Seren - 200 - 2007-2008 - May 2008

Bangor University’s Star Publication

ISSN 1755-7585

End of Year Issue 2008

SUMMER BALL EXCLUSIVE!

H

ere is the official line-up for this year’s summer ball.

Indie rockers Athelete are headlining, with main support coming from The Cuban Brothers.

Some of you may be wondering at this point, who the The Cuban Brothers are. Well, their performance combines Latino inspired music, dancing and riotous comedy, (which, according to their Myspace, is “both physical and observational”). Reviewers say the energy at every show is incredible, which is good news for all the ball goers!

Also on the line up is Cantaloop, a band who describe themselves as “super heavy funk”. Combining influences from across the spectrum of R&B, Hip Hop and Soul, Cantaloop is soon release a third album which they are currently finishing with producer Gavin Monaghan (The Editors, Nizlopi).

They played at various festivals last year, including Glastonbury and have toured extensively around the UK and Europe.

As well as tribute acts to The Beatles and Amy Winehouse, the line-up also

includes local band Filth Machine, who recently played at Seren’s very own sin night. If you haven’t seen them, they are a band with loads of energy and musical talent. Their varied influences span from Pendulum to Rage Against The Machine and even Morrissey. Loads of other acts are also on the bill, so get on Myspace and check them all out!

Having only one ball a year here at Bangor, means that everyone is waiting with baited breath for this year’s event. It’s the night when everything is scrubbed up to its best sheen, from Main Arts to the scruffy bloke that sits at the back of your lectures. Fairground rides will be brought in, casino tables set up, marquees erected and Bangor will be a hub of excitement brought on by the end of exams and the beginning of summer. So buy that dress or rent that tux and get ready for the event of the year in Bangor. It’s both a great way to see all your friends dressed up and a splendid opportunity to say goodbye to all those third years.

Tickets went on sale on Thursday 1st May, when nearly two hundred

were sold. The ball almost reached capacity last year, with 1,922 tickets purchased, and looks set to be equally popular this year. The organisers are sticking to the policy of not having drinks vouchers again, which means you don’t have to shell out all that cash in advance. Just don’t forget your wallet on the big night! Tickets for the Summer Ball 2008, which include a champagne reception, are now on sale (priced £45) in Academi, weekdays 12pm-5pm. In the coming weeks, handbooks detailing all the events, bands and frivolity will be available, so look out for them. The big question is where to have breakfast at 3 am: Mike’s Bites and Varsity are generally the favoured hotspots, though if previous years are anything to go by, they get pretty packed.

For student opinions on this year’s ball, turn to page 3.

Emma Dodd and Jo Caulfield

INSIDE THIS ISSUE...

GOODBYE GRADUATES THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE

DEPARTING SABBS STORM FORECAST & PUZZLES

COMPETITIONS GALORE!

WIN TICKETS TO: ALSO...

S ED LOAD SH

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OF DVDs FEW CDs

N AND EVE PINT A SEREN r 3)!

GLASS (o

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EDITORIAL

hy hello there.

Welcome to the last edition of Seren for this academic year. I’m not sure that anyone actually reads this bit, but if you currently are, please allow me to congratulate you on finding an exceptionally interesting way to pass your time. This year has been a funny one for Seren, due to the fact that over the year we’ve had 3 different editors. But I am the new one, and I am here to stay… well, for next year at least anyway.

Travel Editor:

Rachel Eales

Features Editor: Siobhan Holt

Music Editor:

Our more avid / observant / bored readers may notice that things have changed a bit in this issue. Aesthetically, your favourite student newspaper may be different, but we are still as wonderful as you remember… and you do remember, don’t you?

Emma Dixon

Film Editor: Ian Davies

I could probably ramble on about the year that has passed and say things like “I can’t believe how quickly it’s gone” and mention how eras are ending, but that would be trite and cliché, so instead I shall refrain. All I will say is that at this rate before I know it I’ll be 45 and have turned into my mother. And so will you. It’s coming my friends: impending middle-agedness. So make the most of these years of youth. In order to do this successfully, you could try breaking into a cash machine with your fist (see page 3) or putting a bin bag on your head and pretending to be Darth Vader (see page 4). Apparently that’s what all the kids are doing these days…

Books Editor:

Emma McColl

Sports Editor: Will Varley

Contributors:

Ian Dalton Georgia Mannion Steven Davies Spencer George Carolan Goggin Aaron Wyn Pritchard Joanna Crossley Loran Perkins Catriona Rollason Joe Firth John Jackson Robert Mann Mark Varley Kevin Smith Chris Hilderband Giles Ferrier Joel Golby Sophie De L’orme Dr Rashesh Mehta Alex Farley Laura Reilly Charlotte Bewley Chris Reid

On a personal note, I wanted to say thank you to all the team here, they have been nothing but endlessly supportive to me. As well as this, I need to send appreciation to my eternally forgiving flatmates who have had to put up with my inane babble about Seren for the last month, as well as deliver papers to your front doors (that’s right Ffridd Site residents, my flatmates put those Serens in your kitchens). Without them I wouldn’t be writing this, I’d be jumping off the roof of that new Debenhams. Incidentally, has anyone been in there with a hangover yet? When you walk in, it’s so bright your eyes burn out. Literally. I wouldn’t recommend it, it’s not good for the soul… or the stomach.

I suppose that is all I have to say, other than point out that this issue is ace, so I’d recommend reading it. I shall now leave you to look after yourself until September.

Peace, love and all that,

SEREN

v.s.

THE MAYORAL CANDIDATES

Daniel Turner; Emma Dodd

Design in spirit: Daniel Turner

Emma Dixon

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32

Proof reading:

Production Consultants:

Jo Caulfield.

Number of fans:

Photography: Gareth Roberts

voting out of over 8,000 students, apathy in Bangor is clearly rife. So why are so few turning out? There is always a problem with winning the third year vote as the majority of them are disinterested in voting for Sabbatical Officers that they won’t be around to benefit from. Many students in other years feel that the elections simply aren’t relevant as they don’t realise how much the work of the Sabbatical Officers affect their student lives. In reality, of course, what happens in the Student’s Union massively affects us all especially as this year sees the implementation of a huge amount of changes to how it is all run following the governance review.

Even Seren could face some changes as next year it will be made into a society instead of being a committee.

Hopefully our new Sabbatical team will be able to ride through the new changes with ease, as they all assure us students that they are fully capable. One thing that has caused some degree of concern however is the severe lack of gender balance as an all male executive has left many females feeling seriously underrepresented. The students certainly had their chance to get the ladies involved though, as three women ran in the elections this year although they were all beaten to the spot by their male counterparts. Despite reassurances from the new Sabbatical Officers, there are those who are worried which led to the implementation of Lottie Toogood as Women’s Officer at the last council.

So what will the forthcoming year hold for our new executive? One thing to be sure of is that there will be many changes ahead which we can all hope will be for the best.

www.seren.ac.uk

W

Editor:

Jo Caulfield

Emma Dodd; Carolan Goggin; Tom Hecht; Morag Pirie

End of year edition 08

editor@seren.bangor.ac.uk

Easter Issue 2008

JACKSON’S FIVE

Ken Boris

2,330

• New S.U. Sabbaticals Elected

• First All-Male Exec For 100 Years • Debut Single Out In June • Full Interviews Inside

by Emma Dixon

I

t was a battle that was fought out over many weeks and in numerous locations.

It was in our library, our corridors, our toilets and on our Facebook and the effects were so vast they were even felt up at St. Mary’s. This year’s Students’ Union Sabbatical Officers elections are finally finished and we can all breathe a sigh of relief over no longer being bombarded with speeches, manifestos, leaflets and posters (although I for one will be missing the free lollipops).

That is, for about another two weeks when the Senator elections will start.

Such furious campaigning meant that the final results were extremely close.

Spencer George was voted in as Deputy President with a margin of only 109 votes over Emma Dodd, whereas Lottie Toogood was narrowly pipped to the post of Athletic Union President by Rob Samuel and his six

vote majority. Tom Hecht, our new Societies and Events Officer, received a very comfortable majority showing that a Colgate smile and the promise of an extra ball can get you very far in Bangor. Running without contest, John Jackson, President, and Rhion Glyn, UMCB President, both showed RON who’s boss as they each received 90% of the votes cast.

Turnout across campus however was the lowest it has been in three years. This seems to be a problem mainly amongst the first years in Bangor, as voting figures saw their biggest drops in student halls – notably Rathbone and on the Ffridd Site, the latter of which dropped from 341 votes cast last year to a pitiful 132 votes cast this year.

Rhion Glyn clearly worked hard to win the JMJ vote though as turnout shot up in the Welsh language halls from 75 last year to 114 this year. With just over 1,000 people

Rob ‘Hot Bod’ Samue ls

Tom y am ‘Dre ile’ Sm t h Hec

7,876 r Spence ‘Abs’ George

Rh ‘Cheion Cha eky pp Gly ie’ n

The other one CONTINUED PAGE 15

John ‘Puppy Eyes’ Jackson

2,206

Turn to page 10 for full election coverage

ue battle outright. Search for us on that Facebook ThisStuIss As you can see, Seren this Inside wins dent Bands CD 2008 of yours and help us in our quest for world domination.

Competitions Four Extra Pa ges

Full details including tracklisting & band information can be found on page 11

Joe Beardwood and Electric Chicken Photos © Ricky Tillson (Bangor University Photography Society)

ns ElectioDiary Photo

Interview With The Twang

3

End of year edition 08

YOUR NEWS, YOUR VIEWS

I don’t think it’s worth spending £45 on going until it’s my last year.

Kieran

2nd Year Journalism and Media Studies

NEWS

news@seren.bangor.ac.uk

www.seren.ac.uk

SUMMER BALL ‘08

What do you think about the ball this year?

For the amount it costs, I think a full meal should definitely be included.

I’m not going, I have to go home and start work to earn money for next year.

Hannah

Kathryn

1st year Psychology

CASH MACHINES TAKE A BRUISING

It’s a good opportunity for everyone to get together and celebrate the end of the year.

Sam

2nd Year Psychology

ANTI-BNP MARCH 200 ATTEND

2nd Year Journalism and Media Studies

I really enjoyed it last year and I’m hoping this year is going to be even better.

Morag

3rd Year English Language

STUDENT FALLS 35FT AT TRASH

A

C

One of the cash machine vandals turned up a bit late

ash machines at Morrisons remain closed this week following an attempted break-in.

Police were called to the store in the early hours of Friday morning after the incident was reported and it appears numerous attempts were made to break into the machines, none of which were successful. The ATMs were bludgeoned into disuse and both remain unfit for operation by the general public; police are currently calling for witnesses to the unsuccessful robbery.

It appears the criminals simply hit the cash machines several times in what seems a rather haphazard attempt to reach the money inside. Cash machines are not designed to be aesthetically pleasing; the main objective is that they will brace the wrath of the seasons, allow students to withdraw the last of their overdrafts and withstand abuse from women’s handbags thrust unapologetically into the screen while they root around to find their purse. Is it possible then, that this attack on the Morrisons cash machine was just a random act of vandalism? After all, surely this is the physical equivalent of trying to drown a fish? The odds were against the vandals before they even began. It makes

you wonder whose idea it was. Surely someone must have realised that smashing a cash machine in a similar manner to the way children hit things they don’t understand how to use, wasn’t going to be a particularly successful technique.

A scheme on a similar intellectual level to this was uncovered in Manchester last year.

A Great Escape style tunnel was found underneath a Tesco car park leading to their wall-installed cash point. Inventive as the potential thieves’ plan was, it was foiled by workmen who discovered the 40ft long tunnel before it could be put to use. In comparison, Bangor’s cash-point criminals’ efforts seem somewhat lacklustre.

According to North Wales Police, a black Mitsubishi Evolution was seen driving “erratically” in the area at the time. If you have any information regarding the incident please contact Welsh language police line on: 0845 6071001 or 0845 6071002 for the English language line. If you’re feeling dramatic, you could always opt for Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Georgia Mannion

t least 200 people joined a demonstration against the BNP organised by Wrexham Trades Council on Saturday 12th April. The numbers came as a pleasant surprise to many people (including the organisers who had only expected 50 at the rally after the demo).

The demo consisted of members of PCS, UNITE, UCU, NASUWT and other trade unions, as well as anti-fascist campaigners, mostly from Wrexham, but also from other small towns across North Wales and a coach came up from Cardiff. The march passed straight past the BNP stall in Wrexham, with BNP members hurling abuse at the marchers.

The BNP are threatening to win district and county council seats in Wales in the upcoming local elections. They are standing across North Wales (with many candidates for Conwy and Wrexham councils, but also in Gwynedd, Denbighshire and Flintshire) where they won over 5% of the vote in last years assembly elections, but also in Mid Wales and Swansea. Already they have had several community councillors elected after they stood unopposed.

After the post-demonstration rally, many protesters decided to counter-leaflet against the BNP stall. But it will take more than just one-off marches to stop the growth of racist and fascist ideas. The cuts and privatisations to public services that all the main parties favour need to be fought as these allow the BNP to scapegoat immigrants as being responsible for this. The trade unions that led the demonstration have a vital role to play in doing this, but at the moment many of their leaderships are tied to the Labour government which is carrying out these attacks. Ultimately we need a party that is prepared to stand up against these attacks, uniting those that suffer from these cuts regardless of ethnicity or anything else.

Iain Dalton

H

ave you ever tripped over whilst drunk? Or fallen off a curb after a few vodkas? How about plunging 35 ft down a central stairwell? Well, this is exactly what happened to Chris Thompson, a 3rd year Psychology student, on Wednesday 30th April.

After several beverages of the alcoholic kind, Chris tried to slide down the banister from outside Academi. Unfortunately he lost his balance and fell backwards, straight down the middle, landing on his back in the basement. It seems he wanted an exit from Trash to remember… although apparently, he doesn’t remember very much of it at all.

Amusing as it all may sound, paramedics

who arrived at the scene said Chris was very lucky to get away with just a few bruises. A metal bar between the ground floor stairs broke his fall and the ambulance staff believe this is what saved his life. The Union is urging all students to be sensible after a few drinks and with Chris spending several days in hospital after his accident, perhaps this should be a lesson to all of us.

Incidentally, before Chris’ fall from grace, he took part in our “goodbye graduates” feature. Turn to the centre fold to see him in all his upright glory…

Jo Caulfield

4

NEWS

End of year edition 08

news@seren.bangor.ac.uk

LUKE... I’M IN YOUR GARDEN B

T

he founder of Britain’s first Jedi Jones over the head with the crutch.

Church has had his garden in Mr Hughes was arrested on April 10 Holyhead invaded by a drunken and told police that he had drunk “the Darth Vader. best part” of a ten-litre box of wine and Not so long ago on a front lawn not so remembered little of what happened. He far away, Jedi Master Morda Hehol (a.k.a. added, “It was a stupid thing to do” and Barney Jones, 27) was filming a Channel believed it was a joke, saying he had noth4 documentary about the church, when a ing against the church. man claiming District to be the Star Judge Andrew Wars villain ran Shaw, not at into his garden all intimiand hit him dated by the round the face power of the with a metal Force present crutch. Sources in the court, close to Darth adjourned Vader tell us the sentencing for Death Star was a probation temporarily out service review. of lightsabers He told Mr that day due to Hughes: “You an impending appear to have inter-galactic selected these war. two gentlemen Darth Vader An artist’s impresion of the Dark Lord as victims, (a.k.a. Arwel armed yourHughes, 27) self with an admitted to two counts of common asobject and went into a private garden to sault during his hearing in Holyhead affect the attack.” court. Although capable of destroying the Unconditional bail was granted unworld with a single thought, it seems on til May 13th, so please be aware that the this particular day, Darth Vader went for forces of evil still remain at large. We ask a more low-key option. all students to arm themselves appropriProsecutor Nia Lloyd explained in ately at this heightened time of danger. court that Mr Hughes had donned a black Zimmer frames and walking sticks may bin bag before leaping over the garden be particularly effective. wall at Mr Jones’ home shouting “Darth Vader!” Then, in what she branded a “toJo Caulfield tally unprovoked attack”, he struck Mr

SU SAYS GOODBYE TO CATERING

angor’s Students’ Union is preparing to say goodbye to its catering facilities in the next few weeks.

All those fans of Caban Coffi and the Curved Lounge facilities will be shedding a tear as cutbacks are forcing their closure. The facilities have been unfortunately losing a lot of money for several years now despite the efforts of the Union to entice more students to visit them. Measures such as bringing in new members of staff, making the Curved Lounge wireless and revamping the menu have all been made in vain as simply not enough money has been made.

The trouble is not only within the Students’ Union, but across all of the campus catering facilities, meaning that the University has been forced to bring in catering consultants to address the problem. There is a five-

year plan in place to make improvements to the situation but details of this have not as yet been disclosed.

Unfortunately the problem lies with the fact that there is too much competition: the University’s and Students’ Union’s facilities simply cannot compete with offers made by such chains as Yellow Pub (Scream) and Wetherspoons. Bangor University is unusual from many other universities as it is fully integrated with the city, meaning that students are not geographically forced to choose the catering facilities as places to eat. However, for the core groups of students who eat regularly at the Students’ Union as well as the staff involved, this is an upsetting time.

A

E-FIT OF BANGOR MUGGER RELEASED

Dean Maxiom

ONE DAY,TWO PROTESTS

recent duo of protests held at and around Bangor’s Students’ Union offered some hope for active student protest and debate.

On Wednesday, April 23rd, Bangor’s Student Amnesty Society offered questionnaires to students concerning parent group Amnesty International’s enquiry into attitudes surrounding violence against women. The canvassing for opinions yielded eighty completed surveys, and despite some indifference encountered regarding the issues enclosed in

www.seren.ac.uk

the survey – such topics included domestic violence and rape – the response was overwhelmingly positive in terms of support for addressing the issues covered. On the same day, Bangor’s Socialist Students Society took part in a protest concerning the continuation of student top-up fees, with the desired aim to take the issue on to a bigger stage with a Bangor referendum to reduce fees, which can total up to £3,000-a-year.

Stephen Davies

THE SOCIETY EVENT OF THE YEAR

T

he above Efit has been released by the police searching for a mugger in Bangor.

The man has been accused of grabbing a woman by the throat before demanding cash. It has been reported that at around 10.30pm on Wednesday 9th April a 19-yearold student was walking alone up Glanrafon Hill (Bitch Hill to you and I) after enjoying a night out. She was then grabbed by the man who demanded money from her. She handed the money over before kicking him in the shin and running away to alert the police.

The man has been described as being white, between 5ft 9 and 5ft 10 with very short hair and a receding hairline. He was wearing a top with a white collar and possibly a pair of jeans. His face has been described of being of a poor complexion and was unshaved with a large nose. He spoke with a local accent.

The student was luckily left unhurt by the incident but was very shocked.

Have you seen this man lurking around Bangor? Enquiries are ongoing and police are appealing to anyone who may have seen a man matching this description, or who may have seen any suspicious behaviour in the area of Glanrafon Hill to contact them.

Emma Dixon

STUDENT FOUND DEAD IN MENAI BRIDGE

T

B

angor City Rugby Club may seem an unlikely venue for a masked ball, but on Friday 25 April it played host to the third annual Societies Awards, with a rather posh masked theme.

Carolan Goggin, Communications and Societies Officer, has worked to raise the profile of the 35 societies affiliated to the Students’ Union: “The Athletic Union clubs are naturally more visible, parading around town in their team kit, so we have to work that bit harder to show off the quality and diversity of our societies. The Societies Awards is one of the best ways of doing that.”

Approximately twenty societies took part in the awards, nominating their members or their society for awards

and turning up in force at the event itself. There were eighteen silver and nine gold individual awards this year, with each of the gold award winners being granted a complimentary ticket to this year’s Summer Ball to thank them for the contribution they have made to societies in Bangor.

Bangor Forestry Society came away with a big haul of individual awards this year, as well as the Academic Society of the Year group award. SODA deservedly won the Achievement of the Year award for their huge fundraising efforts this year, raising approximately £10,000 over the course of the year to pull the society out of debt and fund their recent performance in Theatr Gwynedd, ending the year with a small profit.

But it was Bangor Amnesty Student Society that came away with the coveted Society of the Year award for their impressively packed calendar of campaigning and social events, including a sleep-out in support of Asylum Seekers, their role in Go Green Weekend, their regular open mic and band nights and their campaigns on women’s rights, Burma and climate change.

The awards ceremony was an overwhelming success, with most attendees agreeing that the location was far better than last year’s Curved Lounge affair. Carolan Goggin was pleased with how it all went: “It takes time to establish an annual event like this, but the Societies Awards ceremony has developed so much over the past

three years. We’ve moved from a casual soirée held in the Students’ Union to a formal event with highquality nominations and competition for the various awards.”

Carolan is hoping that in the near future the Societies Awards will become a rival to the well-established AU Dinner: “The Societies Awards has the potential to become a real highlight of the social calendar, proving the importance of the societies in Students’ Union life. It’s a great way for students to be recognised for the hard work they put in all year.”

Caroline Alvarez

he body of Jules Thoma, a former Bangor University student, was found at a house in Menai Bridge.

He was found dead at his home in High Street and then taken to Glan Clwyd Hospital in Bodelwyddan where a post mortem was carried out. Police have now confirmed that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

Police were contacted over the matter shortly after 8pm on the 15th April after residents on High Street raised concerns for the welfare of Jules Thoma who was a resident there. Mr Thoma, 28, was originally from Luxembourg and had been studying for an MSc at Bangor until last year.

A Bangor University spokesman said on the afternoon of the 16th April: “Staff at the university were shocked and saddened to hear of the death of a former MSc student in Menai Bridge last night and we extend our deepest condolences to his family.”

Emma Dixon

5

editor@seren.bangor.ac.uk

End of year edition 08

www.seren.ac.uk

WHAT HAPPENS IF A REFERENDUM IS CALLED?

U

nder the old constitution it was stated that any ordinary member of the Students’ Union (that’s you or I) could call a referendum as long as they could procure two hundred and fifty signatures to support it.

With the new constitution coming into effect on the 1st August 2008, it will only be necessary to gather one hundred and fifty signatures.

This stated, the Socialist Students here in Bangor have gathered over three hundred signatures (a sabbatical officer’s included) and are lying in wait to present them to the Elections Committee.

The issue they wish to hold a referendum over is free education at university level; a subject close to the heart of every student. It is

LEFT LEANINGS Iain Dalton

U

sually these political columns tend to talk about purely current events. But if you look at history you’ll find that there are patterns and precedents for various things.

To give an example close to the minds of students let’s look at tuition fees. Now fees were introduced by the government in 1997, just over ten years ago and were increased with top-up fees a few years ago. Today the NUS in the face of this onslaught says fees are inevitable and we need to find a ‘fair funding system’ that will include fees. However, what you may not know is that about forty years ago saw the birth of a somewhat more radical NUS (although NUS had existed since the 1920s), which amongst its achievements was the scrapping of tuition fees and the introduction of grants.

Many momentous things happened in

1968: the assassinated of Martin Luther King Jnr. whilst he was speaking at a rally supporting striking workers; the ‘Prague Spring’ revolt against Stalinism in the former Czechoslovakia; gunned down protestors in Mexico; the Tet Offensive in Vietnam that marked a turning point in the war; the beginnings of the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland. But by far the most impressive event, saw the 10 million strong general strike that swept France from May until June, and led to General Charles de Gaulle, the repressive president of France at the time, fleeing the country.

The workers had initially gone on strike in support of the right of students to protest. Students from Nanterre and Sorbonne in Paris had been protesting against the trial in the university court of some students for ‘disruptive behaviour’ on a previous protest.

The heavy-handed response of the authorities was to send in the riot police and hundreds of students were arrested, a response which saw lectures cancelled at these universities and lecturers striking in response. The following day those arrested were summarily imprisoned and fined and all hell let loose.

Demonstrations were banned but this just led to strikes spreading from the university to secondary schools, and a demonstration on May 6th was attacked by the riot police eliciting mass sympathy from the rest of the

“Q

that child poverty is on the rise and that the Conservatives were the party to successfully tackle the issue. Labour say child poverty

Each week Cameron and Clegg will attempt to paint the Prime Minister as Stalin or Mr Bean levels are falling. The Conservatives say the numbers are rising. So who is right?

Technically, they both are. Labour had reduced the number of children considered to be in poverty by around 600,000. Today the figures stand at around 3.8 million compared to the 4.4 million eleven years ago.

Ending child poverty was an aspiration first raised by Tony Blair after his 1997 election victory. However it was Gordon Brown, who whilst in the Treasury set the targets of halving child poverty by 2010 and eradicating it by 2020.

Yet it appears that the Labour government are not going to meet 2010’s target and it looks increasingly likely that the same can

population and the strikes spread further.

De Gaulle had fled, power lay in the balance. The workers, students and all others trodden on by De Gaulle could have taken power. But they were betrayed by their own leaders, particularly in the trade unions and the leaders of the Communist Party. Why? Well the reason is different for each, but for

The workers, students and all others trodden on by De Gaulle could have taken power. both it relies on their positions within society. For the leaders of the trade unions, their position at the top of their bodies in periods of social lull gives them a certain amount of comfort in their bureaucratic positions. Thus they can act as a brake on action taken by those they are supposed to represent. In 1968 the French workers put their trust in them, but instead of leading them they were keen to negotiate with a government that had in reality ceased to rule France. The Communist Party on the other hand was one of the most bureaucratic in Europe, its aim and point of existence was to help keep the deformed Stalinist regime in the Soviet USSR in power.

The Times had declared that capitalism was dead in France, but these so-called leaders let it back in, with a leadership that would strug-

gle for the needs of workers and students the situation could have been different. Nevertheless, huge concessions were won which saw wages increase drastically as a result of the threat that action committees consisting of workers, peasants and students would link up across the country imperilling the capitalist system that had driven them into such intolerable conditions. Even today the current right-wing president Sarkozy speaks of ridding France of the legacy of 1968.

Forty years ago the post-war economic upswing was still in full flow, unlike today when the debt-fuelled boom is coming to an end. But many of the issues of then are similar today, the gap between the rich and the poor in the UK is the largest ever and disputes are occurring with half a million workers recently taking strike action against this on April 23rd. Likewise the right to protest is under threat with increasing attacks on civil liberties in the name of fighting terrorism, and on April 22nd the riot police were deployed to try to disperse protests of students against cuts at Manchester University. Today any alternative to the current capitalist system is seen impossible, but the demand of the students from 1968 to “Be realistic, demand the impossible!” is as true today as it was then.

For details of a speaking tour in May 2008 on this see www.socialistparty.org.uk/1968

Poverty Stricken be said of the 2020 target. Whilst their ambitions can be applauded, the systems put in place by Gordon Brown to meet them have had a detrimental effect on society.

Finances from tax credits were redistributed towards families at the lower end of the income ladder and the benefits system was re-structured. Whilst this may have reduced child poverty by hundreds of thousands, it can be argued that it has left millions of families dependent on benefits when surely a more effective, long term solution would have been to encourage and help people back into work. It is not healthy for so many people to be reliant on the state. It does nothing to motivate people to better themselves and take a bigger role in improving their standards of living.

The Conservatives are also right to point out that whilst the government has taken two steps forwards, it has now taken one step back. In the last year figures show that the number of children in poverty has risen by 100,000. They also claim that whilst Labour has helped families and children just below the poverty threshold, those most in need of

THE BLUDGEONER RETIRES

Emma Dodd

1968, Year of Rebellion - 40 years on

A RANT FROM THE RIGHT Spencer George uestions to the Prime Minister” bellows Michael Martin as a packed House of Commons buzzes with anticipation at what the next instalment of PMQs has to offer. They’re only in attendance to see who out of Brown and Cameron will win the battle of the dispatch box. Whilst it might seem futile to casual observers, to the world of Westminster PMQs can have huge consequences.

For each party leader PMQs is the chance to voice a good sound bite for the evening’s news broadcasts. Each week Cameron and Clegg will attempt to paint the Prime Minister as Stalin or Mr Bean and each week Gordon Brown will reply with his list of achievements (and I use the word lightly) over the last few years. It goes something like this: “Recorded crime is down. The economy is stable. Unemployment is at record lows.

Child Poverty had been reduced.” Whilst these statements are questionable, one that has been highlighted recently is the assertion that Labour has reduced the number of children in poverty.

This week David Cameron proclaimed

their timing, however, which may be the most important factor. Constitutionally, a referendum must be held within eight academic weeks of being called, which means that it will fall near the beginning of the next semester. It will be interesting to see how many students they manage to engage in the matter so close to the beginning of term and, more importantly, the beginning of the year. As students and sabbatical officers concentrate on Freshers’ Week and settling in new students, the democratic process will also have to come to the fore.

COMMENT

help have largely been unaffected. The Tories should be wary however as their record in this area is not unblemished. In 1997 one in three children were considered to be in poverty compared to one in ten in 1979.

Nonetheless the facts are that progress in reducing child poverty has been slower than expected. End Child Poverty, a charity set up to monitor and lobby for improvements on such issues say that it can be eradicated by 2020, and that Labour can still meet its target if it further invests £4 billion and increases the minimum wage.

However, Labour should also take note when End Child Poverty says that child poverty can’t be eradicated through financial means only. It says children need to have improved access to education and parents need improved access to childcare.

This Labour government will insist that it is the only party that will invest in public services and areas such as the armed forces and child poverty. But what this government needs to realise is that you can’t solve every issue by simply throwing money at it and hoping it will go away.

I

t’s a very seditious thing, having a secret identity. The Bludgeoner understands this all too well, of course, masquerading as he does during the day as a functioning member of society. Only once a month during term-time is inner Bludge really set free. Or something. But set free the Bludgeoner will soon be, a seeming lifetime in Bangor comes to a close and the Students’ Union’s most furtive member slopes off into the sunset.

That sunset feels like it’s starting a little early this evening, the Bludgeoner feels – the end of term atmosphere creeping under the door cracks and

It’s raining hard outside as famed scribe B.L.Geoner last puts quill to paper. over the window ledges, threatening to overcome the hard-working masses in the same way the sun has been threatening to shine these past few months. It’s raining hard outside as famed scribe B.L.Geoner last puts quill to paper. It’s been like a wistful romance he feels, if a smidge unrequited. There’s only a certain amount of wiggle room on these hallowed pages, sandwiched as one feels between the left and the right. This left and right business has always confused the Bludgeoner – they all seem to be after the same things, it’s just one lot wears ghastly pinstriped suits and the other horrid hemp shirts.

It’s all academic, especially round here – and don’t they say that you can turn left or right three times and still be facing the opposite direction?

Will it be hard to leave the smoky, coal-tinged streets of Bangor in search of more prosperous and favourable climes? The Bludgeoner thinks back on his early hero Dick Whittington, driven as he was by the pursuit of edification and personal success. There was a role model for a young whippersnapper - Barbie didn’t have a job and Action Man was an oaf.

Would Dick Whittington have given a second thought to essays, rain or a vindictive traffic system? Oh no he wouldn’t. Bludge leaves Bangor with many hundreds of other studentytypes in search of bigger and better things – although it must be said that probably isn’t difficult from here.

And what does one take from such a place as this along for the ride? A charming certificate for the wall?

(Don’t hold your breath, it’s not great) A lifetime’s worth of memories? Perhaps a few hundred extra friends on Facebook (which wasn’t even invented when the Bludgeoner arrived on the scene, dagnabbit), onerous debt or a lifetime’s worth of memories. And yet…sod all that, the Bludgeoner is happy to escape intact, with a few words of Welsh and his sanity.

The Bludgeoner is a retired whelk collector and lives in Croydon with the Chuckle Brothers.

6

COMMENT BOYCOTTING:

A STUDENT TRADITION?

In a world where almost every company seems to have an unethical skeleton in the closet, how easy is it to shop with a clear conscience?

I

t seems to be the case that students just aren’t as political as they used to be.

Gone are the days when protests were a regular part of student life and NUS didn’t just roll over when a battle was just too hard to be won. Another form of protesting that has always been prevalent amongst students is boycotting. Over the years students have boycotted everything from products of apartheid regimes to the long standing Nestle boycott, but are students still politically minded enough to abstain from buying such products? The Students’ Union here in Bangor lifted its long-standing ban on selling Nestle products in its shop last year, with only one person voting against its removal at council: me.

As a boycotter of Nestle products for several years I felt that this was a step backwards. Even though I feel passionately about boycotting Nestle due to their baby milk atrocities in Africa, I am less conscientious when it comes to boycotting other companies whose policies I also disagree with. True, I tend to stay away from such multinational companies as Starbucks and McDonald’s, but I still drink Coca Cola and associated products. This despite my knowledge of their record in India of polluting local water supplies in order to create their products.

The truth is that most big companies have bad policies and it’s hard to boycott all of them. One of the hardest things about boycotting is working out which products are actually associated with the company you are trying to boycott. The truth is that big business is incestuous and companies such as Nestle have their financial fingers in lots of pies. Who would have thought, for example, that the same company who make your Kit Kat are associated with L’Oreal and even a brand of contact lens solution? Well it’s true.

So as someone who is quite well versed in the misdemeanours of big business, I am so preoccupied with what Nestle are doing and staying away from their products that I often patronise other companies with similarly bad policies. What then of the standard student? I propose that modern students are too concerned with their own affairs, essays and student debt, that boycotting is far from the forefront of their mind. This however is not a good argument to justify student apathy. Surely students who are being charged for an education by the very people who got theirs for free should be anything but apathetic.

Students in their late teens and early twenties should be fired up and ready to change the world, not sitting back and accepting our fates and letting others accept theirs. If we don’t think we can change things now, what hope is there for the future?

Caroline Alvarez

End of year edition 08

editor@seren.bangor.ac.uk

www.seren.ac.uk

COULDN’T CARE LESS? Exams are looming. Essays and dissertations have to be in really soon. And how many times this week have you thought about doing them and then decided “I can’t be bothered”? You won’t be alone because apathy in Bangor appears to be rife. Us students are well and truly living up to our lazy reputations as we are all too idle to do our work, vote in elections, even eat properly or go out. I am well and truly guilty of this as I lay on the sofa in the Editor’s office for three hours this afternoon putting off this article until she got fed up of me and made me go home. We all constantly complain that Bangor is boring, so why don’t we just go out and do something about it? Why, as young people in the ‘prime of our lives’ without any major responsibilities, are we so apathetic?

Unfortunately, as a generation we are all far too used to having everything handed to us. We live and die by our internet connection as instead of pouring through books in the library to find out something we’re not sure about whether a quick search on Google will trawl up all the information we need. We’re a generation who expect quick satisfaction meaning anything that requires more than a click of a mouse button just doesn’t interest us, unless we’re going to get pissed at the end of it.

This was demonstrated all too clearly in the recent elections for new Sabbatical Officers as only 1,000 students bothered to go out and vote (which is around a tenth of the actual Bangor student population). I sat on the polling booth on a couple of the election days and the excuses for people not voting ranged from “I don’t know who’s standing” (even though the manifestos were on the wall behind them), to the usual “I can’t be bothered”, and then of course the typical Bangor student reaction of pretending not to have seen you by avoiding eye contact and shuffling out of the door, victorious in their general ignorance. The problem is, of

course, that it’s not a good thing to be ignorant. You are not being rebellious in any way, you are just not exercising your democratic right as a student – and how would you feel if that was taken away?

Bangor students are all too quick to sit around complaining about life at the University – whether it’s as menial an issue as the fact that there’s no loo roll in Main Bar toilets or something more important such as a lack of library provisions for your course (and I bet you all ignored the recent library quality surveys). But there’s no point in sitting around complaining if you’re not going to do anything about it. Students

used to be the most politicised people in the world which was demonstrated in 1968, the heyday of the student protest. But that was forty years ago and we’re nowadays more likely to be found sitting on the sofa watching Neighbours than having a sit-in on something that actually matters. Few of us are teenagers anymore and those middle-aged middle-class days filled with cups of tea over Daily Mail induced rants about immigrants are a lot closer than you think.

Unless you already do that, in which case I don’t want to talk to you. Now is the time to live our lives, to care about things and have an opinion and a voice before we get

dragged down into the 9 to 5 rut.

I’m sorry to break this to you all, but the fact is that nowadays everyone has a degree and to really make yourself stand out to future employers it’s important to present yourself as being a little bit more than the average 2:1 graduate. One way to do this is to get involved: be it through student politics, a society or with the student media there are so many opportunities in Bangor to pad out your CV. You might even make new friends – you might even make friends with me, if you’re lucky and don’t mention the Daily Mail.

Emma Dixon

FACEHOOKED Have you ever found yourself checking Facebook every ten minutes incase something crucial has happened? Then this article is dedicated to you...

A

necdotally, the usual Facebook conversation allocates people to one of three categories:

1. Why would I ever want that website in my life?

2. I do have it and am slightly scared of it. How exactly does one poke or be poked?

3. It’s like crack.

I’m sure you are all familiar with such responses and being students, I would hazard a guess that you probably fall into category number three. These days, if you don’t have Facebook you cease to exist, which is strange considering the innate pointlessness of the site. Essentially Facebook is a place where otherwise sensible people waste hours of their life by entering lots of details that their friends already know, so that said friends can read

them again, in a different place.

Recently, Facebook stalking has become one of my specialist skills. Some people can fold a piece of paper seven times and make it look like a swan; others can down a pint of Guinness without swallowing; but I can find out if that boy you quite fancy is sleeping with that girl you hate, armed with only a first name and a keyboard. On Facebook, people don’t indulge in all that ‘BigBannana69’ pseudonym nonsense common to Myspace and this means that if you do wish to find out whom the love of your life is sleeping with, your mission is made much easier; however, whether this is actually a good thing remains to be seen.

Imagine logging on to Facebook and ‘Miss-oh-dear-that-ended-rather-badly-andnow-my-friends-roll-their-eyes-and-giveeach-other-looks-of-concern-whenever-

she-is-mentioned’ has kindly added you as a friend. Once you have accepted, your news feed is bombarded with her fantastic new life and her fantastic new man, complete with fantastic new photos. Perhaps one day Facebook will treat you to an automatic update of every time they have fantastic new sex, but for now you are spared such a treat.

Then there are the groups. I’m sure you’ll agree there is endless amounts of fun to be had searching for a collection of people with whom you share the same beliefs/life traumas/ general hatred of the world. Most recently I joined “My Friends Are Getting Married. I’m Just Getting Drunk” and tragic as that sounds, it is most certainly true. Other groups I’ve spotted in the Bangor network include: “The Music at Trash has gone CRAP”; “The Old Man of Varsity Bangor Appreciation Society”; “I Am Sick of Being Hassled By Charities on

Bangor High Street!” and “Bangor Medieval Re-enactment Society” (although I am struggling to believe that this is an actual society…). As you can see, these groups serve a vital purpose to the students of Bangor. Where else could you dream of meeting like-minded people who appreciate the presence of an old man in a student bar?

So there you go, if you’re doing coursework, dissertations, revision or defrosting the freezer, Facebook is there to offer you the perfect procrastination tool. I expect I’ll be seeing you on there soon… probably in the “BANGOR Family Guy Appreciation Massiv’” group.

Jo Caulfield

7

End of year edition 08

www.seren.ac.uk

GOODBYE! S

o, I say thank you for the memories. Right, well we are finally at the end. This is Seren’s final issue of the academic year and my final issue as Seren’s Features Editor and my own personal last issue. I am just so glad I got involved in the newspaper; I will be taking away some amazing memories. I would like to thank the whole team, past and present for their support and friendship.

I know I will really miss everything about the paper and at least when I’m bored doing a silly 9-5 job I will able to think back and smile at the thought of spending hours laughing with my friends. I really hope you have enjoyed the Features page and I wish the new Features Editor, Bianca Murray all the best next year.

Thanks once again!

Siobhan Holt

MAKING LIFE DECISIONS EARLY: ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE

T

here appears to be, in modern British society, a mentality which leads us to believe our most important and decisive life decisions are ones that must be made early in our lives. In reality of course people cannot possibly make fully informed or appropriate ‘life decisions’ as they are termed at the impressionable age of sixteen, seventeen or even eighteen. For some a definite mindset from a young age is unquestionably present and one they may well sustain throughout late adolescence and into adulthood. ‘I want to be a teacher’ or ‘I want to be a nurse’ some might say and this may well be what they go on to do. For the majority though I would suggest life is more complex than this. We would like to sideline the reality of complicating factors, but after all they do exist. Family, finance, early educational attainment and self-esteem will all play a part in the decision-making process of and life goal pursuit of many people and this needs to be remembered. I have met many an aspiring academic who wishes to establish and pursue a successful career in research and university level teaching, many an aspiring writer, philosopher or artist but how many of them despite their burning desire will really achieve these ambitions? Only some I would suggest. It is not that ability, competence, nor motivation are an issue for any of these individuals but rather that they have not the financial resources to embark upon such missions.

Similarly, the psychological resourcefulness of an individual may not be sufficient at the mere age of eighteen to make life-changing decisions about the best way through which to channel their interests or abilities (assuming that is that they have at this stage established firm long-term interests). What I am suggesting therefore is that we, as a society should be more open minded about age and ability, age and time, age and

FEATURES

features@seren.bangor.ac.uk

competence. There is more to be said for the ‘mature’ student of law (as an example), someone with perhaps a broader outlook on the world (although admittedly not always!): prior experience in perhaps a more diverse arena or more importantly someone who has made their decision not because of school pressure, a ‘necessity’ to ‘tick boxes’, impress league tables or follow their friends. Rather, someone who commits him or herself in every sense of the word to a career path, which they are sure is most suited to them and subsequently is in the best interests of their community, who in the long-term will benefit from this newfound expertise. I fear that an often unjustified tendency to overlook the aspirant thirty something year old exists. Despite that is, their genuine desire to enter at a later stage in life the demands of a challenging or time consuming training/career path. Few at this age make uninformed decisions about such matters that might in the short term prove financially detrimental.

They have grown to understand themselves, their strengths, interests and most importantly, their weaknesses. A spectrum of selfknowing, which I would suggest is more of a rarity in the average psyche of the late teen.

Do not misquote me, there is many a nurse, doctor, social worker, teacher, care assistant, bank clerk, book seller and bee keeper who have made their decisions to enter such a profession early in life and have done so with genuine commitment and passion. But, lets not fail to acknowledge that some discover themselves later in life and do so with more to offer the occupation than we care to recognise. Time is always an issue but time is also an asset. An asset I would like to think holds value, for experience of the world is priceless.

BRENDON BURNS HITS BANGOR lost in time he gained in laughs. I have never witnessed a comic take something as ordinary and everyday as a power ballad love song and make it into a gag that had me crying in my seat; and it takes someone seriously funny to make me laugh like that.

Brendan. Brooding, presumably.

Not for a long time have I witnessed a comedian from 12,000 resh from his win at the Intelligent Finance Comedy Awards for best com- miles away pinpoint the comedy vacuum edy show, Brendon Burns is continu- that is The Blue Room in Liverpool, and the ing his Under Educated European tour and humour that is unique to the Welsh. Only in made his mark on Bangor on the 25th April. Bangor will you find a soundman that does Judging from what I knew of him, he was not know how to work an iPod. Some of his deemed racist, sexist, ageist and everything jokes could have been considered controelse-ist. Described by The Stage as “a tre- versial; further reinforcing the warning that mendous thrill to see a comedian who has some people may find his material offensive. been excelling at his craft for years reach a Princess Diana and the war on terror pushed new peak.” I had high expectations of this the boundary between funny and offensive comic; however he did not start well open- but again that’s what he is famous for. Theing his show forty minutes late. Yet what he atr Gwynedd described him as “a rare sociopolitical comic willing to oppose all schools

F

of thought.” Proven by his comments about Madonna’s controversial adoption, Michael Barrymore’s “indiscretions”, and the point of the monarchy. From relationships to previous addictions he is unafraid to bare all; this allows the audience to not only laugh at his misfortunes, but also his ideas behind a trust between the audience and performer. This made his comedy seem much more genuine and real to life, apart from his technique of endearing himself onto his girlfriends mum.

Ultimately Burns is the epitome of the saying ‘honesty is the best policy’; getting you the most laughs and a bloody good night for the audience. A final word of warning to those of you considering going to see Brendon Burns - if you’re Scouse or bringing a Scouse friend, be prepared to be the butt of most of his jokes; especially if you are of the chav persuasion.

Bianca Murray

ARCANII TAKE ON STRATFORD

A

rcanii is the Bangor University English Literature Society and we aim to explore and promote all the different aspects of literature. We kicked off this academic year with film showings for the Students’ Union and one of our now legendary School of English quiz nights. Our aim is to put the joy back in to literature by arranging cinema trips, a book club and creative writing competitions. How many opportunities do you get to hear poetry about Hedonistic, Hermaphrodite sheep? (The results of a rather silly creative writing event) We have held poetry readings for both published and original work, but by far the highlights of the year have been our theatre trips. These have ranged from a trip to Liverpool to see a performance of all the Harry Potter books by two men(!), through an insight into what would have happened if Tarantino had directed Macbeth and finally with a trip to Stratford to see an amazing Royal Shakespeare Company Production of the Merchant of Venice, a visit to Shakespeare’s Birth place and the rather spooky Falstaff experience.

The year will be rounded off with the publication of our society associated magazine INK which continues to promote all aspects of literature and student writing in Bangor. If you have an interest in any area of literature from film, theatre to creative and non-creative writing come along to one of our weekly meetings in the Greek Tavern on Holyhead Road at 7.30pm each Thursday.

Visit our home page www.undeb.bangor.ac.uk/arcanii/

Joanna Crossley Aaron Wyn Pritchard

WE HAD SO MANY FILM COMPETITIONS THEY WOULDN’T ALL FIT ON THE PAGE...

Standing Still Competition

What’s this? More DVDs to give away? Aren’t we generous?! We have one copy of Standing Still to be given away to you lucky readers To win the DVD, answer the following question: Name the Bret Easton Ellis adaptation James Van Der Beek starred in.

E-mail your answers to film@seren.bangor.ac.uk with the subject line “Standing Still competition” by the 15th of May. The winner will be notified by e-mail shortly afterwards.

The Backwoods Competition

To be in with a chance of winning a copy of the film, answer the following question: In the film Dead Man’s Shoes, who did Paddy Considine’s character Richard seek to avenge?

E-mail your answer to film@seren.bangor.ac.uk with the subject line “The Backwoods Competition” by the 15th of May. The winner will be notified by e-mail shortly afterwards.

8

FEATURES

End of year edition 08

features@seren.bangor.ac.uk

www.seren.ac.uk

Reviewed a n d

Re ve al ed !

Diary of a Chinese Minion An Audience Perspective B

W

e were working on Thoroughly Modern Millie for approximately six and a half months and encountered all the problems you’d expect from a student run production. People had gone mad; relationships had been forged (and broken); people went mad again… and then they headed for the pub.

In amongst all this craziness there was the tapping, the singing, the desperately trying not to kill the director for going through the same scene for the fifth time that week and the animosity towards the choreographer for insisting on redoing a dance routine because one person put their hands up in the wrong direction.

Finally we were there in the theatre, realising that whether we knew our lines or not, we had to put on a show. Being a first year and thus a first-time SODA member was intimidating, especially when I was surrounded by people that had not only done it once, twice and (in two cases) almost ten times! Take that, add a swirl of being cast in a lead part and you’ve got one hell of a strain on my nervous system. I can’t speak for the other “newbies” as we became known, but I knew I was bricking it. Big time. All over the shop. But people were lovely and helpful in giving advice and guidance on how to

deal with the inevitable pre-show visions of falling into the pit or tripping over the props due to a quick costume change.

Blink and you’re backstage, stuffing Miss Flannery’s boobs with as much tissue paper as you can whilst listening to the stage manager’s voice through the intercom demanding you get on stage. Then, the microphone breaks. You have to deal with it there and then because in thirty seconds you’ll be entertaining a hundred people with a badly thought out Chinese accent, and a dance routine that involves almost kicking the conductor of the band in the teeth.

Once on stage I was awkward, nervous but having so much fun that it was untrue. I dropped the lead during the opening dance (but shhh no-one’s supposed to know!); Miss Dorothy’s door very nearly swung and hit her in the face, and I’m pretty sure that the Chinese society realised my on-stage partner forgot his lines repeatedly, but I loved every second of it. Rehearsals aren’t even the half of it, you step out on a stage that’s being demolished in the very near future one night, and the next you’re at the pub missing the experience. And that’s it.

Until the next time we decide to put on a show.

And I honestly cannot wait.

angor’s premier student performance group SODA (Student Operatic and Dramatic Association) has been thrilling the students with their performances since 1987. Past performances have included Summer Holiday, Guys and Dolls and Hot Mikado but to name a few.

However their chosen musical production for 2008, the Tony Award winning Thoroughly Modern Millie has truly set the bar for next year.

Thoroughly Modern Millie is set in New York in the fashionable 1920’s. Millie Dillmount arrives from Kansas determined to make it as an actress and intent on marrying her rich boss in whatever form he takes.

With musical numbers that will have you tapping in your seat and impeccable comic timing from the very professional cast, Millie is sure to be a performance that goes down in history for everyone. SODA have without a doubt surpassed themselves with the musical talent offered in this production. I will be the first to admit I was skeptical when I heard that Thoroughly Modern

Millie was their chosen production; in my mind no one would ever play Millie Dillmount quite like Julie Andrews. I am also willing to admit when I am wrong; I was extremely impressed with SODA’s choice of lead in Ellen Gallagher. She has one of the most captivating voices I have heard in a long time, her portrayal of Millie was nothing short of amazing, Broadway had better make room for this girl! However I can’t mention just one member of the cast for their stellar vocal talent; the principal cast were nothing short of spectacular. One of my many favourite scenes from this musical was “Falling in Love”; absolutely beautifully choreographed and the casting of Miss Dorothy and Mr. Graydon could not have been more perfect. I don’t think Webber could even have done it.

One element of the show that really stunned me was that the two ‘Chinese’ characters had actually learnt to speak Chinese, with members of the cast holding the translations. I thought this was a very good interpretation of sticking to the text and

communicating with the audience through this language barrier. It would not have been Thoroughly Modern Millie without Ching Ho and Bun Foo. To say that the performance was fantastic would be a massive understatement. For a group of students to put on a production of that standard is unbelievable and the performance was a credit to all involved.

Thoroughly Modern Millie would in my opinion put a lot of stage shows I have seen to shame! So for those of you out there who are interested in becoming part of SODA, visit their page on the Students’ Union website, dust off your dancing shoes and warm up those vocals! On behalf of Seren I would like to congratulate all involved with the production for a truly exceptional show and wish them every success for their future performances. Who knows, maybe the next star of Broadway and the West End could be found here in Bangor? Watch this space!

Bianca Murray

Jake Basford

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch- Changes!

Time to make a change!

And indeed we have. This year, Nightline has undergone many, many changes.

All of our lovely Nightliners have been incredibly dedicated to ensure that we not only maintain the high standards which

have been set during previous years, but to excel them with outstanding efforts.

We have seen our number of volunteers increase, which is, of course, crucial.

A Nightline without its volunteers is like a seminar without the lecturer; a room full of students with no one to listen to them... pointless!

This has, in turn, resulted in a larger volume of callers. This is a very positive step, as we can be assured that we are reaching even more students within the university. It’s important that you fellow students of Bangor know about our service and just how useful it is – for both listening and in-

formation. What more could you need? We are here just for you, and do remember that we shall be running Nightline, 8pm-8am, right until the end of the term.

Our committee are the guys who work very hard to keep Nightline running as smoothly as possible, and this year has been no exception. Our annual review saw huge changes to the service, changes which shall improve us for the even better! For example, we will now be running as an organisation under Student Volunteering Bangor (SVB), which means that we shall receive even more support and funding to further our efficiency.

The committee also organise every other aspect of Nightline, such as fundraising, training, rota and publicity, all of which we would be lost without. This year has seen two excellent training sessions for new volunteers, a whole new colourful website, a far fuller rota and much, much more. The committee this year really has achieved success in creating a better Nightline... but we are assured that next year’s team will provide them with a run for their money and an even better Nightline for you.

We will look forward to seeing you all at Serendipity next term, where you can sign up to become a volunteer yourself and help

to give back to your student community.

So, to all who have contributed to the success of Nightline this year, can you all please give yourselves a huge pat on the back (not too hard) and due to our Nightliners having to remain completely anonymous, here is our completely anonymous way of saying: To everyone who has made Nightline such a success this year, and you know who you are, Thank you, We appreciate it.

9

features@seren.bangor.ac.uk

End of year edition 08

www.seren.ac.uk

During an especially lean spell it’s always useful to have a cheap, tasty, and versatile recipe up your sleeve. This is that recipe. This is the answer to your prayers.

Passata Poor Person’s lly), which make an excellent base for a tomaton-

ica r the tinned cou (sieved tomatoes, bas s’. The advantages ove Tetrapaks of passata sauce: read ‘tomatoe ato the lump-squashm tom recently discovered fro ic joy bas le y litt ver a a especially lazy, making (I admit to ’re you ssle to lug home ver ha ate s sauce – or, if you’re wh les in d tons are cheaper, an they’re not as lumpy d: car , fol ta) eessa thr pa e to have a bit are of nic rts ard terpa I had not he nt for this one – it’s tins. This is because of an actual basil pla omparable to es inc aci ric are d int ad the ing associated with ves h lea worth dabbling wit and the flavour the it’s o, ap, Als che ps. tty sho pre the are from themselves the place, the plants of greenery around mine. g lin kil p kee I h ug that of dried. Altho

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carton of Passata ½ cloves of garlic 1-3 shallot an onion; or 1 whole ½ ng apart – and d pe rip il, bas d in the fridge, growi 6 leaves of onion hanging aroun an under a frying lf it ha sh ing ma – hav e lic shallots because I hat you will with the gar at use wh (I t do llo d minutes, until sha an , ple the bes Slice into tiny cu dium heat for a cou te a little sweeter) up smell. Fry over a me cific six basil the spe y of ver rid r get also because they tas you d to ad gh, and to finish, salt on your fingers ou rub thr t at bu s). If you’re he it, day p ta, few cho ssa pa or ry pan nt gingerly only eve t’s done, slosh in the pla tha the hen ter W the trick; wa nt.

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Pea Soup

BY JOEL GOLBY

could easily make a com ment about this being ‘easy-peasy’, but I wil light and seasonal (al l refrain. I’m better tha though, seeing as the n that. This soup is qu recipe calls for frozen time I made this I add ite peas, that is almost wh ed some chopped Ch olly irrelevant). The fi orizo, aiming for som added very little to the rst e level of ‘pea and ham soup but for some my ’ emulation, but it rea sterious orange flecks. into the mix, be my gue lly So if you have some cur st, but don’t expect any ed meat you want to thing but colour for you the onion, you can jus throw r trouble. This recipe t have the rest of the is great because, other ingredients in cupbo a really old onion. than ards or freezers, in ant icipation. Or you cou ld just use 1 Onion/shallot 3 Cups of boiling wa ter 1 Oxo cube; vegetable or chicken ½ teaspoon of cardamom pods, crushed 1/3 Cup of oats 1 Cup, per person, of frozen peas As with every one of my recipes, it starts my frying an onion, alth has suitably fried, add ough this time, with your oats (Note: Ready cardamom pods. Wh brek = epic, epic failure they will smell like po en that ), mix them a bit, but pcorn, and nobody wil don’t cook them (becau l want to eat green, po now, and the three cup se pcorny-porridge). Ad s of water which will d you ma r peas at any stage fro ke up the body of the unwrap it – that took m soup. Add an Oxo cub me 19 years to learn) e (crush it, in the foil, , stir, bring the whole unlike other soups, for then lot to the boil until the any longer than 10 mi peas are cooked. Cooki nutes really adds nothi important. Regardless ng this, ng to the flavour – but of how patiently you stand there with a po blending the soup is you don’t have one, thi tato masher, you can all nk about making livi not do the job of a ble ng arrangements for with salt and pepper nder – if next year with someon to taste, and a nice chu e who does. Serve ho nk of baguette. t or cold,

DOCTOR, DOCTOR...

Bites and stings:

These are more prevalent in the summer and can be annoying and itchy. Spending an increased amount of time outside, you can very quickly become easy meat! Early mornings and evenings are the preferred feeding times for mosquitoes, however it is worth remembering that mites, ants and fleas are also common causes for irritating insect bites.

Dehydration

S

ummer is a great time to be outside and enjoy the weather.

As much as we may enjoy spending as much time as possible outside playing, working, eating, cooking or simply relaxing, summer activities bring additional risks to your health. Be sure to be safe this summer by knowing the health risks.

This is common during summer because your body sweats more. You need to make sure you ‘up’ your fluid intake. Dehydration is caused by not drinking enough fluid or by losing fluid and not replacing it. If you lose essential body salts, you will be unable to keep the body fluids in balance.

Symptoms include: dry mouth, eyes or lips, dry, loose skin with a lack of elasticity, sunken features, particularly the eyes, clammy hands and feet, headaches, dizziness,

tiredness, confusion and irritability, loss of appetite, burning sensation in your stomach, feeling of an ‘empty stomach or abdominal pain, low urine output, and concentrated, dark urine with a strong odour.

Treatment: Rehydrate your body by drinking plenty of fluid. Drink a rehydration drink that contains all the essential ingredients that you need to re-establish the right balance of body fluids. Drinking too much plain water can make the problem worse because it can further dilute the minerals, salts and sugars in your body. Why not try a sweet drink, as it can be useful for replacing lost sugar, or even a salty snack like a packet of crisps to help replace lost salts.

Foot care

Wearing flip flops or open sandals during the summer can play havoc with your feet especially your heels, so it is important to make sure you look after them. Remember to wash

The Great

LIFESTYLE

Orme

For the final time, Sophie De L’Orme tells us all how to feel good on the inside, as well as on the outside.

W

ell I can’t believe I’m writing this, but this is my final column for SEREN. It has been great to finally do and write something I am passionate about and hopefully be a step in the right direction for the journalism career I want to embark on. I will take a different perspective in this column. I want to comment on the inside of us, as really appearance and clothes are not what makes us who we are, it’s our insides and personality.

We are all unique and what is on the outside is just surplus to our complex working human body and mind.

Take care of your body, be healthy, have treats, exercise, laugh, be with your friends and make the most of the opportunities that Bangor can offer you, I certainly have. But back to fashion. It’s a debatable topic but is it really that important? Well, the countless magazines, models and shops tell us it is and we still buy into it. What I am trying to say is you can’t escape getting dressed and what you wear is your choice. No-one can make you wear anything you don’t want.

Long gone are the school uniform days (apart from on sexy ‘schoolie nights’) but seriously our parents can’t dictate what we wear, they may have an opinion, but we are on our own with this one. That can have scary results for some, though for most people, we try to look nice. And it’s really important in our daily lives to keep our self-esteem up. We are ‘worth it,’ in the ‘Loreal style,’ but we are genuinely worth the effort. If wearing a nice pair of jeans and your favourite T-shirt and earrings sets you up for the day, why on earth shouldn’t you do it.

How many TV programmes are

there trying to make women and men feel better on the outside, claiming that it can change the way you feel about yourself? When you go to the hairdressers, have it dyed, cut and washed and you leave there, thinking ‘yeah this is nice’, feeling good about yourself.

Even better is when you go clothes shopping and find some great buys that last. We all know the clothes we just don’t throw away, even T-shirts that become bed-wear. Ladies, keep it up, if buying a new colourful eye shadow or mascara that makes you like your features better and enhance your beauty, do it! Every now and again we need a lift, even if it is simply a new necklace, earrings, jeans or a bag. They all work together in this great fashion cycle we live in, and who doesn’t want to look good?

Who doesn’t feel better inside when someone comments on your clothes or hair, saying ‘that’s nice, cool, looks good’? You walk away thinking ‘yeah, cheers.’ That is the real essence of fashion. Don’t be a slave to it and make yourself wear trends that may not suit you, be yourself, buy what you like that fits and makes you look pretty damn fine in those awful changing room mirrors.

And don’t forget underwear! A good bra can do wonders for your figure; support is necessary and there are all kinds to suit your figure. So, strip all the layers, get nice underwear, clothes, coats and accessories and live it up. We are only young once, with these figures and freedom, so make of it and be gorgeous xxxxxxxx

Sophie De L’Orme

Dr Rashesh tells us how to survive the impending summer months your feet everyday and dry them thoroughly especially between the toes as that is where athlete’s foot most commonly starts.

Sunburn

In the summer, take care not to overdo being exposed to the sun’s harmful rays. If in the unfortunate event your body has become sunburnt, you should stay in the shade until sunburn has healed, cool the skin, drink plenty of fluids, but avoid alcohol as it will dehydrate you further.

If sunburn is mild, apply a moisturising lotion or a special after sun cream from a pharmacy. Calamine lotion can also be used to relieve itching and soreness.

Painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen can also help to relieve

pain and reduce swelling.

Hay fever

Hay fever affects 15 to 20% of the population in Britain. The main hay fever season in central Britain starts in the first half of June and continues to mid-July or occasionally early August.

Symptoms include sneezing, runny nose or blocked nose, itching in the nose, throat and deep in the ears, headache due to sinusitis.

The most commonly used treatment options for hay fever are: antihistamine nose sprays, antihistamine tablets, steroid nose sprays and eye drops.

For more queries or questions please do not hesitate to contact me on: health4u_78@yahoo.com

10

TRAVEL

End of year edition 08

travel@seren.bangor.ac.uk

Au Revoir! MEMORIES...

T

his issue brings to a close my year as travel editor, and the sub-editor team behind Seren are busy welcoming in next year’s crew. As of yet there is no successor to the post of travel editor, so I am taking my chance to say adieu.

Over the year I have learnt a lot about travelling, and I hope that you have too.

There are several elements of travelling that interest me. Firstly, and this is what I have tried to govern my page by this year, experience. Experience at anything is invaluable (I have a feeling I am going to discover this more and more as I leave Uni.) but travel experience, that goes a long way. There’s the benefits for your C.V., there’s your overall worldly wisdom, not to mention that righthook learnt from barging through the male masses in Delhi goat market!

When we go travelling, I think we automatically look for what we don’t have - after all, isn’t that what we spend our lives looking for? When I was lying on a beach in Goa, an Indian women approached me selling jewellery, and she said it was strange, how my friend and I were lying on a beach trying to brown our skin, yet she wanted her skin to be paler- in her words, she wanted to be white.

This may strike you as wrong and dreadful, but it’s no different from us craving a tan every summer. Surely it boils down to the fact that we’re not always happy in our own skin? One woman doesn’t constitute a fact, but the principle is a guidance for our travels. I dressed up in the most elaborate ‘saris’ whilst I was away, and I felt like a princess, someone I’m not in England.

I have many wonderful memories of travelling, as well as some absolutely awful ones. Feeling very ill upon my arrival in Calcutta, I collapsed into a hostel bed, and threw my bag on the one next to it- that is, on top of a fellow traveller. It is not the best way to make friends. The best memory I have of India- well there are many, but nothing beats getting off the plane on the other side of the world for the first time, and nothing beats a seven year old child running up to you, desperate to simply practise her English and say hello.

There is a whole world out there, each place is different to our own. The physical experiences are wide and various too.

You can only ride a Gondola in Venice, and a camel trek through the Rajastani desert can’t be compared to any other place in the world.

As far as I know, the prostitutes in Amsterdam are some of the most liberal anywhere.

Those neon lights they advertise under are unforgettable.

I like a place to come back to and call home, but the world waits for no one. I plan to sneak off every now and then to find a new experience. I hope this year I have shown you that any experience is valuable, and that there’s so much to be had out there.

I have had a wonderful time as travel editor, and I’ve learnt a lot. All I have left to say is that time waits for no man. If you have some where you want to go. Go. In the words of Satan (gosh I hope you watch South Park otherwise that’s going to sound wrong) “… there’s such a big world up there, I’d like to give it a try!”

Never has the phrase Bon Voyage had a more literal meaning!

Rachel Eales

FOOTBALLS FOR FUN

T

here are many innovative volunteer holidays around at the moment, each one promising something new.

Acacia Adventure Holidays new campaign, in line with the charity ‘Footballs for fun’, invites tourists to purchase a football for the price of ten pounds, which will then be given away en route through Africa. ‘Footballs for fun’ is a new charity that was set up when it was revealed that South Africa would host the 2010 FIFA World Cup, so there is no better time to get involved.

The money raised through the purchase of these footballs goes to helping the many Africans that suffer from HIV, malaria, TB and polio. As well as this, the footballs themselves are welcome gifts. When I went to India, we were advised that the children would appreciate gifts of notebooks, pencils, pens; anything practical really. Football is a nationwide sport, and the amount of happiness a simple football can provide a group of children is amazing. I’ve seen the smiles from a simple pencil, I can only imagine the joy a football would bring. A variety of things will pass for a ball in Africa, even as little as

a screwed up bit of paper tied together with string. This trip gives tourists a chance to get up close and personal with the local population. A game of football is a great way to make new friends and travellers are encouraged to join in with the locals.

There is one requirement of the company, all footballs bought must be Fairtrade. It’s a great opportunity and beneficial in more ways than one!

Visit www.acacia-africa.com for more details. It’s charitable, it’s a new experience and it sounds like good fun, what could be better?

Rachel Eales

www.seren.ac.uk

A LUCKY ESCAPE!

I

t’s not every day you get to climb a volcano, so when the opportunity arose while I was travelling in Chile last year I jumped at the chance. The only trouble was that it was due to erupt at any moment, in fact it was overdue. Never mind, we thought, let’s take the risk. So up we went regardless of, although perhaps a little paranoid about any rumblings. We made it up to the smouldering crater, and more importantly back down again (in style too, whizzing back to earth in flume-like chutes in the snow) without getting blown apart.

Imagine my shock a week later then when I heard it had erupted (at night thankfully and it was not a spectacular eruption, so no-one was hurt) but I still considered it pretty good timing!

Joe Firth

SUN, SEA AND A SAILBOAT

S

ixteen of us went to Greece for an adventure training course. We spent the days sailing around the Greek islands; it was still thirty odd degrees at the start of October, very strange but I wasn’t complaining! Even if there was a bit of wind (good for the sailing) it was still warm enough that we didn’t have to wear more than a pair of shorts over our bikinis (except the boys, who declined to wear a stunning two-piece).

The weather was so clear, it made the views amazing. We stopped in one bay where the sea was so clear you could see right to the bottom, despite being in over thirty metres of water- to put that into perspective, there’s normally two to three metres of visibility in the UK waters.

We anchored in towns most nights, and after dinner, which we either cooked for ourselves in the galley or got from a seafront restaurant, we would normally go exploring (exploring for the local shops and bars that is!) The local people were always very helpful and charming, even the smallest docks had an air of busyness, and yet people were doing things at a very relaxed pace, as though they had

all the time in the world.

While staying on the Island of Poros, we made friends with a local bar keeper, who told us about the local nightclub. We had a fantastic drunken night as a result, and everyone woke up with headaches the next morning. The great thing about sailing is that you meet some very different people; during those five days I met people from all over Europe. Most nights we just sat and chatted on the docks with our new European friends. Everyone helps each other out, whether they know them or not. The last day exploring Athens was fantastic, though the heat was almost unbearable after having the sea breeze for the past week. It was amazing how these ancient buildings just sprang out of the usual hustle and bustle of the city.

The Acropolis was amazing it just takes your breath away to think how old these buildings are, yet they still stand today.

Catriona Rollason

A break from Bangor

W

ell well… my final column already. This year has actually flown by! Now I don’t want this to turn into some rambling introspective about ‘what I’ve learnt about myself this year’. I don’t want it to, but I have a feeling it might.

This year, I have actually learned a lot.

Mostly academically, with regards to my French and Spanish abilities, but there have been a lot of personal and cultural revelations as well

I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to spend an entire academic year living abroad I’ve learned that my previous two years at Bangor have left me far more independent than I originally thought. I’m thrilled that I’ve managed to cope on my own in not one, but two foreign countries, one of which I’d never even visited before. When I first arrived in Brest, I didn’t know anyone there, I didn’t know the city and I didn’t know the University. By the end of the first week, I’d learned my way around the city, made friends, organised my timetable and even braved the bus network. And I had the time of my life doing it.

As a result of being thrown in at the deep end in my first semester, I settled into life in Valencia a lot faster. Admittedly, I have a had a friend from Bangor with me here which helped a lot, but I knew that whatever happened, I could deal with it because I’d already done it all once.

If you’re ever offered the chance to spend a year abroad as part of your course, take it. It’s been an amazing experience and I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to spend an entire academic year living abroad with no exams, no assignments and no worries. Add the extra financial incentives (no tuition fees, a higher rate of loan and non-repayable grant from the British Council) and you’d be stupid not to do it.

It hasn’t all been perfect; I’d be lying if I said it had. Yes, parts of it have been tough, there’s been the language barrier, particularly here in Valencia, there have been moments of complete culture-shock and there have been many times when I’ve really missed England, my family and my boyfriend.

So, all things considered, would I do it again? Abso-bloody-lutely!

Loran Perkins I’d just like to add – Good luck and thank you to everyone in 3rd year who knows me – Dan, Joey, the fabulous Miss Emma Dodd, the Seren Team (especially Rachel) and last, but by no means least, my two girls, Siobhan and Sadie, you’ve been amazing, I love you both, thank you so much for everything.

11

End of year edition 08

www.seren.ac.uk

1983 19 8 8

25 Years of SEREN

25 YEARS

25 Years of SEREN

25 Years of SEREN

T

he formation of Y SEREN back in 1983 wasn’t the first newspaper the university had ever had. In fact, student newspapers here at Bangor can be traced back just about as far as the university itself. For a long time there was Forecast (notice the name has resurfaced with The Storm Forecast) which ran for many years and retailed at the bargain price of 5p. Then, at the beginning of the eighties the publication was called Graffiti before being relaunched as Y SEREN, Welsh for The Star. Somewhere along the line we’ve lost the ‘Y’, but SEREN is still going strong twenty five years later.

Originally printed by Copycat printers, SEREN was an A4 publication, produced in black and white with an occasional extra colour added to the front page. The number of pages varied due to the amount of content generated, throughout the eighties, as did the price. Times must have been hard financially for SEREN in 1985, since after the proud claims in the first ever issue of SEREN about it being free, they started charging 5p an issue for a brief time, before resuming free status once more. For one issue they charged 20p and all the profits went to Band Aid and for another, 10p to Children In Need in 1986.

Back when the university was University College of North Wales, SEREN had a spate of articles about animal welfare issues and the arguments for and against abortion were a regular feature.

As well as local and student news, topics covered events such as the civil war in Nicaragua and atrocities in Iran. There was much coverage of Nelson Mandela with a bar in the Union named The Mandela Bar and calls to boycott apartheid. Welsh was also found within SEREN and my favourite headline from these years is “A Kick In The Halls” next to a picture of Emrys Evans – some things never change. It was during the eighties that the spoof article, “Ski-lift comes true!” appeared in SEREN, suggesting that a ski-lift would connect St Mary’s site to Main Arts.

Regular features included ‘Aardvark’, which seems to have been an events listing; ‘The Wall’ which was a piece of paper which students were encouraged to doodle and make comments on, was then printed in the paper; and a regular cartoon called ‘Taste’, which was often anything but tasteful. It was replaced by ‘Jim Parcio’ in 1987. SEREN reviewed bands that played in the city, albums and often had interviews with musicians; ‘Steeleye Stan’ seemed to be a favourite of theirs. Both the Welcome Week Ball and the Christmas Ball were featured in SEREN and in 1984, the Christmas edition featured SEREN’s very own version of the nativity, casting members of the Students’ Union in key roles. I wonder what Paul Ashley, Union President who was cast as all three wise men is doing now? SEREN ran adverts for everything from local fashion shops and banks to the Octagon, which was named ‘Discotheque of the Year ‘86’. It also documented the demise of Dr Who; nice to see that it has returned within SEREN’s lifetime and a colour TV license was £58 back in 1987.

The SEREN archive of the last twenty five years will soon be available online. You’ll be able to check out issues from the year you were born or read articles about clubs that you’re involved in and see how they’ve changed. The archive will be available at www.seren.bangor.ac.uk from summer 2008

Emma Dodd

25 Years

12

GOODBYE GRADUATES

End of year edition 08

www.seren.ac.uk

SEREN MEETS THE CLASS OF 2008 My favourite memory is being accidentally filmed for S4C’s ‘Rownd a Rownd’ whilst showing my American friend what a pier is!

I’ll never forget when I went skinny dipping with the University surf team in Newquay

Chris Thompson Psychology

Siobhan Holt

English Literature with English Language

Amy Garrett Ocean Science

Natalie Sellers

History and Archaeology

In first year I made my male flatmate dress in my red lacy underwear and walk round the whole Ffridd site

I organised a meal for my housemate’s birthday. It was beautiful to have all my friends and food in the same place!

My friends and I sitting on the beach, enjoying the sunshine.

There’s nothing like a cancelled lecture to bring on the cider and time wasting in the sun

Daniel Rich

Religious Studies.

ALL PHOTOS BY GARETH ROBERTS

13

GOODBYE GRADUATES

End of year edition 08

www.seren.ac.uk

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE MEMORY OF YOUR TIME HERE?

My 21st birthday was fantastic. Not paying for my drinks was brilliant but I wasn’t a pretty picture the next day!

Sadie Williams

Welsh History and Archaeology

When it snowed, my friends and I used an ironing board as a sledge.

It promptly snapped in half

Emma Dodd Miss Bangor I’ve loved just sitting in the sun with my friends.

I will really miss Roman Camp, it’s amazing in the summer

It’s got to be getting Frank Turner to play a gig in my kitchen on Ffridd site in first year!

That was awesome

Ian Davies

English and Film studies

I’ll definitely never forget hammering Warwick at canoe polo and winning a bronze medal for it

Dan Ward

Marine Biology and Zoology

Joseph Redhead Electronic Engineering

14

YEAR IN REVIEW

End of year edition 08

THAT WAS THE

www.seren.ac.uk

r o g n a B

n w o r goes B

e e r p s e m i r c r o g

Ban THE YEAR IN NUMBERS

1

3 5 1800 1 26 4000 4 3 national earthquake passed completely unnoticed in Bangor

different Seren Editors - it’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it

new Sabbatical officers as voted for by you

chord played by the bearded guitar man

students graduating. Go and do something useful...

protests for worthy causes

SIN nights held in Academi (bloody students)

new societies set up within the Students’ Union

CDs stuck on the front of copies of SEREN

e 2007 rs’ Issu

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And UK” when mon location for talTu ents with would mea oturf pitch on the to Neuadd Will of potential char of £11.75 y big town as the acco of the need of and s of student dy of student these stud There are Site, external phoncontent insurance list ed damage Banpart of man ough in The Astr all other form ed up by many venture capi Willis hit pack’, so nobobut , 54-item floodlit pitch the city of receive any ds for alleg and tested and (alth to use. have than ome e. huge for it, us ity dy poun tried ranc uct ‘welc lapp only two as of urio facil oodl ged ed, alrea in their good s such tional insu a new prod hundreds Site is fl inly chan the deal was to a year in upmardents who n’t been warn nt cost nce) is a can incur cities, but es, and team ball ofor need addi parking facilities and flats, ing they have tments certa ard maintena rst want fi e erty. look pare that apar forw not foot som ry prop halls trans ing when car may can claim ing is gor, luxu rugby and travel out pectives people look But a year after the Willis is erground” ents, but it nts are miss guidelines on how ents’ pers to The “und ctive to stud what tena Neuadd many stud ten have ed. ket lodgings. ard d quite attra per year. ns and clear uncover why t to stand is determin ges may soun calculatio for housing. and tear” opened, we seem. was differen . The first is char cost of £200 is charged for wais a wear were at le Will is ntial es onab pote com Neuadd “reas add Will fee le with this, £250 many ways of Bangor, to these not all it may ent of Neu at the a booking dation in On top of ng some peop even In addition will face the centre The managem t on this article but been accommo , the ricity, leavi have rent, you situated in reaching most key men had net provision ter and elect £700 before they and your its location: for asked to com to press, no response to h covers inter insurance inly ideal g lment. bills of up of £210, whic telephony handset, it was certa time of goin first rent insta IP usue luxury city. paid their e would rental of an ration costs. interior. Th prised areas of the received. g for a hous nd is its landlord s are com The seco and administ Those optin average tenantets unding area sit carp e depo surro e soft rienc rooms and kitchens, a refundabl leaving ally expe e en-suite furnished , based on spaces. 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2007/08 2007/08 2007/08 2007/08 2007/08 2007/08 2007/08 2007/08 2007/08 2007/08 2007/08

15

YEAR IN REVIEW

End of year edition 08

www.seren.ac.uk

YEAR THAT WAS TIMES THEY WERE A-CHANGIN’

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N E R E S a s t s o h N I S l u f s s e c c u s night

angor University and the Students’ Union definitely underwent some rehaul this year and Seren has brought you all the latest goings on and asked you for your opinions on all the hot topics.

Last issue, the Students’ Union elections took precedent and we brought you interviews with each of the winners, as well as a comprehensive photo diary. We feel our Student Bands CD was a huge success and we hope you all enjoyed listening to it, because we know the bands had a great time recording it.

Seren has been at the forefront of student news this year, with stories ranging from the serious and informative to the downright bizzare. From earthquakes to clam discoveries, Seren has been there, reporting it all back to you, the students of this little city that we all call home.

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ident’s job uty Pres The Dep communications and nts Officer. be ents’ Eve encompass welfare nts Officer will will it, but Stud and Eve ts such Societies s and Union even not realise n the country and the ou may dow their of societie up and this year nity in charge ity.

Unions and in ities ns e opportu are all char Act What this mea on is as Serendip going to be mor Union poliis in s Uni ere ’ ritie lved a Th ents Cha m ncil, but to get invo is a new that Bangor Stud things. students no longer be a Cou tors will To amy is they run ated for practice will in which two sena e ’ a the way S have upd r tics. There and twenty ballot in ‘Dr mile after NU ieties changing Ove ate instead by cross campus new Soc policies. ws closely There S cht on, Sen This follo constitution and to it the year.

Hecht, our y comfort ps t of the Uni be elected tion later on in He jority. Tom received a ver see grou smile their own , current Presiden of stuelec vote ma cer, up to over mentalColgate get Offi a group a set separate mer t nts ees sum ther tha ges part g the toge and Eve ch chan be committ ball can showin ch are com committee nett, put way in whi on here in will eties, all of whi hout majority e of an extra n Sam Bur wit the such able xo g r uss Uni s. One disc of soci which eeEm ma Di was fought out ovens. and the promisin Bangor. Runnin d into the dents to Rhion Union in their aim ions Committ nt, and by incorporate l status of the ised with atio icat that y far SEREN and RON , Preside could be other lega Commun a battle in numerous loc rs, our you ver s such as t was n Jackson h showed Since the e sense to update will be a Enviass societie Bangor. corrido ects contest, Joh President, bot d 90% of the e. s such asny weeks and ary, our maexciting ging, it mad at the same tim ral will encomp well as new area eff CB eive on was chan , as in our libr ebook and the at St. Glyn, UM as they each rec ity. AnotherIt was of the Uni has moved on seve ity Storm FM Commun our Fac mittee who r was felt up o’s boss processes on process howeve Sab- wh cast. ng y were even gor Univers to ronment and of an Events Com ets and pus ythi ion Ban toil Now this at ever cam Un the es that t rs. This on so vasch ry student Students’ ly finished vot Turnout across n in three yea opportunity ges addition is to give opinions were to the nal Go; whi year’s stages. Eve and given the bee r amongst osed chan e will be able ity; and Give It AMary’s. This elections are fi iled est it has relief ove mainly saw s was ema stag on the prop ndip Officer a sigh of speeches, the low be a problem voting figures r opinion ated into the first from Sere in Amser/Time. batical to new conall breathe with give thei ls – noion of gor, as I seems ion of this appear we can ly these mut . The implicat hough voted ng bombarded rs in Ban in student hal Site, the andand first sect (alt - acts yea the and slow Gen tion ten rst ters bei ps fi . gerover It is only constitu ergency Ffridd lonten and pos ipops) been writ nowrit gest dro t on the leaflets free loll of a new voted on at an Em ,ng be nife which has votes cas their big and this new the en stos will tion ne 341 and wh sing ions hbo inni l be mis ma from year. weeks Au- stitu the next sect which was on 28th January tably Rat ich dropped by the beg ’ ut another two one wil ect on 1st es cast this the ting entsabo on, but ths and for er of wh e into eff 132 vot t. gor Stud eral Mee ces. six mon d to win will com commen at is, for e- tions will star gning meant latt year to a pitiful the next academic year, BanTh ked har up in the t and hop constitutionnew financial year ere will still t pai rly wor t e. last ator elec Sen Th of the nex be run in a differenthe Glyn clea alreadyh furious cam extremely clos nout sho r to gust, as the are the changes? e will last yea uty Rhion e though as tur Union, but but you will Suc wer s on , 75 t Dep the lts Uni tion way t of wha as from So cien cers the elec valu0 people JMJ vot guage halls ed in finale resu more effi ges as tha atical offi t the plac been re-e over 1,00 was vot only 109 votes lan take AU fully some of the chan officers 15 be five sabb and remits have George of d Welsh year. With just ce ident, an es D PAGE atical Spencer with a margin Lottie Toogoo the noti INUE their nam will still be a Pres 114 this year’s sabb nt ereas CONT ident, but Athletic for next ere Preside Dodd, wh post of ated. Th ing weeks.

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We have tried our best to make what may appear to be boring NUS stories informative and interesting, and we brought you all the latest news from the national conference this year.

The news that Bangor had been granted ‘Fairtrade City’ status was reported straight from the Fairtrade Society last issue. Likewise, the society itself is working hard towards achieving ‘Fairtrade University’ status.

Sport was high on the agenda for many students and our Freshers’ Issue brought you all the scandal surrounding the lack of facilities. Every issue Seren has brought you up-to-date team results, as well as details of all the goings on within the AU. We have investigated many student issues and exposed a few others. This year has been really exciting for the whole team, and hopefully for you readers as well.

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2007/08 2007/08 2007/08 2007/08 2007/08 2007/08 2007/08 2007/08 2007/08 2007/08 2007/08 Emma

16

GOODBYES

End of year edition 08

www.seren.ac.uk

SO LONG, FAREWELL, AUF WIEDERSEHEN, GOODBYE...

Seren bids “Au Revoir” to this year’s departing Sabbatical Officers Sam Burnett President

Andy ‘Frodo’ Redfearn

I

’ve just been looking through my old manifestos: consistency, leadership, experience. I think I’ve managed that. My aim in being president was to leave the place in a better condition than I found it - that means addressing financial problems, hiring new staff and changing the structures of the Union I think I’ve managed that too. It’s been character building in the most positive sense of the cliché, and I feel able to leave Bangor - although I will miss the many friends I’ve made. Next year I shall be working for a Liberal Democrat shadow cabinet member and living in London.

Infinitely more terrifying than standing up at a NUS affiliation EGM.

Carolan Goggin Communications and Societies Officer

I

t’s so hard to sum up five years in Bangor in just 300 words!

Three years as a music student, spending most of my time on Storm, Sailing Club and music-y stuff, then two years as a sabb getting stuck into just about everything: I’ve run four Serendipities, two Societies Awards, been in the elections, run the elections, been on Steering, been on Storm, written for Seren, been a director of Trading, argued against NUS in Bangor, argued for NUS at Annual Conference ... the list goes on and on.

I suppose I’m most proud of a couple of things though: revitalising Serendipity 2, rewriting the Students’ Union constitution with Sam, doubling the Union’s assets in my year as Chief Budgeter and improving the Societies Awards year on year.

This can be a pretty stressful job: long hours, low pay, and mostly people only contact you to complain about something. But it is also very rewarding: I’ve made lifetime friends and done countless new things. I’ve met so many people, the majority of whom have been polite, kind, friendly and appreciative, but even the really difficult, rude people have given me something to laugh about later.

I’ve just been accepted onto the

I

AU President

’ve been in Bangor since 2003 and mostly kept myself busy over those five years doing something sporty or sport related as, I guess, you’d expect from an Athletic Union President.

In all my five years here the thing that I’m most proud of is my contribution to sport. I’ve been AU President for two years now and, looking back in the records, no other person has ever done that. For most of you, I’ll be the only AU President you’ll have known!

I’ve worked damn hard to make the University realise that we need more in terms of sports provision. I’ve set some solid groundwork for a University-wide Sports Strategy and won some significant victories in terms of facilities but there is still plenty more that needs doing. I’ll be leaving over the summer and from then on you’ll be in the safe hands of Rob Samuel and for his time in office I wish him all the

best.

After leaving I’ll be returning to Yorkshire. I’ve not got any plans jobwise yet but it’s most likely going to involve a graduate scheme of some sort, probably Management Consultancy.

I will definitely miss Bangor, it’s just such a friendly place. Here, you can just pop out for some milk and you’ll bump into someone you know and stop for a chat; there aren’t many cities where you can do that. Having been here for five years, lots of the friends I started with have now already left, but that’s the best part about Bangor: you always make more. I’m always very thankful for friends; after all it’s really them that make your memories and the times that you enjoy. Unfortunately, it’s my turn to leave this year, don’t worry though; I’ll see you all at Old Boys Weekend 2009! ;-)

Xanthe Larcombe

Bethan Williams

Education and Welfare Officer

I Civil Service graduate scheme, so next year at some point I’ll be somewhere working in some department or other (it’s all a little vague at this stage). I’m quite excited, although I’m crossing all my fingers and toes I won’t have to live in London; it’s far too big after little old Bangor. I’ll miss the way you can go out with just a couple of friends and meet a million people you know. Bangor’s a small place but there’s always something to do, you just need to glance at the intranet boards or all the posters around the place to find something to keep you busy.

have truly loved my time in office and the people I have had the chance to work with this year. Now, I’m not saying its all been fun and games, but the stress is best forgotten and the fun times best remembered!

There have been some great fun and antics this year, including stealing fellow sabbatical sofas, buying printed pants for Nightline (well they can’t have hoodies can they!), and generally messing around.

I have always wanted to achieve more but I have had to be realistic this year in what I can achieve in such a short space of time, and I am happy with my results. Nightline has totally changed and I am so proud of the way we have managed to turn it around this year to make it more professional, and I truly hope that its new found direction and drive will continue.

A lot of my term in office has involved fighting small issues but this has in a way been the most enjoyable part of my job: solving the small things

UMCB President

that make the bigger picture better and brighter. I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has made this year memorable and don’t forget that I am here next year, back as a student, so do say ‘hi’ when I’m passing by and save me a drink at the house parties!

T

his year I have tried to carry on with the good work of last year’s UMCB President and tried to get UMCB out there. I’ve also tried to make people more aware of the importance of Welsh medium education and raise its profile in general.

One of my highlights this year was Welcome Week, there really was a nice buzz in

the air throughout that time.

It was definitely tiring, but well worth it.

This year has really flown by, and as it was supposed to give me some time to think about what I’m going to do next, I’m not at all happy about it! At the minute I don’t really know what I want to do, so please say hello to me if you see me in the job centre…

17

SEREN’S RADIO TIMES

End of year edition 08

www.seren.ac.uk Compiled by John Jackson

STORM Monda

FORECAST

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

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

11:00 - 13:00 Storm Bites - Geek Chic Jack Green and Isa Wilson 16:00 - 18:00 Homeward Bound Walk Home With Will

11:00 - 13:00 Storm Bites 13:00 - 14:00 The SU Show with Xanthe Larcombe, the Union’s Education & Welfare Officer

11:00 - 13:00 Storm Bites The Big Mix Up 16:00 - 18:00 Homeward Bound

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

08:00 - 10:00 Storm In A Tea Cup Wake Up With Will

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

16:00 - 18:00 Homeward Bound Walk Home With Will

18:00 - 20:00 The Text Session DJPJ & DJ Hanniepants with your requests - text STORM and ur msg to 60300 20:00 - 21:00 Tuesday’s Gone Rock/Metal/Unsigned show with Gaz & Zara

22:00 - 00:00 Storm’s Paradox Dan & Sav provide a mix 21:00 - 22:00 of 80s, 90s and today with Kate’s Kloset a bit of chat and general Hip Hop and R&B with Kate rubbish!

Barratt

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

08:00 - 10:00 Storm In A Tea Cup Wake Up With Will

11:00 - 13:00 Storm Bites

11:00 - 13:00 Storm Bites - The Dave and Ryan Show Mainstream music & chat

13:00 - 14:00 The SU Show with Bethan Williams, UMCB President with a Welsh language show

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

16:00 - 18:00 Homeward Bound Lucy & Charlotte

16:00 - 18:00 Homeward Bound Strictly Plutonic

18:00 - 20:00 Something Borrowed, Something Blue DJPJ with an eclectic mix of old and brand-spanking new

18:00 - 19:00 Sound of the AU The best of the Athletic Union, hosted by Adam James

19:00 - 21:00 Ultrasound Lee Howson & Sean Lashec with their Trash cool-off of new, classic and obscure indie

19:00 - 21:00 Music Team Show

21:00 - 22:00 The Jazz Hour with Jack Baker

22:00 - 02:00 Trash LIVE!

22:00 - 00:00 The Underground Alex ‘Colonel’ Kirkham hosting underground dance at its best

22:00 - 00:00 Tropical Storm

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

Thursday

Wednesday

Tuesday

y

Saturday

20:00 - 22:00 Acoustic Rooms (Little and Phat) Kerry Walton’s Welsh language show

22:00 - 00:00 Storm’s Dirty Little Secret 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 - studio@stormfm.com

Sunday

16:00 - 18:00 The Classical Show Classical tunes you know, mixed with those you may not

12:00 - 13:00 Hindi Music Show

18:00 - 19:00 7 into 60 The news team present the week’s happenings in 60 minutes

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

21:00 - 22:00 Sin Roc Gymraeg Welsh rock music

15:00 - 16:00 Around the World in 60 Minutes Emma Dodd playing some of her favourite tracks in a whistle-stop tour around the world of music

21:00 - 23:00 No Added Sugar Jack Green and Dave Pallant, with lots of challenges 23:00 - 00:00 Late Night Quickie Mike Walsh & Biscuits

22:00 - 00:00 London Mix 22:00 - 00:00 UK Grime

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

23:00 - 00:00 The Riot

PUZZLES, POSERS & PROBLEMS

IN!!

W

1

Euro Wordsearch

Hidden in the grid below are the names of various different European countries. 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...

D N A L E S W E D E N C Y B U

A J O J A E L K S O N T A R K

Y P I C E L A N D B R A A N R

R F L L Q A Q U E B I U I D A

A R A A U W U F A N D O N L I

G A N G L Y I X D N A O A A P

N N D Y E N G L A N D O M G K

U C D E E T F L O V G R O U E

H E O R R Y R R F E D V R T D

N I A P S E W W E A Y B N R W

F H C S Z A T U K S L J M O Z

R O T T Y U Y O D N A L O P Z

3 Codeword

A EN SER PINT E O I I R E L A N K T H A E B

N W N G E R M A X G I W T W E

SS GLrA3)!!!

S C O T L A N D F I N L A N D

WHAT TO DO... compiled by John Jackson (1) Euro Wordsea rch or (2) SERENoku or (3 ) Codeword or you can enter all 3 if you wish!

Next, fill in your na me and The numbers in the crossword grid are to be replaced Bangor Uni e-mail by letters. Below the grid is the key showing 3 address (below) and hand already completed letters. Fill in the other numbers, this page in to main reception at remembering to mark them off on the alphabet list as the Students’ you go. Note that only 1 number represents 1 letter.

Union. Alternatively , you can e-mail your answer 13 24 26 1 5 4 12 6 6 22 s to: W editor@seren.ba ngor.ac.uk 13 14 13 1 8 18 Winners will be se lected at random from corre 17 18 22 5 12 1 3 8 19 16 5 ct entries and 7 F will be awarded by 31/05/08.

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Your Name:.......................................................................................Your Bangor Uni Email:.............................................

18

MUSIC

The Futureheads This Is Not The World

B

arely two years on from News And Tributes – The Futureheads’ second and most ‘mature’ effort to date – the Mackem four-piece are back with that ‘difficult third album’, and it would appear they’ve forgotten all that they learned last time out. And it’s not a bad thing.

This Is Not The World follows on from where 2004’s self-titled debut left off: twelve post-punk, carefree jollies, brimming with ideas and energy, that leave the listener breathless. In short, it’s what The Futureheads do best.

This album appears to answer the heavy, moralistic questions the previous raised with a shrug and a playful “chin up.”

Frenetic opener Beginning of the Twist throws its weight around like a five-year-old with too much tartazine in its packed lunch. Think of The Jam covering Devo’s eclectic 1980s floor-filler Whip It. It’s like the weight of The Angel of the North has been lifted from the band’s shoulders – Hines admits as much: Let’s get it started / I feel like there’s so much to rearrange. Beginning of the Twist lays the groundwork for an album of similar vigour. The opening of Think Tonight evokes (unwanted) memories of Andrew W.K., once (incorrectly) hailed as ‘the saviour of rock and roll’

by Kerrang! magazine. Such comparisons are short-lived once Hyde’s vocals are introduced, his abrasive yet endearing Geordie accent a million miles (3,350 miles to be precise) away from his New Yorker counterpart. You’ve had too much to think tonight he barks over a dizzying punk rock chord sequence Sid Vicious himself would have been proud of.

The album’s stand-out moments, however, are those which boast more varied dynamics and complex time signatures. Radio Heart, for instance. Another quirky stompalong, this time with a theme of romance as Hyde pines for a hypothetical radio-listener he has yet to meet (The girl with the radio heart / We’ve never met but we’ve never been apart).

Elsewhere, title track This Is Not

End of year edition 08

music@seren.bangor.ac.uk

iForward Russia! Life Processes

S The World offers a pessimistic account of modern urban society (The pavement’s cracked and the cars are stalling / Everybody wears their frown upside-down) whilst Sleet is an altogether more playful affair (Stay awake so I can hear you speak / Let’s go to bed but let’s not go to sleep). Both don’t disappoint, unlike some of the album’s second half, most of which could be mistaken for Maxïmo Park B-sides and one – Broke Up The Time – sounds like the band’s own rendition of the theme tune to Have I Got News For You. The best song on this album is Hard to Bear, and it’s no coincidence that it’s the one moment when The Futureheads find their sensitive side musically.

During the track’s instrumental interludes, the rich landscape of layered noise is breathtaking. It’s swoon rock that rivals The Arcade Fire for emotive quality. It’s a song which links this record with its predecessor, and if there were other efforts here half as good, the album would be a triumph.

When The Futureheads first surfaced four years ago, their choice of name appeared most apt. Here was a band whose sound was as fresh and crisp as the Sunderland climate, a band which represented the future of the independent alternative genre. That future is now the present, and whilst their previous records are now a blueprint for the new indie set, The Futureheads are back where they started, in danger of blending into the background whilst less innovative bands hog the limelight. While it is somewhat puzzling to see The Futureheads reverting to the style half of the younger indie generation seems hell-bent on plagiarising, This Is Not The World is still worth a listen, if only to learn how it should be done.

Unfortunately, this is the world, and in reality, many fans will be hoping for more innovation from The Futureheads next time around. That ‘difficult fourth album’ looks very tricky now.

Alex Farley

www.seren.ac.uk

omewhere between Les Miserables and Panic!

At The Disco, there is ¡Forward, Russia! The Leeds quartet may have shed their personalised stage t-shirts and gimmicky numeric track names since their 2006 debut, Give Me A Wall, but it would appear that they have unintentionally lost a good deal of the song-writing talent which made their previous effort so unique. Life Processes’ more inspirational moments are awe-inspiring but they are too few and far between on a record that at times treads the tightrope between prog-rock and rockopera. Here are eleven tracks that rival Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody for grandiose complexity. Take highly dramatic opener Welcome To The Moment (The Rest Of Your Life) for example. Frontman Tom Woodhead belts out a tenor vocal whilst guitarist ‘Whiskas’ shreds at a typically complicated chord progression underneath.

It’s a style that won ¡Forward, Russia! many admirers two years ago, but the last album was hugely danceable and was blared out across the Trash dancefloor with some regularity.

If this collection was given a spin everyone would hit the gin and

Sarah Louise – Skin Deep.

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leave early unless, that is, the Waltz was still a fashionable step.

In fact, if Life Processes were a debut record, ¡Forward, Russia! may have found themselves being pigeonholed as – whisper it – Emo after this showing.

Impressive exceptions to the rule are We Are Grey Matter and Breaking Standing, tracks of undoubted quality that will surely be touted as future single releases. We Are Grey Matter’s synth-laden, ambient intro lulls listeners into a false sense of tranquillity before the track bursts into life. Jagged guitars soar, Rob Canning’s bass line moves around with consummate ease, and superb percussionist Katie Nicholls rattles out another effortlessly masterful rhythm, keeping the whole thing together.

In a word it’s epic – ¡Forward, Russia! seemingly don’t do the mundane. Breaking Standing finds the band in a more playful mindset. Whiskas’ riff is looped, giving him the chance to add sporadic twinkles here and there, whilst drums and bass are quirkily unpredictable. Above all, this is a dance song. If only more of Life Processes were this carefree. Must try (less) harder.

Alex Farley

have to say that reviewing such artists as Sarah Louise is not usually my cup of tea. I am not the biggest fan of the ‘singer-songwriter’ trend that seems to be sweeping the nation but as Sarah Louise is a local gal and Storm’s very own Pete Banks regularly plays violin for her I could not possibly refuse.

This is not my first encounter with Sarah Louise’s music as I saw her perform live at the Storm SIN night about a month ago and avid readers of this page (I know you’re out there…) might remember that we covered an article about her a couple of issues back when she reached the live stages of Live and Unsigned. So it was with this fantastic reputation and the striking memory of her live performance in mind that I listened to her album. Despite my dislike of the genre I was very impressed. Sarah Louise obviously has an amazing voice which she fully uses to its gorgeous potential in all twelve tracks. It is a subtle beauty: she does not bombard you with her vocals but rather lets them subtly creep up on you until they completely wash you away.

Such powerful vocals mean that the lyrics are not instantly noticeable, making repeat listens a must. But it is in these repeat listens that Sarah Louise truly rewards you with deep, intelligent and incredibly perceptive lyrics. She does not simply drone on about love as most of those in her genre but covers very contentious issues. For example, in Skin Deep she proclaims: We are the daughters of the magazine queens / In a life that seems my beauty is never skin deep, whereas You’re a Woman unusually covers the topic of sexism in this country.

Despite the predominance of English on this album, it is important to note that Sarah Louise has not forgotten her Welsh roots. It is not only apparent in the Celtic twang to her voice but strongly features on the last ‘bonus’ track of the album Fy Enaid where she successfully makes an often harsh sounding language beautiful.

With Skin Deep, Sarah Louise has made a beautiful and captivating album. I would urge anyone who has not yet encountered her to either see her live or buy the album as her music is unmissable. I would also like to take this opportunity to wish Sarah Louise the best of luck in the future.

Sarah Louise’s album can be found in Cob Records, Bangor. To win a copy answer this simple question: In which competition did Sarah Louise reach the live finals? Send your answers to music@seren.bangor.ac.uk

Emma Dixon

Portishead - Third

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or Portishead fans it’s been a long time since they released the masterpiece that was Dummy – eleven years in fact. In that time, Beth Gibbons has put her unique voice to good use in a collaboration with Rustin Man, but it’s great to see the band back together for this new release. And it’s Gibbons’ voice that permeates the record. We are made to wait for it to come in for several minutes in the first track, but when it does we realise it was worth the wait. The simply titled, Third, represents the simplicity of the album and the instrumentals are stark and her haunting voice is the album’s main characteristic. A great album, this certainly isn’t easy listening and it’ll take a few more tries before I fully get to grips with it.

If you’re looking for stand out tracks, it would be Nylon Smile which I would say is most reminiscent of classics

such as Nobody Loves Me as opposed to Machine Gun or Silence which you may have heard on the radio, but the album does benefit from being enjoyed in its entirety. Anyone who has managed to procure a ticket for their forthcoming tour is in for a treat, as Gibbons’ vocals can only be fully appreciated live and real Portishead fans will see past its

simplicity and realise that this is a positive aspect, not a negative one. In spurning any unnecessary extras, the Bristol based group have kept the core of what’s important in their music. My advice would be to give Third a chance or several chances if necessary.

Emma Dodd

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End of year edition 08

www.seren.ac.uk

FESTIVALS

music@seren.bangor.ac.uk

Seren Festival Giveaway So no-one’s going to Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds sold out in two minutes. If you feel like this summer’s festival plans are going down the drain then don’t despair because Seren is here! We have not one, or two or even five but fourteen whole tickets to give away for the best music festivals this year. Do you want one? Well read on…

WIN!

WIN!

We have one pair of tickets to give away for the night of your choice at the O2 Wireless Festival

We have two non-camping passes to give away for the amazing Creamfields festival this summer.

To win just answer this simple question:

To win just answer this simple question:

When is Creamfields held?

Who is headlining the festival on Thursday night?

Email your answers to music@seren.bangor.ac.uk

Email your answers to music@seren.bangor.ac.uk Where?

Hyde Park, London.

Who is playing?

Thursday 3rd July: Jay-Z / Mark Ronson / Hot Chip / Roisin Murphy / Hercules And Love Affair / Saul Williams / Alice Smith / Santogold Friday 4th July: Morrisey / Beck / The Wombats / The National / Guillemots / Siouxsie / Dirty Pretty Things / New York Dolls / Lightspeed Champion / Black Kids / Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fky Saturday 5th July: Fatboy Slim / Bootsy Collins / Underworld / Robyn / Does It Offend You, Yeah? / Sam Sparro Sunday 6th July: Counting Crows / Ben Harper And The Innocent Criminals / Powderfinger / Goo Goo Dolls / Eddy Grant / Bowling For Soup / The Hold Steady / Delays

When?

Creamfields will be a two day festival over the August bank holiday weekend of Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th August 08.

Where?

The Daresbury Estate, Halton, Cheshire.

Who is playing?

Kasabian / Fatboy Slim / Ian Brown / Underworld / Paul Van Dyk / Tiësto / Pendulum / Soulwax / Gossip / Chic featuring Nile Rodgers / Erick Morillo / Paul Oakenfold / Sasha / David Guetta / 2manydjs / Simian Mobile Disco / John Digweed / Ferry Corsten / Pete Tong / Dubfire / Eddie Halliwell / Hernan Cattaneo / James Zabiela / Felix Da Housecat / Steve Angello / Axwell / Sebastian Ingrosso / Annie Mac / Luciano / Adam Beyer / Sander Van Doorn / Claude Von Stroke / Danny Howells / Judge Jules / Tom Novy / Deadmau5 / Kissy Sell Out / Presets / Yousef / Dirty South / Dave Spoon / Mason / Tocadisco / Henrik B / AndyC / Marky / Hype / High Contrast / Skream & Benga presents Magnetic Man / Peter Hook / Mike Pickering / Graeme Park / Dave Haslam / Laidback Luke / Jon Da Silva / Adam Sheridan / Gareth Wyn / Harry Choo Choo Romero / The Whip / Rob Tissera LIVE / John Kelly / Matt Hardwick / Tidy Boys / Lisa Pin Up / BK / Mark EG / Amber D / Alex Kidd / Kutski / Tidy DJ’s / Ben Stevens / Paul Maddox / JP & Jukesy / Kym Ayres / Rodi Style / Morgan / Alan Hartley / Andy Mac / Anton Powers/ Yacht / MC GQ / MC IC3

www.creamfields.com & ticketline. www.ticketline.co.uk 0844 8884401

WIN! We have 5 pairs of tickets for Escape Into The Park To win just answer this simple question: In which city is Escape Into The Park held?

Email your answers to music@seren.bangor.ac.uk

When?

Saturday 14th June 2008 Where?

Singleton Park, Swansea Who is playing?

Underworld / Ferry Corsten / Fedde Le Grand / Scratch Perverts / Judge Jules / Lisa Lashes / Tidy Boys / Eddie Halliwell / Sander Von Doorn / Alex Kidd / Friction / High Contrast / And many more...

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suppose it is rather apt that my last review for these pages will cover a Producer I covered at the start of this academic year: Judd Apatow. Whilst not being responsible for the script or direction of this film, make no mistake that his grubby little mitts are all over this frequently hilarious comedy that is strangely lacking.

Poor Peter. He seemingly has it all, a steady job writing incidental music for your bog-standard Crime show (think William Baldwin as Horatio, if there is one area this film excels at, it’s the parody cameos) a beautiful girlfriend, and the world’s biggest cereal bowl. Of course, these things don’t last and he is dumped by Sarah for someone else. Cue a series of rebound encounters, depression and the realisation that he needs to get away from it all and have a break in Hawaii. But of course, Sarah is there with her new beau Aldous Snow. Hilarity and awkward encounters ensue.

That sounds overly critical, which isn’t entirely fair because I did enjoy the film quite a lot. Peter Segel who wrote the film and plays Peter finally gets the starring role he deserves, and doesn’t screw it up. He isn’t the most sympathetic of characters, but how can you hate a man who brings so much despair to the Muppets theme tune? The female leads of Mila Kunis and Kristen Bell are sufficient enough eye candy and carry the film

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well enough, but like you no doubt have heard already, this is Russell Brand’s film.

Yes, it is just an extension of his personality.

Yes, his cheeky wit and elegant vocabulary (something I’m sorely lacking whilst writing this) steal every scene he is in, but you cannot help but get swept up in his charm and effortless portrayal of the crude, selfish and offensive Aldous. Yes, I’m a fan of the man for his stand up, but if he carries on stealing films like this, he could have a bright future in front of him in films.

Ultimately though, the film left me somewhat cold. The laughs hit all the right notes, I enjoyed the characters and the obligatory cameos from the members of Apatow’s Gang at the least raised a smile. But there was just something lacking, something that just didn’t quite make it connect and make the leap from decent comedy to rewatchable laughfest. On the way out of the cinema, I blamed the editing of the film, which was sloppy and just acted to connect the scenes rather then meld them into one cohesive narrative. My girlfriend suggested that there was no real “take home wit” as she so succinctly put it, and failed to be a memorable experience.

Do I agree with her? Probably, but you’ll be singing that Dracula song for days to come, guaranteed.

Ian Davies

(12A)

he words ‘Inspired by a true story’ when associated with a Hollywood movie are usually more than enough to raise alarm bells when it comes to how accurate the film is in its interpretation of real events.

With ‘21’ this is certainly the case as whilst the film is based on events that actually happened it is clear that this is a fictionalised account, as everything flows far too smoothly for it to be even close to the truth. Based on the book ‘Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions’ by Ben Mezrich, this film has proven a surprise success at the US box office, and whilst it certainly isn’t an accurate account of what really happened, it is easy to see why it has proven so popular with moviegoers.

Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) is a shy but brilliant M.I.T. student who has been accepted at Harvard Medical School, where he has wanted to attend all his life. There’s just one problem - he needs $300,000 for tuition and living expenses. With few options open to him he finds the answer to his problem in a group hosted by unorthodox maths professor and statistics genius Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey). The group consists of some of the schools most gifted students, who every weekend, go to Las Vegas, armed with fake identities and the know-how to beat the house at blackjack almost every time. Despite Ben’s claims that he will get out once he has the $300,000 he needs, he finds himself seduced by the money, the Vegas lifestyle and sexy team mate Jill (Kate Bosworth) and begins pushing the limits too far catching the attention of the violent Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne) and his security team in the process.The entire scheme begins to

****

fall apart, and they no longer have to worry about beating the house, but also staying one step ahead of security.

The storyline of ‘21’ seems rather predictable for the most part but still has a few surprises in store with some nifty twists that most people won’t see coming. The non-linear structure of the film works well here, giving us some knowledge of what is coming, whilst keeping us in the dark about some things. The script is also very technical in terms of the mechanics of playing blackjack, even though the film lacks any real explanation of the system that is used in the film. The performances are mostly very strong with Jim Sturgess, in particular, proving very convincing. His transformation from shy student to hot shot blackjack player is very believable and he pretty much convinces at both sides of his characters persona. Kevin Spacey and Laurence Fishburne are both perfectly sinister in their roles, even though neither is at their best here. The rest of the cast can’t really live up to these three, despite giving decent performances. The execution of this film is mostly very good, with some very good camera work and editing that makes for a very eye-catching film and a slick, stylish look throughout.

The only major flaws with the film is that it is a little too long, and could do with about ten minutes being cut, and at times it seems a little too teen orientated, lacking in dramatic weight.

Overall, though, whilst ‘21’ isn’t the masterpiece it potentially could have been, it is a very entertaining film and a very slickly made one. It doesn’t quite hit 21 but it does come pretty close.

Robert Mann

www.seren.ac.uk

In Bruges

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (15) ***

T

End of year edition 08

film@seren.bangor.ac.uk

olitical correctness is a major part of modern life, with the risk of offending certain groups in society restricting what is considered to be acceptable in all aspects of life, and this very much applies to film. Nowadays you would be hard-pressed to find a film that isn’t politically correct. However, every now and then one comes along as is the case with ‘In Bruges’, a film that is unashamedly politically incorrect and refuses to apologise for it. Whilst some could condemn this film for this reason, others will undoubtedly notice that this is one of the very things that makes it unique and really stand out from the crowd. Of course, political incorrectness isn’t the only thing that this film has going for it, but it certainly is quite a distinctive feature.

Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are two Irish hit men who are sent by their boss to hide out in Bruges following a botched assassination. Bruges, the most well preserved medieval city in the whole of Belgium is a welcoming destination for travellers from all around the world but for Ray and Ken it could end up being their final destination. Stuck there for two weeks the two hit men fill their days living the lives of tourists, checking out the sites. Ray, still haunted by the bloodshed in London, hates the place, whilst Ken finds himself quite enchanted by it all.

However, the longer they wait for their boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes) to call, the more unusual their experience becomes as they encounter a number of offbeat characters including dwarf American actor Jimmy (Jordan Prentice) and the beautiful Chloë (Clémence Poésy).

Things soon take a turn for the worse for Ray and Ken though, when the true reason for them being sent to Bruges is revealed, and their boss himself decides to visit.

If nothing else, ‘In Bruges’ is certainly an original film, and a very memorable one at that. There really isn’t anything about this film that seems clichéd. As I already pointed

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***

out, its political incorrectness is also a distinctive feature, although whether this is a strength or a weakness really is down to the individual. The way the film is shot is also one of the film’s strong points, with director Martin McDonagh employing a number of different camera techniques throughout and capturing some very beautiful and enchanting imagery of Bruges. He is also the writer of this film and in this department he also does a good job, delivering some very memorable dialogue, including some absolutely hilarious lines. The actors do a great job

fine form and delivers a suitably nasty performance here.

Despite the film’s originality as well as strong performances and dialogue, however, ‘In Bruges’ is not a perfect film. Whilst McDonagh’s script delivers plenty of fresh and memorable dialogue the plot is only slight and not really well developed enough, even though the sad and moving ending is a fitting conclusion. The film is also a bit too heavy on the dialogue and could perhaps use a bit more substance in other departments. In addition to this, the film is very slow paced and does

with this dialogue and the entire cast delivers strong performances. Colin Farrell, in particular, is perfectly cast and thoroughly convincing. Brendan Gleeson too delivers a very good performance. Something particularly good about the two lead performances is the way that the actors encourage us to sympathise for their characters.

We know that they have done very bad things and yet we still feel for them and care what happens to them.

This humanisation of the assassins is a major strength in a film that could very easily have suffered for a lack of sympathetic characters. We don’t just see them as assassins, we see them as human beings. Ralph Fiennes too is on

seem to go on a bit too long. More sensitive viewers will also be put off by the large number of profanities spouted, as well as scenes of hard drug use and violent deaths. As a whole though, ‘In Bruges’ is a very enjoyable film that won’t be quickly forgotten and one that is certainly recommended viewing. Those who are easily offended may want to give it a miss though.

Either way, this is a film that will do wonders for Bruges’ tourist trade.

Robert Mann

SUPER SUMMER PREVIEW 2008

ummer 2008 is the new Summer 1989! Henry Jones Jr. dusts off his hat for another wild MacGuffin chase and Bruce Wayne dons the capeand-cowl for another face-off (albeit different faces) with Mr Joseph Kerr.

Box Office records will be broken, Lego will get richer, and Hulk will fight more than his inner demons (at a shorter running time too!). It’s commercial cinema at its best and the perfect escape from our troubled times.

Here’s a preview of five of the best!

Third’s the one with the green chest!

Fifth’s the one with a treasure chest!

Okay, let’s get on with it...

The Dark Knight (July 25) - The first Batman film not to feature ‘Batman’ in the title, it is impossible to write about this without mentioning the tragic early passing of Heath Ledger. His performance as The Joker will be one of the main talking-points of the year - an indescribable figure so far removed from the late Ledger’s previous on-screen personas that it will serve as a fitting tribute to his brave diversity. Christian Bale, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Aaron Eckhart also star in the second part of Christopher Nolan’s visionary trilogy.

Speed Racer (May 9) - The Wachowski brothers’ first foray into family-friendly fare.

It’s also the first photo-anime: real actors and pseudo-real cars against a backdrop of Japanimation-style CG. The Incredible Hulk (June 13) - Despite

reservations about titular casting (split-personality regular Edward Norton looks like the sort of person who’d break your neck without Gamma-based green skin enhancement), a guaranteed Hulk-out in the opening three minutes means this should be the

action-adventure Ang Lee’s 2003 effort wasn’t.

Tropic Thunder (August 15) - Financially secure for life with Iron Man and its sequels, Robert Downey Jr. proves he still likes to take risks by wearing black makeup to play, as the trailer so wonderfully put it, “critically acclaimed Australian actor Kirk Lazarus” in this affectionate send-up of action-adventures. The inevitable cries of ‘racist’ are missing the point: this is lampooning the borderline-lunacy level of immersion by the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis (Lazarus actually bleaches his skin for the role).

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (May 22) - Everyone’s favourite tomb raider is back! (Well, certainly the one who has the better films).

Another 80s action hero revived for the 21st century, but unlike John McClane (not enough Dying Hard) and John Rambo (an unmitigated gore-fest), everything about this production, from the epic teaser trailer to all involved in the original coming back and/or supporting it, suggests this will be the one that hammers the tone Messrs. McClane and Rambo diluted and concentrated, respectively. Plus, this is the dawn of a new cinematic era: rumour strongly suggests Harrison Ford’s on-screen son Shia LaBeouf will carry the whip for a new generation.

Kevin Smith

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End of year edition 08

The Abandoned (15) * *

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he Abandoned was an audience favourite at a horror film festival in America called ‘After Dark Horror Fest’. It can’t have been a dynamic selection as this is a very average horror film.

Born in Russia but adopted in America, film producer Marie (Anastasia Hille) is now forty and has spent most of her life trying to find out more about her biological parents. She learns that the property where her parents lived back in Russia could give her clues of what happened to them before she was adopted. The property is of course, now, an ancient, dark and creepy farm house in the middle of nowhere. On arriving at the house, Marie witnesses a version of herself walking around the house stalking her, a bloodied version that is intent on catching her. On trying to escape the

house, Marie bumps into Nicolai (Karel Roden), her long lost twin brother who is also at the house for the same reasons.

From this point onwards the film gets tangled up in its incomprehensible plot and because of this, the film becomes boring. Despite good atmospherics, eerie sound design and images that stay with the viewer long after the film is over, the lack of pace and muddled storyline is a major downside. Karel Roden is used only for lengthy scenes of plot exposition which become a drag.

Although I am not a horror film fan myself, fans of the genre may be able to get more out of it. It is very atmospheric and macabre and offers some unsettling, gory moments in the climax. For people who want to see a superior and more original haunted house movie though, try French suspense horror film Them which makes much better use of claustrophobic tension and offers a tighter, leaner story.

Mark Varley

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (15) * * * * *

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arshly overlooked on its cinematic release despite critical acclaim, Andrew ‘Chopper’ Dominik’s masterpiece deserves to have a life on DVD. It tells the story of Jesse James (Brad Pitt), an outlaw who gave birth to the ‘celebrity’ status as his robberies and frequent murders were heard and spoken about by the American public from the 1860s through to his death on April 3rd 1882. Books were written about him, falsely as heroic adventure stories and people regarded him as a ‘Robin Hood’ type figure as Jesse James was said to have robbed from the rich and given to the poor.

The main plotline of the film focuses on

FILM

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ing nominated for Best Supporting Actor at this years Oscars. Affleck captures brilliantly a misunderstood character that challenges you to think whether you should sympathise with him or not. Brad Pitt delivers an intense performance, as Jesse James slowly becomes more paranoid that a member of his gang will turn against him for a huge reward sum offered by the government. The cinematography from Roger Deakins (collaborator for the Coen Brother’s movies), creates some extraordinary imagery and clearly shows the effort made to make every scene in the movie look like it has been shot to perfection.

Despite knowing what eventually hap-

LOADS OF COMPETITIONS! The Abandoned Competition

The Good Night Competition

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he Abandoned is released on the 19th of May, and we have one copy to give away. To be in with a chance of winning, just answer the following question: Karel Roden featured in which 2004 sequel?

To enter, just send your answer to film@seren.bangor.ac.uk with the subject line “The Abandoned Competition” by the 15th of May. The winner will be notified by e-mail shortly after.

GOOD LUCK!

PS I Love You Competition

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S I Love You comes to DVD on the 12th of May, and we have one prize pack to give away. In return for answering the question below, you’ll receive a copy of the film and a gift pack containing a heart shaped pendant and a letter writing set.

From the press release: Holly Kennedy (Hilary Swank) is beautiful, smart and married to the love of her life – a passionate, funny and impetuous Irishman named Gerry (Gerard Butler). So when Gerry’s life is taken by an illness, it takes the life out of Holly. Nobody knows Holly better than Gerry, so it’s a good thing he planned ahead.

Before he died, Gerry wrote Holly a series of letters that will guide her, not only through her grief but in rediscovering life.

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he Good Night is released on the 28th of May, and we have one copy to give away.

From the press release: Has-been musician Gary’s (Freeman) days in a successful band with the world at his feet are long gone. Now he spends his days writing ad jingles, and whose only escape from the suffocating relationship he has with both his former bandmate (Pegg) and girlfriend (Platrow) is in his sleep,

The first message arrives on Holly’s birthday in the form of a tape recording from Gerry ordering her to get out and celebrate! In the weeks and months that follow, more letters from Gerry are delivered in surprising ways, each sending her on a new adventure and each signing off in the same way: PS I Love You.

pens between Jesse James and Robert Ford, the last half hour is a fascinating and moving portrayal of Robert Ford’s sought after fame after the infamous murder of Jesse James.

You’ll find yourself discussing whether Robert Ford should have been branded as a coward from the American people.

The Assassination of Jesse James won’t be for everyone. The slow pace certainly makes you wait for the eventual assassination and there is close to no action in the way of classic western gunfights, but the quality of the acting, story and cinematography makes this an essential watch. The DVD is accompanied by a documentary charting the life of Jesse James from historians and the cast and crew of the film.

Mark Varley

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’m not usually one to get sentimental, but for those of you who may well have been following my endeavours over the past two years as your humble editor of this section, I couldn’t really go without saying goodbye, could I? It’s been a fun couple of years, and if above all else, I have tried to convey my passion for the medium on these pages. Sometimes it has come through, other times not, but I have always tried to make sure there was something film related for you to read every issue of Seren, even if you didn’t care all that much. If the page has been shoddy, sloppy or particularly unreadable one issue, then I apologise. But hopefully, you’ve enjoyed my occasional rant and lovestricken reviews, Robert Mann’s unstoppable tidal wave of opinion on whatever he happened to see the past weekend, Kevin Smith’s

e-mail shortly afterwards.

GOOD LUCK! © 2005 MHF Zweite Academy Film GmbH & Co. KG. All Rights Reserved.

Holly’s protective mother (Kathy Bates) and best friends (Lisa Kudrow, Gina Gershon) worry that this link with the past is stopping her from moving on but with Gerry’s words as her guide Holly embarks on a touching, exciting and hilarious journey of rediscovery.

To win the pack, just answer the following question: Which film did Hilary Swank win an Oscar for?

Send your answer to film@seren.bangor. ac.uk with the subject line “PS I Love You Competition” by the 15th of May to be in with a chance of winning. The winner will be notified by e-mail shortly afterwards.

GOOD LUCK! quirky little comments and features, and Mark Varley’s never-ending quest to educate you on World Cinema. If I’ve forgotten anyone, then I do apologise, but you have my thanks.

Although I finish Seren on a high (FIVE competitions!

Unheard of!), I leave with a simple plea. As a 3rd year English and Film student, and potential Masters applicant, I am concerned. Those who have been in Uni since 2005 or earlier will be well aware of the crisis facing simple, nightly culture here in Bangor. The Plaza cinema went in the Summer of 2006, Holyhead lost their cinema, and most worryingly of all, Theatr Gwynedd will be gone this Autumn, with no immediate replacement in sight.

Compounding this cultural misery, the entertainment complex we were promised on the Llandygai Estate has fallen through. Of course, we are promised an exciting new Students Union which will incorporate the Theatre, but when? The entertainment complex may well be built in LlanfairPG, but again, WHEN? These are all new and exciting prospects, sure, but your needs WILL be sacrificed, with nothing in the interim. It’s an absolute disgrace that the main cultural hub of Bangor will be gone, and that if you

“Now, where was I?”

the relationship between Jesse James and Robert Ford (Casey Affleck), the kid brother of Charley (Sam Rockwell) who is part of the famous Jesse James Gang. Ford has always looked upon Jesse as a hero and one day hopes that he can be a member of the gang and make a name for himself. Despite not being trusted by Jesse’s older brother Frank, Robert is accepted into the gang. From then on, Ford’s obsession with Jesse has him kicked out of the gang and their relationship turns tempestuous with a climax obviously made clear from the film’s title.

The film’s strengths lie in the performances from Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck. They keep the film consistently gripping and never boring despite the long running time of 160 minutes. The latter’s performance particular is exemplary and was fully deserving of be-

where he encounters, literally, the woman of his dreams (Cruz). With Gary’s fantasy life increasingly infected by his reality, the moving denouement heralds the power and necessity of dreams and a bittersweet acknowledgment of their limitations.

But Gary can only be with Anna in sleep which consequently sends him on a quest for more frequent slumber. With the help of a new age guru named Mel, (Danny DeVito) Gary shuns reality for the comfort of his dreams even as the troubles of his waking life increase.

To be in with a chance of winning, just answer the following question: Name the comedy sketch show Simon Pegg starred in that was created by Father Ted writer Graham Linehan?

To enter, just e-mail your answer to film@seren.bangor.ac.uk with the subject line “The Good Night Competition” by the 15th of May. The winner will be notified by

want to see any kind of entertainment, be it projected, acted on stage or even sung, then you will have to take a train or a car 15 miles east to seek it. With higher living costs, rising petrol prices and so forth, how many of you can fulfil that wish, that need on a regular basis?

Of course, this could all be redundant in the age of digital distribution, LoveFilm etc.

But the thought of not being able to sit in an auditorium with like-minded individuals, witnessing something special unfold over two hours, that is just frightening. So, what can we do? It is probably futile, but make your voice heard about Theatr Gwynedd.

Complain to anyone and everyone, and use it frequently in these closing months. An Unlimited card at Cineworld has been a worthwhile investment for me, and the way things are going, an absolute steal at £12 a month, consider it if you like your mainstream stuff.

Set up a new film society. Go to the EuroFilm and Amnesty screenings in Main Arts.

Get hold of a 16mm projector, project something, anywhere. But it’s your choice at the end of the day.

So ladies and gentlemen, I bid you farewell and leave you in the capable hands of Mark Varley who is taking over as Film Editor. I’ll still be around Bangor - look for the long haired, bearded individual who talks enthusedly about films, games and music in general. I am a geek at heart after all.

Ian x P.S. Kudos if you recognise the quote.

22

BOOKS

End of year edition 08

books@seren.bangor.ac.uk

www.seren.ac.uk

The Blood Pit by Kate Ellis Moon Dance by Brooke Biaz

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he latest instalment of the Wesley Peterson crime novels is an unstoppable read, with twists and turns that will keep you in suspense. When Detective inspector Peterson is called to a crime scene he soon sees that this is no ordinary murder.

With the victim being paralysed just before all of their blood was drained from their body, Peterson has to find the link between the murder and the victim. With not long before the murderer strikes again, Peterson has to crack this case along with being faced with the threatening letters that his archaeologist friend, Neil Watson, has been receiving about certain rituals that could have happened at the site he is working on, rituals like the draining of monks’ blood. Could these murders and letters be related, and is Watson in trouble? It’s up to Peterson to find out. This is a perfect, must-read for all those who love their great crime novels, especially those who are fans of Ian Rankin and James Patterson.

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his enchanting tale of a family, a conception, a decade and a wonderful birth will ensure you never forget the troubles and deaths that have hit the perfect tropical summer beach house, where its female inhabitants have suffered and lost, but have regained their faith. The story begins with the death of a husband, a father and a provider causing the helpless women to look for lodgers to help pay the bills and keep the house. Three male lodgers arrive; however this causes one little problem for the beautiful leading lady, Daffodil, and a pregnancy that seems to last forever. The first question to be asked in the novel is who is the father

Have Richard and Judy saved reading for the population?

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Emma McColl

J K Rowling and the unofficial Harry Potter

Emma McColl

ver since the popular T.V chat show hosts released their Richard and Judy Book Club four years ago, which has 10 books in it on average, the sales of all these books and the authors’ other books have rose greatly, but why? Has the public now decided that it is best to read as many of these books as possible because of two T.V chat show hosts?

Well, the answer is ‘yes’. Contrary to great belief, the amount of people reading books had dropped every year by approximately 10% per year, however since the release of the Book Club lists there are more people read-

of Daffodils’ unborn child? A question asked many a times by the unborn child. The second question, is she truly pregnant? And the third and most important, will she ever give birth? Moon Dance is a wonderful portrayal of how strong women can be in their times of need and how happy they are when they are free to celebrate the dance of the full moon, when all is well. With captivating characters, an ever unfolding story and all the fun and excitement you could hope for, Moon Dance is a perfect read, especially for those long lazy summer days spent on the beach.

ing books now. The average person used to read only two books per year until the start of the book club four years ago, now it has increased to the average person reading up to eight books per year. This shows that the latest news to hit the publishing industry is that if you can get your book onto the Richard and Judy Book Club list, then the chances are high that your book is going to be read by more people. So is it now going to be a competition to get your book on to the Richard and Judy book list?

Emma McColl

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he infamous creator of the well known Harry Potter franchise has taken a middle-aged librarian to court in America over an unofficial and unauthorised encyclopaedia to the Harry Potter world that Joanne Rowling created.

Steven Vander Ark, aged 50, has released an encyclopaedia called the Harry Potter Lexicon; this Lexicon is a guide to all of the characters in Rowling’s fantasy world, the spells that they use and the places that are mentioned in the seven books.

Rowling claims that she is angered by the fan-written Lexicon because it seems to be an A to Z format that the author, Ark, has created from her books and most of the time, her words.

Testifying in a Manhattan court for the second time since the trial begun, Rowling told the media that she is angered because this book will lead “to the flood gates opening”. When pressed for more on the court case J.K Rowl-

ing replied, “Are we not the owners of our own work?”

However there are claims that there al-

The Galaxy Book of the Year: On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

mond Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre

The Book People – Outstanding Achievement Award: J.K Rowling

The WH Smiths Childrens book of the year: Winner - Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman by Francesca Simon (runners-up) That’s Not My Penguin by Fiona Watt My Little Pony Care Book by Katie Price Born to Run by Michael Morpurage Kiss by Jacqueline Wilson

ready was an A to Z encyclopaedia to the world of Harry Potter. An Irish author called Aubrey Malone claims that she already had

her ‘An A to Z of Harry Potter: Everything You Want to Know About the Boy Wizard and His Creator’ published, roughly six months before Ark released his Harry Potter Lexicon.

However it is Ark’s published work that J.K Rowling is concerned with, claiming that “this book constitutes wholesale theft of seventeen years of my hard work.”

District Judge Robert Patterson Junior is not expected to make a decision on this matter anytime soon. However he has recently commented that the work of J.K Rowling has left him “baffled” and he doesn’t read the Harry Potter books unless he has to.

Related story: Warner Bros. have released a statement claiming that they are to make the seventh Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows into two separate movies. This means that Rowling’s last book will be divided into two movies, the first half to be released in November 2010 and the second half to hit cinemas in May 2011.

Emma McColl

The Galaxy British Books Awards

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very year the publishing industry is in suspense over the annual Galaxy British Book awards, where they are able to see what has made it big in the book world and what has missed out. This year the main story surrounding the awards was J.K Rowling winning the Outstanding Achievement Award for her Harry Potter books. Rowling, who has been in the press recently concerning a court case, is said to be shocked and delighted over the wonderful award. The other big winners of the night were also very happy, the main winner being Ian McEwan who won the Galaxy Book of the Year Award and

the Readers Digest Author of the Year Award, both for his latest novel, On Chesil Beach and Khaled Hosseini, who was also the talk of the night, for his multiple nominations and his win of the Richard and Judy’s Best Read Of The Year for his critically acclaimed novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns. There are a number of different winners from the ten categories of the night, who all celebrated in style after the awards in London.

Emma McColl

The Richard and Judy - Best read of the year: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini Reader Digest – Author of the year: Winner - Ian McEwan for On Chesil Beach (runners-up) Khaled Hosseini for A Thousand Splendid Suns Doris Lessing for The Cleft David Peace for The Damned Utd Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for Half of a Yellow Sun The Tesco Biography of the year: Winner – My Booky Wook by Russell Brand (runners-up) The Blair Years by Alastair Campbell Spilling the Beans by Clarissa Dickson-Wright On the Edge by Richard Ham-

Books Direct – Crime thriller of the year: Winner – Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwall (runners-up) Bad Tuck and Trouble by Lee Child The Tin Roof Blow Down by James Lees Burkes The Grave Tattoo by Val McDermid Exit Music by Ian Rankin Waterstones New comer of the year Award: Winner – Catherine O’Flynn for What Was Lost (runners-up)

Rajir Chandrasekaran for Imperial Life in the Emerald City Stef Penny for the Tenderness of Wolves Paul Torday for the Salmon Fishing in Yemen Marcus Zusak for The Book Thief Sainsbury Popular Fiction Award: Winner - The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards (runners-up) The Ghost by Robert Hans A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini The House at Riverton by Katie Morton An Absolute Scandal by Penny Vincenzi The Play.com Popular Non Fiction Award: Winner – Long Way Down by Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman (runners-up) Don’t Stop Me Now by Jeremy Clarkson Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson A History of Modern Britian

by Andrew Marr The Wild Places by Robert Macfarlane

23

End of year edition 08

SPORT

sport@seren.bangor.ac.uk

www.seren.ac.uk

BANGOR UNIVERSITY SAILING CLUB YEAR IN REVIEW

THE AU AWARD WINNERS 2008 Spirit of the Athletic Union:

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his year the sailing club have had a very event-filled calendar, starting in early November with a trip down to Weymouth for the BUSA fleet racing championship. Four boats were entered, but a lack of wind dogged the weekend and not all races where completed.

At the start of December the club took two teams to West Kirby for the Northern RYA team racing qualifiers. After the January exams two teams returned to West Kirby for the BUSA team racing qualifiers.

Whilst the club did not qualify for either of these events, there was a marked improvement in the quality of racing.

In the run up to Easter, teams were sent

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to Cardiff for the Welsh Dragon, Nottingham for the Snakebite and Manchester for the Big M sailing events. During the Varsity with Aberystwyth University, their Sailing Club was invited up to race on the Saturday, the day was very windy gusting F6-F7 so no racing was held. A few of AUSC’s members stayed to go sailing on the Sunday which proved a highly successful day.

At the end of May a few members of the club went to Bala Lake for a weekend of sailing with Aberystwyth Uni Sailing Club which proved to be an enjoyable weekend.

While the club had no outright success at team racing events it was commented by BUSA committee members that it was good to see BUSC back on the racing circuit after

an absence of 3 years.

The club is starting to foster a relationship with the Royal Anglesey Yacht Club which will lead to club members being invited out to sail some of their keel boats in their racing series. The club has had a large push this year to get money for a new fleet of boats; hopefully this might come to fruition in the next few years.

Big thanks should go to Plas Menai for allowing us to be based at their centre and for the use of their boats, and to the committee who have kept the club afloat and organised events on and off the water.

Dance Club

Club of The Year: Mountain Walking

the Regionals where she rode to the best of her ability.

Our B Team was exceptionally strong this year, winning two out of the three competitions in their sector. This amazing result led them to qualify for the Regionals; the first time that Bangor’s B Team has ever reached this level.

After a lengthy trip to the Trophy Finals during the Easter holidays, all four members of our team rode incredibly well, and enjoyed the experience of a more taxing and competitive atmosphere. A huge well done to Jenny Scott, Amanda Grace, Naomi Giles and Sharon Smithurst, as well as their reserve member Alice Gadsby.

Without the organisation skills of our team captain, Wayne Clarke, these competitions would not have been possible so a

Paul Johnson (Rowing)

Rugby Union

Sportswoman of the Year:

Fresher of the Year:

AU President’s Award:

Team of the Year:

Sam Aldridge (Fencing)

Laura Reilly (Badminton) Paul Johnson (Rowing)

Giles Ferrier

GREAT SUCCESS IN 2008 FOR RIDING CLUB

angor Riding Club has had yet another successful year, and was pleased to receive many new members at Serendipity.

This year we had two teams competing in the BUSA Leagues, both of which did us proud. Our A Team had tough competition, with the Universities of Manchester and Sheffield in their section. All of our team members achieved individual placings, with Lauren Kelly coming 4th at Sheffield, Sam Scales winning our home competition, with Rachel Upson coming second, and finally Wayne Clarke finishing second at the last of our competitions at Manchester!

The A team came 3rd as a team in their section, and great fun was had by all. Special congratulations to Sam who, for her second time at Bangor University, represented us at

Sportsman of the Year:

UNIVERISITY BADMINTON TEAM IN WELSH CUP

special thank you goes out to him, and to all the members of the club who came and gave their support at these competitions- despite the weather!

All that remains now is to say good luck to all of the Riding Club members who are leaving Bangor this year, and a huge thank you to all our members who have made the club what it is this year. Lauren and I have really enjoyed our times as Captains, and look forward to the presentation evening in May. Can we take this opportunity to wish the new captains, Ellie Sutcliffe and Sharon Smithurst, every success for the upcoming academic year, and just to say one last thank you, and goodbye!

Rachel Upson

SPORTING MEMORIES OF THIRD YEAR STUDENT

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hen playing university sport at Bangor, as I’m sure many of you would agree, there are always many events to remember.

One event that really stands out for me after three years playing for Bangor rugby league is one fateful Wednesday afternoon last year in Manchester.

This specific Wednesday afternoon we were due to play Manchester Metropolitan University away in a crucial league match, however due to the University’s policy of cramming Wednesdays full of lectures, we were barely able to throw together a team.

At about 11 in the morning I was woken up by a frantic teammate ringing in an attempt to bolster numbers, as I myself had originally intended to stay in Bangor for an ‘enjoyable’ afternoon of lectures.

Upon arriving at the students union building, where we were meeting before heading to Manchester, I was astonished

to find that there were so few players ready to go; in the end we headed up with only 14 players (there are 13 starting players to a team).

On the way up to Manchester the minibus was quiet as the team made up of a mixture of experienced, inexperienced and first time players, of which many were recruited on the day, feared a thrashing by a very tough Man Met team.

When we arrived at Manchester however, the team spirit took over, with the more experienced players helping to inspire confidence in the rest, and by the time we left the changing rooms we were buzzing.

Even when we came out onto the pitch and saw the large Man Met squad awaiting us, we still maintained our confidence. Lead from the front by a heroic effort from the senior players, the inexperienced lads visibly gained confidence on the pitch, so much so that by halftime we were comfortably in

the lead.

And although Man Met came back strongly in the second half, the Bangor fighting spirit kicked in and instead of just ‘holding on’ for the win, we crushed them 34 – 18.

In the changing rooms after the match and in the minibus on our way back there was a festival atmosphere with the entire team not understanding exactly how we overcame a strong team away, with what we believed to be a depleted team.

And so I’d say this would be my favourite memory out of my three years playing sport at Bangor, as not only did we do the ‘impossible’ but I believe the fighting spirit, teamwork and never say die attitude that we had that day epitomises the spirit of University team sport.

Chris Hilderbrand

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he Badminton team always looks forward to the annual Welsh Universities Cup and this year was no different.

The club sent a team of 9 players down to Cardiff on the 26th and 27th of April. The team finished fourth overall on the team event day. The team met more success on the individual Championships day with ladies captain Laura Thomas and doubles partner Christina Shiels coming runners up in the ladies doubles event. Laura Thomas and Emma Adams reached the semifinals of the ladies singles event but

were knocked out after hard-fought games. Second men’s team captain Fiach O’Rourke was denied a place in the men’s singles semi-finals by a mere 3 point difference. The Cup brought an end to the badminton season and we definitely celebrated in style with our fellow competitors in Cardiff. Bangor will be hosting the Cup next year and we hope that the team will continue to build on this year’s achievements.

Laura Reilly

SPORT SPORT FOR ALL IN 2010?

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ithin the next two years it’s possible that Wednesday afternoons are going to be free from lectures, allowing those who wish to play sport the chance to do so. This however is only an aim and plans are in the early stages at the moment. The University’s website advertising sport says that “Your time as a student is the ideal opportunity to try out something new or get together with people who share the same interests and hobbies as you.” It also says, “It’s your chance to get your life sorted from bank accounts, part-time work and joining Students’ Union clubs and sports teams.” If there are to be clashes between sport and lectures at present then students need to know at least why this is and what difficulties the timetable unit face in trying to deal with the problem.

There are currently 295 degrees on offer here at Bangor (not including health care which isn’t timetabled) with a combined total of nearly 3,000 modules between them which need to be fitted on the timetable. Yet the sheer number of modules is not the sole reason for there being so many lectures being held on Wednesday afternoons. Science practicals for example are attended by high

numbers and therefore students have to be grouped to keep class sizes down. The result is that a group will be allocated the Wednesday slot. Travelling times for students need to be considered also. For example, those travelling to or from Menai Bridge need adequate time to do so and therefore can’t have lectures grouped too closely together.

Two main time slots are kept free more than others and they are Monday mornings at 9am and later on Friday afternoons.

If Wednesday afternoons are to be kept free in the future then it’s highly likely that these slots are going to be filled. Unfortunately some lecturers have complained that students aren’t showing up to their lectures at these times but that will have to change if anything is to be done in future. Patsy Thomas, Senior Assistant Registrar and Line Manager of the timetable unit at Bangor commented further on the problems that the timetable unit face. She said that PJ Hall in Main Arts tends to be kept free on Fridays in preparation for concerts and open days.

Surely morning and early afternoon lectures could still be held in the hall on Fridays as it accommodates lectures for large numbers of psychology students in particular.

The good news though is that the problem is being looked at. Timetable modelling is currently underway with a timetable being drawn up allowing Wednesday afternoons free. This, along with the University’s sports strategy questionnaire, will be analyzed and hopefully things will begin to change for the 2009/10 academic year. The University’s sports strategy results will be vital in gaining a knowledge and appreciation of how the students feel about all aspects of sporting life in Bangor. It’s a shame that it has taken this long for a serious movement to take place (the Maes Glas sports centre for example hasn’t received an upgrade for ten years).

With more and more students attending Bangor every year (evident from the amount of new student accommodation under construction) there will be an expectation for the sports facilities to match the University’s impressive academic reputation. Our sports teams battle week in week out to compete against the best and these efforts need to be rewarded.

Will Varley

     

Fencing Sailing Badminton Horse Riding AU award winners Third year memories

3RD PLACE FOR THE CANOE POLO BOYS!

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pril saw another BUSA event and this time around it was the Canoe Polo team’s turn to shine.

After leaving Bangor with three fairly strong teams (mens’ 1st, ladies and old boys), we managed to show the rest of the competition what training and hard work actually mean.

Bangor’s Canoe Polo team has only been running for three years but unfortunately has a vast lack of resources for its members.

As well as this, the majority of players are first years and therefore have only started playing polo since September. It was a surprise for everyone that they should go from ‘Best Newcomers’ straight to third place with the mens’ 1st team undefeated!

Congratulations boys!

Charlotte Bewley

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We are in the process of completing our second development on the High Street in time for September 2008, and our Show Flat is now available for viewing any time during the day or evening.

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he Bangor Men’s Fencing Team has defeated the odds this year to finish second in their league and reach the quarter finals of their BUSA knockouts.

After last years success as a club, the Men’s fencing team have managed to convert Club success into a massive step up in the team’s performance. Last season’s misfortune and disappointment, finishing number five in the league, meant that we hoped to improve.

The team really pulled it together this year. In September we were bolstered by the addition of a couple of fencers and since then the team hasn’t looked back. Defeating teams who last year were better than us, has become common practice, we even managed to claim the scalp of Liverpool University Men’s firsts. Unfortunately Manchester firsts had also managed to gain ground and whilst it was close, they still managed to beat us, pushing us into second place in the league.

Finishing second allowed us to go through to the BUSA knockouts. Luckily we managed to get a guaranteed home run through to the semi-finals. Having drawn with Loughborough we were unsure as to what to expect, but we shouldn’t have worried they only proved difficult in one weapon (there are three in fencing) and we won 133-92.

Our next match was against

Aberdeen, and as they had an eleven hour train journey to get there we hoped for the best. With a large crowd to support us and an intense atmosphere we fought our best, and I think everyone in the team wanted to win, but unfortunately they beat us and we went out 116-135, which in fencing is very close.

Losing is always hard, but going out in the quarter finals, to a team that came second is a massive achievement. It was great to have so many people there to support us and none of us can wait until next October when it all starts again.

Chris Reid