that will inevitably follow.

David Cameron recently posed the question “Is the Prime Minister really cut out for the job?” The answer is no. He may have made a good right hand man, a good assistant, a good number two, but as Prime Minister Gordon Brown is no more fit for purpose than the departments that he runs.

6

Seren - Christmas Issue 2007

Features

TOP TIPS FOR FINDING YOUR PERFECT STUDENT HOUSE

S

earching for next years house may seem like a job that can wait for a few more months but that couldn’t be further from the truth! Most students here at Bangor University begin searching for their new palace and university pad in January. But what if you happen to be a first year student looking for a house; how do you go about it? Don’t panic, Seren is here to give you some top tips on how to find your home sweet home.

One of the first things you need to sort out is how many people you are going to live with.

It is important to work out who would be the best person for you to share a house with. For example, if you are a neat freak just like Monica from ‘Friends’ then maybe you shouldn’t share a house and, more importantly, a kitchen with people who don’t wash up for months on end.

Also remember to be totally honest. If you don’t want to live with someone, say so. It’s much better to be honest now, than live with that person and row for the next academic year. Be hon-

est about your views on what you want in your house and if the house doesn’t match up to your standards, keep looking. Most people just accept the first house they see and often this means they end up living in a horrible hovel for ten months of the year.

Once you have decided who you are going to live with, you need to work out what features the house should have. Do you want a washing machine, for example, or a microwave? Some houses don’t have a lounge, would that be suitable for you and your housemates? Is there a limit that you are planning to spend on rent?

These are all questions that need to be considered before looking at a house.

When you have answers to all these questions, you should then head to the Housing Office in the Students’ Union. Here they have files and files of suitable houses and the staff work hard to keep some of the most reliable landlords and landladies on their lists, as well as trying to avoid recommending those who students have had problems with in the past. The housing lists provide you with lots of valuable information, for example on how much the rent is, what is included in the house and a contact number for you to call and book a viewing. I strongly suggest that you write down a few numbers to call because sometimes the houses that are listed may already have been rented out for the next academic year. Houses go at a fast pace here in little Bangor because the city is so small.

So I suggest if you don’t like a house, move on and look Mould and damp: two things to avoid in your house for another quickly.

Once you have an appointment, you should all organise to go and look at the house. Don’t just send one housemate to represent the whole group, especially since every single one of you could possibly be calling it home for the next few months. Also, remember that there are some disgusting houses in Bangor! You can become very ill if the house is too damp and cold.

There are also some dodgy landlords and ladies in and around our fair university so watch out!

When you are looking around a prospective house, take a glance at the walls. Ask yourself; is there any mould or damp? If there are black dots on the walls or rotting wood then maybe this isn’t the house for you. I also suggest you note if the rooms are warm enough. Bangor is a city beside the sea which means that the house could be very wet and cold when we hit the monsoon weather typical of January and February. So if you don’t want to look like the michelin man dressed in fifty layers I suggest you look for a house that has good central heating. Always try to view a house twice, once during the light of day, and at night. That way you get to see what it looks like in broad day light and you can also work out how cold it is at night time.

When you walk around the house go and have a good look in the rooms, many prospective tenants feel rude and just have a glance from the door. I strongly suggest you walk into the room and have a good browse. Be nosey for once! Also ask lots of questions, this is your chance to grill the landlord or landlady. Ask about what exactly is included in the rent? How much is the water/electric/gas bill? How do you pay? Is it monthly/ weekly/ included in the rent? Is there a telephone line? Is there internet access? Can you use your television? Where is the fire alarm? Another top tip I recommend is to ask the current tenants what the landlord or landlady is like. Let’s face it, they know more about the property than you do and you could

be in there position in less than a years time.

If you have decided that the property is just right for you and your housemates and you have informed the landlady or landlord that you want to rent it, what is the next step? The next key step is to sign a contract. This is a legally binding contract and you usually have to give a deposit. Often a deposit is returned to you at the end of your lease. The deposit acts like any other, in other words it is for damages to the house. So if you break your door in a drunken rage- it’s unlikely you will see that money again! Also Landlords and Landladies often ask you to pay a percentage of your rent over the summer just before you move in. They usually allow you to leave some of your belongings in your new room over the summer rather than dragging your pots and pans etc back to

CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR HIM AND HER

T

hat’s right folks it’s that time of year again. The festive season is racing towards us faster than you can say ‘holidays are coming.’ The only difficulty now is to try and work out exactly what you should buy for your loved ones this Christmas. Putting the star on the top of your tree is probably much easier than working out what to buy friends and family. However this star publication is here to help. Here are just a few suggestions for presents to buy this December for both men and women.

Women are generally easier to buy for, because a lot of Christmas gifts are aimed at the female market, that and the fact that most women love to shop! If you are wondering what to buy any girl this Christmas I can guarantee that the Spice Girls Greatest Hits album will definitely be a massive hit. No matter how cool their music tastes are now, every female around the age of twenty-one still knows every word to ‘Wannabe’ and can remember the amazing skill and precision that is required to dance to ‘Stop Right Now’. Joking aside, this will be a number one hit with any lady this festive season; just as Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 will be with any hot blooded male. This is one of the top games to buy anyone this year, so why not show you care and beat them at a good old fashioned game of football, available for PS3, X Box 360 or PS2.

Popular stocking fillers, for both men and women, are DVDs. If you know the person you’re buying for is addicted to an American drama series why not buy them the box set for Christmas? For example, out this December is ‘Heroes: series one’ available as a box set. It has

been an amazing hit with both sexes this summer. Other firm favourites, mainly with women have been both ‘Ugly Betty’ and ‘Desperate Housewives’. Why not buy a friend one of these and keep them busy all the way through New Year and beyond? Another DVD which will be a firm favourite for most women will be ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: At the World’s End’. A film with Jonny Depp and

Orlando Bloom is bound to be far and away in any girl’s top DVD list this Christmas. Another piece of valuable advice is to never overlook the obvious present ideas such as chocolates and alcohol. Everyone likes them and at this time of the year they are often a bargain and stunningly presented. All you have to decide is what the person you love would love in re-

turn. If you are looking to buy a female friend a lovely present this Christmas then you could always buy her a beautiful piece of jewellery and there are some amazing pieces that are available suitable for any price range.

If you do have the dosh this season nothing says I love you more than an Ipod. They come in various sizes, styles and colours and have now been around for five years. Since then they have became a common Christmas gift and they are possibly still the number one item to receive at Christmas. Another electronic item to hit the shelves in time for this Christmas is the digital photo frame. With so many of us favouring digital photography over the traditional kind, this Christmas present is a great way to display your photos without having to get them printed. If however, money is an issue as with most students then do not fear, books are always a very good present to buy for a friend or member of your family. With any good bookshop you have a great variety of choice. If you are buying a present for a fella, you can’t go wrong with Jeremy Clarkson’s latest book, ‘Don’t Stop Me Now.’ Any ‘Top Gear’ fan will simply love it.

The best advice we could give you this season is to go shopping with the person you are buying a gift for, or simply to take notice of what they like. If you can buy them a present that shows you have been paying attention and know what they are interested in, then they will love you forever (or for most of 2008 at least!)

Chris Thomson and Siobhan Holt

your home town. As an added precaution I would suggest that all students understand how important your contract is. Do not, under any circumstance hand over money without a receipt and your contract. I would also advise that you and your housemates look over your contract with a member of the Advice cenre to check that everything is legitimate and correct.

Just remember there are enough houses around Bangor, so you will eventually find one for all of you goldilocks out there- a house that is just right! Good luck house hunting in January.

For more information- go along to the Advice centre in the Students Union building or

Siobhan Holt

Christmas Shopping in Chester

Chester: the perfect place for Christmas shopping.

I

f you’re anything like me, you are without a doubt the most unorganized person in the world. You can just about manage to get assignments in on time, but that’s where it ends. Every year those of us who tend to leave things to the last minute have a very big problem; the dreaded Christmas shopping! However, I have found an easy solution, Chester.

An hour’s train journey away is the centre of Chester where you can find presents for everyone, from your better half to that crazy distant aunt that always buys you socks (not that you really need to buy her a present anyway!)

A return day ticket to Chester on a Saturday is £10 which isn’t a lot considering that on a night out you are likely to spend much more than that. For shopping, there is no better place in such close proximity to Bangor. Aside from the beautiful Christmas decorations and festive feeling around the city (picture being in the Coca Cola advert), the shopping and variety of specialist shops is second to none and Chester also has the usual shops that are

generally found in most large cities. One of my personal favorites is ‘Octopus’. The shop is basically like a Disney store for big kids, the selection of quirky gifts and unusual novelty items will make anyone’s Christmas. For the all important parents, because lets face it we have to get them something good, a brilliant place is ‘Corks Out’ wine cellar. If your dad is anything like mine, a bottle of Tesco’s finest just won’t make the cut; the guys in this shop are amazingly helpful and it’s very moderately priced. A decent bottle of wine will set you back around £8. I would recommend anyone to pop along and have a look; even treat yourself since it is Christmas after all.

‘What Bianca Did Next’ will return again in our issue for Valentine’s Day. So if are a society and you want Bianca to pop along and have a go, please email the Features Editor, Siobhan on features@seren.bangor.ac.uk.

Bianca Murray

7

Seren - Christmas Issue 2007

THAT’S WHEN GOOD

I

COME TO BANGOR!

Siobhan Holt interviews ‘Neighbours’ star Alan Fletcher aka Dr. Karl Kennedy.

Be warned he has revealed to Seren the up and coming storylines, you have been warned

nterviewing is usually one aspect you expect a reporter to be quite relaxed about, however, when I signed up to interview the famous Alan Fletcher I was not expecting my nerves to suddenly kick into overdrive. Alan Fletcher or ‘Fletch’ as he likes to be known, is renowned for his work as Dr. Karl Kennedy on the hit daytime soap, ‘Neighbours’. Alan Fletcher was here in November visiting Bangor to perform at Amser/ Time nightclub with his band ‘The Waiting Room’.

I, like most students, have been an avid fan of the Australian soap opera ever since I was born and must confess that I was quite excited when the hour finally arrived to meet the man himself; The two questions that everyone asked me about him were, ‘What is he really like?’ and ‘What did he say?’ In answer to the first question; honestly he was a brilliant, very modest and generous. He answered all my questions and didn’t mind talking about ‘Neighbours’ at all, which I thought he might have objected to. So Seren readers, enjoy this interview with our favourite Doc: Siobhan Holt: So, Alan where are you originally from in Australia?

Alan Fletcher: I was born in Perth, West Australia.

Siobhan: Do you miss home when you are away?

Alan: Yeah, I miss my family. Australia is eleven hours ahead than the UK. So the kids, Veronica who is twelve and Tom who is ten are usually going to bed when I am getting up. It’s hard to keep in touch. Usually I wait and speak to them at the weekends.

When they were little they used to come touring with me. They don’t now they are older. We have a strong family unit though

which helps.

Siobhan: How long have you and the band been together?

Alan: It’s been three and a half years. Our drummer has been with us for eighteen months.

Siobhan: What have been the highlights over the years?

Alan: One of our highlights is obviously releasing the first album.

Going on the Jo Whiley show is another highlight and I am going on again on Friday.

We also performed at Nottingham Trent University as a surprise act to five thousand people. It was at their summer ball. That was really cool.

Siobhan: Which do you prefer acting or singing?

Alan: Well they both involve telling stories and that’s why I love it.

I have done stage work in the past.

Recently I did ‘My Fair Lady’ and I’m doing ‘Mame’ next year.

Siobhan: How does your acting ability help your band?

Alan: I’m a bit like Robbie Williams; I’m not saying I’m a Rock artist. I’m not Matt Bellamy.

I’m an entertainer; I just want the crowd to have a great time.

Siobhan: Are you excited about the performance?

Alan: Yeah, it’s a really nice venue with a big reputation.

Siobhan: What is your favourite song on your set list tonight?

Alan: My favourite song is probably ‘Mr Brightside’ by the Killers and we are also doing a cover of ‘Ruby’ by the Kaiser Chiefs which is a favourite of mine. So those two

are probably my favourites.

Siobhan: Have you ever been to Bangor or Wales before?

Alan: Yes I have done panto near here, in Llandudno. I was in Aladdin in 2000. I know the area quite well so it’s a bit like coming back home.

Siobhan: You have done a lot of work recently, filming with ‘Neighbours’ in London and also in Manchester with ‘Soapstar Superstar,’ what is your favourite

CHRISTMAS CRISIS! I

part of Great Britain?

Alan: I love Yorkshire; I love the place and the towns and the people. I also love Liverpool because I am a Liverpool F.C. supporter. I am going to see them play Bolton F.C. at Anfield.

Siobhan: How do you manage to balance touring and filming ‘Neighbours’? How does it work?

Alan: Right, well I tell ‘Neighbours’ in advance when I am doing a tour and I take unpaid leave. After this tour is finished I will be going back to film for a week and then I’m off for four weeks for Christmas.

Siobhan: What do you think of all the attention you get from students when you do come to England?

Alan: I am very appreciative of the fans. I love meeting them and I’m delighted to do it because without the fans I would have no job.

Siobhan: What is the funniest thing someone has asked you?

Alan: I have been asked by male students questions about health issues to do with their sexual organs (laughs).

Siobhan: How is ‘Soapstar Superstar’ different from anything you have done before?

Alan: Oh it was terrifying! Absolutely terrifying! It was 7am starts till 1am in the morning. We didn’t get much sleep; it was like boot camp. We were also having to learn new songs every day.

Siobhan: How did you get the job in ‘Neighbours’?

it’s in the bin by Boxing Day. The same applies for clothes and food. Clever shops tap into the desperation to be the best dressed at the office party, or to have the very best turkey, and pull the wool over customers’ eyes. Prices are marked up a few weeks before the Christmas rush; then lowered back down to their original price. “Savvy” shoppers think they’ve had a bargain, when really they’ve parted with the same cash they would have done in August.

Perhaps the most depressing fact in all of this is that Christmas tradition has been sacrificed in favour of commercialism. I’m not particularly religious, but I’m alarmed that kids are growing up without any knowledge of the true meaning of Christmas. Why aren’t families attending Christmas Eve Mass and spending time with their loved ones? Because they’ve just seen a really great offer in Argos and had to have it. Why aren’t they sat around the table on Christmas Day? Because they’re arguing over who will get the next go on one of the million extra Wii consoles produced (and there’s still not enough to go round). Why aren’t they hanging their Nana’s wooden numbers on her twenty year old advent calendar? Because they’re too busy adding to the UK’s obesity level. Why aren’t families sharing a sherry on Boxing Day? Because at 5am, they’re stood outside Next, queuing for half price clothes they’ll never wear, deepening the holes in their pockets, and fattening the fat cats.

So this Christmas, if you see the Spice Girls climbing down your chimney, arms laden with Tesco carrier bags, don’t worry, it’s only because good old Saint Nick and his sack haven’t shifted as much ‘High School the Musical’ memorabilia. It’s a volume business you see. It’s just a pity convention has been replaced with commercialism.

Elizabeth Stevens

‘Neighbours’ should be changing channels at some point in 2008, so keep your eyes peeled.

Interview by Siobhan Catherine Holt

PHOTOGRAPHER COMING TO BANGOR

Is Christmas becoming too commercial?

s it better to give or to receive? Who cares, as long as it’s the latest; the most in demand; and the best advertised product on the market! Yes, that’s right; forget the old debate of whether you’re a Scrooge or a Santa, there’s a much bigger argument at stake here: Is Christmas too commercial?

As a long time self-confessed Scrooge, I have to argue, yes, it blatantly is. Why? Well, let’s consider the commercial cacophony that is Christmas. For a start, it’s no longer limited to December. Oh no, forget the old rule of “twelve days before and twelve days after” for your festive tree; now it’s all year long. Advent calendars are on sale in October; which, if you’re anything like me, is pretty pointless, because it’s gone in a day. So you buy another, and another, and so on, and just when you thought the whole furore was over, cue January and half price decorations. Cue a rush of impulse buying, followed by more (full price) buying in November, because the ones you have don’t match your “theme”.

And it’s not just limited to decorations and chocolate.

In the months leading up to Christmas, consumers are bombarded with advertisements for even the most trivial of items. It’s no wonder depression and debt peak at Christmas. As well as RSI, from writing the box of 500 Hallmark cards to all your “closest” friends and family.

Kids only want the latest “in” thing (this year it’s the Nintendo Wii) because the media and advertisers are convincing them they have to have one, even if

Alan: I was asked to audition for the part by Grundy television because before I joined ‘Neighbours’ I was on another programme that they were doing. I auditioned and got the part. I have been on ‘Neighbours’ for thirteen years now.

Siobhan: What do you think about the fact that ‘Neighbours’ is moving from BBC1 to Channel five?

Alan: I think it’s massively positive. We had a good working relationship with the BBC but the move will be good. Channel five has been over and filmed trailers and documentaries which the BBC couldn’t do because ‘Neighbours’ was a foreign show. Channel five are very enthusiastic, and are heavily promoting it. They are keeping it at the same time and making it one of their main programmes.

Siobhan: What has been your favourite storyline?

Alan: I have so many, I like the silly things; like when Karl went around stealing garden gnomes. They had written this storyline as a way to break up a more dramatic scene that Karl was going through.

Siobhan: Are there any exciting storylines coming up?

Alan: There is Susan’s illness and a car accident happens in the street which will affect all the families. It is very much like the old school ‘Neighbours’ where everyone pulls together. It’s really effective and should hit your screens in around three months time.

H

ave you ever wanted to have your picture taken professionally? Do you think you could match Kate Moss posing in front of a camera? Would you like to see your portrait classed as a piece of art?

Seren is offering you the chance to have your picture taken by a professional. We have joined forces with ‘Someone Once Told Me’ (someoneoncetoldme. com) to offer students here at Bangor University the chance to have a romantic, black and white photograph professionally produced for our Valentine’s Day issue. We want our students to pose with their romantic saying or message in front of beautiful sites in and around Bangor. If you are interested please send me your name and email address to features@seren.bangor.ac.uk.

8

Travel

Seren - Christmas Issue 2007

A BREAK FROM BANGOR

VOLUNTEERING IN DISTANT LANDS...

“And this one time, at band camp...”

T

his is probably the most well known line from the teen comedy American Pie. Ah yes, summer camp: an American tradition - something we in the UK do not have the opportunity to experience. Not that we are missing out, I mean, how much fun could it possibly be?

This was the question I asked myself on

children? Insanity, surely.... this summer, however, proved to be the best of my life by far.

I was quite nervous at the thought of having to play teacher and surrogate mother to hundreds of children, especially American ones. My apprehension, however, turned out to be unfounded. Unlike any of the notorious American stereotypes, the children turned out

June 18th last year, whilst sitting on an aeroplane bound for New York. Only five months earlier I had thought I would be spending my holidays working at a restaurant in the Midlands, watching the days drag by. Then all of a sudden, it seemed, I was on my way to a camp in New Jersey. I was hired at a camp called Mt Misery (yes you read that right, Mt Misery) as a lifeguard Councillor with CCUSA. What had I let myself in for? Had I really applied to get a job looking after American

to be as well behaved, inquisitive, and mischievous as other children that I have looked after. Camp itself also exceeded all my expectations.

There is no better way to describe camp than by saying that it is just like the movies.

I became part of a unique world comprised of cookouts, campfires, and sing-a-longs. I found myself dressing up in crazy costumes for the sake of entertainment, having the Union Jack painted on my face when we went on mud

hikes (a giant mud fight), smothering myself in sun-tan lotion to perfect my tan, and jumping around whilst singing the theme tune to ‘Pinky and the Brain’ amongst other things as pre-bedtime entertainment for the kids!

I looked forward to meals of corn dogs and tater tots, PB & J (peanut butter and jelly to those uninitiated in American cuisine) sandwiches, and of course, the ultimate in camp treats-‘smores’. I shared in the children’s triumphs, and disappointments, their laughter, and tears. I became the one who tucked them in at night, helped them get ready in the mornings, and the one they looked up to. I’ve never felt so needed, or wanted, in my life before.

Camp was followed by a week travelling around different American Universities, visiting friends I had made at camp. I was amazed by the different culture that they experience, for example it is not unusual for freshers to be sharing a room with three other people!

I then went on a two-week tour of the East Coast; taking in New York City, Washington, and Boston along the way. I saw the monuments in Washington, Niagara Falls and a Yankee’s game in New York and the famous Harvard University in Boston.

I left the USA with memories that I will always cherish, and friendships that I never imagined I’d form. I am still in contact with the people I met, and am planning on returning to camp in the summer - how else can you get an

experience where you play sport all day, whilst earning money and getting a great tan – not in the UK anyway. For the moment, however, I continue to talk about “this one time, at summer camp...”

The Camp Counsellor programme offered

by CCUSA was fantastic. I was able to work in the States for the duration of camp (9 weeks) and then spend up to two months travelling afterwards. My flights, food & accommodation, travel insurance, visa, and social security were all organised for me, as well as getting paid pretty well too, allowing me to focus my attention on other things, like how on earth was I going to get everything in my backpack!

If you think you would be interested in spending your summer as a camp counsellor in the USA, or taking part in another over-

of respite from their intensive academic studies. Secondly, I was able to make a monetary contribution to the upkeep of the school in the form of sports equipment and new chairs (though I personally think the building could

standard, she looked wide-eyed and curious, wanting to know more. So I think my ‘hope’ was a valid contribution to the children’s education.

I worked with the teachers and the children, I saw their community functioning from day to day and by befriending a local shopkeeper, I became part of that community.

I got more than I wanted.

If you’ve ever thought about doing a volunteer holiday, be it teaching, conservation work or something entirely different, don’t make a list of pros and cons, don’t think ‘I couldn’t do it’. There are so many different companies out there these days. I typed ‘volunteer holidays’ into Google for research purposes, but there were too many different companies to count. They don’t solely cater for school leavers’ gap years. Many companies run ‘Graduate gap years’ or ‘Graduate venture programs’. There aren’t as many opportunities for accumulating wild travel stories as you get older; the burden of responsibility is looming.

If you’ve ever wanted to volunteer abroad, do it and do it soon. My CV’s got that pretty line on it as well now and a pretty little referencethat never hurts a person’s future.

seas working holiday programme, email me psu27b@bangor.ac.uk, or check out the CCUSA website www.ccusa.com.

Rachael Clayton

If you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go!

W

hen considering writing this article ‘why go on a volunteer holiday?’ I wrote the first draft,which involved a neat list of all the good things: what you gain, what they gain etc. I scrapped the whole piece. Going on a volunteer holiday shouldn’t be about the gain (though that pretty little line on your CV saying what a good person you are is damn appealing). A volunteer holiday should be motivated by one thing pure and simple- because you want to. The reasons for wanting to go will differ from per-

My illusion of helping the community may have been a naïve one, but it was not entirely misguided. son to person, but what ever they are, if you want to go, you’ve got to go.

Ever since I heard about gap years I wanted to do one. I didn’t know what until I heard about volunteer teaching projects, and then it was just a case of choosing the company. I wanted to go to a foreign country, I wanted to stay there for a while, I wanted to see how a community works, and I was under the naïve illusion that as a teacher, I would give some-

thing back to the country. I thus ended up in a North Indian village for three months, teaching at a D.A.V Lambagaon (a local school).

My illusion of helping the community may have been a naïve one, but it was not entirely misguided.

My contribution to the children’s education was three-fold, and not entirely academic.

The lessons I planned for my classes started off as carefully structured sessions about English grammar, but when I realised that this was completely different to their curriculum (and in no way helpful to their upcoming exams), I decided to make my lessons fun. I would read nursery rhymes to the younger children (whose English was limited) and play games and do quizzes with the older classes. I like to think that these lessons provided some form

have benefited from a glass window or two).

I hope I was also able to show the children a different culture, not a better one, just a different one. When one child asked me about English schools and I told her that they don’t hit children, but discipline there is of a lower

Rachel Eales

S

ince the last issue, I’ve had the most ‘French’ experience I could possibly imagine. Yep, my Uni went on strike. In fact, most of the country has been on strike, but my Uni went on strike first. Now, at the risk of sounding like someone’s grandma, I’m going to say this – these French kids don’t know they’re born. They were striking because the government wants to make them pay for University (it’s currently free in France). I can understand them being angry – I agree that higher education should be free, but when they’re being asked to pay over £3000 a year, as a lot of English and Welsh students are – THEN they can bloody well complain!

Suffice to say, my fellow British Erasmus students and I weren’t too impressed. We’d literally all just returned from our Vacances de Toussaints (a.k.a. half term holidays) at the beginning of that week and we’d all been back to the UK. Had we known there was going to be a strike, we blatantly would all have stayed at home longer.

Two students at UBO who weren’t complaining too much were myself and my new friend Nicky from the University of Ulster.

We decided to use our unexpected holiday to have a little mini-break to Paris. Neither of us had been there before and decided if we didn’t do it then, we wouldn’t have time/ funds before Christmas. So in the words of the great Peter Kay, “we booked it, packed it and f****d off.” We decided we’d rather not sit on a train for five hours, and it turned out that flights were only £2 more expensive than the train, and only took an hour from Brest airport. So, Friday night, we booked flights and a hotel, and Monday morning, we were off on the 11am flight. We managed to navigate the Metro, which is basically the Tube with different coloured lines on the map, and were in our hotel by 2.30pm.

Being the over-excited tourists that we were, we headed straight to the Eiffel Tower, just in time for sunset. Despite the freezing weather, we had a great time and managed to see most of Paris (apart from Montmartre, which I am still annoyed about) in a day and a half. Not believing our luck at how smoothly everything had gone, we kept saying things like “everything has been great” and “aren’t we doing well!”

Naturally, we then spectacularly jinxed ourselves. The night before we were due to leave, we discovered that all Metro and RER trains were going on strike the next day. We decided we’d have to get a taxi to the airport, and asked our hotel receptionist to book us one. Apparently this wasn’t possible. Panicking, we went back to our room and Nicky called her Erasmus coordinator from Ulster Uni. to the rescue – he told us that taxis would definitely be available tomorrow, but that it’d be easier to get one if we walked to the nearest mainline train station. Luckily, we were within 15 minutes’ walk of both Gare du Nord and Gare de l’Est, so we set off early the next morning and walked to Gare de l’Est, thinking it would take quite a while to get a taxi. It took 20 minutes and a further 30 minutes to get to the airport, leaving us at Orly airport with five whole hours to kill. Needless to say, we made it safely back to Brest, only to find Uni striking for another week and a half, with our faculty building completely blockaded! Ahh vive la France.

This is the last of my French exploits – after the Christmas holidays, I’ll be moving on to sunnier climates- literally. I’m going to Valencia in Spain.

Loran Perkins

10

Seren - Christmas Issue 2007

Lifestyle E

1815 CAFE- REVIEW

ver wondered what you can make out of the remainder of your food that’s left in your fridge? Lets admit it, we’ve all been there. The money is low, the shops are shut, your hungry and don’t want the mundane ‘something’ on toast, well ex student Chris Voke has created a website that will

boards etc. into the “Ingrediometer” and the database then provides them with a best-fit solution, rather than having to trawl through countless drop-down menus, only to find that they do not possess the majority of the ingredients. This should prove economical to the student and hopefully be kinder to the

very easy to use: Say one night you only had cheese, bacon, rice and veg left in, you input this data and the website will generate recipes, such as Stuffed Aubergine heaven, and Amazing stuffed jacket spuds. All of a sudden a dismal bacon sandwich has been turned into a delicious recipe.

solve all your hunger problems. notbeansagain.com is a student recipe website. The difference between this website and others is that the student inputs a list of the actual contents of their refrigerators, cup-

environment through the reduction in food waste. There is also the facility for users to submit their own recipes through a wizard. The most popular recipes on the site are displayed in the “League of Thrift” on the front page. There is no subscription fee for the site, and it is

So for all those sceptics who think this may all be too good to be true, or for all those un-adventurous chefs, check the website out and tag it as your prime resource for all your future kitchen debacles.

FOOD CRITICS IN WETHERSPOONS

I

chose the minted lamb burger with chips and a pint of Fosters. The beer came nice and cold and made for a good midday pint. However the chips were served cold and were served in a small portion. The burger was served in a soft bun and was really flavoursome and the relish side was very tasty. The lettuce had seen better days but the fresh onion and tomato made up for it. For £4.49 I would recommend it and it’s definitely better than cooking at home. Mark Varley recommends the muffins. I’d rate the meal as 6 out of 10.

11

Seren - Christmas Issue 2007

BLACK BULL INN

Sam Evans

E

ating at half three in the afternoon it was only half an hour after the ‘steak club’ had started (any steak meal with a free drink for £5.99 on a Tuesday). I chose to order the 10oz rump steak cooked medium well. Although the cut of steak was good it was cooked medium at best and needed cooking a bit longer for my liking. The chips were cooked well and you can’t really go wrong with peas! It’s good value considering you get a free drink and the meal was well prepared. You’d have to pay at least double the price in another restaurant for the same meal and I’m sure there’d be little difference in the quality of the steak.

Will Varley

1

815 is an independent, café-deli-bar located on Waterloo Street outside the Deiniol Shopping Centre in Bangor.

You may be forgiven for passing it by during an excursion along the High Street; it’s a small place sitting modestly a little way past the Waterloo Inn. Arriving on a busy Monday lunchtime, we sat down and were handed menus by an enthusiastic member of staff. We selected our drinks from a very imaginative list, which included a display of tropical beverages as well as the more traditional winter-warmers. I ordered a mocha priced at £2.10, which arrived in good time before the food. It came with a generous offering of Malteasers to sweeten the deal.

I had an interestingly named orange and lemon jigger costing £1.95, a very nice twist on sparkling orange. It was nice to see that a good selection of drinks were fair trade or organic.

It took longer than expected when deciding what to eat. With all the food available on the menu, I certainly felt spoilt for choice.

We eventually decided to order the Tapas for two, priced at £11.50. I selected the brie, tuna and mayonnaise, and the pate of the day (pork and mushroom). To accompany our choice, two offerings of ciabatta bread with sweet chilli dip were included.

Being vegetarian I chose feta cheese, guacamole and sun dried tomatoes; out of 13 tapas options over half are vegetarian, and there’s always the opportunity to mix and match with your eating partner. With six ample portions of tapas there was more than enough for two people and plenty left over

despite out best efforts! Oh, and you have to try the feta cheese dipped in sweet chilli sauce.

The food arrived in reasonable time and was very well prepared, presented in such a way that it seemed a shame to eat it.

A portion of fresh fruit, vegetables and salad sent off the right signals; slices of apple, orange, melon, plum and pineapple added colour and some character to the dish.

The amount of fruit and vegetables easily matched the amount of main course, and the selection carefully complimented the tastes of our choices. A good and tasty way of getting some of your 5-a-day!

I had no complaints when I parted with my housemate’s cash to pay for the meal. Although probably not the cheapest or quickest place to grab a bite to eat, 1815 makes up for this with its fine selection of quality food and drink. I recommend the café to loved-up couples, or friends who need time for a lengthy catch-up; the relaxed atmosphere 1815 provides is ideal for either.

The food was well worth the price though, a little bit more expensive but the quality more than makes up for it. 1815 is an absolutely great place to eat, beautifully decorated and perfect food. Treat yourself when your loan comes through, or take the parents somewhere unusual when they visit. Alternatively, sweet talk a housemate into paying for you… though make sure you remember to pay them back!

Star ratings: Food ***** Drink **** Atmosphere **** Service *** Price ***

Matt Bonny and Heather Walker

DE L’ ORME AND BONNEY TACKLE WINTER FASHION

I

cannot believe Christmas is almost upon us, where on earth does the time go? I don’t want term to end, nothing is better than being at University, surrounded by your best mates and having a great time. I feel like I shouldn’t say prepare yourself for the party season; for me Christmas unless here, doesn’t mean nights out and elegant Christmas parties, yea right, we’re students, without jobs and not yet glamorous enough

I

’m writing this in response to Miss De L’Orme’s request for a male’s perspective on women’s fashion. Like many men, I do not claim to be an expert on this topic.

In fact, it’s a part of conversation I try to avoid as much as I possibly can for health reasons. Every guy knows what it feels like to be asked, “does my bum look big in this?” by a woman. It’s a question whose answer needs to be treated with

to go to Christmas dinner parties.

But the end of term and Christmas looming does mean farewell nights out, Christmas meals with your course mates and the final Trash or Occy for the term. And we all want to look our best and most girls enjoy getting dolled up and pouting in pictures with your friends, which appear the next day on facebook and make us look pretty as, or worse for wear either way un-tag no problems.

If out for an occasion there is plenty to make yourself to look extra fabulous, if you can carry it off solid, block colour dresses, worn right with some funky tights and high, high heels can look really stylish. This is a chance to wear your favourite colour to the max, beware of the smock it can drown you out and make you look larger than you really are, along with pleats and big, overdone bows.

Why not feel really chrismassy and wear block

red, this is always a classic, elegant look that can be teemed with black heels and accessories. Nothing says “I am here” than a hot, red dress, avoid clingy lyrca, find something that suits your shape and enhances your best features. A low V-neck for larger breasted ladies with a good bra of course, something to tie- around to show small waists, something short for those lucky enough to have long legs.

And remember less is always more, don’t have too much goose-pimpled flesh on show. Sex it up with some fishnets, or other funky, style tights.

Other dress styles out there are; ‘the 60’s shift’, ‘the strapless dress’, ‘the mini prom dress (Lilly Allen style), ‘cocktail dress’, ‘slip dress’, ‘LBD’ (of course) and finally if your dare ‘the tube dress’ or ‘tuxedo dress’, not really my thing, but that is what fashion is all about, trying new things and vamping up your look to

make you feel good.

Tights of various colours are in and can stylise your outfit and make it your own. With the lack of clothes shops here, you could end up wearing the same gear as someone else, so accessorise your outfit and make it uniquely you.

If you’re not into dresses no problems, the range of sequinned tops, black chiffon tops, beads, and silk they are all there to give a classy, sexy look. Team with the good old skinnies, skirt, black trousers and not forgetting shoes. Beaded ballet pumps if you’re not into heels, there has never been a better choice for flats and if you want those few extra inches get some shoes and gel pads if they really pinch.

But try and get a comfy heel, a chunky heel makes it easier to walk than tiny stilettos, and New Look has a fab range of ankle boots.

Team your outfit with cute, block col-

oured coats with the large buttons or other decorative features, keeps you warm and adds massive stylish points to an outfit.

For make-up, get really glamorous use some sparkly eye-liners; purple for green eyes, blue, smoky black even bronze brown.

Add some sprinkle dust around the corner of your eyes and lid to really light up your eyes and not forgetting mascara, where would we be without it? I love it.

Hair have it how you like; long with bouncing curls, super-straight, the bob with layered edges, the blunt fringe or emo-side fringe, get your style looking slick and make yourself feel really damm hot. Have an amazing end of term, make the most of it. And Merry Christmas to all, still feels too early for me, but hay ho.

extreme caution and delicacy. My knowledge of the fashion world is extremely limited - my education being what I can gather from the fast-track chatter of my female friends and the odd Ugly Betty episode, which tediously coincides with my teatime.

Far be it for me to tell anyone what to wear (I’m certainly no Gok Wan). But I do realise fashion is a hot topic for many women. In fact, when has it not been? In today’s western society it seems essential for girls to look their best day in day out. It boosts confidence, gets you noticed and feels good, right ladies?

At the end of the day it’s all about making a personal statement to the world: this is who I am and how I want to present myself. I just find it a shame that some people, religiously studying their glossed copies of Vogue magazine, choose to follow the trends of the lat-

est clothe-horse model. I have no quarrel with someone wanting to look their best, but mimicking someone else’s appearance surely doesn’t lead to a sense of individuality or uniqueness. A sense of belonging, of sorts, is maybe felt; but is it really that bad to stand out from the crowd?

It seems every girl has a favourite part of her body. Something they really like about themselves. I believe the phrase ‘if you got it, flaunt it’ can be applied here. It really doesn’t matter what it is, just be proud of yourself and feel comfortable with who you are. That’s bound to turn a few heads on a night out. By this I don’t necessarily mean showing as much flesh as you possibly can – believe it or not this isn’t everything a guy looks for. Sometimes it’s best to leave things to the imagination, you know? It’s all part of the fun for us lads, and

gives us something to talk about other than the football or the copious amount of alcohol we claim to have drunk the previous night.

Make-up (excluding face paints) is really alien to me, but I would recommend making use of the eyes, windows to the soul and all that. Eyes are cute; they entice and draw people in. You’re a girl; you know how to do this. Mascara, is it? Well, use that. Just don’t overdo it because personally, I think makeup can be overused to the point that it’s laughable. There’s nothing worse than a date who looks like Krusty the Clown (believe me). In all honesty, I’d rather be talking to a person than a cosmetic mask. I remember chatting with a friend of mine back home, who agreed, adding: “if she’s too into herself then she’s not going to be into you”. Surely makeup should be used to bring out those facial features, not

mask them. I must also add that too much fake tan will make you look like you’ve fallen victim to an unfortunate Tango-ing incident.

It’ll get you noticed, but not in the way I’m sure you intended. Don’t get me wrong, when used correctly fake tan can have stunning results. Just make sure you buy the right stuff according to your colouring, ladies, and use the recommended amount.

I’m way out of my depth here, so I’ll stop writing. Bottom line is wear what you want to wear and be happy. I’m sure your girl friends will tell you if what you’re wearing makes you look a bit of a tit anyway. If they don’t, then maybe consider getting some new friends along with that new wardrobe, sweet cheeks.

Sophie De L’ orme

Matt Bonney

12

Seren - Christmas Issue 2007

Seren’s Radio Times

Storm

Monda

Forecast

08:00 - 10:00 Storm In A Tea Cup morning mix

Thursday

Wednesday

Tuesday

y

08:00 - 10:00 Storm In A Tea Cup

08:00 - 10:00 Storm In A Tea Cup morning mainstream mix

08:00 - 10:00 Storm In A Tea Cup 11:00 - 13:00 Storm Bites

11:00 - 13:00 Storm Bites - Geek Chic JackGreen and Isa Wilson

13:00 - 14:00 The SU Show with Xanthe Larcombe, the Union’s Education & Welfare Officer

11:00 - 13:00 Storm Bites

13:00 - 14:00 The SU Show

13:00 - 14:00 The SU Show

16:00 - 18:00 Homeward Bound

16:00 - 18:00 Homeward Bound - Out Loud and Proud Music and chat from Bangor Pride

18:00 - 20:00 The Time Tunnel

Spencer, Lex & Tom with the best of the 60s, 70s & 80s, including the 30 Second Challenge 20:00 - 21:00 Debating panel show from the news team with special guests 21:00 - 22:00 Kate’s Kloset Hip Hop and R&B with Kate Barratt 22:00 - 00:00 Tropical Storm

Saturda

Compiled by John Jackson

14:00 - 16:00 The Big Mix Up Clare Moore-Smith with mainstream music and chat 16:00 - 18:00 Homeward Bound

18:00 - 20:00 The Text Session DJPJ & DJ Hanniepants with your requests - text STORM and ur msg to 60300

19:00 - 20:00 The Speculative Analysis Show Highlights from SpecAnal’s weekly experiments and tours, with music and chat of a spooky variety

20:00 - 21:00 Tuesday’s Gone Rock/Metal/Unsigned show with Gaz & Zara

20:00 - 22:00 Bangor’s Student Sound Non-stop music

22:00 - 00:00 Storm’s Paradox Dan & Sav provide a mix of 80s, 90s and today with a bit of chat and general rubbish!

22:00 - 02:00 Trash LIVE! coming in January

11:00 - 13:00 Storm Bites 13:00 - 14:00 The SU Show with Bethan Williams, UMCB President with a Welsh language show 16:00 - 18:00 Homeward Bound Lucy & Charlotte 18:00 - 20:00 Something Borrowed, Something Blue DJPJ with an eclectic mix of old and brandspanking new 19:00 - 21:00 Ultrasound Lee Howson & Sean Lashec with their Trash cool-off of new, classic and obscure indie 21:00 - 22:00 The Jazz Hour with Jack Baker 22:00 - 00:00 The Underground Alex ‘Colonel’ Kirkham hosting underground dance at its best

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22:00 - 00:00 TomStock & Two Smoking Barrels

11:30 - 13:30 The Slightly Strange Dave Show Slightly strange, silly and other ‘S’ words!

Random mix of music (incl. TV theme tunes!) with Strange Dave & co.

Friday

08:00 - 10:00 Storm In A Tea Cup 11:00 - 13:00 Storm Bites - The Dave and Ryan Show Mainstream music & chat

00:00 - 02:00 The Saturday Sessions If you’re interested in rounding up the weekend’s sporting action for Storm FM, both nationally and locally, then get in touch with Programme Controller peter.banks@undeb. bangor.ac.uk

18:00 - 20:00 Bach A Tew (Little and Phat) Kerry Walton’s Welsh language show

13:00 - 14:00 The SU Show with the Union’s CSO & President, Carolan & Sam

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12:00 - 13:00 Hindi Music Show 13:00 - 15:00 The Chart Show Weekly countdown with Matt Ison

16:00 - 18:00 Homeward Bound Matt & Lorna 18:00 - 19:00 Sound of the AU The best of the Athletic Union, hosted by Adam James

18:00 - 18:30 7 into 30 The news team present the week’s happenings in 30 minutes, with Kate Barratt 19:00 - 21:00 The Motel Sarah & Alex with funk and big tunes, including the Helpdesk

15:00 - 16:00 Around the World in 60 Minutes Em & Jen with a whistle-stop tour around 21:00 - 22:00 Sin Roc Gymraeg the music world Welsh rock music 16:00 - 18:00 22:00 - 00:00 The Classical Show Dead Air Classical tunes you know, mixed with those Mainstream chat, music and madness! you may not

19:00 - 21:00 Music Team Show 21:00 - 23:00 No Added Sugar Winner of the Best Mainstream Show award 2006-07 - hosted by Jack Green and Dave Pallant, with lots of challenges

23:00 - 00:00 Late Night Quickie Station manager Mike with co-presenter, Biscuits

Phone: (01248) 38 8048 or just 8048 from internal Uni phones Txt: storm + msg to 60300 E-mail: studio@stormfm.com

Your Name:.......................................................................................Your Bangor Uni E-mail:..............................................

Puzzles, Posers & Problems

2 Codeword

1 Animal Wordsearch

The numbers in the crossword grid are to be replaced by letters. Below the grid is the key showing 3 already completed letters. Fill in the other numbers, remembering to mark them off on the alphabet list as you go. Note that only 1 number represents 1 letter.

Hidden in the grid below are the names of various different animals.

Usual rules for a wordsearch apply - horizontally, vertically and diagonally, but in straight lines only.

However, unlike some wordsearches, the words themselves are not listed, and the number of them remains a secret - see how many you can find...

R V Q M Y G L Y R A T E L H O

T A C B O B G E E J R S I A C

A N E Y H I N L R K T X W M E

S G A B R A O K E R N I C S L

O O R A G N A K H O I O G T O

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I N A P C S A A R H S T E L R

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E Y E B G A O U O L M E A M F

Z E A A L L N Q U O R H C U B

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M B J L E R U T S D A C L R B

Y O L A F F U B E D M W O L F

compiled by John Jackson

WIN A SEREN PINT GLASS! (or 2)!!!

WHAT TO DO... Complete either (1) Animal Wordsearch or (2) Codeword - or you can enter both if you wish!

Next, fill in your name and Bangor Uni e-mail address (above) and hand this page in to main reception at the Students’ Union. Alternatively, you can e-mail your answers to: editor@seren.bangor.ac.uk Winners will be selected at random from correct entries and will be awarded by 11/01/08.

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Music

Britney Spears - Blackout

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ritney Spears’ latest album ‘Blackout’ has been hotly anticipated. Ms Spears is never out of the tabloids, celeb magazines and not for her music.

The press hound her and as the public we are bombarded with her latest antics. As a fan of Britney from the beginning I’m not ashamed to say I love her music and I can’t help but follow her disastrous personal life.

So as soon as her latest album came out, I had to buy it. As a fan of her last album and greatest hits one can’t deny she was the princess of pop and had hit after hit; Toxic, Everytime and older hits as we all know, Baby One M o r e T i m e , Slave 4 U, Crazy and almost ever yone will know the words whether they like her or not.

How does her latest album compare? To be honest on first listening it doesn’t blow your mind. When I first heard ‘Gimme more’ I was thinking “what is this?”. But it grew on me and I can’t help like the grinding, dirty lyrics that get you moving. Twelve tracks - all very new-age with computer beats, synthesised voices and dare I say a Gwen Stefani feel.

‘Piece of me’ is an honest take on her life and the press. ‘Radar’ is a cutesy song with a funky background beat that kicks in as the song goes on. “It’s been a while/ I know I shouldn’t have kept you waiting”, are the opening lines of ‘Break the Ice’.

True, it’s been a while since Britney has hit our charts. ‘Heaven on Earth’ is directed to some hot lover of hers, not particularly great, but very breathy and ‘Britney-

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Esque’.

‘Get Naked (I got a plan)’ if you listen closely enough I noticed it has a ‘grudge’ style sound, scary! As the album progresses lyrics get slightly dirtier, we should expect no less; she is long past the cute blowing bubble gum and flipping around a gym phase. She is no longer a girl, but now a woman, or so we are led to believe. Crotch shots, shaved head, bad mother, drug-taking and lesbian Britney fascinating, no?

‘Freakshow’ is in a rap style, I’ll say no more and let you find out for yourself. ‘Toy soldier’ is the one track that reminded me of Gwen Stefani. On this track she talks more than sings. ‘Hot as Ice’ is a sure hit in my eyes, it’s got her girly, Britney voice in fine style. ‘Perfect Lover’- the title says it all really. Finally ‘Why should I be sad’ is the slowest song of the lot, and trying to prove that she is OK and can deal with what path her life is taking.

If you’re a Britney fan you may be disappointed, I’m not sure every song will be a classic pop hit like her past. I think her crazy, personal life is propelling her career and interest. Overall it’s a fun pop album and one for getting ready for a night out, or bopping around your room. We all love her or love to hate her, I don’t think we could escape Britney if we tried; embrace it, dance away and love her breathy, dirty lyrics, because I do.

Sophie de l’ Orme

McFly

Manchester M.E.N. Arena 23/11/07

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am a writer with a confession to make.

My crime: using my girlfriend as an alibi for going to see McFly. In reality I was anticipating the gig, like one of the many excited kids in the sold-out Arena tonight.

Tonight sees McFly in the middle of their Greatest Hits tour at one of their biggest ever gigs. They are in a triumphant mood and come on stage to a Rocky-style intro video.

The second they arrive the place erupts, two girls behind me nearly bursting my ear drums.

They open with “That Girl”, a suitably energetic start that sees Dougie running round the stage like a kid dizzy on lemonade. “Transylvania” from their latest album opens to a spooky church organ; they improvised on this one live, perhaps too much, repeating the chorus a bit too often. Things soon pick up with an airing of a pop punk style cover of Rihanna’s “Umbrella”.

With hit after hit coming you wonder if they’re peaking too early in the set. Technical difficulties with the piano hold up newbie “The Heart Never Lies”, but the show continues, the boys playing an impromptu jam to fill the gap.

The band then disappear off-stage, reappearing on a mini-stage in the middle of the arena, sending a surge of fans round it and some rather unhappy-looking fans down the front.

McFly don’t relent, treating those further back to the likes of oldie “Ultraviolet”. Those at the front soon cheer up though when the band return to the main stage with Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now”. This is joined by a story about how Danny and Tom met during which they serenade each other. They know how to entertain.

They head off the stage with “I’ll Be OK”, before returning for an encore, the crowd chanting their name. The crowd are in fine voice and are even permitted to sing sections of “All About You”. It’s then just a matter of closing the set with “5 Colours in Her Hair”, exiting as triumphantly as they came on, to a chorus of “oo doo doos”. Tonight was something of a celebration for McFly and they show no signs of letting up. So mock me for liking McFly if you will, but be warned, you do so at your peril!

Liam Randall

Burial – Untrue

s Lethal Bizzle, Dizzee Rascal and Kano attempt to transcend the thriving and nebulous – if often unheralded - UK urban scene that first gave them a springboard, it’s interesting to see if other acts less attuned to the mainstream’s ears will benefit in any significant manner from the raised profile of a few key proponents. For one, East London grime squad Newham Generals have already been given a helping hand by Dizzee, who acts as their label boss under his own ‘Dirtee Stank’ imprint and also hooked them up as support for his recent UK tour.

Due to an incremental rise in profile courtesy of key advocates such as Radio 1’s MaryAnne Hobbs and the groundwork laid by his mighty fine self-titled album, dubstep/2-step artist Burial presents a third way; he has the potential to reach a wider audience, and with second album Untrue the tipping point is within reach. Just one problem: no-one actually seems to know who he is.

The issue of gender aside, details are sketchy regarding the man Burial. Precious few interviews have been conducted with him and he’s never played a live gig, nor does he plan to. His own love of underground artists such as Digital Mystikz may yet keep him from wider exposure. This state of affairs not-

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Seren - Christmas Issue 2007

withstanding, even a cherry-popping listen to ‘Untrue’ yields manifold treasures, and for the casual listener it’s easy to see why such a fuss is being made over the man’s work. At first, second track ‘Archangel’ provides the standout, with its irregular percussion popping and crackling with the help of the grooves of worn vinyl, whilst an indistinct female vocal punctuates the mood, looping the same few lines over and over mingled with lush strings serving to heighten the emotion.

The tracks that follow, ‘Near Dark’ and ‘Ghost Hardware’, utilise a similar palette; they establish a mood of genuine melancholy, whilst the affected vocals reach back even further into garage’s past. Burial has spoken previously about how his music is tapping into a certain spirit, a certain vibe that emerged from the late ‘80’s rave culture that led through jungle into garage and its offshoots. Though ‘Untrue’s tunes are not primarily designed to be played in clubs, they do hint at a similar euphoria. As such, this album is a huge rush when played on headphones at night.

These elements of sound, so often disparate and disconnected throughout ‘Untrue’ reach a conduit in the album’s centrepieces, the title track itself and ‘Etched Headplate’, divided themselves by the segue of ‘In Mc-

Donalds’. They arguably provide the record’s standout cuts. ‘Etched Headplate’ mixes lush tones with the album’s most emotionally devastating vocal performance (the pained, bittersweet cadence of the vocals all the more resonant for their anonymous origin) whilst the more rhythmic ‘Untrue’ uses an unaffected voice and perhaps the most dynamic, reverb-laced beats on the record to provide a rousing counterpoint. From here the record’s atmosphere expands outwards, as if into the night, flashes of sound devoid of percussion or reverb gradually morphing into a more upbeat, celebratory mood that culminates in the closing ‘Raver’, perfectly mirroring the postclub euphoria.

This is a more complex beast than its predecessor overall, and a fantastic realisation of the UK underground’s potential, made all the more startling for it’s humble origins – Burial’s own claim is that he is a non-musician, given his basic, at-home set-up. Come the final moments of the final track, the sense of ongoing movement and enjoyment couldn’t be more life-affirming. Potentially the album of the year.

Stephen Davies

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Craig David - Trust Me

o, you hear Craig David has a new album out-feeling sceptical as to whether you’ll like it? It’s been a good few years since he released a record and as a youngster I myself wasn’t too keen on his music, so if this scenario sounds familiar, give this a read.

Without really realising, I’d already heard ‘This is t h e

Girl’ featuring Kano and ‘Hot Stuff (Let’s Dance)’ on the radio. Already surprised at liking ‘This is the Girl’, I was even more shocked as to how catchy ‘Hot Stuff ’ was, even though it does sample David Bowie.

However, the biggest surprise came when I listened to the album. It was quite well circulated that David had spent time in Cuba when producing the album and spent time with big artists such as Kano as well as spending a lot of time DJing.

I honestly can’t compare this album to any of David’s other work, as I only remember disliking his earlier efforts, but I think perhaps this is the album for a new group of Craig David fans. There’s a good and equal combination of upbeat dance tracks and mellowed out R ‘n’ B, doing justice to David’s wide ranging abilities in different styles.

One of my particular favourites is ‘Friday Night’, which if you find it on YouTube is set to a dance scene from Saturday Night Fever, which more than sums it up.

In all honesty this is a brilliantly put together album, gliding from one track to the next effortlessly. The time spent on it is evident with quality tracks worked on by established artists and David’s time out DJing in the field comes across as really influential.

Jennifer Stanley

Skindred - Roots Rock Riot

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or those of you that haven’t heard of them Skindred are a band hailing from Newport, South Wales. They are a band that mix reggae with metal. Some see them as pioneers of a new genre: ‘reggae metal’, whilst others only go as far as ‘reggae funk’. Whatever you call them the end result is a fresh and new sound. ‘Roots Rock Riot’ is their second album, which sees the band taking their unique style to a new level. The album was recorded in America with Matt Squire – who also worked on Panic! At the Disco’s platinum album ‘A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out’.

From the first song you are hooked by the loud and intense, ‘Roots Rock Riot.’ The title track is an instant introduction to Skindred. This song is charged with energy and attitude, the blend of metal being fairly even, instantly making you ask yourself, “Why hasn’t this been done before?”. The pace is maintained by the second track, ‘Trouble’, whilst supplying the necessary metal this song shows the reggae aspect of the band to a much greater extent. This song also exhibits the uniqueness and versatility of Benji Webb, the lead singer’s, voice. ‘Rat Race’ follows in a similar vein to the previous songs.

‘State of Emergency’, track four, changes song style to a degree jumping between reggae and metal sections. Both ‘Rat Race’ and ‘State of Emergency’ highlight the lyrical talents of Skindred, ‘Rat Race’ acting as social comment on today’s increasingly business dominated society, something equally obvious in ‘State of…’ through its comment on people and the world, even it’s title. Hate is ugly / and it’s everywhere. From ‘State of …’, the album shows reflections of the modern world, claiming it’s an emergency situa-

tion though repetition of: Calling there’s an emergency. At some points the songs make references such as ‘911’ (emergency phone number), considering the band’s niche this seems to be an attempt at ‘cracking America’, giving a sense of commercialisation to the band; a conclusion not helped by their extensive US tour.

‘Alright’ brings an upbeat tone to proceedings, still maintaining a healthy mix of reggae and metal, whilst changing lyrical tone with an apologetic feel in the chorus.

I never meant to hurt you / The scars are sad but true. Songs such as ‘Ease Up’, ‘Cause Ah Riot’ and ‘Spit Out the Poison’ carry on where ‘Roots…’ and ‘Trouble’ left off, however songs like ‘Killing Me’ and ‘Choices and Decisions’ have a slower less heavy feel, showing a more thoughtful side to the band.

In a further style shift ‘Destroy the Dance Floor’ has a metal element, but arguably also has a techno element obvious throughout the song.

‘Roots Riot Rock’ is an album that is refreshingly original in today’s music market.

There is good variety of songs, ensuring the album remains fresh and interesting. The album covers many contemporary issues such as drug use and weapons in schools making the album lyrically meaningful. For those looking for something different this year this album is a must have. With their previous album, Skindred found their niche, with this album they have truly developed it. Skindred’s sound is refreshingly unique and Benji Webb’s vocals are spot on. If you see this album, BUY IT! You won’t be disappointed.

David Horn

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Seren - Christmas Issue 2007

2007?

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aving pretty much entirely avoided the furore afforded The X-Factor this year (excepting Rhydian, Sharon Osbourne’s revolving door policy to working on the show and, uh, Rhydian) , I won’t be able to give you a considered judgement on whose going to win and be elevated to the status of “This Year’s Christmas No.1 Winner-inwaiting”. It has, however, got me to thinking about the origins of this one-time phenomena, and what it means in an age where digital downloading hysteria has all but eliminated the chances of Christmas singles becoming “A Major Event” except in the eyes of red-top tabloids, willing to publicise a scrap for sales at a time often found wanting for news stories of a more sober nature.

The stem for this resulting hullaballoo was arguably the Slade vs. Wizzard battle of Christmas past, circa 1973 to be more precise.

The two rock bands of the glam persuasion waged what was effectively commercial war against each other, Slade weighing in with ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ whilst Wizzard chose to duke it out with ‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday’. Though Wizzard lost the battle, settling for the runner-up spot and choking on the dust of Slade’s triumphant effort, they arguably penned the more resounding tune – see almost every chain department store at Christmas time herding bargainseeking consumers through their doors with offers of cheap tat and the majority of shameless Christmas TV ads blaring at elderly folk too strung out on their tipple of choice to do

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much else but blare incoherently at the offending goggle-box for disturbing their slumber for compelling evidence.

Since then, everything from the sublime (The Flaming Lips’ Christmas At The Zoo) to the ridiculous (Bo’ Selecta’s “Proper Crimbo!”, “The Blobby Song” - by he of Crinkly Bottom fame- , and any South Park affiliated single) to the frankly bobbins (the Christmas-themed works of Chris De Burgh and Cliff Richard – music’s own Axis of Evil TM) has been released in an effort to capture some twinkling of nostalgia, or more likely, to sate the need of parents’ desperate need for one more lastminute stocking-filler, whilst stocks last.

As I stated earlier however it appears that this tradition, nay institution, is going the way of the dogs. (To visualise this previous sentence, imagine Winston Churchill or some equally iconic British figure with a solitary tear rolling down patriotic cheek… whilst clutching a copy of the Daily Mail, natch). Short of Paul Phoenix lookie-likey Rhydian releasing some Tekken-related single after destroying the competition (and hopefully, by extension, the set) on the final of X-Factor, anything else is most likely resigned to comparatively meagre sales and little interest. Since Girls Aloud’s number one in 2002 with the festive ‘Sound Of The Underground’, the Christmas charts have been dominated by Cowell’s offspring, which has led to bookies taking bets on the more unpredictable Christmas number twos instead. This means that this year it is in the shadows that some interesting Christmas

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choices lurk. Chief among them are New York based dreampop group Asobi Seksu (Japanese for ‘playful sex’), who have released a cover of The Ramones’ Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight) this Monday. If it maintains the tune factor that made this year’s full-length ‘Citrus’ so good then it’s a sure bet.

BBC Radio One DJ Colin Murray has jumped on the back of Malcolm Middleton of Arab Strap fame and his macabre song ‘We’re All Going To Die’. According to Middleton, “Dying is a bit like writing a letter to Santa.

Unless you’ve been a good boy or girl, you’re fucked.” Can’t imagine your granny singing along to that one. The public seems to be buying it though: William Hill has extended the odds from 1000/1 (the longest ever odds) to 12/1, making it the fourth favourite.

Several rungs above on the publicity-hogging ladder are the omnipresent headliners of this year’s Glastonbury Saturday night, The Killers. Following on from last year’s ‘A Great Big Sled’ single, they’re trying their luck this year with ‘Don’t Shoot Me Santa’. Ho, ho, and indeed ho. What this song has to do with the AIDS charities the profits will be funnelled to as part of the RED campaign, I have no idea, but it is a very worthy cause if you can ignore the presence of U2’s Bono (aka King Ego) pulling the strings behind the scenes. It’s out now.

Where would the Christmas charts be without some sort of collaboration? Granted this usually involves some boy band or ex boy

Sigur Ros - Heima DVD

emember the theme to BBC’s Planet Earth? That was the sound of Sigur Ros and its dramatic and stirring beauty was the perfect match for the programme, winning the hearts of the nation and bringing the uncompromising Icelandic four-piece a completely unforeseen level of success. In fact 2005’s Takk was the band’s fourth album and their recent releases- 2CD set ‘Hvalf/Heim’ and DVD ‘Heima’- round up over a decade of music dating back to 1995s debut album ‘Von’.

After touring the world with ‘Takk’, Sigur Ros returned home to Iceland where they played in thirteen locations across the country. Described rather interestingly as ‘A film by Sigur Ros’, ‘Heima’ is a document of this unique and fascinating tour which is recommended as strongly for its stunning photography as it is for its music.

Each location in which the band plays offers a completely different scene and atmosphere, making ‘Heima’ far more interesting to watch than a conventional music DVD. ‘Heysatan’ is performed outside amongst a number of dilapidated rural houses by the cliffs and sea, ‘Gítardjamm’ is played in an atmospheric abandoned factory and fittingly,

‘Vaka’ is performed acoustically and without electricity at a protest camp-again outdoors -

where a dam is being built amongst Iceland’s stunning, unspoilt highlands. Each location and performance is punctuated by interviews with the band which provide background to each scene - and rousing, artistic photography which really complements the music:

images of children playing by the sea, kites flying, waterfalls gushing, ice melting, the grass blowing in the wind. It’s the perfect complement to Sigur Ros’s unique brand of intensely serious and emotional music.

Disc 2 features the performances in full- separately, without the documentary footage - and includes some wonderful moments which were not part of the main feature - particularly the gorgeous, acoustic DVD title-track ‘Heima’, the instrumental ‘Samskeyti’ played in a room full of candles and the complete version of ‘Takk’s’ uplifting peak- ‘Se Lest’ - with its dreamy, soothing xylophone chimes and a truly joyous full brass-band climax.

Sigur Ros’s music is strange, unique, sometimes dramatic and heavy, and always serious, emotional and powerful. By adding a visual dimension to the music, ‘Heima’ seems like the perfect demonstration of everything the band has ever strived to achieve. It’s a landmark in the bands career and sets an entirely new standard for music DVDs.

Chris Carter

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band member (see Westlife and Diana Ross, Christmas 2005; Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman, Christmas 2001) but this year sees the advent of the indie-collaboration. Art Brut and The Black Box Recorder have joined forces to create The Black Arts (www.myspace.com/ christmasnumberonetheblackarts) and release a single, the ingeniously named ‘Christmas Number One’. It is naturally all very tongue in cheek and the video involves the band recreating a traditional nativity play, complete with Eddie Argos dressed up as Joseph. Definitely worth a look.

Continuing the charity theme is Anarchy Xmas (www.myspace.com/anarchyxmas), a two-dozen strong collective with eyes on the No.1 prize in aid of causes such as Cancer Research and Friends of the Earth. Their ‘Smells Like Christmas’ is out this week too, and is hoping to put Simon Cowell on his hightrousered arse. Finally, also looking to hit the X-Factor where it hurts, i.e. the wallet is Last.

FM’s hand-chosen combatants Lucky Soul, who won an online vote to secure their Cowell-baiting spot. Their effort, Lips Are Unhappy, is released on the 17th for the princely sum of 40p. It’s download-only, so it faces an uphill struggle of David and Goliath proportions, but at least the tussle promises to be violent and not without casualties. And after all, isn’t that the true meaning of Christmas? Er…

Stephen Davies

This year’s odds according to William Hill: 2/7 X Factor winner (with Rhydian at 1/3)

4/1 Sugababes - Change 7/1 Soulja Boy – Crank That 12/1 Malcolm Middleton – We’re All Going To Die

14/1 Shaun the Sheep – Life’s A Treat

14/1 Andy Williams – It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

33/1 Amy Winehouse Losing Game

- Love Is A

40/1 Enrique Iglesias – Tired Of Being Sorry

50/1 Kate Nash – Pumpkin Soup 66/1 Asobi Seksu – Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight)

66/1 Newton Faulkner - Teardrop 66/1 Lauren Rose – I Go To The Beach

66/1 Stereophonics – My Friends

WIN!!! YOUR RENT PAID FOR A YEAR!!!

C Ds, clothes, alcohol – there are plenty of other things much more deserving of your cash than wasting it all on rent.

Try not to think of how much your halls or house is costing you over the course of a year, it’ll only depress you.

With this in mind, NME.com have teamed up with Virgin Money to offer one lucky student an entire year’s worth of rent paid on your behalf, freeing you up to concentrate on the real necessities.

All you need to do is go to NME.com and click on the Student Guide section where you’ll see the now infamous NME Music Quiz. Answer 20 questions by NME as fast as you can

and cross your fingers. The scores will all be recorded and the winner will be announced once the deadline of January 30th 2008 comes around. You can also check the leaderboard to see which university is the most Rock’n’Roll with more brainy types than the rest. At the moment, Bangor University hasn’t yet earned a place so we all need to put in the effort and show how clever we all are!

The quiz goes live on December 3rd and will have loads of promotion in the paper and on the homepage of NME.com so make sure you get in there nice and early to be in with a chance of winning.

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Seren - Christmas Issue 2007

Bangor Goes Live!

The Pigeon Detectives -

Time 09/11/2007

Interview - One Night Only Two intrepid and very female Seren reporters were thrown into the testosterone-filled pit that is One Night Only’s tour bus. Here’s what happened: eren: So how did you mange to make it from the small Yorkshire town of Helmsley to huge venues supporting high profile bands?

George Craig (lead singer and guitarist): I suppose just getting interest from the songs we’ve got. We’ve got an album of killer songs - for me I think a good band is all about the songs.

Seren: What can we expect from the new album then?

George: I think people are going to be shocked. With ‘You and Me’ we get compared to stuff like The Kooks, it’s a bit annoying but with the first single that’s got to be the way it is – catchy, can dance along to it, it stays in your head. But the album is different- there’s a lot of variety on it, every song is worth being there and I think it’s going to be a big album for 2008.

Seren: Who are you influenced by?

Sam Ford (drummer): Queen, we’re influenced by the sky, Spice Girls, this bus. . .

George: As a band, we really like Arcade Fire, The Killers, [and] Bloc Party. Individually we’re all into different things, I’m into a lot of 80s stuff and other stuff like Bob Dylan – bit of everything really.

Seren: What do you think of Bangor? Have you had much of a chance to look round at all?

George: I like it - we went into town and I had a nice English breakfast.

Sam: I went to the sea George: You went to the sea! I was looking for the sea. My mum used to come up here

S

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irst up was The Wallflowers, their Bob Dylan-esque set gets feet tapping and heads nodding, and as one band member confirms with me later in an expletiveridden conversation “all you need is drums, a bass and an acoustic guitar to make a good tune” . The main support tonight are One Night Only, their song “You and Me” is on constant rotational play on MTV2 as I witnessed a week ago, while at a house possessing something further than Freeview (being a student I was amazed!).They step it up a notch by getting a few people to bop along to their set.

Then as The Pigeon Detectives themselves grace the stage all the non-students and older members of the audience push for-

ward chanting along, singing, jumping and generally enjoying themselves to the spectacle onstage, the lead singer relishing this by turning himself into a gymnast, bouncing all over the stage like a demon, climbing speaker stacks and balancing himself precariously on random ledges. After plenty of time asking Bangor if we had “had a good time?” it was finished way too early and after everyone had mobbed every band member just to get their autographs all that was left to do was to traipse home and realise that we were no longer on some kind of fantastical rock ‘n’ roll planet but alas, back in Bangor.

Sion Wyn Laszek

So what happened next? The girls took both One Night Only and The Pigeon Detectives to a house party, here’s what One Night Only have to say about it on their MySpaceblog: ‘What a night. A great crowd, despite their weird obsession with sausage rolls... great dancing, singing, the lot! And...a house party. We'll leave it there shall we?’

And apparently one of the girls just might still be texting one of The Pigeon Detectives, but she won’t confirm or deny those rumours. . .

Interview by Alice Weston and Aimee Bessant, words by Emma Dixon.

We Are Scientists –

T

Time 29/11/2007

o be completely honest, when my friend asked me if I wanted tickets to see The Pigeon Detectives I didn’t have a clue who they were, and when the date finally came round to see them play I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about it. Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised at their performance and by the end of the night I decided that I highly rate this band.

After this gig, my verdict is that The Pigeon Detectives are now one of my favourite new bands. I am also pleased that there is a good line-up of live acts in Bangor this year as ‘We Are Scientists’ played on the 29 November in Time. All I can say is that The Pigeon Detective’s album ’Wait for Me’ will be on my Christmas list this year.

Willow Manuel

on holiday and she said to me, ‘You can have a little holiday up there’, it’s nice here, I like Bangor.

Seren: We’ve been looking at your MySpace profile and there are a lot of girls commenting - do you have to pinch yourself sometimes that there are lots of lovely ladies throwing themselves at you?

George: It’s good because we need girls.

Every band needs fans and I guess that if it’s going to turn out that 60% of our fans are young girls that’s fine but I found a Facebook page today that’s an appreciation society for me. It’s called ‘Are you feeling the vibe of George Craig?’ It’s got a picture of me on a bike!

Seren: The Pigeon Detectives have got a reputation for their partying, have you got any antics or stories for us?

Sam: We once ended up in a random house in Newcastle with Matt (Bowman, lead singer of The Pigeon Detectives).

George: When you’re with Matt it always ends up pretty confusing.

Seren: So you’re gonna go partying tonight then?

George: It depends on how lively tonight turns out and when the bus has to leave. . .

A

s we waited eagerly for the Pigeon Detectives to begin their set, Time’s modest dance floor rapidly filled up.

We Bangor students definitely make a good audience, making up in enthusiasm what we lack in numbers (a totally unbiased opinion, of course). The lead singer was entertaining and energetic, but unfortunately I got the impression that some of the other band members were a little bored. Considering the band only have one album out, they played for a reasonable amount of time, although I felt we deserved to see an encore.

Most of the crowd left as soon as the gig was over, but there was plenty of photo and autograph opportunities for those of us who stayed behind, as the guys from all three bands stuck around for a friendly chat. There was plenty of the usual memorabilia, including badges which for unknown reasons were thrown at us! So: live music, dancing, alcohol, autographs and free badges. All in all, it was a very good night.

Rachel Stretton

D

uring their latest British tour We Are Scientists stopped off in Bangor to grace us with their presence and play an electrifying gig in Time. The band that The Guardian dubbed as ‘nerds’ defied their geeky image to give a brilliant and memorable performance.

The lead singer certainly further defies this picture as he was definitely hot! The venue was jam packed, even more so than for the Pigeon Detectives and the crowd went mental when We Are Scientists finally hit the stage. Their music is now becoming widely known as it has been played on Radio One for quite a while.

It has been stated that their songs mix punk and pop sounds which comes out as sounding original and quirky I am a big fan of the band’s first album ‘Love and Squalor’, which I particularly like as the cover consists of the band holding up cats, so I was happy when they treated us to an array of songs from it such as ‘Nobody

Move, Nobody Gets Hurt’, ‘It’s A Hit’ and ‘The Great Escape’. It was clear that everyone loved their performance as the crowd were dancing and singing along the whole time. When the band paused for a moment the crowd starting chanting, “We Are Scientists” until they carried on playing again. Enthusiasm was also shown in the beer throwing and the crowd surfing, especially when the band first started playing. After the gig We Are Scientists also made a brief appearance in Time to chat to all of the fans.

All in all I had a great night watching We are Scientists, their music and performance was very entertaining. I am very pleased with the live music acts that have come to Bangor this year and am only upset that I missed out on Alan Fletcher!

Willow Manuel

Seren - Christmas Issue 2007

CONTROL

F

ans of Joy Division will be familiar with the story of lead singer, Ian Curtis’ life and death. This film deals with his struggle with depression and epilepsy and how he eventually ended his own life.

Based on the book written by his wife, Deborah Curtis, Control focuses on his personal life from an early age and during the band’s

rise to fame.

Shot entirely in black and white, this independent film makes a good attempt at understanding the mind of a troubled genius. Readers of the original book may suggest that the extent in which Curtis mistreated his wife wasn’t fully represented in the film, but Samantha Morton’s portrayal of his long suffering spouse was well executed. As well as getting an insight into Curtis’ mindset, sympathies definitely fell with Deborah who was a victim of Curtis’ impulses and deteriation.

The audience sees her frustration at the inability to help the man she loved, as he tried to deal with himself. The main theme of the film, expressed in the title, Control, expresses Curtis’ difficulty in structuring his own life and dealing with his illness and many medications.

Life inside the band is portrayed to a lesser extent and mainly as a way of showing his deteriation. His epileptic fits onstage obviously caused concern and it was striking how the band seemed ambivalent to his extra marital affair. The film generally made good use of Joy Division’s music, though everyone was waiting with baited breath to see when they would use the iconic ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’. Personally I don’t think they used it to best effect and there were other opportunities when its use might have been more pertinent. Joy Division’s music, however, provided a solid backdrop to the entire film, reminding viewers of just how great they really were.

Especially early on in the film, attempts are made to show the influences which effected the band, from their original name, Warsaw, taken from a David Bowie song, to the posters on the young Curtis’ wall at home. Not every issue experienced by the young Curtis could be explored fully in the film, since there must have been many which contributed to the twenty three year old musician with a young family and flourishing career, to take his life.

But on the whole, Control is an affective film, well shot and insightful in its look at an important, if tragically short, life.

Emma Dodd

AMNESTY FILM NIGHTS Film nights are every Sunday at 7pm in the Main Arts Lecture Theatre.

Hosted by Bangor Amnesty Student Society.

Free entry.

Students only.

The last films of the semester are the Oscar award winning film, Boys Don’t Cry (02/12/07). Based on real life events, Hilary Swank is Brandon Teena; the popular new guy in a tiny Nebraska town. Hanging out with the guys, drinking, cussing, and bumper surfing, and he charms the young women, who’ve never met a more sensitive and considerate young man. Life is good for Brandon, now that he’s one of the guys and dating hometown beauty Lana. However, he’s forgotten to mention something about is. It’s not that he’s wanted in another town for GTA and other assorted crimes, but that Brandon Teena was actually born a woman named

Teena Brandon. and Tsotsi (09/12/07) Tsotsi (Presley Chwenayagae) is the leader of a gang of who have no bounds of decency in getting what they want. After a callous murder for cash, one of Tsotsi’s men, hits a sore spot, causing buried memories of Tsotsi’s horrifying childhood to bubble to the surface, he explodes in anger and beats him senseless. Soon after, he commits a carjacking, only to discover a baby in the backseat of the vehicle. Tsotsi decides to bring the child home with him and try to raise the boy.

Then we will be taking a break over Christmas but they will be starting again on Sunday the 13th (13/01/08) to give you guys a well deserved break from revising.

The film list for next year has yet to be confirmed but will definitely include the following powerful and evocative films City of God Rabbit-Proof Fence Schindler’s List

EDITORS FILM CHOICES 2007

I

t has been a pretty decent year for film overall hasn’t it? Plenty of classy mainstream and “arthouse” films have hit our nearby screens, and some have actually been rather good. As we all disperse for Christmas, have a complimentary list courtesy of us here at Seren. Merry Christmas! - Ian 1) Into the Wild - Emile Hirsch gave a stupendous performance as Christopher McCandless who chose to live rough for two years in America. My favourite film of the year by far, make sure you check out the soundtrack by Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam.

2) Knocked Up - My choice of the Summer, and still one of the year’s finest.

3) Two Days in Paris - Julie Delpy wrote, directed and starred in this wonderful romantic comedy, which looks at a couple on a brief stopover in Paris. Realistic dialogue and plenty of humour made this a joy to watch.

4) Transformers - Giant robots battling. Yes. 5) Zodiac - David Fincher’s return to form.

BEOWULF ****

I

f you ever studied the epic poem at school, probably the last thing you want to do if go and see the 3-D film version of it. However this latest version brings the narrative into the 21st century with the mocap style (motion capture)- a favourite form of the film’s director, Robert Zemicks, enabling the charcters to come to life in 3-D format.

Beowulf ’s claim to fame as a poem is that it is the oldest story to be committed to paper in the English language and it has no known author due it being verbally passed on for a long time. Unless you’ve spent countless hours analysing the old-English it was written in, to this day the story has lost none of its fantastical charm.

The story exists in a time of legends, heroes and monsters. Beowulf is a great warrior from the land of the Geats, he is famous across the land for slaughtering monsters that plagued the earth. Upon hearing of a Danish kingdom ruled over by Hrothgar (an aging Anthony

Film

Hopkins) that was being dominated by the attacks of the monster Grendel, Beowulf travels to the kingdom to free the people from their captor. In so doing he gets drawn into a bloody battle with Grendel’s mother which brings out the flawed elements of his human nature- hero or not.

I confess when I agreed to go and see it I did not realise it was a mocap piece, and in my ignorance I called it ‘animated’. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The cast performed in front of a blue screen, and they were then digitally recreated and placed in a CG background, loosing none of their performance in the process. This style meant they could do so much more with the story. Beowulf could battle his sea monsters in great detail and the dragon-like offspring of Grendel’s mother could chase his foe all the way back to his new-found kingdom. Unfortunately the mocap style also meant that for me, the characters took on a computer game like edge and

to see them walking, talking and thinking (in the context of the film) for themselves was a little surreal. But this did not taint the overall impact of the film.

The cast injected their characters with styles that each are famed for- Ray Winston as Beowulf issues commands that make you want to stand to attention, and Angelina Jolie, even digitally recreated as a half-human monster, could seduce the most faithful of men.

Beowulf is the original sci-fi/fantasy epic, complete with sword-fights, dragons, buffmen and sexy women (even if they are digital). If you like epic tales and can overlook the computer-game likeness of the characters; Beowulf is definitely a film worth seeing.

Rachel Eales EDITOR’S NOTE: See this in 3D if you have the chance! 2D just does not do this film justice.

AMERICAN GANGSTER ****

F

ollowing their last collaboration, the 2006 flop and disappointment ‘A Good Year’, ‘American Gangster’ is a major return to form for Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe. And the addition of Denzel Washington to the already great team makes for an even more exciting proposition. A film that is extremely far removed from Scott and Crowe’s previous collaboration with none of the lighter, more romantic tone of that film, ‘American Gangster’ is a late 60s/early 70s period crime drama based on the true story of crime boss turned informant Frank Lucas who outdid the mafia in the drug trade during the 70s and honest police detective Richie Roberts who was out to catch him and put a stop to his operation. This film is very different to many of Ridley Scott’s past efforts and sees him trying out a number of new techniques that give this film a bit of an edge over many of his past movies.

‘American Gangster’ begins in 1968 with Frank Lucas (Washington) being nothing more than the quiet driver to crime boss Bumpy Johnson. Following the death of his employer and mentor, however, he exploits the opening in the power struggle to build his own empire and create his own vision of the American Dream. Buying heroin directly from the source and coming up with a unique way of importing it into America, Lucas is able to offer a product that is better than the competition and at a considerably cheaper price, and creates many enemies for himself. Meanwhile, Richie Roberts (Crowe) is one of the few honest drug cops in New

York and when he is given the chance to head a specialist team with the purpose of catching the big bad guys he soon finds himself on the trail of Lucas. The two are soon caught in a conflict where only one of them can come out on top.

All the components of ‘American Gangster’ suggest that this film should be a masterpiece like ‘The Godfather’. Skilled direction from one of the most talented directors ever in Scott, terrific performances from two of the greatest actors ever in Crowe and Washington, not to mention a fantastic en-

semble cast, all highlight how much potential this film has. Unfortunately, it never fully lives up to it. A masterpiece? Not even close, but that’s not to say that there aren’t things to recommend it. One of the first things of note is the cinematography The film really does look and feel like it is set in the late 60s/early 70s, and creates a very convincing depiction of life in New York at the time. The film also convinces in its depiction of events. Much of what happens is shown in quite graphic detail but never is the film in any way gratuitous.

The performances are what really makes the film stand out though, with Crowe excelling himself as Roberts, making us sympathise

with him completely as one of the very few good cops among many bad ones. Washington is superb too, convincing as both the brutal gangster and the family man, showing that he is an actor capable of a range of performances. His performance is so powerful that, at times, we almost feel for his character in spite of all the bad things that he does. The rest of the cast also worth a mention with Cuba Gooding Jr, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Armand Assante, Ric Young, Josh Brolin, and Clarence Williams III (in a brief cameo) all putting in appearances. The only let down on the acting front is that Crowe and Washington hardly appear on screen together, with their characters only enc ou nte r i ng one another face to face at the end of the film. The direction from Scott is very strong also but at times the film does feel a bit disjointed with certain story developments seemingly coming out of the blue without thorough explanation. This is one of the things that holds the film back from being what it could be, along with the fact that it does seem to run a bit long without enough going on to really maintain the interest for the entire duration. However, these complaints aren’t enough to stop this from being an extremely well made and very interesting film overall. ‘American Gangster’ is certainly a very slow film but is still a fascinating and daring one, and certainly worth seeing.

Robert Mann

Books T

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by James Lee Burke

and evil. You can really feel the undercurrents of rage and pain beneath the narrative, making this not only his most personal and deeply felt book for some time, but quite possibly his best novel to date. This is not just a superb crime novel; it is potentially THE fictional chronicle of a disaster whose human dimensions America is still struggling to process.

The perfect read for those who love their crime novels and mysteries.

T

his fantasy horror novel begins with a fascinating discovery by two teenagers, unaware of what lies ahead of them in this adventure. With a tale that unravels with every dark, unknown corner and tangled roads, the boys will have to deal with lost families, the unfamiliar and witches.

This is set to be the most compelling gothic novel of the year with Gay rivalling the best of the business. This is for those who love fantasies such as Kings’ classics.

The top buys for this Christmas: What to get your book loving friends

his hilarious romantic comedy is perfect for those who want to curl up with a good book that will make you laugh, cry and want to read it again and again. This cheeky, upbeat, chick romp com is about loving the man of your dreams, marriage, betrayal and babies. With a warm hearted main character and funny moments that you will remember, including the want for relationships and a life less o r d i n a r y, this book is a must have for all those mothers, d au g ht e r s , sisters, wives and friends who are in need of a good book that will make them better.

R

T

T

Crime Lovers You’ve Been Warned

by James Patterson

Comedy Lovers Uglier Than A Monkeys Armpit

by Dr Robert VanderPlank

he newest instalment of the naked chef ’s famous recipes is a must have for those who love to cook and experiment with the finer things that they can grow in their own back yard.

With suggestions to make your own vegetable patch and do a lot of the cooking DIY this is a perfect present for those die hard cooking fans, and the baked pears with a wine and a scrumptious cake, this is a must have.

his novel is still at the top of the best sellers list, with such romance, passion and sadness this book is a must read for all those who are in need of a warm passionate tale about two lovers and the world around them. This would make a perfect stocking filler for all those who enjoy their romance novels and even those who want a novel with a twist at the end.

An excellent read for all for Christmas.

T

he newest release from the internationally bestselling novelist James Patterson is a creepy thriller that will even scare those who are used to this mastermind. For Karen Burns, a talented young photographer, it was only natural to go to New York to chase her dreams.

And it was only normal, just to pay the rent while she waited for her big chance, to work as a nanny for a New York young power couple, an attorney and his socialite wife, looking after their two children. But for all the promise, the thrills, and the glitter, there are temptations and deadly dangers that come with life among the rich and powerful. Get ready for the Nanny Diaries from Hell. This is the perfect read for those who love the early books by Patterson.

by James Delingpole

etired journalist for The Sunday Telegraph and The Spectator, James Delingpole has expressed his thoughts articulately and amusingly, on everything from politics to popular music, from school sports days to spliffs.

In this A-Z of brief essays, he turns his lively mind to modern society gone mad. Can’t understand what’s wrong with muchloved feet and inches?

Don’t believe the global-warming hype?

Wondering whatever happened to good, oldfashioned universities? Pouring scorn on the

Cookery Lovers Jamie Oliver: At Home

Romance Lovers Atonement

by Ian McEwen

How To Be Right

Twilight

by William Gay

CHRISTMAS BUYS

The Bad Bride’s Tale

by Polly Williams

by Emma McCall The Tin Roof Blowdown

his is James Lee Burke’s latest crime mystery featuring the much loved character Dave Robicheaux. The story begins with the shooting of two would-be looters in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, and then follows a motley group of characters; from street thugs to a bigtime mob boss, from a junkie priest to a sadistic psychopath, as their stories converge on a cache of stolen diamonds. The nightmarish landscape created by Hurricane Katrina is the perfect setting for Burke’s almost Biblical visions of good

17

Seren - Christmas Issue 2007

state of Britain after ten years under Brown and Blair, “How To Be Right” couldn’t have come along at a more appropriate time. Prepare to foam and splutter, and to be seriously entertained.

This collections of amusing essays will keep you amused for hours and hours due to Delingpoles’ diverse thinking and offensive attitude towards those who he classes as ‘the deserving few’.

T

his essential collection of rather colourful range of insults in every language imaginable to man is an excellent read for all those who would love to know how to say ‘You look like the Mona Lisa after a spanking’ in Czech.

Dr Robert VanderPlank has scoured the world to find all interesting, memorable and hilarious phrases and sayings in over forty different languages to amuse the rest of us. This is a perfect present for all those who love their insults.

FORTHCOMING SPORTING MATCHES Tuesday 11th December

Wednesday 12th December

• Basketball Men’s 1st vs. MMU Cheshire Men’s 2nd, Home

• Badminton Women’s 1st vs. University of Sheffield Women’s 1st, Home.

• Basketball Women’s 1st vs. University of Manchester Women’s 1st, Home

• Badminton Men’s 1st vs. Lancaster University Men’s 2nd, Home

BANGOR SPORTS TEAMS BREAKING RECORDS ON BUSA TABLES BUSA Tennis - Northern Conference Men’s 3A 2007/08 University

Played

Won

Draw

Lost

• Football Men’s 1st vs. Liverpool Hope University College Men’s 2nd, Away

• Hockey Men’s 1st vs. Edge Hill College Men’s 1st, Away

• Football Men’s 2nd vs. Manchester Metropolitan University Men’s 3rd, Home

• Hockey Women’s 1st vs. University of Cumbria Women’s 1st, Home

• Football Men’s 3rd vs. University of Chester Men’s 4th, Home

• Rugby Union Men’s 1st vs. University of Liverpool Men’s 3rd, Home

• Golf 1st vs. Lancaster University 1st, Away

• Tennis Women’s 1st vs. University of Liverpool Women’s 1st, Home

BUSA Netball - Northern Conference Women’s 4A 2007/08 University

Played

Won

Draw

Lost

Points

1

Liverpool JM University 2nd

7

6

0

1

18

2

Bangor University 1st

7

6

0

1

18

3

University of Salford 1st

6

4

1

1

13

BUSA Fencing - Northern Conference Men’s 1A 2007/08 University

Points

Played

Won

Draw

Lost

Points

1

Bangor University 1st

6

5

0

1

15

1

University of Manchester 1st

5

5

0

0

15

2

University of Liverpool 3rd

5

4

0

2

12

2

Bangor University 1st

5

4

0

1

12

3

Keele University 1st

6

2

1

3

7

3

Lancaster University 1st

5

3

0

2

9

BUSA Rugby League North West 2007/08 University

Played

Won

BUSA Football - Northern Conference Men’s 7A 2007/08 Draw

Lost

Points

University

Played

Won

Draw

Lost

Points

1

Manchester Met University 1st

6

5

0

1

12

1

Bangor University 3rd

6

4

1

1

16

2

Bangor University 1st

7

6

0

1

12

2

University of Chester 4th

6

5

1

0

16

3

MMU Cheshire 1st

6

2

1

3

5

3

MMU Cheshire

7

5

0

2

15

18

Seren - Christmas Issue 2007

EXCITING TIMES AHEAD ALL IN A DALES WORK FOR ROWING TEAM O

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he new look Rowing squads started their season of competition with impressive performances at a very challenging event. The club presented two crews for the Trafford Head on Manchester’s Bridgewater Canal. The club entered a slimmed down line up, consisting of a Novice Womens 8+ and a Senior Mens 8+. The canal was a scene far removed from the open expanse of the Menai Straits, so the coxes had a huge challenge keeping the boats straight and centred through bridges and tight corners, while keeping the crews motivated and rowing hard.

The club hoped for a good result for the Mens 8+, they were experienced and race ready, hopes were high as they boated on the canal first. The M8+ performed well; keeping composure and racing perceptively fast down the 3,200m course. Pulling hard through all the corners and bridges, keeping boat speed high as they raced down the last 1km, mood in the boat was high as they crossed the finish.

However the stopwatch didn’t favour the Men, but they still came third in their divi-

sion. They were beaten by two very fast, senior BUSA crews from Manchester and Salford Universities. The Men pulled an impressive time of 11.14mins; this placed them just outside the top three, as a respectable fourth fastest out of sixty five crews.

The men were expected to pull a good time, as their Senior status indicated, but the women were racing at Novice. The vast majority of the women had only been rowing since the start of term. The W8+ boated in the second division of the day, facing opposition from Salford and Manchester. They had a tough debut, mainly due to the nature of the course and the demands of competition. However they kept going through the race, and completed the course in 15.26mins, placing them 57th overall. The experience of the day is sure to improve the crews as they face their next challenge, the Head of the Float.

The Head of the Float is going to be our biggest event in recent memory. There will be thirty four people competing, and six supporting members helping out. The captains

have selected four racing crews of eight, with the Mens Senior 8 attempting to beat the club record at the event of 6.28mins for the 1400m double sprint.

Another exciting event for the club is the upcoming sponsored indoor row, 13 hours on 13th December at Patrick’s Bar. The collection and competitions will be in aid of the Leukaemia & Lymphoma Society and for vital funds for the club as we grow to our biggest in decades. Please come and support us and a very worthy charity throughout the day from 12midday to 1am, we’ll need it!

Thanks to all the people that make the club a success when racing, and all the members that support the club daily.

For more info on the club, from joining to training schedules, check out www.undeb. bangor.ac.uk/rowing or email the club at rowingclub@undeb.bangor.ac.uk

Paul Johnson

CHARITY POOL TOURNAMENT

RUGBY LEAGUE REPORTS

BY WILL VARLEY

BANGOR RUGBY LEAGUE HITS THE TOP

O

Manchester Metropolitan 110 Bangor University.

n November 28th Bangor saved their best performance of the season to crush their top of the table rivals.

Manchester, commanding first place before kick off, tried desperately throughout the match to breach the Bangor line but eventually became the first club in Bangor’s history not to score a try in a match against them and ultimately give up their place at the top of the North West League.

Early Manchester pressure saw them bizarrely opt for a one point drop goal when it looked like they would go for the try. It must have been on their minds to grab whatever opportunities they could as it was clear that chances would be slim in a very physical encounter. Bangor sustained this pressure and scored two tries before the break. James Fleming burrowed his way over from close range at dummy half and Danny Wright seemed to shake off half of the Manchester team to eventually touch down. Tom Bradfield added one conversion to make it 1-10 at the break.

The second half, although scoreless, was perhaps Bangor’s greatest ever half of rugby.

Manchester, chasing the game, threw everything they possibly had at the visitor’s defensive line and failed to succeed. Man of the match Lucas Ashworth was outstanding in both attack and defence and helped the forwards out with some big runs when required to do so. Luke Donovan made a welcome return from injury, showing plenty of the aggression needed to win a game of this physicality.

Every player gave their all for Bangor showing a fantastic team effort. The backs scooted the ball away from their line on countless occasions so that when the forwards did receive the ball, they were already well clear of their own try line. Tom Bradfield controlled the game with his boot, forcing Manchester to begin possession often deep in their half which by the time their main attacks had been absorbed and there was no easy way back up field.

n 26 October 10 intrepid explorers from UMWC set out on a great adventure to the deep, dark mystical lands that are the Yorkshire Dales. Ok, so perhaps that’s a little over the top but it turns out there’s more to the Dales than Emmerdale.

We arrived at the campsite about half 10 in a bangor-esque drizzle, and 3 of us 1st years had to put up a club tent we had never seen before and it took us a while to just to figure out where to put the poles (the inside of the flysheet?).

Once we had finally got it up we found there was about enough room for an American child.

Our plan for day 1 was to conquer the mighty Whernside, the highest peak in the area at a whopping 736m. The walk had... ...some added interest in the impressive Ribbledale railway viaduct. Believe it or not we did actually have to do some uphill to get to the summit, although we did make it in good time. Finding ourselves with extra time to play with we extended the walk in the hope of finding some shake holes as nobody was quite sure exactly what they were. It turned out they were just sunken circles of land. We rolled into the post-hike pub at the slightly ridiculously early time of 3.30pm, however we were all happy to get out of the rain and into an establishment selling alcohol/hot drinks.

In the evening we decided against campsite cooking and trying to get a trangia to work so headed to the nearest village to find a pub.

However the first one we found unceremoniously turfed us out as they only had “room” for 8. So back to the minibus to head into Ingleton where we found a nice reasonably priced

T

hursday 22nd November saw students and locals descend on The Menai in Upper Bangor, to compete in a charity pool competition in aid of Hope House hospice. 28 people entered representing a healthy mix of locals and students to create a great atmosphere throughout the evening.

The two tables saw much action throughout the night with close games galore and rivalries between the last few players and of course, the odd fluke shot here or there. The final few games lasted into the early part of Friday morning, with the final not finished until well after quarter past 12, when Menai regular and pool team member Snowy Thatcher was crowned champion after a 3-1 thriller of a final against Club Treasurer Ellias Jafari. Another pub team member Dani

Burns came in third after a playoff against student Rob Laing.

Both the Snooker and Pool Club and The Menai would like to thank the many patrons who dipped into their pockets along with all competitors and supporters who helped us raise an impressive £125 for Hope House.

If anyone is interested in joining the Snooker and Pool Club drop us an email at: snookerandpool@undeb.bangor.ac.uk or pop into The Menai any Sunday after 7pm.

Thanks once again to all those who helped and contributed to an extremely enjoyable and successful evening and look out in the new year for details of the next charity knockout competition.

Chris Samuels

place. I didn’t have it but the Yorkshire pudding looked good.

Saturday night we were battered by wind and rain with our tent getting a bit flooded due to a pegging mishap and so Sunday morning did not hold too many prospects. Nevertheless we headed out optimistic. Soon we came across some caves that were self-proclaimed as the “best showcaves in Britain”. We then passed through “Gaping Gill”, before finding a great und e r g rou n d waterfall. A geographer’s paradise!

After yesterday’s disappointing shake hole, we found a proper one and found it worthy of an early lunch break. Climbing, we encountered more cloud, however it started lifting to reveal an almost clear top, cue trig point photo fun. On the way back we encountered more geological fantasticness in a huge limestone pavement.

So all there was left to do was for our weary souls to return to Bangor, our sleepy state was confounded by the sound of the entire gladiator soundtrack, complete with dialogue extracts. As much as I think gladiator is a great film, experiencing it through the medium of sound is an all together quite different experience. While I didn’t hold particular high expectations for the weekend I came away having had a really good time and would recommend any future trips the club organises.

Joe Firth

Italian “Football Ace” played for Bangor City F.C!

W

ell not really! BBC Three recently screened a “Football Fake” programme about the tale of a conman who posed as an international footballer. Unfortunately it was our very own Bangor City that the rogue ‘footballer’ contacted.

Alessandro Zarelli (at least he sounded like a good player) contacted Welsh clubs claiming he was on an exchange visit arranged by the Italian FA. The twenty two year old told Bangor in July 2005 that he was a former Italy youth player who had also run out for Sheffield Wednesday, Rangers and Leeds.

Bangor’s club secretary Alun Griffiths said that Zarelli had used “official-looking faxes” to introduce himself. But when Bangor manager Peter Davenport contacted someone he knew at Sheffield Wednesday, they said they’d never heard of him. As it was, Zarelli only took part in one warm up session for Bangor. “He was only here for about a week to ten days,” said Mr.Davenport. “In that time I checked a bit into his background and it didn’t add up.”

With Zarelli’s scam rumbled he left to try elsewhere, but not before running up an unpaid hotel bill. He tried to con fellow North Wales club Connahs Quay Nomads and also a team from Ireland before vanishing. Journalist Jez Hemmings, posing as an agent, finally tracked down Zarelli at a London hotel in which he secretly filmed.

Zarelli confessed that he’d told a pack of lies “because I always wanted to play football.”

Apparently Zarelli said the player he was most like was Joe Cole. I say stick him in the England midfield!

Will Varley.

19

Seren - Christmas Issue 2007

ANOTHER TERM OF MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

I

t seems that every year the issue surrounding keeping Wednesday afternoons free is raised and then dealt with without success. Although I have written about this before concerning the effect this has on sports clubs, in that teams have to lose players who attend lectures, participation in other areas apart from sport is also restricted.

BUSA (British Universities Sports Association) has membership from 151 Universities and Institutes of Higher Education. This alone shows the popularity of sport amongst students today and it’s unbelievable that students are denied the chance to participate. In Bangor it’s only the Sports Science department that keeps Wednesday afternoons free for students so it comes as a big shock to Freshers once they realise that they’ll have to make sacrifices in order to play. I’m sure other teams have similar problems, but out of the rugby league squad of around thirty, eleven players have to miss lectures to play and sometimes this isn’t an option. However it isn’t just Bangor that finds itself in this situation.

Bath Spa University, according to their website, “is one of the few top Universities in

the UK that doesn’t allow Wednesday afternoons free for social and academic interaction to take place.” Its campaign is set to benefit all students as it is “not just a clubs and societies campaign.” Aberwystryth University and the University of Hull are also actively campaigning. One solution that is suggested on Hull’s website is to have taped lectures available to part-time students. This could be a solution to students who cannot attend lectures because of other commitments. The Psychology department in Bangor has audio lectures available for students on the intranet, so why not have all lectures recorded this way?

As the issue is tackled further, it’s apparent that Wednesday afternoons for other needs are important, as well as sport. Mature students, who struggle to get free time in the evenings would benefit greatly from having one specific afternoon off a week to spend socialising or participating in extra curricular activities. NEWI in Wrexham has shown that it is possible to have periods of study off for students. However, at the moment NEWI has implemented a timetable that keeps Fridays free, supposedly to give students long

LETS GO FLY A KITE

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n the weekend of 24th and 25th November an event was planned by both the Kitesports Club and the Photography Society. The idea was to promote links between clubs and gain some promotional material for the newly formed Kitesports Club, whilst at the same time giving the Photography Society members a chance to take photos in line with this month’s best picture competition theme of “sport in action”.

After lots of checking of the tides and weather, the times and beaches were confirmed. Unfortunately on Saturday the wind was perfect but it was raining and so the difficult decision was made to cancel with everyone extremely hopeful about the better weather predicted for Sunday.

Sunday morning came and everyone met at the Students’ Union at 10.30am with a fair few hangovers from the Saturday night partying (Did anyone see banana man? That was me). We set off eager for a good day at the beach and that was exactly what we got. After a quick welcome and safety brief the kites

were unpacked with a good range of kiters from most disciplines out. Unfortunately the wind though wasn’t right for our kite surfers so they didn’t make the trip or landboarded instead.

A good few hours were spent with the Kitesports Club members showing off a variety of impressive moves and tricks and in general giving the photographers plenty of good material. At about 4pm the wind started to drop and due to the light slowly dropping and everyone starting to feel the cold everyone decided to seek warmth at home.

All in all a great time was had by all who attended with some fantastic photos produced. We are hoping to plan another bigger event like this when the weather gets warmer. If you are interested in joining either clubs please email kitesports@undeb.bangor.ac.uk or photography@undeb.bangor.ac.uk or come and see us at Serendipity 2.

Liam Watson

weekends. The result of that has been that Wrexham’s weekend student population has plummeted. Is this new idea merely an excuse for lecturers to have a long weekend off themselves?

The NPC (National Postgraduate Committee) argues that unlike undergraduate education there is not a great deal to sell in terms of student life, and many postgraduates find the experience disappointing when they arrive at the institution. The availability of Wednesday afternoons is a vital aspect for making access to student life possible. The timetable unit in Bangor say that they are sympathetic to students’ needs but unfortunately current demands and restraints prevent Wednesdays being made free at the moment. It is not down to the timetable unit to put right the problem.

That power lies with the higher authorities within the University and it should be our right as students to have free time for social and other academic events. Watch this space for more news on the matter.

Will Varley

BADMINTON CLUB BATTLING HARD

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ovember 7th results: Women lost again 7-1 to Sheffield. Some very close doubles games, so hopefully we will fair better when we play them here in Bangor.

Men’s 1st won 6-2 against Lancaster Men’s 2nds drew 4-4 with Cumbria.

results: November 14th All 3 teams lost 6-2 last week.

Women lost to Manchester - although there were some very hard fought games in the doubles, so we are hoping to fair better in the second leg next year.

Men’s 1st lost to Central Lancashire.

Men’s 2nd lost to Manchester Met. November 21st results: The Women’s team lost 5-3 in a close game against Lancaster.

Men’s 1st lost 6-2 against Liverpool John Moores.

Men’s 2nds lost 7-1 against Chester.

Laura Reilly

THERE IS BIKING IN BANGOR

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rom the first biking social sprung the challenge; to make the gruelling ascent of Snowdonia’s highest peak. Starting at 8am on a cold and wet Saturday morning, six members of Bangor’s new biking group took it upon themselves to make it reality. Ascending and descending the Llanberis path, it took about two and a half hours to bike/push up and too little time to relish the fantastic rocky downhill that followed. As quoted ‘the most important thing is having a bike that stops’! However, strong winds proved the main problem, especially at the top when assuming the victory pose (see photo). Following the epic, the group appreciated hard-earned nourishment in the form

of a Pete’s Eats breakfast, exchanged some friendly banter and returned back to Bangor, content with their day’s efforts.

If you like the sound of this, there’s more to come! But there’s even more than that….socials take place at the Nelson pub on Tuesdays at 8.30pm. This is where rides are planned and can be tailor-made to suit anybody and everybody!

It’s a chance to meet other people who enjoy getting out on two wheels, be it on or off-road. There’s a facebook group to join, an intranet board for message-posting and you can email Rob Samuel at peu28e for more details too. There’s no membership fee to be part of the fun, so get involved!

Becki Law

INTERFAITH FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT

“

How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity.

[Psalms 133:1]” In order to bring the Religious Societies in the University together, a five-a-side Football tournament was organized by the Catholic Society (CathSoc) on Saturday 10th November, 2007.

The purpose of this event was to convey the simple message of unity and harmony to all, especially among nations in conflicts over religions. Credence or belief on something distinct is achieved only by strong ‘Faith’ and the willingness to guard and preserve it.

This social event carried out in Maes Glas, Bangor, brought CathSoc, AngSoc, Earth Religions and a mix of Christian & Hindu (Outrageous team) students (men and women), together to participate in the Football Tournament. Two teams (A and B) represented CathSoc and Outrageous and all teams were had at least two of each gender playing for them.

The Teams were pooled into two groups and the winners and runners up in each group

progressed through to the Semi-Finals. After a defeat for both CathSoc teams in the SemiFinals CathSoc ‘A’ played against CathSoc ‘B’ for third place. The final was between Outrageous ‘A’ and Outrageous ‘B’. Outrageous B were the victors and the final standings were as follows: 1. Outrageous B 2. Outrageous A 3. CathSoc B 4. CathSoc A 5. AngSoc 6. Earth Religions The winners were presented with the Bangor University Interfaith Football Tournament Snow Globe trophy, which will be brought back in late February for the Second Interfaith Football Tournament. Any religious society within the University is invited to participate.

Please e-mail cathsoc@undeb.bangor.ac.uk if you wish to compete, and keep a look out for further details on University Notice boards

Jeremy Murray

AMERICAN FOOTBALL IN WALES?

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re you interested in American football? Have you ever played before?

Would you like to? Whether you’re experienced or not, if you have a passion for the game or just want to try something new, then we’re the club for you!

We are currently in the process of setting up a team to play as North Wales’ only American football team and with the current increase in popularity of the game in the UK

after the highly successful NFL game between the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins was played at Wembley a few weeks ago, this is an opportunity not to be missed.

Chris Hilderbrand

We meet every Sunday at 2pm in Varsity as well as at 6pm in The Yellow to watch an NFL game.

If you are interested call/text: 07910058672 Or email: bangorbritons@hotmail.com