Seren - 223 - 2011/12 - April Issue by Seren

Bangor Students’ Union’s English Language Newspaper

ISSN 1755-7585

Issue No. 223

IT’S ALL CHANGE

April Issue 2012

INSIDE: Summer Ball Competition!

Seren Hits Up Miami!

The Latest Film Reviews!

• Entirely new sabb team voted in at the SU elections • Online voting system sees the highest turnout ever Steven Freeman

new sabbatical team was elected last month in an election which saw the highest amount of voters in Bangor Students’ Union history. The voting process this year had been changed significantly so that voting could be cast online, and as a result of this, voting numbers rose to an all time high, resulting in 2140 students casting votes. The sabbatical team which will replace the existing team are Antony Butcher as President, Shon Prebble as VP Education & Welfare, Ash Kierans as VP Societies & Community and

Emyr Bath as VP Sports & Healthy Living. The new sabbs start shadowing their predecessors in the next few weeks and become incumbent in their new office in the first week of July, where they will start work over the summer in preparation for the many exciting activities the Student’s Union organises for Fresher’s week. Newly elected President Antony Butcher said “I’m really excited about getting started, and working with the team - we’ve all got some great ideas for next year that I can’t wait to get working on” “My main goal is to find out what students in Bangor want, and to do my best to make it happen - to create a Un-

ion and a University which genuinely reflect the desires of students.” Shon Prebble, the new VP for Education and Welfare has outlined what he plans to do over the next year, “One of my main aims this year is to ensure the redistribution of student fines. I want these to be used to help students who are struggling financially, rather than to subsidise University administration budgets. Ash Kierans as VP Societies & Community said “ I ran for VP Societies & Community because of the experiences societies have brought to me throughout my degree, and I wanted not only to give something back but improve what is available.” “My biggest goals this year are to

bring back (maybe in a different way) Serendipity 2, and to revitalise the Love Bangor campaign, which by the way, I’ve already started!” The entirely new team of sabbs will replace the current team of experienced sabbs who have been in office for two years, after they were all reelected in their second term, two years being the longest period a sabbatical officer can hold office. The shake up is sure to bring a fresh and vibrant working atmosphere to the Student’s Union and the individuality and goals of the new sabbatical officers show promise for the making of another award winning sabbatical team.

Latest Gadget News!

Editorial

April Issue 2012

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

The Seren Team

Editor: Aaron Wiles editor@seren.bangor.ac.uk Deputy Editor: LJ Taylor deputy@seren.bangor.ac.uk News: Steven Freeman news@seren.bangor.ac.uk Politics: Anna Hatﬁeld politics@seren.bangor.ac.uk Features: Rosie McLeod features@seren.bangor.ac.uk Creative Corner: Tom Haynes creative@seren.bangor.ac.uk Food & Drink: Joe Russell food@seren.bangor.ac.uk Film & TV: Amy Westlake & Heather Boyles ﬁlm@seren.bangor.ac.uk Music: Joey McNally music@seren.bangor.ac.uk Fashion: Kaden Wild fashion@seren.bangor.ac.uk Health & Beauty: Emily Tearle & Sara Royle beauty@seren.bangor.ac.uk Advice: Ashleigh Garnett advice@seren.bangor.ac.uk Travel: Rowena Nathan travel@seren.bangor.ac.uk Sport: Tom Knott sports@seren.bangor.ac.uk Secretary: Luke Dobson secretary@seren.bangor.ac.uk Design: Dan Turner design@seren.bangor.ac.uk

The Sabbs

Jo Caulﬁeld jo.caulﬁeld@undeb.bangor.ac.uk Danielle Buckley danielle.buckley@undeb.bangor.ac.uk Danielle Giles danielle.giles@undeb.bangor.ac.uk Rich Gorman rich.gorman@undeb.bangor.ac.uk

Contributors

Hi! I find it hard to believe that I’m already presenting to you the fifth Seren edition of the academic year! It seems like only yesterday we were all recovering from Freshers’ week and now we’re all feeling the dissertation stress, myself included. I’m going to tell you all what I’ve been telling myself, everything is going to be okay! In the meantime, now you’ve found a few minutes to pick up our lovely publication, you may as well get the kettle on and pop your feet up for a well deserved break. So what’s in the issue? Well, there’s been so much to rant about this month that we’ve had to make three pages of Comment! Remember Kony? Our Features section is taking a look at all the positives, negatives and controversies surrounding the event. Not only that we have all of your standard music, film and tv reviews, and Ashleigh is calming you down with her exam stress tips (page 25). Most excitingly though, your Summer Ball has been announced and we’re helping to tease you with the event. There’s a competition on page 15 in which you could win a free ticket if you’re lucky! See you next month!

Aaron Wiles

Nicola Hoban Alex Thomson Matt Jackson Sarah Braisdell Alicia Hill Sean Talbot Elise Geaney Georgia Mannion Eddie Small Yousef Cisco Will Osborn Tom Bone Jonathon Spencer Jecelyn Latimer Georgie Lorimer

Jonathon Spencer Jecelyn Latimer Georgie Lorimer Nayab Khan Emily Bygrave Toby Raynsford Lauren Binley Rebecca Watson Hayley Horswill Alison Kennedy Matt Coombs Rob Young Nathan Reynolds Anthony Giles Alan Washburne

News Politics Comment Environment Features Summer Ball Union Societies Creative Corner Health & Beauty Fashion Breaktime Ashleigh Answers Music Film & TV Games & Gadgets Food & Drink Travel Classics Sport

3-5 6-7 8-10 11 12-13 14-15 16-17 18-19 20-21 22 23 24 25 26-27 28-29 30-31 32-33 34-35 36 37-39

April Issue 2012

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Local News

Cargo Ship Runs Aground Body Discovered in Felinheli Near Colwyn Bay By Aaron Wiles

By Luke Dobson

ue to rough seas a cargo ship, with its seven crew members, ran aground near Colwyn Bay on the evening of 4th April. Whilst traversing the waters at Llanddulas, the ship collided with a rock on the breakwater, causing it to run aground broadside on the coast. The first thing the emergency services needed to do was save the crew from the stricken boat. They worked tirelessly from two lifeboats and a helicopter, combating the awful weather conditions of gale-like winds and pitching waves. Five of the crew were rescued before midnight but the two remaining members had to stay onboard with the helicopter’s winchman after the winch broke; they were lifted out soon after. A section of the A55 was closed in order to allow the helicopter to land. Eyewitness Sophie Madeley, having been stuck on the road, said “I have watched this all night and […] my high respect goes out to the pilot of the helicopter for the amazing work I watched him do.” Even as the rescue operation was winding down, concerns turned over to the leaking fuel tank. The cargo ship isn’t the biggest vessel around but it still had the capacity to carry 40,000 litres of light diesel. Luckily the rough conditions helped to break up the stuff which leaked, hopefully managing to limit the damage it could do to local natural habitats. Still, the Countryside Council for Wales is keep-

ing an eye on the salvage operation, which is a fairly delicate procedure. In order to move the ship they would first have to empty the fuel whilst replacing it with water, to keep the weight. Then the cargo would have to be removed and the hull would be assessed; following this they would force the water from the tanks so that it would be light enough to float away from the shore it is lodged on. The cargo it had been carrying was limestone, which it had picked up from the quarry jetty before being brought back towards the shore by the waves after the incident at the breakwater. This is the second maritime accident to have involved the same limestone loading jetty in the last six months. Another vessel, the Swanland, got in trouble in the rough waters after taking on the limestone and went on to sink.

By Alex Thomson

Lancashire. After a recent Government report found that there was no active danger to people in the surrounding areas to where fracking would take place. The process involves pumping water and chemicals into the ground to push out the gas. Energy companies have said it will lead to cheaper energy supplies but critics argue that there are big risks. There has been talk of a Russian company negotiating to take over the contract to build and run Wylfa B. The

wind and solar energy to support large parts of the country but on their own they aren’t the answer. The recent push by the Government for Nuclear power is welcome and necessary and there needs to be more UK based companies willing to invest in nuclear power and make sure that in the near future we don’t face an energy crisis. Anglesey has been designated an enterprise zone by the Welsh Government in terms of power creation and this will

“The Government is seeking to try and ‘wean’ the UK off imported oil” Russian state-owned nuclear operator Rosatom is reported to be interested in a bid to build a new reactor on Anglesey. International press reports, including sources in Russia, claim Rosatom could be set to buy a share of Horizon Nuclear Power. Nuclear power is the only long term option for alternatives to oil, although it would be fantastic if we could use the

as 23-year-old plasterer Dion Hughes and the police are still not treating the death as suspicious. It is thought that Mr Hughes was finding it difficult to accept his mother’s death two years ago and his father’s death several years ago. Mr Hughes was discovered by a local man who is thought to have known him. An inquest is expected to be held by North West Wales coroner Dewi Pritchard Jones.

Bangor Plagued by Crime D By Nicola Hoban

Wylfa to Close Reactor

he Wylfa nuclear power station on Anglesey will close down one of its reactors later this month. Officials said Reactor 2, which began operating in 1971, would stop producing electricity on 30 April because of limited fuel stocks and the remaining Reactor 1 is allowed to operate until 2014. Last month both E.ON and RWE nPower made the decision to not go ahead with Wylfa B, intended to operate from 2025, after a strategic review. This has left the Government in a serious dilemma but it insists that it will continue with the replacement of nuclear power stations even after the Japanese disaster the Fukushima nuclear facility. The Government is seeking to try and ‘wean’ the UK off imported oil and rely on power sources that come from Britain, but in light of the debate over fracking that has gone on recently, this may be more difficult than first thought. This controversial method of extracting natural gas is set to be re-started in

he body of a man has been found in Felinheli on the 16th April 2012. A spokesman for North Wales Police said: ““We can confirm that the body of a man has been recovered from a wooded area in Felinheli. The man in his twenties, who has not been formally identified, is believed to be local. At this time police are not treating the death as suspicious.” The body has now been identified

support the new power plant and hopefully more of Wales will be used for nuclear plants, there are a lot of rural areas where there is potential for many more plants and this would be good for the Welsh economy in terms of jobs but also in providing cheaper energy to Wales and parts of England.

espite the fact that the crime rate in North Wales is supposed to be considered as one of the lowest in the UK, Bangor has recently been plagued by episodes of violence. According to online figures for February 2012, shockingly Bangor was at the top of the list as the most crimeridden city in North West Wales. High levels of anti-social behaviour, vehicle crime, drug-related crime, theft damage and criminal damage appeared to be the main causes after being reported across the city. Telling WalesOnline.co.uk her thoughts on the matter, Bangor Cllr June Marshall said: “It’s a bit sad. I’m surprised. I haven’t heard of incidents of crime in Stryd Albert (where the incidents seem to be occurring). It tends to be students targeted.” Arfona Davies, a resident of Stryd Albert, goes on to add: “We’ve had problems with cars being broken into and somebody left horrible, abusive notes on some cars.” Police are trying to reassure Bangor residents, but the task is made all the more difficult when, just a few weeks ago, there were arson attacks on vehicles parked on Garth Road as well as Strand Street. Additionally, a string of robberies occurred in the same night in the City Centre, whilst in Upper Bangor people found themselves being confronted by culprits with knives trying to intimidate them into handing over their money and any other possessions of value. One person was injured in this event. In the months beforehand, a man was charged with the murder of Kelvin Jones, who was from the Upper Bangor area. Another man, a resident at the Ty Newydd hostel, was jailed for an attack he conducted upon a teenage girl. Inspector Simon Barrasford of the North Wales Police, told the BangorAnglesey Mail: “Robberies are fortu-

nately a very rare occurrence in Bangor, however, let me reiterate and reassure the public that we will not tolerate incidents such as these and those responsible will feel the full force of the law.” A spokesperson added to this: “The street robberies were a one-off with a number of incidents happening very quickly in a short space of time but tackled by some excellent rapid response policing with two local men very quickly detained. Both have been charged and remanded to appear at court in May and so sub judice obviously prevents elaboration although a local councillor has already gone public

praising the efforts of local police. “Arrests too have been made with regards to the arson attacks and enquiries too reveal these do not form part of a pattern, but are more focused.” Chairman of the Upper Bangor Society, John Martin, tells the BangorAnglesey Mail that the society will be meeting with police on Monday, stating: “Obviously there are some complaints. The death in Britannia Square did cause a lot of concern among residents. The meeting on Saturday 14th April will allow for the police to be present to explain their roles and give reassurance.” A member of the People of Bangor Community Group adds however: “Personally, I find it very disturbing to hear of such awful crime being committed in the city. Maybe this is further evidence to reinstate the police hub back in Bangor.”

UK News

April Issue 2012

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

UK Unemployment Falls 100 Days Till By Steven Freeman

t has recently been announced that unemployment in the UK has fallen by 35,000 bringing the latest tally to 2.65 million people who remain unemployed in Britain. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) said that the decrease occurred between December 2011 and February 2012, and that the rate of unemployment is somewhat promising. Trade Union Officials have however expressed their concern with the lat-

est announcement and TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “While any rise in the number of jobs is welcome, the fact is that full-time employment is still falling and a record 1.4 million are now stuck in involuntary part-time work.” The latest report provided some hope to younger generations, saying that unemployment between people aged 16 – 24 had dropped significantly, but overall, the ONS stressed that

youth unemployment still remains high at a figure of 22.2%. In Wales, Unemployment was reported to have fallen by a thousand meaning the rate of unemployment now stands at 8.9%. In other parts of the UK, Scotland saw a large drop in the number of jobless as 12,000 people were taken from the unemployed tally. Unemployment in Northern Ireland however seems to have not changed.

Britain Gets Set for Another Summer of Strikes

By Matt Jackson

ome of you may have by now heard that fuel tankers were meant to go on strike following public outrage, mass panic and petrol stations being bled dry in a week that had an estimated one casualty as governmental advise was to fill up our cars with as much fuel as we can carry in preparation for industrial action over the Easter period. Francis Maude’s comments may have been taken a bit too far when the general populous seemed to be cluttering the fuel points with fear in their eyes but the fuel strikes still left David Cameron’s coalition feeling red faced. Mike Penning’s attempts to quell the commotion failed to hit the ground and he was left with nothing to add apart from the fact that Maude “didn’t understand the size of jerry cans”. Penning insisted that no one from Unite had said to him that the strike was about health and safety and reassured everyone that the issue was simply pay. As it stands drivers are only allowed to work an average of 48 hours across a 17 week period but many drivers claimed that they were putting in shifts of over a hundred hours a week. This could lead to them feeling tired behind the wheel of large vehicles endangering lives. The education sector was then hit as the National Union of Teachers (NUT), again voted for industrial action over pensions. The strikes could disrupt millions and would once again force the closure of schools. The decision was made merely hours after the NASUWT decided to up its campaign for industrial action. The call comes after a campaign that started in 2011. The teaching union say that the new plans would force them to pay more into their pension and work longer hours resulting in a smaller pension. The department of education rebutted the calls for a strike saying that the deal offered to the unions are “as good as it gets” and that the teachers will get one of the” best pensions available ”. The time suggested for the strik-

ers would be towards the end of June and would clash with GCSE and A Level exams; NUT action would affect schools in England and Wales. NASUWT’s strike vote decided that any strike would take part in the autumn and would be due to pay, workload and pension issues as well as the increasing privatisation of the education industry. NASUWT have described the changes as an “attack on workers’ rights, pay cuts and increased pension costs”. March already saw industrial action in London where thousands of teach-

working conditions in a move that will disrupt millions of commuters across the capital. The strike was caused because RMT members wanted to be able to join the “Transport for London pension scheme” and receive the same travel benefits of other London underground workers. The three effective lines are the Piccadilly, Jubilee and Northern line which see an estimated 2 million commuters each year. The RMT said that discussions with Tube Lines had been unsuccessful and that striking was to be considered a last resort with a reported 44% vot-

ers and lecturers disrupted classes by staging a 24 hour protest. More than 60 higher and further education institutions were affected and a large number of schools across London were either shut or faced disruptions. Disgruntled parents will have had to make alternative plans for childcare or work from home. Now there are the tube strikes which will add further salt into the striking wounds. The RMT union announced on the 17th April that they will hold a 3 day walk out over pensions and

ing in favour of industrial action. The industrial action had a 4-1 vote. Tube line Lee Jones said “Should a strike go ahead, we have plans in place which will enable London Underground to operate Tube services on all three lines and to minimise any disruption.” Because only the maintenance staff would be on strike the drivers should not be affected, however if Tube Line were to be ill prepared they would be able to refuse to take trains out.

London 2012

By Steven Freeman

vents to celebrate 100 days until the start of the London 2012 Olympics have recently got underway as Britain welcomes in the highly anticipated games. In Kew Gardens, on the outskirts of London, a giant set of Olympic rings made from flowers has been unveiled, where it also planned for 40 Oak trees to be planted in the upcoming 100 days. Staff at the gardens took 3 days to plant the 20,000 pansies which make up the floral rings spanning 50m. West End stars and top athletes are also set to make an appearance at Trafalgar Square to mark the occasion and create a hype in these busy few months. 70 days from the opening, the Olympic torch relay is set to get underway, where the torch will tour the UK visiting specified locations as it travels on a highly detailed and clockwork

schedule. All this news comes after a poll announces that 64% of the UK believe that the UK taxpayer are having to foot too much of the bill to meet the lavish spending of the Olympic organisers. Amongst those surveyed, the majority of Londoners said they felt unhappy having to pay extra towards the Olympics, as contributions from all London Borough’s Council Tax are set to make up an extra £20 million that is to be contributed to the Olympic fund. The question of whether Britain is being unnecessarily exuberant seems still on the cards, as ever more expensive projects get underway in preparation for the Olympics, and as the government continue to make exceptions to long standing traditions, such as the announcement of the suspension of Sunday Trading Laws surrounding the games.

Titanic: 100 Years On

By Tom Haynes

he world has commemorated the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic with a series of events throughout April. On April 10, a ship containing over 1300 passengers left the docks of Southampton to begin a 12 night cruise, re-tracing the path the Titanic took across the Atlantic. Five days later, at 11:40pm on 15th April (exactly a century since the ship hit the iceberg), passengers gathered on the ship’s decks to attend a memorial service for the lives lost in the tragedy. A moment of silence was held, followed by the casting of three floral wreaths into the ocean. Around fifty of the passengers on board were the direct descendants of Titanic passengers. In Belfast, a minute’s silence was initiated. It was followed by a one hour service in the City Hall, featuring solo performances by singer Brian Kennedy. Additionally, Belfast’s Titanic museum opened its doors to the public for the first time in April 2012. It is the world’s largest Titanic dedicated museum, and since opening has played host to over 55,000 visitors. It aims to give people the opportunity to explore the history of the construction of the ship, and find out more about the sinking, and aftermath of the tragedy to the present day. MTV has also staged a concert in memory of the tragedy. ‘MTV’s Titanic Sounds’, held in Belfast, Ireland, was a free concert that celebrated the open-

ing of the Titanic Belfast attraction at Titanic Slipways. It featured performances by Pixie Lott, Olly Murs, Katy B, and Rizzle Kicks. Meanwhile in cinemas, a 3D version of James Cameron’s 1997 smash film ‘Titanic’ has been re-released to coincide with the anniversary of the sinking. The film, starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio has taken $190 Million in box office gross since its release two weeks ago. This makes it the most successful 3D re-release of all time, overtaking last year’s ‘The Lion King’ conversion, which currently stands at $172 million. The original film received widespread critical and commercial acclaim, winning 11 academy awards, and becoming the highest grossing film of all time. It held this accolade for twelve years until it was overtaken by Cameron’s own film ‘Avatar’ in 2009. RMS Titanic was the largest passenger liner in service at the time of her sinking, containing 2,224 people on route to New York. The ship received numerous ice warnings prior to the tragedy, yet was travelling at full speed at the time of collision. Unable to turn in time, the ship suffered a deadly blow, popping a series of rivets on the starboard side, puncturing five of its watertight compartments. The ship sank two hours and forty minutes later. It resulted in the deaths of over 1500 people, many of which due to hypothermia in the freezing temperatures of the North Atlantic.

April Issue 2012

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

World News

North Korea World Faces Further Shock Launch Test Rocket as Anders Breivik By Matt Jackson

orth Korea earlier in the month sparked outrage with an attempt at launching a missile; an act that was officially reported to be for “peaceful purposes”. The launch came on the 100th anniversary of North Korea’s founder Kim Il-Sung. The launch of the missile didn’t quite go to North Korea’s plan as the on lookers and the world’s media witnessed the rocket separate and meet a watery demise over the yellow sea. The rocket launch is reported to be a start for North Korea, who wants to embark on their own space plan, of which they have already set up a 5 year plan. The test launch was attended by Iranian officials which further sparks the debate around the two nation’s relationship. The two already, allegedly share plans for weaponry as Iran’s Shahab- 3 ballistic missile is said to be a replica of North Korea’s Nodong missile. Following the revelation about the

rocket America announced that it would cancel its plans to send aid into North Korea as they were not “keeping their commitments”. America warned that North Korea could also face further difficulties if they continue to disregard what the international community wanted. The announcement that America would provide aid to the North Koreans came in February and was said to be under the condition that North Korea would cease their enrichment of Uranium. North Korea had been previously warned that the testing of missiles and rockets would lead to the removal of aid as well as further sanctions. Following the failed launch Kim Jong-Un unveiled a statue of his father Kim Jong-Il which was originally intended to be a celebration following the rocket launch. The failure was even worse for North Korea, who in a rare moment allowed a media presence in order to show their blossoming strength.

By Steven Freeman

Stands Trial

he trial of Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik has recently commenced where he faces charges for the murder of 77 innocent people after he went on a killing spree last summer. As Norway prepared for a week of sadness and remembrance in the hope of receiving justice for their lost, Breivik continued to shock the world as his actions and remarks show him as having no remorse. On Monday 17th April, when the trial began, Breivik entered the court room and made a far-right salute before being escorted to the dock. Breivik continued to show great disrespect by saying that he did not respect the authority of the court and that he did not regret his decisions which led to the atrocity that he caused. On day two of the trial Breivik told the court “I have carried out the most spectacular and sophisticated attack on Europe since World War II.” Breivik said that he carried out the attacks to defend Norway from growing immigration and multi-culturalism and has expressed that he would repeat his attacks again if he was given the chance. The trial was given the go ahead after Breivik was deemed sane in a recent psychiatric assessment meaning that he was to be tried in the normal criminal justice system.

Weird and Wonderful: Die Hard Cow Gets Top Moo-vie Deal

By Steven Freeman

German dairy cow named Yvonne who escaped from her farm and evaded capture for more than 90 days is to be the inspiration for a new Hollywood movie. The mischievous dairy cow broke through an electric fence before fleeing from the farm where she lived and headed for the Bavarian countr yside causing much devastation and chaos in her path. After many failed attempts to put a stop to the rampage

of this raging bovine, German police declared that hunters may shoot her if they were to come into contact with the animal, for she was considered a serious risk to society and was even

put on Germany’s ’most wanted ‘ list. Yvonne was finally captured in September 2011 after many attempts by various agencies, including animal rights activists, who tried to use her own calf and a bull to lure her into captivity. The wild adventures of Yvonne are to be the inspiration to Cow on the Run, an animated film which will be produced by Max Howard of Papa Loewe Film Company of Munich.

Some Norwegians have expressed concern for the high profile trial of Breivik which is set to last for 10 weeks saying that he will use the trial as a pulpit as he tries to disseminate others who may share his world views. Breivik has throughout the trial so far digressed on any given opportunity from the questions posed to him by the prosecution and has had to be asked to be quiet by the judge whilst he continued to speak about how he believed that Norway and the world should be run, where he expressed his

opinions that he supports the models of South Korea and Japan. Although the trial has only just begun, there are many talking points being drawn from issues that the trial is set to address and commentators have said that issues such as governmental security is sure to be in the limelight and under review.

Amnesty Campaign to Stop Bahrain Grand Prix By Steven Freeman

mnesty International are campaigning for the suspension of the upcoming Bahrain Formula 1 Grand Prix amidst complaints that government forces are abusing the human rights of anti-government protesters. Amnesty International say they have evidence that government forces are using excessive force when dealing with anti-government protesters and that the authorities are torturing detainees who have been involved such protests. Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa deputy director commented “With the world’s eyes on Bahrain as it prepares to host

the Grand Prix, no one should be under any illusions that the country’s human rights crisis is over,” “The authorities are trying to portray the country as being on the road to reform, but we continue to receive reports of torture and use of unnecessary and excessive force against protests.” The race is so far set to go ahead on Sunday 22nd April with the practice on Friday 20th, whether the work of Amnesty will pay off is currently unknown, but nevertheless, the issue has been raised.

Politics D

id hearing George Osborne reading the 2012 Budget in the House of Comons make your ears bleed? Or maybe reading the press’s opinion made your eyes bleed? You are not alone! From pasties to wine to a peak of 8.7% unemployment; and don’t get me started on the muumbo jumbo of pensions, inflation or tax boundaries. It’s easy for us students to close our eyes and ears to the Budget, I mean how can it affect us? We will still get our loans after all but that’s where you’re wrong. Inflation means price rises. As if food isn’t expensive enough, it looks set to rise, with inflation at 2.8%. Did you know the tax you pay on a pack of cigarettes is 37p? May not sound like a great deal but it soon adds up, not to mention the added tax on alcohol. It’s equivalent to 5p extra for every pint you drink. Gamblers beware – a cheeky go on the fruit machines is going to cost you a whopping 20% more. Yes, inflation is supposed to decrease to 1.9% next year – but does anyone really believe that? After all, look at what they said about growth; it’s down to 0.7%, can anyone really count that? Hold up, look what’s on the horizon: 2% growth is expected for 2013. Oh wait, that’s until they revise their opinion and knock it down to its probable size of 0.0000000zzzzzz. This budget has given a lot of benefits to business in Britain, however. It’s a great way to boost the economy and the encouragement to invest in Britain by tax breaks could really prove to be beneficial. Corporation Tax has been

April Issue 2012

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

The 2012 Budget cut to 24% before dwindling to 22% by 2014 - lower than most of Europe. The suspending of Sunday trading laws for the eight Sundays around the Olympics could really boost consumer spending, particularly from the tourists all wanting to fill their trollies with proper breakfast tea, fish and chips...and Primark! 2011-2012 has also seen saving galore by the government, which is a bonus in itself. Well, as they say, save the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves. The government however have turned this into billions. Take that deficit! Well maybe mentioning the D word isn’t the brightest move... Anyway, back to the saves! The military has managed to save us £2.4billion, although this means reducing the deficit, does it leave our forces unprotected? Isn’t it worth plowing it back if it could save lives? They also managed to save another billion by reducing borrowing. A billion here, a billion there...isn’t really going to make a difference to the gigantic hole that is the deficit. It makes you wonder if any politicians were normal students. If they had to deal with the constant fear of maxing out their overdrafts; we may never have gotten into this mess! Ahh well, until next year, when I’m sure the goodies and tax breaks will be endless...

Anna Hatfield

Trusting British Politics New Beginning for I

can’t help but worry about politicians in this country. MPs are supposed to represent the people, they are supposed to be just like us. Yet once they see the inflated pay packet of over £65,000, the endless expenses claims - which came to a back breaking £95 million in 2009-2010 and the luxury of being able to ride first class – without paying, they become accustomed to leading a different life. The latest happenings in Parliament has only underlined how distant they have become from the people. The national outrage and disgust at the expenses scandals seemed to teach them a lesson. Sadly not. Of course not. Yes, they vowed to return their wrongful claims but 2012 has seen their concern turn to a most horrendous and terrifying scandal: theft from the Houses of Parliament. A whopping twenty three items have been stolen since June. Among them, a bottle of champagne, a floral display and a pair of spectacles. Action has been taken immediately to install sufficient security with Lawrence Ward

appointed as the new security chief. It makes you think that if all matters of government concerned MPs self interest, how quickly would things get done? Granted, other items such as computers have also been taken but who paid for them? Was it MP’s own property or is it just another claim on the tax payer? This trivial problem has taken prominence in the House of Commons debate yet they fail to argue so strenuously over matters of real importance. How can people believe in politics and the British state when it is governed by people motivated by self gain and greed?

Anonymous

There’s an election happening you know

ost of you might not give two hoots but the local elections, through which we elect our councillors, will be held on 3rd May. The important thing about these elections is that the people who win will directly affect your day-to-day lives. Here in Bangor we are part of Gwynedd Council which is split into 71 different wards which give us 75 councillors. There are 8 wards in Bangor itself and there will be many people canvassing for your vote. Of those there will be many young candidates from all parties, especially Plaid and Labour, the latter putting up two students. An interesting peculiarity with Gwynedd is that in 2008 a group of people split away from Plaid Cymru in protest of school closures and several other issues. This new party called itself Llais Gwynedd (Voice of Gwynedd) and has come second only to Plaid in the amount of seats it’s

won ever since. However, with many of the primary issues it was formed for already won or lost, there are several councillors returning to the Plaid fold. This means that Plaid will hold an even larger amount of seats on the council, as they currently lead with 39 councillors. Llais have 16, independent candidates hold 12 and Labour & the Lib Dems have 4 people each. The ward which oversees Upper Bangor is currently held by a sixty year old Liberal Democrat couple. With the tide of public opinion thoroughly drowning the Lib Dems, and with so many younger candidates in contention, it will be interesting to see the outcome of the election in this student city.

Luke Dobson

Plaid Cymru

o, after months of struggle, the heat of campaigning and the tireless work, a new dawn has arrived: Leanne Wood is Plaid Cymru’s new Leader, and she’s not pulling any punches. Her first speech marked a different style of leading. The campaign itself was "positive, respectful, constructive, and in parts a good laugh. And that's how we do politics in this party and that is how I intend to lead”. From the off, she has wanted to steer herself away from the reputation of so many of her contemporaries and build an image based on clean leadership and a clean party. As it so happens she is the Party’s first non-Welsh speaking Leader, but she is learning and fast. She appears a decisive leader whose top priority is to secure Welsh Independence as, “Together we can build a Wales that is fair, a new Wales that will flourish and a new Wales that will one day be free." Before her win, Jones had to

contend with fierce competition from both Elin Jones and Lord Elis-Thomas, so much so that she was unable to secure herself a victory in the first round. The results saw her lead the first round ballot yet were not enough to secure a straight victory. She finally completed her win by overseeing Ms Elin Jones 3,326 to 2,494 votes in the second round ballot. What does this new leadership mean for the future of Plaid Cymru? Ieuan Wyn Jones ended his tenure as leader after a disappointing General Election. How can Leanne Wood turn that around? Well, her youth could bring new zest into the leadership. The combination of her age of 40 alongside her zest in her new role could well see a winning formula. As the first woman leader of Plaid Cymru, Leanne has made a refreshing change. She has already visited Bangor University students and seems keen to focus on younger voters. Will she be the right leader to turn Plaid’s fortunes around? Only time will tell.

Anna Hatfield

April Issue 2012

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Politics

Will docking child benefit see the return of Michael Gove’s “missing million”?

n a speech to the Durand Academy on 1 September 2011 the Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove spoke of the “missing million” children who are absent from school for more than three weeks a year and the “educational underclass” of children who are outside of mainstream education and how many of them had simply not spent a satisfactory amount of time in school for them to be able to achieve academic success. Charlie Taylor, the Government’s Expert Adviser on Behaviour, today produced a report which recommends taking fines for truanting children directly out of parent’s child benefit in order to combat this problem. Taylor said that despite improvements being seen 54 million days of school were missed last year. The Department of Education released figures showing that almost 400,000 pupils missed 15% of schooling each year which equates to a month’s absence. Under the current system head teachers, council officers and the police can issue penalty notices for truancy to parents who allow their children to miss too much school. A fine of £50 is issued which is doubled to £100 if parents fail to pay within 28 days. Following this the decision lies with the issuer as to whether they prosecute or withdraw the penalty notice. However, under the current system 127,000 penalty notices issued since their introduction in 2004 have been left unpaid or simply withdrawn. Today’s report suggests an increase of the initial fine to £60 then doubling to £120 if left unpaid after 28 days. At this point the money would then automatically be recovered from child benefit

payments and county court action would follow for those parents who are not in receipt of child benefit. Mr Taylor says: "Some parents simply allow their children to miss lessons and then refuse to pay the fine. It means the penalty has no effect, and children continue to lose vital days of education they can never recover...Recouping the fines through child benefit, along with other changes to the overall system, will strengthen and simplify the system. It would give head teachers the backing they need in getting parents to play their part." In this

absenteeism can have detrimental effects on a pupil’s confidence and their ability to understand what is being taught in lessons. She went on to say, “However it is not an issue that will be solved by fining parents. Deducting money from child benefit will have huge financial repercussions for many families. Having less money for food and bills will simply create a whole new set of problems." Alison Garnham, from the Child Poverty Action Group, said that benefit cuts such as those proposed could add yet more strain on already stretched families. With child benefit being frozen and £18bn of benefit cuts The Institute for Fiscal studies says there will be 800,000 more children in poverty by 2020. Garnham added "So this problem is likely to get bigger because we know that there's a strong association between poverty and low income and truancy. Previous government reports have said this." Helen Dent, chief executive of the charity Family Action said that placing fines on parents is not the most efficient way to improve achievement in schools and reduce truancy. So, if the proposals are made a reality will they give parents the incentive they need to ensure their children’s attendance at school is improved or will it simply land more families in poverty and struggling to make ends meet?

"Deducting money from child benefit will have huge financial repercussions for many families." sense the report highlights the importance of the use of language when it comes to school absenteeism; truancy is not true of the early years. Children in primary school miss school because their parents allow them to. As Mr Taylor highlights in his report, ‘The focus of Government should be on attendance first and foremost.’ The report has already sparked debate among those within the field of education. Brian Lightman, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, lent the support of his association to the report’s recommendations saying ‘Schools do not want to have to resort to fining parents, but sometimes it is the only option left.’ However, Christine Blower the National Union of Teachers General Secretary, commented that regular

George Galloway wins seat

eorge Galloway, the Respect MP, won his seat in the House of Commons after winning the by-election in Bradford with a majority of more than 100,000. The views of Galloway were clearly seen when he entered the Chambers and was sworn in. Members of the Tory party cheered whilst Labour were subdued. Always one to stand out, Galloway has proved an interesting politician. From his cat impersonations in the Big Brother House, where he appeared on its celebrity version to his unorthodox tactics in winning his seat, no one can say that Galloway fails to divide. Confusion again arose as he decide to affirm an allegiance to the Queen rather than swearing on a Bible when hours earlier on the Daily Politics show he declared that he supports gay marriage as ‘we are all God’s children.’ Maybe this is just the first contradiction that is to come from George Galloway. His self description as the ‘Robin Hood of politics’ has left some stirred, others most definitely shaken. He vows to solely solve the economic and social problems of Bradford, while also tackling foreign policy issues such as the Afghanistan war. Single-handedly managing to halt economic decline whilst also solving an international war which has raged for years and caused the death of more weighty politicians. Galloway can hardly complain of modesty in his own self assessment. If you thought that his Robin Hood metaphor was more than enough, he certainly doesn’t. Was it quest for more publicity? Or is he genuinely trying to tackle Bradford’s very real problems? Now he’s the ‘advance party’ for the army ‘mustering in the North.’ He could have provided an

opening for the smaller parties to have a bigger voice in parliament. The Gernal Election saw the Green Party elected whilst in Southampton, the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) are hoping to win their seat under the same umbrella that Galloway won his - by promising to ‘stand up and ﬁght for the money Southampton needs to provide essential services to our community.’ TUSC are also campaigning in Winchester and Portsmouth, demonstrating that there is a potential for rejection of mainstream parties, which could change the course of politics. Could Galloway have caused a political revolution by his election? Yet his reputation and past will never escape him. Who can forget any politician who has been pelted with eggs and famously greeted Saddam Hussein with "I salute you"? However, he also has the capacity to excite a crowd, whipping meetings into a frenzy nobody can forget. When he went to Capitol Hill and humiliated the US war brigade he proved he can be considered a loose cannon but one who can amass great political support from crowds. With such a past, you do wonder how he could have amassed such a signiﬁcant win in his election. Some would say he clearly has broad appeal; others would say differently. The stains on his campaigning techniques don’t really matter however, as he is here. And apparently here to stay. One thing is for sure, he certainly will liven up the House of Commons.

Sarah Braisdell

The UK Border Agency

Alicia Hill and Anna Hatfield

he Home Secretary. Is it the second most important role in government? Despite having had more occupants than Hugh Heffner’s bed, not many are eager to tackle the role. You have to be thick skinned, decisive, assertive and, potentially, mean. Of all the issues they have had to face, the biggest problem in recent years has been, without a doubt, immigration. It has meant the difference between election victory and defeat and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. And shock horror, it has been making headlines again. There has been yet another large problem, apparently, as The UK Border Agency is now failing in its ‘basic functions, i.e. it doesn’t function. From providing ﬁgures plucked from the air to losing all trace of nearly sixty foreign criminals who could be living someone near you, it’s not earned itself the best reputation. But the Minsters don’t seem to learn from their mistakes. Charles Clarke was sacked as Minster back in 2006 for letting over 1000 foreign criminals back into Britain when they should have been deported. Maybe he lost their paper work. Or maybe,

minsters have just admitted defeat. The Border Agency now has a four year backlog of cases to work out with over 450,000 cases needing sifting. A comforting thought. Even more comforting are the 18,000 cases which remained unsolved in 2011. What will it be this year? The main concern has been the slow pace of deportation of foreign criminals, however. 2, 670 criminals who have been waiting for deportation are still living here two years after their release. This seems to sum up the bumbling mess that has become The UK Border Force. £9.1 million was sent on iris scanner in airports. They have now all been removed. The new tactic to help sort out the chaos of the Agency, is to split it into two separate parts – one focusing on entry into the UK while the other one tackles immigration policy work. This could signal a new beginning for the Agency or it could just be the latest tactical move which ends in disaster. We shall just have to wait and see.

Comment

April Issue 2012

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JESUS CHRIST! HOMOPHOBIA ON A LONDON BUS?

o, not Emma West again. The recent ad campaign that was all set to be included on London buses, promoting ‘gay therapy’ for Christians, has been pulled by TfL (Transport for London) following many complaints including ones from Bangor students. The ad, which offensively encouraged gays to ‘Get over it’, caused uproar amongst people on Twitter and elsewhere. The group, calling themselves ‘The Anglican Mainstream’ were advocating the dangerous gay therapy to ‘cure’ Christians of an inherent trait as predetermined as hair, eye or skin colour. Gay therapy has a disgustingly high suicide rate, and can often lead to depression. I have numerous issues with this story, but mostly my main gripe is this: who allowed this bile to even get past the application stage? TfL rightly pulled the ad before it went onto the side of London buses on five routes, but for it to have even made It that fair shows an

inherent failure of ‘free speech’ in our society. Free speech is fine, as long as it’s used wisely. The moment you cross the line of opinion and begin deliberately inciting hatred or outraging whole swathes of people with your opinions, you’re violating more people’s rights than your free speech is worth.

Free speech needs to be curtailed in the name of equality I’m not a dictator by any means, and I feel uneasy about any attempts to gag freedom of the press, but there has to be a line somewhere. For example, pseudo-fascist paper the Daily Mail regularly crosses the line of acceptability by perpetuating disgraceful slurs against Muslims, gays, people with disabilities, the working class, single mothers, etc etc ad infinitum. There’s no way these actions can be allowed to continue unhindered.

It’s a tricky one though, how do you define something as being ‘too much’? The answer lies in equality measures. One classic I hear from the far-right is “Why do we need a Women’s Day?” or “Why is there a black Policeman’s Organisation and not a white one?”. It’s simple: society hasn’t progressed to the point where those previously victimised groups have achieved equality. If white males need themselves representing in a society built on white male privilege, then I truly despair. Another great one is “Oh but I’m colour-blind”. If you think you can truly be ‘colourblind’ in a society built by colonialism and slavery, then you’re a joker, and your condescending privileged attitude isn’t welcome here. I realise I’ve gone off on a bit of a tangent, but it’s all relevant. Free speech needs to be curtailed in the name of equality simply because we as a society owe so much to the groups who we’ve degraded and demonised for the best part of our modern history. I’m truly

glad that the group who took out the homophobic advert called themselves the ‘Anglican Mainstream’, because by using ‘Mainstream’, they’re claiming to speak for the majority of Anglicans. If anything, that would encourage moderate, free-thinking (relatively- sorry! Atheist alert!) Christians to speak out over the atrocious homophobia being pedalled in their name. We should all

think about doing the same once in a while. The sooner people start speaking out against prejudicial views, the sooner we can start working on building a cohesive society where racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, misogyny and classism are all things of the past.

Joey McNally

Private Health Service?!

hen the Conservatives took power two years ago they promised us that the NHS would be safe in their hands. Those who were unsure of this, myself included, hoped that the balancing factor of the Liberal Democrats would keep them on the straight and narrow. Flash forward to now; we’ve had two years of the Tories wheeling out archaic policies harking back to the Thatcher years and the Lib Dems, once the Party most students in particular had their hopes set on, have kowtowed their way through the Coalition by keeping shtum on almost every single issue. This is aggravating enough, to say the least, but when it comes to the NHS it’s downright infuriating (sic. To make furious or mad with anger; to enrage). The National Health Service has been in existence since 1946 and we have enjoyed free healthcare, at the point of use, ever since. We all know there have been major problems with the Service: long waiting times, issues

with ageing hospital buildings, insufficient beds etc, yet it is always there for an ill person to use, whether they be rich or poor. I myself have moaned about it but, if you actually sit down and think what it would be like without the NHS, you would quickly appreciate its existence. Look at the USA, a country where people have to rely on insurance companies for their healthcare. Now let’s take a moment to consider that statement; they have to rely on businesses, organisations that exist solely to make a profit (indeed legally they have to turn a profit for their shareholders) to pay out when they are in need of medical attention. Would you want to put your life in the hands of people who can refuse to pay out because of one miniscule problem in your policy, whether it be that you weren’t covered for a certain illness or that you merely failed to fill out the correct forms? We’ve all heard the horror stories, such as people who have had to choose

which finger they wanted reattaching after they’d cut two off because the insurance wouldn’t cover both. Perhaps worse (if that’s possible) is the effect such health care systems have on people if the insurance companies fail to pay up. In those circumstances families have to empty their savings and get loans to cover the medical bills, all the time not being able to earn money be-

If you bring the idea of profit into people’s well-being, effectively placing them into a consumer bracket, then things could go badly very quickly. cause they’re ill. It is a medieval, barbaric and capricious system; a system which we could find ourselves sliding towards all too quickly in this country with The Health Bill now enacted. Mere weeks after the Bill became law

two areas in the Surrey health service were leased to Virgin. The new Virgin Care now runs the NHS in these areas after paying the government £500million; they will lease the contract up until 2017 when it will come under review again. Now this isn’t an insurance company but it is still a business, a private organisation that exists to make money. The people of Surrey have been assured that nothing will change in way of the staff or actual medical care given, yet people, Unison amongst them, are still concerned. This one instance is now a point of evidence; one regional health service has been brought under a private organisation so why not more? The answer is simple: if you bring the idea of profit into people’s well-being, effectively placing them into a consumer bracket, then things could go badly very quickly. Personally, everything to do with people’s lives and the medical attention they must sometimes seek to keep on

living should have absolutely nothing to do with money. On a side note: the fact that pharmaceutical companies only research medicines when they know there’s a profit to be made is almost despicable. Here are the best scientists in the world, with the best resources available to them, and they can only really work on a medicine or a cure if it will bring the company money. I know it’s ludicrous to think that type of research could be done without the millions backing it up but it makes me annoyed beyond belief that something that could save a life could also potentially bankrupt that life. The same applies for where our NHS is heading. It may be fear mongering, hell it is, but I honestly believe that we could slowly move towards an American-like system; so slowly that we won’t realise it until we walk into A&E with a broken arm and get handed a bill.

Luke Dobson

April Issue 2012

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Comment

NOT ANOTHER GATE!

It’s easy to laugh when you turn on the news and the Coalition have announced they’re raising VAT on pasties. “What next?” I hear you cry “Cameron announces he’s taxing fresh air?”. But beneath the jokes, there’s a serious point to be made. This Coalition government are showing a complete and utter disregard for the people of this country. When Cameron finally admitted he’d ridden the horse that ex-News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks lent to the Metropolitan Police, people were given just another example of the general attitude of the government. Constantly they act in a way that insults the person on the street, constantly they act with an arrogance that borders on stupidity. It’s almost as if they think that they’re untouchable. And in a way, they are. We’ve had two long years of a Coalition that nobody voted for, and we’re set for three even more excruciating ones. When the term of this government ends, the Conservatives will have made themselves unelectable for a good ten years. This is why they’re intent on doing as much damage as they can to

their three main adversaries: the NHS, the work- point of cutting it is so we don’t end up in more debt. However, when your debt levels are runing class, and the unions. Perhaps more insulting than the Coalition’s ac- ning at £15 billion, not building up more becomes tions are the malice with which they carry them slightly irrelevant. We could run at a billion pound out. Raising VAT on pasties may not be a huge deal surplus for a thousand years and we still wouldn’t to most of us, but to them they’re attacking what pay our debt off. The UK economy has run at a surthey see as a staple of the working class. They’re burdening the We could run at a plus for six of the last 35 years. Countries that run at a big surplus include people on the street with pay- billion pound countries like Qatar and Norway, ing for a mess caused by neosurplus for a liberalism, something all of the who rank in the top five wealthiest three main parties adhere to as thousand years and countries in the world based on puran ethos. I was briefly surprised we still wouldn’t pay chasing power per capita. The UK is to learn that the pasty tax was our debt off twenty-second. Qatar and Norway also have masses of natural reserves, a New Labour idea, but then I remembered Mr Blair and his blatant disregard which we lack. So cutting the deficit (with an aim for anything approaching progressive left-wing to not building up debt) is as pointless as throwing a thimbleful of water on a forest fire. This counvalues. To avoid sound like a radical anti-mainstream try will have to go bankrupt if we’re ever to have a anarchist,I ought to back up my words with facts. hope of paying off our debt. So what to do? Well, instead of cutting from Well for starters, that deficit we’re told we need to be cutting? It’s the gap between the money we our public services, we should be stimulating make in tax and the money we spend, and the the economy and revitalising our manufacturing

industry. We need to get rid of our neo-liberal minded politicians, toss people like Cameron, Osborne and Clegg out onto the street, resign their failed ideologies, and revamp the old Keynesian and Marxist economic theories to apply to a globalised, bank-dominated world. Only then can we really start worrying about how much pasties cost.

Joey McNally

A New Experience

Nicola recounts her time as a first year at Bangor University

can’t believe it! My first year at Bangor is almost over. I’m terrified! It’s shocking looking back to see how the months have flown by, but it’s with a feeling of reminiscing joy as I remember the brilliant time I’ve had and how it all started. I, possibly like most students, spent the morning of moving-in day rushing around the house throwing last minute essentials into boxes while ticking off my mental check list. Not that it worked. My parents visited the weekend after to bring the things I’d forgotten. Anyway, the hour long drive to Bangor was thankfully much shorter than most others had to travel, since while my parents sat comfortably in the front, my older sister and I were squished into the back with our knees up around our ears, my belongings testing the boundaries of the car. Moving my belongings into my room was a challenge on its own. My new lodgings sat

at the top of six flights of stairs, with no lift. By the time the car was emptied, we were dragging ourselves by our fingertips down the corridor to my room, gasping for air. You’d think I’d have gotten used to it, but no, after months of living here, those stairs still kill me. Saying goodbye to my parents was difficult, I was now on my own and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I needn’t have worried. By the time my family was exiting Bangor, I was already getting acquainted with my new flatmates, and it was clear that we’d get along like a house on fire. Soon we fell into our own regimes, our new found sense of independency and freedom evident in our behaviour. But as my parents had

Soon we fell into our own regimes, our new found sense of independency and freedom evident in our behaviour

warned me, with independence and freedom came responsibility. I managed to keep on top of my laundry, dishes, and other household chores at first, but slowly that level of organisation deteriorated. I wasn’t the worst though, for the most part. There is one slightly embarrassing experience I feel I should share though that could forewarn students living in Halls in future. Not long after I had moved in I noticed that the drawers in the chest and wardrobe were aligned wrong and wouldn’t close properly. I went down to Security to fill out a form reporting it, and was told that someone should be there to fix it in the next few days. OK, fair enough, I thought, thinking I’d have a few days to empty their contents because surely they won’t come and fix anything while I’m not in my room. I should have read the form properly, telling students they do not have to be present for maintenance, because the next day I came back from lectures, went

to grab a jumper from the drawer, and noticed that all of the drawers were fixed. With horror, I realised that maintenance had fixed the drawers with the contents inside without me there. Yes, it was nice of them to have fixed my drawers so quickly. What was unpleasant was the realisation that they had had to fix my underwear drawer as well! I can only hope that maintenance fixed the drawer quickly with his eyes closed the entire time. Whilst mortifying for me though, it was a great source of amusement to my flatmates. Thanks guys. My first year away from home has definitely been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I have grown as an individual and the friends I’ve made I consider to be my family away from home. I will cherish the memories, and look forward to many more as I prepare to live with a few of my brilliant flatmates, soon to be housemates, next year. See you soon Bangor!

Nicola Hoban

America’s War On Women With the spotlight on the presidential elections, attacks on womens’ reproductive rights have gone amiss

s Barack Obama comes to the end of his first term as President, American politics is becoming even more dangerous than usual. As the political stage becomes fraught with rumours, cover-ups and potentially career-ending scandals, another controversy has caught the media spotlight, and national attention. The rights of women, particularly reproductive rights, have become a hotly contested issue, one that could have fatally damaging effects on many political careers - and that’s not to mention the untold damage already done to women across America. Looking at some of the laws pushed through in just the first few months of 2012, it’s not hard to see why many feel there is a war on women happen-

ing in America today. In February, a bill in Virginia that would require women to undergo an invasive and medically unnecessary trans-vaginal ultrasound before getting an abortion was barely stopped from being made into law. In March, funding to the organisation Planned Parenthood in Texas was banned because it provides abortion services, but in doing so, it has excluded up to 130,000 low income women from services such as birth control and breast cancer screenings. And just two weeks ago in Arizona, a bill seeking to modify the amount of time women have to get an abortion redefined a foetus’s ‘gestational age’, meaning that pregnancy could begin up to two weeks before conception even took place. In a supposed super-power like

America, it is beyond belief that the basic rights of half the population are under threat. Due to cost of medical insurance, as many as 1 in 3 American women struggle to afford birth control,

Due to cost of medical insurance, as many as 1 in 3 American women struggle to afford birth control a figure that would shock many here in the UK. As much as we love to criticise the NHS, it is often taken for granted that, in our country, contraception is free and easily accessible. Many figures on the right have con-

demned the ‘Democratic rhetoric’ as ‘insulting’, and insist that there is no such thing as a war on women. But between all of the political mud-slinging, it seems to have been forgotten that the decisions that these people make affect the lives of real women and families in dramatic ways. More than anything, these controversies have exposed a shocking, but prevalent, attitude towards women which many in America don’t want to acknowledge, such as radio host Rush Limbaugh, who called Georgian student Sandra Fluke a ‘slut’ and a ‘prostitute’ on his show for speaking out in favour of birth control. It is hard to imagine a public figure who’d still have a job in the UK after making such appalling comments, but even after the loss of several advertisers and

President Obama himself expressing his disapproval, his show has continued to be broadcasted. The debate shows no sign of dying down. The most likely presidential Republican candidate is now Mitt Romney, whose policies, despite not being as extreme as other candidates like Rick Santorum, call for the abolishment of Planned Parenthood and outlaw of abortion. While many predict that the war on women will result in catastrophic results for the Republican party, it remains to be seen how much women’s reproductive rights will affect the presidential result on election day.

Rebecca Watson

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April Issue 2012

NickedGrimshaw G -

Was it poor marketing by Pontio or the apathy of students that caused the R1 night to be cancelled?

o, this article was intended to be a review of the Nick Grimshaw night that was to be hosted by the highly controversial, vastly criticised and all-round success that is Pontio (sarcasm warning). However, due to what those in charge called an unexpected lack of interest, the night was unfortunately cancelled and handed over to the apparently more capable hands of Northampton University. But were the students really to blame or did the fault lie with Pontio’s marketing? Let’s discuss – and I promise to be as neutral as possible. As we’re all no doubt aware, Bangor is, at times, seriously lacking things to do. Two years ago it was the host of Radio 1’s Big Weekend which was a massive success and hope for us all that our small city in the top corner of Wales would finally be put on the map and attract more business and entertainment. And in it way, it did. R1 DJ Zane Lowe made his second appearance in Bangor this semester with his night in Embassy after attending the 2011 Summer Ball. Other notable nights in Bangor that have hosted famous DJs are Octagon’s Radio 1 Comedy Dave and Dom event and Embassy’s hosting of Radio 1’s Fabio. With all this attention from the country’s most listened to radio station, it’s no surprise that Pontio wanted to get in on the action. What Pontio had in store was bigger and more ambitious, though

n my most recent night out at UnderGrad in Octagon, I couldn’t help but notice the sheer amount of guys who all seemed to be wearing identical items of clothing. Although I am not claiming to be some sort of fashionista, I can’t help but feel really frustrated every time I see a group of people all wearing the exact same get up. It seems to be no exaggeration that almost every guy I pass on the high street is likely to be wearing those unflattering, baggy, offensively fawny coloured trousers. However, it seems to be that these dog-fur coloured pants, (complete with elasticated ankles for a really flattering look) mean nothing un-

unlike all these other nights that went ahead, Pontio’s affair with a R1 DJ was not meant to be. The Grimmy gig was planned for Paddy’s night, notorious for all-day drinking, some students saw this as the perfect date to host the event, while others thought it was a disaster. One student told me, “It’s on Paddy’s! I plan to be passed out by midday!”. Needless to say she wasn’t planning on going – and she wasn’t alone. However, many others were more optimistic about their alcoholic capabilities and purchased their tickets weeks before. Now, the main cause of the cancellation was that not enough tickets were sold in the pre-sale; but can students be blamed? “What’s the point in buying one now when it’s the same price on the door?” a friend of mine said to me during my plea to boost sales, and what an excellent point. If you’re relying on the pre-sale figures, then you’ve got to offer an incentive. £2 off would have perhaps done the trick. Though it’s possible Pontio were expecting the

37 tickets sold out of a total of 700 with only 5 days to go event to sell itself, after all, it was hosting not only Nick, but two upcoming bands and Bangor’s very own Deaf by Disco and Lost Property DJ sets – all for a very fair £10 (considering Embassy’s Zane Lowe night was initially £20, this was a brilliant deal). The poster was well designed as well, and it was hard to go anywhere in town without seeing it. So what went wrong? A major flaw was undeniably the Facebook event. The name had brackets and exclamation marks thrown at it like it was titled by a 5-yearold, and who could forget the final nail in the coffin that was the message sent to all invited, sealing its doom in an attempt to increase ticket sales: “Due to struggling ticket sales, it looks like we may have to pull the Grimshaw gig. We have until 5pm tonight to up the number of buyers and fans or it’s likely we’ll have to cancel - please spread the word” Who in their right mind thought that was a good idea? A lie would have been more preferable and probably would have resulted in the outcome they were looking for, ‘not many tickets left now, best had hurry to get yours!’. Instead, this foolish

less you have a brightly printed Rihanna T-shirt to match. Admittedly, I am beginning to find it quite entertaining to see the music that is such an inspiration to this look. My personal favourite had to be a shirt that I noticed whilst sat in Bar Uno. All I could see was the word ‘MUSIC’ printed above a picture of the Statue of Liberty. I was intrigued to guess how those two could possibly relate to each other. It wasn’t until I later realised that the T-Shirt in fact said ‘Music Liberates’ that I could appreciate the touching story behind the Topman shirt. Also, the last I heard, I was pretty sure you are supposed to wear socks with your

move resulted in a backlash, it was received as a warning to those who hadn’t bought tickets to stay clear and caused panic amongst those who had already handed over their cash. ‘Nick Grimshaw (& friends) Bangor!!!!!!!!!!!!!’ was no more. A spokesperson for Pontio said “The outcome of the Nick Grimshaw gig was disappointing and we know there are lessons that need to be learned. The decision to pull the event was a financial one because with just 37 tickets sold out of a total of 700 with only 5 days to go, we had to justify that the night would be a success. We also wanted to be honest with the students as to why it was cancelled” It was also stated that St. Patrick’s day was the only available date. I think it’s fair to say that 37 tickets sold for what could have been a brilliant gig is shameful and embarrassing, though we will never know how many people would have turned up on the night, given that tickets were on sale on the door. Promisingly, the spokesperson for Pontio also gave us this reassurance: “We are looking to work more closely with students in programming future events. Currently we run two seasons of student-programmed cinema a year, for example, and we are in discussions with the SU to provide Bangor, this year with the best Summer Ball yet . Pontio has much to offer students, and together we will pull through these early teething problems.” I think I speak for us all when I say that I would like to see Pontio working more with students when it comes to events like this. After all, who knows students and how to appeal to them better than students themselves? The Grimshaw night had the potential to be a really good event for Bangor. Ever desperate for more live music and decent nights out, the lineup for this was just what we needed. Those who weren’t intending on going were certainly missing out, though eventually we all did. I hope, in future, we students can appreciate when something good is heading our way, instead of continually moaning about how nothing happens here. And as for Pontio, it would be foolish for them to not learn from the mistakes made here this year, but I also hope what transpired hasn’t deterred them from hosting amazing events in the near and distant future. So, all eyes are on Summer Ball, let’s hope Pontio pulls through.

Sean Talbot

trainers? Sorry, I mean Vans. But they do count as trainers, right? Or is there another fashion rule I am missing out on? Maybe if one of your friends couldn’t find their socks that morning, you all have to forget to wear yours, as some form of moral support? Sure, I’m probably being really over dramatic about this chino pandemic so the next time I pass one of these students in their full swag clobber, perhaps I should spare a thought for all of those students who are making that painful transition of buying clothes without the help of their Mum.

Elise Geaney

April Issue 2012

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Environment

Canadian oil pipeline threatens endangered wildlife

Oil moguls plan to proﬁt from dangerous oil extraction through untouched rainforest

ou would think that after everything that happened around the BP Deepwater oil disaster in 2010 the world might be waking up to the dangers of oil. There might be higher demand for safer, cleaner energy, better technology and for the “fuel of the future” to be something this planet can sustain. Unfortunately Enbridge, the North American oil and gas pipeline company, has plans for a new crude oil pipeline to transport oil from the Alberta Tar Sands to various destinations across the US and the world. The extraction and processing of tar sand oil is considered the dirtiest and most destructive industrial process on earth. The practice creates 3 million gallons of toxic run off per day and destroys boreal forests, a major carbon sink. Setting aside the broader problems with oil as an energy source, the damage this particular pipeline will create with be violent, irreparable and beneﬁt the oil company exclusively. Enbridge, who claim the pipeline is safe, have had 804

“Enbridge is poised to become the BP of BC”

oil spills between 1999 and 2010 spilling 168,000 barrels of poisonous hydrocarbons into the sea. To put the size of the pipeline into perspective, it will cross almost one quarter of Canada. It will be more than quarter the width of the USA. If allowed, the pipeline would cut across Alberta and British Colombia, destroying the ancestral lands of over 60 First Nations tribes and threatening the natural habitats of grey wolves, caribou, elk and 24 other land mammals including the endangered Spirit bear. The Spirit bear (or Kermode bear) is a rare species of black bear which is born with a white or blonde coat. They are not albino or related to polar bears but a naturally recessive gene makes one out of every ten black bear cubs in the Great Bear rainforest a spirit bear which is especially signiﬁcant to First Nations tribes who have inhabited the area for hundreds of years. British Columbia’s (BC) natural coast is celebrated for its diverse and vibrant life. Vancouver Aquarium, ranked in the top 10 aquariums in the world, dedicate an exhibition the

size of the entire Chester Blue Planet just to the diversity of the BC coast. The waters of the BC coast are home to the biggest sea star in the world which reaches up to a metre across as well as 26 types of game fish, which First Nations communities and all other life in the area rely on. They are also home to grey and humpback whales, Pacific white sided dolphins, California sea lions, the rare sea otter and orca that are ubiquitous throughout BC, depicted in First Nations art, on tourist postcards and on the Vancouver Canucks ice hockey team strip. There is immense pride in the beauty and diversity of natural life here, undisturbed for so long it is now under huge threat of destruction. Even if the pipe does not break and the damage caused building and maintaining it was reduced to its absolute minimum, the coast itself is dangerous to navigate. In 2006 a BC ferryboat carrying 60 people sank on rocks these proposed super-tankers would navigate past 225 times a year each. One spill here would end all life as it is now known. Pacific Wild decided that the best way to save this area was to show the world how beautiful it is. They set up Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition (RAVE), a two week project which invited the world’s greatest wildlife photographers to capture every aspect of life in this area from the spirit bears to the eagles to the salmon leaping up the waterfalls as a matter of urgency. Their film Spoil has received international attention as well as winning the Best Environmental Film award at the 2011 Vancouver International Film Festival proving how Canadians feel about this menace to their country. Indigenous communities are involved in ongoing protests against the pipeline. Greenpeace have occupied the Enbridge offices in Vancouver, BC demanding they withdraw their plans. Stephanie Goodwin, Greenpeace B.C. director said “Enbridge is poised to become the BP of BC”. For more information and to add your voice for those calling for the plans to be outlawed you can visit greenpeace.org/ canada and pacificwild.org.

The endangered Spirit bear

Bald eagle

Georgia Mannion

UK to source power from Icelandic volcanoes

I What to eat now

or all our talk about local food, it has occurred to us that if you did want to venture out of your supermarket comfort zone, you might not know what to expect. As it turns out, the door opposite the counter in Dimensions isn’t an office. Nor will you startle an unsuspecting yoga instructor in use of a compost toilet. It’s where they keep the vegetables! I was as happily surprised by this news as I assume you are. The staff are keen to help and to chat so for the anxious local-shopping virgin there is nothing to worry about. To take a trip slightly further afield, you may know that Anglesey is renowned for its food produce. Every three weeks the best farmers, brewers, smokers, butchers, bakers and confectioners of Anglesey and beyond gather to sell their produce. On my first trip I especially enjoyed the friendly bravado of the Derimon Smokery staff. If you can dream it, they can smoke it. Not only do they have the finest in local meat and fish but also smoked cheese and butter. “How do you smoke butter?” I asked “Carefully” he replied. The enormous free range eggs, which are cheaper and nicer than any I’ve seen in a supermarket, are from the same farm which supply Bangor butchers G. Williams & Sons. The man on the mushroom stand chucked in a few extra shitakes for a first time visitor as well as a few good recipes to try. The lady on the preserve stand was

more than happy for us to “taste” each jar a few times. We couldn’t decide between green and purple kale so we bought both for next to nothing. The joy of buying local food from the people who have made it is that they are happy to talk with you because they’re proud of their produce. They’re happy to round the price down to the nearest pound or throw in a few extras because they are grateful for your custom in a way no supermarket checkout person ever will be. If you are interested in buying local, real variety and saving money then I cannot recommend Anglesey Farmer’s Market enough. How to get there: 62 from the bus station takes 14 minutes to get to Menai Bridge (and it is a lovely drive). From there it’s less than a ﬁve minute walk to Ysgol Daffyd Hughes where the Anglesey Farmer’s Market is held. In season now: Broccoli, new potatoes, radishes, rhubarb, rocket, spinach, spring onions, watercress, crab, sea trout, leeks, potatoes, mackerel, mussels, oysters, lamb, rabbit, cauliﬂower, chives, sorrel, cockles, cucumber.

t’s nice to hear that our solar slashing, nuclear initiating government is looking into sourcing energy from a clean and sustainable source. Iceland’s abundance of geothermal energy has attracted the attention of the energy minister, Charles Hendry, who has suggested plans for a European supergrid which would be “an absolutely critical part of energy security and for lowcarbon energy”. The plan has been called ambitious by the Department of Energy and Climate but perhaps something as “radical” as utilising Iceland’s volcanoes is exactly what is needed, not only to sustain the UK’s energy needs but also to bring the price of energy

down. Whether bill payers will beneﬁt from this cheaper supply (Npower announce a 34% growth in proﬁt over the last year while its customers are facing higher energy bills than ever before) is unclear as yet, although the environmental cost would be dramatically lowered. Iceland itself has been completely dependent on geothermal electricity since 1970. It seems that as EU countries are committed to sourcing 20% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020, we are not only dragging our feet but our knuckles too. However, as links between England and Norway are under construction to harness tidal and wind power, perhaps it is a case of better late than never after all.

Georgia Mannion

Rhubarb

Mackerel

Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Station - not as pretty as a windfarm but not as deadly as an exploded nuclear power station either

April Issue 2012

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Features

WHAT IS KONY 2012?

n March 5th 2012, a short film entitled ‘KONY 2012’ created by the organisation Invisible Children Inc. was posted on YouTube in an effort to promote the charity ‘Stop Kony’ and its movement to make Ugandan war criminal and fugitive Joseph Kony known worldwide. This was done in order to have him arrested by the end of December 2012, when the campaign itself comes to an end. Of course, the 28 minute film spread like wild fire over the internet and by the end of March 2012 had over 86 million views on YouTube alone, and 16 million views on Vimeo. The video was also available on the ‘KONY 2012’ website set up by Invisible Children. Those who logged onto Facebook and Twitter at that time found themselves facing a page covered with the logo and message as the organisation recruited many more supporters. Funding for the organisation and its cause has come from the youth of today, who donate a little bit of their money each month to help fight with the cause, their money going towards construction of early warning radio networks which lie a few miles from towns and cities in an effort to protect them from LRA attacks. After confronting the American Government about Joseph Kony and their plight to stop him, which the government had originally said no

WHO IS KONY?

oseph Kony has become a name that one cannot help but recognise when hearing it in a conversation or reading it in an article. An International Criminal Court fugitive, having been indicted but escaped in 2005, Joseph Kony is well known for being the head of the Lord’s Resistance Army, aka the LRA, a Ugandan guerrilla group. While efforts have been made to stop him in the past, whether they be peace talks or militant strategies, little has helped as Joseph Kony manages to manipulate himself out of the situation every

time and uses the opportunity to regroup, rearm and attack once again. The LRA is a highly trained, violent group that is constantly on the move and has no actual political purpose. Nothing seems to be able to stop this man as he continues to abduct children from their villages and towns, turning the girls into child sex slaves and the boys into child soldiers to fight in his own army. Additionally, upon abduction Kony and his foot soldiers often kill the children’s family and neighbours so that they have little choice other than to fight for him; sometimes they are even forced to kill their parents themselves. He has been committing these crimes for twenty-six years, having these children he’s kidnapped fight

fact file A non-profit organisation formed in 2004 by Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey and Laren Poole. The organisation seeks to: • Make the world aware of the LRA by making documentaries and touring them around the world for free. • Channel energy from viewers of IC films into large-scale advocacy campaigns to stop the LRA and protect civilians. • Operate programs on the ground in LRA-affected areas that focus on protecting communities, supporting LRA victims and post-conflict reconstruction. • Encourages a “four pillar” system: (1) the protection of civilians, (2) the apprehension of LRA leadership, (3) the facilitation of the peaceful surrender of LRA combatants and (4) support to rehabilitation efforts for communities and individuals affected by the LRA. • Previously organised several campaigns including ‘Displace Me’, where 67,000 activists created a cardboard village in order to raise awareness.

• Pressure from the campaign has seen the passing of Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act in May 2010. • Money is used to support the Ugandan military, the UPDF. Invisible Children state that is due to the fact that no other LRA affected country has a military equipped or competent enough to engage with the LRA. • The charity has established several ‘on the ground’ programs in Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo, including early warning radio networks, a rehabilitation centre, funding merit scholarships and a teacher exchange program.

to, with hundreds of thousands of supporters, the congressmen and senators soon changed their minds and agreed to aid in any way that they could. Soon, a small number of U.S. forces were deployed to central Africa to provide any assistance to regional forces working towards capturing Joseph Kony. Not to fight and create conflict, but to aid and assist. With the massive amount of support surrounding the campaign, it means that the issue rests at the front of the congressman’s and senator’s minds so that they can see how important this cause is to the public and therefore they won’t withdraw the military advisors they have sent out to aid the regional forces. The Kony 2012 campaign itself takes place on April 20th 2012, and is set to happen all over the world. The effort aims to plaster cities and towns world-wide, including Bangor, over night with posters carrying the KONY 2012 logo to show support for the campaign as well as help make Joseph Kony famous not to celebrate him, but so that he can finally be brought to justice.

Nicola Hoban

for him, defending him. It is believed that he has had thousands of children abducted in an effort to maintain the power that he has. Moving from Uganda across to the Central African Republic, South Sudan and the D.R. Congo, it is extremely difﬁcult to track the LRA and stop them. What makes it even harder is that after becoming aware of the fact that the USA had joined the campaign to stop him, Kony has now changed his tactics to avoid his anticipated capture. Since 2008, over 2,400 people have been murdered at the hands of the LRA, and in the four weeks since KONY 2012 became active, another 57 children have been abducted.

Nicola Hoban

opinions: cover the night I

feel that it was good for raising awareness about a big world issue, but I don’t feel that it’s done anything to help the situation and I don’t agree with many of the methods of the “Invisible Children” charity.

n my opinion, this is how it is; there are good people and bad people. What deﬁnes them is how they live, who they choose to help (amongst other things). But blind generosity leads to confusion and in the case of Kony, corrupt ﬁgures of power. Seeing friends suggest that ‘liking’ a status is going to bring this man to justice is just shocking.

Isabel Vincent

Daniel de Reybekill

think that while the cause is just the videos kind of glorify it a little bit, and while something needs to be done about it people aren’t going to ﬁnd the answer to ﬁxing it in splashing videos all over social networking sites

Laura Phillips

think it's all a bunch of over hyped toff, teenagers getting hooked in to a 'good cause' as a fad, not because they're genuinely interested. They all follow the crowd, so in itself it's a bad thing because these people are pretty much feigning an interest just so their friends don't judge them.

Alex Baxendale

April Issue 2012

FOR T

here has been a lot of debate surrounding the subject of KONY 2012, the organisation Invisible Children, and what the campaign means as a whole. Many believe that a helping hand should not be extended to those that need it, when we haven’t even sorted out issues happening in our country ﬁrst. Others mistrust the organisation Invisible Children because of the controversy surrounding it, and therefore refuse to acknowledge the cause in any way. A lot of people given the opportunity would gladly express their dislike for this campaign, and due to that others start to change their way of thinking. Originally, when the KONY 2012 video ﬁrst went viral, it was immensely popular, storming across Facebook and Twitter and plastering

AGAINST

ollowing the release of Invisible Children’s latest video, Kony 2012: Beyond Famous, on 4th April, it might seem like the critics now have nothing left to say. However, whilst the sequel certainly clears up some of the issues raised by the first, the campaign still raises some serious questions. Perhaps the biggest issue with the campaign is that it smacks of colonialist saviour complex. The idea that LRA affected countries like Uganda cannot cope without western intervention is incredibly patronising. The idea that America , a country that has repeatedly failed in its attempts at international intervention, (Vietnam anyone?) particularly the embarrassing failure to capture Osama Bin Laden, could solve this problem is laughably arrogant. Though monetary aid and the charity’s on the ground programs are desirable in order to rebuild the lives of those affected, military intervention is almost entirely unnecessary. The affected countries have formed a coalition in order to combat Kony and the LRA as a united force, and the Ugandan military has already been successful in achieving the permant expulsion and dramatic reduction of LRA numbers in 2006, suggesting that this demand for intervention into hostilities that has stretched across the last twenty years are too little, too late. So despite Invisible Children’s claims that these countries “lack the specific capabilities” to bring Kony to justice, the facts would in fact suggest that they are perfectly capable of controlling and containing the situation, and in a joint effort with the International Criminal Court are likely to apprehend Kony within the near future. The viral video that launched the campaign has also greatly discredited the charity for its sensationalist and allegedly inaccurate approach to the conflict, which has sparked a backlash from the Ugandan government’s spokesman Fred Opolot: “It must be clarified that at present the LRA is not active in any part of Uganda. Successfully expelled by the Ugandan

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Features

everyone’s newsfeed with the campaign and the viewers’ belief in it. The emotional cries of the public soon waned however when it became clear that maybe not all of the information provided in the short film was accurate. They became even less supportive after the co-founder of the organisation, Jason Russell, the film maker behind the 28 minute short film, was arrested on Thursday 15th March after behaving in “a bizarre and irrational manner”, running through the streets in nothing but his underwear screaming. It was also stated that witnesses had seen Russell remove his underwear and start masturbating, although this remains unconfirmed by officials. However, with no charges pending, the CEO of the organisation released a statement saying that his behaviour was due to Russell suffering from exhaustion, dehydration and malnutrition.

With such doubt surrounding the KONY 2012 campaign, the question remains: Should we still go ahead with it? A couple of people have said to me that they couldn’t really care less about it, as it wasn’t likely to affect them in any way. We have our own problems to solve in our own countries, shouldn’t we start here ﬁrst? Why send out military forces when all it is going to do is instigate more violence? True, what is happening over there isn’t actually affecting us in any way, shape or form. It’s true also that we still have a lot of problems to solve in this country ourselves. To think like that, to me, is a little narrowminded; to assume that our problems are greater than or more important than the trials others face every day is not a view I care to share. Maybe I’m too soft hearted, too open to emotional plights by those in need who are worse off than me. I am all

for KONY 2012. I’m not saying I’m in support of the organisation, but the cause itself is a just one. The effort itself may not work, but I would like to be able to say years from now that I at least cared enough to try and help those children that live their lives day to day in fear that they may be abducted from their beds that very night. There are other organisations that money can be sent to help aid the idea of stopping Joseph Kony. But the idea of KONY 2012 itself isn’t one to be ignored. Why not plaster Bangor with the posters (that are free to download)? Why not make Joseph Kony famous, and have him stopped? Not through violence, but with the aid of US military advisors helping regional forces capture the war criminal. It can only be a good thing. So why not?

Peoples Defence Forces in mid-2006, the LRA has retreated to dense terrain within bordering countries in the Central African area. They are a diminished and weakened group with numbers not exceeding 300”, suggesting that the video has greatly exaggerated the true size and scale of LRA operations. Whilst the second video has indeed done much to tackle these claims of exaggeration and misrepresentation, it still raises serious questions about the reliability of the charity; though the charity’s finances are transparent, if they cannot even represent the facts and statistics which underpin the entire campaign correctly, can we be sure that their financial figures wont be just the same? The financial expenditure of the charity itself has come under under under heavy fire from critics. The division of expenses can essentially be broken down into three

and general’ (a section which unlike many of the others does not offer a break down of the summary title) and rendered even more so when contrasted to the British Red Cross, who only spend around 5% of their donations on the same administration. When contrasting the vastly differing size of the two charities, it further validates the claims of these critics, especially considering that Invisible Children have a team of 39 activists (such a small team of activists for the United States)thus making its administration fees ridiculously disproportionate in contrast to that of the British Red Cross, and leading some to suggest that it’s entirely possible that some of the administration fees are being used as wages for the main activists, regardless of the fact that it is a non-proﬁt organisation. A further cause of ire is that despite Invisible Children’ claims to equally divide funds between their three initiatives, 47% of the total expenditure goes towards the marketing of the charity and they currently have over 180 videos on their vimeo account. One such “awareness” video, geared towards their target market of the young and easily impressionable, entitled “Invisible Children: A Musical to Believe in!” features a faux demonstration at a high school where the three founding members of Invisible Children try to convince a group of high school students to back their cause.Although, the video itself doesn’t mention how they are actually going to stop Kony, instead it chooses to use clichés such as “we can change the world” without offering any kind of viable solution. The video itself is a transparent homage to both the earlier Michael Jackson hit “we are here to change the world” and the hit Disney franchise “High School Musical” which, coincidentally, was released earlier in the same year of 2006. The video has been blasted as an obvious attempt to cash in on a current trend

within their target market, by using song and dance routines, to the setting of the video itself – which coincidentally, is set within a basketball court. The only way Jason Russell could further cash in on the latest fad would be if they had Zac Efron sing about how they want to “change the world” whilst holding a Ugandan child to tug at the heartstrings of the young and impressionable without actually telling the public how they can help except by handing over their money to make further obnoxious and uninformative videos for their own self-aggrandisement. Of course if they were using these marketing techniques directly to help raise awareness for the plight in Uganda then it could be seen as a good technique. However, as was shown in the 2011 video, entitled “The Fourth Estate” they hint at a completely different vision the organisation has. The video is set within an ominous government building with several members of the Invisible Children dressed up in clothing reminiscent of the Third Estate within the French Revolution, which at the time completely changed the dynamics of the world. This hints that the Invisible Children organisation’s main focus is not soley the charity in which they subscribe to, but rather a potential new world order. Ironically it makes the organisation look like they are recruiting an ‘army’ of young people to join their cause whilst simultaneously campaigning against military action in central Africa. Such mismanagement and manipulation makes the organisation look less like a charity and more similar to a group of expert propagandists who know how to manipulate the public, for as they say in “A Musical to Believe in!” even though they are ‘attempting’ to end the troubles in Uganda they will “congregate and demonstrate” to tackle other more ambiguous goals on their agenda. So whilst we thoroughly support the charity’s on the ground programs and the overall mission to bring Kony to justice, think twice about where your money is going before you commit to a charity like Invisible Children.

sections: Administration, awareness and the actual money they give to the cause, and has been released onto the organisation’s website for the public to see, in order to combat the allegations of mismanagement from critics. However this does little more than reinforce convictions when one considers that only 37% of the money spent within the charity actually goes to help improve the lives of the children they originally set out to help. This revelation is particularly alarming when 16% of this money is spent on ‘management

ollowing a meteoric rise to fame over the last few weeks, Jason Russell, 33, co-founder of Invisible Children and narrator of viral sensation Kony 2012, has been detained and admitted to a mental hospital for psychological assessment. Russell was alleged to have been apprehended on suspicion of public masturbation and vandalism of vehicles, after being reported to the police for running through the streets of San Diego in his underwear and shouting at passing trafﬁc on the 12th March. However, Russell is reported to have been coherent and cooperative when picked up by the San Diego police department, though he was not arrested and no charges are planned. Invisible Children chief executive Ben Keesey told TMZ: “Jason Russell was unfortunately hospitalised yesterday suffering from exhaustion, dehydration, and malnutrition. He is now receiving medical care and is focused on getting better. The past two weeks have taken a severe emotional toll on all of us, Jason

Controversy especially, and that toll manifested itself in an unfortunate incident yesterday.” Early diagnosis would suggest that Russell is in fact suffering from ‘reactive psychosis’, the spontaneous manifestation of psychotic symptoms. His family have strongly denied any claims that his erratic behaviour was the result of alcohol or drug use, despite rumours that he was under the inﬂuence of alcohol at the time of the incident. Danica Russell has defended her husband’s behaviour, reporting that “Doctors say this is a common experience given the great

Nicola Hoban

Sophie Smith and Eddie Spencer Small

mental, emotional and physical shock his body has gone through in these last two weeks. Even for us, it’s hard to understand the sudden transition from relative anonymity to worldwide attention - both raves and ridicules - in a matter of days. He has a long way to go, but we are conﬁdent that he will make a full recovery”. The Kony 2012 campaign has been heavily slated by critics for misrepresentation of facts, including the Ugandan Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, who claims that the video is not representative of the situation in Uganda, and creates a false impression of the whereabouts of Joseph Kony. The charity has since responded to its critics by releasing its disputed ﬁnancial records and defending the campaign video, releasing a further twenty minute video without Russell, Kony 2012: Beyond Famous on 4th April.

Sophie Smith

n w o d k a e r B e ic r P The Ticket Staff

Production

Staging, lighting, screens, music, amps, the amazing free fun fair rides, wiring, technicians, putting it all up, taking it all down. Production is a massive job and arguably the most important, which is why it takes up quite a large proportion of your ticket money.

0 2 . 16

95 . 4

V e n u e 5 £3.1

Acts

0 2 . 16

you to give ndants e f to t f t a a t e s afe, th he bar s t u ly o t y n a p kee port s, stage urity to k, but more im hat, technician e night c e s e h T t ar th ot only ere to p to help somewh rinks flowing! N are all needed s d e on keep th tist lias s and ar r e g a n a m Main Arts and PJ Hall unfortunately don’t come free. othly! run smo The rooms have to be cleaned and groundsmen have to prepare outside, this includes the investment of proper waste disposal too!

£3

.15

t n e m p i u q Site E

£1

What would the Summer Ball be without your performers? It’s quite understandable that a large amount of your ticket price is invested into the acts that are booked to entertain you! A typical gig would cost you around £15, so £16.20 seems reasonable considering you get a free ferris wheel ride out of it!

.35

First Aid equipment should any accidents occur, the tents which hold separate gigs, scaffolding , pedestrian barriers and more barriers to keep out non ticket holders!

Marketing

Promotional flyers, posters and the actual design of your ticket so that you know what is happening, where it’s happening and when!

Win a ticket to this year’s Summer Ball! Last year’s Summer Ball brought us Stooshe just as they were starting their rise to pop stardom. Their official debut single ‘Love Me’ recently went top 5 in the UK, but which American superstar was featured on the track? A) Travie McCoy B) Travie Walkers C) Travie Quavers Send your answer editor@seren.bangor.ac.uk to and you could be in with a chance of winning a Summer Ball ticket. Good luck!

April Issue 2012

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Union

AGM 2012 what can i run for?

Why should I care? S tudents’ Union elections are over and the easter holiday is gone; next it’s time for the AGM. So, why should you go? Well, its a great opportunity to ask the questions you want answering. The Sabbatical Ofﬁcers will be there to give their report on the year, and you can ask them the questions you don’t think have been answered and you want to know about. If you want to know about something within the AU, in the budget, in societies or about the direction of the union, you can get your answer by just turning up to the AGM. A lot of work has been going on in the Students’ Union this year, with some massive changes. Now is your chance to ﬁnd out what else could happen by asking your questions and making your points

what will be happening?

uestion time for the online elections will be happening at the AGM as well. Make sure you know who who is best for the job and who deserves your vote. All candidates will be giving a short speech about why they want to run for a position and then you can ask them questions

to the people who will listen. The AGM is the single most powerful decision making body in the Students’ Union. The trustee board, the Sabbatical ofﬁcers and senators are all responsible to the AGM, and it’s at the AGM where you can vote on policy that can make a real difference. If you want to change something, you can. Listen to what people want, ask questions and use your vote. A Students’ Union is there to listen to what students’ want, and the AGM is the loudest voice it can speak with. The AGM may not sound interesting or relevant to you, but it’s all about you. The AGM is the chance to see what has happened this year, and how it can be made different next year. You are part of the Students’ Union, so make sure it does what you want.

to ﬁnd out what you really need to know. Elections are being held for Senators and Trustees, which may sound a bit vague, but they are important positions. This year votes will be cast online.

more info? bangorstudents.com /elections

senate Senate is the democratic heartbeat of the Students’ Union, it meets monthly and discusses issues relevant to students in Bangor. To join senate you need to be able to commit to attend once a month, but aside from that you don’t need to bring anything other than yourself and your opinions. Senators are encouraged to talk to as many students as possible so that discussions at senate are genuinely representative of student opinion. Senate is incredibly important to the Students’ Union. We can’t have General Meetings every week, so Senate exists as a mechanism for students to engage with the Union Ofﬁcers, to guide, question and challenge them – to ensure that your union is always working hard for you. If you’re interested in being part of a Students’ Union that is changing and evolving, if you’d like to help shape and create your Students’ Union and if you’re motivated to stand as a student leader...run for Senate.

trustees The Trustee Board is central to the organisational structure of the Students’ Union, it meets 6 times a year and is responsible for ensuring that the Students’ Union is run in a fit and proper manner. The Trustee Board maintains responsibility for the strategic direction of the SU and sits to ensure that the organisation is run according to the laws of the land and in a financially prudent manner. The Board provides strategic line management to the Union Director and receives reports from its sub-committees, including Finance, Remuneration & HR, Elections and Nominations. To join the board you need to be able to commit to attend board and sub-committees, but aside from that you don’t need to bring anything as we will provide full training. Trustees need to approach the role in a serious and confidential manner, and always be mindful that the Students’ Union exists to benefit its members – the students of Bangor. Trustees take on an incredible amount of personal responsibility but are rewarded through their in-depth involvement in planning organisational strategy, steering the Union through times of difficulty and watching the Union grow and flourish as a result of their input and direction. If you’re interested in being part of a Students’ Union that is changing and evolving, if you’d like to work behind the scenes to plan and prepare for the future and if you enjoy responsibility and the challenge of leadership... run for trustee.

April, 30th 7.15pm MALT

April Issue 2012

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Union

Your New Sabbs!

Antony Butcher President “I want every decision this university makes to be made in partnership with students.” The job: The President is the chief ofﬁcer of the Union and head of the Sabbatical Team. It’s their job to represent the Union to the University, the local community and, at times, the nation. They are responsible for the Union’s Higher Education remit which means that they deal with matters of education policy, funding and how that affects the Union members.

Shon Prebble VP Education & Welfare

Ash Kierans VP Societies & Community

“…last year the University made over £23,000 in ﬁnes, which ended up in the administration and training budgets. I want this money channelled back to students, into hardship funds, to help students who need it the most.”

“Societies formed mid-academic year struggle to secure a grant from the Union. I’d assure to budget in such a way that no society would come across this issue.”

The job: They are responsible for Academic Welfare, Student Housing and Health Promotion within the Union. As such it is their job to organise the Course Rep system. They also liaise with VP Sport & Healthy Living concerning Healthy Living Week. A main responsibility they have is to maintain the Union’s Equal Opportunities policy.

angor Students’ Union was recently named Union of the Year (non commercial) at the National Union of Students (NUS) Green Impact Awards in Manchester. The awards recognise the environmental work of students’ unions around the country and this year had a record 105 unions competing. The awards are part of the NUS Green Impact initiative which provides environmental accreditation for students’ unions, helping unions to showcase great environmental practice. Bangor Students’ Union won their award for their wide range of environmental activity and best practice, from projects to help reduce the decline of the bumble bee that saw thousands of wild ﬂowers planted in the Bangor area, to innovative recycling initiatives that aimed to collect old bras for re-use in other parts of the world. The Union also actively supported Fairtrade Fortnight and Go Green Week, as well as working closely with Gwynedd Council to encourage students to recycle and keep Bangor tidy! This is the second year in a row that Bangor have been recognised for their exceptional environmental performance, receiving The Co-operative ‘Most Improved Union’ Award and The Ecologist ‘Communications Challenge’ Award at the Green Impact Awards in 2011. Rich Gorman, Vice President, Societies & Community, said “It’s fantastic to be named Union of the Year, we’ve come a long way very quickly, two years ago we were only a Bronze level Union, now we are the best in the UK”.

WWW.BANGORSTUDENTS.COM

The job: As it would suggest, they are responsible for maintaining the operation of the numerous societies within the Union. Along with VP Sport & Healthy Living it is also their job to organise Serendipity. Their community role includes working with ‘Love Bangor’, aiding student community projects and liaising with resident groups and the local council.

Emyr Bath VP Sport & Healthy Living “I will have a proactive approach in improving our students’ experience through increasing the awareness of Healthy Living... I will use a variety of intramural sports to pursue a wider audience and increase student participation.” The job: They are responsible for the AU’s operation and maintenance. Through this they must liaise with the University and the local community on sporting matters and events. It is in their remit to promote participation in competitive and recreational sport.

ominations have been flooding in for the Student Led Teaching Awards 2012 STUDENT LED TEACHING AWARDS for the last six weeks and when the deadline closed at the end of March, we had received over 330 nominations from you guys for over 150 different members of staff. Needless to say, coming up with a shortlist has proven quite difficult as there were some really good nominations and there are some excellent members of staff out there who have been going the extra mile for you lot day in, day out. The celebration evening is drawing closer and we are really excited to be one of the 21 unions taking part in this initiative this year. The shortlist of staff nominated in each category will be going up online next week, so you will be able to see if your lecturer has been nominated or if the member of staff you nominated made it onto the shortlist. We are now in the process of inviting course reps and the students, who nominated the shortlisted members of staff, to the evening, so if you are one of these people, please make sure you check your inbox and let us know if you would like to come along and celebrate the evening with us. In an ideal world we would have you all there, but unfortunately there is a limit as to how many people we can fit into the PJ Hall! For those of you who are unable to attend, but would like to know how your lecturer or support staff member has got on, then check out bangorstudents.com for the pictures from the evening, the shortlist, and of course, the list of winners once they have been announced on the night.

April Issue 2012

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Societies

BEDS’ ANTONY BURGESS’ ‘A CLOCKWORK ORANGE’

angor Comedy Society are going to be hosting their end of year Gala Show on the 27th of April. It will comprise of a live performance of the radio show A Matter Of Fiction, being their second successive Gala Show performance. Bangor Comedy’s famous ImpSoc will also be taking part, hosting with audience suggestions creating on-the-spot comedy. Winners of the society’s Stand Up competition will also be appearing during the night giving 20 minutes of pure comedy genius that will be bound to have the audience in hysterics, followed by the Sketches Divison who will be giving a TV and movie themed series of 40 minutes of all-new side splitting sketches. This fantastic array of comedy will be hosted at JP Hall with doors opening at 7pm with the show going from 7.30pm until 10pm. It is most certainly not a night to be missed and at only £3 per ticket on the door, you’d surely be mad not to come!

angor’s BEDS Society is putting on a show. Antony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange comes to life once more as the society prepare for their show set to open on Friday 4th May – Sunday 6th May. Being held in JP Hall, Antony Burgess’ play (with music) is based on his own provocative novella of the same title, which was first published in 1962. The novel follows a fellow named Alex and his vicious gang as they revel in horrific violence, mugging and gang rape. The language used in the production is as complicated as their actions. When a drug fuelled night of entertainment and fun ends in murder, Alex is finally caught and locked up. However, he is offered an ultimatum – be brainwashed into becoming a good citizen and therefore have the opportunity to walk free, or face a life time in the Big House instead. Opening their doors at 7.30pm on each of the nights, the price of entry is £5, £4 with NUS. Take note that the play does have an 18 rating due to violence and scenes of sexual nature.

Bangor University Endeavor Society IVEAWAY!

THE BIG FESTIVAL G

n StormFM every weekday from 3-5pm we will be giving away free tickets to festivals for two weeks until the 27th of April. We have pairs of tickets to give away from Wakestock, BeachBreak, Red Hot Chilli Peppers at Knebworth, and Ozzfest. This promises to be one of the biggest giveaway’s Storm has ever had, and all you have to do is tune in every day and answer one simple question. Yes, it’s that easy! So make sure you tune in to win FREE tickets to see some of the biggest bands around; Dizzee Rascal, Ed Sheeran, Calvin Harris, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Razorlight, Maverick Sabre, Dappy, Wretch 32, Chase and Status, and many many more.

tudents from the Endeavour Society of the School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, held a Spring Beach Clean at Traeth Lafan on Saturday 24th March. They collected 22 bags of rubbish from this ecologically important area. The Lafan Sands are a UK Special Protected Area and an important feeding site and overwintering site for many wading birds. It was great that the students managed to clear so much rubbish from this important site, and it is hoped that it will help make it a more attractive area for walkers and bird enthusiasts to spend time whilst beneﬁtting the local wildlife.

! H A P M OO Hard work pays off for Bangor Brass Band

angor University Brass Band have been offered their biggest gig to date in the form of entertainment at the Welsh National Football Cup Final. The match, which will take place on Sunday 6th May

Calling all societies!

Seren provides you with two pages every issue for you to tell us all what you’ve been up to, so why not use them? You can keep Bangor students up to date by sending articles to: editor@seren.bangor.ac.uk

at Nantporth, the stadium of Bangor FC, is one of the highlights of the Welsh football calendar and is expected to attract around 1,000 people. The match will also be broadcast live on S4C. The band are delighted to have been offered this amazing opportunity after a year of heavy community involvement, including the Remembrance Day parade, Christmas caroling around the city and at Penrhyn Castle, and the ever-popular Oompah nights which take place at the Belle Vue pub.

“This is a fantastic chance to get our name out there to more people,” said chairman Andrew Shepherd, “This band has come so far from its inception just two and a half years ago, and we hope it will keep going long after its current players have graduated!”. The Brass Band will be preparing for this performance with a one-off Oompah show in Academi on the 24th of April (entry £2.50).

Nina Grant

April Issue 2012

7.00pm - 9.10pm

event/screening we have ever held.” Members of the society were responsible for choosing which films would fill the twelve hours, the films chosen being Hugo, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011) and Midnight In Paris. In addition to these choices, Treasurer Ben Davies and Society Member Aglae Bindi were given the task of choosing two ‘Mystery Films’ that will only be revealed on the night of the marathon. Society Member and Seren Film Editor, Amy Westlake, was responsible for putting Diabetes UK forward as the charity the event will be supporting. Amy said: “Diabetes is an illness that not many people understand and know about. As someone with diabetes, I know that Diabetes UK raises awareness and knowledge about the condition. All money raised will help further treatment and upgrade equipment for people with diabetes.“

9.25pm - 12.00am GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

12.15am - 1.50am MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

Bangor University Law Student is set to move her studies to Manchester this coming September in order to continue working towards her ambition of becoming a barrister. Kate Longson, a third year student, was just last month awarded the Lord Denning Law Scholarship which grants her £15,000 to continue her studies with a Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC). She will be taking the course at Manchester M e t r o p o l i t a n University. Kate, who is originally from Staffordshire, and who was a student at St Joseph’s College in Stoke-On-Trent, has gone through a lot of hard work to achieve the prestigious scholarship. “This achievement is all down to her hard work and the experience that she’s gained outside lectures.” Aled Grifﬁths, Deputy Head of the Law School, said. The scholarship was awarded to her following a successful interview last month by Lincoln’s Inn which she successfully joined last year. Lincoln’s Inn is one of four Inn’s in the UK that students wishing to pursue a career as a barrister must apply to. The barristerin-the-making was previously awarded the Hardwicke Entrance Award which covered the costs of her joining Lincoln’s Inn last year. Aled Grifﬁths congratulated Kate on behalf of the Law School and noted that: “It is a remarkable achievement to get a scholarship awarded in honour of the most famous lawyer in history.” Kate complimented Bangor’s Law School on its personal approach stating that she was able to have a face-to-

face meeting with the Head of School to discuss her application to Lincoln’s Inn, something she believes would’ve been much more difﬁcult within a larger school. She thanks the staff for all of their support over the last three years and praises their knowledge stating: “They know what they’re talking about!” Bethney Miller, on behalf of the Law Society, said “We are not at all surprised with Kate winning the scholarship with Lincoln’s Inn; she has been a keen competitor in the internal McLaren Mooting Competition where she won and also took the initiative to compete in a National Mooting competition which took place in Liverpool. Kate gaining the Lincoln’s Inn scholarship highlights a standard which should be followed by any student who is seeking a career at the Bar. We applaud her success and wish her the best of luck with the future.”

LJ Taylor

Adam Farrand added: “I am really looking forward to the film-a-thon because the money we’re raising is going to a great cause.” The entire film-a-thon and individual screenings are open to everyone, free of charge, although it is asked that everyone who attends a screening makes a donation, no matter of the value, to Diabetes UK. Donations can be made online through our official ‘Challenge’ page on the Diabetes UK website or in person at the film-a-thon/screenings. Some refreshments will be provided on the night but you are welcome to bring your own. For more information find us on Facebook - ‘Student Cut Films’. The following is the itinerary for the night. All the films will be separated by breaks to allow the audience to get refreshed, ready for the next film.

2.30am - 4.30am MYSTERY FILM

BANGOR LAW STUDENT WINS SCHOLARSHIP

Societies

STUDENT CUT FILMS FILM-A-THON

inners of Best New Society 2010/11, Student Cut Films are proud to announce that we’ll be hosting a 12 hour film-athon in aid of Diabetes UK. The half day movie marathon will take place from Wednesday 25th April at 7pm to Thursday 26th April at 7am in the Main Arts Lecture Theatre. The marathon is the first event to be hosted by the new Student Cut Films Committee. The Founder of Student Cut Films and former Chair, Adam Farrand, said that “The film-a-thon is a fantastic way to introduce our new committee. The film-a-thon was thought up by the founding members of Student Cut Films as well as our new Treasurer Ben Davies, Secretary Isabel Vincent and Chair Ali Brabbs. We were looking to not only hold an event to recognise the election of a new committee but to also end the year on a high. This truly is the most ambitious

HUGO

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

5.10am - 7.00am MYSTERY FILM

SocietiesAwards 2012

ach year the SU hosts an annual Societies Awards night, celebrating the very best of what our Student Societies do. In order to be in the line-up for the highly coveted Societies Awards Trophies, Societies and the individuals that run them, need to be nominated by YOU. More information, award criteria and nomination forms can all be found on: http://www.bangorstudents.com/societies/awards.asp Nominations close on the 25th April at 12 noon! The Awards Evening itself will be on the 5th May at Bar Uno starting at 7:30pm. Tickets are on sale from SU reception and cost £15 and include entry to the Awards Evening, a three course meal and entertainment till 2am! There are various award categories for societies to enter as well as awards for individuals. • Society of the Year • Community Award • Most Improved Award • Best New Society • International Society of the Year • Academic Society of the Year • Achievement of the Year • Campaign of the Year • Faith Society of the Year • Charity Award • Event of the Year • Best Performance Award • Environmental Award • Best Collaboration

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

April Issue 2012

Creative Corner

Sea Softened Sto

sat on the rocks overlook the sea burns with the salt of purifying like a medicinal vial ďŹ lled with the moon and the cracking below i the edge of a slap fading from the cheek in a repetitive shush a repetitive shush the hushed cries of people on the beach a reminder that you cann together

stone cold your hand icy on my arm freezing the bicep beneath your ďŹ nger tips like a sigh like the sea and the make up washed away by the sea which sits on your cloth silent your touch against my skin pales - Georgie Lorimer

Artwork By Jonathan Spencer. j-spence.com

Photograph by Jece

April Issue 2012

Creative Corner

ones 1

Lupine

king

Did you really think beneath that lupine slink that dandy smile your wily swipe of drinks across the bar that you would not be caught for what you are? would not be skinned? (far worse than slimming) and strewn across my ﬂoor no trophy just fur to make the ground less stony beneath the beat of my dancing feet across your back beneath the mounted heads and horns up on the walls gazing eyes no longer grazing but with a smirk at your demise and I leave and wrap my shoulders with your coat cleft hooves swinging across my back pendulous with the sway of my feet my lupine slink my dandy smile my innocent bleat

nto

not be alone

a spray hes

elyn Latimer

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Photographs by Nayab G. Dawood

- Georgie Lorimer

Checkmate Across from me sits my opponent. Straightening his pieces, the black set of course, he gives me a steady stare. He’s been playing this game for so long. We both know that I can’t win but I still reach forward and make the ﬁrst move.

Needlework Your tongue clicks silver lightning; the thread unravels. You reap what you sow. - Poems by Emily Bygrave

Health & Beauty

April Issue 2012

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

How to Beat Stress

The weeks leading up to work deadlines and exams are always particularly stressful. Stress might seem part and parcel of student life, but if you don’t ﬁnd ways to deal with it then stress can cause a whole host of other problems such as weight loss, skin problems, and lack of sleep. We asked Bangor University student, Jenny Krase, how she combats stress... We all know it’s tough enough writing up your dissertation- the sun is (intermittently) shining, and end-of-break parties beckon. And we all take “breaks”, clicking over to Facebook or other social sites for a few minutes respite. Okay, or a whole afternoon. Here are some alternative recommendations to Facebook if you want to refresh your brain a little:

1. Oh No They Didn’t!: a hilarious and active celebrity gossip community on Livejournal. An account is free and it’s great fun if celeb gossip is something you read casually anyway.

2. Start your own blog. It’s super easy- Wordpress is easy to learn- and customising your site is kind of addictive. Plus it’s a really useful skill. Tumblr is another popular option and is also highly customisable (and not just for reblogging amazing photographs).

3. Go to http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/ and get signing! It’s an excellent way to justify not

working on your latest section or chapter and it can do some good. I highly recommend the http://www.c4em.org.uk/ petition, as well; it’s lagging seriously behind the Coalition for Marriage petition which seeks to prevent marriage equality for LGBT people.

4. Clean out your ﬁshtank/gerbil cage/litter box. It probably needs doing anyway. If you

have goldﬁsh, get some sinking pellets and enjoy watching them forage in the gravel... it sounds ridiculous but this is probably the cheapest fun I’ve had since being able to buy alcohol at 19. (Oh! Canada..)

5. Nip over to Poundland and pick up some spring planting supplies- they have grow your

own tomato/potato/strawberry kits. Spend a little time planting up your seeds and watch them grow- pumpkins and beans are especially fast, you often see germination in just a few days- and it’s easy to justify this as a sustainable activity. Plus it’s fun.

Spring Beauty Trend: Statement Eyes Create two of spring’s hottest looks with just three items. Colour Pop: inject some colour with this bright trend. Although it might not be an everyday look, why not try re-creating your own look at home. This palette contains toned down colours to help you achieve a more wearable, subtle take on this catwalk look. Don’t forget to complete your look with lashings of mascara. With this W7 ‘Big Lash’ we no longer New CID Cosmetics i-smoulder need falsies! W7 Big Lash Mascara £4.95

Smokey Eye Pencil and Shadow £16.65

W7 10 out of 10 palette £5.95

Metallics: One of spring’s biggest beauty trends, this metallic look will get you ready for the festival season. Go for gold, shimmering tones teamed with your classic smokey eye kit. This eye colour palette contains a great range of shades to recreate this look. Use the eye pencil to make your look stand out by lining your lids and use the other end to smudge along the lash line for a great ﬁnish.

Trend Alert! Dip Dye Hair

6. Back online now, had enough mucking out your pets and growing your own produce? Well

Take your hair colour to another level with the latest celeb look!

then check out the candidates for the Gwynedd council elections here: http://tinyurl.com/ gwynelection12 Most students live in Arfon and there are actually several students standing in the local elections. If you live in Halls, you’re pre-registered to vote, so make your that you make your voice heard!

7. Okay, this one is still probably not “fun” but it’s important: Academi’s new licensing hours are up for consideration at the council. So why not write to your councillor and tell them to support the later hours? Contact info for Bangor-based councillors is here: http://tinyurl.com/ gwyncoun

8. Bored of local politics now? Yeah, me too, so let’s move on to something just a little bit more

interesting. Go check out My Drunk Kitchen and Jenna Marbles on Youtube. Go on, if you haven’t already, you will not regret it. I promise.

Jennifer Krase

The Benefits of Narcissism “Hurry. Up.” my housemate growls at me as I apply yet another coat of hairspray, splash a bit more aftershave on, and swagger about admiring myself in the mirror. “We’re only going to the pub” he adds. For me, there’s no such thing as ‘just’ going anywhere. The second I leave the house, I want to look my best. Ok, I admit it: I’m a shameless narcissist. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m no Samantha Brick by any stretch of the imagination (although if you get the urge to pay for my train tickets, go ahead), but I do have an unhealthy obsession with gazing longingly at myself in the mirror. You see, the way I see it, there’s nothing inherently bad about having a high opinion of yourself. Thinking that you look good builds conﬁdence, which builds self-esteem,

Joey McNally shares his self-conﬁdence secrets...

and makes you generally more likely to just, y’know, be yourself. Whilst in my head I might think donning my trusty leather jacket, lacing up my boots and slathering myself in cheap jewellery might make me look some latter-day James Dean, I’m all too aware I probably look a bit of a melon. But it’s not what other people think that bothers me. It’s not that I don’t want them to think bad things about me; it’s simply that I just don’t care what they think, not even slightly. Do I think I’m gorgeous? Yes. Am I? Who knows, it’s not important. I’ve got the nous to recognise that like it or not, I’m stuck with this mush, so I might as well make the most of it. So here are a few tips to get you along the path to loving yourself...

1) Glam up- Treat leaving the house as if you’re about to headline Wembley. If you think you look ﬂashy, you’ll feel ﬂashy, and you’ll notice a little spring in your step.

4) Imagine- Envisage your perfect ‘look’, and work at it. Feeling good about yourself is like playing an instrument, it takes practice, and soon enough it’ll be second nature.

2) Water off a duck’s back- If anyone does have the audacity to make a negative comment on your appearance, just laugh it off. Who cares? Their opinion isn’t important, and if you let it be important, you’re doing yourself a disservice.

5) Realise that you’re stuck with yourself forever. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that, so instead of focusing on imperfections, pick out the things you like and emphasise them!

3) Spend a little time- Give yourself an extra 15 minutes making yourself look exactly how you want to look before you go out. You won’t regret it..

6) Don’t ever, EVER make the mistake of thinking you’re better than anyone else. It’s the one thing I’ll never be guilty of. We’re all brilliant in our own way. *Parts of this article may or may not have been written tongue in cheek; it’s up to you to decide which bits!

April Issue 2012

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Summer Days

Sunny days call for vibrant prints and bright colours brought to life with playful attitude. Mix them up with a 50’s twist for fun, head-turning style!

£55

£25

£8

£10

£25 £30 £25

Playsuits are hot on our style radar this season as a one-piece essential for any occasion.

Crop Top Crazy Perhaps you heard, there was this little music festival that happened in the desert in California this past weekend? It was super low key and people just came for the music, man. Kidding! The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Palm Springs has become one big sponsored celeb-ﬁlled pool party. It’s also become the gold standard in festival style with all the cutoffs and crop tops you can handle. Take a look above at some Seren faves rocking this look. Oh Rihanna <3

Colour

POP

£26

Step into summer with vibrant pops of colour; add denum, neutrals and print tees to break up those bold shades.

£25 £25

£16

£16 £30

April Issue 2012

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Breaktime

crossword Down

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7 1 3 2

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RECYCLE ME! Hello hello! Seren is made from 100% recycled paper, so get in on the action and recycle me when you are done!

4 1

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April Issue 2012

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Ashleigh Answers

Greetings Bangor-lings, I would have hoped to begin by welcoming you all into the Summer-time, but as my umbrella did the awkward inside out blow thing today and my wind-slapped, dry cheeks have made me look like I live in an igloo, that changed. As this will be my last contact with the students of Bangor until after exams, I’d like to wish good luck to everyone and rock out with your socks out in those damn exams! As always any questions you would like me to answer or to address, please throw an e-mail my way at: advice@seren.bangor.ac.uk.

How to deal with exams?

Ashleigh xx

way for. Unless you started revising on Bonfire Night then you’re probably not going to be able to fit every single sentence of notes into your revision plan. Try and get the main points with a brief expansion from each module, focus on that first as it won’t seem as unachievable. Then when you manage to get your Coronafilled student head around that, look at extra points to add to gain extra marks.

It seems only yesterday we were tucking into our mound of food on Christmas Day like a pig’s trough whilst tearing open gifts at 6am in you’re dressing gowns with one eye still stuck shut. Eww. Four months on and we have had a chance to get back to reality after our Christmas break and after the ‘month of love’. April is evil. Evil because us students have to revise our poor butts off like the Einstein’s we are, to show our parents’ results that prove we haven’t spent our entire university life being sick up walls, drinking beer and eating burgers. For those few lucky ones who don’t have to endure the pain that are exams this year, you carry on with your beer and burger ﬂavoured vomming sprees. Personally, I believe there is one major thing to give us some encouragement to work crazily hard just for these couple of months before exams, and that my friends, is 3 whole months off - unless you’re in your ﬁnal year and you have to head into the ghastly world of ADULTHOOD after exams *insert smug grin here*. As you all probably know by now, everyone learns differently, whether that is highlighting books, re-writing lecture notes or drawing huge multi-coloured mind maps, as I do. We might not all be Monica ‘Organized Freak’ Geller from Friends, but we can always pretend, so here are a few plan ideas to get the giant, miserable, boring revision ball rolling;

• Arrange your revision material – I am just finishing my second year, and only now have I finally found my desired revision technique, so trial and error was best done in A levels or first year. My preferred way of revising for essay type questions is to type out the main areas into bullet points in an introduction, main body and conclusion fashion, then print it out and attack it with highlighters.

• Create a revision timetable – Revision should (key word: should) start about ﬁve to six weeks before your exams. This time frame mainly consists of ﬁnal year students who realize you can’t get a 2:1 by playing ‘Ring of Fire’ on a Monday night whilst dressed as a Smurf.

• For problem questions, I gather textbooks and lecture notes and take out the main bits and go mind-map crazy! I have realized that I am more of a visual learner and remember colours and little pictures on mind maps better than just reading over notes.

• Your timetable should be realistic, and by realistic I mean more than two days, and should include time for a break every two or three hours - One Born Every Minute and Ross Kemp On Gangs can’t watch themselves. If you over do it, you will make it even more of a daunting experience, so my tactic is for example to ﬁnish off the page I’m on, then as a treat for ﬁnishing get a big fat cup of Typhoo and a half eaten Easter egg out of the fridge to rest that tired brain.

These techniques and ideas may not work for you but try different ways such as those mentioned and see what you prefer and what works best.

• Balance your subjects – You may adore one topic but despise another. This does not mean you ignore the evil one. Try and split your time equally on both because you never know you may be a secret champion in a subject you hate (my personal experience being European Union law FYI *yawns erupt*). •

• If you know how many questions there are in your exam, then the best thing to do is double that and concentrate on that many topics. In law, for example we have 6 questions but only have to choose 3 to answer – 3 problems and 3 essays. So ideally I would revise 6 topics fully, then if you’re an eager beaver who certainly won’t settle for less than a top ﬁrst degree, crack on with a few more, no biggie.

As much as I adore Adele and her glorious album that is 21, I have to revise in complete silence and get rid of the Cosmopolitan and Look magazines that surround me. I have to constantly remind myself that learning how to do a ﬁshtail plait will not get me a 2:1 degree. Bad times. So put down that Sambucca shot and get your heads down just for the next 6 weeks, it will pay off in the end and then you can join your exam-less chums in their continued celebration of student life and the joys that are ‘£1 a pint’ nights.

Identify key topics – This I’m assuming is the advice your lecturers and tutors may throw evils my

Home Not So Sweet Away from Home Exams done, student house tenancy nearly up, washing piled high ready for delivery back at the parents house = summer. You couldn’t get away quick enough in September ready to be parentfree, but how do you feel about going back for the summer? Excited to see your family and friends from home or dreading going back to rules and trying to be swear-free? Parents are not as excited about your return as you may initially think, here’s why; • Many of you will have been nocturnal throughout the university year and 9am just isn’t part of your day. Parents like to wake up at 6am and go to sleep at 9pm, students tend to wake up at 9pm and go to sleep at 6am. • Parents enjoy fruit, vegetables and nonalcoholic beverages for breakfast, students enjoy out-of-date Rustlers burgers, re-heated doner kebabs and Fries-to-go (these are AMAZING FYI – 3 minutes in the microwave and voila, every students dream). • Parents wear their clothes for one day only and then put them in the wash before they begin growing mould, students wear the same clothes for a week then wait until they have no more clean clothes then pile up the festering items awaiting mum’s magic washing powers. This relates to the confession my little brother actually made to me

recently – that rather than washing socks when he runs out, he simply buys more and throws the dirty ones away. Laugh out loud you may. At home your family have been enjoying full cupboards of food, tidy bathrooms and no Calvin Harris blaring from your room. They have been able to enjoy reading Jane Austin and Nigella Lawson books peacefully in the lounge with no drunken arrivals scratching at the door with their keys at 4am. Maybe your younger siblings have been able to enjoy upsizing to your old room. I’m not saying all teenagers/students are messy, dirty, drunken, sleepless yobs. What I’m trying to say is: appreciate the home cooking, the free laundry service and the ability to be Kevin & Perryesque for the next 3 months if you are venturing back home for the Summer. Growing up sucks, everyone knows it, but enjoy being carefree and blowing government dollar on useless objects and in Varsity on Thursdays until you have to ofﬁcially become an adult when university ends.

Summer Time = Spare Time? On my days off I look forward to 9:25am on ITV when Jezza and Graham grace our screens with their advice/abuse, DNA results and most juicy of all the lie detector results – where 99% of the time they fail. There’s only so many Jeremy Kyle’s you can watch before you have no faith in the cleanliness of British people anymore. That’s a sign that spare time needs to be filled and it can be filled in many ways you’ll be glad to hear. One major spare-time-filling trip I shall be going on is Uganda in August for a month. Yipee! I’m going with an organisation called East African Playgrounds and will be building a playground for local children in the community and doing reading and sports activities with them, but more will be revealed in the next Seren issue hopefully. Volunteering is an amazing thing to do whilst being a student as you have a whole summer to embark on those fantastic trips. There are hundreds of companies who organize volunteering trips abroad and also here in our home turf. You don’t need to go abroad to help out, as demonstrated by the RAG Bangor society who continuously engage in and organize events to help raise money or give to those who need help. Plus nothing looks better on your CV than a nice little chunk of

voluntary work. If you would like to get involved in volunteering with RAG or just want to ﬁnd out what they are all about then give them a call on: 01248 388021. Whilst many have well and truly taken advantage of their student overdraft (I know I have), summer can be the time to pay that back to take a slight wedge off the student debt or just to save money for the next year of nocturnal university life in the form of copious amounts of Jagerbombs, perhaps. Whether you want to make the ‘rents proud and go straight in for the kill of full-time work or just part-time, there are lots of jobs around the summertime. Many holiday parks look for sales people, bar staff and waiting on staff that is great for temporary summer work as the season usually ends about September anyway. For more help with job hunting head to the Jobzone’s online search and register for job vacancies at www.bangor.prospects.ac.uk or alternatively give them a call on 01248 388 200.

Music Music Editor, Joey McNally, brings you what’s hot and what’s not in music this month

Featured Artist:

Best tracks:

Plan B - Ill Manors “What you lookin’ at, you little rich boy?”... What’s not to like? Plan B returns to his roots in incendiary, devastating, ultrapolitical style.

Marina and the Diamonds - Primadonna Adele, Florence and the Machine, Lana Del Rey, sit down and pay attention. The Queen is back in town, and on fantastic form.

Hmm. Painfully average, but will no doubt soundtrack a thousand summer romances. Weak.

Chris Brown - Turn Up the Music *Comment removed by the Seren legal team for fear of being sued”.

B.o.B - So Good Well contrary to your misleading title Bobby, this song is not ‘so good’. In fact, ‘So Utterly, Irrevocably Boring And Dull’ would have been a much better title. The record company probably wouldn’t have liked it though.

Pravda Scrolls

elcome to the future of rock ‘n’ roll. This Scottish band from Dunfermline are here to take prisoners of chart acts everywhere and beat them with a big bag full of attitude, guitars and politics. ‘Pravda Scrolls’ starts off all heavy chords and 80’s glam-rock progression. But when the lead singer Monty cuts in with his gravelly voice, you realise that this is a bit special. This band bear more than a passing resemblance to Kasabian, and lead singer of Kasabian Tom Meighan has even said “Modern Faces remind me of us when we were young, ready and willing to do what-

a song that is nearly more silence than it is music. Swearing is a natural part of life, and of expressive art forms. I don’t know a single person who’s never uttered a swear word, and I doubt I’ll ever meet

Franz Ferdinand- You Could Have It So Much Better

he second effort from the Scottish indie kings saw them build on a hugely impressive debut, and take it to a different level altogether. ‘The Fallen’ shimmers and strides with arrogant glory, ‘Do You Want To’ hooks a beautiful riff around a catchy refrain, and peppers it with the cheeky lyrics that make this band an absolute delight. A brilliant album from start to ﬁnish. 2012 marks the return of Franz, and not a second too soon.

o n e . Swearing is a natural, colloquial part of our language, and can be used to express any variety of emotions; from elation to fury. So why mute it on daytime radio? I understand we don’t want children running around dropping ‘f’ and ‘c’ bombs, but by making them taboo we only increase their ‘coolness’ to our youngsters. When I discovered swearing didn’t make the world cave in aged eleven, I was more foul mouthed than Ozzy Osborne. It’s time to stop the big taboo over swearing, and start teaching children that you don’t need to swear to properly express your point.

Joey McNally

ever it takes for the thrill of being in a rock ‘n’ roll band”. In fact, Kasabian like this band so much that they gave them a shock support slot on one of their tours last year. You’ll certainly hear why they admire them so much in the song, as it confidently drifts from the polemic political musings of verse to the rousing, epic nature of the chorus, and back again

“Make no bones about it, this is a huge song” smoother than a marble floor, punctuated only by a stabbing staccato synth riff that persists throughout the majority of the song. It’s catchy, whilst avoiding being repetitive and hackneyed. Make no bones about it, this is a huge song. By the time Monty is shouting “Prop-

For fans of:

Classic Album:

Swearing: O-f**king-K?

n October last year, I bought a copy of NME whilst in Manchester. Whilst perusing it on the train home, I came across an article about a new artist by the name of Azealia Banks. Upon reading the praise lavished upon her, I rushed to my laptop and downloaded her song ‘212’. I’m sure you’ve heard it by now. What I heard was innovative, encapsulating and brilliant. I loved it. Then Annie Mac jumped on the bandwagon, and the song became massive. Nowadays, I’ll ﬂick my old analogue radio in the bathroom on (Radio One is the only channel we get) and hear a silenced, sanitised version of it being played by Greg James (insert other androgynous radio personality here), with all the naughty words being cut out, leaving

‘Grace’ ‘Wasted Little DJ’s’ ‘Shock Horror’

he beauty of this ramshackle Dundonian outﬁt is in the irony. For a band so remarkably rock ‘n’ roll, they manage to come up The Pigeon Detectives with moments of beauty that would The Courteeners put any mainstream ballad writing enthusiasts to shame. However, their strength lies in the absolutely devastating nature of their quickﬁre, broadly Scottish (you’ll struggle to understand the lead singer Kyle at times) rock brilliance. The perfect band to jump up and down to spilling your alcoholic drink of choice all over your friends.

Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Olly Murs - Oh My GoodMe Maybe ness I defy you not to have this slice of bubblegum pop rattling around your head in the days after you hear this. Addictive.

April Issue 2012

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aganda, a social liar” in the chorus, you’ll be hooked. It’s a hard climate for a band to enter into at the moment, as guitar bands aren’t as popular as they used to be. But with a small bit of luck, plenty of persistence and songs as good as this, you wouldn’t bet against Modern Faces succeeding.

Joey McNally

Best tracks: ‘This Boy’ ‘The Fallen’ ‘Walk Away

For fans of: The Strokes Arctic Monkeys

he highly anticipated release of Marina and the Diamond’s new single ‘Primadonna’ hit stores at the end of last week and already has received positive reviews from critics, and more importantly her fans, the ‘diamonds’. Following the success of her debut album ‘The Family Jewels’, Marina, (full name Marina Diamandis from Abergavenny, South Wales), gives her fans a new, fresh form of music. Packed with a pulsating euro beat, catchy lyrics and a chorus even the most reserved characters would seems to be taking. Primadonna is the secbust a move to, Primadonna is set to be a ond song to be released off the new album hit. It’s already clocked up over a million and is a follow YouTube views and is up to “Marina retains this certain storming up the downRadioactive, reload charts either side of uniqueness to her voice, a dialeased September the Atlantic. 2011. The heavier mond in the rough-esque qualDespite the positive dance beat and ity” response, many have club anthem criticised the direction theme hasn’t Marina’s latest music gone down well with all of her devoted diamonds. Claims that she is becoming ‘main stream’ in search of a quick success come after an interview with Australian radio station Undercover FM, where she stated “I feel pissed off I’m not bigger!” following comparisons to other female artists Rihanna and Lady Gaga. This aside, Marina retains this certain uniqueness to her voice, a diamond in the rough-esque quality and edginess to her lyrics which have won, and more importantly kept, her fans content. Much speculation continues to surround the release of her second studio album ‘Electra Heart’ due for release later this month on 30th April.

Toby Raynsford

April Issue 2012

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Music “Don’t fear, for they know how to hold on to their roots, despite the constant progression of their musical style.”

usical development has never been displayed more than by Brighton duo, Blood Red Shoes. With every new album comes a new sense of maturity, and their third release, In Time To Voices (ITTV), is no exception. The overall sound is more focused and noticeably slower compared to their fresh, punk debut, ‘Box of Secrets’ and punk/indie follow-up ‘Fire Like This’. Each track builds slowly, carried on by deep bass and chilling vocals by Carter. The first single, ‘Cold’ combines a catchy, melodic chorus with a heavy guitar sound and an impressive clash of voices from the two

hen our Music Editor, Joey, asked me to write something for him last issue I jumped at the chance to showcase my ‘L.U.V’ for Madonna. This issue I offered to follow up on my previous article now that I have my copy of the Queen of Pop’s latest album ‘MDNA’ and my tickets booked for her London gig in July. So, Madonna, have you made the shame of outing myself as one of your fans worth it? I really don’t know. The album’s ﬁrst single, that I was more than likely raving about in last month’s article, ‘Give Me All Your Luvin’, featuring Nicki Minaj and M.I.A, I have to say has gone up in my estimations. This could however, have a whole lot to do with the fact that ‘MDNA’ hardly produces much to beat it. ‘Girls Gone Wild’, the album’s second single is also the album’s best. It’s a catchy, party anthem that, despite her continuously referring to herself as a ‘girl’, we’ve come to expect from Madge in recent years. It’s one of those tracks that you keep going back to and I’m not ashamed to admit you might hear blasting from the car as me and Seren’s Editor drive around Bangor. Unlike the name connotes, though, ‘MDNA’ isn’t quite as addictive as you might ﬁrst think. When Madonna’s not trying to

hen I was a kid I never really cared about music, I would listen to whatever my Mum had on in the car and think nothing more of it. As a teenager I started to appreciate it more and soon became a fan of rock and metal. I remember the first time I was introduced to Lostprophets. I was sat watching Kerrang, the only channel that seemed to play music I liked at the time, when ‘Last Summer’ came on the TV. At the time I was probably more interested in whether the lead singer’s hair was actually blue or whether I was imagining it but after a few more listens the song grew on me.

members. The majority of the album carries an eerie ambiance filled with increasing angst and powerful melodies. If the new sound created in this venture doesn’t quite do it for you or if you were hoping for more fast-paced madness, then don’t fear, for they know how to hold on to their roots despite the constant progression of their musical style. ‘Je Me Perd’ is an explosive interlude brought on by 6 fairly subdued predecessors (at least by comparison). This intense wake up call is an essential part to this album and personally one of my favourite tracks, its heavy sound and desperate lyrics gave me an excuse to get really excited about In Time To Voices. The tracks that follow, ‘Stop Kicking’ and ‘Slip Into Blue’ are solid contenders but the latter stages of ITTV sadly takes the relaxed ma-

assure us all she’s still young enough to be at least mistaken for a girl she’s angrily singing about her ex-husband Guy Ritchie. In fact my current personal favourite track ‘Gang Bang’ sees 53 year old Madonna telling us how she shot her lover in the head. This, believe it or not, is not the reason I’m currently loving it though. ‘Gang Bang’ starts off more than repetitive as she sings about shooting, who one can only presume to be, Ritchie before heading off into some random drum and bass breakdown followed by Madonna talking about what she’s going to do to him. “I’m gonna shoot him in the head again, cause I wanna see him die, over and over and over and over...” And believe me it is ‘over and over and over again’. It’s hilarious though and I love it when she talks, it just reafﬁrms how bored she seems to be of singing after what’s already been a lengthy career. The worst parts of the album come with ‘I F***ed up’ which is Madge slowing everything down to tell us she’s sorry. Quite frankly Madonna, I’ve heard it all before. If you’re brave enough to listen long enough for the bonus tracks then you will encounter the gem that is ‘B-Day Song’. I don’t know whether Madonna is trying to follow in Rihanna’s

And now, four albums later I’m still a Lostprophets fan. The band has changed quite a lot in the last eight years or so. The new album, ‘Weapons’, sees the band slowly moving back to their old grungy, hardcore ways but still sees the calmer, radio-friendly songs that we’ve gotten used to from ‘Liberation Transmission’ in 2006; an album which topped the UK album charts, a first for the ‘prophets. Opening with, the now Radio One familiar, ‘Bring ‘Em Down’ there’s a strong return to the band’s rock roots and continues into the riff (and chant) heavy ‘We Bring an Arsenal’ . Once you’ve been hooked in and tricked into thinking this is the ‘prophets of old the album moves into the slower ‘Another Shot’. You know those songs that seem to be on albums just to fill in a bit of time? The ones that never make it as singles and are never the one you expect to be the next single? Well, the next couple of songs on ‘Weapons’ are those. I have to admit that my hopes for the album’s middle were revived with the intro riff to ‘A Song For Where I’m From’, but that was only momentarily. By track seven (there’s only ten tracks), we’re finally back in single territory with ‘Better Off Dead’ which, like ‘Bring ‘Em Down’ has the feel of the old Lostprophets albums but with something new added to it. Overall ‘Weapons’ isn’t a bad album, it’s already gone to number 1 in the rock album charts and number 9 in the UK album charts which isn’t bad. It lacks the

turity to unwanted levels, easily forgettable are the final two songs of this album. ‘Down Here In The Dark’ has a decent chorus but is massively let down by the dreary verse and seemingly endless repetition of “oh oh oh” by the otherwise brilliant Carter and ‘7 Years’ ends Blood Red Shoes’ third record in a familiarly drawn-out fashion. Overall I enjoyed ITTV, the experience gained from the previous two albums is realised here with better production and lyrics. I particularly appreciated their ability to take a slow paced song and build it perfectly to create memorable anthems.

Sean Talbot

footsteps with a birthday related song but I sure as hell hope not. I do not want to hear an extended version of this track ever. I feel as though its about time I stop slating ‘MDNA’ because there are a few decent songs on it. ‘Masterpiece’, a song Madonna has used in the credits of the movie she directed earlier this year, W.E., is a slow paced and all round nice song to listen to. ‘Beautiful Killer’, another bonus track, almost makes up for ‘B-Day Cake’ and feels like just the right balance of new and old Madonna. All in all there are much worse albums on the market than ‘MDNA’ which did go straight to number one in the album charts only to be predicted an 88% drop in sales in its second week, which would probably be embarrassing if it really mattered to Madonna’s already established reputation. While ‘MDNA’ wasn’t really what I had hoped for I have to say its mostly what I expected and I’m still looking forward to my bankrupting visit to Hyde Park to see Madge in the Summer. Well, apart from the fact that LMFAO will be supporting.

LJ Taylor head-banging aggression and enthusiasm of the ‘Start Something’ album that introduced me to Lostprophets back in 2005 and it doesn’t quite have the more rock pop, chirpy feel of ‘Liberation Transmission’. ‘Weapons’ reaffirms the band’s alternative roots but shows their maturity with more meaningful lyrics and more radio friendly tracks.

LJ Taylor

April Issue 2012

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or those who aren’t aware, The Hunger Games is the latest young adult novel to get the Hollywood treatment. The Hunger games was written by Suzanne Collins and was published in 2008. This is the first of a three part series. The book was well received by critics and authors such as Stephen King and Stephanie Meyer have both praised it. In 2009 Lionsgate acquired the rights to distribute the film and on March 23rd 2012, the film was released worldwide. The Hunger Games takes place after the destruction of North America by an apocalyptic event in the nation of Panem. Panem consists of the wealthy capitol, which is surrounded by twelve poorer districts. After the uprising in Panem, a reaping is held where one boy and one girl from each district must compete in the Hunger Games. During the Hunger Games each contestant must fight until only one is left. The film follows the story of Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), the District Twelve tribute as she volunteers to replace her sister in the annual games. The second District Twelve tribute is Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), the son of a baker and someone Katniss has known since childhood.

The film is two hours and twenty-two minutes long and is a great adaptation of the book. The film is strong for its length and it really does deliver goose bump moments and heart wrenching moments. The audience stays with Katniss throughout her journey and it is rare that you want to look away. Jennifer Lawrence‘s portrayal of Katniss as a strong and feisty yet still scared sixteen year old is perfect for audiences to fall in love with and you certainly encourage her all of the way. It could be argued that some parts of the film do drag a little but that could be due to how much needs to be told to get across the whole story. Fans of the original trilogy should be happy with the film version and non-fans should definitely step out to see this entertaining yet heart filled story. The cast of The Hunger Games is truly great. Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are joined by Liam Hemsworth as Katniss’ District Twelve friend Gale, Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket, escort to the tributes of District Twelve, Lenny Kravitz as stylist Cinna, Donald Sutherland as Panem President Snow and finally Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy, a former District Twelve tribute who went on to

icking off the Easter holidays, The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists is the first 3D-stop motion film produced by Aardman Animations, the producers of other family favourites such as Chicken Run, Flushed Away and Arthur Christmas. Released on 28th March, the complicated stop motion system means that the film has been in production for over five years (it takes a week to shoot 5 seconds of film), and it definitely does not disappoint. The Pirates! follows the adventures of the ambitious Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) and his crew, which includes his second mate The Pirate with a Scarf (Martin Freeman), The Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate (Ashley Jenson) and a fish with a hat. Pirate Captain’s life dream is to win the coveted Pirate of the Year Award, but unfortunately, he’s rather hopeless at being a pirate, especially compared to his nemesis Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven). He gets his chance when they hijack the Beagle and meet Charles Darwin (David Tennant), who informs the captain that the ship’s parrot, Polly, is not a parrot at all, but is in fact the world’s last living dodo. With this knowledge, Pirate Captain sets

off on a plan to present Polly to the Royal Society in London, and win enough treasure to secure his place as Pirate of the Year - all the while avoiding Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton), who is famous for her hatred of pirates. The Pirates! has a fantastic voice cast, featuring some of the biggest names in British cinema; Hugh Grant was brilliant as the enthusiastic but self-doubting Pirate Captain, David Tennant’s turn as Charles Darwin (who is desperate for a girlfriend) was especially hilarious, and the performance of the supporting cast really brought the characters and the jokes to life. A special mention also goes to Brian Blessed’s superb cameo as the Pirate King. The humour is very typical of Aardman, and will draw many comparisons with their other productions, such as Wallace and Gromit, but it works. The jokes are slick and genuinely funny, for children and for adults, and the ﬁlm is worth seeing alone for the wealth of background detail

he sequel to Clash of the Titans, Wrath of the Titans is set ten years later where we see demigod Perseus (Sam Worthington), slayer of the Kraken and son of Zeus, living a quiet life with his young son Helius as a fisherman after his wife sadly died. One night, Zeus (Liam Neeson) visits Perseus asking for his aid in stopping a horrific prophecy coming to pass. With mankind moving away from the Gods, they’re beginning to weaken, losing their powers and becoming mortal themselves. This has triggered the walls of Tartarus, the Titan prison located in the Underworld, to weaken, therefore allowing the inevitable escape of Kronos and the rest of the Titans. Perseus however denies Zeus’ request in order to remain with his son but quickly changes his mind when it becomes clear that the prophecy is starting to play out. Perseus soon finds himself on a journey with old friend Queen Andromeda (Rosamund

win the games and now mentors. The fandom of The Hunger Games has already drawn comparisons to that of Harry Potter and Twilight. The film broke records for its non-sequel midnight opening by taking $19.47 million at the box office. This ranks it seventh of all time. It also scored the top midnight debut for a non-sequel and it beat Twilight by almost double. It has been reported that The Hunger Games opening weekend has earned a historic $155 million during its FridaySunday showings. This has beaten all of the Spider Man movies, all of The Pirates of the Caribbean movies and all of the Twilight movies. People need to see The Hunger Games even if it just to see what all the fuss is about. The story is clever, the characters are loveable and the end result is great. If you really want something to sink your teeth into after the end of Harry Potter and upcoming end of Twilight, then definitely sit down and enjoy The Hunger Games. With its sequel, Catching Fire set for release in November 2013, The Hunger Games craze and excitement is something that is bound to grow and grow.

Amy Westlake

that is put into the shots. No other studio would think of a pirate having a Blue Peter badge on his hat, and audiences should look out for the extra puns and gags on street signs, buildings and walls in the back of shots (a personal favourite is Napoleon Blownapart’s Dynamite and GunpowderSupplies). However, despite a strong start, the plot starts to drag towards the end of the film as it tries to wrap up the many plotlines before the 88 minutes were up, something which not even Queen Victoria with ninja swords could save. But despite the pacing issues in the final half hour o f the film, this film is definitely worth a viewing. The artistry and detail put into The Pirates! is phenomenal, and if Aardman’s type of humour appeals to you, this movie will have you cracking up. The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists is a great film for kids and grown ups alike, and is a brilliant

Pike) and Poseidon’s demigod son Agenor (Toby Kebbell) to stop the Titans from destroying mankind itself. Although Clash of the Titans seemed to disappoint most of its audience, it didn’t disappoint me. Maybe it’s my love for Greek Mythology and action movies, but I found the movie entertaining and watchable, though not an Oscar winner by any means. The same opinion goes for Wrath of the Titans, though I will admit that I found it more enjoyable. The CGI in the sequel was much better than it’s predecessor, where Medusa looked like something you would find on a video game rather than in a Hollywood movie. However, in Wrath of the Titans, the CGI was used fantastically, especially with the monsters such as the two-bodied demon soldiers, the Chimera and Kronos and my only quibble with it was that something more could have been done with the Minotaur, which didn’t live up to my expectations. The cast were fabulous as always, with Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes, as Hades, being at the top of the list of course. However, one character who I didn’t suppose I would like so much was Agenor, played by Toby Kebbell, who brought to the role a twisted sense of humour and wit which was immensely enjoyable and lightened the mood of the film when needed. While the film dragged in some places and felt rushed

Rebecca Watson

in others, it was still in my opinion an action p a c k e d m o v i e to watch although the ending wasn’t what I thought it would be and seemed a little unrealistic, in mythology aspects. Anyway, if you’re sitting on the fence about seeing it, best wait until it comes out on DVD or rent as an ideal way to pass the time considering it’s only about an hour and a half long, but if you do decide to see it whilst it’s in cinema, be sure to see it in 3D. The action scenes are well worth it.

Nicola Hoban

April Issue 2012

fter nine seasons, 184 episodes, three weddings, six births, three psychos, three murders and one suicide One Tree Hill is about to air its final episodes. The Show debuted in the US in 2003 and has attracted millions of viewers. Originally One Tree Hill followed the lives of half brothers Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) and Nathan (James Lafferty) living in the fictional town of Tree Hill, who compete for positions on their school basketball team (The Ravens). Their relationship then evolved from soulless enemies to loyal siblings. The audience was then taken through the whirlwind romances of Lucas and Peyton (Hilarie Burton), Lucas and Brooke (Sophia Bush) and Nathan and Haley (Bethany Joy Galeotti). By the time the show reached season five, creator Mark Schwan decided to jump four years ahead in time to show the characters lives in college and by the start of season seven the show had jumped another fourteen months ahead of time showing the lives of the characters in adulthood as parents and businessmen/ women. The main young cast of One Tree Hill were accompanied by some great older actors including Moira Kelly, Paul Johannson, Craig Sheffer, Barry Corbin and Barbar Alyn Woods. Audiences were even treated to many music artists performing live including Fall Out Boy, Jack’s Mannequinn, Tyler Hilton and Sheryl Crow. After six seasons, it was announced that Chad Michael Murray and Hilarie Burton would not be returning to the show therefore season six would mark the last time that the

original cast would be together. Arguably seasons seven and eight were the less popular of the shows run. It seemed that the writers had begun to recycle old storylines instead of bringing in new stories. Storylines such as the one which included psycho Derek from season four was reused in season six with the introduction of Nanny Carrie. The idea of reintroducing Karen’s Café in season eight also seemed problematic as it looked as if the show was trying to revert back to its old ways. Also reinventing the theme song was a bad idea (in my opinion), With Gavin DeGraw’s ‘I Dont Wanna Be’ opening the show for four seasons, it was decided that new artists would sing the song....and that shouldn’t have been done! Season Nine began on its English home E4 on 5th March 2012 and is a thirteen episode season. As someone who has previewed the current season it is easy to say that One Tree Hill is back on form and season nine can be looked at as another great season. With more twists and turns, the death of an important character, the reintroduction of a great character and the short and one off return of a missed character, the writers are giving its audience the opportunity to go out with a bang. It will be a sad day when One Tree Hill ultimately finishes and the CW has already announced that there will be a two-hour season finale with cast and crew reminiscing over the past nine years (it is yet unknown if this will be shown in the UK but it will likely appear on the DVD). One Tree HIll started before The O.C and lasted longer than Lost which proves its popularity with audiences. One Tree Hill has been a loved show and has reached audiences of up to 4.3 million people of all ages. The last ever episode is a tear jerker so if you are a One Tree Hill fan then have tissues at the ready. Even though it’s the end of its TV run, fans will be able to relive the show via DVD. The ending of the show is the end of an era and fans around the world only need to remember one thing…..there is only One Tree Hill.

Amy Westlake

ast year a new show hit our screens, a medieval fantasy epic filled with palace intrigue, blood, sex and a multitude of poisonous, conniving characters. No, it wasn’t last year’s Apprentice; it was Game of Thrones. Based upon the best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series by author George R.R. Martin, the show splattered into the top spot held for those special shows which are both critically acclaimed and loved by a wide range of audiences; and this year it’s back for an eagerly anticipated second season. By the end of the first season the land of Westeros had been plunged into war, the great Houses had begun scheming their way to the top, viewers were reeling from a few mindnumbingly shocking deaths and everyone loathed Joffrey. As ‘The North Remembers’, the first episode of the second season, begins we are shown the domino-like after effects of last season. There are now five men calling themselves King, each with their own claim to the throne whether it be through blood, promise or warfare. The eponymous north men, led by newly crowned King of the North Robb Stark, are cutting down through the Seven Kingdoms after defeating the Lannisters in several battles; theirs is a war of vengeance and honour as those who have seen the first season will know. Back up North, past the Wall, we see Jon Snow and the Night’s Watch making their way further into the snowy wilderness that is the domain of Wildlings and White Walkers. The Lannisters, richest of the Houses, hold the capital; a hot coastal city, roiling with filth and refugees from the battles. Into this rats nest Tyrion Lannister, the imp, has been sent by his father to help govern the Kingdoms and make sure that the young King Joffrey doesn’t do any-

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thing stupid again. Tyrion is, perhaps, the heart of the show. Played by Peter Dinklage (who won an Emmy for his performance last year), he exudes a wisecracking wit whilst being fiercely intelligent and ruthless. His entrance at the beginning of the episode is a punch-the-air moment as he deftly slaps his nephew, the King, down a few pegs with a few words and a cunning smile. One of the things this show succeeds at is introducing new characters and engraining them into the story without the audience realising they’ve not been there since the beginning. Our first look at Stannis Baratheon, another claimant to the throne, is at a beach on his island fortress; at night him and his mysterious new advisor Melisandre, a priestess of a strange new religion, have the giant statues of the Seven (the official gods of Westeros) burnt. In this one scene we see just how far Stannis, a sullen yet decisive man, is willing to go to get the throne he believes is his right. The second episode, ‘The Night Lands’, shows us more of Daenerys, the exiled princess, and her struggle to reach a safe haven in the deserts of a distant land. It also finely establishes the Iron Islands and their Viking-like outlook on life, we finally see Ayra in her escape from the Lannisters clutches and there’s plenty more blood, sex and ruthless politics. This is a series full of sharp twists, extremely unsavoury events (such as the end scene of the first episode) and a whole host of characters who look, feel and act real; characters you can get involved with and fear for their lives in this dangerous world. Seven hells, this is a series that you need to watch.

Luke Dobson

it the Road Jack is Jack Whitehall’s attempt to move his career forward to T.V. personality from “that posh one”, who appears on panel shows such as Mock the Week or 8 out of 10 Cats. Other stand up comedians have had their own shows but does Jack match the standard of these household names? Well, he certainly has a good go at it. Jack entered the comedy circuit wowing audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, following with appearances on panel shows alongside well established stand up comedians. He used his middle class background to his advantage and turned it into his strength, making fun of himself and his upbringing. This gave him a distinctive voice which he uses to bring his own brand of public school boy tomfoolery to our television screens. Jack really made a name for himself when he again embraced his ‘little posh boy’ image and exaggerated it, for his part as J.P in Channel 4’s comedy Fresh Meat. The recipe for Hit the Road Jack is a mixture of hidden camera sketches, chat show, stand up, music and reality documentary segments. I applaud Jack for trying to showcase all his skills, but for a 25 minute programme it seems a bit too much. Jack visits different parts of the UK, where the show is recorded locally and a celebrity from the area is invited on for a chat. He also stays with a local family and they set him tasks to see if he can fit in with the locals. For the opening programme, Jack was in Wales, where Ruth Jones was invited for a chat, that lasted for only a couple of minutes. Then the segment is shown where Jack stays with a Welsh family, where to fit in, he sings

he second season of AMC’s The Walking Dead has certainly had more ups and downs than a rollercoaster; events have rocked between fast paced, nail biting tension, shocking, emotional twists and far less endearing moments of inertia and stagnation. The extension from six to thirteen episodes, as well as the introduction of a new, apparently permanent camp at the Greene Family Farm, seemed to provide a golden opportunity to explore the human side of the apocalypse. Whereas season one appeared solely focused on the fight for survival against the constant presence of the undead, the increased length of season two would allow writers to develop the characters and examine the moral questions and repercussions that this constant struggle to survive would bring. And whilst this certainly seems to have been the intention, I can’t help but feel that the writers fell somewhat short of the mark. Despite having a cast of over fifteen characters, little to no effort was made to develop the majority of them; characters like T-Dog and Patricia exist as non-entities, lacking any decisive action or even dialogue, making me wonder why they are there in the first place? For me it feels like the writers have really struggled to create strong, interesting, or even just likeable characters. Lori in particular has been a source of controversy; not only is her attitude to gender roles incredibly sexist, but she is so erratic in her views and behaviour regarding Shane and Rick that she is often hard to follow, and almost impossible to understand. And the less said about Carl the better. Nevertheless, when the writers got the characterisation and story arcing right they got it spot on. Their divergence form the canon of the comic books has been refreshing, for me, series antagonist Shane Walsh (who was killed off six issues into the comics) stole the show, his rapid downward spiral into primal survival mode allowed an intriguing exploration into the psychological effects of the breakdown of civilisation. His compulsive and totalitarian approach to the apocalypse drove

with a male voice Welsh choir, and appears on a local Welsh soap. Each segment only lasts a few minutes and the show feels very rushed. I would have liked to have seen more of his stay with the local family for example. The series does seem to get better as it goes on. In Newcastle, Jack dons a wig and fake nose to pose as a movie director, recruiting Geordie Shore cast members for the imaginary film “Bees 3D”. He manages to extract gold from them, as a female cast member admits she hasn’t read Shakespeare, “I read Katie Price. Katie Price is Shakespeare for girls.” In Glasgow, Jack is joined by actors John Hannah, and fellow Fresh Meat co-star Greg McHugh. Upon discussing the famous fried food of Glasgow, John Hannah states “You have to have something that you can eat in the rain, and the rain will run off.” – seems logical. The best bit of the show has to be Jack’s Dad ;Mr Whitehall senior is filmed, having had a bit to drink, and is asked his opinion about the different regions that Jack is visiting, and how Jack will fare in each. As a result of this we warm to Jack further as his Dad rips him apart saying he wouldn’t survive in Glasgow, and rants about how disappointed he and Jack’s mother are at him for not finishing University, and proceeds to rub it in that his sister has exceeded him in that respect. Whether you like Jack or not, his show is worth a watch. You have the jokes, but it’s also entertaining to see Jack embarrassed in a variety of ways. How can you not like a guy who is willing to put himself in such humiliating situations? Catch Hit the Road Jack, on Tuesdays, Channel 4 at 10.30pm.

Heather Boyles

the bulk of the interpersonal conflicts; his constant clashes with Dale and Rick surrounding the murder of Otis and the inevitable fate of Randall were brilliantly brutal, and provided the backdrop for the key questions of the morality of survival. But one thing that I feel really sets this show apart from the random maiming and carnage of your usual zombie film is that it is capable of being poignant and emotional. Dale’s death was both completely unexpected and heart wrenching, demonstrating the powerful reactions that can be evoked when the writers take the time to properly invest in a character. Scenes such as Dale’s horrifying death clearly illustrates how the series has gone from strength to strength in delivering the gruesome action sequences that define the zombie genre. Regardless of the internet trolls who ridicule the ‘amateur’ special effects, I think this season has had some of the best gore on TV; the walker who ripped his face apart clawing through the windshield of Lori’s wrecked car, and the walker whose head was so delightfully and revoltingly squashed beneath the wheels of the getaway car have provided memorable talking points and a triumph in digital effects. The farm setting has received a lot of flack for being the cause of stagnation within the show, but I’m more tempted to point the finger at the massive pacing problems that dogged this season as a result of the hiring and firing backstage. Whilst I feel The Walking Dead is still falling short of its true potential as a result of this. However, season 2 has still made for compulsive viewing, and I have high hopes for the future. The dramatic step up in action and number of plot threads after Glen Mazzara’s takes over as show runner has made me even more anxious for season 3, Rick’s ominous declaration that “this isn’t a democracy anymore” looks like the dawn of a new era for the show, the new ‘ricktatorship’ and the introduction of the eagerly anticipated characters of the comic book, will hopefully guarantee that season 3 will be even more turbulent and thrilling.

Sophie Smith

April Issue 2012

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t feels like I’m forever writing about one Assassin’s Creed or the other but I feel it can’t really be helped. The new instalment of Ubisoft’s popular series was officially confirmed by the company back in February of this year and was soon followed by the debut trailer hitting the internet on 5th March. All one and a half minutes of footage comprise of a cinematic only, much like previous debut trailers from the series, but it is unclear whether the clip will feature within the game. With Assassin’s Creed 3 we will skip just under two hundred years, finding ourselves in the heart of the American Revolution (1753) and in control of a new assassin. Leaving behind Ezio, the protagonist in the past three games, Assassin’s Creed 3 follows a young man, half-English and half-Mohawk, known as Connor

Kenway (his birth name however is Ratohnhaké:ton). The new assassin is drawn into the ever-raging fight between the Assassin’s and the Templar’s when white colonialists invade his home. The game is set to chronicle thirty years of Connor’s life. So what’s new? Remember the famous ‘leap of faith’ that made you feel as though you were on a rollercoaster as you jumped from a high building? Well, with AC3 it’s been upgraded so our assassin can now do a ‘leap of faith’ onto a moving object. Straying away from the beautifully crafted buildings of Renaissance Italy, Assassin’s Creed 3 takes Connor into the Frontier land of early America where climbing the Sistine Chapel is replaced with clambering up trees and sneaking across snowy branches in the series’ biggest landscape to date. The weather is also focused on much more in the game, this time giving extreme snow, rain and fog that the player will have to adapt to play around. Also, integrated into the game will be the ability to hunt and kill animals in order to trade and earn more money; though there is the possibility of the animals hunting you instead! One of the biggest flaws with the previous Assassin’s Creed games was the fighting mechanics. The games were about an assassin but when said assassin got in a fight it could tend to be rather unsatisfying. Ubisoft promise to have redone the combat mechanics for their latest release and will include new weapons such as Connor’s Native American inspired tomahawk and the addition of a musket for those longer ranged attacks. I’ve always found that Assassin’s Creed games don’t live up to my expectations when it comes to the visuals. Revelations’ cinematic trailer was breathtakingly beautiful but gameplay graphics and the

majority of cutscenes have never quite lived up. With 200 more bones in each character the movement and overall graphics promise to be vastly improved in AC3 which should hopefully make gameplay seem even more ﬂuid. We’re still a while away from the ofﬁcial release date, October 31st, but so far AC3 is shaping up to be just as good as, if not better than, its predecessors. Either way I’m sure you’ll hear more from us once we get our hands on a copy.

LJ Taylor

’m going to get the big questions out of the way right now. Is Mass Effect 3 worth your time and money? Does the ending make me want to riddle this review with expletives? Has yet another single-player game been ruined by the forced addition of multiplayer? In order, the answers are: definitely, *censored*, and surprisingly, no. ME3 is not without its flaws, but it has solid gameplay and a virtually unmatched narrative, though you will only truly appreciate the latter if you’ve played the first two. If that was all you wanted to hear, go buy it already. Otherwise, read on.

he online strategy game, League of Legends was released during autumn 2009 and is a game which requires the player to have quick reﬂexes and excellent teamwork abilities. Overall, the game itself is very simple but also complex at the same time, for reasons which will be explained later. The main aim of the game is to destroy the enemy nexus, however it is not all that simple to complete. Defending the nexus are three lanes of towers which are dangerous when you approach them, it is therefore essential that you gather the minions (creeps) that are spawned throughout the game, in order to build a strong team to aid you in overcoming the enemy nexus. The summoner is a device which allows level progression in the game. Each individual player begins at level 1 and can play games up to level 30 where they can earn inﬂuence points to buy champions and runes to customise them during play. Do not worry about not having any champions when you start, there is always the free champions of the week. For those too impatient to earn these points, Riot points can be purchased with real money and can be used to buy champions straight away, where you can also buy different skins for the champion as well. Although this can be a pricey way to play the game, it is entirely up to you whether you purchase them and it must be emphasised that

As the third game in a trilogy, a review of Mass Effect 3 requires comparisons to the first two games. Mass Effect (insert invisible “1” here) is one of my favourite games of all time, and I felt that Mass Effect 2 was, in many ways, a crushing disappointment of a sequel. So, if you were much more impressed with ME2, take my comparisons with the appropriate amount of salt. Mass Effect 3 had three significant gameplay changes that are worth discussing, two of which were vast improvements, one of which was less so. Those of us that favoured powers over shooting in ME2 will remember that it was extremely annoying due to the shared cooldown timer, which forced you to use your gun way more than you wanted to. ME3 drastically reduces this timer to the point where I really only had to fire my weapon in particularly hairy moments of combat. This is a bigger deal for the power-focused classes, but everyone will enjoy breaking out the fancy abilities more often. The other rather significant positive change was the morality system. The familiar paragon/ renegade bars are still there, but they now stack, rather than opposing one another, so a player is no longer punished for playing honestly and choosing the good/evil option as appropriate, instead of deciding at the beginning which way to go, and then sticking with that throughout. A tiny step forward was the new resource mechanic. ME2 had players scanning planets and launching probes. This was tiresome and dull, no matter how many times you “probed

you can complete the game for free by unlocking everything apart from the skins, however this may take a very long time. In actual, live gameplay, there are a whole host of different champions with different roles during the battle, from beefy tanks designed to take damage to the little appreciated supporters who contribute signiﬁcantly in unseen ways. Each time a game begins the champion starts at level 1 and progresses to level 18, gaining a new skill each level. Each role comes together in mass team ﬁghts where tactics and positioning are paramount. Tanks are placed at the fore and the squishy magic casters and ranged physical damage dealers, also known as ‘carries’, in the back trying to kill the other team. The game rewards careful gameplay and capitalising on the mistakes the other team makes, such as being out of position or going into the jungle between the lanes and getting ambushed. Killing the minions or creeps with the killing blow is the main income for the players in the battles and these allow the buying of items which will help the character be more effective. Killing champions on killing sprees will give the killer additional gold as will assisting in the kill. That’s a lot of kills there. There are other

Uranus”. ME3 still has the probes, but it is much easier to find valuable spots as you can scan multiple planets at a time. It still resulted in the galaxy feeling much smaller than it did in ME1, though, where you could pilot a shuttle around random worlds. Other than the above, ME3 does not deviate much from the formula; very generic coverbased shooting intermixed with extremely wellwritten and voice-acted dialogue contained in an epic galactic story. Mass Effect probably has some of the best realized characters in any narrative ever, and the way it handles them is always realistic. The two homosexual romantic options, for example, are not defined in the least by their orientation. It is mentioned once in conversation and never brought up itself. If you pursue them, you have plenty of personality to base it on, not just their love of your private bits. While I will spoil nothing, the story deserves more of a mention. Characters from both previous games make appearances, and everyone’s personality has grown in a very natural fashion. Hard choices are made, and you will see your fair share of sacrifice in the name of the greater good (the most heartbreaking moment in the game is about a third of the way in). Even with the horrid ending, this is still one of the best stories ever written, and is all the more powerful because you experience it, rather than just reading or watching. As I mentioned, the multiplayer is surprisingly good. As a single-player trilogy up until now, the

objectives apart from the t o w e r s and the nexus such as the jungle buffs, dragon (which gives additional gold and experience to the champions) and ﬁnally Baron Nashor, a giant pink worm coming out of the ground which when killed gives the team a huge buff, gold and experience. Team ﬁghts can and will happen around these objectives. The game is very colourful with champion abilities having varied effects and colours, which may cause confusion at times but once seen a few times, can easily be recognised. The controls used when playing the game are quite simple, where players are required only to use the mouse and four keys to do almost everything in game. Overall, this is an easy game to pick up but can take time to master. A word of warning though, there is a

addition initially stunk of a cop-out for a shooter audience, but the multiplayer is definitely worth your time. The matching is quick and efficient, the layout is simple, it has just enough variety to be interesting, but keeps everything balanced, and best of all, playing the multiplayer has single-player benefits. It is non-essential, but useful; the best kind of pointless addition. Okay, I’ve avoided it long enough; let’s talk ending. The fact that the story is so well done, and the universe so well developed, makes the way the ending is handed to you all the more of a kick in a particularly uncomfortable place. For a series of games based around choice, where every little thing you did was recorded and often referenced later in the game (or even in subsequent games), to have the ending boil down to one single decision that is identical, irrespective of anything you’d done to get to that point, felt like a cheat. Even worse, the ending provides no closure; no answers, no results, no tying up of all the loose ends. For those of us that spent three games growing attached to many of these characters, it leaves a bitter taste to know nothing of their fate. The saving of the galaxy is small consolation. I hate to end on a downer, but that is how the game is. It is hours upon hours of fun questing supported by a strong story, and then it falls apart in the last ten minutes. My advice is this: buy it, play through it, taking your sweet time before doing the final mission, and then, when the big ultimate choice is given to you, stop. Just save your game and turn it off. Imagine in your head what your choice would have been, and what all the consequences would be. It will be more satisfying. Of course, you could always just wait until summer, when Bioware has promised explanatory ending DLC.

Adam Pazdor

competitive edge in this gaming community and it has been regarded as one of the most unfriendly communities in the online gaming universe, as some players can be somewhat negative to others who have had a particularly bad game. This is a major problem with the game at the moment but it should not put you off an otherwise fantastic game.

Raymond Ho

April Issue 2012

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Is Android Eating Apple? S

o I saw the HTC One X (the latest phone in the Android phone range with the most recent Android software known as Ice Cream Sandwich) at the local 3 store and, to be honest, like any other smartphone user who’s also a fan of Android (known by many as a ‘F-android’) it’s my dream phone. I mean, who puts a quad-core 1.5 Ghz processor in a phone? Probably a genius; it is seriously stronger than your average laptop. According to statistics, nearly a million Android devices are activated every day. The Apple iPhone 4S became a super hit with the highest sales of any smartphone when it was launched yet we still see Android with the highest market share; it’s becoming the People’s favourite. We cannot blame a legend’s demise for the loss of market share when it comes to Apple but the fact that this company was monopolizing on the IOS and its ever-new updates and

versions. However, when Android came into the market they used innovation to their advantage but they made a smart move in making their software very economic in nature. An Android phone, be it LG, Motorola, Samsung, HTC or Sony, can all be charged from the same charger. In fact, the other day I used my old Nokia express USB cord attached with my Sony Ericsson Android charger and ended up charging my phone without a glitch! Yet when it comes to the iPhone you need an Apple charger and if we talk about price differences between an Android phone’s accessories compared to the ones needed for an iPhone, it’s obvious which one is almost criminally expensive. Today, one can buy an Android-enabled smartphone for as low as £80 but for an iPhone you need a few hundred pounds. Not cool. If we look at the Applications markets; iPhone had a stronghold when games like ‘Temple Run’ and photo-sharing apps like ‘Instagram’ were myths for Android, until they were released on the latter recently. Today, Play Store or the Android App Market has more downloads than any other market that exists in the digital world. Most importantly, all Android phones run on the same

software and versions, whereas the layout on every one of them (with respect to their make) is different. For instance, Sony Ericsson’s Arc’s look is completely different from Samsung’s Galaxy SII. There are newer updates and versions available on every Android device these days, all boasting exciting and surprising features making them attractive and innovative day by day; yet still affordable. However, the iPhone sticks to the same software, with only minor increments in fresh updates. It took them until iOS5 to have just some of the features Android had carried for years. Android remains the affordable choice for people, yet Apple remains the biggest brand. One could say that Android has the most chance of dominating the smart phone market in the future. To be fair, everyone in this fast world deserves an affordable and easy to use device.

Nayab Khan

Facebook Purchases Instagram W

ith almost every phone having an integrated camera these days, everyone is taking pictures of everything at anytime. That’s one of the main reasons why camera apps have become so popular on smartphones with one in particular becoming a favourite among users; Instagram. Providing more than just photo editing tools, Instagram allows users to set up an account and then put different filters on their photos to give them a new look and feel whether that be something vintage or simply something to enhance them. Your photos are then uploaded to your Instagram profile and can be viewed by your followers who can then ‘like’ a photo or comment on it. Up until recently, the beginning of this month, Instagram was only available to iOS users; those who own an iPhone, iPod touch or an iPad. Only available on Apple’s operating system Instagram managed to rack up 30 million users and then it was unleashed on Android users and within just the first 12 hours of being available on the Android market had signed up over 1 million users. Just a week later it was announced that social networking giant, Facebook, had purchased Instagram for $1 billion. The most interesting thing about this reveal was that Facebook have never purchased anything so expensive before, and according to owner Mark Zuckerberg the company probably never would purchase anything like it again. A statement on his Facebook read “This is an important milestone for Facebook because it’s the first time we’ve ever acquired a product and company with so many users” and continued, “But providing the best photo sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook and we knew it would be worth bringing these two companies together.”

Zuckerberg then went on to state, more clearly, that “We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all” in reference to buying a company for so much money. Facebook’s previous purchases, location-based social network Gowalla towards the end of last year and Hot Potato back in 2010, cost them tens of millions - nowhere near to the 1 billion mark of Instagram. So why has Zuckerberg’s Facebook purchased Instagram, an app which is free to download, out of everything that social media has to offer? Not too long ago Facebook updated their policy on photos making it so that the moment you posted a photo on the site it became their property, presumably this is what will happen with any Instagram photos if the app is integrated into the social networking site itself. However, Facebook have stated that they have no plans to do this with the recently acquired company and instead look to advance Instagram and its services as an individual separate from Facebook. Instagram themselves were also keen to state that being bought by Facebook did not mean that the brand we be going anywhere. A number of users have criticised the fact that Facebook’s mobile app, on all platforms, is not up to scratch for that of such a big company and so it has been speculated that the purchase of Instagram could have something to do with improving their mobile application. It is still unclear though whether the company actually intend to use Instagram in a way that would enhance Facebook or whether they do wish to simply do, as they say, and improve Instagram and get it available to even more people across a number of different platforms.

LJ Taylor

very so often I’m ﬂicking through the desktops on my iPhone and realise that there’s really nothing at all exciting on there and subsequently end up browsing the App Store. A couple weeks ago I came across a cute little app named ‘Pair’, I clicked on it to explore it a little more. At this point the main selling point was that it wasn’t actually for sale, it was free. It didn’t take long for me to discover that Pair, just another of the hundreds of social networking apps available on the iPhone, was speciﬁcally designed for people in a long distance relationship. So naturally me and Aaron (Seren’s Editor), who live in the same house, Pair-ed (mostly for the hilarity of it). Pair has been a delight so far with it’s particular highlight being when I originally invited Aaron to ‘pair’ with me and his phone presented him with the message “LJ wants to use Juliet with you”. We still don’t know exactly what it meant by that. So what exactly can Pair provide that simply messaging, or another social networking app, can’t? While the messaging on Pair is pretty much the same as it is on anything else the app does integrate a few cool features to help you feel closer to your loved one, or housemate in the next room. Photos can be taken from within Pair which will be sent to your Pair-ee and also stored into the app under the ‘Moments’ tool. Also, saved into moments will be the pictures you draw each other which can be drawn and sent on the app too. Not only can one partner draw a picture and send it to the other but there is a live sketch option in which both can draw on the same canvas at the same time. It’s not exactly my favourite feature but that’s mostly

because Aaron ﬁnds it hilarious to erase everything I draw as I draw it. There is an option within the app to send a notiﬁcation to the other’s phone to tell them that they are thinking of you. For example, my phone is constantly popping up with the message ‘Aaron is thinking of you’ which I imagine would be cute should you be using Pair for its intended purpose. Your location can also be sent over GPS to your Pair partner, I imagine this probably isn’t for the best if you’re paired with a stalker, nor is it useful when you live in the same house as them. Probably Pair’s biggest feature is the ‘Thumb Kiss’ which requires both partners to be on the app at the same time. Placing your thumb on your screen brings up a print on your partner’s which when covered with their thumb will cause both phone’s to vibrate. Pair also stores information like your anniversary and both of your birthdays which I can only assume would notify you on the day and means that you have no excuse for not sending cards! The shared tasks option is also pretty nifty. It allows you both to add tasks and either of you can check it off once it is done. Our shared task was to terrorise our

other housemate, you’ll be glad to know it was checked off moments after being added. Being speciﬁcally created for iPhone, or at least it is at present, Pair has Facetime integrated into it making a video call with your loved one pretty easy from within the app. One of the main things to remember about Pair is that you may only ‘pair’ with one partner at a time, though in the settings there is an option to ‘Unpair’. For a free app Pair is deﬁnitely worth the download. Even if you don’t intend to use it for its intended purpose, like us, then it is pretty entertaining.

LJ Taylor

April Issue 2012

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Food and Drink

Recipe Central: North Wales strikes gold Seafood Gnocchi

nocchi are little potato dumplings, whose name supposedly derives from the Italian word ‘nocchio’, meaning a knot in wood. Nocchio is also credited by some for being behind the character Pinocchio, but given his propensity to lie, such trivia should be taken with a pinch of salt. Gnocchi was ﬁrst introduced to Europe by the

Ingredients 1 finely diced onion 1 finely chopped clove of garlic 250g cooked seafood A handful of spinach 500g of fresh gnocchi 100ml natural yogurt 1 fish stock cube dissolved in 50ml water Chopped soft herbs dill, parsley or tarragon Serves two

Romans and has since been adapted by various cultures, including Italy, Poland and Croatia. The Roman gnocchi was actually drastically different to the ubiquitous, manufactured dumpling found today – they favoured semolina based dough mixed with eggs, unlike the modern day potato recipe. Gnocchi is available in most supermarkets now and is relatively cheap.

lodyn Aur – meaning Golden Flower – is the first Welsh rapeseed oil, ‘Welsh grown, Welsh pressed and Welsh bottled.’ Blodyn Aur is the brainchild of farmers’ Llyr Jones, Bryn Jones and Medwyn Roberts, as well as Geraint Hughes, a former student of Bangor. The oil is pressed near Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr, near Corwen. They sell their bottles in 250ml and 500ml glass bottles, as well as larger 2.5L and 5L plastic bottles. It is currently stocked in all ASDA stores across Wales, but can also be bought online from blodynaur.com. Rapeseed oil is part of the culinary zeitgeist – in the 2003/2004 season, 36 million tonnes were produced worldwide but by 2011, that had increased to 58 million. To give some perspective, the U.K was responsible for just 60000 metric tonnes in 1975 but by 2009, its production levels had risen exponentially – it currently stands at a little over 2 million tonnes p.a. Features that make rapeseed oil so popular include its nutty flavour, as well as its lightness in comparison to heavier oils such as olive. In this particular case, everything is Welsh. The seeds are sourced from local farms and interfered with as little as possible – nothing is extracted or added to the oil, yet it still has a shelf-life of at least nine months. Personally, I think this is one of its most impressive attributes; unlike rapeseed oil, olive oil turns rancid if kept in a bottle for more than three months (one way to test if your olive oil has turned rancid is to smell it. According to oliveoiltimes.com, if it smells like crayons, peanut butter or anything that

isn’t naturally olive-y, it’s gone bad.) Blodyn Aur is expanding. It recently launched a brand of crisps, ‘Jones o Gymru’, featuring flavours such as welsh mature cheese and onion, salt and vinegar and sea salt (in both cases the salt comes from Halen Mon, the featured sea salt from Anglesey.) A partner of Jones o Gymru is currently located in the university, researching blight resistant potatoes. Keep an eye out for the Sarvari Research Trust. You can find the crisps in the Belle Vue and Welsh ASDA stores, as well as Welsh Tescos from June onwards. Rapeseed oil is lauded by chefs across Britain, with Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons using it heavily in its kitchen. There are many reasons as to why it’s so popular amongst chefs and cooks; rapeseed oil has about half the saturated fat found in olive oil and a particularly high flash point, meaning it can handle high temperatures without blazing. This makes it a very diverse oil, perfect for salad dressings (interestingly, it’s absolutely great drizzled over a seafood gnocchi. Who knew?), roasting potatoes or as a substitute for butter in dishes like apple crumble. I really can’t speak highly enough about the benefits of rapeseed oil, in particular this Welsh one. What could be better than swapping an imported Italian or Greek olive oil for a locally grown and pressed oil that is not only good for the country but for your health, too?

Method Heat a frying pan on a medium heat and gently sweat the onion and garlic in oil until translucent. Meanwhile, boil a kettle and transfer 25ml to the stock cube and dissolve. Put the remainder in a saucepan with a good pinch of salt and bring up to a simmer. Add your stock to the onion and garlic mix and gently boil until the quantity has reduced by half. Add in your seafood and spinach. Put a lid on the pan and leave until the spinach has wilted and the seafood warmed through. Add your gnocchi to the water. They’re cooked once they ﬂoat back to the surface of the water. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the gnocchi to the seafood mix and pour in the yogurt. Season with the herbs, a big squeeze of lemon and a grind of pepper before serving.

How to make your own gnocchi If you’d like to make your own gnocchi, boil 500g of peeled and diced new potatoes (in season right now) until tender then drain well. Mash thoroughly to get as smooth a texture as possible before seasoning with salt (soft herbs – basil, dill etc. - are a great addition at this point, just make sure they’re ﬁnely chopped) and adding 200g of plain ﬂour. Using your hands, knead the mixture together to form a ball of dough. Knead for a few minutes before rolling out into a thin sausage shape (about 1cm thick) and cut into 2cm long pieces. Cook as instructed in the recipe.

Difficulty:

Competition!

Have your chance to win Jones o Gymru crisps by answering this simple question – what colour is the rapeseed ﬂower? Email your answer to food@seren.bangor.ac.uk . The ﬁrst 5 correct answers will be the winners.

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April Issue 2012

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Food and Drink

The Produce of North Wales

he BBC is currently running a food series, fronted by food critic Giles Coren, called ‘Our Food’. In the second episode, Coren and his investigative team travelled to North Wales, covering Welsh mountain sheep, the black cattle of Anglesey and mussels farmed on the shore of the Menai Strait’s. Inspired, I decided to do some researching of my own. North Wales is pregnant with good ingredients and food heroes tirelessly working the rich yet rugged land of Snowdonia and its surrounding areas. I started my search in Anglesey and the heroic efforts of men

People

Food

Drovers

Flintshire Leeks

he humble leek is Wales’ most famous vegetable. Legend has it that King Cadwaladyr and his soldiers were instructed by Saint David to don a leek on their helmets to identify themselves during a battle that took place in a leek field. In Flintshire, farmer Charlie Lightbrown has 160 acres of completely naturally grown leeks - no heat coverings - that he and his team hand harvest from late July through to May. His leeks are sold under the name The Really Welsh Trading Company, who sell their produce to Tesco and Waitrose in Wales, as well as small wholesalers. Amongst all those leeks, Charlie and his team find the time to harvest pumpkins and cauliflower.

Anglesey Sea Salt

he island of Anglesey is home to what is widely regarded to be some of the best sea salt in the world. Heston Blumenthal uses Halen Môn in his three Michelin star restaurant, The Fat Duck. According to their website, Barack Obama of U.S president fame likes their salt which is good enough for me. They currently supply Marks and Spencer as well as the Waitrose in Menai Bridge, plus the farmers’ market held in Anglesey. It is pretty expensive in comparison to cheap table salt but by virtue of being made so locally, it’s worth the extra money. Sea salt is actually surprisingly easy to make. All you need to do is collect some sea water, strain it through a cheese cloth (or a very ﬁne sieve) to remove the sediment and then boil it in your largest pot, stirring occasionally, until 90% of the content has evaporated. Pour into a shallow roasting pan – it will be reminiscent of wet sand at this point – and leave uncovered for 3-5 days. Stir occasionally and the end result should (emphasis on the should) be sea salt. http://wearenotfoodies.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Re-growing-baby-leeks.jpg[17/04/2012 14:10:02]

Llandudno Smokery

ext we travel along the coast to Llandudno, home to the Llandudno Smokery. I tried some of their smoked duck breast at Blue Sky Café last year and can’t speak highly enough of it. Like the sea salt, the smokery’s produce is expensive but the following facts should be enough to convince you of its merits – - Their smoked Anglesey sea bass was featured on ‘Something for the Weekend’ last year; - They won silver at Wales The Taste Awards 2011 for their smoked salmon; - Their smoked duck won bronze the previous year; - They have a stall at the Anglesey farmers’ market, with smoked goods ranging from salmon to smoked sausage, from cheese to chicken.

Events Conwy Feast 2012

he Conwy Feast festival will take place on the 27th and 28th October. Highlights include the Aled and Bryn Williams, as well as Hywel Jones, all of whom have represented Wales on the BBC’s ‘Great British Menu’. Bryn won the ﬁsh course round of the GBM series that celebrated the Queen’s 80th birthday; he cooked a dish of turbot with oxtail. Aled Williams, alumni of Coleg Menai, is currently head chef of the newly opened Cennin in Beaumaris, Anglesey. Also in attendance is Bryan Webb, chef patron of North Wales’ only Michelin-star restaurant, Tyddyn Llan in Denbighshire. It is the highest rated restaurant in Wales according to the Good Food Guide and ranks 36th overall. A set three-course lunch there costs £25.50 Search Conwy Feast 2012 for more information.

who made the 550 mile round trip down to Smithﬁeld Market in London, bringing legions of cattle with them. From turf to surf, and the world-renowned sea salt extracted from the shores of Anglesey, favoured by Heston Blumenthal amongst others. Foraging, a food festival in Conwy and a Llandudno smokery all combine to draw a food map of North Wales. Yet one page in a newspaper doesn’t do the food culture of North Wales justice; there are the cockle pickers of the Dee estuary and the North Wales Brewery near Abergele, to name but a few.

t would be remiss to talk about food in North Wales without paying homage to the extraordinary efforts of drovers. By deﬁnition, droving is the practice of moving livestock over large distances by walking them “on the hoof”. These men started their journey in Anglesey and encountered trouble once they reached the Menai Strait. The stretch of water that was alluded to by Napoleon as one of the toughest to navigate in the world was crossed by the drovers and their livestock with great difﬁculty. They lined the water with boats in the form of an auxiliary runway and accompanied the swimming cattle across to Bangor. From there, the interminably long walks were eased a little by pig fat, or ‘bloneg’, which the drovers’ would macerate their feet in to avoid blisters; to this day, some refer to residents of Anglesey as ‘Moch Môn’ or pig men. This is mainly a reference to the islanders association with pig farming but seems resonant to the use of bloneg. According to the Llanrwst and District Historical Society, Anglesey drovers’ carried an Anglesey Penny, a forfeit coin that they would carry in order to avoid being attacked on the road. The penny was completely worthless. The introduction of the Welsh railway system largely brought about the end of droving in North Wales. According to the last known registry of drovers, there were 78 in Bangor and 54 in Menai Bridge.

Butchers

he efforts of these men gave Wales a reputation for its meat. This has continued to the present day with Wales still producing some of the best meat in the world. In Conwy, award winning butchers Edwards of Conwy have won several awards across Europe and sell their sausages, on occasion, in Bangor’s Tesco and Morrisons. A great, traditional recipe using Welsh beef is Lobscows, a derivative of Scouse, a meat and potato stew. Lobscows is said to be a ‘cymriﬁcation’ of the Norwegian dish ‘lapskaus’, commonly eaten on ships. As North Wales was once the centre of the world for slate, the term and dish quickly became a common way of using local meat (typically beef).

Foraging

he OED defines foraging as the act of searching ‘widely for food and provisions.’ Here in North Wales, you can take courses in how to forage for your own ingredients: www.originaloutdoors.co.uk offer courses for £55 that includes an overview of the laws and regulations that need to be adhered by, the availability of produce as dictated by seasons, short walks to various foraging points and finally, the preparation and eating of your catch. The Menai Strait is a great, if demanding place to start. The Guardian ran an article three years ago, documenting the experiences of one of their reporters’, ‘a large bucket with mussels, cockles, clams, winkles, whelks and oysters’ being the ultimate reward. Before you go rushing in, contact a local fisherman for advice on when to go. Foraging on the Menai Strait is legal but double-check if you plan on going. Alternatively, use one of the many oyster and seafood purveyors on Anglesey instead.

http://www.donaldrussell.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/s/m/smoked-salmon-unsliced_2.JPG[17/04/2012 14:17:50]

Farmers Markets

here are a number of farmers markets that happen all over North Wales, many of which sell the produce described here. The Anglesey Farmers’ Market is the closest; it runs every third Saturday from 10am at David Hughes Secondary School. It’s quite small but sells Welsh lamb, chocolates made in Wales as well as goods from the Llandudno Smokery. In Llandudno Junction, there’s a farmers’ market on the last Wednesday of every month from 9am at the Conwy RSPB Reserve. Elsewhere, Pwllheli hosts a market from 10am on the ﬁrst Saturday of each month at the Glasfryn Farm Shop and in Dolgellau, there’s a market on the third Sunday of the month in Eldon Square, starting at 10am.

April Issue 2012

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Travel

London to Europe for £1? As long as you don’t mind travelling by coach...

“

t is an affordable trip that almost sounds too good to be true, especially for cashstrapped students looking for a European holiday this year. A journey from London to Paris, Boulogne, Brussels or Amsterdam could now cost as little as £1 per person... as long as you don’t mind a long coach journey. As ﬂight prices rise ever higher, thanks to increased Air Passenger Duty, budget coach company Megabus has stepped in to ﬁll a gap and offer cheap European travel for those who have time on their hands. Daytime and overnight services from Victoria Coach Station in London will cost from £1, plus a 50p booking fee. The London to Paris trip takes 10 hours, with coaches travelling to Brussels lasting nine hours, before heading onto Amsterdam, which adds another three hours to the journey. But Megabus has worked out that the £1 journey, plus the booking fee, costs about 0.5p per mile (0.7p on the London to Brussels route), making it by far the cheapest mode of transport available. Sir Brian Souter, chief executive of Stagecoach, who owns Megabus, said: ‘We launched megabus.com in Scotland nine years ago and it has already transformed intercity travel in the UK and North America. ‘For too long, people in many parts of Europe have been paying too much for their coach travel. Our new network offers families, students and tourists great value fares and high-quality coaches. ‘These services will deliver a long-overdue shakeup to the over-priced European coach travel market.’

C’est cheap: Britons will be able to reach Paris for £1, but it will take 10 hours

Hayley Horswill

London’s Top 10 Hidden Gems

ondon has more than its fair share of must-see sights and instantly recognisable landmarks, but hidden down the side streets and tucked away in urban backwaters is a scattered collection of equally fascinating, lesser known icons. Throw off the crowds and get to know an unfamiliar but intriguing side to London with my top ten. Chloe Williams

Chelsea Physic Garden

Endlessly rewarding for the green-ﬁngered, the plain curious or those eager to discover a slice of botanical enchantment in central London, this delightful, walled garden was founded by the Apothecaries’ Society in the 17th century. Where: 66 Royal Hospital Rd SW3 Underground: Sloane Square

Chinese Pagoda Kew Gardens Kew’s 163-foot-tall ten-storey pagoda, designed by William Chambers in 1762, is an excellent copy of a ta (pagoda), despite having an even number of ﬂoors (Chinese pagodas have an odd number). The pagoda cannot usually be climbed, but can be admired from the outside.

Michelin House Blurring the line between art nouveau and art deco, this astounding building was built for Michelin between 1905 and 1911. The iconic Michelin Man (Bibendum) is celebrated in the exquisite modern stained glass (the originals were removed during WWII and vanished) – pop into the lobby to lap up the gorgeous tiling. Where: 81 Fulham Road SW3 Underground: South Kensington

Dulwich Picture Gallery

As much an excuse to soak up the village charms of Dulwich Village as to admire some exquisite European masterworks, this gallery is a southeast London charmer. Join a free guided tour to the permanent collection (3pm Saturday and Sunday), catch the latest temporary exhibition and admire the lovely garden or Christ’s Chapel (open 1.30pm to 3.30pm Tuesdays). Where: Gallery Rd SE21 Train: West Dulwich

Temple Church Endlessly rewarding for the green-ﬁngered, the plain curious or those eager to discover a slice of botanical enchantment in central London, this delightful walled garden was founded by the Apothecaries’ Society in the 17th century.

Monument

Completed in 1677 and designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Dr Robert Hooke, this memorial to the catastrophic Great Fire is an immense 60.6m-tall Doric column of Portland Stone. Corkscrew your way up the 311 spiral steps for glorious views. Where: Monument St EC3 Underground: Monument

Dennis Severs’ House

In this entrancing Georgian house, visitors ﬁnd themselves in the home of a family of Huguenot silk weavers who, leaving half-eaten meals and candlelit rooms strewn with possessions, remain audibly just beyond reach. ‘Silent Night’ tours on Monday evenings are enchanting. Where: 18 Folgate St E1 Underground: Liverpool St

Where: 66 Royal Hospital Rd SW3 Underground: Sloane Square

Where: Kew Gardens TW9 Underground: Kew Gardens

”

The £2.5million ﬂeet of coaches will offer free wiﬁ and will link up in London with other services from around the country. Many of the routes, which begin in April and were released for sale a month ago, have sold well, prompting the company to investigate the potential for a regular sleeper coach service between the UK and Europe. The 15-metre, double-decker vehicle would have 48 seats and tables for use in the day, which would convert into 43 bunks on overnight services. Megabus already operates a sleeper service between London and Glasgow, with small, curtained bunks so passengers can rest overnight. Sir Brian added: ‘Our new routes to France, Belgium and the Netherlands have already been extremely popular. Based on our experience in the UK, we are also very excited about the potential for sleepercoach services across the Channel and look forward to continuing to develop our concept vehicle.’ So with this amazing deal what are you waiting for, Bonjour le Paris.

10.

Brixton Windmill

A glorious sight, this superblyrestored windmill is an eyecatching reminder that much of the town is a mosaic of once pastoral villages. The windmill is open in the afternoons for a few days a month between April and October, usually at weekends. It’s best to pre-book the (free) tour, but you can also just pitch up on open days. Where: West end of Blenheim Gardens, off Brixton Hill SW2 Underground: Brixton

Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art Britain’s sole gallery devoted to Italian Art, the Estorick draws together a riveting collection of Futurist masterpieces from Umberto Boccioni, Giacomo Balla, Carlo Carra and others. Where: 39a Canonbury Sq N1 Underground: Highbury & Islington

Horniman Museum

With its heavenly gardens, graceful Victorian conservatory and eclectic displays, the Horniman Museum is a gem. The aquarium, honey bees and stuffed walrus are always a hit with kids, while adults can marvel at the splendid collection of musical instruments and the 19th-century Apostle Clock, where Jesus’ disciples ﬁle past him (with Judas turning away at the last moment) daily at 4pm. Where: 100 London Rd SE23 Overground: Forest Hill

April Issue 2012

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Travel

I’m in Miami b*tch!

y interest in travelling to Miami started when I became a fan of the TV series Miami Ink. The TV show depicted Miami as a beautiful place full of beautiful people where the sun shone all day everyday. As a wrestling fan, when it was announced that Wrestlemania 28 would take place in Miami Florida, I had to take the chance to go to place I had always dreamed of going. The trip started with a 3-hour drive down to London, Heathrow airport to catch a direct flight to Miami the next day. To say the holiday started at the Ibis hotel located at the airport may be an understatement but it’s true. The flight was scheduled to leave at 11:35am on 27th March and Virgin Atlantic provided a great service and even got us into Miami an hour before our scheduled arrival. When arriving in Miami, what Miami Ink had showed us was true. The weather was great, the views where great and the people where lovely. The Holiday Inn based in downtown Miami was our first stop and the view from our hotel window was simply beautiful to wake up to. During our first trip out onto the streets of Miami we were greeted with a slight rainfall but it only lasted ten minutes and even that couldn’t damper our arrival. Our first full day in Miami saw us visit Bayside shopping mall situated near the port of Miami. The mall is surrounded by the local harbour

where eating your lunch is again accompanied by lovely views. The mall contained a mixture of indoor and outdoor restaurants, shops and market stalls as well as people selling sight seeing tours and Miami merchandise. Day two was by far the busiest day we had planned and we took the chance to visit South Beach, the place where Miami Ink was ﬁlmed. Getting to our destination was easy. We paid $2 each and sat on a local bus for 30 minutes. This allowed us to see our further surroundings leading to South Beach as well as getting us to our destination for a bargain price. South Beach (Miami beach) is located in the South of Miami and was by far a lot warmer than downtown Miami was. The area consisted of many restaurants again all accompanied by views of the beach and blue skys. As a fan, I managed to ﬁnd the Miami Ink tattoo shop and spent about ten minutes stood outside simply in awe. When I entered the shop, I felt like I had achieved something that I had wanted to do for years. Even though I didn’t meet anyone from the show, or get a tattoo, I walked into that shop and that was enough for me. South Beach was beautiful. The sand was

certainly golden and the seawater was clear. People were sunbathing in bikinis and swimming shorts as well as tourists walking along the beach in everyday clothing. South Beach is certainly an attraction of Miami. After spending three nights at the Holiday Inn, it was time to move onto our second hotel the Hyatt Regency, still in downtown Miami. This hotel was slightly more expensive than the Holiday Inn but the standard was no better and the views were rubbish. Our room was behind the back of another building so the Hyatt Regency cannot compare to the views offered from the Holiday Inn. After seeing things that I really wanted to see before getting into wrestling fan mode the rest of the trip contained wrestling events. The 2012 Hall of Fame ceremony and Monday Night Raw were held at the American Airlines Arena in downtown Miami and Wrestlemania 28 was held at the Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens. Being in Sun Life Stadium was a once in a lifetime experience and being part of a 78,363 people crowd was simply breath taking. My trip to Miami ended on April 4th 2012 and

Around the world with

WIN!

If you become the person who takes Seren the furthest ‘Around the World’, then you will win a fantastic meal for 2 at a selected restaurant in Bangor, including a bottle of wine! All entries made will automatically be entered into the draw. The winner will be announced via email after the final Seren of the year! So get going, and see how far we can get Seren ‘Around the World!’

his picture has been taken at the Port of Miami, which is situated in Miami Sade County, Miami Flordia. It has been taken in between Bayside shopping mall and the American Airlines Arenea. Bayside is a great spot for shopping it has a a great mix of stores and enough to keep you going all day! The Port of Miami is connected to downtown Miami via Port Blvd and separates Downtown Miami and South Beach. In 2010 the port recorded that 4.3 million passengers had travelled through and it is believed that one in seven of the worlds cruise passengers start in Miami. Miami beach which strecthes the full length of Miami, is approximatley 8.5 miles long from North to South. Miami Beach has also been one of America’s pre-eminent beach resorts since the early 20th century.

we left with the sun still shining and people still smiling. Everything about Miami is beautiful and still at night with everything lit up; the scenery of the city is stunning. Even a small tropical storm on the Saturday of our visit couldn’t stop the enjoyment. On our trip we were unable to visit Bayfront Park due to it being closed to a previous event and this is something I would want to do if I ever got the chance to go to Miami again. Miami is a place for people of varied ages and is full of young to old people and even though I’ve said this before, I will say it again. It is a beautiful city with amazing views to look at anytime of the day. If you get chance to visit Miami then I would certainly recommend the place and hopefully I will get to go at least once more!

Amy Westlake This issue of Seren has made it to...

Miami, Florida 4,244 miles away from Bangor!

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

April Issue 2012

Classics Upcoming Releases U

nlike the mediums of television or film, the world of The third in the Rivers of London series (which we’ve covbooks is a constantly moving wave of new and excit- ered before in Seren), Ben Aaronovitch’s Whispers Under ing produce, be it hefty hardbacks or pocketable pa- Ground, will be eagerly anticipated by fans of the previous perbacks. Of the books due to be released in the next month two books. Aaronivitch’s witty, exhilarating style usually there are, amongst many others: a scientific look at the myths makes for a great read; great for reading whilst travelling. we are sold about sex through the media (The Sex Myth by The books follow the rising career of Peter Grant, the only Dr Brooke Magnanti), an intriguing look at how our minds apprentice magician in Britain. In this world there is a very are so creative (Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah small branch of the Metropolitan Police which deals with Lehrer), a new Darren Shan novel and many, many more. magical crimes; ran entirely by Peters mentor, the mysHere are just a few of the ones that I think will be terious Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale. more popular, whether it be because of their place They’ve already dealt with the magical children of the in a series or just because they look damn good. Thames and a killer spirit taking form of Mr Punch through First off we have a new one from that ever prolific author the disfigured faces of the people it possessed. This time Stephen King, The Wind something is happening in the tunRussell Kane is a well known comedian himself nels beneath London, something is Through The Keyhole. This particular novel is a part and this, his debut novel, is already garnering great very wrong in the Underground. of his Dark Tower series The Humorist also deals with a reviews due to his witty writing style but is more of an addmurderer but the perpetrator on than a main sequel. is the main character, Benjamin The main character of the series, Roland, tells a sto- White. Benjamin has had a gift he has weilded since his ry from his early days as a Gunslinger and how he told childhood; he understands humour at its deepest level the eponymous fairytale to a frightened young boy. and is able to make anyone laugh. He is, however, cursed A few years ago Wolf Hall smashed onto the critical and best- by the fact that he himself has never laughed or smiled. selling lists across the nation and Bring Up The Bodies is Hilary The author, Russell Kane, is a well known comedian himMantel’s sequel. The story picks up with Thomas Cromwell, self and this, his debut novel, is already garnering great the hero of Wolf Hall and famous historical figure, now one reviews due to his witty writing style and highly inof Henry VIII’s most trusted advisors. It’s a time of great tur- volving story. This is definitely one to look forward to. moil as England has split from Rome and the King plots to be Robin Hobb is well known amongst fantasy fans, havrid of Anne Boleyn in favour of his new love Jane Seymour; ing written several independent series’ all set withit is bound to be as thrilling and intelligent as its predecesor. in the same world, The Realm of the Elderlings. The lord of British thriller writing Ian Rankin is bringing us Her latest, City of Dragons, is the third in The Rain the second in his new series, The Impossible Dead, which focus Wilds Chronicles; this set of novels focuses on a on DI Malcolm Fox, a copper who investigates bent coppers. group of malformed dragons and their human keepPraise has been heaped on the previous outing as lighter than ers as they journey on a quest to find a legendary city. his Rebus novels whilst still retaining the crime thriller aspect This book in particular finds the group locating the expertly. If anything this could be a great gateway for people city, one fabled to be a paradise for dragons and their into the grim world that Rankin can conjur in his other novels. keepers alike. Their discovery, though, soon reachAnother writer who has almost dominated a particu- es the ears of many other people across the land and lar genre for much of his career is Bernard Cornwell. the new found paradise could soon be despoiled. Dealing with historical fiction, Cornwell has written the long running Sharpe series, a trilogy based around Next issue we will be printing a list of great books the Grail Quest and many others. Death of Kings is to read over summer. If you have any suggessixth in his Saxon Tales, a series which tells the sto- tions, or would like to contribute in any way, get ry of Saxon warlord Uhtred of Bebbanburg. In this in touch! Email us: secretary@seren.bangor.ac.uk tale we see Uhtred fighting off persistent Danish attacks on the old kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex; a must have to Cornwell fans or historical geeks alike.

Bangor student publishes e-book: Power Within (The Lazarus Children)

ower Within is a fantasy novel written by Bangor University student Chantelle Causer. Chantelle is studying in her third year of Media and Journalism BA and has published her first book to the Amazon Kindle. It is the story of Charlotte, ‘Charlie’, a student that suddenly gained elemental powers after a tragic incident during her child-

hood. The story follows Charlie as she learns to control her powers and run from harm after being betrayed by the people she cares for most. The book follows a new and exhilarating idea that keeps you on the edge of your seat, the cleverly developed characters help to include you in the emotional journey and, for a first publication, is witty and exciting. The chapters allow a gentle separation from Charlie’s life, intertwining her past and dream sequences for a different pace. However, whilst Power Within is a brilliant read, you may be left feeling like you need more and for some the wait may become a little too much. Power Within is the first in a trilogy and at only 77p is a bargain. Recommended for anyone who loves Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones.

Alison Kennedy

Classic of the Month

his months classic is one of the defining books of American literature in the 20th century, nay one of the defining books of America and literature in general. The Great Gatsby is, in my humble opinion, a work of genius. When I first read it in Sixth Form I have to admit that I disliked it, a lot. This happens with many of the books you’re forced to study during your academic career and, for many, your views never really change. Gatsby, on the other hand, became one of my favourites mere months after finishing the exam I had on it. For those of you who don’t know the plot: we follow the narrator, Nick, as he meets and interacts with his beautiful cousin Daisy who has married into old money and makes friends with Jay Gatsby, a seemingly eccentric new moneyed man. They jape around 1920’s America in the way

only rich people during that time could, whilst finding out that Gatsby has known Daisy for a long time and has turned her into an obsession. That is the very briefest, slimmed down version of the plot I could give. This book is filled with subplots and meanings beyond which a first, second or third reading could ever take you. It’s a book for returning to, to sink into like a luxurious bath of literature. I’m not being OTT here, well maybe I am but trust me: this book is like a fine whisky or a pitch perfect piece of music; it is a work of art, which isn’t surprising considering how Fitzgerald wrote on a typewriter. Each time he made a mistake in spelling or plot he’d start from the very beginning, improving the story layer by layer. If you’ve read it you’ll know what I’m taking about. If you’ve never picked it up, go do it. Now.

A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin

lsewhere in this paper there is an article concerning the second series of Game of Thrones, HBO’s hit fantasy show which does gritty like only HBO programmes can do. This time, however, the grittiness was already all to present in the source material, George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels. A Clash of Kings is the second novel in the series and forms the basis for this current season of the HBO show. After the end of the first season I ummed and ahhed over whether or not to read this second novel, thereby spoiling the TV show. My bookish sentimental mind won the struggle and I plunged headlong back into the manic, bloody world that Martin has created. What is this world? Well, it comprises, mainly, of the land of Westeros. A medieval-like place, this land was once seven in-

dividual kingdoms until the Targayrens, dragon riders, conquererd the land three hundred years before, uniting it. By the time the first book begins there has been a rebellion due to the insane actions of the last Targaryen king. We still have seven kingdoms but it is now ruled by a different House, the Baratheons, from the capital of Kings Landing. This land is one of extremes, from the north where there exists a wall to protect the realm from supernatural enemies long thought dead, to the sun drenched shores of Dorne in the south. Ok, setting done. What really makes these books are the characters, and in A Clash of Kings they evolve from simply characters you may love or hate into actual people bent on revenge or greed or power. At the end of A Game Of Thrones the land had been left in a state of turmoil and we pick up in Clash with five distinct Kings declaring themselves to be the true ruler of Westeros. Some have honour and vengeance on their side, such as Robb Stark; others, such as Stannis Baratheon, have their own ideas of stern justice and rightful ownership of the throne. All of them, and the Houses they are allied to, will do anything to win. Still sounds like just another fantasy doesn’t it? Martin turns this book

into so much more by making not one single one of his characters a stand-out good guy or a complete villain; those who you may think are completely black or white are shown to have motives for doing what they do - they act human and are very capable of the best and worst of us. Implied in the story is a mass slaughter of a bunch of bastard children, incest, torture and cruel injustices galore. This is a capricious world made worse by the fact that it’s a time of war. The characters we follow generally hail from a powerful House and, as they play out their battles, the normal folk get caught up and generally killed. It’s a fantastical view at our own medival culture and it is not pretty. One thing which I’ve somehow missed out up until now is the scheming politics which drive all of the action. From the machinations of the (by readers) well loved Tyrion in negotiating Court life whilst his equally scheming sister the Queen tries to stop anything he attempts, to the Baratheon brothers negotiating their armies whilst trying to get the other to bow; this book drags you in and keeps a hold. You will throw it in anger and horror and you will love it.

Luke Dobson

April Issue 2012

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Sport

End of Season Excitement Marred by Tragedy

Matt Coombs

s fans of Bolton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur marched up towards White Hart Lane for the FA Cup Quarter Final on the 17th of March, their minds would have been filled with excitement for the match ahead. After all, a place at Wembley was at stake. Nobody in the stadium would have been prepared for what was to come in an event which simultaneously shattered the footballing community and brought it closer together. Shortly before the match was abandoned on 41 minutes, Fabrice Muamba, Bolton’s 24 year old, Congolese midfielder collapsed on the pitch with nobody else around him. It quickly became apparent that he had suffered a cardiac arrest and it was the lightning fast reaction of the medical team present at White Hart lane,

Rob Young

with representatives from both teams, as well as a fan, who works day to day as a cardiologist, operating efficiently that saved Fabrice Muamba’s life. There was, however, a point where it didn’t look good. A defibrillator was used multiple times whilst Muamba was still on the pitch and , speaking afterwards, the Bolton Wanderers team doctor stated that his heart had stopped for a staggering 78 minutes. Remarkably, good news was to follow. On the 19th of March, Fabrice Muamba’s heart started to beat again, independently of medicine, and two weeks later, a photo emerged in the press of him sat up in bed, smiling. Even more recently came the news that Fabrice had been discharged from hospital to recuperate at home. There is now talk of Fabrice playing football

again and in the midst of the horrific incident that occurred at White Hart Lane, this never seemed possible. Unfortunately, events transpired at the Stadio Adriatico, Pescara on the 14th of April, which led to the death of Italian footballer Piermario Morosini. In a very similar sequence of events to those that happened at White Hart lane just weeks before, Livorno midfielder Piermario collapsed on the field of play. He attempted to get back to his feet but failed and the doctor present at the game has said that Piermario was dead before the ambulance had arrived. There have been calls from national football governing bodies as well as the worldwide organisation FIFA for more stringent health checks for players, although it seems hard to understand how susceptible these athletes, that are

seemingly at the peak of their physical fitness, actually are. Back in the Premier League, the Bulgarian, Aston Villa midfielder Stiliyan “Stan” Petrov was diagnosed with acute leukaemia, an aggressive cancer of the blood or bone marrow. There were emotional scenes at Villa Park during the game against Chelsea on the 31st of March, when there was a standing ovation during the 19th minute of the game (Stiliyan’s number for Villa) along with messages of goodwill displayed on the scoreboard. The main thing that struck me in the aftermath of all of these incidents is the support that has come from the entire footballing

fraternity. Twitter has been alight with good luck messages, for Fabrice Muamba and Stiliyan Petrov, as well as condolences for the family of Piermario Morosini. In the days where you can get into a fight for wearing the wrong football shirt in the wrong part of town, it is comforting to see that the majority of football fans care for the game as a whole and that there is evidence of a “football family”.

Grand Slam Wales Take Six Nations Crown

he 2012 RBS 6 Nations championship posed several questions following so soon after the World Cup at the end of 2011. Could Wales continue to improve under Warren Gatland? Could France maintain their run of form that took them to the World Cup final? Could Ireland play consistently well without their talismans O’Driscoll and O’Gara? Could England re-affirm their reputation as a first-rate rugby nation in their new era? And who would win the wooden spoon between Scotland and Italy? After France were pulled up so tantalizingly close to winning the World Cup in 2011, having beaten first Eng-

land and then Wales on the road to the like the proverbial carrot, he drafted in sure which led to a disappointing third World Cup final, they were expected the guts of the wildly successful Saxons place finish for the boys in green, their to have a fairly successful Six Nations into the England squad to replace the table position identical to the rapidly campaign in 2012. They got off to a players who wouldn’t be around for the declining France side. Yet again Italy and Scotland were good start with two predictable victo- next World Cup in 2015. Players like ries over the “Wooden Spoon” nations, Chris Robshaw, Brad Barritt and the the only two teams competing for the Italy and Scotland. However, they were new England golden boy Owen Farrell Wooden Spoon, which this year went undone after a demoralizing draw shone on the international test stage, to Scotland, a side which is seemingly against a poor Ireland side at the Stade while hidden gems Ben Morgan, Ge- unable to finish their opportunities while Italy still suffers from de France and lost heavily to Wales and England – the same “Yet again Italy and Scotland were the only two a chronic lack of world-class countries they had dumped out teams competing for the Wooden Spoon” players though have enough spirit to push the likes of of the World Cup six months off Parling and Lee Dickson cemented England and France – at least for sixty before, finishing fourth in the table. After a disastrous World Cup the their places in the side for years to minutes. Wales have improved dramatinew head coach, Stuart Lancaster, was come. Despite a rusty start, England given the unenviable task of restoring performed incredibly well to place cally under Warren Gatland’s tenure, pride in the second overall in the tournament with through his willingness to push his England shirt their only loss being to eventual Grand team harder than most in training and his introduction of new techniques – one that he Slam Champions Wales. excelled in. Ireland’s form has proven to be such as cryotherapy. He has formed a With the per- shaky without O’Driscoll’s leading inside of players that plays very attractive ning rugby, an atmanent job fluence and O’Gara’s solid kicking abil- r u n tacking side which has dangled in ity, with their new figurehead Jonathan become every nonfront of him Sexton regularly cracking under pres-

Welshman’s “second favourite team”. Wales sport a pack which is expected to form the basis of the 2013 Lions team and a back line containing Jamie Roberts, Leigh Halfpenny and the indomitable George North, the attacking possibilities are numerous. Combine this with their clinical finishing, the Six Nations should have been an easy run for the Wales team – however they managed to play far below the standards expected of them, making very close games of the Ireland and England fixtures. Their quality shone through and they won all of their games, though it will be interesting to see how Wales would perform without their standout players, a test that Ireland are failing badly. However, there is another question that must be asked – what heights can this Wales team reach if they can win a Six Nations Grand Slam without even hitting their best?

Wales celebrate their victory.

Nathan Reynolds

Carlos Tevez: The Saga Continues

oberto Mancini continues to insist that the title race is over and the trophy will be adorned with red ribbons come May. However, if Carlos Tevez puts in a few more performances that match the quality of the one he put in at Carrow Road, Mancini may be forced to reconsider his comments. Whether Manchester City secure their first Premier League title or not, it is likely that the Carlos Tevez saga will come to define their season in some way or another. The man who struck forty-four goals for City last season looked to be the man to lead Mancini’s assault on the Premier League and secure his place as a Citizens legend. That was, until one night in September, where, in a Champions League tie in Munich, Tevez refused join the match from the subs bench. Mancini’s handling of this situation was always going to have strong implications on Man City’s season. Let the Argentine off, and risk player power

dominating the City dressing room, or rule with an iron fist and assert his authority over that starstudded squad. Much to his credit Mancini did the latter, and his decision won him many accolades from his colleagues. Indeed Tevez’s presence did not seem to be missed on the pitch as the Citizens flew through the first half the season, playing scintillating free-flowing football. Aguero seemed to fill Tevez’s boots effortlessly and if he didn’t, Balotelli would. Yet, it is in the last leg of the title race, famously referred to by Sir Alex Ferguson as “Squeaky Bum time” that the mettle of a side is really tested. It is now that clubs competing for the top honours need all their best players fit and in form. As City struggled to re- capture their early season football, perhaps, Mancini had little choice but to bring Tevez back into contention. Tevez’s initial return can be described as little more than a slow burn, but few can argue he exploded into life at Carrow Road, following up

on his goal against West Brom with a magnificent hat-trick. The first, a fantastic strike from the right hand side of the penalty box that swerved

cruelly away from Norwich ‘keeper John Ruddy. The second, a header that he had little right

to win, after Ruddy palmed away a Yaya Toure strike. His hat-trick was comfortably rounded off when he jumped on a poor backpass and side stepped the Norwich ‘keeper to roll the ball into an empty net. Although his celebration of the golf swing may well rankle with a few Citizens supporters, if he continues to put in top performances it’s difficult to imagine that he won’t win the support back over. The debate as to whether Mancini has undermined his own authority by allowing Tevez to return to the side will continue to split opinion. Once political reasons are cast aside, the footballing reasons make perfect sense. At a time when players begin to choke, as the pressures of the run in take their toll, a manager would, perhaps, be foolish not to include a player of Tevez’s quality in their side. Indeed the Argentine may well play a big part in deciding where the Premier League crown ends up this season.

April Issue 2012

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Sport

Can the FA Cup save Chelsea and Liverpool’s Poor seasons? Nathan Reynolds

ay the fifth will be a date clearly marked in the diaries of Liverpool and Chelsea fans, after both teams secured their place in the FA Cup final. While the decision to play the semi-finals on the hallowed turf of Wembley may still be a disappointment to some, the mouthwatering prospect of two fierce derbies in the semi-finals of the competition would surely have excited the majority. The Saturday belonged to Liverpool, as a late Andy Carroll header ensured that they would be returning to Wembley in little under four weeks time, while the Sunday provided one of the most controversial semi-finals in the competition’s history, eventually won by Chelsea. Perhaps for the first time in recent history there was little to choose between Everton and Liverpool before the Merseyside derby kicked off. Liverpool came into the game in turgid form, while Everton, sitting one place ahead of their city rivals in the league, arrived in their typical post Christmas splendour having lost just four since the turn of the year. The game began after a minutes silence for those who tragically lost their lives in the Hillsborough disaster, after that both sides had early opportunities to edge their team ahead. Jay Spearing fired over the bar from 15 yards for Liverpool, before a Leighton Baines free-kick sailed harmlessly over Brad Jones’ bar at the other end; relief for the reds third choice keeper. Phill Neville’s lovely one two with Leon Osman down Everton’s right hand side allowed him to cross an to Jelavic who’s tame bicycle kick was easily caught by the Liverpool stopper. Everton struck first, a breakdown of communication between Daniel Agger

and the experienced Jamie Carragher, in the 24th minute, led to the the latter firing the ball against Tim Cahill only for the rebound to drop to Jelavic who calmly stroked the ball home. The replay suggested the Everton forward was marginally offside, Everton lead 1-0 nonetheless. It was clear that Liverpool needed to find another gear as Gerrard and Carroll missed the target, either side of halftime, Carroll’s, a header that would have been sure to find the back of the net during his days in a Newcastle shirt. Liverpool’s best chance of pinning their city rivals back was always going to be down the right hand side, where Stewart Downing was providing an effective outlet. As Liverpool turned the screw on the blue half of Mersey side, the goal eventually came. Andy Carroll’s misguided header reached the area that Downing had occupied for most of the game, yet it was the everreliable Sylvan Distan that picked up the ball. His under hit back pass sent Lewis Suarez through on goal, the result was inevitable,as Suarez poked the ball past Howard with the outside of his boot; sixty two minutes gone, one each; no less than Liverpool deserved. Everton’s attempts to re-gain the lead were ultimately in vain as Osman and Jelavic pulled comfortable saves from Brad Jones, either side of another Carroll strike that drifted wide of the post. Three minutes from time however he finally got his goal, as his flicked header from a wide Bellamy freekick eluded everyone, including Tim Howard in the Everton goal, to send Liverpool through to the final. The prospect of another cup win at Wembley sure to

excite LiverThe two had a lot to took to the in the sec-

pool fans. London clubs live up to as they Wembley turf ond of the

semi-finals. Chelsea, finding some steady form under “Interim Head Coach” Roberto Di Matteo had enjoyed many fond memories in the stadium prior to the game, the most recent their success in the competition against Portsmouth in 2010. Tottenham, though lacking the ‘big game’ experience, have showed plenty of times throughout the season that they are capable of competing with anyone. The minute’s silence, for the Hillsborough disaster and the Livorna midfielder Piermario Morosini who tragically collapsed and died in a Serie B game the day before, was sadly disrupted by a minority of Chelsea fans;

something that the club has since apol- Referee Martin Atkinson adjudged the ogized for. ball to have crossed the line, and gave a Both teams struggled to maintain goal, incensing the Spurs fans and playpossession in the early, sparring peri- ers alike. ods of the game. Eventually it was ChelOn 56 minutes Spurs were back in sea who settled, yet Spurs who looked the game, as Scott Parker beautifully more dangerous on the break. Chelsea slid Adebayor through on goal between carved out Chel“Referee Martin Atkinson adjudged the the the first gensea centre ball to have crossed the line” uine openbacks, only ing of the game as Kalou found space for the Spurs man to be brought down on the Chelsea left, his ball in behind by the on rushing Petr Cech. The ball Ekotto had too much pace for Juan fell to Gareth Bale who tapped the ball Mata who failed to make a connection. in from eight yards out. Cech perhaps Spurs’ first real chance came through lucky to stay on the pitch, the reason Van Der Vaart as his Header, from six given that he did not deny a goal scoryards, struck the knee of John Terry on ing opportunity, Spurs prepped for the the Chelsea goal line and was even- turnaround. tually cleared; Spurs were in control. Tottenham failed to make their moVan der Vaart came close again in the mentum count and on the 76th minute 39th minute. The Dutchman, search- Ramires made them pay. A clever clip ing for Adebayor, sprayed the ball over Ledley King in the Tottenham forward from midway in the Chel- backline, from Juan Mata, put Ramires sea half; his pass eluded everyone one on one with Cudicini, and the Brabefore striking the post. zilian finished cooly with a deft flick Despite Spur’s efforts, it was the over the keeper. blue side of London that took the Four minutes later, Frank Lampard lead, against the run of play, with a all but put Chelsea in the final with a goal that will live long in the mem- wonderfully struck free kick from well ory of the Chelsea fans. Lampard, who outside the area. Drogba again rolled picked the ball up midway into his Gallas and powered toward the Spurs o w n half, played a pinpoint pass goal only for the defender to trip to Drogba on the edge of him on his travels. Lampard the Tottenham penstepped up to hit the alty area, free kick and his the Ivorian effort swerved and rolled Wildipped past Cudiliam Gallas, and cini in the Spurs goal; smashed 4-1 Chelsea. a powerChelsea, with ful volley the Barcelona past Cargame in mind, lo Cudicini made changes, in the Spurs substituting Ramgoal. ires for Florent There were only four minutes played Malouda and it was the in the second half when the big mo- Frenchman who finished the scoring in ment of the match arrived. A scramble the 93rd minute. Again Mata flicked a in the Spurs box from a Chelsea cor- ball over Ledley King and Malouda slid ner, was eventually struck towards goal the ball past the Tottenham Goalkeepby Juan Mata, only to be blocked by er, to confirm a meeting with Liverpool the bundle of bodies on the goal line. in the final on the 5th of May.

Varsity 2012: Bangor Victorious in Spirited Battle

angor took the spoils at this year’s Varsity, defeating a spirited Aberystwyth contingent with the final score at 19-13. As the day progressed the scores remained close with neither Bangor or Aber finding themselves able to gain a solid hold of the lead. With just an hour to go the scores were completely even for the first time all day and, although they didn’t know it, the last round of games were destined to break the tie. An heroic Aber fight back in the last game of the day - Men’s Football - proved inconsiquential as, despite fighting back from 2-0 down to lead 2-3, a late equalizer was conceded and the

shootout went in Bangor’s favour. Regardless, the intense nature of the day’s final match provides an insight into the tournament as a whole. The majority of ganes were closely fought and the spirit on show was fantastic as Bangor fought for to secure their third Varsity Trophy. Game of the Day: As I’m certain everyone who witnessed it will agree, the Womens Football at Treboth was something special. After gaining a two goal lead, it seemed that Aber’s resurgent pressure would pay off. Equalizing late in the match and taking

a 2-3 lead in extra time as the game moved from end to end in excellent fashion. Aber’s hearts were broken, however, as Bangor snatched an equalizer with the last kick of the game, before going on to claim victory in a tesne shootout. Talking Point: With Rugby such an integral part of both Universities sporting lives, it was a source of great debate that the pitch at Treborth was deemed unplayable. Although the deficit was too great for the game to have altered the overall outcome, the travellers remained understandable agreived.

Bucs table week ending 13/04/2012

League 1507.5 1 Loughborough University 59 Liverpool John Moores University 305.5 265.5 60 Worcester University 307 61 Bangor University 278.5 62 University of East Anglia 63 Manchester Metropolitan University 246 0 149 Scottish Agricultural College

Cup Indiv. Total 856 1803 4166.5 88 8 401.5 100 438 399.5 70 220 399 93 26 397.5 60 71 377 0 0 0

For Bangor’s complete Bucs scores and tables visit: visit http://dft.ba/-bangorbucs or scan the QR code to the right

Result of the Day: This has to go to Women’s Hockey, who went from 0-1 down to a dominant 7-1 victory so quickly that it was a struggle to post goal reports before the next was scored. An incredible performance from my team of the day.

April Issue 2012

Nathan Reynolds

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Can Bangor City Retain Their Crown?

angor City have the chance to claim the Welsh Premier League title for the second time in as many years when they take on TNS on Saturday. The task is simple, beat TNS at Park Hall and be crowned champions. Any other result would win The New Saints the trophy. In eerie

fashion Neville Powell’s men were in a similar situation last season when the two teams met in a title decider, where Bangor needed to win to be champions, though on that occasion the game was contested at Farrah road. Bangor won the game 1-0 to win the title for the first time in sixteen years. Saturday’s showdown sees both teams head into the game on the back of important victories. Bangor beat Neath in impressive fashion winning the game 3-1, courtesy of goals from Les Davies, Peter Hoy and Mark Bangor celebrate after last season’s win over TNS.

Smyth, at The Gnoll. Matty Collins the last time the two sides met. Both had pulled one back for the home side teams come into the game with just one just after half-time, before City went on defeat in their last five, but Nev Powell to win the game in a comfortable man- will be hoping that the psychological ner. TNS meanwhile, secured a narrow edge is with Bangor after their win in 1-0 win away similar cirwin at Bala “Nev Powell will hope the psychological cumstances Town thanks last season. edge is with Bangor.” The game to a powerful header from Sam Finely with twelve kicks off at 3.30pm at Park Hall and minutes left on the clock. League secre- with so much at stake both sides will be tary John Deakin had taken the trophy hoping for strong support. While for to Maes Tegid in anticipation of TNS TNS the opportunity to win their sixth winning the crown, but Bangor’s win title in front of their own fans would be means the destination of the title will the perfect end to the season, Bangor be decided in a nail-biting finale on have the chance to remain Wales premium football side; surely an opportuSaturday. TNS will be confident going into the nity they won’t pass up without a fight. game having beaten the Citizens 3-1

Sport

Reading Return Thomas Knott

1-0 victory over Nottingham Forrest was enough to confirm Reading as the first club promoted into the Premier League this season, following their four-year absence. Mikele Leigertwood wrote himself into Reading lore when he forced home a chance with just nine minutes left on the clock. As news spread around the Madejski Stadium of West Ham’s 1-1 draw at Bristol City, those in the stands, at least, knew that a single goal would see their team back to the top-flight. Despite a nervy ending to the match, Reading held out and, whilst there is still work to be done to claim the Championship title, the hardest job is done.

Women’s Hockey: Promotion, Cup Runs, and 166 Goals Scored Thomas Knott

ollowing their excellent season and, in particular, the 7-1 hammering of Aberystwyth at this year’s Varsity, I spoke to Bangor Women’s Hockey left defensive midfielder, Ellie Connolly. This year has been one of the most successful in the club’s history and, playing in four competitions, their hard work has paid dividends. Having scored 166 goals, reached two semi-finals, gained promotion into BUCS’ Northern 2A league, following a perfect ten in ten season, and secured a comfortable fourth place finish in their other league (North Wales Division 1) they’ve been a force to be reckoned with. Despite being knocked out of two cups at the semi-final stage, Ellie sees the positives in both of the cup run performances, believing their performance in the BUCS Northern Conference Cup Semi-Final loss to be the team’s best of the season. Which is fair, considering the team progressed to the final (Liverpool) was experiencing its own perfect season in the division

Anthony Giles

above and scoring an abundance of for their money.” In a season of great goals in the process – Bangor’s 1-0 loss achievement it’s always difficult to pick at the semi-final stage was, of course, a out a favourite game and after a modisappointment, but it was also displays ment of thought we decide on, at least, great hope for the team’s future, post- a favourite moment: a mid-air goal line promotion. Of the other cup exit at the clearance, which Ellie admits to havhands of Newtown, whilst still proud ing “no idea how I saved it.” However of the performance, that the team had it happened, it certainly helped keep o n l y “Having scored 166 goals, reached two semi- Bangor’s difthe day finals, gained promotion in one league, and goal ference before secured a fourth place finish in another, beaten far into their opthey’ve been a force to be reckoned with.” p o s it ive n u m ponents in the league was a little harder to swal- bers. From 166 goals scored though, low – “It was annoying,” Ellie says with you might expect even the most dea smile, clearly proud of the team’s suc- fensive minded of players to nick one, cess despite the exit. and that’s how it’s worked out for ElWhen considering the future of the lie. Again, she claims uncertainty as team, this season’s new arrivals would to how it happened, although by this perhaps be the logical starting point point I’m beginning to doubt it – she and there are few worries there. I asked is, after all, a regular starter in one of Ellie how she felt things might go: “This the university’s most successful teams, year we’ve been incredibly lucky and having missed one game this season have had some incredible new players,” through injury. The goal was scored was the response. “If every season is like in a game that appears to be defining this one they’ll give the big guns a run of the season, after going a goal down

F1 Reaches Shanghai

ercedes’ Nico Rosberg ed between Button and Hamilton, with claimed his first grand the former edging it by five. Whilst prix (on his 111th attempt, the McLaren team-mates battled for no less) in Shanghai last weekend. second place, Rosberg’s, Michael SchuMcLaren-Mercedes drivers Jenson macher, was forced into retirement afButton and ter a pit-stop left Lewis Ham- “Ultimately, the race was decided by the error him without ilton joined teams’ pit-stop strategies.” him on the a tightened podium and for the second time in nut on his right front wheel. Pit trouble three years Mercedes claimed it as their also caused problems for Button who, own. Whilst Rosberg crossed the line despite going on to claim his place of 22 seconds before his nearest rival, the the podium, lost nine seconds as a rerace for second place was hotly contest- sult of problems with the rear of his car. Following the race Lewis Hamilton moved into the World Championship lead, two points ahead of his team-mate with 45 and 43 points respectively and Rosberg, despite his win, is in sixth. Ultimately, the race was decided by the teams’ pit-

stop strategies; especially given that it was during Button’s third and final that his issues occurred, whilst Rosenberg, electing a two-stop strategy, went on to claim the top spot. Button believes that had the final stop gone according to plan he would have been definite contender for first, as there would have been “cars that I wouldn’t have been racing” giving him “a nice clear track to hunt down Nico.” Although he concedes that winning the race would still have been a difficult task, it’s unfortunate that the final stop eliminated any true chance of him doing so. Of his victory, Rosberg said, “Remarkable feeling, very good, very happy, very excited. It’s been a long time coming for me and the team also. It’s amazing, and it’s really nice to see how quickly we are progressing, I didn’t expect to be that fast.” During a season that McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh believes will be decided on who can best “limit the mistakes,” the progress of Rosberg’s team could be cause for concern in the hunt for the World Championship title.

early in a fixture before coming back to hammer home several, in this case past an unfortunate Manchester team who found themselves at half time, a

the scoresheet was able to sneak in one of the six scored in response to the opposition’s opener. Unfortunately, Ellie graduates this

Ellie has been a mainstay through this impressive campaign. goal up and facing a team with no substitutes. Such has been the attitude of this team throughout the season, the odds making little difference, as even a player with more interest in goal line clearances than getting her name on

year and, although she has great faith in the future of the team she declares that she “will miss it, for sure.” Given the team’s record with her in their XI, she will surely be missed herself.

Oosthuizen Bounces Back Alan Washburne

ollowing his play-off loss at the hands of Bubba Watson’s super-shot in the Masters last week, runner-up Louis Oosthuizen returned to action and claimed victory in the Maybank Malaysian Open. His three-shot victory came as a surprise to many who had expected his play to suffer as a result of both travel and the disappointment of his recent loss. Oosthuizen himself admitted, “I thought I would be more tired” and,

whilst he produced nothing like the shot that had cost him the Masters and so amazed the golfing world, his victory was solid and move him to second place in the European Tour Race to Dubai. Watson, who with his wife has recently adopted a three year old son, withdrew from the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow, explaining that he needed to spend time with his family.

THE AU REVIEW Sunday Evening 6-7 on Bangor’s Student Sound:

Join Storm FM’s Harry Bradford (Mid-Afternoon With Harry Bradford) and myself as we discuss the week in sport both inside and outside of the University. Each week will feature a guest captain and plenty of music and discussion.

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