Seren - 208 - 2009-2010 - October 2009 by Seren

Bangor Students’ Union’s English Language Newspaper

ISSN 1755-7585

Issue No. 208

October Issue 2009

And the walls came tumbling down...

INSIDE:

Willow sits on a bench

Arts Centre gets the go ahead but where will our Union go? By Georgia Mannion

year on from the closure of Theatr Gwynedd our Students’ Union remains somewhat un-bulldozed. Because of complications with finances, the University wouldn’t buy somewhere to relocate the Union to. Instead, it was suggested it move to Rathbone, which was not meant to house students this year. As plans to cap the number of students next year were in the pipeline, the University allegedly accepted more students than it could cater for, opening halls which were meant to be closed this year (Rathbone and Reichel) and offered more places in JMJ to students whose first language is not Welsh. The facts were woolly and the figures sticky and that is not a great combination. Finally, this week it was unveiled that the University are receiving £15m from the Welsh Assembly to build the Arts & Innovation Centre and the fog on the facts seems to have lifted. Professor Mervyn Jones, the University’s Vice-Chancellor, said “This will be a centre where science meets the arts, where students will learn new design skills to solve real-world problems, improving their job prospects and providing local businesses with innovative new talent. It will

make a significant contribution to the economic regeneration of the area and to our young peoples’ future" When asked what had caused the delay in information, Mike Goodwin, Director of Estates & Facilities said “Funding was the main issue but we’re very pleased and excited to have received a vote of confidence from the Welsh Assembly so the plans can definitely proceed. We’ve not yet concluded where the Students’ Union will move to; it’s something we’re still working on, however, we’re not just looking at Rathbone. We’re taking into account the impact it will have on the students and plan to work through it with the Union.” The Arts Centre’s grant is one of a number of grants given by the Welsh Assembly this year to fund projects such as affordable housing, schools and children’s hospitals. Bangor’s future, therefore, is looking bright as ever, but one or two things seem to have slipped our collective minds. Firstly, the University are spending a total of £30m on the Arts & Innovation centre at the same time as looking to close the Wrexham campus. When asked how this reflects on the University Mike Goodwin replied

“Although we’re going to work through the implications, the project will benefit a huge number of students”. Though this doesn’t entirely answer our question, at least it shows the University is thinking about it. The second issue no one has brought up is that the Students’ Union currently houses Academi and Amser/Time, two of Bangor’s limited selection of clubs. In any other city the loss of two bars might not be such a huge loss but here, they are integral to sustaining Bangor’s nightlife. Not all of us have the energy for Hendre or the stomach for Octagon; this begs the question, where will we go? For students arriving from Manchester, Edinburgh or Belfast the lack of evening options is already quite bemusing and something which can easily put people off when Universities as close as Liverpool offer a much more lively scene. No plans have surfaced to replace our clubs, and it seems the issue is being taken less seriously than other implications of the plan and begs the question – is the University really taking our needs into account? Much as the Centre will benefit students and the wider community there are still unanswered questions. The fact that none of the current students will gain anything from

the project due for completion in 2012, has been neatly glossed over. How fair it is to move the Union potentially during the academic year when students rely so heavily on it is another query with no answer. Although we know more than we did last week the future for us and our Union remains cloudy. It’s easy to be swept along with the excitement of the new build but even easier to let our needs be lost in what Prof. Jones is calling a “tremendously ambitious project and is one of the most exciting initiatives of its kind in Europe, if not the world.” John Jackson, President of the Students’ Union said “The past 12 months have been a period of great uncertainty for the Students’ Union, and whilst we don’t yet know the full details surrounding the new build, we have been given assurances that we will be involved and consulted throughout the development process and that we will be given sufficient alternative accommodation and facilities in the interim period. Obviously the interim period is not ideal, but I am determined to ensure (and will strongly recommend to my successor that s/he ensures too) that we can still provide as much as possible of what we do at the moment - or, who knows, maybe even more!”.

Latest T.V. reviews

Creative Corner

Dear Steph and Lucy

The 2009 Maes Glas Fitness Challenge

Are you up for it? (01248) 382 157 or call in for details

4th Nov - 5th Dec

Bangor Universit Issue

www.maesglas.co.uk Maesglas@bangor.ac.uk

EDITORIAL Freshers’ Issue 2009 Contributors: Jez Harvey Emily Collins Dominic Vince Aimee Robyn Carter Anna Donigan Michael Onyekwere Rachel Davies Paul Dicken Victoria Osten Thom Flint Nick Major James McAllister Spencer George Tom Hecht Stephanie Williams Lucy Orchiston Thomas Owen Gareth Edwards Nik Hughes Joe Beardwood Stephanie Ellis Alex Close Elizabeth Bowley Nick Lee Kayley Roberts Emma Daniels David Horn Kim Pemberton Christiane Zander Rebecca Farrell Callum Ryme Katie Dyer Emma Dorman Esther Milton Jenny Reed Tom Pike Heather Torrance Luke Davies Leighton Owen Nick Cowan Gemma Ellis Dwight McCarthy Peter Williams Mitchell Bradley-Williams Joey McNally Nick O’Hara Rhiannon Thompson Photography: Aaron Wiles Special thanks to: Jez Harvey Jess Hughes Emma Louise Wakeﬁled Gemma Ellis Proof reading: The Sabbs

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Hello again! This issue we have lot s of lovely new sub-ed itors joining our rank Martyn, Rachel and St s. Say hello to Louise, acey as well as our So cial Sec Aimee. This tim contributions (as you e we’ve had loads of can see) so thanks to everyone who sent th I reccommend the int ings in. eresting Comment ar ticles, the Travel sect and (as always) Willo ion, the Creative Corn w Does. Of course I th er ink the whole paper is that pushy parents th amazing (in the way ink their children are amazing at everythin I’ve especially enjoye g) but those are the d this time round. bits Last time I told you th e music that got us th rough, this time I’d lik never want to hear a e you to know that I Cheryl Cole song again . I may be scarred fo lenting barrage of Xfac r life after Aaron’s unre tor music. I feel like I should ha ve an insightful messa ge for you but it’s 7:56am light, cleaners are pu , Bangor is getting shing brooms around the SU Media Room an 21 hours now withou d I have been here for t a whisper of a sleep so please forgive me. All that’s left for me to say is thank you again to everyone who helpe I hope you’ll continue d create this issue, to contribute and ple ase get in touch via ed ac.uk, poke us on fa itor@Seren.bangor cebook, or tweet us on . Twitter (@Serenbango r).

If Eisenstein can do it then I’m sure I ca n do it. Georgia

PS. Apologies for anot her rubbish picture bu t it’s difﬁcult to ﬁnd a facebook when you ar picture of yourself fro e on your own and no m t doing something eit or damaging to. her incredibly embara ssing

THE SEREN TEAM

Editor News Features Music Film Travel Sport Design Team:

Georgia Mannion Liz Stevens Stacey Gannon Aaron Wiles Louise Cotteril Rachel Stretton Martyn Singleton Dan Turner Jo Caulﬁeld

RECYCLE Here at Seren, there’s nothing we love more than Mother Nature and d’you know what she loves? Recycling! After you’ve ﬁnished with us, can you put us in your blue box and make sure we get made into something else? Thanks very much.

NEWS

“I’m not sure how much longer I can support my daughter. It’s heartbreaking when she’s worked so hard to get where she is” to fill in the gap for them at the start of the year. One mature student, Dawn from Manchester, emailed the BBC saying that as a mature student, “With no parents or family, I have no one and no way of supporting myself if my finances don't arrive”. Luckily for people like Kim and Dawn, universities are also providing more in the way of emergency loans and grants for students still waiting for loans. Our own Students Union Advice Centre has been actively working with landlords to raise awareness of this year's problems and negotiate new rental schedules. Whilst there’s

dents President, Wes Streeting, welcomed the news and hopes that, “The management of the SLC will be held to account for a fiasco that has left hundreds of thousands affected by late payments, lost documentation and a miserable start to their first term at university". Sadly, a slow and ineffectual response to the problem is all the Government can do, because it’s too late. These are problems that should have been solved 6 months ago when it became clear just how many people were applying for extra funding. Clearly no one meant for this to hap-

pen, but that is not the point. A ‘new system’ and a higher number of students is a pathetic excuse and is frankly insulting to the students left stranded by the inefficiencies and lack of fore-thought. Unfortunately everyone involved in the situation seems more interested in pointing the finger at each other than solving the crisis, something that is surely of no help to a desolate student. The SLC, for their part, have pledged that all those who got their applications in “on time” will have their loans by the end of October, but it is unclear as to what they mean by that. Some people are reporting that documentation was lost by the SLC, and they are now being treated as late applicants. At present, all students in Bangor still waiting for loans can do is continue to badger the SLC and contact the Students Union Advice Centre and the Student Services Department of the University for advice on how to get any support they may need at this time. One parent summed up people’s mood, “I am not sure how much longer I can support my daughter and it is heartbreaking for her to have this worry when she has worked so hard to get where she is today”.

Jez Harvey

Lock up your laptops!

Statistics show 1 in 3 students is a victim of burglary

oving out of halls is an exciting time. You’ve got your own house; no wardens, no time limits and most importantly, no parents. But along with this excitement comes nerves. Nerves that you may not be able to make bill payments; worries you may run out of food, and (heaven forbid) hot water. In amongst all this, what we may not consider is whether or not our belongings are safe. Last year, in Bangor alone, there were approximately ten break-ins, quite a large nu m b e r

for such a small community. Surprisingly, copy. A statement, given by the Develop- attackers. this number had decreased on the previ- ment Director of MLA (Master Locksmiths One incident in Upper Bangor saw a ous year, which saw a record peak of eight- Association), however, points out the fact student house viciously attacked by three een burglaries. This could be attributed to that some agencies clearly overlook the fact burglars. The items taken only had a small many students being unaware of the risks, that if a replica key is made, then previous monetary value, but were worth a lot inand being ignorant of the necessary pre- tenants may still be able to gain entry into sentimentality. Thankfully, the occupants cautions to negate these fears. that house. This puts potential tenants of were only left with minor wounds and Figures from the Home Office reveal that dwelling at an incredibly high risk. He shock. Dan Kiley, 20, a Bangor student, that one in three students is a victim of goes on to urge landlords to act more re- stated, ‘We were shocked and actually burglary each year. In quite scared, “Last year in Bangor there were 10 break-ins, response to this, the as it was only Home Office have quite a large number for such a small community” round the released a flurry corner from of tips to help protect against thieves and sponsibly by putting the safety of tenants as us. We decided to step up our security, and intruders. These include: locking all win- their top priority. lock our valuables away’. dows and doors when going out, travel in It is not just the Home Office and the So it seems that students are more at groups and to mark your belongings MLA that are making student security a risk of violent crimes then some of us with your student I.D number priority, however. During Serendipity a thought. However, the benefits of living in to prevent the burglar from Bangor Police distributed safety packs to such a small community is that students selling on your possessions students. They also allowed students to are in quite close proximity to each other. and making it easier for take part in ‘Balance your Bobbies’, essen- Why not go and speak to your neighbours the police to return them tially informing officers of which crimes and build up a friendship with each other? to you. These ideas may they thought needed the most attention in Soon you will find that when you go back seem simple, and as such the community. Burglary/ theft ended up home to give your mother the nice bundle could be overlooked for in the top four. of washing you have created, your house being too easy. This clearly shows that the authorities will be safer with neighbours keeping an A common, al- are taking an interest in student opinions eye on the place. We don’t have to be victhough often incorrect and perhaps this is why crime numbers tims, so let’s do all we can to fight back. presumption is that are falling. However, there have been inonce someone has re- stances of serious break-ins in Bangor, in Dominic Vince turned a key it is the only which students have been harmed by their

BANGOR IN BRIEF

not much they can do to make it easier on students this year, Beverly Jones, the Advice Centre Manager, advises that all students “Contact the SLC every now and again and ask for a progress report on their application. In doing so, hopefully any problems can be resolved before coming to university”. The Government response has been slow. After weeks of playing down problems they have finally announced an external review, but this will not hurry along missing loans. The National Union of Stu-

BANGOR IN BRIEF

lack of loan made her life difficult, but luckily, “my landlord is very understanding”. Some may not be so lucky. Part of the rise in student numbers has been due to more mature students heading to university. This year, there has been a 17% rise in 21-24 year olds applying for university and a 22% rise amongst those aged 25 and over. Unfortunately for most of them, not receiving their loan can mean a quick end to their university life. Unlike those leaving for the first time, they do not have parents

BANGOR IN BRIEF

he start of this academic year was marred for many students by the late arrival of their student loan. Many students, especially first years, were (and continue to be) affected by problems within Student Finance England, the organisation that now organises loans to students from England. At the time of print there were around 148,000 students still awaiting payment, though the SLC pointed out that some of those include cancelled and incomplete applications. They say they have dealt with more students in the same time space than last year, and that the problems are due to the sheer volume of extra students (estimated at roughly 60,000) applying for loans. However, this doesn’t make life any easier for the students who cannot pay rent, buy food and textbooks, or even enjoy their Freshers’ Week, a time most students meet a lot of friends and start to forge the bonds that are supposed to last a lifetime. Many students have come forward detailing their own problems. Kim Brennan, a Journalism and Media student from Liverpool told me that, “It seems they lost my declaration due to either the postal strikes, sheer stupidity or the vast amounts of applications. Either way I'm hoping it comes through soon”. She went on to say that the

BANGOR IN BRIEF

148,000 students still pennyless after ﬁnance shambles

BANGOR IN BRIEF

Student Loan Chaos

BANGOR IN BRIEF

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

It seems students do Love Bangor There has been a positive response to the recently launched Love Bangor scheme; with approximately 1000 cards already sold to students. Although the cards guarantee students discounts on the High Street and beyond, it also involves them in a wider scheme, that of the Bangor Pride initiative, which is looking to improve and regenerate the city. Speaking to the local media at a Bangor Pride meeting, Gwenan Hine, assistant registrar of the University, reiterated the positive response of the scheme, and the positive impact it hopes to have on the local community.

Making the Grade It was announced at the recent Union General Meeting that there are to be changes in the way students’ work is marked. Union President John Jackson announced plans that percentage marking is to be scrapped, paving the way for letter grading. This is to be done as many departments refuse to grade above a 75%, therefore making a Bangor University first less competitive, whereas it may be regarded as a much higher percentage elsewhere. The changes are expected to filter in throughout the year, being introduced fully by next year.

Facebook saving degrees? Reports are claiming that social networking sites such as Facebook are reducing the numbers of student drop outs. Gloucestershire College are claiming that the sites are providing an extra level of support for students, allowing staff to communicate with them via groups and forums, and allowing students to exchange information regarding courses. Finally a valid reason for the amount of time we spend on these sites…

More hikes? A Government advisor has warned that student fees are to rise if current educational standards are to be maintained. Although Professor John Holman’s comments are unlikely to be popular with students already facing mountains of debt, he has forecast a bleak future unless the fee cap is lifted: ‘It's very difficult to see how a future of excellence throughout the university system can be maintained unless at some point there's a more economic approach to university fees. It is difficult to see how excellence is sustainable without [lifting the cap].’

NEWS

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Illegal to be Gay?

The Testicle Tour of Bangor

ver wondered what it would be like to have a giant pink fluffy testicle walking around Bangor? Well on Friday 2nd October this question was well and truly answered, as cancer campaigner Nick O’Hara Smith took the streets of the city to raise awareness of male cancers. Mr. O’Hara Smith, who himself survived testicular cancer over 20 years ago, sat down with Seren to discuss why the message he is delivering is crucial for the male population. Spearheading his campaign under the internationally renowned Live Strong campaign, Mr. O’Hara Smith’s message extends beyond simply raising awareness of testicular cancer, extending to lesser known illnesses such as testosterone and hormone deficiency, and more obscure cancers, such as prostate cancer. Both the former and the latter are just as devastating. Regarding the fluffy pink testicle, which, to Seren’s immense relief, was just a gym ball wrapped in fabric, Mr. O’Hara Smith commented: ‘People are always

going to be reticent – it’s about using humour to break the ice then moving on to discuss the real issues.’ He also spoke of his desire for better press and education about the issue on a basic level, arguing that this is the only thing that will deliver the message, claiming we are moving in the right direction but still need to see a ‘c’ change in our society – in particular in the male dominated portions, where scarce little is known about male diseases and hormones, even in the medical profession. When asked about the response of the student population of Bangor, Mr. O’Hara Smith was very complimentary, saying that the response had been overwhelmingly positive. He also spoke of his pleasure that nearly all young men he spoke to in the city said that they regularly checked for signs of cancer, and spoke of his hope that they will continue to do so. In 2006, 2065 men in the UK were diagnosed with testicular cancer, and in 2007, it was responsible for 58 deaths.

Proposed Ugandan law seeks to outlaw homosexuality, sparking outrage amongst the International community

O Testicular cancer accounts for 1% of all cancers in the United Kingdom; early detection and treatment is key. Prostate cancer, about which less is known and reported, accounts for a quarter of all cancers detected in men, and is actually the most common male cancer in the United Kindgom. It is the second largest male cancer killer, claiming around 10,000 victims a year; second only to lung cancer. If it detected early, however, around 7 in 10 sufferers now live beyond 5 years; this number was only 3 in 10 in the 1970’s. Although it commonly affects the elderly, cases amongst young men do happen. Mr. O’Hara Smith will be returning to Bangor in the near future to continue his campaign, so keep an eye out for the fluffy testicle. If, in the meantime, however, you wish to get involved or just get more information about the issue, visit www.androids.org.uk, and remember to keep checking!

Liz Stevens

Fire in the Bone! Freshers’ Week ﬂames ignite issue of student ﬁre safety

n October 14th, Uganda shocked the international human rights world by introducing a draft ‘Anti-Homosexuality Bill’ into its Parliament. Under existing Ugandan law, anyone with 'carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature' i.e. any person with knowledge of another practising homosexuality, faces up to 14 years in prison. The draft bill seeks to take this abhorrent law further; calling for life imprisonment for anyone ‘convicted’ of homosexuality. This backward and archaic law has been criticised by 17 international human rights groups, who are calling for its immediate withdrawal. If it were to become law, provisions would be included for 7

The Ugandan Bill is only partial evidence of Africa’s hateful attitude towards sexuality. The case of Eudy Simelane, the former female South African football star hammers home not only the geographical distance of our countries, but also our differences in attitudes. Simelane was killed for being a lesbian, in a horrific practice that is all too common in these countries; corrective rape. Her vicious murder was perpetrated by men trying to ‘cure’ her of her homosexuality; this cure involved brutally raping and beating Eudy, and proceeding to stab her over 25 times. Unfortunately, this is not as uncommon as one would like to believe. 86% of South African lesbians have said they live in fear

We need to find a unified voice and fights against laws and practices that have no place in our society years imprisonment for promoting homosexuality, the criminalisation of the work of international activists and campaigners, including placing massive barriers in the way of HIV/AIDS workers in the country, and 3 years imprisonment for anyone who fails to report any knowledge of others’ homosexuality within 24 hours. Perhaps the most shocking fact of all is the media and authorities support of this campaign. It is easy to assume in this country that the LGBT community are on a reasonably even ground as far as rights and freedoms are concerned. Although rampant homophobia still exists within this country, evidenced by the contraversial and widely criticised Daily Mail article written by Jan Moir on the death of Steven Gately, we are much more forward and direct in attacking and fighting against the prejudices (the 25,000 or so complaints received by the Press Complaints Commission and the subsequent investigation to follow sufficient proof of this), and are arguably doing so quite successfully. But it is easy to forget the plight of others who are not so lucky.

of sexual assault, and although Simelane’s trial has ended in conviction, over 30 cases over the past decade have not ended so successfully. Even Eudy’s trial, although a positive step, served to highlight the obvious phobias and issues present in the country, the trial judge claiming her sexuality was not an issue in her murder. Yet no-one need sit back and accept this rampant injustice. Individuals can stand up and cry out against this, and become a voice amongst the many other calling for change. Too many are ignorant of the plight of these women; Unity Bangor together with Amnesty are just one of the many bodies out there campaigning for better awareness and action against these horrifying issues. These women needn’t suffer; we need to find a unified voice and fight against laws and practices that have no place in our society.

Liz Stevens

Society Card Surprise The introduction of £2 societies cards causes a stir at Students’ Union General meeting

Firemen were called out to Neuadd Rathbone at 4 am during Freshers’ Week after a student left their cooking unattended.

hock resonated on Thursday 24th the fire alarms work. Last year, Bangor a third year English Literature with Film of September, right in the midst of students were responsible for around 200 student, had been living in his new shared Freshers’ Week, when Neuadd Rath- false fire alarms, which at least two fire house for just four months when he manbone got its first serious fire call out of crews must investigate. The University aged to accidently set his room ablaze after the term. At 4am, a resident student had must pay around £250 every time a false forgetting to turn off his lamp. Thankfully, started cooking after returning from a fire alarm is set off but the cost is not just he had a working fire alarm in his room night out. They forgot to remove the plas- monetary. Time spent by fire crews at- and most of his possessions were saved, tic packaging before putting food in the tending false alarms could jeopardise lives but the room was devastated. Recalling the traumatic experience, David said: “It oven, causing poisonous fumes to flood if there were to be a real fire elsewhere. Mr. Llewelyn also told the media: “By was terrible, I had nowhere to live. I’d just the kitchen. They then left the cooker unattended. The emerfinished exams and gency services arrived “Last year, Bangor students were responsible was celebrating that when this new stressto find 70 students for around 200 false ﬁre alarms” standing outside and ful thing happened. I ensured the safe evacuation of all other learning about how the Fire and Rescue ended up crashing at halls and it just had residents before a full investigation began. Service operates, [students] are made to such a bad effect on my life. All I have is Dafydd Llewelyn, from the North Wales realise the consequences a false fire call bad memories of that house; whenever I Fire and Rescue Service, speaking to local may have - that setting off an alarm de- think about it all I can see is the fire.” media, commented: “It could have been liberately ties up life saving resources that The Fire Kills campaign offers top much more serious and it’s vitally impor- may be needed elsewhere and that their tips for ensuring home fire safety, and tant for students to be aware of the fire actions may be putting the lives of others although they may seem trivial, some are risks where they live and to take proper at risk. Of course, the more often a false probably often overlooked by students. You can arrange a free home fire safefire alarm sounds, the more likely people notice of fire alarms.” In Bangor, compulsory fire talks are will ignore the alarm when there is a real ty check by calling free phone 0800 169 held at the start of every academic year for fire, which puts people at much greater 1234, e-mailing cfs@nwales- fireservice.org.uk or visiting the website: www. new students living in halls. Tests are then risk." conducted throughout the first few weeks But it is not just Freshers who can nwales-fireservice.org.uk. of every semester in every hall to ensure learn from this. Last year, David Johnson,

Aimee Robyn Carter

f you are one of the lucky few who are involved in running a society and were at the first day of Serendipity last month, you probably received a piece of paper from Tom Hecht, the Union’s Societies and Events Officer. The letter informed people that as of this year, anyone wishing to be a member of one of the S.U.’s societies had to now sign up to an activities card, costing £2. This was to be in addition to the membership fee and would be used to cover the cost of insurance for the societies. This caused some discussion amongst the student body, not least because nobody from the S.U.’s Senate or the Societies Committee remembered anything like this being discussed, or had heard any word of this prior to the letter. This was also very definitely a letter informing people that these cards were now compulsory, as opposed to inviting a discussion about the subject. Some were so unhappy they raised the issue at the Students’ Union’s General Meeting a few weeks later, and took the chance to raise their concerns and try and get some questions answered. Feeling was relatively mixed on the subject, with some people arguing that the cards were akin to a tax on societies, others arguing that the introduction of the cards was “dictatorial”

due to the lack of dialogue on the subject. Others were arguing for them, saying that the low cost of the cards was a negligible addition to the individual society’s membership fee and although it may have been rushed, the simple fact is that these cards are necessary to continuing financially. One of the most rousing speeches was given by Rob Samuel, last year’s Athletic Union President and a current Trustee of the Students’ Union. Speaking after a string of complaints about the cards, he argued forcefully that A.U. members had long had to pay higher fees to be a member of a club. This money helps cover insurance and costs of running four minibuses and the MPV. It seemed to swing a lot of opinion, and lead to the largest cheer of the evening. In response to the criticism of the manner of the introduction John Jackson, President of the Students’ Union, took responsibility for the matter and offered an apology for it, but made clear that the revenues the cards would bring was absolutely essential to the Union. Without them, there would have to be drastic cuts to the budget.

Jez Harvey

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

All my enemies diiee, die, die

NEWS The Giant Panda Debate

Nigerian pastors murdering children ‘in the name of Christ’...

ll my enemies die, die, die. This might sound like a chant you would hear in a rap video, but it’s actually a common refrain in most Nigerian churches. I had a Christian upbringing; we woke at 5am on Sundays and went to the kids’ church with Sister Margaret, who fed us biscuits and Ribena and told us how incredible Jesus was. Those days were great; all we had to do was follow the Ten Commandments, eat our biscuits and we were sure to go to Heaven. I was ready to be a Christian forever. That was until I grew older and moved to the adult church, only to find there was something eerie about that place. The Jesus in the kiddie church loved giving people fishes and bread; the Jesus in the adult church had a knack for giving people afflictions. Whilst we were taught in the kids’ church that Jesus was a healer, in the adult church Jesus was a weapon used to destroy anyone that was considered a problem. My favourite part of being in the kiddie church (apart from the food of course) was testimony time, where we basically stood in front of the church and told the rest of the congregation how wonderful God had been to us. This was usually the part where kids would thank God for passing exams or not bedwetting or getting a new pet. In the adult church it was completely different. I remember the pastor passing the mi-

crophone to Brother Thomas , who had a particularly wonderful testimony. He took the mic and the congregation went quiet in eager anticipation. “Praise the Lord!” He screamed. “Hallelujah!” We screamed back. Then preceded his testimony. Brother Thomas had moved into a house that

shocked to discover that Nigerian pastors are no longer content with praying for the death of suspected witches and wizards, now they want to actually want to kill them on God’s behalf. Over the last year, there has been a spate of child murders in the name of Christ, and exorcism has become an in-

When these so called pastors begin to pick on the most vulnerable members of our society it becomes necessary to ask how much it’s really worth he shared with another man, Bayo. He was a womanising drunk that didn’t believe in the existence of God. No sooner had brother Thomas moved in with the heathen, he lost his job. Brother Thomas prayed to God for respite and God revealed to him that the sins of Bayo were blocking his blessings - so Brother Thomas began to pray for the demise of Bayo. To cut a long story short, he came home one day to find Bayo dead. The week before he gave this testimony in church he was also offered his dream job. Great testimony! You should have seen the church erupt. I, however, was more than a little confused; no one had informed me God was more vengeful than that crazy chick in Kill Bill. This story, however, is not a one off. This is what tends to happen in the Nigerian church, and in most churches where the bible is interpreted literally. I was

dustry of sorts with parents paying pastors to rid their child of their demons. In order to understand the problem one has to consider the vastness of Nigeria, a country of over 140 million, most living below the poverty line. In a country with so many poor and no help from the government, many turn to faith for succour, and there is a ready market for unscrupulous people to sell their own brand of salvation to desperate people. But when these so called pastors begin to pick on the most vulnerable members of our society it becomes necessary to ask how much it’s really worth. For Mr Edet, his salvation was worth the life of his nine year old son Nwankwo, who after a consultation with the family pastor was declared a witch. His father forced acid down his throat in order to exorcise his demons. Nwankwo was killed in the process.

Then there was 7 year old Mary. Her family branded her a witch, mercilessly leaving her to be beaten by three strange men who entered her bedroom at night, force fed her poisonous berries, and doused her in a mixture of hot water and caustic soda. All these children were subjected to “deliverance”. Deliverance originally referred to the Lord’s Prayer, which asked God to deliver us from all evil. I have been to a few of these events before and thankfully my demon must have been weak, as I escaped relatively scot free. My deliverance from evil involved the pastor gripping my head in both his hands while screaming at the demon to get out. After a few minutes he declared me delivered and I went back home just in time for Power Rangers. Other children, however, are not as lucky as I was. It is a near endless list of fundamentalism gone mad. But before anyone dismisses these as the actions of a backward nation, even more developed nations have their own share of religious bigots. These people have taken a religion and bastardized it to suit their own ends. I wonder sometimes where my Jesus went. I guess he never left the kids church.

Michael Onyekwere

Yes, No, Whatever?

With the Irish voting in favour of Lisbon, Seren explores what this ‘Yes’ means...

ou may or may not have realised it, but the future of Europe was recently left in the hands of the Irish. How this didn’t cause more consternation amongst people I’m not sure. The Treaty of Lisbon (oh hell, I’m already falling asleep, but let’s both try and stick with it, ok?) had been ratified by all but three European Union nations (ah, another wave of narcolepsy there…); Ireland, Poland and the Czech Republic. If Ireland had said “No” then that would have been

This though was promptly shot down when the Dutch and French both voted “Nej” and “Non” to it, meaning it would never come back ever again, not even with a slightly different name… …or would it? Critics of the Treaty argue that it’s simply a like for like replacement of the Constitution, but with the more obvious “turning Europe into one big country” stuff removed. They point out that roughly 90% of the constitution made it into the Treaty.

President of Europe and High Representative for Foreign Affairs? Surely they’ll just crush individual nations’ sovereignty?” “Well, some might see it like that, but the President actually has no executive power. They’ll chair a few meetings, use their influence to grease the wheels, and be a figurehead for a part of the E.U. that has gone long unattended. The High Representative will almost certainly seem more important than individual nations’ foreign ministers, but that happens anyway. The

careful, you may well end up in the most circular, round about, back and forth conversations (often turning into physically violent arguments) that currently exist outside of a linguistics seminar. The problem with the E.U. is that it relies on people being able to predict the future. Both sides have good arguments, logically based, with little of the xenophobia that you’d expect. How then can you know who is right and who is wrong? Well, you can’t. You have to go with

The problem with the E.U is that is relies on people being able to predict the future. Both sides have good arguments, how then can you know who is right and who is wrong? that for it, but luckily for me and you, they said “Yes” and we get to continue this exciting tale of the Treaty of Lisbon. What does it do then, this Treaty that gets a very few people excited and drives the rest of us into unconsciousness? It’s almost an exact replacement for the European Constitution from a few years back that would have given the E.U. an almost single-nation feel, some argue, with an anthem, President and flag-waving galore.

“Ahhh”, its supporters say, in a way that makes it seem like they know what they’re talking about, “that may be true, but the 10% that’s gone is the stuff that made it overly federalist. It actually just clears up all the previous treaties and makes things more representative and clear for everyone. There’s nothing really new in it” To which the critics say, “Ohhhh”, also attempting to seem knowledgeable, “but what about the creation of posts like

E.U. is seen as a better negotiator with states like Iran and Russia than individual nations.” “That may be the case, but….” And so it continues, ad infinitum, ad nauseum, forever and ever. If you are ever trapped between two people who know a lot about the Treaty (which sadly, it seems I now do), the best course of action is to run away and find some people who are normal. If you’re not

your gut instinct. If you feel uneasy about putting more power into organisations not based in the U.K. there are many arguments to support you. If you feel that the future of Britain relies on better trade and defence links, then you’ll find equally valid arguments to support your feelings. So, what do you think? Though for God’s sake don’t tell me. I find the whole thing terribly dull….

Jez Harvey

he Giant Panda. You say those three words and every soul on Earth pictures the creature immediately: big, black, white and ‘cuddly’. The panda is an iconic species, symbolising beauty within the animal kingdom and recognised as the foundation of conservation. The Giant Panda, Ailuropoda Melanoleuca, belongs to the order Carnivore and the family Ursidae (bear). They have a characteristic look - black ears and eye patches, black shoulders and legs, with the rest white, and the males larger than the females. The panda is well known for being uncommon of its classification into the order Carnivore because it feeds predominantly on bamboo shoots: although in the wild, the panda are known to sometimes feed on small rodents or deer fawn. They once roamed over the lowlands and mountain forests of Southern and Eastern China but now, due to mainly anthropogenic reasons, they are confined to a few small areas of mountain forest

in Western China. The main reason causing this is habitat destruction - which is mainly due to bamboo harvesting or for

The situation is dire... do we cut our losses, or do we owe the panda for the problems we’ve caused? the production of agricultural land. Our interference with the species has reduced their numbers to a critical level, placing them on the red list in conservation. So what do we do when a well known and respected zoologist, Chris Packham, turns to the world and says that they are in an ‘evolutionary cul-de-sac’ and that we should ‘let them go, with a degree of dignity’ because basically, they cost too much to save? The situation is dire. Our ways have destroyed theirs and now they cannot live without our conservation. So is Packham right and should we count our losses, or do we owe the panda for the problems we have caused? As students we are the voices of the future. In years to come these conservation issues will be ours to solve. Many believe we should start now. If you believe in saving the panda there are many ways to help, including logging onto one of the many panda conservation websites and finding out how you can help preserve their existence. The World Wildlife Fund is also great place to start with lots of ideas on how you can help save the panda. A balance needs to be struck, and now is the time to find it.

Rachel Davies

COMMENT

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Unsatisfying apology, sir?

LGBT column by Emily Collins

f you have been living in a box or the cards’. Of course, we must place our read it. Then they might not have manunderground for the past few weeks trust in Jan’s knowledge of gay sex and aged to lodge 21,000 complaints with you might be among the minority of agree with her when she states that ‘the the Press Complaints Commission over people who didn’t hear about, read and/ circumstances surrounding his death are one weekend. Phew, thank God for social or make a complaint over the Jan Moir more than a little sleazy.’ networking sites. The article went viral piece in The Daily Mail. Ms. Moir – the Pretending for one moment that within hours of being posted and Twitdelightful little soul – took it upon herself Moir’s comments aren’t bigoted and ter’s trending topic was ‘#thedailymailisto write a column on the tragic death of verging on slanderous, the overall mes- gay’ by the end of the day. The PCC had ex-Boyzone member Stephen Gately. sage of the article is one of clear hate. to put a special link saying ‘if you’re comWhilst Stephen’s family members, In a time when it is illegal to commit plaining about Jan Moir’s piece, please band mates and fans were all solemnly anything close to a ‘hate crime’ moti- click here’ on their website to manage the preparing for his funeral, Jan’s article en- vated by race or sexuality, it’s a wonder traffic. Jan, I think you’ve really started titled ‘Why there was nothing ‘natural’ that Moir hasn’t been arrested. I would something here. about Stephen Gately’s death’ appeared Which brings me onto a more on the Mail’s website. Did she have in- “The plan was to engage positive note… Despite Moir heavily side information? A secret source withimplying that Stephen Gately died of in a night of rough, in the police investigation into his una bad case of Gay Flu, the public reacfortunate demise? Perhaps she was even dangerous, drug-aided tion was one of outrage and – clearly privy to the exact circumstances of his sex (probably including – a great number of people felt strongly death…? No, she’s just been theorising enough to complain. Whilst it is teran animal or two), all by herself; the clever sod. rible that anyone has a platform to Official reports into Gately’s death because that’s what gay publicly abuse a community of people have concluded that he died of natural like this, the silver lining is obvious. men do, right?” causes – a tragic heart condition. He There’s nothing like blatant homophowas on holiday with his civil partner bia to highlight how many people – gay and – so the story goes – had come home definitely testify in the Moir vs. All Ho- or straight - are actually supportive of from a night out, bringing a friend with mosexuals case. As well as being entirely the cause. So, at the same time as hopehim. Of course – contrary to the expec- disrespectful towards Stephen Gately, she fully scanning the papers for news of tations of every couple in history who also claims that his death ‘strikes another Jan Moir’s ‘drug and sex fuelled death’ I has ever had a goodnight cup of coffee blow to the happy-ever-after myth of would like to say a big ‘well done’ to all with a mutual friend – the plan was to civil partnerships.’ of the lovely people who have caught up engage in a night of rough, dangerous, Myth? Oh Jan, you’ve really put your with us and see that this ‘very different drug-aided sex (probably including an foot in it now. You’re lucky your column and more dangerous lifestyle’ (Thanks animal or two), because that’s what gay was posted online because otherwise the for that one, Jan) is actually something men do, right? As Jan writes in her arti- 40,000+ couples who are literally liv- to be defended and treated with respect. cle: ‘it is not disrespectful to assume that ing the myth in the UK currently might a game of canasta was not what was on have missed out on the chance to

No, I’d rather just have my loan

’d like to apologise to you all for the following article on fake apologies. Articles like this are misguided and in future, I will work my hardest to ensure that you, the little people, get exactly what you deserve. Sadly, however much I’d like to, I won’t, because I have absolutely no respect for you and will continue to do my best to get away with any sordid little trick I can, for I am a politician. This is what I think seems to be going through the mind of any of our great leaders when they’ve been caught with their hands in the cookie jar (or worse one of their researchers) and have to give a faux-pology to the cameras. Jacqui Smith, the former Second Home Secretary, gave an absolute classic in this genre, well worthy of winning a Fraudy at next years Slimeball Awards. The fact that this was delivered in the Houses of Parliament added a touch of class, to what was otherwise, a ﬂawless faux-pology. The mark of the true apology requires the apologiser to use some grace and humility in the face of the awful thing that they have done. I can see why those who work in shops and restaurants aren’t allowed to ever admit that they did something wrong in case you decide that the coffee

you ordered shouldn’t be served hot and they have some money you want, if you’ve already been caught doing something wrong, and everyone knows it, just give a real apology! I realise it must be difﬁcult to remember what being an ordinary, decent human is like, but please, give it your best shot! Otherwise when the revolution comes, you’ll be getting our best shot. In terms of unsatisfying apologies, does anyone else feel better knowing that the Higher Education Minister would like to be sorry for some of us still not being able to pay rent, student fee’s and other little student frivolities like food and drink? Apparently, an external review will be carried out on the problems within Student Finance England (for more info, read the article by the devilishly witty Jez Harvey back a few pages on the problems) by a former ViceChancellor and someone from the Inland Revenue. Let’s just hope it isn’t the same person in charge of checking MP’s expenses, or they may not realise what the problem was.

Jez Harvey

A Survivor’s Account of Freshers Week Paul Dicken experiences life as a student from a more mature perspective

inally today, five frantic, bewildering, exhausting, confusing, amusing, frustrating, exciting and even inspiring days have come to an end and I’m a fullyfledged, card-carrying ‘Is-raddedig / Undergraduate’ at Bangor University. I started the week planning to read Welsh History and Archaeology and finally settled on Welsh History with History (it makes sense even if it looks odd!) with an intermediate level Welsh language module. I’ve experienced the student frustration of hanging about between sessions killing an hour here and there and concentrated on finding all the places I could sit comfortably and get a coffee. My personal tutor is a Welshman and we hit it off straight away. He helped me change my course and sorted out the problems with my login which still wanted to look at my IT courses I did in the Spring rather than

my brand-new shiny School of History ones. We were told in our school induction that we have to look for information in our email inbox, on Blackboard (the University course info board), notice boards in a dimlylit corridor, in our pigeon holes and I suspect, in true Harry Potter fashion, brought by owls. If you’ve seen our building, it does put you in mind of Hogwarts but with marginally fewer towers. I’m sure I shall miss vital information in all that lot! The Module Fair was a complete scrum, everybody attempting to get to desks of harassed lecturers and administrators, staggering around looking dazed and confused. My form with a changed course as some false starts would have presented a major problem in interpretation but somehow seemed to have worked. By the end of day two, all of us were bonding rapidly. This was mainly because information overload meant we could only survive by piecing the information together from the scraps

we individually retained, that had managed to penetrate our ears which felt like they were bleeding from overuse! The main event of day three was Serendipity which my sons (both ’90s graduates) had encouraged me to attend and, “Join everything Dad, you’ll love it. And you’ll get a free Pot Noodle and a tin of baked beans!” Well, I spent over two hours there and I have to be honest and say that like the Curate’s Egg, it

live off-campus in Deiniolen (8 miles from Bangor). I did join a few societies: the Welsh Learners’ Society, Seren, the AfricanCaribbean Society (because they were the friendliest people at Serendipity), the Christian Union, Unity (the LGBT society to support my son) and a few others. I got some dry instant noodles from the Lidl stand in their goodie bag but no baked beans! I also got a year’s supply of pens and pencils, no less than ﬁve (!) bottle openers, a mug, a torch, a mouse mat, some notepads

“We have to look for information in our pigeon holes and I suspect it is, in true Harry Potter fashion, brought by owls.” was ‘good in parts’. (Google ‘Curate’s Egg’ if that reference baffles you.) My problem was that at 61 years old I simply didn’t look like a student and many people didn’t know whether to speak to me or not. I am sure nobody was intentionally discourteous and eventually I started to speak to people when they handed leaflets to students preceding and following me. Two people thought I wasn’t a student and another said they thought I wouldn’t be interested (but I was), and two others simply apologised and gave me literature. It’s going to mean positive choices on my part to fit in: I’m three times older than most students and I

and far too many sweets, all of which I gave away immediately! The ﬁnal hurdle was Registration (that capital ‘R’ is appropriate as it’s the culmination of the week) which took place on day 4. The day was complicated for me as doctor’s visit for my wife resulted in a very rapid appointment at Ysbyty Gwynedd and I dropped her at the hospital and drove on the mile or so to the University to register. I was about the join the 700 yard queue when my phone went with a text. Christine had texted me, “Had scan now waiting for op”. I went white as a sheet – straight into the operating theatre? One of the

organisers of the event (I suspect the head man because of the way all the staff deferred to him) asked me if I was OK. I explained I was there to register but I’d dropped my wife at the hospital and I was concerned to get back. He immediately said for me to come back tomorrow to register if I could. I asked him if it would be possible to jump the queue and he took me up to collect my magic green form and I was through registration in 10 minutes! I texted Christine and asked her to call me as soon as she could. The phone rang almost immediately in response. I blurted out anxiously to Christine, “So what’s this about you going in for an immediate operation, you said you were waiting for an op?” A puzzled silence followed, then through helpless laughter she responded, “No, not an operation, I’m waiting for outpatients!” I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or to kill her. And so all I have on my agenda today is a social for mature students over a pint tonight. I’m not sure whether I want to make a strong association with mature students or not. I see myself as a student who lives off-campus and want to make friends with my fellow students of all ages. Later in the semester, I plan to invite some home for Christine’s home cooked meals and to use our house to relax.

COMMENT

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Sour Milk? I

t was recently revealed that global coffee chain Starbucks is planning to ‘re-brand’ many of its outlets, moulding them so that they encompass a more homely and comfortable feel. The company’s vice president Tim Pheffier was quoted to say it was all about creating a greater sense of “community personality’, but surely - there’s got to be more to it than that, right? So called ‘coffee culture’ has undergone an incredible popularity increase within the last decade with chains now being as commonplace along the high street as newsagents, clothes shops, and ATM machines. From across the pond came the highly successful TV sitcom Friends which introduced us to ‘Central Perk’ with its enviably cool and hip vibe, with such no doubt an influence in this growth of coffee-house interest - particularly amongst the younger student generation. Add to this the alluring sway of European customs, which convey coffee drinking as a social and relaxing everyday norm, such a boom in status and is not at all surprising. Named after a main character in the classic novel ‘Mock Dick’, Starbucks first set sail in 1971 and since then has acquired eight-thousand shops in across a staggering thirty-four different countries. The obvious success of the coffee chain cannot be questioned as it averages around twenty-eight million (yes, million!) customers every week, in spite of this though in recent years the company has been heavily criticised for being a dangerous corporate influence; an ubiquitous force that is driven by capitalist gain. However, today’s generation is becoming more and more aware of the damage that corporate domination can lead to; in one sense, yes, big operational companies do provide a sense of comfort and stability as these ‘founding pillars’ of a city centre are always going to be there but - at the same time as making it much

harder for smaller, local, independent businesses to compete and succeed the corporate forces often get away with certain things going unnoticed, with customers being otherwise preoccupied with the name, the brand, the image… Enter Starbucks, and all its moral strife, particularly regarding the issue of fair trade. In June 2008 it was estimated that around sevenand-a half-million producers and their families were beneﬁting from Fair Trade in some way or another, meaning that wages and working conditions would respectable and reasonable, however Fair Trade still only accounts for between one and twenty percent of sales across Europe and North America. In 2002 Starbucks proudly, and quite publicly, announced it was going to start supporting the notion of Fair Trade, but in practice this was actually only applied to one selling one particular coffee type on the basis of an ‘offer of the week rotation; sales ploy disguised as a good-deed, perhaps? Staff have also been reported as being completely ignorant to the issue, often stating it is only on a certain day of the week you can buy Fair Trade coffee, or – even more ridiculously for a takeaway café that is meant to provide instant refreshment – in the dry

bean form. Admittedly since then progress has been made as the company now takes on more of an active role in promoting and delivering on ethical issues. It is now attempting to grow and source coffee in a more responsible manner, and has also opened up a speciﬁc ethicallysound coffee plantation in Costa Rica to ensure farmer’s are working in the conditions and

wages are what they deserve. But it seems like it still has a long way to go; according to ‘Ethical Consumer’ magazine, Starbucks is lagging seriously behind competitors such as the railway kiosk firm AMT and the Marks and Spencer’s Café chain, as they now sell only fair trade coffee. Social networking website Facebook has a group of four-and-a-half-million people who list themselves as avid Starbuck fans, and there are also other groups on the site with similar high number of followers such as the ‘Starbuck Appreciation society’, ‘We want a Starbucks NOW!’ and the ‘ I Love Frappuccino’ crew . Question though, when was the last time any of these people, or even you yourself, were offered a fair-trade frappe? The popularity here is blatant and just think by how much the above figures of Fair Trade benefit could be increased if Starbucks actually delivered its fair trade promise. Sensing the heat they have generated in an increasingly anticorporate society, they are now trying to lose the ‘corpy’ stigma and make a clean break from the black mark against their name with a change of identity. At the moment the initiative is centred around the American stores, however it is believed to cross the Atlantic in due course. This is all fine and good, however the ‘Copper Kettle’ will still be just as corporate if it doesn’t change what is actually sold; community notice boards, beans bags and local music and poetry is all well and good, but the best way to actually boost the company’s image would be to trade-fairly with Fair Trade onehundred percent of the time. The head of the media communication of the Worldwide Fair Trade organisation put is nicely stating that “Starbucks needs to move quickly and catch up.’’ They do aim to do this by 2015, but that is still a good six years away. A makeover might make things seem better, but it’s what in the coffee cup that really counts. So disguising yourself as independent but still selling the same and somewhat corporate product? A very-short term caffeine fix I feel.

Victoria Osten

Diary of a disenchanted teacher W

hen friends and family use the word ‘teacher’ with reference to me, I feel quite proud. I’m not a teacher yet, at least not in the eyes of the government QTS (acronym count: 1) scheme, I’m only an ITT (acronym count: 2) – a trainee teacher – on my PGCE course (acronym count: 3) but I still feel like I represent something positive in their eyes. I must seem a pillar of society; shaping the generations to come with my perfect ideals, inspiring the eager young minds to aim higher with my zest for mathematics. Right? Wrong. My main irritation at the PGCE scheme is that it doesn’t create good teachers. It churns out clones of what the government considers ‘effective’ teachers; people who manage to create high GCSE grades and keep their classes staring quietly at the board. Among these, of course, there will be excellent teachers. But those teachers will be the people who have managed to pretend to teach the government’s way for the duration of their PGCE and their NQT (acronym count: 4) year before ﬁnally being allowed to teach in a positive way. It’s similar to the driving test. Everyone realises that your driving lessons are actually teaching you to pass a test; not to drive well. No one actually checks all of their mirrors and blind spots every time they move, honestly. Once you’ve convinced the government that you can do it their way, you get your license and you’re free to drive in a logical, more natural way. With the PGCE you have to pay to do on-the-job training for a year, then you have to work a ‘probationary period’ (your NQT year) to prove yourself even more, then you are allowed to teach in your own way. Everything on a PGCE must ﬁt into a box on a form. There is absolutely no room for individuality, from the teachers or students. Your lesson plans

(for the 18 lessons per week that you are teaching) have speciﬁc boxes for each step of the lesson, the point in the KS (acronym count: 5) curriculum the pupils are working at and the methods you will take to ensure no pupil steps out of line (my god, what if they don’t conform?). Conformity is not limited to the training, as it is such an obviously effective way to keep a large number of pupils in line between 8.30am and 3pm. But I have a genuine fear that the youngsters currently in our schools won’t even know what it is to be an individual. They must wear identical uniforms with absolutely no scope for making the uniform their own, their hair must be ‘suitable’, they mustn’t wear make-up, they shouldn’t ‘go out’ with classmates, they certainly shouldn’t hold hands in the corridors, they mustn’t ask questions that aren’t related to the lesson and under absolutely no circumstances are they allowed to talk to the teachers they spend 40% of their waking hours with about their personal experiences of life (I mean, what would we do if they started telling them about love or happiness?). Okay, I’ve gotten a little off topic here. But when I’m in front of a class of students, my knowledge of top-heavy fractions has absolutely nothing to do with how much they learn from my teaching. I’ve been forced to take seminars on How To Be Conﬁdent so that I can control a class of unruly students and lessons on what witty comebacks I can use on smart-ass pupils whilst remaining appropriate. They just seem to really be missing something… they’re human beings. I don’t need to sell them my product or achieve high viewer ratings, it’s my job to form them into decent human beings, not statistics on the government’s

"My God, what if they don’t conform??"

listings.

Emily Collins

Not all silence is golden

his month President Obama admitted that the shocking “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy within the US military is in line to be scrapped. It is a rule that forbids homosexuals from serving, and gay soldiers are prosecuted if they reveal their sexuality. In a speech to the Human Rights Campaign he expressed his exasperation at the punishment of patriotic Americans keen to serve their country and yet no timeframe has been produced. Sceptics on both sides of the Atlantic have attacked this lack of timescaling as a sign of an empty promise.

"It's easy for the gay community in Britain to take the last 12 years for granted" Given the dreariness of current affairs at home, many British politicos can be forgiven for being drawn to the scene in the States, dominated by charismatic figures Obama and Hillary Clinton. These certainly offer more charm and magnetism than Messrs Brown or Cameron. Yet in doing so, we threaten to abandon tackling issues at home in favour of merely observing those abroad. The truth is, gay rights in the UK have only just been brought up to date, practically entirely due to the efforts of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. However we are so attentive to the stigma of their association with George W Bush and the American Republicans that even those of us who have gained the most despise them nonetheless. Despite British homosexuals still being unable to marry, and while gay men remain banned from donating blood, without Blair and Brown the gay community would have gone without sixteen major advances in rights, from the equal age of consent to the illegalisation of homophobic hate crimes. Without Blair and Brown, Britain’s armed forces would be as closed off to gay citizens as that of the US. Despite all this, despite civil partnerships and equal employment rights and the Gender Recognition Act, the gay community is quick to dismiss Labour and either throws itself into the melee of US gay rights or else allows itself to be tempted by shallow and meaningless Tory gimmicks like the resentful apology for the monstrous Section 28. With an election required next year, and with so much to thank Labour for, surely we cannot simply ignore all this? It's easy for the gay community in Britain to take the last 12 years for granted. With a huge erosion of civil liberties in the name of the ‘war on terror’ a smokescreen of cynicism can blind us to the huge and profound improvements gay people’s lives have seen since 1997. We can grow cold to our own government and turn abroad for the optimism of Barack Obama and his warming rhetoric of hopefulness, and so forget that gay rights are a constantly evolving issue, not simply a matter of getting there and turning away.

FEATURES

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Nick Major asks how ethical can our “Fairtrade” university be if they stock Coca Cola products?

iller Coke is the name of an Amnesty International campaign against The Coca Cola Company. The integration of Fairtrade products into university’s food policy raises some interesting questions about fair trade and ethics at the university. If the move to stock Fairtrade products in the university’s cafes and shops shows a willingness to take a moral stance on what type of products it invests in and sells then why are they still stocking and selling a wide range of products from the CocaCola Company? Is it because they simply do not know of the alleged massive human rights abuses and environmental atrocities carried out by one of the world’s biggest, if not the biggest, corporation? What is wrong with drinking a Coke? The answer put simply is this: I believe The Coca Cola Company is one of the world’s most sinister human rights and environmental abusers, but you can decide for yourself. The Coca-Cola Company have been taken to court in the United States after the murder and silencing of Sinaltrainal trade union members in Colombia. The lawsuits charge that Coca-Cola’s bottlers in Columbia “contracted with or otherwise directed paramilitary security forces that utilized extreme violence and murdered, tortured, unlawfully detained or otherwise silenced trade union leaders.”(1) This anti-trade union activity allegedly carried out by the Coca-Cola bottling plants contravenes the UN Declaration of Human Rights Article 20,1: ‘Everyone has the right to peaceful assembly and association.’ What do The Coca-Cola Company make of the accusations made against their bottling plants? They deny “any connection to any human-rights violation of this type” and disassociate themselves from the bottling plants by saying that “The Coca-Cola Company does not own or operate any bottling plants in Columbia.” (2) They distance themselves from the bottling plants in the same way that clothing companies (eg. Nike) distance themselves from sweatshops – by outsourcing their production to factories around the world. This way they can avoid any

legal responsibility if something horrendous happens to the workers who, effectively, work for them. It has been suggested that The Coca-Cola Company have also been involved in anti-trade union activity in Turkey and Ireland, which includes forcing workers to resign from trade unions and corroboration with governmental armed forces to quell any worker rebellions.

“

world’s drinking needs for 10 days!” (3) With over 1.2 billion people around the world without access to clean drinking water, a fundamental human right, then what gives CocaCola the right to take what little water there is in drought prone areas for their own commercial gain? Lastly, the company was involved in racial discrimination during the 1960s. Martin Luther King’s last speech

commercial for black history month in America. One of Coca-Cola’s counterarguments is that it takes part in what is called “Corporate Social Responsibility”. This basically means companies construct a series of programmes, projects, charitable pledges, codes of conduct and impact investments to show the beneﬁcence of the company. (5) They invest in

Martin Luther King: Withdraw your support for Coca-Cola before he was assassinated called for “African Americans to withdraw their economic support for companies if they haven’t been fair in their hiring policies”

ethical initiatives to help people in disadvantaged situations and help protect the environment, presumably out of the goodness of their heart. Undoubtedly, in a world that revolves around money this does help people,

India are experiencing severe water shortages – directly as a result of Coca-Cola’s over extraction of groundwater. A government study in the desert state of Rajasthan found that ground water levels have dropped 10 meters in just ﬁve years since Coca-Cola started operations. In 2004, Coca-Cola used 283 billion litres of water – enough to meet the

that is, favouring white workers over black workers. One of three companies that were targeted for boycotting that night was Coca-Cola. Dr. Kings exact words were, “we are asking you tonight, to go out and tell your neighbours not to buy CocaCola in Memphis.” (4) The Coca-Cola Company seem to have forgotten this piece of history when they aired a

but in relation to CocaCola’s other practices their social responsibility appears to amount to more or less a PR campaign. How pervasive are Coca-Cola? Here are just a few examples of where to ﬁnd Coca-Cola in the university: if you venture into Cafe

James McAllister reviews the Harold Pinter play that is set in a league of its own.

eing a Pinter virgin, ‘The Caretaker’ was an interesting play to start off with. It is a play of an elderly drifter who is taken in by two brothers. Set in a pokey room of a derelict house, it allows the audience to gain access to the basics of human emotions and comedy in this stripped down environment. Having read the play previously, I was very curious to see how this would be presented on the stage. Jonathan Pryce, star of Pirates of the Caribbean, played a very interesting Davies, a homeless old man who was down on his luck. Pryce was able to portray many curious mannerisms through the character. . The lack of character development and spontaneity of Davies allowed us access to view the moment when the comedy

”

In India The Coca-Cola Company have been accused of overexploitation and pollution of water sources. According to the India Resource Centre “communities living around Coca-Cola’s bottling plants in

The Caretaker - Harold Pinter ceased to be funny. I felt Aston, played by Peter McDonald star of Spooks, fed off this atmosphere very well. McDonald’s character reveals a peculiar past, which was enough to make me feel uncomfortable, combined with his simple expressions and chillingly calm nature. At one point in the play

“

The third character, Aston’s brother Mick played by Tom Brooke, acted as a catalyst to the uncomfortable atmosphere. Tom Brooke’s ‘likely lad’ character had the ability to intimidate audience and cast alike. The brutal honesty about his character meant that I was left wondering whether it was a

other in the play, for me, was a monologue by Davies. We hear a rudimentary telling of a humorous story when Davies, Jonathan Pryce’s character, turns the punch line into a serious social class comment. This line is delivered in such a way that it personally sent shivers down my spine. In my opinion it is moments such as this that make the play what it is and so worth going to see. It is currently showing at the Everyman in Liverpool until the 31st October. To prebook, the tickets range from £9-£20. It is a deﬁnite must see.

”

This line is delivered in such a way that it personally sent shivers down my spine.

we witness a haunting monologue from Aston which all at once unlocks his character. At one moment I felt a complete stranger to the characters but the next I felt uniﬁed with Davies about his suspicions, whilst also sympathising with Aston’s situation. It was surprising shifts like this that kept on drawing me back in.

front. I felt in comparison to his costars, Mick seemed to be in a league of his own. Pinter himself said, “The Caretaker is funny, up to a point. Beyond that point, it ceases to be funny, and it was because of that point that I wrote it.” One instance that illustrates this better than any

Teras, downstairs in the Main Arts Building and buy a coffee from the Fairtrade machine they have installed, you will no doubt notice the strange paradox you are suddenly thrown into. As you slot your money in you may well hear the familiar rattle of a can falling into the tray at the bottom of a vending machine – as you have been spending money that will go to help producers maintain a good quality of life for their families, someone else directly behind you has just given money to a company who, I believe, systematically strips others of their basic human rights. If you wander into the Students’ Union shop to quench your thirst you will be met with the opportunity to buy the new Fairtrade cola, Ubuntu (which the Students’ Union have rightly and nobly incorporated into their range) or you might be tempted again by a variation of Coca-Cola, Sprite, Lilt, Fanta or Dr. Pepper – you get the point. What to do? If you don’t already know about Coca-Cola’s practices (and many people don’t) People & Planet and Bangor Amnesty Student Society strongly urge you to go forth an investigate the company by doing your own research on websites such as www.killercoke.org or www. cokejustice.org or try and pick up a copy of Mark Thomas’s book Belching Out the Devil. If this article has done enough to persuade you that the Coca-Cola Company have questionable morals then you can start your own personal boycott; luckily the friendly people at CocaCola have a list of their brands on their website so you can check out what to avoid. If you want to be part of a wider campaign then People & Planet and Bangor Amnesty Student Society will be campaigning and calling on the University not to stock products from the corporation. (1) h t t p : / / w w w. k i l l e r c o k e . o r g / cokeﬂyer1.pdf (2) Thomas, Mark Belching out the Devil (Random House, 2008), pg. 36 (3) http://www.indiaresource.org/ campaigns/coke/2004/Brochure.pdf (4) Thomas, Mark Belching out the Devil (Random House, 2008), pg. 7 (5) Thomas, Mark Belching out the Devil (Random House, 2008), pg. 154

UNION

Fashion

FEATURES

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

with Stacey Gannon

Summer is now well and truly over (since around June for those who stayed in Bangor!) It’s

It’s the middle of the term andthe I’mautumn sure you’ve been out spending loan inand a sensible wayjackets (in Time getting crisp and cold from weather, so let’s wrapyour up warm see what and Academi) and itsmake getting tolook the important of whatwith do I Mother wear?! Here’s our quick ﬁx from will you stunning question whilst battling Nature. Peacocks and New Look for this semesters must haves!! New L £2 ook 5

s ock c a Pe 18 £

Peacoc ks £35

k Loo New 35 £

Shir t £14

Shir t £12

Dress £12

Belt £6

Waist-

Leggings £8

Jeans £25

£10

Shoes £20

Sho This £18 es We cas sma rs all ual/ colou rt c t c h h g i r equ saw th B reac ombo with k r E o ver y ered sh e still w colours. time hed an has on ir t r i a a B h h ll ig e th e had o s. sim lues b funky d e n ple h and i lenan a e. d FIrp setis pu RST and s eenstumn ed inter collection the r/W GrAu tive t n e 09 t e 20 o ’s m n ar i of s l tora forffth ew th your ec-is Ye Youlou comp olours tres The co tre ipeswi sh it cla or r cou chieve c thiselco lou v re i . l e a lik like nd h r n’t . l do s u w d this If yo yo at i y th l o l nd h ﬁ u a t n a violet. for £2 ve all tion om. his mee still very in seasfron coar excepwh t N ﬁ ich 4 fr t L e u ige Pea be ook w omgreens and This o cocks. co ir, . ha ckstry ea . from P

s ip T p u e k a M T

The Quilte d jacket is throug featured hout m fashio en’s n High-p for this Au tumn. roﬁle q u are pr oduce ilted jackets d by B and ha arbou ve r in pop been increa ularity sing over t last fe he w yea rs.

ss re D 21 £

In r you o g n a B (or are w o may kn the ﬁnd out) about to npredictable, r is u ight weathe lightwe need a u ing, o y ry d o s t. Quick e k c ja u o r rain e time y so by th s ﬁnished ha lecture race the a c you n e. h rain om

Ma have b c jackets in man een feature d y Winte of the Autu r m Chloe collections f n/ to Tom rom my It is v ery po Hilﬁger. pula camel and be r in ige. Jeans

Military coat have jackets d n a £18 in ming been co ns over the easo w out of s ars. No le of ye ven if p u o c t las de back an ill they’re me, it w ti t s la e th It is . e il this for a wh ic, be seen lass c a ts n represe look. vintage

are eons 80’s n ig b n ing i ﬂatter s with a n patter kground. c a b n s plai ress i This d Look From 13thNof September ew from

to the 15th of October Peacocks will be offering 20% student discount, and 10% over the rest of the year. New Look also has 10% student

Do you have love for the 80’s ?

he start of the winter 09-10 most women look like American I am sorry to disappoint any pieces witht poppers on the crotch. autumn/ winter collection, Football players. It was quite frankly fashionista’s that this spring/ meinnspite of this something leYet p E m bad mph disappointing and I couldn’t wait summer collection mainly consistscof comes had promise. Bring hope o le out of something good, y replica’s from Tobum eKitten pur pheels sisnext eand for something season hoping for 90’s themes t of fresh, new and to hearaon sare back so no more k u o h o o t n tone Sm r y old, worries inventive. got T Run rWe ? a about sore reused, d to sca excuses i a u q m cause disasters. feet at the g li d aThe n n i s 80’s uknown as end of anone of r e the yworst the night. arafor elin decades c a e as fashion, m back This does te a d brought cre witholvengeance with more frills, something that in 20 years will still bags, to cycle shorts (the clue is in mean that the loved Louboutin o b t redtolerable,rig indwas needed.m look his is out and Jimmy Choo could be sh neon’s e, time these tare s ht of bring out ethe rufﬂ than instead of the lips ylonly r uand ek yename bes stalthough n am i i n s s Thankfully we have c moved on swiftly aithe comment “it was the fashion back appropriate) they aren’t making a come back. . l t t l f a i e ocu e pads, making then”. st to e th the shoulder bes s th to avoid meant are f eff th be worn alone and one

“

We have moved on swiftly to avoid the shoulder pads, making most women look like American Football players.

”

et to g

UNION

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

wallets... This year, we seem to have quite a lot of cards for our Union So, here’s some clariﬁcation about the University or cards you might have (and what they’re actually for).

1. ‘Student ID Card’

What is it? This card proves you are a student at Bangor University and doubles as proof of your automatic membership of Bangor Students’ Union. What does it look like? Blue for undergraduates and red for postgraduates. It features your details, a barcode, the University logo and the Students ’ Union logo. What does it do? - Provides swipe access to some University buildings and rooms - Entitles you to vote in Students’ Union elections - Allows you to borrow books from University libraries Where do I get one?! - New students for 2009/10 should have received this card at Registration during Welcome Week - Other students will already have one from their ﬁrst year here - If you lose this card then you will need to visit Deiniol Library for a replacement

2. ‘Discount Card’ (NUS Extra/Love Bangor Card) EXTRA 7654 9185 982612 1234 dob: 14/10/89 Simon Chang ion Society Newcastle University Un

exp: 09/10

What is it? This card is the ofﬁcial nationa lly recognised card and, with student discoun the automatic t addition of our feature, can be ‘Love Bangor’ used locally to o. What does it look like? Predominantly lime green with the NUS logo on the Bangor SU the front and and Love Bang or logos on the What does it back. do? It will bag you lots of savings and promotion range of local an s offered by a d national busin wide esses including and the SU the University Where do I ge t one?! - www.bangorstu dents.com

3. ‘Students’ Union Activities Card’

What is it? ents involved in clubs and This card is required by all stud Union ’ ents societies run by the Stud What does it look like? the Bangor SU logo and your Predominantly white, featuring are different coloured strips card the of om bott the at photo; you are involved. h whic in (s) area the representing What does it do? or the AU and/or Societies and/ - proves your membership of nts rtme UMCB (Welsh Union) depa club and society activities - insures you to take part in ?! one get I do Where at reception) From the Students’ Union (ask ties you can join please visit socie and s club t To ﬁnd out wha .com ents http://www.bangorstud

Don’t forget to join the other 2000+ students on our ofﬁcial SU Facebook group; search for the group called “Bangor Students’ Union”

MCB (Bangor Welsh Students’ Union) is the part of Bangor University Students’ Union that deals with all things Welsh, (except for the weather) and represents Welsh speakers, learners, and those with a general interest in the language and culture. Although you may have come to Bangor for a degree – you’re probably here for at least the next three years so you may as well learn some of the local lingo! Not only will it be an advantage when your overdraft says that it may be

time to get a part-time job, it will also help in pronouncing your new address! People with bilingual skills are generally more creative, good at maths, lateral thinkers and are likely to earn 8-10% more than their monolingual counterparts. Plus think of all that extra information you can pick up from listening in to twice the conversations! UMCB can help learners with ﬁnding courses; Cymdeithas Llywelyn (the Welsh learners’ society) provides all of the help and support that you need whether you

To B(NP) or not to B(NP), that is the question...

just want a taster session to pick up some phrases or to practice your Welsh outside of the classroom. Not all Welsh traditions involve sheep; they also involve wooden shoes and naked ﬂames – so why not come along and celebrate the Welsh culture? UMCB holds loads of events to promote the Welsh language and culture that are open to all students - from Clwb Cymru nights every Thursday in Academi (Welsh and English language music and live bands on the last Thursday of every

month!) to inter-collegiate dances, Eisteddfods and rugby trips, there’s something for everyone! Not only does socialising within UMCB improve your chances of picking up Welsh – even if you’re not actively trying to learn it – it also doubles your social and entertainment

f Nick Griffin were to give a public speech at one of our Students’ Union events, would you attend? Should the Students’ Union even allow a platform to the BNP for them to promote their values and ideologies? Should your SU offer a stage to any other organisation that is linked, allegedly or actually, to racism, xenophobia and intolerance? At the time of writing, the leader of the BNP Nick Griffin, is about to appear on BBC’s Question Time, and as such, the topic of free speech vs. no platform is very relevant. At the next SU Senate meeting (27th October), students will be discussing and debating the pros and cons, the rights and wrongs, the do’s and don’ts when it comes to offering a platform to organisations such as the BNP or the National Front. It is without doubt a difficult subject to debate. Does the fact that we live in a democratic society outweigh the SU’s duty of care to its students, especially those from minority groups? Does the SU’s commitment to equality prevail over the argument that you are adults and can make up your own mind as to who you want to listen to? At what point does not offering a platform become censorship? How would an organisation such as ours police any policy that banned organisations and topics of a sensitive nature? The ‘No Platform’ issue is one that is often difficult to draw to a conclusion. NUS have a no platform policy and suggest that Students’ Unions adopt something similar. We currently don’t have one and it is my belief that either way, Bangor Students’ Union should have an opinion on this issue. Come along and add your voice to the debate at Students’ Union Senate, the next two of which take place on Tuesday the 27th October and Tuesday 17th November, in the Main Arts Council Chamber from 6:45pm onwards.

Spencer George (Deputy President)

opportunities and exposes you to a brand new culture! For more information c o n t a c t the UMCB president, Sharyn Williams: umcb@undeb. bangor.ac.uk

UNION

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Give it a Go week

7th - 14th Nov

ething new fun, get involved and try som ing you the chance to have we are running heaps of one angor Students’ Union is offer only k wee one for So . self to anything one of them without having to commit your you out of mischief! And not ld make you smile and keep off BRILLIANT events that shou planned for involves alcohol! We have got some brilliant trips the day? Then get on board! silly? Then bit little a be and ther Fancy getting out of Bangor for toge ds a pound! Want to get some frien as your bit do little to as t Wan from e! start leng they Chal you and in the Arctic Roll the Basement and take part come along to our Wii night in al! Appe box for the Rotary Shoe you might never for charity? Then ﬁll a shoebox or and give things a try that enjoy your time here in Bang lved and GIVE IT invo get you t don’ We really want you to really why so try, to are loads of different events have thought possible. There full schedule, go to g the week - to ﬁnd out the durin offer on t’s wha of tion A GO! Here’s a selec

www.bangorstudents.com

ber Sunday 8th Novem oo Welsh Mountain Z you can zoo, zoo, zoo! And We’re going to the views come too! n Bay with panoramic Zoo Set high above Colwy ain unt Mo lsh We nery, The and breathtaking sce of animals. Roam the iety var ng azi am is home to an slopes and relax on the grassy wooded pathways, many rare and ut abo ng rni lea spend a lovely day around the s from Britain and endangered specie two brand g din clu (in ds w Leopar world including Sno das and Pan Red , Chimpanzees new twin cubs!), guin Parade, Chimp Pen the oy Enj ! ers Sumatran Tig ven and the ls, New Condor Ha Encounter, Bear Fal it the New ‘Sea Vis re. mo ch mu s Children’s Farm plu lions being the Californian Sea lions Rock’ and watch trained. l get your e of just £6, you wil For the bargain pric into the fee ry ent r Union and you transport from the Come and get your ? for g itin wa you zoo. So what are now! Again, the Students’ Union ticket from Ceri in re are limited the as ce pla r You MUST book you

Beaumaris Fireworks trip First up is the annual trip to Beaumaris to watch the amazing fireworks. This is one of our most popular trips and offers all the things you need for Bonfire night – fireworks, toffee apples and sparklers! The Students’ Union is putting on transport to Beaumaris from Bangor so that you get to see the action up close and we will only charge you a pound. That’s right! One shiny pound! Once we get there, Beaumaris Town Council will ask you to pay £2.50 to access the areas where you can watch the fireworks and we promise you, it is well worth it! You MUST book your place as there are limited spaces. To do this, all you have to do is come along to the Students Union and see Ceri in the activities office on the 3rd floor. Time: Pick up outside the Union at 5.15pm, back at approx 8.30pm Venue: Beaumaris Price: £1.00 per person (+£2.50 in Beaumaris)

Saturday 7th November

spaces! 10.30am, side the Union at Time: Pick up out back at approx 4.00pm Venue: Colwyn Bay son Price: £6.00 per per

Tuesday 10th November - University Challenge the forthcoming BBC recordings. We’re looking to put together Bangor University’s team for then come along with 4 of your mates If you think you’ve got the knowledge to take on Paxman to be part of the team! It is free to and take part in our University Challenge quiz for a chance enter and is taking place at Bar Uno from 8pm onwards. Time: 20:00 Venue: Bar Uno Price: Free!

et society will be The fabulous People and Plan of Stupid ﬁlm. Age ed aim hosting the highly accl look at how climate ue uniq a s take id stup of Age world as we know change may have affected the usly ambitious rmo eno it by the year 2055. This n hybrid is a atio nim ry-a enta cum a-do dram on your chance of must see so don’t miss out attending! Time: 20:00 Venue: M.A.L.T Price: Free!

Tuesday 10th November

Rotary Shoebox Appeal Monday 9th – Friday 13th November

Union with SVB This year, Bangor Students’ ry Shoebox Rota the ort supp to have decided e! ramm prog Go a it Give appeal within our send thousands Throughout the year Rotary children and their of shoeboxes full of gifts to ral and Eastern families in the countries of Cent own individual your e mak can You pe. Euro ling one of the ﬁ by le peop e thes help gift and shoeboxes. gories and Boxes are split into three cate below would be any items from any of the even the smallest gratefully received because e. renc diffe huge a e mak can item toy cars, small Toys such as ‘Matchbox’ type , colouring dolls , toys uffy ﬂ ws, bouncy balls, jigsa s, bubble blow, etc. books, felt tip pens, Lego, yoyo boxes for teenage Teenagers- Please remember age of 18. Such as: the to up girls and boys ar, scarf, gloves, hat, make-up, toiletries, sportswe comb, mirror, football ts, oran deod , writing materials memorabilia, etc soap, toothpaste and Household Goods such as hand r, biro pens, etc. pape r lette s, lope enve hes, brus since these boxes can be Toys are especially appreciated, . gifts day used for birth elderly, especially if a warm This box is also good for the ded. inclu scarf or a pair of gloves is

Thursday 12th Nov em

ber W ii Night and Arct ic Ro ll Challenge By far

and away the cooles t night in Give It A come and join us Go, tonight down in the Basement for some very silly, chilly fun! All through the night you will be able to take par t in some Wii fun and then we will be giving you the cha nce to eat an arctic roll in a super fast time and be cro wned champion! Time: Wii games start at 7.30pm, Arctic Roll Challenge will be a various points throug hout the night Venue: The Basem ent, Students Union Building Price: £1 to enter the arctic roll challen ge!

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

This year Willow is breaking free from the conﬁnes of Bangor to bring you repor ts from places as exotic as Llandudno and Anglesey. So I think you’ll agree that this year promises to be an even better one than the

last.

pon approaching Bangor one of the main features which stands out is the magniﬁcent Penrhyn Castle. This mock castle is not only a majestic stately home but it also houses one of Wales’ most extensive art collections, has beautiful grounds for walks and informative exhibitions. Firstly some condensed history (yawn); Penrhyn Castle was originally a medieval fortiﬁed manor house and in 1438, Ioan ap Gruffudd founded the stone castle adding a tower house. In the nineteenth century George Dawkins Pennant appointed Thomas Hopper to transform the manor house into a neo-Norman mansion using money acquired through sugar plantations in Jamaica (stay with me...). Unfortunately for the Pennant family, in 1951 Penrhyn Castle was accepted by the Treasury through death duties, it now belongs to the National Trust and is one of the most highly thought of mock Norman Castles in the UK.

Ok now you can wake up! On a rainy day Penrhyn castle is a great place to visit as there is so much to see inside the manor house. The house holds a unique furniture collection and one of best private art collections in Wales. The interior of the house has a gothic and ostentatious cathedral like interior design. One of its main attractions is the main staircase which has

my legs) and I have been told that this is because people used to sleep sitting up (the stewards may or may not have been pulling my leg when they told me this). My favourite room in the house is the grandiose dining room where Queen Elizabeth II dined. Outside the castle the walled garden is home to many tropical plants and in the summer there are always events going on such as food festivals, jewellery exhibitions and the chance to abseil down the ice tower (can I just add offtopic here that I once abseiled down the marquis column). The stable blocks also house a dolls exhibition, a railway museum and most interestingly an exhibition to commemorate the bi-century of the abolition act of parliament as the Castle is a product of the Atlantic slave trade. With such a famous landmark situated right on our door step there is no excuse not to visit Penrhyn Castle which is deﬁnitely worth a trip.

I like to spot all of the gargoyles in the staircase and compare them to people I know

ﬂights of stone steps leading through richly ornamented stone arches. I like to spot all of the gargoyles in the stair case and compare them to people I know (trust me this can ﬁll hours as I did a work placement in Penrhyn Castle two years ago). Another of the houses main attractions is the very uncomfortable looking one ton slate bed in the state bedroom where Queen Victoria once took a snooze. The bed is quite short (even I wouldn’t be able to stretch

nother way to step back in time and experience the past is through taking a trip on one of the many heritage railway steam trains in North/ Mid Wales. These steam trains run through some of the most picturesque areas of North Wales and allow you to experience these corners without having to take a step. For those of you who drive, the fun (ha) starts when you leave Bangor as the best way to get to Llangollen I think is through Snowdonia, on the winding A5 which will take you just under an hour and a half. Llangollen, the gateway to Wales

is worth a visit itself and is apparently where ‘Wales Welcomes the World’ with many festivals held in the Royal Pavilion. If you don’t fancy a trip on the steam train as I did there are also canals with horse-drawn boats and the Pontcysyllte aqueduct which is over 1000 feet long, both sound equally as entertaining. There are plenty of places to eat too, I chose the Corn Mill as it was set overlooking the River Dee in an eighteenth century watermill with original iron water wheel still in place and turning. The Llangollen Railway replaced the canal as the livelihood of the town in

the mid 1860’s and runs for 7 ½ miles along the banks of the River Dee from Llangollen to Carrog and back. The steam train is quite speedy and I would strongly recommend this trip if you are a fan of The Railway Children. Feeling like a true Victorian I sat at the table graciously observing the river and stately homes which we passed. Then feeling more like a dog I decided to stick my head out of the window for the majority of the duration of the trip and got my face covered in soot, narrowly avoiding decapitation when we entered the tunnel. There are a few quaint little stations along the way and a

place to get off for a panad. The trains run most weekends all year and during the week in the summer. There are also steam train events coming up such as the ‘Ride with the Rocket ﬁre work train’ on November the 5th, the murder mystery on the 7th and ‘Santa Specials’ throughout December. So if you have already visited Penrhyn Castle as I suggested, pop down to Llangollen for a fun ﬁlled day.

e window for the majority of th of t ou ad he my ck sti to ed cid I de avoiding decapitation the duration of the trip narrowly

STORM & SVB

Freshers’ Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

O v e r the summer Ba ngor’s student radio station, Storm FM had a makeover. Every thing has change We’re back lookin d! Gone are the g and more impo old jingles and da rtantly, soundin We want YOU to ted logo. g cooler than ev get involved an er before! d help; after all you want to be it is Bangor’s ST the next Chris UDENT sound. So Moyles, Terry Wo opportunities for whether gan or John Hu you. We have mphries, we ha a music team, and many more. ve so many If you are intere ne ws tea m, sted in revolution in stu production tea dent radio then m being a part of please stormfm.com the new for details on be coming email secretar GET IN y@ a member. TOUCH! We love hearing from you, so if you have an y requests or comments, he re are the details! Phone 01248 38 8048 Text STORM + yo ur message to 6030 0 E-mail us: studio @ stormfm.com Visit the website and ﬁll the NIFTY LITTL E FORM

THE THURSDAY NIGHT LATE BIT If you ﬁnd yourself by a radio or clicking your way through Facebook on a Thursday night between 10 and 12 then ‘The Thursday Night Late Bit’ on Storm FM with Cameron Ward could brighten up those two hours… There’s a song from every year of this decade in the noughties at nine past ten, we sum the weather up in a noise and Cameron asks for your opinions on the big issues of our time! Should tomato sauce be kept in the fridge? Are ﬁve Ps the most annoying coin? 10pm, Thursday. Hopefully see you there! BIG WILL’S CLASSICAL COUNTDOWN Big Will’s Classical Countdown focuses on the very best of classical music. Every week we choose a different theme or composer and countdown the top ten. But this isn’t just me playing my favourite pieces of music. The top ten is voted for by you. So if you’re a fan of the classics or just want to unwind with some truly beautiful songs, tune in to Big Will’s Classical Countdown with Will Bulteel, every Thursday from 5-6pm! MENAGE A TROIS Ménage a Trois brings Will Bulteel, Rob Hobbs and Matt Ison to you every Sunday from 6.30-8pm. The show was started two years ago with one thing in mind: banter. The trio take the Michael out of each other and even the audience each week and play not just the best tracks of today, but some classic anthems as well. If you fancy joining in the madness, listen in every Sunday. The Ménage a Trois: because sometime two just isn’t satisfaction enough!

Volunteers recently helped out at the Uni versity’s 125th Anniver Celebrations. A hug sary e thanks to everyone who took part on the day.

tudent Volunteering Bangor is enjoying a successful start to the new academic year with a considerable increase in the number of students wanting to volunteer. If you’ve been trying hard to get a place on one of our many projects but you’ve not yet been successful, don’t worry, there’s still plenty of projects recruiting volunteers. We’re currently looking for enthusiastic people to take part in our environmental projects which are great for those of you looking for one-off volunteering opportunties and not wishing to commit to anything long term. We’re in the process of establishing a city clean up project so if anyone out there knows of any grotty back alleys or manky green spaces in need of some TLC, let us know! Our Beach Clean project will shortly be recruiting volunteers so if you fancy a nice relaxing afternoon on one of North Wales’ beautiful beaches, then come and join us. Well, the ‘relaxing’ part’s a bit of pork pie but the beaches around here are stunning! We’re also shortly about to launch our new website (well, our new part of the SU website!) which will include a lot more detail about each of our projects and how you can get involved. We’ve also included an FAQs section which will hopefully dispel any myths you may have heard about volunteering – it’s true we don’t actually make people dress up as 6ft tigers! As well as all the hard work, we’ve got a fantastic SIN night in the pipeline for November 24th – you will not want to miss it! Also, for those of you wondering whether there’s going to be a Moulin Rouge night this year, fear not, it shall be back in the new year bigger and better!

Seren’s very own agony aunts are here to answer all your problems. Big or small, they’ve got an answer for you. Contact them on advi ce@seren.bangor. ac.uk if you have a question you need solving

Social

Q - it’s my first year at Bangor University and I’ve found it hard to find genuine like minded friends. Although my flat mates are nice, I have not been able to jell with them. How can I find some friends like me? A - Join a club which you have an interest in; although you may have to start off on your own you will make a whole team of new friends who share that same interest with you. There are not just sport clubs there are all different kinds and it is not too late to join. Make an effort with your flat mates as you might find you have more in common than you first thought. Spend time getting to know your course mates as your chosen subject is the one thing which will instantly bond you together. Don’t be so narrow minded when being introduced to people who don’t fit into your ‘type’ of friends who you want or are used to. As university is all about new experiences and with these come new people also.

Relationships

Disclaimer: They aren’t professionals, just two sensative souls who hope to help.

Q- I’m in a relationship with someone at home and since coming to university things have changed dramatically. We have been together for over a year but now the distance and lack of spending time together has driven us apart. We argue all the time but when I go home we can pretend things are normal but for the weeks in-between it’s hell. What am I going to do? A - It is entirely up to you whether this relationship is going to work. It must be a joint decision as to whether you both have the motivation to make the relationship work. You must keep communicating even if you are not going to see each other for a few weeks, a conversation about your day will keep you close. However if the arguing continues and the issues cannot be resolved it may be a sensible idea to terminate the relationship. Your experience at University is priceless and unique to each individual and we would not advise you to jeopardise it for anybody.

Sexual Health

Q – I am in my third year and met my boyfriend when we were both in our first year at Bangor. We have always been sensible when it came to contraception and always took the right precautions. However this last month I missed my period. I’m petrified to tell my boyfriend as I am unsure of his reaction. A – First of all you must take a pregnancy test; these are available free from the Students’ Union advice centre (2nd floor). The opening hours are Monday to Friday 10am to 4pm. This is not to say you are 100% pregnant as this situation is common in many women. But it is vital you take a pregnancy test anyway if only for peace of mind. Our advice is to tell your boyfriend because despite his personal opinion I’m sure he would want to be there for you.

Lifestyle

Q – I’ve been out a lot recently, about 4 or 5 times a week and I always drink when I go out. I don’t always get drunk but I still have alcoholic drinks all night. But now I am starting to feel the effects, I’m not sleeping right and I’m tired most of the day. Although I don’t drink heavily every time I go out, I am constantly having headaches and don’t feel myself until the time comes to go out. A – The reason for you being so tired is clearly due to the late long nights which you are having. It would be a sensible idea to cut back on the amount of times you go out a week, maybe 1 – 2 nights and make one of these a sober night (you can still have fun!). The hours you should be sleeping per night are 8 ½ hours. This is the vital amount you should sleep to ensure you perform a fully functional day. The headaches are due to you being very dehydrated from the alcohol intake, so you must keep your body hydrated by drinking plenty of water. You don’t state what food you consume within an average week but if your diet is lacking fresh fruit and vegetables then it is an idea to add them to your diet. As they will replenish you with the nutrients your body needs and will add extra energy to get you through the day. If however the sleepless nights proceed it is a wise idea to go to a GP. Bodnant medical centre deals with many student cases and can be contacted on 01248 364492.

Hanging out with the Mystery Jets

Seren gets a sexytime!

LD I W E IN TH

Festival n a M n e e r G e h T At

‘09

War nin g: May cause serious offenc e

Dwight MCcarthy Presents: The idiocy of everyone but me 3

weeks ago I was walking through the Trafford Centre, and there was a queue to go into a shop. It looked amazing, kind of like a cross between a voodoo shack and an awesome gig venue. I was disappointed it was a shop called Hollister. For those of you who do not know, it’s classed as an “American lifestyle brand” so when you pay 24 quid for a tshirt, you can be a surfer and buy into yet another subsidiary of a giant American conglomerate. I

have no problem with chain shops, McDonalds although delicious is (apparently) highly unethical and full of bad things, but tastes bloody delicious! It doesn’t pretend to be a home run family business

It has lower price points compared to its parent brand (Abercrombie and Fitch charge but £36 for their tshirts). The brand’s stores resemble surf shacks with dim lighting and blast rock music (reminiscent of a gig

for the weather” I ﬂick over to watch the consistently brilliant Simpsons . When my defences are low after watching the cartoon family work out moral dilemmas I watch 7 million people cram into a caravan van full of chewing gum and witness what I call The Pinocchio Effect. Essentially it describes the Hollyoaks actors’ acting - wooden as hell. These good-looking Abercrombie wearing b*stards make me want to hurl my telly (with newly retuned freeview box) out of the window. The scripts on Hollyoaks are barely believable, just like most soaps but a man blowing up a church with remote

“These good-looking Abercrombie wearing b*stards make me want to hurl my telly out of the window” (apparently) it buys cow bones and hooves and pumps out tasty burgers on the cheap, winner. But shops like Hollister ﬂip me off. The description on Wikipedia (source of all accurate knowledge in the known world) states that Hollister is marketed as Southern California by Abercrombie & Fitch. Themed after “SoCal” for teenagers 14 through 22, (thus making you lovely students their target audience).

venue right?) So basically I hate cool things, cool things that people off Hollyoaks like. Which brings me to my next point - soaps that are . Such as Hollyoaks, after a day of hard graft, I’ve mentally exhausted my brain by meditating upon topics like, war and peace, the universe, and whether Jeremy Paxman is a Mac or a PC. Admittedly my brain welcomes the switch off, but the annoyance begins during boot up the next morning (which incidentally is quick as hell cause I have just upgraded to Windows 7 for the pc half of my brain and Snow Leopard for my Mac half, sod Linux) I feel sick, after watching the news at 6 descend into “alright George how’s the family, oh its time

detonation is a step too far. Even for Soapland. But the acting (forever back to the acting) seriously gets my goat. I have seen more love between Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole than I have between any of the couples in this made up ﬁctional suburb of Chester. Basically I hate Abercrombie, Hollyoaks and but I do like cheese and pickle sandwiches, Barack Obama and the font Helvetica (but I really hate Papyrus!). Now go and study a n d don’t say I never gave you any good advice.

ONE MINUTE WELSH Oes gen ti gopi o Seren? Have you got a copy of Seren? Gai panad os gwelwch yn dda? Can I have a cup of tea please?

Wyt ti’n mynd allan heno? Are you going out tonight? Wyt ti eisiau pitsa heno? Do you want a pizza tonight? Dwi angen arian I need money Dwi wedi gwario gormod yn dre I have spent too much in town Dwi’n teimlo ofnadwy heddiw - dwi’n credu mae gen i’r fﬂiw moch! I feel awful today – I think I have swine ﬂu!

DJ Mouse having a quick read between songs

Some light reading in Central Park, NYC

Intruiging some Gambian monkeys

Do you want to learn Welsh or even just a couple of phrases? Cymdeithas Llywelyn (the Welsh learners Society) is right up your street! We offer taster sessions at 6.30 on the last Wednesday of every month in lecture room 5 to help you learn those handy phrases. We also hold social sessions every Wednesday night in the Glôb at 8pm; this offers a chance to practice what you’ve learnt. Email llywelyn@ undeb.bangor.ac.uk for more information. Dwi’n dy garu di I love you Dwi’n caru Seren!! I love Seren!!

Presents....

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

r e b m e v o N d r 3 Amser / time On 3rd of Radio 1 to Bangor! night is bringing BBC oducing. ’s new Indie / Electro y of BBC Radio 1 Intr rtes cou ds Lost Property, Bangor ban such as the new host three exciting radar musicians. Acts IntroNovember, Time will vered and under the tured through BBC ts unsigned, undisco nur por and sup red cing ove odu BBC Intr have been disc week. ast nationwide every ence and The Machine adc Flor bro and s ws, sho y, Ting io Ting rad ivals like Glastonbur on their family of BBC major events and fest ducing and heard first t Property is stoked e their own stage at Los hav and cing f odu stuf Intr iting In addition, BBC ms. It’s pretty exc the BBC’s Electric Pro Reading & Leeds and the street of Bangor. to ight stra it g brin to got then? So... who have we

s r e h t a F g n u o Y fresh, young Here we have some the NME deScottish guys who ked somewhere scribed as being “loc l and 3T, but Sou La De n wee bet hipster generare-imagined for the nifty... Their tion.” Sounds pretty and funky. tunes are fun, upbeat for their fun, Gaining a reputation d vibe shows, energy-filled and goo touring the hotthe trio have been hitting the test UK venues before uit this sumEuropean festival circ porting mer. They’re also sup CO (yep, that’s SIMIAN MOBILE DIS tour and are right) on their latest ase their debut hopefully set to rele album soon. Myspace, we Check them out on love them... think you’re going to ungfathers

myspace.com/yo

is The whole gig d being recorde t on and broadcas ere Radio 1. Be th and witness ent Bangor’s mom of glor y!

/rock electronic A local new Indie pop emerged on to influenced band that ne in 2007. Formed the Welsh Rock Sce now just bout in 2005 the band are E.P entitled first ’re they ase rele to ’ ( translated to ‘100 Diwrnod heb Liw s Without Colour’) English to ‘100 Day orth label this Sum on the Sbrigyn Ymb North Wales the from ing inat Orig . mer both based in Notband’s members are Dyffryn Nantlle tingham and and the area.

Soft Toy Emergency are afive-piece elec tro-pop band from Liverpool; who like going round the coun try making noises that entice people to dan ce. They formed the ban d back when their “fav ourite pastimes included buckfast-drin king and floor-break ing at houseparties and since then we hav ” e played some beastly few UK tours and cras gigs, gone on a hed on many floors. This summer they’ve to play at some of the UK’s major festivals including: Glastonbury, Reading & Leed s, V and Isle Of Wig ht. After releasing two singles through Frie nds Vs Records and gain ing support from Rad io 1’s Jo Whiley and Huw Stephens, BBC Music’s Steve Lamacq, 6 Nemone and Tom Rob inson and XFM’s John Kennedy, they ’re are now looking forward to releasing new single ‘Critical’ their this November.

myspace.com/so fttoyemergency

Y Promatics

Buy a 6” sub & 21oz drink get a 6” sub FREE with this coupon! Regular subs only, Love Bangor card holders get any sub! Coupon only valid at Subway Bangor. Not valid in conjunction with any other offer.

Remember every Sunday 2pm-6pm is BOGOF!

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Kids say the funniest things

reator Laura Lawson taught drama to children and realised that unlike adults, children are far more willing to be creative and inventive without the fear of making a fool of themselves. This led her to create what is now a very successful comedy workshop called School of Comedy, it gives children the opportunity to showcase their own improvisation skills, sketch and stand up comedy. It is however, now much more than a workshop, E4 commissioned a TV series and I’ve been watching.

“You almost forget that these comedians playing the roles are so young.” We basically see children, playing the part of the adult, the fact that it’s teenagers acting may lead you to think that it is child friendly themed but no, there’s adult themes and adult language, but the script is so well written and performed you almost forget that these comedians playing the roles are so young. Characters include a cabbie that has no idea where he is going but will tell you all about his celebrity customers, Pongo and Margo, (a 1940’s couple but Margo is a secret lesbian in love with Lulu, another secret lesbian), two South African security guards and Mr Mills, a teacher that bully’s the children to name just a few. The jokes are very clever, sometimes a bit too clever for me (which isn’t hard to be honest) and are laugh out loud funny, both for the cringe and just

hen adverts for Flash Forward started appearing on TV we were given only small glimpses of what was going on. Two minutes and seventeen seconds. Global unconsciousness. Inevitable pandemonium. Cool! Based on a novel by Robert J. Sawyer it follows the lives of a few characters on a mission to discover what the flashforward to 6 months into the future means. Was it a vision of the future? Something to do with the planets and magnetic fields? Aliens? Terrorists? The questions are endless and as the makers are the same people who did Lost, the likelihood is that we aren’t going to be answered soon. Whilst some people’s flashforwards were good, some were bad, some didn’t have one and some never came back to reality. The monumental effect it’s had on the world becomes apparent when you see the aftermath of unconsciousness en masse. People who had been swimming drowned, planes fell from the

pure hilarity. Expect to see big things from the main character of the show, Will Poutler, this 16 year old had a role in Son of Rambow and can be seen in the new Chronicles of Narnia ﬁlm due for release in 2010. However my personal favourite is Ella Ainsworth, most notable for Lulu the lesbian, I just can’t help but laugh at everything she does. School of Comedy is different, it’s fresh and above all, it’s hilarious. I can’t think of a better way I’d rather spend my Thursday nights, let’s hope it gets a second series!

Aaron Wiles

sky, drivers crashed and so on. Interestingly a kangaroo appeared on a main road in New York (the spiritual home of the disaster movie). Unexplained and slightly haunting, it hops down the road and you’re left as freaked out as everyone who’s woken up in a city that’s half on ﬁre.

awn French. What a lady. Possibly one of the funniest people that have come from the alternative comedy scene in the 80’s with TV show The Comic Strip. She has many achievements to name, including a diverse career spanning three decades, realizing massive mainstream success while pushing humorist boundaries and challenging stereotypes. She also makes an excellent Harry Potter, as was shown in the 2003 Comic Relief sketch Harry Potter and the Secret Chamberpot of Azerbaijan, possibly better than Daniel Radcliffe himself, (although with slightly bigger breasts)... and is certainly one of the greatest actresses of our time...but what is she actually like as a writer? Her autobiography, ‘Dear Fatty,’ is in the form of letters to the people she loves and admires (including such people as her mother, the parents of everyone she ever babysat for and Madonna.) It lovingly describes and documents her rise to fame, and the quirks that inspired her along the way. She discusses her role in the all-female sitcom Girls On Top, along with Jennifer Saunders which firmly established women’s role in British Comedy for future generations of comedians, such as Catherine Tate and Katy Brand. The nickname ‘Fatty’ refers to fellow performer Jennifer Saunders, and is a poke at French’s own size. The book describes her interesting upbringing as an RAF child, moving from station to station across the country; her education in Plymouth and New York; the angst of teenage love; how she first met Jennifer Saunders; their mutual aversion to each other and how they then went on to become one of Britain’s finest comedy duo. The book, as you may expect, has

like... The truth is, you just don’t know. Since none of the characters know what’s going on you’re drawn into a completely believable world and follow the plot, picking up clues with Mark, predicting the future but hoping for his sake that it doesn’t come true. He heads up a project called Mosiac to collect

“Two minutes and seventeen seconds. Global unconsciousness. Inevitable pandemonium... Cool!” Apart from the sometimes bizarre details you’ll notice in each episode, the characters are well developed and believable playing your standard anti-hero FBI agent in Mark Benford, comedy sidekick, troubled nurse who soldiers on and characters you think you like but think you might be made to like so maybe you shouldn’t

BOOKS & BOX

everyone on the planet’s flashforwards to see if they can look for patterns and find out if certain flashes confirm others. If you like detective style programmes, Lost or shows that make you feel stupid just by being really clever you should like this. You’ll find yourself being suspicious and over

some really quite hilarious moments, and anyone with a sense of humour would definitely find it a fascinating insight into one of Britain’s most talented comics , but there are also some heartbreakingly intense moments, such as when French finds out about her Father’s suicide at the age of 19; that make it a truly sensational book, harrowing, emotional but also enjoyable, as she manages to charm her fans on the page as well as she does on screen, a trait that most celebrity autobiographies struggle to achieve. All in all, a great read for train journeys or with a cuppa in bed. Make sure the train carriage is empty though, you may find yourself laugh-snorting...

Lizzie Blowey

analysing people early on. Some people know too much if you know what I mean. In short: it’s a good cast playing good characters with hopefully a good story. If it’s as good as the ﬁrst series of Lost we should be in for a treat, it has amazing potential. It could also go the other way and become weird and unbelievable (we believe everyone in the world passed out at the same time and saw 6 months into the future, any more paranormal stuff would be pushing it). With the 25 episode season already doing well in America, Canada, Australia and Europe it could be a welcome addition to our Monday night routines. That’s right. Monday night, 9pm, channel 5. You’d better catch up on the ﬁrst few episodes before you watch though – so you can pick up clues!

Georgia Mannion

MUSIC

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Music Editor, Aaron Wiles, brings you what’s hot and what’s not in music this month

Alexandra Burke All Night Long

N-Dubz - I Need You As if they couldn’t have been any uncooler, they start ‘rapping’ about Facebook, oh dear.

Ok, so if you have the album by now you might be rocking out to this, I am, a lot. See review on Page 19!

Tinchy Stryder - You’re Not Alone

Whitney Houston Million Dollar Bill

Taking a ninetees anthem for your own song never usually works, point proven here.

Been playing for a while, but the X Factor performance sealed it, especially the Freemason’s remix, amazing.

JLS - Everybody In Love

Fake Blood - I Think I like It

So they didn’t win X Factor, probably wouldn’t win Strictly Come Dancing either, Jesus.

I think I like it too!

Beyonce - Broken Hearted Girl

Robbie Williams - Bodies The editor once said, “So Robbie Williams is making a comeback.... why?” It’s a good question.

In the video she crys, it’s well sad, but then at the end she’s smiling and eveything is good with the world again.

YOUR

This Month:

Rated & Reviewed

rjgexplode

Track

Times played

Iron Maiden In Flames

2,829 1,377

Amon Amarth

1,372

Iced Earth

1,253

Judas Priest

1,215

Megadeth

898

Battlemore

798

Blind Guardian

760

Bruce Dickinson 758 Papa Roach

726

Wiles’ comments:

I’m not going to lie, I’m not a fan of any of this, and if you could see my music collection you would probably die. I’m guessing you’re a fan of Mayhem? You may also enjoy the Rammstein review on page 19!

Music Taste Rating: 4/10

The Flaming Lips Embryonic

he Flaming Lips have always been one step out of sync with their contemporaries – one step ahead of the game in many respects, curiously old fashioned in another, and way out to the left in yet another. But to me they have always been a pop band at heart, a band with catchy melodies, breezy harmonies and a unique identity. Yet this pop heart has always been well hidden under layers of psychedelic glam and space rock lyrics, so commercial success hasn’t always accompanied the critical praise. But since their last album (‘At War With The Mystics’) there has been an inﬂux of bands labelled

“They don’t use the extra space to dive into a Jazz odyssey or commit accoustic suicide” ‘Neo Psychedelic’ - bands who are clearly indebted to The Flaming Lips, and in touch with their adventurous spirit. MGMT, Animal Collective and Star Death are all making great music, as well as achieving in the charts. Flaming Lips once again have everything to prove but suddenly have less obstacles in their way thanks to these younger groups. Embryonic is the band’s twelfth album and their ﬁrst double record, with 18 songs spread over two discs. But this is not really a sprawling double in the spirit of The White album. They don’t use the extra space to dive into a Jazz odyssey or commit acoustic suicide; it all feels very cohesive and very Flaming Lips. But that’s not to say there are not any problems with the double disc format

ollowing great success from their two previous albums, it should be easy for me to roll out the red carpet for the Birmingham four. Hits such as ‘Munich’ and ‘Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors’ reminded me why I had taken an interest in the band in the first place. ‘In This Light and On This Evening’ showcases synthesizers in all there glory….or perhaps not. The change from guitar to Gary Numans toy set has somewhat downgraded my opinion of the band. I respect their decision to challenge themselves and wonder into the unknown (or the 80’s) but the final result is somewhat mediocre. Drafting in Mark “Flood” Ellis as producer (notably having worked with Depeche Mode) was a stroke of genius, what could go wrong? Initially nothing! But soon that glee of joy left my face to be replaced with a sour, somewhat bitter expression. ‘In This Light and On This Evening’ propels my imagination skyward, a repetitive pulse that builds anticipation, as the song enters its final quarter it explodes with electronic hysteria. ‘Bricks And Mortar’ is somewhat slow to start, whether flood & Co were watching terminator before making this piece is unknown, but it’s hard not to make the comparison. The ticking drum machine arrives not to soon after, if you’re not a fan of such devices, the album is probably not for you. The track redeems itself via front man Smith; this is a recurring theme throughout unfortunately.

– in fact this album suffers from the same troubles that all double albums do. They could easily have ﬁtted this onto one CD and it would have been a much better album for it. To add to the great length this is also their craziest and most experimental album in a decade, no bad thing, but by the end of the record you feel exhausted and tired. MGMT made an accessible, modern psychedelic record that managed to be fun and intelligent. ‘Embryonic’ feels just as intelligent but lacks the joy of ‘Oracular Spectacular’ and the pop power of Flaming Lips better albums. Nonetheless there is much to get into here, if you let the madness sink in. Highlights include opener ‘Convinced of the hex’, a song which makes them sound like a 21st century Jefferson Airplane, and the bleak but beautiful ‘ E v i l ’.

Elsewhere there are guest appearances from the likes of MGMT (on the disappointing ‘Worm Mountain’) and Karen O (the brilliantly weird ‘I can be a frog’). ‘Embryonic’ is a sporadic, overlong, overwrought, overwhelming, yet madly fascinating album that re-establishes The Flaming Lips as one of the most interesting and eccentric bands of our generation. This is no easy listen, but if you invest your time in it, ‘Embryonic’ may well blow your mind.

Thomas Owen

: Seren recommends sSuper Furr y Animal or at di Ra e Modest Mouse - W re fo Be ad De Were The Ship Even Sank

Arguably the best track on the album is ‘Papillon, it offers the best chance of reaching the singles chart for the band. Dramatic, synthesized correctly and vocally brilliant, this is a welcome relief from the other tracks. ‘You Don’t Know Love’ and ‘The Big Exit’ perhaps kills the album, these songs are gloomy

and downright depressing, the line “you already know the way I feel inside” is enough said. ‘The Boxer’ (a.k.a Supermode ‘Tell me Why’) is perhaps the most emotive track on the album, transcending vocals and a ﬂuent bass line offers a true night time feeling about the affair, one for the road maybe? ‘Like Treasure’ mirrors contemporary U2 songs in approach, but perhaps another lackadaisical song overall; had it not been for the line “you are what you eat” I perhaps

would have clicked onwards, but carried on listening to see if ‘Smithy’ had anything else he needed to get off his chest, this came to no avail. ‘Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool’ is when I really lost my temper, “enough of this repetitive s***!” I said. The name of the song is perhaps ﬁtting for the new direction of the band, very raw, but with enough practice and time I’m sure it will be a delicacy for all of us to enjoy. The ﬁnal track ‘Walk the Fleet Road’ was quite similar in how I was preparing to review the album, a lot of humming and minor lapses of concentration. The song is ‘ok’ but lacks authority and certainly does nothing to help the albums’ course. Overall the album rates 3/5, but please don’t be put off by this. If you listen carefully, notably ‘Bricks and Mortar’ you will sample some interesting electro riffs, a similar approach undertaken by Franz Ferdinand ‘Lucid Dreams’. The future of the Editors is unclear, Synthesisers vs Guitars; can’t they do both?

Gareth Edwards

: Seren recommends se W hite Lies - To Lo My Life Interpol - Antics

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

fter a mere thirteen months between the release of 2004’s Reise, Reise and the equally brilliant Rosenrot, the four year wait for Rammstein’s sixth studio album, Liebe ist für alle da (translation: ‘Love is there for Everyone’, if you were wondering) must have felt like an eternity for followers of the biggest thing to come out of Germany since Jägermeister ﬁrst graced our shores. And boy was it worth the wait. Rammstein are back; bigger, better, louder and more bizarre than ever. Even before the album had been given a name, it was already making headlines thanks to the aptly named ﬁrst single ‘Pussy’, a satirical dig at the sex industry with a video more X-rated than if Tommy Lee and Paris Hilton collaborated on a ‘home video’. No, really… Liebe ist für alle da feels like a smooth progression from the bands previous offerings; vocalist Till Lindemann has a roar that would put Godzilla to shame, and the songs range from the epic and grandiose, to understated and intimate. There are booming,

metronomic riffs, haunting synths and the commanding, evocative vocals that placed Rammstein where they are today as the most successful practitioners of the Neue Deutsche Härte sound. LIFAD fuses together the ﬁnest elements of Mutter, arguably the band’s best effort to date, with the

ed “Rammstein have reach om a level of creative freed not seen before from the band.” re f i n e d sounds of their later albums and the techno inﬂuences of their early records. Rammlied, the opening track, is classic Rammstein; heavier than a Panzer tank and catchier than fresher’s ﬂu. The crunching riffs in the title track are reminiscent of ‘97’s Sehnsucht and the steamrolling behemoth of B******** is as intense as anything the band has written. However Liebe ist für alle da isn’t simply Rosenrot II; the band are not afraid to be experi-

mental, and it is perhaps in venturing into the unknown that some of the ﬁnest moments in the album can be found. ‘Haiﬁsch’s’ pulsating synthesizers could be easily mistaken for a Depeche Mode B-side (if David Gahan sang in a thick, aggressive German accent, that is). ‘Frühling In Paris’ is a welcome change in pace; the album’s ‘power ballad’, much in the mould of ‘Seemann’, ‘Ohne Dich’ and ‘Mutter’ from previous albums. The most surprising moment is left for the closing track ‘Roter Sand’, a beautifully haunting ballad ending the album in every way as gentle as the beginning of the album is intense. With Liebe ist für alle da, Rammstein have reached a level of creative freedom not seen before from the band. It is certainly their best effort since Mutter, perhaps even surpassing the album which launched them internationally, and is without doubt one of the best alternative albums of 2009.

Nik Hughes

ends: Seren recomm

Tool - ænema Megaherz Kopffchuff

Rammstein

MUSIC

Music is not dead! A ArAarant nt taabout babo ran ouut music t tthe he mmu usic sic ind inindustry. dust usry. try.

uying music is like paying for a Even with the hardships faced by painting to put on your wall. Many modern musicians, the industry is still people take pride in their CD alive and kicking. This is mostly because collection as if it were an art collection. there is a high a demand as ever for live music. More festivals are being The fact that music is an art is often created every year and many of them overlooked by the general public. are committed to promoting talented How many people do you know that new bands as well as showcasing the would walk into an art gallery and take a picture from the wall? Or even walk world’s finest acts. into a cinema with a camcorder to rip Although music sales have fallen off a new film? Not many, I’m guessing, dramatically, anybody with knowhow unless you live somewhere quite dodgy. can make money from music. If people How many people have downloaded play their cards right, a lucrative career illegally in the past or even just burnt in the business is possible. Producers, a mates CD onto a laptop without session players, engineers, roadies, sound technicians and even related realising? The rise in torrent sites has businesses such as décor specialists made downloading even quicker and more reliable; every piece of music and lighting engineers make up only a few of the many jobs on the ladder. that you could want at the click of a mouse seems like a good deal when the The rise in video game producers chances of getting busted are so slim, has been a massive boost for the music doesn’t it? I am aware that the sea industry. Many developers will feature of musical tripe can be a factor when songs on their games and earn royalties people opt for illegal downloads. Why for the artist. With technology constantly would you want to pay for something developing and new opportunities in that may be crap? The solution is the media, I think the music industry is far from over, and with a little more simple. Buy carefully and get to know thought and respect from consumers it the music you buy. In recent years though, I have could bloom on many levels and take come to realise that when people buy control away from label fat cats! music it helps music to flourish as a Ladies and gentlemen. Music is not dead. trade. Arguably I have only become so sensitive to these issues since the prospect of making money from music has seemed achievable. If I wasn’t involved in music would I be bothered at LOCKED SOUNDSYSTEM all? celebrate their first Legal download sales y have actually increased bir thday on the 24th Oct. The significantly over the past nths few years. People are have a beastly couple of mo s! act ng azi selling their own music am e lined up with som on iTunes and other sites and ok ebo Fac on Check them out without having to rely on Myspace. a label and a distributor.

Messy Joe Messy Joe recommends:

Liebe ist für alle da

Alexandra Burke - Overcome I

t’s been a long time coming. 10 months in fact, since Alexandra won The X Factor, but ﬁnally her album is here and it doesn’t disappoint. You may all sigh, yes she won a reality show, she’s “manufactured pop”, but her album is seriously good. It also helps that I am a little bit in love with her. I was always a fan, but things changed dramatically the moment Beyonce walked out on stage and made the duet happen. Alexandra has since found her way on to the music editor’s computer wallpaper, it’s quite pleasing. Anyway, back to the album. You’re probably expecting to hear another Leona (which I also loved by the way), a cd full of ballads. Well tough, there’s only four, and one of those is the much hated Hallelujah cover. It’s a pleasant surprise to hear uptempo and quite Motownish music; see You Broke My Heart, written by Pixie Lott (I know!). It could so easily be a perfect hit for herself or even Duffy, yet I’m more than happy with Alexandra’s vocals on it, for me it’s one of the high points of the album, along with Bury Me (the other Motown one). Both are toe-tappingly good, with the addictive rhythms and her soulful voice. All Night Long is the song to love off the album, after checking my Last FM it appears the amount of times I’ve listened to it may be quite embarrassing. A perfect potential single, it could easily see the same success as her huge number one Bad Boys, which until Cheryl Cole released Fight For This Love was the biggest selling single of 2009 by a massive margin. She sings “As long I see the strobe lights, I’m dancing all night long”, so would I be if this came on in a club *hint*. Later it slows down; Alexandra softens and it’s

amazing, I’ve literally had this on repeat for days. You may have heard of RedOne? The guy behind two of the biggest selling songs of last year, he’s most famous for his Lady Gaga connections but he took time out to produce four songs for the album, including The Silence, which shows he can do ballads as well as club bangers, and what a ballad it is! As she belts out “Don’t let the silence do the talking”, you are reminded of why she won The X Factor; she sounds emotional and vulnerable, it’s diva worthy. RedOne also worked his magic on Broken Heels and Dumb; the former will most deﬁnitely be a future single and rightly so, RedOne certainly k n o w s catchy and this sure is. The latter is m o r e of the

same, as she repeats the words “Dumb” ended with “bye bye baby”. Other artists roped in for the album include Taio Cruz, and the duet with Ne-Yo, Good Night or Good Morning. Is there nothing this guy can’t do? The song was admittedly meant for Brandy, (after a little research proved) and whilst it disappoints that Alexandra is getting other artists ‘cast offs’, she in my opinion does a better job. Casts off can sometimes be a good thing; see R i h a n n a ’s Umbrella which was originally turned

down by Britney Spears! Overcome is another of the album’s few ballads and whilst it’s not as good, it’s still pleasing, in sound to Jordin Sparks – Battleﬁeld which isn’t a bad thing for me because I loved that too! As with pretty much every album, there are songs that don’t really do it for me. Fans are liking Nothing But The Girl but I can’t get into it, Gotta Go bores me a little and whilst They Don’t Know showcases again how well she can do soft, I’ve found myself skipping it a lot. To conclude, the debut album is a good one, and whilst it’s obviously catered for when she attempts her US breakthrough, (see Flo Rida’s input), it’s more than good enough for the UK, and I’m so pleased she went with the up-beat because it works so well. One ﬁnal thing to note, don’t go to the album ready to compare her with Leona, because whilst I am a huge Leona fan, they’re so different.

Aaron Wiles

s: Seren recommend sha Beyonce - I Am Sa Fierce Jordin Spar ks Battleﬁeld

CREATIVE

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

R E N R O C E V I T A E R C

es Pretty girls make early grav twilight, In the middle of the rain in the grim Two young men came out to fight. t, Arms at sides their fists clenched tigh ht. heig ng pari com r They faced each othe

ld exercise their right, For the love of the same girl they wou To her hand in a test of might. t, So the youths fought in the fading ligh t. sigh r Until the darkness impaired thei Now with regret I write, t. That both men died that fateful nigh

Wallflower My Mind’s Eyes All alone in everyone gone the silence of the creaking stair haunted spaces, empty faces my shadow stalks me everywhere.

By Alex Close

All alone in nobody home the silence of the white washed wall clocks tick and tocks click my worry walks me here to fall. Hello Alice how are you Wonderland is close to truth knives and bladders, snakes and ladders unconsciousness is waterproof. I watch films inside my head asleep- one eye, the other spies and I can’t toss and turn in bed though slumber is my frozen cage. Now and then arise. I jolt to catch a glimpse of song or word memories, kisses, long cold nights flash my mind’s eye- fly like birds. All is quiet as you are still I don’t know your world at all it leaks from you; unnatural chill leaves you pale, naked. small. All is cold as you are quiet the night seems not to end it forces sobs from my defiance and no comfort can I send. Morning Beauty you’ll be fine in your irritating laze your wires and plastic armour shines I glare, I gripe, and gaze. I need you know you’re in your sleep and useless, lifeless; lost but I wish that you weren’t in so deep you don’t know what this time costs. I try to wake you every day and yearn for twitch, for sneeze or cough but no matter how long, or what I say I have been told to switch you off.

Elizabeth Jane Blowey

Stephanie Ellis Environmental science

"The School of Modern Languages"

always liked the sound of the words, "The School of Modern Languages". I can't say why I like that sound, I've never really pinned it down, But when I hear those words spoken nd, or see them on signs on walls all arou n brai my of part I get a fuzzy feeling in the sane. me s keep and ry bula voca which processes And what's a "modern" language? I find myself bemused, "Not 'cogito ergo sum'!" you say But now I'm just confused! It is a mission of mine! (to learn them all at once is) I've already got a favourite word in Spanish; It's "entonces".

By Nick Lee

Solange by Anna Donigan

CREATIVE

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Orange skies

AN EXTRACT FROM:

ange, whilst is slowly turning or y sk e th t en ev lar ak so ht and they uckily due to a fre as Adams was rig gl ou D at th rld wo the ild version the mice reveal to ge, yet pleasantly m an str is th in s Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; e. e plac wandering actually do rule th e astounded crowds th t gs on am t sa ew of Upper a young lad r with a perfect vi lla of our world that pi a st ain ag d pite this artion, he leane give him away. Des to around Euston sta ed en at re th at account g stomach th delicious bagette on r no Crust and a gurglin nt pi er ith ne tually 21, n he sat with nfirming he was ac co m guably ideal locatio hi g in ID an spite the barm nny less. of being broke, de wn out for being pe ro th ly nt ue eq bs su s and not 17. He wa y not fully engaged enough for passersb , ile wh ir fa a r fo e his unshaven and He'd been travelling rceful mice, to notic fo y gl in ris rp su e or th m small change by the orange sky, e the urge to give hi m so ve ga is Th ir. d have involved of ha ever growing mop oners and that woul nd Lo re we ey th ct the fa jeans and fading had it not been for with his dirty, torn d ne bi m Co t. ac nt l co favours. On the some degree of socia s doing himself no wa he irt sh ne hi pale complexe Mac red Rage Against Th s making his usually wa y sk e th m fro t ge tin d be a lie. bright side the oran it was all bad woul y sa to ow kn u yo tanned so ion look positively

Lucy Baird Environmental Forestry

Ride to Bangor Midnight train ride sights And amber candy window lights Poking out of blue swathed homes Where I can imagine my love with open arms

By David Horn

An open heart and a rosy glow But these are thoughts and thoughts alone

Alex close

Goku Super Sayan by Kayley Roberts

Want to see your creative work in print? Whether painting is your passion or you just enjoy the odd doodle we want your work! Poetry, short stories, and artwork are all welcome and can be sent to: creative@seren.bangor.ac.uk

Be as adventurous as you wish, humour and satire will be gratefully received as well as the deep and intellectual so get creative!

Kim Pemberton Linguistics

AN EXTRACT FROM:

5 WAYS TO SURVIVE A LONG CAR JOURNEY WITH YOUR MAN 4. AIM FOR OBLIVION.

Choose his poison. Alcohol, cigarettes, a couple of sleeping pills if you can get hold of them, as long as it is legal, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pretty much fair game. I do not condone breaking the law, or anything resulting in hospitalisation or death... unless the circumstances are extreme. The aim here is to put him in a happy place, and preferably an unconscious one. If unconsciousness is not possible then it is best to balance the attempted oblivion with comfort; ensure snacks are on hand and toilet breaks are plentiful. A full bladder and rumbly tummy are not good. Snack wise, for your own sense of well-being, steer away from the crunchy, loud varieties and remember that sticky toffee doubles as an excellent man-friendly gag.

By Emma Daniels

Christiane Zander Psychology

FILM

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

ver the past few years it’s plain to see that the horror genre has had a serious case of déjà vu. Remake after remake of horror classics have been pouring out of the box office like there’s no tomorrow. Although I wasn’t even alive when many of the ‘classic’ horror films came out, I can’t help but feel a little deflated when I hear of yet another horror classic being remade. I may stand back and silently grumble against these remakes but that doesn’t stop the large numbers of people who still choose to go see them. Why do we choose to see a film we’ve seen told before? Is it really the fresh

‘‘Taboos were being busted here there and everywhere.’’ new acting talent and promise of shinier blood splatter that gets us excited to see a horror remake? Or is it simply due to the world we now ﬁnd ourselves living in? The considered horror classics have been and gone, the bogeyman becomes less terrifying when the real horrors of the world can be accessed by just one click. As Bob Dylan once sang ‘The times they are a changin’, like everything else with the passing of decades, horror has had to change its ideas and formats in order to keep its audiences entertained and above all terriﬁed. The 1950s saw people becoming fascinated with giant monsters, aliens and science gone

wrong. A few years earlier during the Second World War, the atom bomb had been used to devastate Japan. People were shocked and dumb founded by the use of the atom bomb and with the arrival of more new technology in the 50s their thoughts turned to ‘what if’ scenarios, hence the giant monsters and mutated scientists that films of the 50s seemed to revolve around. In the three decades that followed horror got more gruesome, bloody and disturbing. Social attitudes became more relaxed and taboos were being busted here there and everywhere. Crazed schizophrenic mummy’s boys, children possessed by the devil, relentless killer sharks, relentless killing bogeymen, meant that nothing was off limits anymore. Is this seen it all, done it all attitude the reason for the influx of remakes at the box office? With all the original ideas already made into films why not go back to the classics and change them around a bit for a new audience? Bingo. Plucky young film makers are given access to instant characters, narrative and background before their brains have even had the chance to register the sounds of the box office cash register. Don’t get me wrong the Noughties have produced some spectacular and truly terrifying pieces of horror; take 2004’s ‘Saw’ and 2002’s ‘28 Days Later’ for instance. They’re two classic examples that

have breathed life into the tired horror genre, although both coincidently have spawned many sequels, do ﬁlm makers really believe that audiences need Saw number six in their lives, or is it just an excuse for lazy ﬁlm making and easy money making in a recession plagued world?

‘‘The bogeyman becomes less terrifying when the real horrors of the world can be accessed by just one click.’’ Film makers will argue the defence of their bright and shiny remakes, stating how the new generation of busy adults haven’t been able to see these old films of Michael Myers, Jason or Freddie Kruger and that they need an updated version so that these classic horror films don’t fade into obscurity. Of late, the entirety of Hollywood has been looking back with a greedy, nostalgic gaze at classic films that can revived by remake or in most cases an unnecessary sequel. (Yes Indiana Jones, I’m talking about you) These poorly made remakes that only replicate the shell of their original predecessors should be left at the discussion table before they find themselves with the knife of criticism at their throats.

Louise Cotterill

olicemen dancing in skirts, giant ladders that reach to clouds and Johnny Depp floating on giant lily pads are just some of the eccentric quirks that The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus boasts. Director Terry Gilliam has made a great amount of successful films over his directing career including one of my personal favourites, 1981’s Time Bandits. Unlike the rest of Gilliam’s works this one has a huge reputation; mainly because it’s the last film that star Heath Ledger appeared in before his death in 2008. Ledger died before production and filming could be completed, the cast and crew were thrown into turmoil over their friend’s sudden death. Many argued whether Gilliam’s latest production would ever see the light of day again. After much thought and are planning, Gilliam approached actors Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell. The three were each asked to appear in the film as different incarnations of Ledger’s character, Tony. The three agreed and even donated all their acting fees to Heath’s young daughter Matilda. The story follows the extraordinary Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) and his travelling theatre show as they park up and perform for the passing public. Watching spectators are encouraged to go up onto the stage and witness the many wonders of the show. The unknowing participants are encouraged to walk through a magic mirror that leads them straight into their own imaginations. Their imaginations are controlled by the ancient and mysterious Doctor Parnassus, a gift he was blessed and arguably cursed with. Behind his remarkable talent, the Doctor hides a sinister history with the devil, Mr Nick. (Tom Waits) Many years before, Parnassus made a deal with the devil to make him immortal. Years later Parnassus found who he believed to be his one true love, he returned to the devil begging him to make him youthful once more. The devil only agrees to carry out Parnassus’s wish on the terms that he can take away the soul from his first born child when they turn the age of sixteen. Parnassus foolishly agrees to the deal and fails to tell his only daughter ‘Valentina’ (Lily Cole); her excitement at turning sixteen is met with petrified anticipation from her father. Mr Nick arrives to collect Valentina and out of desperation Parnassus suggests another deal with him as a latch ditch attempt to save his daughter. Parnassus suggests a bet; the first one to seduce five souls shall be the winner of Valentina. Never one

‘‘Every sequence that we are treated to in the imaginary world is visually explosive.’’ to turn down a bet, the devil agrees, leading to a race against time to save Valentina. In the midst of the madness, the group save the life of a disgraced Charity founder called Tony (Heath Ledger). He unashamedly lets his own problems and imagination run riot in the berserk and bizarre world of Doctor Parnassus. Cinematically, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a real spectacle. Every sequence that we are treated to in the imaginary world is visually explosive. The stunning use of colour and CGI dazzles the viewer into believing that the imaginary world inside the magic mirror is real. These stunning and cleverly designed graphics are juxtaposed against the gritty minded streets of modern day London. The cast chosen by Gilliam is an eclectic but well rounded mix of old and new. Waits and Plummer work exceptionally well together in the roles of Mr Nick and Doctor Parnassus. Model turned actress Lily Cole is outstanding in the role of Parnassus’s daughter Valentina, bringing almost a cockney, Alice in Wonderland feel to the role. The alternative reality versions of Ledger’s character slot well into the overall narrative and make it seem like it was an original part of the story all along. Although the narrative can be difﬁcult to follow at times, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a compelling and unusual tale that’s narrative, setting and characters all intertwine together to create a real unique and somewhat mindboggling experience for the audience.

Louise Cotterill

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

FILM

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

DVD REVIEW

Coraline 2-D / 3-D D irector Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) brings to life Neil Gaiman’s (The Sandman) novella, Coraline, by creating the first stop-motion animated feature in 3-D. The film tells the story of 11-year old Coraline Jones (Dakota Fanning) who finds a doorway in her new home to an alternative world, in which everything is the same - except more elaborate - and everyone has buttons for eyes. The “Other Mother” (Teri Hatcher) and father (John Hodgman) give Coraline the attention she has been lacking from her real parents, but it’s not long before the fairytale world turns nightmarish. Coraline demonstrates just how far stop-motion technology has come in the past few years, as it is nearly impossible to distinguish from CG. The 3-D effects are used with restraint, but help give the film a surrealist look. The downfall of watching the film in 3-D, however, is that the colours appear less vibrant than in the 2-D version. Whichever version you choose, Coraline is thoroughly enjoyable for both children and adults. From richly detailed visuals, to good old-fashioned story telling that is as strange as Alice in Wonderland - talking cat included – and as scary as Roald Dahl’s darker children’s stories. All opposed can button it!

Rebecca Farrell

his latest zom-com to be released is the aptly titled Zombieland. Four very unlikely survivors must band together to escape from the zombie-ridden streets and reach safer grounds. While exhibiting a sense of narration through main protagonist Columbus (Jesse E i s e n b e r g , who starred in the recent Adventureland) was a smart idea, in helping provide the film with some of its funnier moments (the genius ‘kill of the day’ sketch) as well as giving the film some focus to distract us, the audience, from a plot that has to be the most recycled in film history. While credit should be given to director Ruben Fleischer for doing

this effectively, Zombieland is as unoriginal as Friday The 13th part nine was to the slasher genre and the writers seemed reluctant to add anything unique or

characterisation remains somewhat 2D. Comedy of late seems to employ the underdog or the loser back-story, who turns from zero-hero by a lifechanging day, and this has become

‘‘Comedy of late seems to employ the underdog or the loser back-story, who turns from zero-hero by a life-changing day.’’ new to the tired horror/comedy fray. ‘Playing it safe’ results in Zombieland being compared to some superior movies of the same ﬁeld of which Shaun of the Dead is the prime example, to which it cannot hold up, and while the acting is above average (barring a superb Woody Harrelson as survivor Tallahassee), the

so repetitive, boring and cliché in the ﬁlm genre that Eisenberg could have been replaced by Seth Rogan or any other Judd Apatow lout and achieved the same linear effect. As much as Zombieland is humorous, the jokes do not come thick or fast enough to make it a truly great addition to the genre and this desperation is shown by the guest starring of Bill Murray.

Once I

f it wasn’t for my dedicated HMV rummaging I may never have come across Once. Once is a modern day Irish musical (think more acoustic not dance) that follows a boy (Glen Hansard) and a girl (Markéta Irglová) as they bond over their passion for music. Director John Carney is known for making quality low budget indie films, Once is a classic example of his that combines Irish culture with strong, emotive music and captivating friendship. The two main characters in Once are only referred to as the ‘Guy and Girl’, a simple effect that seems to flow with the overall serene spirit of the film. The story starts on the bustling streets of Dublin. We are introduced to ‘Guy’, an Irish street busker and sometime hoover repairman who spends his days singing popular songs to passersby and his nights singing his own songs to empty streets. He is confronted by the pretty and inquisitive ‘Girl’, an immigrant originally from the Czech Republic. She questions him over his song choices and song writing skills. The girl is overjoyed to find out that he is a hoover repairman, she persuades him to meet her the next day so that he can fix her broken hoover. After a comical scene involving the girl pulling her broken hoover along the streets of Dublin, she takes him to a local music shop. With his soothing and melancholy lyrics mixed with her mellow and haunting piano, the two find themselves bonding over their love for playing and singing music. The two embark on a musical expedition; the girl pushes the guy to write more songs and as the story slowly progresses, to make professional recordings

of them in order to pursue his dream of becoming a successful recording artist. As well as following the pairs musical journey the audience is able to witness the close friendship growing between the two. We find that the guy has been recently left by his long term girlfriend. His lyrics reflect the sorrow and growing loneliness that he feels; he wrongly mistakes the girls’ kindness for romantic feelings and makes a rushed move towards her. Although hurt at first, she soon brushes this encounter under the carpet and becomes one of his closest friends and motivators. The girl also has her own problems. Moving away from the Czech Republic to Dublin with her young daughter and Mother meant leaving her older husband behind. She misses him but worries about the distance put between them. As a viewer, the loneliness that the two protagonists portray through their music is absolutely torturing to watch for anyone that’s ever been in a similar situation as it is acted with such passion and feeling. Having the film being set on the local streets of Dublin really gives the film a warm heart and sense of humour. The characters, storyline and setting make for a real beautiful film. Even if you’re not a big music lover I’d recommend finding a copy of Once. Its unique warmth and charm will more than likely want to make you watch the film more than just once.

Louise Cotterill

W a s this choice ironic in the fact that our four survivors praise him for an inordinate amount of time for being a god of comedy before our goon protagonist shoots him? As much as the writers have strived to create some interesting and distinctive characters we never really learn much about these mistrusting survivors, though acknowledgment must be made to the great chemistry between the four. Overall Zombieland has some large ﬂaws in its plot and halfhearted character creations, but if you can look past the uninspired nature of the ﬁlm there is a lot of fun to be had here, oh and a lot of gore.

Callum Rymer

TRAVEL

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Hi everyone!

A Gap in the Market

f an Erasmus year isn’t feasible, you may want to consider taking a Gap Year. Google search “gap year projects” and you’ll be inundated with websites: the Gap Year market is it seems, despite the recession, alive and well. Despite the health of this market, it’s not uncommon to come across certain preconceptions. You don’t have to be fresh out of Sixth Form, you don’t have to have rich parents, you don’t even have to go away for a whole year. Whether you want to do a summer project, or take a year after graduating to see the world, whatever your age or interests, there’s something for you.

editor. ur new travel I’m Rachel, yo student t go ’ve we issue This abroad: extended trips experiences on rate a po or inc want to whether you programme ee gr de ur yo trip into or work mus scheme, with the Eras with an or ly nt de en abroad indep luable any getting va established comp ds of loa e ar e er e, th work experienc city a e’s er th le. If options availab ar a review of, he to ing dy e that you’r l story your own trave or if you have get in touch ld, to be to that’s begging k. n.bangor.ac.u at travel@sere en! we llo Ha y pp Ha

Rachel

Look around and find something out of the ordinary. Everyone knows at least one person who had an amazing time teaching water sports at Camp America, but at www.summercampworldwide.com you can find information about projects not only in America but in Europe, China, and even the UK if you don’t fancy going too far away from home. If you have a particular career in mind, you may want to consider work experience abroad. It’s not always paid but it’ll look great on your CV. Teaching and medical work are the obvious ones but there are plenty of projects for careers from graphic design to cricket management if you look hard enough.

Work experience placements work like Gap Year projects: you pay a fee and they sort out your placement and added extras like tours and safaris. It’s not impossible to organise it yourself and avoid paying the fees though, if you’re prepared to do loads of research. Generator Hostels reckon that the recession has not affected longer trips abroad and youth travel, with people doing more research and booking as early as possible in order to make the most of their trip. Check out the articles on the following page for inspiration.

Rachel Stretton

Erasmus – an experience for everyone?

sk the average student what Erasmus means to them and most won’t have a clue what you’re talking about. Perhaps one or two will think you’re talking about shaving soap, but very few will be thinking of the scheme which has allowed two million students to date to spend a year in work or at a university abroad. Most of those who have heard of it will be language students who have to spend a year abroad as part of their studies, but that is not to say that the option to study abroad is closed to those who do not require it for their degree. Far from it, in fact. The majority of students in their ﬁrst year are eligible to apply, the main stipulation being that you need to be an EU citizen to obtain ﬁnancial support. Great – but why would you want to study abroad?

Well, if the idea hasn’t sold you immediately, it’s the opportunity to see the world, or at least a small corner of it, to seize your independence and to understand a different culture. When you wake up in a country, eat your meals and buy your stamps there, you really gain an insight into a culture that would be impossible on a two-week holiday. Ask anyone who has lived abroad and they will have amazing stories about the time they were accidentally locked in a supermarket or when they tried the famous local cuisine only to discover that it was horse. It really is an opportunity not to be missed. Once having made the decision to study abroad, the prospect can still seem daunting if you don’t know where to start. The ﬁrst step is always with the personal tutor. You can discuss with them why you want

to go on a year abroad and many departments have partner universities which they already work with, making the whole process easier. This shouldn’t limit your options, however, since Bangor if often willing to make ties with new universities if you have somewhere speciﬁc in mind. Knowing a foreign language helps, but it is not compulsory as many European universities offer courses in English

while you may take e x a m s abroad, marks from them are not transferred. This has the knock-on effect of your final mark depending solely on your work in your third year. Again, a daunting prospect, but not one you should be discouraged by since your tutor will not advise you to go unless they are confident that you will succeed in your final year. If you’d still rather not take the risk, there’s still the option of spending a single semester abroad, which entails a more complicated set of academic requirements, a more limited choice of foreign university and the payment of tuition fees, which are not applicable to students spending a year abroad in the EU. On the subject of cost, this varies depending on where you would like to study. Students going to EU countries are eligible for

“Ask anyone who’s lived abroad and they will tell you of the time they got locked in a supermarket.”

“

or have intensive language courses to boost your level of ﬂuency. Now, spending a year abroad might sound a lot like taking a year out, but that is far from the truth. The second year of your degree being an important one, most departments ask for certain academic requirements to be met during time spent abroad to ensure that your degree is not negatively affected by it. This is important because

The town is beautiful, with a beach right in the centre and everything in walking distance. It was a difficult but worthwhile experience; I had to adjust to the Spanish way of doing things. For instance there are no bus timetables, the bus just turns up whenever. I found myself having to gesticulate to make myself understood. It would be too difficult there for a non-Spanish speaker.

Emma Dorman, University of Caruña, Spain.

”

“

The small French villages don’t have a lot to offer in the way of fun; there is only so much excitement you can squeeze out of la boulangerie. If you’re heading out next year to rural France take a backup of novels and Cadburys to get you through the first couple of months before you break free and find mates with transport who are equally bored of the village life. Yes they may only be 16 but a ride into civilisation on the back of a scooter is better than nothing!

”

EstherMilton, Milton,teaching teachingassistant assistantin in Esther Lansargues, France. Lansargues, France.

“

Everyone’s so friendly in Italy, it’s easy to strike up a conversation. Most are amazed that you’re bothering to speak their language at all and will make an effort to understand. Some other Erasmus students I knew spoke no Italian, but there are courses in English, so they got along fine.

”

Jenny Reed, University of Udine, Gorizia, Italy

“

It was difficult at first – I was so tired from speaking German all day! – but it became easier. My mentor found me an apartment and the owner totally mothered me, which was great! For a nonspeaker, there would be a language barrier. Most of the students speak English, but it’s not the same as a big city. Overall it was a good experience.

”

Tom Pike, teaching assistant in Brunswick, Germany.

t h e Erasmus grant, which helps to offset the cost of travel and accommodation. Switzerland offers its own grant to help students. Those wanting to go to the US or Canada, however, will have to look to their LEA or the SLC. Living abroad will always cost more, in terms of travel to and from home and travel within the host country – after all, it would be shame to spend a year abroad and see nothing of the country but the journey to and from university – but it is a price well worth paying, because life experience is deﬁnitely a worthwhile pursuit. If you are interested in spending a year abroad, make sure you apply before Christmas, so the opportunity doesn’t pass you by. Good luck and bon voyage!

Katie Dyer

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

e c n ie r e p x E n r Easte T

he world is your oyster so they say but when reality kicks in, what with study or work commitments and perhaps time or financial restraints it is sometimes hard to find the time to discover what is actually out there. However, if adventuring really is your thingthen there are definitely opportunities available which are dually beneficial in terms of enabling you to see, feel, taste and touch another cultures as well as providing you with an experience which is beneficial to your future plans too. Latitude Volunteering for example is a gap year charity which for 35 years has specialised in volunteering for 17-25 year-olds. The range of schemes they offer is extensive - you name it they probably do it, with protecting turtles

in Brazil, preserving forestry in New Zealand, and teaching English in China being just a few of the most popular programmes they offer. Placements tend to last from two months to a year, and as they are organised properly through a respectable agency they are also guaranteed to be accessible, safe

worked on several wards where her duties included accompanying patients to physical therapy sessions, x-rays and CT scans, as well as helping to perform basic medical checks such a temperature and blood pressure readings. She also got the chance to observe consultations, and even a few surgical

“Lattitude Volunteering offer a range of schemes: you name it, they probably do it.” and affordable. Lily Monk, who is now a second year medical student, participated in a Latitude scheme last year and travelled to Nagasaki in Japan where she spent six months working at the Nagasaki Genbaku Byouin Hospital. Whilst there, Lily

operations so all in all it was a very hands on and worthwhile experience. Lily stayed in the nurses dorms, making friends with other students who were there on similar schemes and also managed to pick up a great deal of Japanese and experience the

oriental way of life as the her work and 'play' time was balanced so that she got plenty of free time to explore and really get a feel of Japan. The volunteers also earned a small allowance which helps keep you going whilst living out there. "I made friends for life whilst I was out there and also felt as though I was doing a really good thing helping out. I can't recommend it enough" said Lily when reflecting on her time with the scheme. So thinking of travelling abroad? Where there is a will there is a way, don't you think?

Vicky Osten

Aisle see you Down Under A

s you may or may not have read in my last article in Seren, I told you about a seemingly fun but dull job at a patisserie I had during summer. The second job I had was completely mind-numbing. Eager to get stuck straight into work in Western Australia, I took up two jobs to give myself a little bit of spending money for tat like cork hats and toy koalas. What struck me as slightly odd was the fact that I walked into the place, asked for a job to which they replied “of course!” and told me to start work the next day. I could have been an illegal immigrant and they wouldn’t have known. The job was stacking shelves in a relatively small supermarket, one night a week for 5 hours. Doesn’t seem so bad, yeah? This shift may have been the low point of my life due to how utterly bored I got during what seemed like 10 hours. I arrive for my first one, already knackered, and have to do back-breaking work like lifting what felt like boxes of bricks onto the highest shelf in the world. I was assigned an aisle with boxes littered all along the floor and told to restock the shelves after being handed a craft knife to open the boxes with. Now, these knives had numbers on them and before each shift I had to write in a book which number I had, in case for some odd reason I felt like stealing it and going on a rampage. Once my aisle was starting to look clear, someone would come around again with a flat-bed trolley full of boxes and throw them all into my aisle, making my job seem endless. What also didn’t help was that the radio station they chose to put on during these shifts was of very bad taste, playing songs from the 80s which people had forgotten about for a reason. After suffering one week of this, I learnt the importance of an ipod. And also paying more attention to what I was stacking. On Facebook, I have already written notes on my time in the land down under, however these

TRAVEL

ones contain slightly more sociallyaccepted language. I have written a long list on what utter s**t Australia sells. The long list includes what looks like polystyrene bean-bag balls as a form of pudding, “special” water for your coffee machine charging you double what you’d pay for standard water and “deluxe” canopeners – what exactly makes it “deluxe”? As it happened, they decided to completely change the layout of the store about halfway through my stay in Australia. This meant walking into the shop one evening, finding a complete aisle missing, meaning that the 16 year olds working the aisle next to me ended up working on my aisle with me. After a few minutes, I engaged in conversation with them. They seemed eager to find out about London, apart from one girl who told me she hated London. I asked what part of London she had seen and she replied “Essex” – she had a point. Also none of them seemed clued up on how racist that cheese company “Coon Cheese” was when I practically froze on the spot staring at it. All was far too good when I finished my shift 90 minutes early at 8.30pm. The next week I got there, the aisle had been replaced. As well as having to spend time running around the store finding where things where, we weren’t allowed to have all the boxes out at once, seeing as this clogged up the aisles for customers. I see the manager’s point, however this meant our shift took about 3 times as long to do. Imagine me running around a supermarket with a tray of jam in glass jars, trying to find out where the hell it went whilst customers are stopping me by a) asking where stuff was and b) just generally not getting out of my way. Apparently choosing the right coffee takes longer than you’d think, and whilst you do so, you ignore anyone else trying to get past you whether they have a tray of jam in their arms or not. At the end of the day I did get around about $150 paid into my account each week which added nicely to the $400 a week I was getting from selling cakes and bread to crazy people. But when your shift is to end at 10pm, you’re practically in tears by the end of it, you’ve had to clear up some spillage of luminous green liquid which is meant to resemble a form of drink and you’re let off early at twenty-five past, $150 isn’t nearly enough. Never. Again.

Heather Torrance continues her exploration of Western Australia

SPORT

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

l ing to be this stressfu ve known it was go ha I’d ys If da r. o ito tw Ed d s pe p chop ’s new Sport t paid to have my mo i I’m Martyn, Seren good money and no lf updating the sports se in my en d ke ve sa lly ve rea I’m ll! we I would ha as fun maximum feedback. t it’s been a lot of This means I need . ago, having said tha on cti se g gin ran on sport related readable and wide with your opinions ac.uk or. ng pages into a more .ba d in the ren se s@ sport the best will be printe me at Feel free to e-mail inion based content; , then op are sh the to th e wi lik e uld gre ree/disa orts info you wo sp or g blo the e, matters, or if you ag by icl art ted be domina ore, if you have any want these pages to n’t n do ca I . next issue! Furtherm I k ail ac e-m db fee me r! The more ideas to the sa the sport the bette please submit those me tre ex d an ton re gle scu Sin Martyn more ob can be. Thank you. major sports, so the gaging this section en re mo the u, yo get from

MUDDOGS

SAILING CLUB

angor University is famous for its Marine Biology department, but on the non-academic side, it also provides one of the best

sailing clubs in the UK. Operating from the Plas Dinorwic Sailing Club, situated on the Menai Strait; Bangor University sailing club provides the only ‘fun, wet and enjoyable’ weekend activity in Bangor, that doesn’t result in an STD. Not just for keen sailors, the club provides a ‘cheap gateway’ into sailing. All abilities are welcome, with the club providing training to less experienced members, as well as instructing up to RYA level 2 standard, with no less than 4 fully qualiﬁed RYA dinghy instructors. The club sails every weekend, usually on both days; and conditions permitting, at least one day during the week. Not just providing instruction, the club organises regular free sailing sessions and racing, suiting all tastes and abilities. Actively building skills for inter university and national competitions. Recent events included s t r Spo trips to sailing competitions ays Sund Hall & at Cardiff and Weymouth, as yone is at Treborth, 12 -2pm. Ever well BUSA Qualiﬁers at the West ed play r neve ve welcome, even if you’ Kirkby Sailing club, Liverpool. is a pair before. All you’ll need to bring The Club also has an active training of football boots, and some social side, with regular socials kly wee have We es. cloth opportunities for members to we re befo Uno, Bar in pm from 7.30 get together. Meeting weekly of which head down to Skerries, both every Monday evening at es gam NFL h watc sponsor us. We also around 8pm in the Belle Vue, Sunday from 6pm in Bar Uno on and also put on a variety of regularly nights. The Muddogs also "special" social events such their ding inclu ity char for raise fund as Fun Centre trips, summer kit, full in don Snow up b clim recent barbecues, themed nights out next their ning plan ently and are curr etc... with cide coin will h charity work, whic Thanksgiving!

OTBALL CLUB FO N A IC R E M A ’S R BANGO

lead as they went into will his year Bangor University the halftime break. In ive petit com in be represented the second quarter the The . action for the first time superiority numerical ring ente Bangor Muddogs will be told as the Tyrants rican Ame ies ersit Univ ish (Brit BUAFL ran out eventual 34-0 ism of Football League) with a bapt winners. ion divis the as n fire, in what’s know Following this the of death! prepared dogs Mud a been But getting there has for their first year in bumpy ride. the league. Following ed in The Muddogs were form successful a n rma Chai ent curr by , 2007 December drive, itment recru the later year a but Peter Williams, Muddogs now the club the and , committee collapsed number above 30 e way. was in danger of going the sam players, as they work Thankfully due to a lot of hard look to get ready wing follo the drive nt itme recru & a to face their games sey Lind rell, Timb Matt by led January, tough against as well as s Burn Mark Jankowski & positions. p o club the er East e Peter Williams, com Three of their league were in a position to push for first four games the this membership. In order to do are against three associate an play to ed need dogs Mud teams that made ciate asso w fello h whic for game, the playoffs last nts Tyra ter ches Man members the season, including nt rtme asso an in made were lined up. So the Loughborough Aces who their in y dela of jerseys, following a Final last season. hern Nort the to it a on & this payment for match jerseys Chairman Peter Williams had or City hastily marked up pitch at Bang fixtures “I think ons seas this on say to lined e ahead Rugby club, the Muddogs finally we have a massive challeng promises ng that up for the first game in what hopi I’m But . year this of us be said to be a great rivalry. It has to big three games in the first our with the of s new hen us that this was following half the season will help toug mitment ready universities doubt of com shape us into a solid squad, & from the team. the season. We of half nd seco the for t the a club The game unfortunately wen have faced big obstacles as nts 35 have we way of the visitors, as the Tyra but s, year two last in the players all players to the Muddogs 16 come them, I’m certain that over rst fi the In e. renc proved to be the diffe will pull together & face guys the d inate dom half both sides defences these with equal resolve.” es of the the game, with the only scor It’s still not too late to join of le the half coming from a coup on Tuesdays, train they , dogs Mud n run Astroturf, safeties & a 2 yard touch dow 5-6pm on the Maes Glas second al Site in the dying moments of the Norm at -1pm 11am s, Saturday a 10-0 quarter. So the Tyrants held

Peter Williams

TERRACE TALK A

side from the Welsh Premier League, the closest place around here you’re likely to see a bit of decent football would be the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham, about an hour’s train ride from Bangor. Well, I say decent…. This season, Wrexham’s second in the Blue Square Premier was full of high hopes and expectations for Dean Saunders’ men, and with a raft of signings coming into the club, from young hotshots coming from Man City to experienced veterans playing in the Championship last year, the season looked like it was going to be a good one for fans of the largest club in North Wales. However, despite an impressive opening day victory against Eastbourne, where Wrexham sauntered to a 3-0 victory, a ﬁrst back to back win in the league since January was not to be as they lost 1-0 at Crawley. At this point Wrexham fans were still optimistic with the entirely new team that had been built over the summer, a team fans were assured

by the manager that was “the ﬁttest team in the league”. With this in mind fans maintained an air of positivity about the chances the team had for promotion. Next game was York at home, and despite winning 1-0, the team was starting to show cracks. It didn’t seem to be the players, or even the formations, but the manner in which the team were playing. Wrexham’s number 9, ex-Doncaster Rovers and former Wales international striker Gareth Taylor represented a major coup for the team, however it seemed all the team wanted to do was loft the ball towards him and expect him to do the rest. However, a win is a win and fans attended the next home game, against Kettering Town hoping for another win. The day was largely frustrating for Wrexham fans and Kettering ran out 2-1 winners. It was now that questions began to be asked of Saunders’ managerial capabilities, and this was further compounded by a 2-1 away defeat to newly promoted Tamworth on a miserable Tuesday

Wrexham F.C, the story so far...

night. Wrexham seemed to be slipping into the quagmire. A 2-0 victory away at minnows Forest Green seemed to help stop the rot, but then only taking 1 point from the next 3 games (Barrow, Oxford and Cambridge) started to exacerbate irritation amongst the more vocal of the Wrexham faithful. Indeed, on the Wrexham fans message board Red Passion, Saunders was vilified and backed in equal measure on an almost daily basis. It seemed Wrexham fans were truly divided. When Luton Town visited the Racecourse on September 22nd, it seemed that the promotion favourites were going to teach Wrexham a lesson. However, the fight which Wrexham were lacking so potently so far in the season reared its head, and Wrexham romped to a 3-0 win over a stunned Luton. Turning point? Don’t be silly. With the confidence of Wrexham fans running high into their passionate local rivalry with Chester City, fans were expecting a whitewash. What followed was a drab 0-0 draw the

likes of which the Non-League International Derby hadn’t seen for years. Wrexham truly seemed to be ﬁring blanks. Then, two losses against Kidderminster and Salisbury compounded Wrexham fans’ assertions that the Luton game had been a one off. By the Salisbury game, the animosity towards Saunders had become such that sections of the crowd were beginning to shout comments out to him. However, Saunders’ job was assured by the Chairman Geoff Moss just hours after the Salisbury game. When Essex side Grays Athletic visited the Racecourse on Saturday, it truly seemed make or break time for Wrexham’s season. A 2-1 win granted a temporary reprieve, but unless Wrexham can follow it up with a win against Stevenage on Tuesday 20th, it looks like the season could be over before it’s really begun…

Joey McNally

L o o k out for the sailing club at the New Year’s Serendipity, but if you can’t wait till then, you’re more than welcome to get in touch with them at www.undeb.bangor.ac.uk/ sailing, at their facebook page -just type in ‘Bangor Uni Sailing Club- or come along to a social night at the Belle Vue. . “For me it has been a great experience, meeting new and interesting people of wide interests and backgrounds, I've made many new friends. It also gave me a chance to meet people of similar interest from around the country studying at different universities.” -

Mitchell BradleyWilliams

SPORT

October Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

BEST OF BRITISH

the ﬁrst Grand Prix. The teams went for testing and the Brawn team performed. Their car was quick! McClaren and Ferrari began to make inroads as they closed the gap on Brawn and Red Bull. Mysteriously Button was slower than teammate Barrichello and began to drop down the ﬁnishing order. Barrichello, Vettel and Webber, meanwhile took advantage, scoring heavily as Button “made do” with a point or two. All four were in with a chance of the championship as the they headed for Hungary. Felipe Massa’s season ended when debris crashed into his helmet at 170mph on the

BUTTON BRAWN AND BRAINS BAG IT IN BRAZIL

e n s e n Button brushed aside the

doubters as he s t o r m e d to the F1 world championship at Interlagos. Aggressive brilliance took him from 14th on the grid, to fifth at the chequered flag. Vettel and Barichello, enjoyed mixed fortunes in their efforts to maintain a challenge, as Webber won in Brazil. It was an unusual grid. Qualifying gremlins left Hamilton, Kovalainen, Vettel and Button towards the back. It appeared tough for Button to seal the championship from his position. Inexperience was in front, aggressive chargers, some with “KERS”, behind. The scene was set for mishap. On the first lap, Barrichello was out front, driving away from the field, with Webber behind. In the midfield, there was carnage. Raikonnen, Sutil, Trulli, Alonso and Kovalianen were caught in the melee, ending their chances. Trulli collided with Sutil, carting along the barriers, he jumped from his car to angrily confront the blameless Sutil. By then end of the lap, Button was in ninth, having slipped past the Renault of Grosjean. Lap two saw Kovalainen leave his pit with the fuel hose attached, spraying Raikonnen’s car with fuel as he passed. The flash fire was quickly dealt with and both rejoined the race. Poor Barrichello, you have to feel sorry for the guy. His dream of victory from pole position at his home circuit was blown as his first pit stop cruelly saw him rejoining the race in the middle of a

British F1 Champion Mike Hawthorn Graham Hill Jim Clark John Surtees Sir Jackie Stewart James Hunt Nigel Mansell Damon Hill Lewis Hamilton Jenson Button

“crocodile”, behind Japanese Toyota debutant Kamui Kobayashi. Button was ahead, having just passed the stubborn Kobayashi, with a brilliant feint manoeuvre on the main straight. Webber and Kubica both gained, leaving Barichello in third. A late puncture dropped him to eighth and out of contention for the championship. Vettel did his best from 15th on the grid, ﬁnishing in fourth.

It did not look good for them. Just as it seemed all lost, Ross Brawn, who’d joined Team Honda from Ferrari the previous s e a s o n , announced he had bought the Honda team and Brawn Racing would be taking part in

was

H e needed ﬁrst or second and failure by Button. He got neither. The top two race honours went to Webber and Kubica, with Hamilton. The championship, after the most exciting F1 season in years, was now in the hands of the most surprising champion in years, Jensen Button. His team Brawn follows suit as the most surprising team to win a world championship for years. What a season! F1 wouldn’t be F1 if it wasn’t embroiled in hype, controversy and skullduggery. The 2009 season hasn’t let us down. It began with the fallout from the 2008 Ferrari/McClaren spy allegations forcing McClaren boss Ron Dennis out of Formula 1. Honda meanwhile, withdrew from F1 leaving Button and Barrichello without a drive for 2009. There was a 700 strong team, a new car, no engine and no money.

Year 1958 1962, 1968 1963, 1965 1964 1969, 1971, 1973 1976 1992 1996 2008 2009

Hungaroring. It was launched into the air on a straight, by his unwitting friend, Barrichello. That he survived is testament to the safety of the helmet. That he will return to racing his Ferrari next year, a mercy. Hungary marked defending champion Lewis Hamilton’s first win of 2009. It had been a miserable title defence for him, until then. Speculation was beginning to mount that Button was “choking”. Button was flummoxed. “What has happened to this car, why is it so bad”, he wailed to his race engineer. It appeared they had no answers. Pundits had a field day, questioning his ability to sustain the pressure, they were happily enhancing through the media. But the truth is, the Brawns had difficulty with grip on colder

OPINION....

nd…that’s it! For the first time in over 40 years, we have two successive British world champions in Formula One. After a dazzling season, Jenson Button and the debuting Brawn GP team have romped home to victory. For those of you who’ve only just joined us this season, Jenson Button is the dark horse in this race. Last season his former team BAR Honda disbanded and Button failed to secure a place on another team, in fact it wasn’t until March this year (less than a month before the start of the season) that it was announced that former Ferrari whizz Ross Brawn was going to head his own team. After a few test runs both Button and veteran driver Barrichello agreed to drive for the team and the line up was finalised on March 6th of this year. The 29th of March saw the first race of the season in Australia, mixed reports flooded out of the press pit throughout the weekend but Brawn managed an impressive 1-2 finish on their debut, with Button taking 1st. Brawn’s early success seemed to be unstoppable. At the Bahrain Grand Prix, Button’s skill as a driver was on show; finishing 1st from 5th. But despite this early dominance, the season would prove to be a rollercoaster. Disappointment at Silverstone was continued in the next few races, and the championship was becoming less and less certain. Performances did pick up, but Button had a genuine rival in team mate

tracks and the majority of the European races were too cold for them. Nevertheless, Barrichello, who was managing the difficulties better, was closing t h e 2 6 p o i n t gap race by race, winning twice in Europe. Vettel was closing fast too, with solid podium performances. Red Bull enjoyed Europe, with Webber winning his first ever Grand Prix and Vettel proving his outstanding talent by winning at Silverstone. Raikonnen lifted Ferrari spirits by winning in Belgium. Meanwhile, back in “Big Gun” land, Nelson Piquet junior was sacked by Renault. It would cost them dearly. Piquet claimed he’d been instructed to crash his car in Singapore 2008, in order to allow Fernando Alonso to win the race, which he duly did. The fallout saw another big name removed from F1, that of Renault’s Flavio Briatore. Hamilton’s light shone winningly again in the night race in Singapore, helping Button keep his challengers at bay, as he sandwiched Vettel and Barrichello in fifth place. Their challenge appeared to be stalling alongside the stuttering Button. Button still held a healthy double-digit point lead over Vettel and Barrichello, though both could still win. But something else happened. Take a look at Brawn. There is friendship between the drivers and their teams. Now do the same with Red Bull. Similar huh? The two teams that did best are nice guys. They are sporting. They appear honest, humble and approachable, unlike some of those now out of the sport. Perhaps that is the most important change of all. F1 had a human face this year with spectacular racing and a fairy tale. Roll on

2010!

Nick O’Hara

Whilst luck has played a part in Jenson’s success.. boy, that Button has talent! Barrichello, as well as the lingering threat of Vettel. The stage was set at the penultimate race; at the circuit which had decided the previous two championships. But on October 16th disaster struck. Torrential rain struck the Sao Paulo circuit in Brazil and Button qualified at a disastrous fourteenth place on the grid. All bets were now on a last minute Abu-Dhabi victory sealing the championship deal. Apparently though, no one told Button. To win the championship, Button needed a poker combination. But his hand was simple- drive as bloody fast as you can and hope lady luck was on your side. And that’s what happened. With some brilliant driving, Button climbed a staggering seven places in the first ten laps and drove as a man possessed throughout the 71-lap marathon. All the more special as his overtaking manoeuvres were against inexperienced drivers. Button needed to finish on the podium or above 5th if Rubens fails to win. This seemed problematic as Barrichello started from pole position and held the lead for the vast majority of the race, until that is, disaster struck and with just ten laps to go he lost third place to Lewis Hamilton who also drove astonishingly, having started from eighteenth on the grid. It got worse for the Brazilian when, in the very last laps of the race a puncture forced him into eighth place and secured Button’s triumph. This dramatic conclusion to a sensational season now means that November’s Abu Dhabi race will now be more of a victory parade for Button and the top drivers but what of the rest of the season? Was Button’s

performance really deserved or did he land lucky early in the season? Or did it really come down to his father’s theory, that it was a pink shirt and white trouser combination on his part that did it for Jenson? It can certainly be said that luck has played a part in Jenson’s success. Having previously suffered from weak cars, poor management and pure bad luck, surely the opposite can apply for this season. What is completely undeniable though is that Button has talent! Perhaps one that has taken ten years to develop but the level of skill in his drive is frankly astounding, as Martin Brundell put it, “This man has been as sharp as a sushi knife all season”. When taken into consideration that at the beginning of the season it wasn’t even known if race results would stand due to confusion about the new car designs, Button has squeezed every ounce of potential from his car and in races where he has not ranked as highly as hoped or anticipated, there has been a genuine reason. The qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix is a prime example where the tyres were to blame for his disappointing position on the grid and it speaks volumes that the one race where Button didn’t ﬁnish was due to an accident caused by another driver (ofﬁcial FIA report). How can anyone deprive Button of this glory by undermining him with any possible insult now? This is a hard earned title described by Guardian reporter Richard Williams put it, “Button takes the scenic route to world title”.

Rhiannon Thompson

Get Fit At Maes Glas Mondays Lunchtime Aerobics

Precision Cycling

‘The Beast’ circuit

Kickaerobics

1:10 - 1:50 pm 5:00 - 5:45 pm 6:00 - 7:00 pm 7:00 - 8:00 pm

Tuesdays Balltastic

Precision Cycling

Step Combo

1:10 - 1:50 pm

5:15 - 6:00 pm

Wednesdays Morning Mix

Lunchtime toning

Boxercise

Circuits

Aerobics

9:10 - 9:50 pm 1:10 - 1:50 pm 5:10 - 5:50 pm 6:00 - 7:00 pm 7:00 - 8:00 pm

Thursdays Boxercise

Precision Cycling Legs, Bums &

Tums

12:10 - 12:50 pm 5:15 - 6:00 pm

Balltastic

6:00 - 7:00 pm

7:00 - 8:00 pm

Trim & Tone

Boxercise

Fridays Body Max 1:10 - 1:50 pm

Precision Cycling 5:15 - 6:00 pm

(01248) 382571 or call in for details

6:00 - 7:00 pm 7:10 - 7:50 pm

www.maesglas.co.uk maesglas@bangor.ac.uk

Maes Glas Sports Centre Ffriddoedd Road, Bangor LL57 2EH