Seren - 225 - 2012/13 - Freshers' Issue

Bangor University Students’ Union English Language Newspaper

@SerenBangor

SEREN

The Little Big Uno Card

Bar Uno Special Issue No. 225 FREE

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Operation Freshers Begins

OPERATION FRESHERS

2012

BAR UNO

BREAKING NEWS SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

22/09/12

23/09/12

24/09/12

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NEW MENU TO CHANGE

EVERYTHING U-NO!

by BARBARA YOUKNOW

P

opular Bangor eatery, Bar UNO, today unveiled their new menu.

Crowds gathered around the Bar UNO building early this morning with everyone wanting to be the first to get a taste.

“Ffriddoedd Site hasn’t been this busy since moving in weekend last year!” observed Dr Spaceman of Biochemistry.

Security around the secret new menu has been tight with the restaurant’s loyal staff keeping it well and truly under wraps. Seren were lucky enough to get

the inside scoop on the re-launch event.

The line began outside the polished glass doors of UNO and ended inside a Reichel second floor kitchen. It had long been rumoured that with the new menu UNO would introduce what would almost certainly be the world’s best burger.

This burger, referred to by some as ‘The Burger To End All Burgers’, was allegedly inspired by Burger Monks of 16th Century Scandinavia and seeks to combine the elements of everything that makes a world-class burger, to form one magnificent, yet affordable, “super-burger”. Reportedly, this burger will render every other burger in Ban-

gor, and possibly the universe, obsolete.

Known as a place where Bangor University students are able to sit down, grab a bite to eat and watch a bit of Sky Sports, UNO is always in the sporting mood. Following the London 2012 olympics the bar staff had the Olympics countdown clock shipped to Ffriddoedd Site where it counted down to the menu’s release. Those who were brave enough to step out of the queue had their picture taken with the timepiece.

At exactly 11am GMT the bell chimed, fireworks lit up the dull sky and the doors opened. If it wasn’t for the quick-thinking security staff the

stampede would have caused casualties.

A lot of thought had been put into the event by the organisers and each table was set up with a number of menus, each printed with luminous ink. The pool tables had been moved out of the building for the event and a high number of extra staff on duty.

John Furstenlein, a 23 year-old Marine Biology student from Hamburg, was first in the line.

“I’ve been coming to UNO since the first day I arrived on Ffriddoedd Site” he told Seren. “I can’t get enough of it. They are constantly changing their menu for the better. They have students’ stomachs at their heart!”

Jo King, was the first to sample “The Burger To End All Burgers”, but sadly she was unavailable for immediate comment, as she reached a state of absolute paradise and zen upon taking a bite.

Chefs were drafted in from across Wales to keep up with the demand.

Nothing has yet been confirmed but reports suggest that fast food outlets across the city are boarding up and leaving before the sheer force of UNO’s new menu forces them out.

AN AD BROUGHT TO YOU BY BAR UNO

B U

BAR UNO

OPERATION FRESHERS SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

22/09/12

23/09/12

24/09/12

LOL

THE BIG MEET UP!

ACADEMI

FROM 7PM

OMG

Welcome Weekend Party PART I

THE FREE

BBBBBQ!

BRUNO’S BIG BEASTLY BBQ FROM 5PM

OMG

Welcome Weekend Party PART II

ACADEMI

BAR UNO

9PM - LATE

BRAIN MELTING PUB QUIZ FROM 7PM

BUDGIES BUDGIELYMPICS 9PM - 3AM

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

28/09/12

29/09/12

30/09/12

SQUIDS

INN

LOL

COCKTAILS!

FROM 7PM

VS. VERSUS

FRESHERS VS RETURNERS

FROM 7PM

SUNDAY SOOTHER:

SCRUFFS VEGAS

CASINO NIGHT FROM 7PM

OMG

REE WIN A F R DIRNANTE ERM FO OUR AT

NEON NIGHTS

CASINO

9PM - 3AM

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

04/10/12

05/10/12

06/10/12

UNO LIVE: BAR UNO

“BUDGIE BRAIN”

9PM - LATE

10PM - 3AM

ACADEMI

2012

“GET DRUMMIN” & “COME DINE” INTERNATIONAL FROM 7PM

DON’T STAY IN,

GET OUT

THERE AND

TRY IT ALL

SQUIDS

INN

LOL

COCKTAILS!

FROM 7PM

VS. VERSUS

CHOOSE YOUR CHALLENGERS 9PM - LATE

FROM 7PM

OMG WIN BIG

10PM - 3AM

Bangor University Students’ Union English Language Newspaper

Freshers’ 2012 Issue No. 225 FREE

@SerenBangor

Seren.Bangor.ac.uk

OUR FRESHERS' GUIDE

SEREN TO THE RESCUE

THE REAL OLYMPIC COST

RETURN OF FRANK seren TURNER

Olympic Ceremony performer to play gig in Bangor Academi this December

by JOE RUSSELL

I

t wouldn’t be an unfair slight on Bangor’s recent history with music to suggest that it’s struggled to attract notable acts to visit. However, a growing number of caveats have appeared in the last three years that dispute such a contention; in May 2010, Radio One’s Big Weekend was held in Bangor; internationally acclaimed opera singer, Bryn Terfel, performed in the university’s Pritchard-Jones Hall late May of this year and recent Summer Balls have welcomed well-known artists such as Rizzle Kicks, Feeder and Maxïmo Park. Frank Turner has recently released live favourite “If Ever I Stray” which has been taking audiences by storm.

So news of Frank Turner’s gig at Academi on the 4th December represents yet another significant coup for the university and Bangor as a whole.

Admittedly, Turner played here in 2006 but his reputation has risen exponentially since. In the intervening six years, Turner - whose punk roots strike a disparate chord to the resonant acoustic tones that have more or less defined his post Million Dead (the punk band he was a founding member of) career - has released four albums, been nominated for NME awards almost as many times as he’s appeared at the Reading and Leeds Festival), not to mention a little gig he played at this summer called the Olympics opening ceremony. That same man, glittering CV and all, is coming to Bangor to play at a comparatively tiny venue; imagine hearing the hauntingly poignant ‘Long Live the Queen’ or punchier tracks like ‘Imperfect Tense’ in Bangor. It might also manifest itself as an opportunity to hear some material

from his side venture, Möngöl Hörde, which promises to be more reminiscent of Turner circa 2001 than 2011.

If that wasn’t enough to convince you of Bangor’s burgeoning reputation as an appealing haunt for artists - or if Turner just isn’t your bag - then perhaps the news that Kissy Sell Out, Jaguar Skills and Jack Beats are all at Embassy in October, November and December respectively, will. It’s my job to try and be as informative as possible so I researched Jaguar Skills to try and get a feel for this facet of Bangor’s musical identity. Jaguar Skills often dons a ninja mask on stage in order to drum up an air of mystery in his performances. His style consists of a blend between energetic and entertaining performances which make it understandable why so many find him so appealing.

Though disingenuous to claim that Turner, Jaguar Skills et al are household names, they are undoubtedly big enough to encourage more acts of a similar ilk to follow their footsteps into north Wales’ premier music scene. The relatively discordant facets of both Skills and Turner illustrate Bangor’s capacity to lure diverse ranges of music; they also Nick Grimshaw’s ill-fated dalliance with Bangor’s music scene may well be an anomaly. Bangor Student Robyn Jones said “having such a contemporary artist in a small venue like Academi is very exciting, and shows a lot of promise” and with the arrival of Pontio expected for 2014, Bangor students are all looking hopeful for similar acts in the not so distant future.

Tickets for the Frank Turner gig are available from www.kililive.com and went on sale on the 31st August at a cost of £16 plus booking fee.

Frank Turner last played in Bangor during 2006 & was a big fan of Seren when we interviewed him in 2010 (inset)

seren.bangor.ac.uk

Editorial

Freshers’ Issue 2012

CONTENTS

Pages

News Politics Business Environment Comment Our Olympic Legacy Union Societies Welfare Bangor Uiversity: A History Freshers’ Guide Sex and Drugs Guide To Bangor Map of Bangor Fire Safety Money Health and Beauty Fashion Music TV Film Games and Gadgets Food and Drink Creative Corner Books Travel Sport

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17 18 19 20 21 22-23 24 25 27 28-29 30-31 32 33 34 36-37 38-39 40 41 42-44

36 24

33 NEWS POLITICS

TEAM EDITOR DEPUTY SECRETARY

LJ Taylor Rosie McLeod Matt Jackson

DESIGN

Dan Turner Yousef Cisco

WEBSITE

Aaron Wiles

9

20

3-5 5-7 8 9 10-11 12-13 14-15 16 17

Nicola Hoban

TV

Becki Watson

Alex Thomson

FILM

Becki Watson

news@seren.bangor.ac.uk

politics@seren.bangor.ac.uk

FEATURES

Sam Austin

COMMENT

Sophie Smith

features@seren.bangor.ac.uk

comment@seren.bangor.ac.uk

FOOD & DRINK

CREATIVE CORNER

Joe Russell

food@seren.bangor.ac.uk

Tom Haynes

creative@seren.bangor.ac.uk

MUSIC

film@seren.bangor.ac.uk

Sean Talbot

music@seren.bangor.ac.uk

HEALTH & BEAUTY

Kaden Wild

FASHION

Kaden Wild

fashion@seren.bangor.ac.uk

TRAVEL SPORT

Jordaine Hulse

travel@seren.bangor.ac.uk

Matt Jackson

sports@seren.bangor.ac.uk

The views presented hereinafter do not represent the views of Seren Bangor, Bangor Students’ Union or Bangor University.

LJ TAYLOR EDITOR

Its that time of year again, life is slowly trickling back in Bangor, student after student, and a shiny new copy of Seren is ready to greet you.

To our readers, both old and new, a big welcome to Seren’s Freshers’ Issue 2012.

As I write this its nearing 10pm on our third all-nighter in a row and we’re exhausted. However, I think I speak for the whole team when I say we’re immensely proud of this mammoth forty-eight page Freshers’ Issue (its sixteen pages longer than last year’s!).

Those of you who have been with us for a while now might notice that we have had a little play around with the overall design, we hope you like it. Check out the new AU focussed Sports page, its a particular favourite of mine.

We have everything you could need to know inside; from the latest news to the aftermath of the Olympics, an introduction to some of Bangor’s brilliant societies and AU clubs and a look at the best places to visit in North Wales. Our eight page Freshers’ pullout has a snazzy map to help you find your way around Bangor, locate the places we recommend and most importantly where you can pick up your next copy of Seren!

Its been a long week but with thanks to upsidedowndogs.com and a particular comedic moment when our News Editor came to tell me there was an article on her page which was “in no language I’ve ever seen” (it turned out to be Latin), I’ve made it through this and am already looking forward to working on our October issue.

And as always we’ll be at Serendipity with some free goodies so pop over and have a chat, maybe you’ll consider joining us. Not only are we looking for a bunch of new sub-editors but photographers, designers, proofreaders and anyone who has an idea for an amazing new page or feature.

Well done to the team and thanks to you guys for reading!

CONTRIBUTORS

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Laura Philips Luke Dobson Kristell Grainger Matt Cox Sam Smith Lucy Barrett Lucy Bishop Gary Bullock Tom Davies Neill Harold Rachele Johnson Anna Kimber Amy Galvin Emily Charnley Sally Hoyle Dean Ashby

Freshers’ Issue 2012

seren.bangor.ac.uk

by NICOLA HOBAN

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Bangor Comedy Society and Phill Jupitus

by MATT JACKSON

B

angor graduate Joe Leach has set a new record by becoming the fastest man to circumnavigate Britain in a kayak, all in aid of the charity ‘Surfers Against Sewage’.

Setting off from Falmouth on his 2.500 challenge in May and taking 67 days to complete the voyage, the 24-year old, now living in Cornwall, pledged to take at least 3 pieces of litter out of the sea each day of his trip. Finishing the trip five days quicker than the previous record of 72 days, held by John Willacy, Mr. Leach professed that Mr. Willacy friendship had been “incredibly helpful”.

Continuing, the new record-holder said of Mr. Willacy, who had only broken the

previous record of 80 days in June: “Not only did John help me set points to aim for but he also helped to design the kayak that I used for the challenge. I really appreciated his help. I was incredibly focused on getting all the way around. I’m really happy to break the record”.

Mr. Leach, from the Isle of Man, visited the island on day fifteen of his travels, describing the detour as the “highlight” of the adventure. Upon returning home, the young kayaker said: “I was delighted to get the record, and it was amazing to get back and be greeted by family and friends. I popped a bottle and just enjoyed the moment”.

Colwyn Bay’s MIU Set For Closure

by NICOLA HOBAN

C

olwyn Bay Hospital’s Minor Injuries Unit is being targeted for closure by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board as part of the changes proposed in plans to save approximately £65m. Such a change would force patients to travel to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd or Llandudno for treatment.

As a part of the health board’s consultation, three public meetings were conducted at Eirias Park on September 14th over the proposed closure of the hospital’s MIU, with health board executives and clinical experts present to explain the changes to the public. A showdown ensued over the plans between campaigners and NHS chiefs. The plans, announced in June, also include changes to vascular services, long-term neo-natal specialist care, the care of older dementia patients and community hospital services.

Donald Saunders, 87, a Colwyn Bay Hospital Action Group member, expressed the concerns of the Colwyn Bay Civic Society. Chairman of the society,

Mr. Saunders, from Rhos-on-Sea, told the room: “Colwyn Bay is the second largest town in North Wales and has the eldest population in Wales. Nearby there is also a skateboard park, a rugby centre and three large schools. I can’t see why Colwyn Bay is being demoted. It is a necessity to have a MIU in the area. If savings need to be made this is the wrong saving. It’s not a risk we can afford.”

Cllr Cheryl Carlisle, who heads the Colwyn Bay Hospital Action Group, added: “Hands off our minor injuries unit. If this is a genuine consultation the health board should listen to all these people.”

Betsi Cadwaladr’s director of governance and communication, Grace LewisParry told the concerned citizens that the proposed changes were in the interest of providing the best care. “The bottom line is we have finite resources, we are living in really difficult economic times and we have to use the resources in the very best way we can.”

A decision is due to be made by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in December.

Prestatyn Girl Crushed

By Wall

by NICOLA HOBAN

BANGOR IN BRIEF

A

little girl who died early this week was remembered by her mother fondly as she described how beautiful her daughter had looked seconds before she was “engulfed” by tons of brick and soil after a garden wall collapsed.

Three-year old Meg Burgess, from Prestatyn, had been walking to the shops to buy sugar with freelance photographer mum Lindsay Burgess when the tragedy took place. Talking at Mold Crown Court, Mrs Burgess remembered: “She had a pound pocket money and spent it on some glitter. I was walking along and she was trotting behind. She was telling me we were going to make cakes when we got back. I turned around to look how beautiful she was and she was about a couple of metres away from me. She looked up at me and [the wall] just came down. It engulfed her. Her head was the

only thing not covered. There were broken stones over her body.” Lindsay and builders desperately attempted to clear the rubble off of the little girl, but Meg was declared dead just 10 minutes after arriving at Glan Clwyd Hospital, Bodelwyddan.

Mrs Burgess continued that on her way to the shop along Ffordd Penrhwylfa she had noticed an excavator piling soil behind the newly build boundary wall and “patting” it down. The wall, which was built using concrete blocks, was 74ft long and 5ft 2ins high. Building company director George Collier, 59, used an excavator to backfill behind the newly built wall with 10 to 15 tons of soil, placing a huge amount of “pressure and strain” on it, and these actions have been deemed as showing “reckless” disregard for safety.

George Collier, of Kimmel Bay, denied the charge of manslaughter on the basis of gross negligence. The trial continues.

BANGOR IN BRIEF

F

rom possessed washing machines to film style cookery, Bangor’s favourite student comedy society’s Impsoc once again took to the stage with Never Mind the Buzzcocks favourite Phill Jupitus. The hour long show was the Student Goat part of the Giddy Goat Festival. The festival included several big names and was organised to raise money for St. David’s Hospice. Students who attended Bangor Comedy’s performance were also welcomed to stay for Jupitus’ one hour Edinburgh show, “You’ll Be Wondering Why I Brought You Here”.

This is now the second successive year that Bangor Comedy members have taken to the stage with Jupitus.

It’s not every day that they’ll get to perform with such a well-known comedy talent and unsurprisingly the Bangor comedians took the bull by the horns and produced a thoroughly memorable show for all involved. Jupitus took to the stage for a majority of the games, but in no way did he overshadow his student counterparts, in games in which he did not appear you could hear the TV comedian laughing away in approval from the side-lines.

Some particularly far out and most certainly obscure moments in the show were Jupitus playing an exorcising plumber trying to fix host Josh FenbyTaylor’s broken washing machine that was possessed by demons; Rhi Tompson and Jupitus acting out a scene in which they were cooking rats in a kitchen whilst pretending to be in various different film types, was equally unique.

Other games included Bangor Comedy members playing long standing Impsoc favourite shift left, and party quirks; Jupitus was oddly convincing when pretending he had telekinetic powers.

Students’ Union president Antony Butcher said “it’s great that Bangor Students are involved in fundraising for St David’s Hospice, which is an amazing local charity whilst simultaneously having an amazing experience, it was a fantastic show”. Bangor Comedy president Paddy Pritchard can be extremely proud of the society and said, “I’m delighted that for the second year running Bangor Comedy has, with two completely different groups of performers, proven that it has the talent to rise to the challenge of performing with one of the UK’s foremost comedians. It’s a magnificent achievement for all involved and goes to show the massive potential this society has”. He added, “I am incredibly grateful to all those who came along to support “The Student Goat”, to Phill Jupitus, to the performers, and to Sarah Ecob of Venue Cymru and Steve Doherty of St David’s Hospice who gave us this fantastic opportunity and whose patience and support helped to make it a reality”.

Bangor Comedy meets three times a week, if you fancy giving comedy a go you should consider dropping along to one of their sessions. They currently have three branches of comedy, IMPSOC sketches and standup, and media comedy. Impsoc meet Mondays at 7pm, SASU Tuesdays at 7pm and Advanced improv’ meet on Thursdays at 7pm.

by NICOLA HOBAN

BANGOR IN BRIEF

Bangor Comedy and Phill Jupitus Perform in Student Goat

Kayaker Joe Sets New Record

BANGOR IN BRIEF

fter undergoing a massive transformation this summer, the nightclub formerly known as ‘The Octagon’, or rather ‘Occy’, is getting set to open its doors for the first time this weekend, just in time for Fresher’s week, this time at the controversially named ‘Peep’.

A popular nightlife haunt for students and locals alike, the club closed for the summer for the refurbishment which has cost around half a million pounds.

New additions to the decor include a new roof top garden, vast new bars and a completely made-over new club layout, welcoming night clubbers as they pass through its doors.

Set in Lower Bangor, ‘The Octagon’ club over the years has built a reputation among students as being a good night out but also as “dated” and “a bit of a dive”. Fellow night clubs ‘Academi’ and ‘Embassy’, also inLower Bangor, were deemed as stiff competition for ‘Occy’, especially since they were newer and more up-to-date with the times. These perceptions of the club needed to be rectified and it was decided, especially with Freshers week creeping closer and closer. Now that the club ‘Peep’ has

new toilets and flooring throughout the building, the place offers a clean and tidy environment for all students to enjoy.

Alterations to the traditional student nights have been made also. Whilst UnderGrad remains the same on a Friday night, returning for its fourth year, Peep will be taken over for two student nights a week, allowing students to have a choice in the matter, depending which night they wanted to attend. Wednesday has been nominated as the new night at the club, entitled uniquely as ‘Beans Bangor’. Student nights at the club typically offer great deals for students and this year features new additions to the list, giving students an opportunity to break up the week with a night out on the Wednesday, or for those that choose to save up for the weekend, an ideal Friday night out on the town to wind down after a busy student week.

The new club opens its doors for the first time this year on Saturday 22nd September.

More information about Peep Nightclub & Fresher’s 2012 can be found on their Facebook page ‘Peep Nightclub Bangor’.

Local News Bangor University BANGOR IN BRIEF

Take A Peek At ‘Peep’

3

Graduates told to ‘dumb down’ CVs It has emerged that recent gradu-

ates who signed up for Job Seeker’s Allowance over the summer have been given advice suggesting they remove their degrees from their CVs to prevent intimidating employers in lower skilled job areas. Several students have expressed disappointment after guidance from the government agency appeared to be more concerned with finding them lowincome, low-skilled work as opposed to assisting them in the graduate job market. See page. 12 for personal tales

Macmillan Coffee Morning

C

ome along to the Management Centre in Upper Bangor on the morning of Friday 28th September and enjoy coffee and a cake in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. The event is part of Macmillan ‘s “The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning”, their biggest fundraising event. Donations made on the day are given to the Macmillan charity.

J

Welcome to Boudicas!

ust having opened in Lower Bangor, Boudicas is a new cafébar offering itself as a new haunt for students. With an urban relaxed atmosphere, the bar holds several events throughout the week, giving students a variety of choices. What’s unique about Boudicas is that they will make you a personalised cocktail – you give them a flavour, they’ll make it for you. The range is unlimited. The prices are reasonable, the staff are friendly and the place itself is a fresh environment for returning students.

University Under Recruitment Freeze

D

ue to current financial constraints, it has been decided at Bangor University that any recruitment processes should cease, except for those presently in the interview process, until a reasonable budget has been decided upon. The budget at the moment for 2012/13 is currently being reviewed, but the immediate budget shows a strain on University funding, taking into consideration the necessary investments being made in the academic schools, the student experience and the University estate.

Get Married At Bangor!

B

angor University now holds a full wedding license, meaning that happy couples can have both the civil ceremony and the reception on site. In celebration, the University held its very first ‘Wedding Fayre’ on Sunday 2nd September, giving guests the chance to see exactly what’s on offer. Couples were given the opportunity to meet with a host of local wedding suppliers as well as a tour of the newly renovated Reichel Hall on Ffriddoedd Accommodation Site, plus the historic Teras rooms where wedding ceremonies and civil partnerships will be held.

4

seren.bangor.ac.uk

UK News

Freshers’ Issue 2012

Rugby Star Dies in Slurry GCSEs To Undergo Drastic Change Tragedy

by LAURA PHILLIPS

T

by NICOLA HOBAN

T

ragedy struck last week when a father and his two sons died in an accident as they tried to save each other from being killed in a slurry tank at the family’s farm in Hillsborough, Co Down.

Family members were left heartbroken when Ulster rugby star Nevin Spence, his brother Graham and father Noel all lost their lives on the Saturday night after they fell into the tank in an attempt to rescue a dog and were overcome by the gas. His sister Emma, who solely survived the accident, has been released from hospital where she had been treated for the toxic fume inhalation. According to news reports that unfolded the event, the 22-year old rugby player’s father, 58, first fell into the tank as tried to rescue the family pet. Brother Graham, 30, went to his father’s aid, but was overcome by the fumes. Nevin and sister Emma, who is an artist well known for her paintings of the Ulster Rugby players, then made an attempt to save both their father and brother.

Grieving family members Mrs. Essie Spence and daughter Laura, are said to be deep in shock. In a statement from Rev. Rodney Stout, senior pastor at Ballynahinch Baptist church, it was revealed: “The families of Noel, Graham and Nevin Spence are trying very hard to come to terms with their tragic loss.”

Rev. Stout added: “The three men were very close to each other in life, and that love was expressed in their final moments trying to help one another. The family is being supported and comforted by other family members, friends and neighbours.”

The Health and Safety Executive for Nothern Ireland (HSENI) is investigating the circumstances to establish a clear picture of how the events occurred. It said: “From HSENI’s initial investigations, it understands that the three family members who entered an

underground slurry tank died from the effects of exposure to slurry gases. The exact sequence of events is not yet clear but HSENI is investigating a definite line of inquiry.”

With three other people having died on Nothern Ireland farms from slurry gas over the past ten years, Presbyterian Moderator Dr Roy Patton revealed that the scale of this recent tragedy has left everybody “in a state of bewilderment and shock”.

A star of the Ulster Rugby squad, Nevin was predicted to have a successful international career ahead of him, having made an impressive 43 appearances for Ulster. His former colleagues, at Ulster’s home stadium of Ravenhill in Belfast, said that they were deeply saddened. Chief executive of Ulster Rugby Shane Logan added: “Nevin was a wonderful player but also a wonderful person. He was liked by everyone who knew him and his loss will be deeply felt by his teammates and everyone at Ulster Rugby. He will be sorely missed and the thoughts of everyone involved in the game are with his family at this time.”

Woman Jailed For Full-Term Self-Abortion

by NICOLA HOBAN

A

woman has been jailed for eight years after aborting her baby less than a week before his due date.

Sarah Catt, from Sherburn-in-Elmet, North Yorkshire, bought drugs on the internet to induce her labour when her pregnancy was nearly full-term. Claiming that the boy was still born, Catt revealed to Leeds Crown Court that she had buried his body, though no evidence of the child has ever been found.

Having already had two children with her husband, the 35-year old woman became pregnant again in 2009. However she believed the baby’s father to be a man with whom she had been having an affair with for seven years.

Trying to terminate the pregnancy in 2010, she discovered that she had missed the legal limit of 24 weeks. Catt then made several internet searches that related to illegal abortions and abortion drugs, and went on to purchase a drug used to terminate pregnancy or induce labour over the internet from a company in Mumbai, India, in May 2010.

It is believed that she took the drug at the end of May when she was nearly 40 weeks pregnant.

After first claiming that she had had a legal abortion at a Marie Stopes clinic in March 2010, she soon pleaded guilty

this year to administering a poison with intent to procure a miscarriage, telling a psychiatrist that she had taken the drug while her husband was away and delivered the baby boy herself at home. She said that the child was not breathing or moving and that she buried his body but has not revealed the location. It was also heard in court that she went on a holiday to France May 27th.

Mr Justice Cooke said that she had robbed the baby of the life it was about to have and said that the seriousness of the crime lay between manslaughter and murder. When being sentenced, Catt – who portrayed no emotion throughout the hour-long hearing – was told by the judge: “The critical element of your offending is the deliberate choice made by you, in full knowledge of the due date of your child, to terminate the pregnancy at somewhere close to term, if not actually at term, with the full knowledge your child’s birth was imminent.”

Cooke added: “What you have done is rob an apparently healthy child, vulnerable and defenceless, of the life which he was about to commence. The child in the womb was so near to birth, in my judgement all right-thinking people would think this offence more serious than unintentional manslaughter.”

he way in which GCSE exams are to be carried out in England is to undergo a drastic change, making them ‘tougher’ for students. The change will mean that a single exam will be taken at the end of the course, meaning fewer high grades and just one exam board per subject.

The reform is yet to be confirmed by both the Education Secretary, Michael Grove, and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, and will take effect for pupils who have begun secondary school this year, meaning that these exams will start to take place in the year 2017.

Whilst Nick Clegg assures parents that these changes will enable them to be more confident in their child’s ability, Labour Education Secretary Stephen Twigg criticised the plans as being “totally out of date, from a Tory-led government totally out of touch with

modern Britain”. While Mr Twigg does believe that schools need to change now, as children are being made to stay on in education until the age of 18, he does not believe that change will be achieved ‘”with a return to the 1980s”.

Mr Clegg plans to formally announce the details of the changes to the GCSEs to MPs. However, sources suggest that instead of individual units being tested there will be a single three hour exam assessing everything that the children have learned over the course of their two years as GCSE students. The first students to study in this way would begin in 2015, meaning that the first exams to be sat this way would be sat in the year 2017.

It is also very likely that instead of each subject having multiple exam boards the schools can choose from, there will only be one per subject. This means that for each subject there will only be one version of the exam paper. Claims have

been made that because of this there will be a “race to the bottom”, meaning that exam boards will have the idea to attract more business by making it easier for the students to pass.

With this new system it is also anticipated that students will find it more difficult to get the highest grades. This suggests that the A* and A grades will be practically unobtainable for most children doing their GCSEs. During the last exam season, there was a leak that stated that it would be better if the GCSEs were discontinued and replaced with O-Levels for the more able students and having a different exam for the students who are less able. This statement raised a dispute within the current coalition over bringing in a “two-tier” system. This seems to have been dealt with by creating the single three hour exam covering the entire course.

Hillsborough Truth Shocks Nation

by BECKI WATSON

A

fter 23 years of campaigning, the families of the 96 Liverpool fans killed during the Hillsborough disaster finally know what really happened on 15th April 1989.

An investigation by the Hillsborough Independent Panel of over 400,000 police, medical and council documents has categorically proven that the victims were in no way to blame for the events that occurred, laying the blame squarely at the feet of the emergency services. In a horrific revelation, it was discovered that up to 41 people had the potential to survive their injuries if the emergency services has acted faster, as many were still alive after the 3.15pm cut off point imposed in the original coroner’s report.

But the papers showed that the South Yorkshire Police were not equipped to deal with a catastrophe of this level, and the FA had failed to check Hillsborough stadium’s safety certificates before scheduling the semi-final match.

Furthermore, the investigation revealed the astonishing lengths the police and council went to in order to cover up their failings on that day. Out of 164 police documents, 116 were altered or withdrawn completely in order to remove any negativity about the performance of the police. This included one officer criticising the lack of leadership during the crisis, and another who described the scene as “chaotic”.

This also led to the police, council and media making a concentrated effort to blame the victims for the tragedy. In an effort to tarnish the reputations of the deceased, criminal checks were performed on the dead and the blood alcohol level of all the dead and injured were tested, including children. Additionally, a briefing of the press by Conservative

Liverpool fans rejoice CHANGE TO SOMETHING MP Sir Irvine Patrick called for the blame to be shifted onto the Liverpool fans. This led to the now infamous ‘The Truth’ article by The Sun, accusing fans of urinating on the police and stealing from the dead; the city wide boycott of the paper because of that headline continues to this day.

After the report was delivered to Parliament, David Cameron issued a ‘profound apology’ for the ‘double injustice’ of the tragedy. Labour leader Ed Milliband also apologised for the failings of the last Labour government to fully investigate the disaster. The report was met with horror and disgust in Parliament, but none more so than the MPs for Liverpool, some of whom had lost friends and were actually present at the match. MP Andy Burnham, who has campaigned tirelessly for an independent report into the events of Hillsborough, condemned the “catalogue of negligence, appalling failure and sheer

mendacity”, but thanked the Prime Minister for his statement, saying that it’s “value in Liverpool simply cannot be calculated”.

With the full scope of the cover up revealed, the calls for justice have begun in earnest. Many have demanded that Sir Irvine Patrick be stripped of his knighthood, and the prosecution of leading South Yorkshire police officers for manslaughter and perverting the course of justice is being considered. Chairman of the Hillsborough Families Support Group Trevor Hicks, who lost two teenage daughters in the tragedy, has said that that be families are “vindicated in [their] search for the truth” after years of criticism. But their campaign is far from over; as Mr. Hicks put it, “the truth is out today, justice starts tomorrow”.

But whether or not the report leads to any prosecutions, the Hillsborough families have finally got what they wanted after over two decades - the truth.

Infant Dies In House Fire

by NICOLA HOBAN

A

27-year old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson after two adults and an infant died in a house fire in Cwmbran, South Wales.

Police received a call at approximately 3.30am from the Fire Service who were attending a fire at the Tillsland home.

Two adults and one infant have been confirmed dead inside the house, with the upper floor of the two-storey building being reported completely burnt out.

An investigation is being conducted by

the Gwent Police forensics department now that the area has been cordoned off, with officers additionally carrying out house to house enquiries in the area.

The man was arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and is being held at an undisclosed location. A Gwent Police spokesperson said: “The people confirmed deceased inside the address were two adults and one infant.

A 27-year old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and is currently in custody.”

According to firefighters from South

Wales Fire and Rescue Service, the house was “well alight” when they arrived on the scene with four fire engines.

Freshers’ Issue 2012

Harry Was Target In Taliban Attack

By NICOLA HOBAN

I

seren.bangor.ac.uk

t has been confirmed by a Taliban commander that Prince Harry was the target in the recent attack on military base Camp Bastion in Afghanistan.

Originally claiming that the attack was carried out in revenge for a low-budget YouTube film which apparently motivated rioters in Libya to kill the US ambassador and three other Americans a week before, the attack which occurred Friday 14th September, killed two US Marines and several others were injured when the Taliban militants launched the attack on the base.

However, it was said by Sky News Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay, in Cairo, that: “It appears that rather than the attack being linked to the video, it was actually Prince Harry that was the target. This is quite a development, that the Taliban is confirming Prince Harry was the primary target.”

Prince Harry himself was more than a mile away with other crew members of the Apache attack helicopters when the attack took place, sources revealed, and that he was unharmed.

US officials said the heavily-armed insurgents were equipped with a range of weaponry, including mortars, rockets, and small arms fire. A spokesperson for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) coalition in Afghanistan said the attack happened near an airfield on the north-east side of the base,

which houses American forces from Camp Leatherneck. A number of aircraft, hangars and other buildings at the base were hit and badly damaged by insurgent fire.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed the attack, adding that “incident was contained with a number of insurgents killed as a result”. According to sources, 18 Taliban militants died in the attack and another was captured. Continuing, it was stated: “A clearance operation including UK and ISAF forces is being conducted and we are in the process of accounting for our people, who were subject to a lockdown as is the case when a base is attacked.”

However, some believe that the Taliban’s motive was the anti-Islamic video rather than to target Harry. Major Charles Heyman, a former infantry officer and military analyst, revealed: “On balance it is probably that [the Taliban] are grandstanding a bit, but the real reason that attack was mounted was to coincide with all the riots and all the protests that have been going on across the world.” In questioning whether Prince Harry should withdraw from Afghanistan, Major Heyman said: “On balance I think the right move is to keep him there and let’s just get on with it and get on with what we have to do for the next year and a half or so.”

Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond has stated that Prince Harry’s presence “does not put any servicemen or women at any additional risk”.

US Presidential Elections 2012

by LUKE DOBSON

W

ith just over a month to go until the 2012 Presidential election, the Obama and Romney campaigns are fighting tooth and nail for every inch of ground. In the latest polls, President Obama is leading a mere 49% to the former Governor’s 46%, making this an extremely tense time for both parties.

It appears that the right wing furore, which has grown since the election of Barack Obama four years ago, is helping drive the Republican campaign’s efforts to make it to the White House. Romney’s campaign has focussed on criticising Obama’s economic policies and blaming the President for the current levels of unemployment in the United States. He has used this stance in an attempt to bring undecided voters to his side, whilst bringing in the core of the Republican base with his conservative ideals.

However, the former Governor of Massachusetts has drawn heavy criticism for several high profile gaffes over the course of the campaign. His trip to London before the Olympics was met with contempt by the British public and was seen as an embarrassment for

America. In recent weeks he was overheard saying that anyone who supports Obama doesn’t pay income tax, insulting almost half of the nation and possibly some swing voters. He has also come under heavy fire for his consistent switching of views on issues ranging from health care, to the economy and immigration; some he has changed his mind on since he was Governor, others during the middle of debates.

Americans are feeling hard done by, though, and the polls show that people are considering Romney as they feel Obama has not done enough to improve the economic situation. Unemployment is at a fairly deep low and the Obama administration has had to submit complaints to the World Trade Organisation in order to try and bolster the barely buoyant auto-industry (see Business).

Others feel that his public support of gay marriage is a betrayal of the religious values they hold; these votes could end up going to Romney and his more conservative values.

How the American people will actually vote remains to be seen; yet it seems these campaigns will have to continue fighting for every last one, right up until November 6th.

5

World News

Anti-Islam Film Protests Escalate

By LAURA PHILLIPS

A

protester has been shot dead by police outside the US Embassy in Yemen and 15 more have been injured during the protests over an anti-Islam film shot in America and posted on YouTube.

Up to 5000 protesters stormed the US Embassy in Sanaa as the “anti-Muslim” film angers many throughout the Middle East. The two barricades the police had put up to protect the compound were proved useless as hundreds of protesters managed to storm past them.

They were eventually pushed back by security when they had to fire weapons into the air.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticised the anti-Islamic film, stating that it was “disgusting and reprehensible”. She went on to say that it was a “cynical attempt to offend people for their religious beliefs”. However, she also added that it did not justify violence.

Demonstrators were chanting “death to America” while others held signs sporting “Allah is Greatest”. The more violent demonstrators were seen setting fire to cars and tyres.

It can also be seen that the protests are not just confined to Yemen. The protests continue for a second day in Cairo, Egypt, after the anti-Islam film was reported to mock the Prophet Mohammed. Egypt's president Mohammed Morsi attacked the film for the way it mocked Islam, though like Clinton he made it clear that he didn't agree with the violence that was occurring because of it. Protests were also recorded occurring in Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, and Iraq. In Bangladesh approximately 10,000 protesters were burning American and Israeli flags chanting “God is Great” and “Smash the black hands of the Jews” as they attempted to attack the US Embassy in the capital Dhaka. In Indonesia, 250 riot police were needed to guard the US Embassy in Jakarta as 450

people rioted outside.

The Afghan government stated that YouTube would be “blocked indefinitely” to stop people watching the video depicting the Prophet Mohammed having sex, being a homosexual and calling for massacres.

As a consequence of the rioting, US Ambassador Chris Stevens has died, along with three other American officials, two of which have been identified as information management officer, Sean Smith, and private security guard, Glen Doherty. Gunmen shot rocket propelled grenades and set the compound that they were in alight. Libyan Prime Minister Mustafa Abu Shagour has said that a “big advance” has been made in the attempt to track down the killers. US President Barack Obama has vowed to “bring to justice” those responsible for the deaths. The military have moved two navy destroyers toward the coast of Libya to give administration “flexibility for any future action against Libyan targets”.

Israel Considers Independent Strike On Iran

By NICOLA HOBAN

I

srael’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the policy of sanctions to try and stop Iran’s nuclear programme will not work because Tehran is guided by a “leadership of fanaticism”. Additionally, he has also disagreed with those who debate that going to war with Iran would be worse than it having nuclear weapons.

The Israeli PM revealed: “Iran is guided by a leadership with an unbelievable fanaticism. You want these fanatics to have nuclear weapons?”

Both the US and Israel have left open the possibility of a strike on Iran if sanctions and diplomacy failed to stop a suspected push for a nuclear weapon.

However, the top commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard General Moham-

mad Ali Jafari responded by warning that “nothing will remain” of Israel if it takes military action to target the nuclear programme. The General stated that a response to any attack would begin near the Israeli border and that oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz would be in jeopardy if war broke out.

Under the terms of the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty (1968), it is illegal for Iran to be developing nuclear weapons and if it does acquire them, it will be classed as a nuclear rogue state. Tehran, however, insists that the nuclear programme is for “peaceful purposes”.

The response from both sides has increased the amount of conflict in the Middle East after a surge of cyber attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities and the killings of nuclear scientists in the country.

Brigadier General Mike Herzog, a former Israeli defence chief, said: “The question for the Israeli government is should we move independently before the window of opportunity for Israel closes or should we wait and give the US the chance to do the right thing. There is a sense of urgency because the feelings is sanctions and diplomacy do not yield results.”

Former White House adviser Dr Pippa Malmgren said US bunker missiles were not delivered to Israel in August and joint military exercises with the US were scaled down. “The Iranians are speeding up and putting 1,000 new centrifuges in.

The US under President Obama is not going to be of any assistance [to Israel] in any way. That has changed.”

Syria Crisis Poses Global Threat

By NICOLA HOBAN

T

he escalating conflict in Syria poses a threat to the whole world according to UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.

Mr Brahimi warned during his first visit to Damascus since taking over from former UN chief Kofi Annan that the crisis is deteriorating and that it could only be solved by the Syrian people. “The crisis is dangerous and getting worse, and it is a threat to the Syrian people, the region and the world,” Mr Brahimi stated.

After meeting with Mr Brahimi, Syrian President Bashar al Assad has called for talks between Syrians. President Assad has revealed that talks between Syrians held the key to diffusing the conflict and called on foreign countries to cease in supplying arms to his enemies. Assad stressed: “The real problem in Syria is that of combining politics with the work being done on the ground. The political work continues, in particular by calling for dialogue between Syrians based on the aspirations of all Syrians.”

He continued: “The success of political

action is dependent on putting pressure on the countries that finance and train the terrorists, and which bring weapons into Syria, until they stop doing so.”

Carrying on, Assad said that his government would “co-operate with all sincere efforts to solve the crisis, so long as the efforts are neutral and independent.”

Russia has insisted that it was not “clinging” to any particular leader in Syria, however, it was warned that it would block any new UN Security Council resolution aimed at pressuring its long-time ally President Assad.

It has been announced by activists that more than 27,000 people have been killed in the 18-month-old uprising, a rebellion against Syrian President Bashar al Assad. The United Nations has put the death toll at approximately 20,000. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights – a British-based group that is monitoring the violence – said that 160 people were killed in Syria on Friday 14th alone.

Mr Brahimi, 78, also met with Foreign Minister Walid Muallem and members of the opposition that are tolerated by the government since he arrived in Da-

mascus on 13th September. Discussing this, Brahimi said: “There is a need for all parties to unite their efforts to find a solution for the crisis, given Syria’s strategic importance […] and the crisis’ influence over the whole region.”

Brahimi professed that he had “no plan” to tackle the crisis, but a strategy will be “set […] after listening to all internal, regional and international parties”.

President Assad’s forces and rebel fighters seeking his overthrow have blanked appeals made in an effort to end the conflict, which at the moment continues to affect most of Syria’s main cities, including Damascus, Aleppo, Homs and Deir al Zor. World powers remain at a standstill in the UN Security Council along Cold War lines, with the US and UK supporting the call for President Assad to resign whilst Russia and China stand next to and defend him against what they perceive to be as outside interference.

6

Politics The Cabinet reshuffle 2012

seren.bangor.ac.uk

Freshers’ Issue 2012

by ALEX THOMSON

T

he basics of a cabinet reshuffle is MP’s who have positions in the Government are moved from one department to another, either as junior ministers or ministers in charge of departments; the name is slightly misleading because some of the changes are made at below cabinet level e.g. junior ministers. This cabinet reshuffle is the first and potentially the only one of the Coalition government with David Cameron expressing his opinion that he hated reshuffles and believed that his cabinet colleagues need time in their job, and that constant change of ministers and cabinet favoured by Tony Blair was counter-productive.

Cameron cannot ditch his chancellor for they are allied on economic policy and if Cameron did move Osborne then it would seem that the Prime Minister has lost faith in the government’s economic policy and been fatally damaging. All the members of cabinet that haven’t been moved could be seen to have been successful in running their

under pressure for his handling of the BSkyB takeover bid. This promotion is one that I don’t see the logic in; in essence Cameron is praising Hunt for his work on the BskyB bid which seems morally wrong and adds fuel to the fire of the critics who believe that the government is ‘owned’ by Rupert Murdoch.

Elsewhere, Chris Grayling replaces Ken Clarke as Justice Secretary. Mr Clarke takes a lesser role as minister without portfolio in the Cabinet Office, where he will act as a government “wise head” offering advice to Mr Cameron on issues including economic strategy.

He has been replaced by employment minister Chris Grayling, who is regarded as being to the right of Mr Clarke on justice issues. Some see the new justice secretary as being a way placating Cameron’s critics on the right wing of the Conservative party who see both Clarke and Cameron as being too soft on law & order. This is another bad move by the PM, as Clarke was starting to build up momentum on justice about a focus on

There will be no third runaway ‘til after the election of 2015 departments, or need to be kept in their position in order to see their individual reforms through.

The changes have not affected key figures such as Chancellor George Osborne, Home Secretary Theresa May or Foreign Secretary William Hague, who will all remain in their posts. Education Secretary Michael Gove and Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith will also stay in their jobs. Andrew Lansley has been replaced as Health Secretary by Jeremy Hunt; the move is a promotion for Mr Hunt, who has been

I

the victim over the criminal, but also Clarke admitted what some critics of justice in the UK have been saying for ages - that prison doesn’t work in trying to reduce the levels of crime. I believe that Ken Clarke here is right; we need to adopt a far more flexible approach to justice which puts the victim at the heart of the process, not criminals. Although this opinion may not be popular in the UK today, it’s one that will become more widespread when the cost of prisons rise and so does the re-offending rate.

Transport Secretary Justine Greening

is controversially moved to another role (that of international development); in some eyes she was ‘demoted’. I have to say I don’t agree with this move either for a few reasons; the ‘demotion’ was for all intents and purposes political; the Conservative party is starting to believe that a third runway at Heathrow is essential for Britain’s future economic growth and that it would strangle business if a third runaway wasn’t built which is the wrong policy and would simply increase the amount of carbon dioxide being pumped into the atmosphere.

There will be no third runaway till after the election of 2015 because of the coalition agreement banning any expansion until the election, and I hope that the next government of whatever political colour realises that railway expansion, improvements to bus services and other public transport projects would be a far better policy than building another runway. Miss Greening - a strong opponent of a new runway at Heathrow - has been replaced by former Conservative Chief Whip Patrick McLoughlin after less than a year in the job.

Those leaving the government in the shake-up include Environment Secre-

tary Caroline Spelman, Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillian and Commons leader Sir George Young. Among notable promotions, Maria Miller and Theresa Villiers join the cabinet as Culture Secretary, and Baroness Warsi has lost her job as Conservative Party co-chairman, but will continue to attend cabinet.

There does seem to be a bit of a theme in this cabinet; more female ministers seem to have lost their jobs than men, either leaving the Government or getting lesser roles, which worries me because there weren’t that many women in the cabinet at the start of this government. There are now 6 women on a cabinet of 27 people, so roughly only a quarter of the cabinet is female, which is bad and needs to be changed to improve the prospects for women in politics, but also would set an example to the rest of the country - if the cabinet is gender balanced then why can’t businesses or councils be the same?

Among other changes, former Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson becomes the new Environment Secretary, and Wales Office minister David Jones has been promoted to Welsh Secretary. Lib Dem minister Sarah Teather

stands down from the Government, and Northern Ireland Secretary and Housing Minister Grant Shapps becomes Tory Party co-chairman.

Paul Deighton, who was chief executive of the London 2012 organising committee, will be given a peerage and become a Treasury minister with a focus on infrastructure and economic recovery because of his work with the Olympics. Deighton is seen as a person who can force through change and bring the ‘Olympic spirit’ to the Government and the rest of the country.

All five Liberal Democrat cabinet ministers, including Business Secretary Vince Cable, will remain in their posts.

Former cabinet minister David Laws who resigned over his expenses in 2010 - has returned to the government as a junior education minister with a ‘roving brief ’; he replaces Sarah Teather. I think that David Law’s appointment back into the government is a wise one, for would be seen as a good minister by both Conservatives and Lib Dems and help to promote unity both in education but also in the Coalition as a whole.

Leanne Wood’s new message, a ‘Green New Deal for Wales’

n her first major speech, which will be indicative of the direction that Plaid will take for the Assembly election’s in 2016, Ms Wood told the party’s annual conference in Brecon that “economic underdevelopment is the single biggest hurdle to our progress as a nation”.

Ms Wood said a Plaid Welsh government would establish new national bodies to invest in green energy and boost innovation and enterprise. These new national bodies will be at the heart of this green new deal in order to massively boost economic growth in Wales, which is far behind Scotland or England. The aim of this new initiative is to give “skill, work, hope and opportunity for a new generation”, but one of the major stumbling blocks to her proposal is that energy is not a devolved power to the Welsh Government, with the UK holding the power to legislate in this particular area.

To start this ‘Green New Deal’, the Welsh government would have to request the UK government to devolve energy, and if the UK government refused, this would signify the end of the project without it really starting.

In this, her first speech to the annual conference, Ms Wood said the weak Welsh economy “condemns us to dependence on a government in Westminster, of whichever hue, that will never

have Wales’ interests as its over-riding priority”. This particular statement is very interesting politically; she is rejecting the potential of a coalition in the Welsh Assembly with Labour or any political party, but I predict that one of the potential results of the 2016 election is that no party gains an overall majority

and would need a partner to govern effectively. Maybe Labour will be the biggest party, but not have enough seats to govern effectively; or even a rainbow coalition evolving between the Conservatives, Plaid and the Lib Dems. This is just speculation at this point, but what’s clear is that at this point, Wood rejects

any idea of a coalition.

President Roosevelt’s New Deal was widely seen as turning around the US economy after the 1930s depression and this policy is seen as to draw inspiration from the American New Deal, but also a New Deal tailored for the specific needs of Wales.

Ms Wood outlined plans for new Wales based financial institutions and tax breaks for pension funds investing in Wales, which would rely on either major devolvement of economic policy to Wales or independence from the UK. The idea would be to offer tax breaks, which are based on the ones available in Canada, to those pension funds prepared to invest in their own communities.

Although the theme of the speech was of Welsh independence, Plaid’s long term aim would not be achieved until the economy was in much better shape.

But the long-term ambition of the party - achieving Welsh independence - did not feature prominently. Again this is very interesting politically, because it may signify a move away from demanding independence immediately to a more long term and slower approach to independence. There has been some realisation by the party and in particular

by Ms. Wood that the majority of Wales don’t want full independence, and maybe this is starting to filter into policy decisions being made by Plaid.

More renewable energy production and a national home energy efficiency programme will form part of Plaid Cymru’s proposals for a greener future.

Freshers’ Issue 2012

seren.bangor.ac.uk

7

Politics

Constitutional Reform

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his article will focus on Lords reform and the boundary review.

Lords reform was officially cut from the government’s plan for legislation recently, and as Nick Clegg said, this means that the Lib Dems will vote down any Government plans to change the electoral boundaries that would have benefited the Tories over any other party in Westminster. These electoral boundary changes were intended to even out every constituency and make every MP covering broadly the same amount of area and same amount of constituents.

In a statement to the Commons, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said ministers had sought but failed to build a consensus on the changes. More than 100 MP’s voted against the timing of the legislation; the government planned to use a ‘guillotine’ motion to ensure the bill got through parliament but this was voted down by more than 100 rebel Conservative MP’s and would have meant that if the legislation was put to the house, it would have a lot of time for debate in which MP’s would have given massive speeches and not giving any time to the actual legislation.

Tory MPs who opposed the plans cheered Mr Clegg as he confirmed the U-turn on the first day after the recess.

Labour said it “shared the coalition’s disappointment” about lack of progress, for it was in all three major parties’ manifestos to reform the House of Lords.

Mr Clegg told MPs he “regretted” the

failure to reach agreement, but the case for a democratic Lords was still overwhelming and he “hoped to return” to the issue after the next election, scheduled for 2015. I don’t believe that the proposals as they stood would have made the Lords anymore democratic,;the ‘term’ of a lord or a senator would have been for 15 years, which means that they could sit through three parliaments and be far less accountable than the Commons. There is very little need as I see it for a largely elected house; there are many changes which are needed to the Lords, like the ability to strip a member of his position, or changes to allowances they are given.

He repeated his intention to vote against the implementation of changes to MPs’ constituency boundaries, saying reform to the Lords and the Commons were part of the same “constitutional package”. Before the Government started to move towards legislating on House of Lords reform, both parties said that there was no link between the two motions.

The proposals - strongly backed by the Conservatives - have already been approved in principle by Parliament, but Mr Clegg said the coalition partners could not take a “pick and mix approach” to political reforms.

There was no commitment to intro-

duce the boundary changes in time for the 2015 election, Mr Clegg argued, and the Lib Dems as a whole would not support their introduction before then in any future vote.

Without Lib Dem support - and with Labour also opposed - the government would lose any vote on boundary changes because of the total opposition to it.

And Downing Street said it was still the Prime Minister’s intention to have a Commons vote on boundary changes next year.

“It is the law,” a spokesman said. “An

dation would only change the Lords in a piecemeal way, it would still give the Lib Dems something to feel proud of when they reflect on their part in the Coalition and would allow change to be enacted in the next parliament.

He also said the Lord Steel proposals would not have the desired effect of reducing the size of the Lords and were “no surrogate for democracy”, but the Lib Dems want to reform the Lords and this could be a way of getting gradual change. When it comes to the next parliament, I believe that another coalition will need to be formed and the Lib Dems could demand Lords reform, or they would not support the larger party, whichever party it maybe.

For Labour, Deputy Leader Harriet Harman said Lords reform was “unfinished business” but criticised the government for failing to win over those with genuine concerns on all sides.

The Conservatives are starting to select candidates in existing Parliamentary constituencies, despite insisting the boundaries should be redrawn before the next election, which effectively means that the Conservatives have given up trying to push the legislation on boundary change through parliament.

The Tories also want to reshape the Commons map, with 50 seats disap-

“Without Lib Dem support - and with Labour also opposed - the government would lose any vote on boundary changes” Act of Parliament sets out the process.

The Boundary Commissions are doing their work, they will report next year and after that there will be a vote in Parliament. That vote is required by the act.”

Addressing MPs, Mr Clegg also said he would not support separate proposals put forward on the Lords by Lib Dem peer Lord Steel to make it easier for peers to retire and to be stripped of their membership for non-attendance. This is a bad move on the part of Clegg because some changes to the Lords is better than none, and would continue the pace of reform by gradually changing the Lords. Even though this recommen-

pearing.

Last month, David Cameron said he would continue to argue for the changes after Nick Clegg withdrew Lib Dem support for the idea, but the Conservatives will now pick candidates within existing boundaries.

The first will be selected in 40 key Conservative target seats from November the major seats they will need to gain in order to get a majority in the Commons.

A senior party source insisted the move did not indicate they had given up on hopes of boundary changes, but critics will suggest the decision signals a retreat, which would be a common sense approach for they know that they will not get the bill through. The constituency changes would be likely to prove of most benefit to the Conservatives, and may trigger another coalition in 2015.

David Cameron will back redrawing boundaries when the matter is put to the vote, probably next year, but shorn of Lib Dem support the measure is unlikely to be passed.

Labour has already begun selecting their candidates for the next general election.

Liberal Democrat party president Tim Farron told local Lib Dem parties to start selecting the day after Nick Clegg withdrew his support for redrawing constituencies.

Nick Clegg rejected the plans, previously backed by Lib Dems, after Lords reform was abandoned.

New minister with new message

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he new DCMS (Department for Culture, Media and Sports) minister, Maria Miller, has started the job running by calling on the major broadcasters to increase the amount of time allotted to female sports. Mrs Miller is also the minister for women and equalities.

Mrs Miller said the success of Team GB's female athletes had been truly inspirational and that the huge TV audiences showed the public had a real appetite for mainstream coverage of women's sport. I agree with her one hundred percent; when you actually stop and think about it all, the sport shown on telly is normally male unless its athletics. Football for instance - Premiership or the World Cup, it’s always male football. Another example is cricket; when it’s shown on terrestrial telly, it’s always male cricket. I know that some may say that now with the sheer amount of channels available with the digital switchover you could find female sport somewhere but that’s not the point; there needs to be an equal balance on the main channels

of both sexes’ sports.

Miller told broadcasters that, outside the Games, women's sport had been "woefully under represented on television", with women's cricket, football and netball "buried pretty deep in the schedules, if shown at all".

The minister wants to meet broadcasters to discuss how the momentum from London 2012 can be maintained. This is the right time to build up pressure on the media with both the report from the Leveson inquiry due in November which will bring change to the media in general and also the coverage (and great enjoyment) of female sports in the Olympics means there will be great public support for the Minister to push this agenda as much as she can. As the Minister who is in charge of translating the report from the Leveson inquiry into action, either through legislation or other means, she should use the report to draw up legislation to force broadcasters to have 50% of its sports broadcast to be female sports.

A point which Miller has missed is

the need for equal coverage in newspaper and other media of female sports.

If you pick up any paper and read the sport section of it, 98% of it would be details of male sports. This also needs to change, for with equal exposure on television, there needs to be equal reporting of female sports by the media.

Among the highlights of the Olympics was Jessica Ennis winning heptathlon gold on "Super Saturday" for Team GB's athletics team. Some 16.3 million people tuned in for that, while there was a television audience of 11.3 million for Rebecca Adlington's bronze medal in the 800m freestyle swimming. These two are great examples of what I’ve been saying in this article; there is want from the public for female sports which broadcasters need to fulfil, either voluntarily or by government intervention.

Mrs Miller's plea comes nine months after the BBC came under fire when its annual Sports Personality of the Year award did not include any women among its 10-strong shortlist.

Maria Miller, new minister

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Business

Freshers’ Issue 2012

Obama vs. China

by LUKE DOBSON

P

resident Obama announced on Monday that he had filed a complaint with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against China. The complaint dealt with China supposedly illegally subsiding car exports, which would have a major detrimental effect on the already gloomy US auto-industry.

US trade representative Ron Kirk said, “Export subsidies are prohibited under WTO rules because they are unfair and severely distort international trade.” Indeed, China’s export-led business model has led to a trade surplus of $25bn a month this year, something which has been attacked by unions and auto lobbyists in the US for a while.

This isn’t the first time Obama has filed a complaint against China this year. Respectively they

accused the Chinese government of: restricting rare earth metals used in high tech devices, thereby making it more expensive to make such products outside of China; and imposing duties on American made cars being sold in China, making them more expensive to buy.

Even though the Obama administration has filed these complaints, this most recent one has been seen by many to be a blatant point of campaigning. Ohio, one of the swing states in the election, relies heavily upon its auto-industry. Obama has previously bailed out car manufacturers in the state, in order to keep its economy afloat after he took office.

This election, being heralded as a tight race on all bases, may be won or lost on issues such as this. With high levels of unemployment in old manufacturing states, which have yet to feel the effects of any economic rescue plan, it

comes as no surprise that Obama is continuing to act strong against the threat of eternal trade hazards such as the Chinese subsidies.

Romney was quick to use this to his advantage by decrying Obama’s economic plans and calling him weak on trade and growth. The former Governor of Massachusetts has used the economy, and its lack of an unimaginably swift recovery, as a major post of his campaign. As usual with the Republicans, he believes that tax cuts and harsh measures will save the country; deigning to forget that it was during the last Republican presidency that America’s economy was hit by the downturn. In response to Romney’s calls of weakness, Obama brought up how he had outsourced jobs to China when working in the private sector and how the Governor has investments in Chinese companies. This calling out of Romney’s conflict-of-interest is note the first in

President Obama files complaint with World Trade Organisation over Chinese government’s potentially illegal car exportation subsidies the campaign; he has been seen to be a candidate willing to support any side of an argument to win votes, sometimes in the same debate.

The economic hardships that have faced Americans for the past five years are beginning to lessen and slowly, so slowly, its economy is beginning to pick up again. It is no surprise, then, that the President must ensure the best possible ground for American businesses. Beijing responded with its own complaint, challenging measures taken by the US to prevent dumping of cheap Chinese goods such as kitchen utensils, paper, magnets and steel. In fact China has already won one WTO case against the US, so this seems to be leading to a mounting trade conflict between the two super powers.

Sports Direct to buy JJB? Jaguar Land Rover firing on all cylinders.

2,000 Jobs at risk.

S

by AARON WILES

truggling JJB put itself up for sale around a month ago and now speculation suggests that Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley is set to be the new likely owner. If the plans are to be believed, the deal could see the closure of up to 100 stores and therefore the loss of around 2,000 jobs as he keeps the most profitable stores open and puts the remaining stores into administration.

JJB has been in trouble for some time, a lifeline was offered to the company just a few months ago from Dick’s Sporting Goods who were willing to invest £20m that would have seen 60 stores overhauled.

Not only that, arguably the most sportiest summer that the UK has ever seen offered an opportunity to take advantage of customers inspired by London

2012. However this didn’t quite go to plan and with the poor weather impacting sales and the failure of securing other investments elsewhere, Dick’s pulled their investment leaving the future of JJB uncertain.

JJB was once the biggest UK sports retailer and at one point had been valued at £1bn, now it has debts of £36m and looks set to be taken over by what is now the UK’s biggest sport retailer, Sports Direct. The competition authority are sure to have a field day over this but if this takeover doesn’t happen, it’s likely that JJB will go into administration and closures could be catastrophic.

We have no doubt that we’ll have more information on the takeover by the time you’re reading this as an official announcement is expected any day now, until then the future of JJB and its 4,000 staff remains uncertain.

by AARON WILES

T

imes have never been better at Jaguar Land Rover and the company shows no signs of slowing down as it prepares to launch the brand new Range Rover in over 170 countries.

The new model is backed by a £370million investment into the company’s manufacturing facility, that also includes the creation of 1,000 jobs in design, product development, and manufacturing.

The investment follows the news that the company has for the first time ever, begun 24 hour shifts at its Liverpool Halewood plant as it tries to keep up with the global demand for the Range Rover Evoque. 88,000 of them have been sold worldwide since its

Business in brief • • • • • •

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After an unexpected rise in July, UK inflation rate falls 2.5% in August Debenhams post 3.3% increase in sales, expects higher profits compared to last year.

250 year old toy store Hamleys bought by French retailer Groupe Ludendo for £60m.

Manchester United posts £320million revenues, down 3,3% on 2011.

Bad debts in Spain have risen to a record €169.3bn.

Greece government puts islands up for sale as it tries to clear its debts.

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launch just over a year ago. The Halewood plant now employs 4,500 people, treble the amount of staff it had just three years ago.

Jaguar Land Rover have made no secret about their future investment plans, they’re spending around £1.3 billion on a new manufacturing facility in Solihull, an engine factory in Wolverhampton and an assembly line in India. The investments will play a vital part in the success of the assault the company is planning on the automotive industry, as mentioned the brand new Range Rover is almost ready for launch, the Freelander is getting an update and the Defender is facing its biggest overhaul in its long history. Over at Jaguar, they’re readying the XF Sportbrake and the highly anticipated F-Type.

Expect to be hearing of Jaguar Land Rover’s continued success over the next few years.

TheRoguesGallery

Freshers’ Issue 2012

seren.bangor.ac.uk

Bad news for Badgers

O

n Tuesday 11th September a challenge to the cull that will kill thousands of badgers failed at the Court of Appeal. The aim of the cull is to reduce cases of TB in cattle, 26,000 of which were registered last year.

The RSPCA website claims that “Scientific studies have shown that culling would be of little help in reducing bovine tuberculosis (bovine TB) in cattle and even suggest that it could make things worse in some areas.”

As one of few wild land mammals left in the British Isles, rarely seen badgers seem to occupy a special place in the heart of the public. This has never been more visible than at the Stop The Cull rally the same day as the

failed court appeal.

Brian May suggests that the answer lies not in a cull, but in vaccination.

Speaking at the rally he said "what I would like to do, if this cull can be shelved, I myself would volunteer to go in with the farmers to Europe to work on them to try to get permission to vaccinate our cows...I can open doors, I'm a rock star. It's unorthodox but it works. Its a terrible tragedy if it goes ahead and its an irreversible tragedy - you can never bring those badgers back. You could kill all the badgers in Britain and it would not stop the problem of bovine TB in cows.”

The cull would see badger killing licenses distributed for two areas in the South of England, both approximately

the size of the Isle of Wight, where up to 6,800 badgers could be destroyed.

Also speaking at the rally, Gavin Grant, Chief Executive of the RSPCA said “We are bitterly disappointed that the UK Government is ploughing on with plans to kill badgers but the fight is not over yet.” Brian May agreed, "all I can say is be with us, support TeamBadger.org, sign the petition and try to get David Cameron to reconsider and let's just pray we can succeed."

For more information search “Stop the Cull” or go to TeamBadger.org.

Georgia Mannion

Doom, destruction and planned obsolescence; or, why you have to buy a new phone every 3 months.

T

his week Apple unveiled its latest version of the iPhone. Didn’t they just release the new one?

You know, the one that talks? Yes, less than a year ago the 4S inspired a new debate among technology cognoscenti. Is Siri genius or is it tacky? Is a talking phone the next generation or is it a gimmick? Did you see the Ellen De Generes spoof of the advert or are you not really a fan?

How about this question: Why make two phones that are basically the same, give one a voice (and whack the rear camera up by three megapixels) and call it a revolution?

Eleven months later and we’re now faced with the formidable fifth. No doubt your preferred social networking site was bombarded with real-time regurgitated facts and asinine observations. For those concerned with the environmental impact of the phone - welcome friend, you are on the right page – there are a few interesting changes. For example, Apple have improved battery life and moved back to metal covers after the glass back of the iPhone 4 unforeseeably proved impractical. Fewer smashed phones and dead batteries mean fewer wasted resources!

Hooray- this may be worthwhile after all! Don’t rejoice too soon, eco-conscious friends; Apple have arguably made their wankiest decision in recent times. They have changed the dock connector, rendering all existing iPhonecompatible products absolutely useless. Maybe you’ll have to buy a new USB cable or speaker dock.

That’s inconvenient, but not so bad.

When you consider that 10 million people are expected to do the same before the end of September it seems less like inconvenience and more like utter lunacy.

Where will all these new USB cables come from? Where will the old ones end up? Who is paying for this?

You might think you are (you are). In truth it’s also is the countries where the raw materials are sourced, the people worked to death* in the factories that produce these products, and the natural environment-turned-landfill to store the old USB cables that pay the real price for this reckless consumption.

Of course it would be absurd to claim that only Apple proliferate this system, but as the most ostentatious electronics producer of the day, they make the best example. Annie Leonard, author of The Story of Stuff, explains that companies not only intentionally build products that will soon be out of date (planned obsolescence); they also dazzle consumers with “updates” to convince them to throw away perfectly functional products and buy new ones (perceived obsolescence).

Here is a quotation for you to consider: “Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfactions, our ego satisfactions, in consumption.

The measure of social status, of social acceptance, of prestige, is now to be found in our consumptive patterns.

The very meaning and significance of our lives today expressed in consumptive terms.”

Doesn’t this sound like a gloomy prediction by a paranoid environmentalist? In fact economist Victor Lebow made the observation in 1955.

How right he was. So what can we do?

The answer is simple but it requires effort. Recycling helps but it will never be enough. We need to break the linear chain of destruction, consumption and pollution, and support sustainable systems that promote recycling, reducing waste and reducing consumption.

Are you a Mac, a PC, or do you refuse to have your human needs dictated to you by a company whose economy is bigger than some countries?

Scary as it seems, it’s your choice. *The “don’t sue us, it’s true” disclaimer: In 2011 an investigation took place in two Foxconn factories in China that build Apple products after a spate of employee suicides.

Inhumane working conditions were found, Apple issued a statement "Apple is committed to ensuring the highest standards of social responsibility throughout our supply base. Apple requires suppliers to commit to our comprehensive supplier code of conduct as a condition of their contracts with us. We drive compliance with the code through a rigorous monitoring programme, including factory audits, corrective action plans and verification measures."

Georgia Mannion

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Environment

21 things you probably didn’t know you could recycle for money or charity.

1

Flip flops theffrc.com

2

Old clothes recyclenow.com

3

Wine bottle corks clorks.co.uk

4

Trainers recycled into sport courts nikereuseashoe.com

5

Paint communityrepaint.org.uk

6

Ink cartidges emptycartridge.co.uk recycle4charity.co.uk Old furniture and lightbulbs ikea.com

7 8

Sex toys sextoyrecycling.com

9

Magazines Local doctors’ surgeries usually welcome donations for their waiting rooms

10

12

Sofas and matresses jbsfibre.co.uk Medicine intercare.org.uk Cars giveacar.co.uk £

13

Carrier Bags Most supermarkets offer a recycling service.

14

Bicycle Bikes fixed up and sent to Africa re-cycle.org

15

Sports equipment sportsrecycler.co.uk

11

16 17 18

19

Batteries Your closest recycling point is probably M&S in Lower Bangor.

CDs & DVDs musicmagpie.co.uk/ webuydvds.co.uk Bras Take them to Oxfam in Lower Bangor or drop them in the Bangor’s Bras for Africa box at the Students’ Union Clothes, books, toiletries, bedding St Mary’s Homeless Hostel in Lower Bangor is always happy to receive donations. nwha.org.uk

20

Old towels, blankets and anything for pets The nearest RSPCA centre is in Conwy.

Pile your stuff in a car and go and change the lives of some animals. You can also put almost

21

Electronics Gazelle.com £ Envirophone.com £ recycle4charity.co.uk/

anything on Freecycle. If you can’t find a website that will pay you for it, it’s likely you’ll find someone who’ll thank you for it. groups.freecycle.org/ BangorFreecycle/posts/all

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seren.bangor.ac.uk

Comment

Freshers’ Issue 2012

GRADUATES REVEAL ALL ABOUT LIFE ON THE DOLE

by SEAN TALBOT

T

o all freshers out there; welcome to Bangor and, most importantly, the wonders of university life.

And to all returning students, well, you know the drill. But let’s take a second to remember what it was that made us choose the university route. Perhaps it was to get a degree, or to develop as a person and meet new people, or maybe it was just pushy parents and the government telling you that university education paves the way to a better life in the future. Whatever the reason, I can’t imagine there’s many of you out there with low career ambitions. Unfortunately, I write to you today with some humbling, worrying and downright depressing tales of life as a job-seeking graduate.

“You should sign on” said my mother, just a few days after I returned home from Bangor for the last time. My mood was already at an all-time low; I had just left the place I grew to love and spent

S

the best three years of my life in, and was now back home in the North-West of England, jobless, aimless and longing for one more Yellow burger. I was obviously reluctant to apply for job-seekers allowance, the thought hadn’t even crossed my mind until it was suggested to me, yet there came a point (approximately after 3 or 4 weeks of resistance) when I caved in. I had no choice, I had yet to find a job and the last remnants of those glorious instalments from the student loans company were all but depleted.

One month you’re at the Summer Ball, dancing to DJ Fresh with everyone you know; the next you’re in a queue waiting to claim your share from the welfare pot. It’s not exactly a happy reality, you just have to deal with it – but it doesn’t get any easier. Once you’re all done with the application process and you’re officially a member of the club that nobody wants to be a part of, you have to attend the job centre every two weeks to “sign on”, at which you’re supposed to show

evidence of your extensive job-hunt.

You’re also required to attend a meeting with your supervisor once every 3 or 4 weeks. This is the real treat; your supervisor is the one who goes through your CV (after making sure you know what a CV is), asks you what sector of work you would like to get into, and then offer you work completely irrelevant to the sector you just mentioned. It has emerged that during these supervisor meetings some graduates have been told that having a degree on your CV can prevent you from getting your foot in the door in the unskilled jobs market. It is apparent that the aim of these advisors is simply to get you off the system as quickly as possible, reducing your expectations and aspirations to work that doesn’t warrant higher education. Because there is no distinction between graduates, nongraduates and applicants for the dole, they are all processed in the same way.

With job centres processing graduates in the same way as they do everyone else, and with the government’s recent budget cuts to welfare forcing staff to rush peoples’ job hunts and broaden their searches to all kinds of work, regardless of education, it is no wonder that one in three graduates are now employed in lower skill jobs, compared to one in four back in 2001.

Elise graduated from Bangor this year with a degree in English, and fell victim to the degree purge in August. “After discussing my past employment and educational background she suggested that I should “dumb down” my CV as it would impact on my chances of finding a ‘normal” job.’ So three years in university should be brushed under the carpet?

I wanted to laugh I was so taken aback.”

Understandably, the government do not want people claiming job-seeker’s

FRESHERS’ 101

o you’ve got your key, unpacked your cases, said farewell to your family, and you’re ready to start the adventure that is university. Now what? Freshers’ Week is hyped up as one of THE most important events in your life as a student, but with so much to take in, it’s difficult to know how to get the most out of it. So from someone who’s been there, done it, and has the sambuca stained t-shirt to prove it, here are my tips for a successful Fresher’s Week.

1. Be Brave!

in the first weeks The absolute worst thing you can do Skyping peoroom your in time of uni is spend all your and meet out self ple back home. If you don’t put your a lot ding spen up end to g goin re other people, you’ every ly near way this of time on your own. Think of it the for e hom from y awa ed mov just single Fresher has as ds frien e mak to r first time, so they’ll be just as eage flatmates your to ting chat time e som d you are. Spen course, and you’re or getting to know people on your no time! in es mat new with up bound to end

2. Get Involved!

all your time socialAs much as you may want to spend e to offer, with ising, Freshers’ Week has so much mor the Student and ents artm dep ge the University, Colle The biggest in. e settl Union running events to help you society and club y ever re whe ity, of these is Serendip the all ut abo tion is gathered to give you informa s and Club or.

Bang at to up get can you amazing things It’s go? a it give not societies are free this year, so why best the of e som and ple, peo new t mee a great way to socials! nights out you’ll ever have will be club

by BECKI WATSON

3. Going Out!

Freshers’ Week is perfect for findin g out what your favourite bars and clubs are. I’d reco mmend going on at least one pub crawl, so you can figure out which bars have the best atmosp here, and where has the cheapest double vodkas.

There many nightclubs in Bangor, but they may not be ’ve got a lot to offer, with themed nights on nea rly every day of the week, and a brand new club opening on the 22nd, so there’s no reason not to have a good time.

4. Don’t Forget the Important Stuff!

Although a huge part of Freshers’ Wee k is having fun, it’s essential to also do a few formal things. Health and Safety talks, compulsory meetings with tutors and registering for your course all soun d unbearable when you’ve got a bad hangover, but you’ ll be fined if you register late and you may not get your loan on time.

Also, missing an important meeting with your tutor will give a bad impression, which isn’t wise when they may be marking your assignments.

allowance for long periods of time; however, I can’t help but feel like the advice given to graduates in these situations isn’t helping anyone. “I decided not to take her CV writing advice and luckily I didn’t have to go to my second advisor interview. Coincidence?” writes Elise, who recently managed to secure a fulltime job with her degree still present on her CV. Mitch is a sociology graduate who signed on at a job centre in the MidWest, he told me he didn’t encounter

“She suggested that I should ‘dumb down’ my CV as it would impact on my chances of finding a ‘normal’ job.” anyone who told him to discard his university education from his CV, “to be honest they never looked at it,” “The Job Centre were pretty useless; no advice, no assistance just a 30 minute wait every two weeks to sign on. You spend all your life being told to “get an education” and “go to uni,” then you come out the other side with the qualification everyone has banged on about and you find yourself with very little money in a job market flooded with the unemployed.” Though Mitch’s viewpoint is that it is down to his choice in degree and that if he thought about which subject will open doors for him, as opposed to which subject he is interested in, then perhaps he would be in a more favourable position. Though how can a degree open doors for you if you’re being informed that your main concern should be getting off job-seek-

er’s allowance and into any line of work you can find, left to worry about your graduate career at a later date whilst juggling a life of pouring pints in your local pub.

Gary, a computer science graduate, encountered entirely different issues with his job centre. After finding a graduate scheme that he was eager to apply for, he realised that travel costs would have been too much. “I asked the job centre if they would help me out with this, but because the scheme was over 16 hours a week they wouldn’t do anything for me.”

“It could have meant a job for me at the end of it, so you’d think they’d be more helpful with stuff like this.” This is more evidence that the government agency simply isn’t suited for graduates at all, and perhaps they ought to be more casespecific when it comes to offering guidance and financial assistance. Luckily for Gary, he has now landed a full-time job – without the help of the job centre.

It’s evident that jobs are out there for graduates, but it is also clear that you are not going to find your way to these jobs relying on the help of the job centre. With their priorities focused on reducing unemployment figures, graduates should not go there expecting anything short of upsetting. The moral of the story would be to enjoy your time at university, learn as much as you can, all the while being aware of your future job prospects, and try to build up your skill sets and experiences. Like a professor once told me in our first lecture, “In three years you’re going to be unemployed; start thinking about that now.”

A TEETOTALER’S TIME AT FRESHERS’

by KRISTELL GRAINGER

A

s a student who doesn’t drink, I can certainly say that fresher’s week was a very daunting experience. Honestly I was petrified, convinced that everyone would look at me differently because I didn’t “fit in” with the norm. But that was not the case! Being a teetotaler was nothing to worry about, and actually it really wasn’t a total handicap when making friends. Clearly it is harder to make friends when you don’t drink or go clubbing, and that is why you have to immerse yourself in any and all other activities you can.

Joining societies is an obvious way of meeting people. Don’t over load yourself with societies, but join quite a lot if you can, you always meet interesting people there, people you wouldn’t normally think you could be friends with.

It’s a surprising experience. And go to all the taster activities uni offers. Even if you know you are not likely to join the society really, it is the best way to throw yourself out there and get to know others.

As long as you smile and swap numbers with the people you meet it’s not too difficult to maintain a friendship.

Just offer to go out for a coffee, or bake a cake and invite everyone over. That was definitely the best way I met my friends, and we kept in touch throughout the year, even though we had no classes together.

If drinking is the problem but you enjoy clubbing then just go for it. You

don’t need alcohol to enjoy yourself. In my experience it is the people you are with who make it fun, so there shouldn’t be a need to worry. If it is the clubbing that you dislike just offer up something else to do. We all went out to Nando’s for dinner on the first night; it was a much nicer atmosphere and a better way to introduce yourself.

It sounds like a cliché but just remember that everyone is in the same boat as you. Everyone is nervous and wants to fit it, and make new friends. Keep your door open to others at all times, someone is bound to come to you and be willing to try new experiences, that way you are bound to make a variety of new friends and have the most amount of fun! By the time fresher’s is at an end you won’t even remember the anxiety you felt when you first arrived, on the contrary, you’ll have great memories of the moments you spent with your new friends.

Freshers’ Issue 2012

seren.bangor.ac.uk

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Comment

PONTIO: IT’LL APPEAR ONE DAY

by MATT JACKSON

W

hen I was looking around universities a good few years back, we drove into Bangor and were told to park next to a large building. We were told that this held the University’s Students’ Union, as well as the beloved Academi and Time.

When I finally arrived at Bangor as a fresher with hope glimmering in my eye, I found out that what I was told was the old students’ union was now known as the “Pontio Site”. This would be a leading arts and innovation centre and would hold a lovely library building for us to utilize when it was open in 3rd year for our dissertations; our peer guides looked at us with envy. Now as a 3rd year I sit here saying to the new first years that they will see a lovely arts and innovation centre in 3rd year.

As I sit here writing this article, about to start my third year, the Pontio building is feeling no closer to being built than when I arrived here years ago. With the current completion date for the £40million building set at 2014 (2013 on the Pontio website), the current second years can hope that the building will be completed before they leave; much like I was told when I joined.

In fact Pontio is now starting to feel more like

a brand name than a future building.

Cast your memories back to last year when everyone in Bangor was eagerly awaiting the Pontio and Nick Grimshaw collaboration; Bangor was going to be taught how to party as hard as the likes of Fearne Cotton. Whilst Nick Grimshaw’s Bangor outing may not have gone to plan, ‘Pontio’ are making a name for themselves around Bangor as an events planning company and do add a splash of culture to the little Welsh epoch, with drama performances, film screenings, and various other experiences that aren’t otherwise offered in Bangor. However, I can’t help but feel it’s a slight move away from the original idea of a building.

I have no doubt the Pontio building will eventually appear at the foot of Main Arts, and will fulfil all of Bangor’s hopes and dreams; whether that happens by the 2014 projection or not is yet to be seen. I hope that Pontio lives up to the reputation that it has acquired as a potential business and that future students will overlook the huge delays attached to the build. I’m sure the plans of a cinema and theatre will most certainly go down well with the population of Bangor, many of which are baffled by the lack of a cinema, or more so how previous cinemas have shut down.

RIDICULOUS RESHUFFLE

by LUKE DOBSON

aybe it’s just me, but I was under the impression that it was a sensible, logical idea to fill Cabinet positions with people suited to the specific job. Well, Dave obviously doesn’t share that opinion.

In the recent reshuffle, we have been given a potentially homophobic Equality Minister and a Health Scretary who believes that homeopathic treatments should be available on the NHS. Yes, you read that correctly. Maria Miller, who is also our new Culture Secretary, has been given the title of Minister for Women and Equalities, taking over from Theresa May. Much like May before her, Miller has been criticised for her shoddy voting record on LGBT rights. Since being elected as an MP in 2005 she has either voted against, or been absent from, all major bills concerning LGBT rights. She is known to have been against gay adoption rights; the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Bill (which allows lesbian couples the ability to receive fertility treatment); and she has been in favour of defining homophobia as simply an act of freedom of speech.

It doesn’t take a wet liberal sodomite, such as me, to see that Miller is completely unsuited to hold any job which requires her to advocate equality.

Then we come to Jeremy Hunt, the

man now in de facto charge of our national health. In 2007 he signed an Early Day Motion supporting homeopathy.

When one of his constituents wrote in, expressing their concern, Hunt replied with the following: “I understand that it is your view that homeopathy is not effective, and therefore that people should not be encouraged to use it as a treatment. However I am afraid that I have to disagree with you on this issue. Homeopathic care is enormously valued by thousands of people and in an NHS that the Government repeatedly tells us is “patient-led” it ought to be available where a doctor and patient believe that a homeopathic treatment may be of benefit to the patient.”

For those of you who are in the dark about homeopathy, and believe that it is a valued treatment, let me explain the issue. Homeopathy is not medicine. It has never been scientifically verified to help people; the only way it can do is by acting as a placebo. Why? The principle behind homeopathy is to take a drop of an effective medicine and dilute it thousands of times. A helpful metaphor is if you imagine crushing one grain of rice and dissolving it in a sphere of water the size of the solar system. Sounds completely ridiculous, doesn’t it? That’s because it is when compared to actual medicine.

The argument Hunt makes is that

some people want it, so we should have it on the NHS. No, we should not. The NHS is there to provide us with healthcare, not flights of fancy promoted by a deluded minority. It may sound harsh, but I don’t want people to die because they had the opportunity to ask for homeopathic preparations over treatment that could actually help them.

It’s bad enough that the Coalition seems set on slowly dismantling the NHS in preparation for privately funded health authorities. Now we have to deal with a Minister who has no clue about the basic principles of medical science.

Then again, have we ever had Cabinet Ministers who are experienced in the areas they are given to govern? No, we are lumped with professional politicians; people who have based their lives and careers around gaining power.

What they do when they actually get in power is, I think, never fully thought about. Where are the doctors, scientists, academics and economists; people who would have the expert knowledge to run the country in the best possible way?

Yet here we are, stuck with a government who makes a homophobe Equalities Minister and a naive crack-pot Health Secretary; all the while, completely unaware of the terrible irony.

I need a paracetamol (or several thousand boxes of a homeopathic version).

time, but your own weird flatmate will make a good story to tell in the pub one day!

Living on your own also kind of forces you to do all those grown up things that you’d been avoiding for years; things like washing your clothes, remembering to buy loo roll, and making your own food.

For me, cooking was a big problem, as I was still burning toast at 18. There were still some disasters (such as burning rice to the bottom of a pan, and the smell lingering for days), but I’m happy to say I’m no longer living off Morrison’s ready

meals, and it was only living in halls that forced me to sort myself out.

Of course, one of the highlights of hall life is spontaneous flat parties.

The amount of new drinking games I learned within the first month of being at Bangor was ridiculous, and staying in for a few (well, a lot) of drinks is much cheaper, and sometimes even more fun, than going out clubbing, especially when the night ends in a few games of drunken Twister.

Still, sometimes hall living isn’t that great. Cleaning the kitchen after a flat

party when suffering with an epic hangover is not a good experience, someone WILL leave milk to go off in the fridge, and 4am fire drills are the bane of everybody’s lives. But as the second years move into their new accommodation, most of us will look back on our time in halls with fond memories; and if you make the best of it, you will too.

M

A STUDENT'S GUIDE TO LIVING IN HALLS

by BECKI WATSON

L

ike many Freshers, moving into halls was my first experience of living away from home for an extended time. When deciding which universities to put down as my firm and insurance, I was determined to move out and go into halls; not just because I wanted to go out and have parties without parents looking over my shoulder, but because I wanted more independence, and the chance to try new things by myself.

I spent my first year in Enlli on Ffriddoedd Site, in a flat with 5 other firstyears. I was lucky that all of my flatmates were lovely and we all got on well, except for one guy who we never saw leave his room. At one point we thought he might actually be dead, but it turned out that he’d moved out mid-November without telling us. And as far as weird-flatmatestories go, mine’s definitely not the worst; I heard one about a girl who left a trail of diced fruit from the kitchen to her room, to the confusion of her flatmates. It may seem frustrating at the

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Freshers’ Issue 2012

Our Olympic Legacy?

by MATT COX

T

alk of “legacy” and “inspiring a generation” was one of the main themes that pervaded the London 2012 Olympics. Merely discussing “legacy” alone, however, is not enough; it needs to be supplemented and inforced by financial backing and tangible action.

Prime Minister David Cameron, however, came under fire in the closing days and aftermath of the Olympics over a number of cuts to school sports funding, as well as his dismissal of Labour’s previous target of two hours’ compulsory school sport as a “piece of pointless Whitehall box-ticking”.

Previously, the government provided £162m annual funding for school sports partnerships. However, this was cut in October 2010 as part of a series of government cuts. Public outcry over this led to the cuts being reduced slightly. Currently, funding for school sport is £65m a year - but only until 2013.

The facts of the matter are that despite Cameron’s dismissal of Labour’s strategy, pupils’ participation in school sport increased during this time. For example, between 2003 and 2010, the number of secondary school children playing two hours or more

of sport a week rose from 20% to 85%.

Another change that has damaged school sport participation is that there is no longer a need to collect information for an annual survey of sport participation. This led to headteachers diverting money to improving what they are judged on exam results. Since sport participation is no longer monitored, it has become easier to invest in exam improvement.

It seems that the motto of the games - “inspire a generation” - has worked. The generation has been inspired, but without the necessary teaching and equipment, the “inspiration” might not go too far.

It’s not all bad news, though, as the overwhelming success of the games has seen not just the public but athletes come out in defence of a mandatory two hours of physical education. This has led to some backtracking from Cameron, who has insisted that £1bn will be invested in sport over the next four years.

He said: “If it was just about money and setting targets, we wouldn’t have a problem, but the fact is we also have to raise our ambition and change the culture so that we really encourage sport and competitive sport in schools.”

Whatever happened to ?

I

by MATT JACKSON

n the build up to the Olympics the much-criticised security company, G4S (once Group 4 Securicor,) were the talking point of the nation.

In July, a mere two weeks before the start of the games G4S told the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (locog) that it would be unable to provide enough security to cover the event.

As safety concerns grew and news outlets reported that G4S were supplying less than 75% of the expected staff the police and military were drafted in to help appease the panic and furore. G4S were meant to supply an estimated 10400 guards to the Olympic and Paralympic games.

Now in the aftermath of the Olympic games G4S are battling it out with locog over unpaid amounts.

So far G4S have been paid £90 million of the £255 million contract and have reportedly not been paid since the controversies in July. G4S chiefs did expect that the short fall in their estimations would leave at least £50 million off of their bill however bosses were bewildered with locog’s apparent refusal to pay them.

G4S chief Nick Buckles said “I’m not going to sit here and say we did a great job, but we delivered

a significant proportion of the contract.

I expect them to pay us in line with the terms of the contract”. This showed a considerably more prominent Buckles who when in parliament in July admitted that the security firms reputation was in tatters; many expect Buckles to be out of a job in the not-so-distant future.

G4S are a large security firm who operate within airports, immigration, prisons, and the police. It is a global company and is one of the largest private sector employers in the world. Following the London failures G4S have pledged to start their own independent inquiry into what exactly happened in the run up to the games and what they could have done to avoid the fuss; which is said to have had a considerable knock on their profit margins.

Early indications suggest that the G4S failures stem from a mixture of misjudging the length of recruitment, underestimating the size of the task force and the amount of administrative work organising the games security would need.

Early estimates are suggesting that G4S won’t get their full contract and, as it remains, G4S are still at loggerheads with Locog.

Drop in crime during Olympics

by MATT COX

T

he feel-good nature of the Olympics was perhaps exemplified most effectively by the significant crime drop that took place during the Games.

Starting on the Opening Ceremony, the two-week period saw crime drop in London by 6% during the Olympic - and Paralympic - games, according to head of the Met Police Bernard Hogan-Howe.

The news will be especially welcomed after the problems involving security company, G4S. G4S’ inability to deliver sufficient security staff led to fears, but Hogan-Howe said police were happy to step into the breach. “Not only did the public seem to enjoy it but also the officers didn’t want to go back,” he said.

Boris Johnson expanded on this in other comments, telling journalists that the Met had only ar-

rested nine people at games venues during the Olympics.

It was thought that ticket touts and sellers of blackmarket merchandise would be an issue, but they only had a handful of cases to deal with.

Scotland Yard said precise comparisons with 2011 would be difficult because of the riots and that exact figures were still being calculated for the threemonth Olympic and Paralympic period, but there was likely to have been a significant fall.

Freshers’ Issue 2012

seren.bangor.ac.uk

In the wake of London 2012, Luke, Matt and Matt dig deeper into the real cost of the games...

Proud to be British

by LUKE DOBSON

B

efore the Olympics, it was safe to assume that a lot of Britons were...less than hopeful about us putting on the Games. We all had our doubts; what, with the IOC cracking down on anyone using their branding, and the mess surrounding GS4, we had every right to be. Yet, when Danny Boyle’s spectacular Opening Ceremony kicked off, there seemed to be an elevation of national pride and hope seemed to return to our consistently pessimistic national mood.

I watched it happen over Twitter; as the Queen met James Bond; when Rowan Atkinson appeared playing Chariots of Fire; and how the quirky injokes which all British people have grown up knowing were broadcast for all the world to see. People began filling with pride and, as the cauldron was lit, it seemed that our country had changed into one of optimism and praise.

This sense pervaded the entire Games, as the world watched us host one of the best Olympics in living memory. Pundits from around the globe congratulated us for the organisation, for the marvellous volunteers and for the warm welcome that we had given our neighbours from around the Earth.

If that wasn’t enough, our tiny little island began to make its way up the medals table. Team GB won events we hadn’t placed in for decades, surprising us at every turn as they rose and rose. Whether you were a sports fan or not, watching our progress unfold made for excellent television and served to continue our buoyant mood.

Those two weeks were some of the oddest in this country, but they had to end. We began to come down from the high as the Closing Ceremony ebbed, yet not all of the pessimism returned. The pride lingered, and the memory of the amazing sporting achievements meant that the Paralympics were the most popular they’ve ever been.

There are many negatives concerning the Olympics but, at their heart, they are meant to unite and bring hope. This we achieved, although none of us ever thought it would happen.

What happens to the Olympic Park?

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THE OLYMPICS IN NUMBERS

90% OF THE MATERIAL INSIDE THE OLYMPIC PARK CAN BE REUSED OR RECYCLED, MAKING THIS THE GREENEST OLYMPICS YET

£10.8bn SPENT ON THE OLYMPICS IN TOTAL

27 MILLION PEOPLE WATCHED THE OPENING CEREMONY IN THE UK

£400,000 COST TO DESIGN THE OLYMPICS LOGO

135,000 ROOMS WERE AVAILABLE WITHIN A 30 MILE RADIUS OF THE OLYMPIC PARK

9.66 MILLION MENTIONS OF THE OPENING CEREMONY ON TWITTER

by LUKE DOBSON

A

t the end of the Paralympic Games, the Olympic Park was once again closed to the public. The contractors moved in to begin the work of transforming the large area into its intended legacy.

By July next year, the northern area of the Park, North Park, will reopen as a waterway filled site with playgrounds and a small capacity sporting venue for local events. The following year, the rest of the Park will open. This will have been transformed into a 50-acre urban space called South Plaza, on which 11,000 new homes will be built.

In fact, a brand new community will grow in the space once the centre-of-attention of billions of people; new schools, nurseries, health centres and places of worship will be built to bind it together.

The Athletes Village will also be transformed into almost 3,000 affordable new homes.

But what is to become of the venues we all saw Olympians triumph and fall in? Well, the Olympic Stadium is set to become the home of British Athletics, hosting the World Athletics Championships in 2017. Other events, such as concerts and other cultural events, will also take place there; and there have been bids from several football clubs and other interested sporting parties for them to use

the space.

The Aquatics Centre and Velodrome will be open for all the local community to use and the area around the Velodrome will form the new Lee Valley VeloPark which will include a reconfigured BMX tracks.

There are plans for every square inch of the Park, making sure that there is a real legacy for London.

From what we can see, the ‘inspire a generation’ message has been adopted for these projects which will carry on for decades to come; with a blossoming new community in east London, surrounded by sporting venues for all.

1.34% AMOUNT OF GOLD IN A GOLD MEDAL

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Union Cymdeithas Llwelyn

Cymdeithas Llywelyn is Bangor Students’ union’s Welsh learners society. Set up by learners, for learners! The society supports Welsh learners, regardless of level or past experiences. But that’s not all! Cymdeithas Llywelyn offer a long list of other things. We are a social society. There are loads of social events planned for the up and coming year, for your enjoyment.

Cymdeithas Llywelyn is a standing committee within Undeb Myfyrwyr Cymraeg Bangor (Bangor union of Welsh speaking students).

UMCB has a strong presence in Bangor University and is the Welsh speaking student community. The learners officer represents learners on the UMCB executive.

Cymdeithas Llywelyn are looking for new members and a chairman to represent the community of learners on the executive committee of UMCB. If you’re interested in either of the above or want more information e-mail the Society: learners@undeb.bangor.ac.uk

Free Clubs Societies!

Unlike most Students Unions up and down the UK, we here at Bangor are very lucky to be able to offer you something special! This year unlike ever before it will be free for any student to join clubs and societies! Whats the catch? Well there isn’t one. We have over 160 Clubs and Societies not to mention loads of volunteering opportunities! If you’ve got a hobby, sport or interest that you’re looking to carry on at university (or even if you don’t) come a long, to Serendipity our ‘freshers fair’ it’s the one stop shop for you to meet all the clubs, societies, volunteers, some local businesses, and plenty of friendly faces. It takes place on Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th September in Maes Glas, you don’t want to miss it!

Freshers’ Issue 2012

Serendipity!

26th-27th September

2 days during freshers’ week we’ll Serendipity is the SU Freshers’ fair. For over 60 Sports Clubs, not to menbe gathering nearly 100 Societies and who are all looking to give you crop ness tion the cream of the local busi s to sign up to a Club or Society! You freebies, vouchers, and opportunitie , see opposite for details! card or can also pick yp your Love Bang

Intramural Bangor 2012-13 Intramural sport in Bangor is looking to have its most exciting year yet, with many more sports and opportunities to participate than ever before. Whether football is your thing, or you fancy trying your hand at badminton or basketball or even simply keep fit and active through running, Intramural Bangor will be offering a wide range of opportunities to get involved. You don’t have to be experienced or ‘good’ - all you need is enthusiasm Superteams will return once again (Sunday 18th November, 1-8pm, Maes Glas), where it will be decided which AU club has the best all-round sports men and women, as will Superstars (date TBC, Maes Glas)– where individuals put their speed, strength and endurance to the test in the most gruelling day of sports activities.

This year we are establishing an intramural 7-a-side football league – Sundays 2-5pm at the artificial pitches- (anyone can enterfirst come first served!); one league per semester.

We will also be running atomic touch sessions once a week – a great way to stay fit through a sport caught between the realms of basketball and netball! On top of this, basketball and badminton (Sundays 5-8pm Maes Glas) sessions will be available, and we are also intending for the first time to

run Intramural Bangor’s very own Park Run equivalent! Look out for updates and emails to keep you informed about everything that is going on within Intramural Bangor.

Keep in touch with what is going on via the AU website (www.undeb.bangor.ac.uk/au), on Facebook (IMB Intramural Bangor Facebook group) or if you have any questions email au.intramural@bangorstudents.com. For any general information about sport in the AU contact Emyr Bath (VP Sport and Healthy Living) at Bangor VP Sport facebook or emyr. bath@hotmail.co.uk.

So if club sport does not appeal to you, you simply do not have the time needed for such a commitment, or even fancy something extra, there is plenty to try out and get involved in!

Meet Your Sabbatical Officers Mared Jones UMCB President

Antony Butcher President

Shon Prebble VP Education & Welfare

Freshers’ Issue 2012

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Union

REPPING YOUR COURSES SINCE 2010 What do Course Reps do?

Course Reps are students who volunteer to deal with any issues that affect your academic experience; things like timetable structures, teaching delivery, feedback quality and library resources. They take your opinions (good and bad) and represent them at meetings with staff in your school, to help ensure that the things you rate stay the same, and the things you’re not happy with change for the better. They also go to Course Rep Council meetings, where they let the Students’ Union know how things are going in your school and talk to other Course Reps to find out how your school compares to others.

What will I gain from being a Course Rep? The warm feeling that you’re helping to improve the academic experience of your classmates (not to mention yourself ), a range of employability skills that will make you stand out from other students, points towards your Bangor Employability Award, a strong relationship with your school and your Students’ Union, a chance to meet new people, an invitation to the Course Rep Awards Ceremony, a certificate of achievement and the chance to be Course Rep of the Year – the list could go on!

Why should I tell Course Reps what I think?

Course Reps are elected by you, so you’ll know who they are, why they’ve got the role and how they can help to make improvements. They’ll probably be in one or two of your classes too, and their details will be available at your school, so it’s really easy to get in touch with them. You might think that only you have a particular opinion or problem, but lots of other students might be thinking the same as you! If you all tell a Course Rep how you’re feeling they can identify the problem as a wider issue and do something about it. The opinions that Course Reps bring to staff in your school and college, and to the Students’ Union, are taken very seriously, so you can expect action to be taken if things aren’t going well, and for your school to be celebrated if it’s doing amazing things.

See how much you could save! bit.ly/HADk31

• NUS Extra card only costs £12 • We’ve signed up more than 50 local businesses • You can buy and collect yours on the same day in the SU • The average yearly saving with NUS Extra card is £525

Can I become a Course Rep? Yes! Any student can stand to be a Course Rep. Having Course Reps who come from all walks of life is really great, because students come from all walks of life, and they all need to be represented fairly. Your school will be electing Course Reps on a date between 24th September and 12th October, so don’t hang around! Get in touch with your school to find out when the elections will happen and make sure you’re on the list of potential Course Reps. The elections aren’t as daunting as they seem either. The very most you’ll be asked to do is say why you want to be a Course Rep to your class, and in most schools you’ll need to get just a couple of student votes to be successful.

from Theatres, to Local Shops, Salons and everything in between.

As well as all the exciting discounts offered already by NUS Extra, look out for the Love Bangor window stickers which look just like (see image) for additional savings, and the best part is, you’ll be supporting local business too!

For a full list of all the benefits love Bangor gets you just visit bangorstudents.com/lovebangor/

What is the Students' Union?

For more information about becoming a Course Rep, or contacting your Course Rep if you have an issue, contact Course Rep Coordinator Michelle: michelle.hamlet@bangorstudents.com / 01248 383651.

Sabbatical Officers are students who have taken a year out to be your representatives and look after your Students’ Union. We’re elected by you and we work for you - so if you have issues that you feel are important to make your student experience the best it can be, let us know so that we can get on it! There are five of us - you can find out more about each of us and our specific roles on our website bangorstudents.com

Ash Kierans VP Societies & Community

So whether you’ve just got here, recently got back, or never left, if you don’t already we reckon that you’ll Love Bangor by the time you leave. You’ve probably heard of NUS Extra but do you know about Love Bangor?

Love Bangor is our own (free) little addition to the NUS Extra card, if you’re a Bangor student and you sign up for an NUS Extra card, you automatically gain all the added business we’ve rooted out for you,

Emyr Bath

VP Sport & Healthy Living

The Students’ Union is YOUR organisation run by students for students.

We’re completely independent from the University, which means that we can campaign and lobby for change on your behalf. It doesn’t matter if you’re a first year undergraduate, a final year post-graduate, international student or a distance learner, there are many ways in which you can participate and get your voice heard.

The Union also offers loads of sports clubs, societies and volunteering

projects to keep you entertained and active. You can try your hands at new things, from comedy to medieval re-enactment, from Gaelic football to handball, and from learning Welsh to playing Quidditch!

Alongside all of this is UMCB, the Welsh Union. This provides events and support for all Welsh speakers and learners. You can find the Union in Bryn Haul near the Ffriddoedd Site, behind Bar Uno on Victoria Drive.

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Societies

Freshers’ Issue 2012

COME SEE US AT SERENDIPITY!

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BAR UNO 27TH SEPTEMBER 7PM

BANGOR UNIVERSITY OFFICER TRAINING CORPS

by SAM SMITH

W

ales University Officer Training Corps (WUOTC) is a part of the British Army, which provides military leadership training to students at Welsh universities, including Bangor! The Officer Training Corps (OTC) intends to develop the leadership potential of selected university students through challenging yet enjoyable training in the UK and overseas- you even get paid for your time!

During your first year in the UOTC, you take part in a vast range of activities that introduce you to life as a British Army Officer. From learning the basics of operating in the field as an infantry soldiers, to discovering how to tie a bow-tie and avoid social faux-pas at formal mess functions, the OTC certainly has it all!

You are given the opportunity to gain valuable leadership skills through hands-on experience in a military environment. You also get the opportunity to improve your physical fitness and mental robustness, both in the field and on the various courses run by the army that you can attend – for example, meeting the tough demands that Sandhurst requires should you want to join the Regular/Territorial Army after university!

WUOTC regularly plans adventurous training trips. Past excursions include skiing in the Alps, sailing in Croatia, climbing in Greece, surfing in Devon, sea kayaking in Cyprus,

trekking in Transylvania, parachuting in California and sailing in Germany.

Perhaps the best thing about the UOTC however is the cracking bunch of people from across Wales that you get to work and train alongside.

The camaraderie and banter both in the field and in the many socials throughout the year develops particularly strong friendships that certainly enhance the whole experience!

Our fantastic year was rounded off with a 2 week Summer Camp consisting of a 6 day foray in the field putting into practice the skills we learned on the 5 weekends throughout the year. The second week consists of a number of adventurous training activities, in camp training and cultural visits/socials.

One of the great things about OTC is that you can make what you want of it. There is no requirement to join the army, so if you fancy a job at university that pays you to gain an insight into how the army works then this is surely for you! Like anything in life, you get out of it what you put in; but then again, the instructors are flexible and recognise that university commitments come first.

For me, WUOTC has given me the opportunity to meet people who are like minded; people who do not stick to the student stereotype. I cannot wait for this year to begin!

Visit our stall at Serendipity! www.facebook.com/bangorotc

Post-Graduate Student Forum

T

he Postgraduate Student Forum (PGSF) wishes a warm welcome to all incoming postgraduates.

You may be feeling that Welcome Week is designed for undergraduates.

This is partly true – but we all need time for meeting people, settling in, relaxing, and preparing for the start of the semester. (And we notice that you have already strayed from your desk far enough to pick up a copy of Seren. Well done! ) Perhaps postgraduates need Welcome Week more than anyone. Because once the studying begins, it’s postgrads that tend to have a harder time: a bigger workload, a greater risk of isolation, and a larger number of distractions, such as teaching and publishing. And that’s partly why the PGSF is important.

The PGSF is a representative group for postgrad students across Bangor University, working closely with the Students’ Union. We attend key university meetings to make sure that the viewpoint of postgraduates is being put across. So, when Welcome Week is long gone and you are in the throes of your thesis, we can help deal with any issues you encounter within the University. Contact us with any postgraduate matter, and we’ll find

out who else is having the same problem, who in the university should be dealing with it, and what can be done to make an improvement. Then you can save your own time for the more important stuff.

As well as lending support to postgraduate issues, the PGSF helps you to fend off the isolation of research (at least temporarily), and to build a community of fellow researchers. Over the last year we have organised a number of social events for postgraduate students, including evenings of food and drink where postgrads have met, networked, and shared ideas. We will be running similar events this year, as well as working with the Academic Development Unit on lunchtime research seminars, and incorporating our General Meetings and elections into a more relaxed and participatory format. In addition, we will be organising a conference in the second semester, where researchers from Bangor and other institutions will share their expertise.

Remember to look out for our events, check us out on Facebook, and keep us on speed dial in case of academic emergencies.

You crown the winner!

VARIETY SHOW Enjoyed reading Seren so far? Then why not think about joining us?

With societies and clubs being free to join this year there’s never been a better time to give in to your inner journalist!

Seren has been an important part of Bangor University for over one hundred years, though we weren’t called Seren way back when!

One of the best things about being a part of Bangor’s English Language Student Newspaper is how rewarding it can be. Not only do you get to see 2500 copies of your hard work distributed around Bangor but you gain tonnes of experience.

Seren is a society that allows you

to choose your commitment level. If you’re the kind of person who joins a society and gives it their all then why not consider joining up and running to be one of the following Sub-Editor’s; Environment, Health and Beauty, Music, Film, Books or Travel.

And if none of them take your fancy then why not come along and suggest a page we don’t already have? At Seren we always want new pages.

But if you can’t commit as much time come and write for us or maybe become a Seren photographer!

Why don’t you pop over for a chat, and some freebies, at our Serendipity stall 26th and 27th Sept.

by LUCY BISHOP

W JAPANESE SOCIETY

by LUCY BARRETT

S

et up in mid-2011, the Japanese Society aced its first academic year of running and was nominated for a Society Award in 2012.

Though we did not win, we have become more determined than ever to deliver the best possible society for those interested in cultural exchange.

In the past, we have held sessions on origami, anime drawing, music, language and celebrated festivals from both Britain and Japan. We also took a group to the Manchester’s Doki Doki Festival and held games and film nights.

This year, after taking on board suggestions from society members, we hope to host monthly film nights, more social events and provide more information for students hoping to travel either abroad to Japan or around the UK for international students.

Everyone is welcome at the Japanese Society; it doesn’t matter if you are an international or home student.

Our first meeting of 2012-2013 is on Thursday 4th October. We will be watching the Studio Ghibli film ‘Spirited Away’. You’re welcome to join us! japsoc@undeb.bangor.ac.uk!

e are a drama society that performs six student-written or published plays each year.

This coming semester we are performing ‘Amadeus’ by Peter Schaffer, ‘No Sex Please, We’re British’ by Alistair Foot and ‘Arabian Nights’ by Dominic Cooke. We don’t just put on plays either! We pack our semesters with extra projects which include Medieval/ Victorian Festivals, Murder Mystery Evenings, Labyrinth Theatre projects, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, 48 hour projects, radio plays and many more!

No matter what experience you have, you can get involved in anything from Acting and Directing to Lighting and

On September 30th PSYCH Society presents to all students and staff members PSYCH’s Bangor Variety Fest! A night dedicated to societies, for your enjoyment! Presenting a full night from 7pm doors until 10.30pm with perfomances from Comedy Soc, SODA, BEDS, Rostra, Circ Soc, Dance and Al Bahiyya as well as featuring Storm FM, Stage Crew and more!

This fantastic night will provide nonstop entertainment for all attendees, at £2 in advance or £3 on the doors, with all proceeds going to help the Bangor Specal Olympics, Hope House and Happy Faces charities. Tickets are available from the Wheldon Reception, Serendepity or contact Psych@ undeb.bangor.ac.uk - it’s certainly not an event you want to miss!

Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange

Costume. We can train you up in anything you would like to learn, and we very much welcome new skills, such as Music or Dance.

We have fun while putting on a variety of great plays. With regular socials and a huge selection of exciting projects you’ll never have a boring week.

If you want to act then all you need to do is turn up to one of our open auditions. Our auditions for this semesters plays will take place on 8th/9th/10th October in JP Hall. If production is more your thing, then just turn up to one of our meetings and meet our production manager who can find projects for you to be involved in! b e d s @ u n d e b. b a n g o r. a c . u k

U

nity Bangor is the Student Union’s LGBTQ+ Society. We aim to represent you and your views, keep you informed on all things LGBTQ+, and make sure you’re entertained with our fun-filled social events!

We’re very excited about this Fresher’s Week, because we have some brilliant events. First off, on Tuesday we’re having our brand new club night at Academi: Identity! With our resident DJ, you’ll enjoy an eclectic mix of your favourite music at Bangor’s only attitude-free night!

We’ll also be at Serendipity, where we will be launching our latest campaign; I Take One Everywhere. This

campaign focuses on safe sex, and as such we will be giving out free condoms. We’ll also be giving out useful leaflets on LGBTQ+ issues. Come and see us for a chat or sign up to our email list!

After Serendipity on Wednesday, we’ll be having a BBQ where you can get to know our committee and each other.

We also have our weekly non-alcoholic event LGBTea in Blue Sky Cafe where you can enjoy light-hearted conversation and a hot beverage.

If you want to stay in the loop, make sure you check out our website www. unitybangor.co.uk and like us on Facebook or even follow us on Twitter.

Freshers’ Issue 2012

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Welfare

M

My name is Dafydd, the lovable bear mascot always there for hugs, and I’m here to tell you about Nightline, the information and listening service run by students for students. You may notice posted throughout the university buildings and sites posters with my face all over them and wondering what Nightline is but never fear, I am here to enlighten you all.

Nightline is a service that runs from 8pm at night to 8am in the morning every single day during term time. Coming to university can be a little scary for some, I know I was terrified but I had so much fun with all the volunteers at Nightline that I felt right in place and they are there to help you too; whether it be wishing to talk about missing family or friends, feeling worried at night and wanting to talk to someone to just wanting to get the number of a taxi company or take away then Nightline is the number you can phone for all that information and more.

They are confidential so don’t worry that it will be spread around like gossip and they are non-judgemental. You can also find out more information by going to our website at bangorstudents.com/nightline. If you are interested in joining the Nightline society and becoming a volunteer then you should pop along to their stand in Serendipity and ask for more information. Nightline fully trains all its volunteers and gives them transferable skills which are great for showing to your future employers. I will be at Serendipity too and I always love a good hug or being in a photo with people.

Thank you for bearing with me and reading this article! Bye!

nawdd nos|nightline nawdd nos|nightline

nawdd nos|nightline

www.undeb.bangor.ac.uk/nightline 01248 362121

www.undeb.bangor.ac.uk/nightline 01248 362121

www.undeb.bangor.ac.uk/nightline 01248 362121

Meet the Wardens...

International Student Support Office

C

Do you fancy a FREE trip to Beijing?

roeso, Welcome, Huan ying, Swaa-gat hai, Bienvenue, Willkommen, Benvenuti, Cead Mile Failte, Yookoso, Kalos ilthate, Ahlan Wa Sahlan to all of you from International Student Support Office.

How can I win a trip to China? In partnership with the CSSA (Chinese Students and Scholars Association) we are proud to announce “Culture Challenge 2013”. It’s a student-led event which aims to promote cultural understanding and acceptance amongst Bangor students in a diverse and original way. How does it work? Very easy: you apply, we randomly draw 8 teams that compete against each other in a series of tasks and, if you are lucky (and good enough), you will win the opportunity of a lifetime to visit one of the most amazing places in the world!

For more information and how to apply see: http://www.bangor.ac.uk/ international/support/index.php.en Don’t miss our new “Learning Lounge” – a series of free workshops to help you make the most out of your time at Bangor University. The Learning Lounge is informal, social and covers a range of topics. It’s coordinated in partnership with the Careers Office.

The Learning Lounge happens every two weeks, starting Wednesday 17th October in Deiniol Library, 12.30pm

- 2.30pm. Want to get involved? We invite all students (and staff ) to submit proposals to host a Learning Lounge.

The International Student Support Office is to help international students (including EU) to get the best out of their time in Bangor. We are based at the new International Education Centre in Rathbone Hall and we provide advice and guidance on a range of welfare-related matters to international students and their families.

We also organise a range of extracurricular activities: trips, music, performances, art & craft, sports and much more! For our events programme, see: http://www.bangor.ac.uk/international/support/news_trips.php.en Please note that our events are open to ALL students (international and UK) and we would welcome your ideas and suggestions. Moreover, if you have a talent or can you sing/dance/perform or want to learn new things, we want to hear from you! We are currently recruiting volunteers and performers to help us run our events. We can offer a full induction, supervision, references and tons of fun! If you are interested or want to know more, please email Manuela on m.vittori@bangor.ac.uk.

P

hones have a faint click before they start ringing. They do! But sometimes when the phone rings that click is not a click, it may as well be a gunshot. When on call that faint click is enough to wake a warden from the deepest of slumbers with a jolt to cause reflexes of a ninja... The Nokia ringtone itself just adds extra familiarity to the situation and acts as a reminder to retrieve the on-call bag and the trusty warden hoody from its door hook on the way out to the security lodge.

Being a warden is great! It’s a job of opposites though. It’s fun but sometimes upsetting. It’s easy when you can fix other people’s problems with the smallest of actions, but it’s hard when you’re trying all you can do to help make something better and you know it’s to no avail. You’re a hero when you help someone out but you’re a villain when you call to a flat about a noise complaint or kitchen mess.

I’m about to start my 2nd year as a warden on Ffriddoedd site. I will share the pleasure of calling it ‘home’ with about 2,000 other students this year. I don’t really know what Ffridd residents or other stu-

dents think we do so I’ll share....

Wardens start their role in a week of intensive training in mid-September before other residents arrive.

Every week, I will check the kitchens that have been assigned to me and chat with residents on my corridors.

When I am on duty I sign in at 6pm and remain on duty until 8am the next morning and for all that time I am available to any student on site for any reason. Every call out that is made is logged and followed up. All

“Our role is to ensure that halls is a pretty good place for everyone to live” wardens keep up to date with the log so as to stay informed as to what is happening on site on a daily basis.

I have a warden sign on my door.

Wardens are on site for the welfare of all residents and pretty much our role is to ensure that halls is a good (or hopefully better!) place for everyone to live and spend time happily.

All wardens are actively involved in the Inter-Hall Spirit programme which sees all halls competing recreationally across a wide range of sporting

and non-sporting activities. This gives wardens a chance to get to know all their students better as well as enjoy a bit of friendly banter with each other

“I have a warden sign on my door. “

I also just live a normal life. I’m in the 2nd year of my PhD, which I love! I have great friends and try to keep up a bit of a work life balance. I go home (to the emerald isle) when I can. I hate Monday mornings or walking to school in wind and rain but its all part of the whole ‘student experience’ I reckon.

So I guess that’s the bones of what you need to know about wardens.

We aren’t counsellors or ogres or fairy godmothers, we are just students with a bit of training in how to hopefully make the whole ‘living in halls’ part of university life a bit better ( at least for some people).

If you have any further questions about wardening or wardens just ask any of us. But for now welcome to Bangor University! My top tip for university life: make it the best few years possible. Oh and invest in a decent waterproof coat!

18

seren.bangor.ac.uk

Freshers’ Issue 2012

Bangor University: A History The History...

Famous Graduates Danny Boyle

The creation of Bangor University is a tale of sacrifice for the progression of education; a true story of the everyday hero.

by SAMANTHA AUSTIN

incorparating the Welsh language in all. The University has always accepted women onto their n 1881, after much campaigning, it was finally courses, and has opened their doors to both rich decided that there should be an increase in ac- and poor since it first opened.

With the money raised from the local people, cess to Universities in Wales; one was planned for the South and one for the North. Conwy, Den- Bangor city donated a 10 ache plot to build a bigh and Porthmadog were among the many new, specially built, University. In 1911 the imtowns that competed for the honour. The criteria pressive Main Arts building opened and the was to be beautiful and show an aptitude for the University established itself in a position on top acquisition of knowledge. In 1883 Bangor was of Bangor. It wasn’t until 1926 though, that the science departments had chosen.

The local quarry“I consider the act of those quarrymen of Pen- a new home, and were men, tradesmen and rhyn. It’s a noble thing for men sitting round this able to move out of the farmers had banded table to give their hundreds and their thousands, Penryhn Arms Hotel, ustogether to give but for a poor man to give his one pound or his five ing funding from North theire pennies and pounds out of his daily earnings means to deny Wales Heroes Memorial.

The University would their pounds to make himself something. That is real sacrifice.” not exist as it does toa future for higher day without the genereducation in Bangor.

At the opening ceremony on 18 October 1884, ous financial input, passion and persistance of AJ Mundella, the MInster of Education, summed the local population.

During the second world war the Prichard Jones up the feeling of pride and sacrifice from the local Hall was used to store the treasures from the populous.

The first building to house Bangor University National Gallery of London. And students were was the old Penryhn Arms Hotel, situated be- evacuated to Bangor University from University tween Maesgeirchen and Hirael, and what is left College London. Bangor University has proven of it can be found today after a stroll along Beach that it is safe and secure., and is still one of the safest Universities in the UK today.

Road.

For a summarised history of Bangor University At first the University offered only English, history, Greek, mathematics, physics, philosophy feel free to peruse Bangor University 1884 - 2009 and chemistry., in the medium of English, but has by Dr David Roberts, registrar of the University. established itself worthy in many other subjects,

I

One of the most historically significant of Bangor’s alumni, Edwards was the pioneer behind one of the biggest medical breakthroughs in recent history; the development of IVF in 1968 and the birth of the first ‘test tube baby’ Louise Brown in 1978. By 2010 an estimated 4 million babies have been born by IVF, an achievement for which he was subsequently awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Robert G Edwards

Kate Roberts After obtaining a degree in Philosophy, Bérenger went on to establish the Mauritian Militant Movement political party in his home country Mauritius. The party always received more than 40% of direct votes in general elections, something which caused Bérenger to become first Deputy and then later Prime Minister of Mauritius from 2003-2005, and establish his current position as leader of the Opposition.

An English graduate, Boyle is an internationally acclaimed director, writer and producer. His films include Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, 127 Hours and Slumdog Millionaire, which won a staggering, 7 Baftas, 5 Critic’s choice awards and eight Oscars in 2008, including Best Director and Best Picture. Most recently Boyle acted as Artist Director for the London Olympics 2012 opening ceremony and is tipped for a place in the New Year’s Honours list.

One of the foremost welsh language authors of the 20th century, Roberts graduated with a degree in Welsh Literature in a period where women, particularly of her class, were generally denied access to higher education. Her extensive works are notable for their focus on life in rural Welsh communities. She later became a regular contributor to the first Welsh language newspaper Y Faner.

Paul Berenger

And Around Bangor...

Frances Barber

An actress of the stage and screen, Barber graduate from Bangor in the same class as her then boyfriend Danny Boyle with a degree in Drama.

She has played many of the greatest female roles such as Eliza Doolittle and Lady Macbeth, winning an Olivier Award for Best Newcomer, as well as working alongside greats such as Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh and Ian McKellen, who funded a library in her name in India.

Honorary Alumni

D

olwyddelan Castle is traditionally the birthplace of Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, situated near Llanberis, it covers two routes through Snowdonia and is the sight of royal prisioners and military take overs.

To the south of Bangor sits Caernarfon Castle, the place where the Princes of Wales are coronated. An awe inspiring giant of a building, which retains most of its original structure.

The walled town of Conwy was once protected

by Conwy Castle, and due to its position enjoyed a successful sea merchant business. Later the Victorians built upon on the old town and modern Conwy is now a beautiful mix of Victorian structure and medieval charm.

Beaumaris was once the Victorian base of the English justicial system in North Wales. The Gaol and courts were used for only a short time, but

by SOPHIE SMITH Archbishop Desmond Tutu

highlighted the unfair treatment of the Welsh by the English courts, and the castle boasts the only moated castle in the area.

Penrhyn Castle is a 19th-century neo-Norman castle, built by the owners of the local slate mine.

The Penrhyn Slate Quarry was the largest in the world in the 19th cantury, and boasts one of the earliest railways.

Over in Anglesey one finds Bryn Celli Ddu, a burial chamber dated to the late 3rd century BC. Evidence indicates multiple religious systems.

Aberffraw is the archaic base of the old Welsh Princes and was once the site of the weird and wonderful old traditional ways.

Finally Bangor is a Victorian city, and boasts one of the longest piers in the UK, as well as a beautiful town centre full of well used Victorian buildings.

Already a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end Apartheid in South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu further added to his numerous accolades with an honorary degree for services to world peace and reconciliation alongside David Attenborough in June 2009. Upon accepting his award he praised the people of Wales, stating that “I’ve always had a soft spot for Wales ....... We owe a great deal to yourselves, when we won the spectacular victory over apartheid, the victory would have been totally impossible without support of the many international communities and you in Wales were among our most committed supporters....”

David Attenborough

As a man who needs no introduction, David Attenborough is one of only four people to receive

an honorary degree from the university, which was awarded to him in June 2009 for services to broadcasting and the study of the environment.

The university holds a strong relationship to Attenborough, as his father is a graduate of Coleg Normal and his brother, acclaimed actor and director Richard Attenborough, is also an honorary fellow of the university.

Philip Pullman

The author of 20 novels to date, Philip Pullman is best known for his ‘His Dark Materials’ Trilogy, which has been adapted for stage, screen and radio, and has won several awards such as the Carnegie Medal, the Guardian Children’s Book Award, and the Whitbread Book of the Year Award - the first time in history that the prize was given to a children’s book. Pullman has been actively involved within the university as a guest speaker on several occasions.

seren

FRESHERS’ GUIDE 2012

sex&Drugs 20

seren.bangor.ac.uk

Freshers’ Issue 2012

YOUR ULTIMATE GUIDE TO STAYING SAFE AND CLEAN, AND PREVENTING ANY TEARS DURING FRESHERS’ WEEK

1.no means no

University isn’t all about sex. Sure, Bangor was last year listed as the university with the most amount of sexual partners per person, but that shouldn’t mean you end up doing anything you’re not comfortable with. Take your time, wait till you’re ready, and most importantly, know that you can always say, “no”. Perhaps not so bluntly, just incase you think the other person might be a keeper. Saying, “not tonight” or “I’m not ready yet” is no big deal, and anyone who says otherwise isn’t worth the price of a condom. Which brings us nicely to point #2...

2.be safe

Once you’re comfortable and willing to have sex, the next golden rule is the obvious one; safety. Always carry a condom. It’s as simple as that. You never know who you might run into round the corner, or bump into in peep, and you never know how far it might go, so it’s always worth to be prepared. Condoms protect you from both STIs and unwanted pregnancies, unlike the pill, which only prevents the pitter-patter of tiny feet in your uni halls.

However it’s not just intercourse you need to be careful with; you should be wearing condoms during oral sex as well to ward off the spread of any unsightly mouth afflictions - I’m talking about herpes, people, you don’t want to be catching this giveaway a week before you’re due to visit your parents. For guys it’s simple, put something on the end of it. For girls, it’s still simple, cut the tip off your finest Durex, then slice the whole thing in half from top to bottom and hey presto! You’ve got yourself a dental dam. Easy.

3.GET TESTED

If you follow the first two rules then chances are you won’t need to heed this advice, but no matter how safe and cautious you are, it is always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to these things.

Regular visits to a clinic or hospital will give you peace of mind and ensure you that you’re doing the right thing when it comes to safe sex. If you ever feel that something isn’t quite right and are thinking of getting checked, but are too scared to do so, then speak up. Friends are there for a reason, however if you’d rather keep it from them there are a heap of support services available here at Bangor such as Nightline. Don’t worry, keep calm, and remember that it’s better to feel relief than fear and doubt.

1.NO MEANS NO

Just like with sex, and anything else for that matter, if you don’t want to do something then you shouldn’t. The university environment introduces you to all kinds of new things, and not all of them are good, therefore it’s important to remember that you can always back away from any situation you don’t feel comfortable with. Nobody has the right to pressure you into doing something you’re unsure about, and if they persist, they’re probably not worth sticking around with. Remember, drugs also means alcohol, and have no doubt that there’s a lot of that out there. Everywhere you go while at university (at least in the night time) there is likely to be a few drunk people around, stumbling to the next water hole, getting their next vodka fix.

2.KNOW YOUR STUFF

If you’re thinking of experimenting, like many people do while at university, then be sure to read up about any substance you’re considering. It’s better to know what you’re taking, its effects and how to deal with a bad trip if you have one. Websites like The Pill Report include detailed accounts of peoples’ experience on different branded extacy pills. It is also a good idea to do your research on possible sources; dodgy dealings should be avoided at all times. Ask around, get some recommendations and the golden rule - be safe!

3.FIND A SAFE SPACE

Make sure when taking any substance that you’re in a safe environment. And by that, I don’t just mean place, it’s also good to be surrounded by familiar people who you can trust - just incase anything goes wrong. Be a wise drug user, consider everything we’ve suggested and your time at university should be free of disaster. Though know the risks you’re taking when partaking in any form of illegal or illicit activity (which we are in no way endorsing). For example; studying to become a teacher? If you’re caught by security, or worse, then you can wave goodbye to that dream - and those annual summer holidays.

FUNFACTS

Z 6 g ÷ =â A 63% of all STI cases occur among people less than 25 years of age.

MDMA is safer than alcohol

The average person will spend 600 hours having sex between the ages of 20 and 70.

Every other young person aged 16-25 says they have tried drugs

10,000 people a year are hospitalised due to alcohol

28 miles per hour is the average ejaculation speed

30 minutes of active sex burns approximately 200 calories.

Freshers’ Issue 2012

seren.bangor.ac.uk

21

Freshers’ Guide to Bangor

by GARY BULLOCK

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3 4

1 Mike’s Bites

Grease just when you need it. Perfect for combatting the morning after a rough night out. Mike’s Bites is known around Bangor for its range of all day breakfast meals, there to cure your hangover whenever you choose to face it.

With seating areas both upstairs and downstairs, it’s the perfect spot away from the world to help you wash down your hangover with a pint of tea.

All in all it’s a good place to have a morning debrief and hang out all the dirty laundry from last night, even if you’re still wearing it.

Seren Recommends: The greedy bastard

Blue Sky

Just off the high street, Blue Sky is hidden behind an alleyway next to the butchers. A great place to have lunch or just escape. With ethical locally sourced produce, you know you’re doing your bit even when you indulge in one of their delicious cakes with a cup of their fairtrade coffee.

Perfect on a cold winter’s day when they stoke the stove fire keeping you comfortable and cosy.

Blue Sky also hosts a variety of events from gigs to poetry readings for you to enjoy while you relax over a cup of herbal tea.

Seren Recommends: Chicken in a Basket

The Tap and Spile

A really good old fashioned pub. Serving exactly what you would expect, perfect pub grub at great prices while offering a selection of real ales on draught. Although it’s a trek away from town, you’ll be glad you made the trip because you’ll be treated to the views of the Menai Straits while you sit down to have your meal.

It’s an ideal way to round off a day at the pier, being only a short walk away. Tuesday is pub quiz day at The Tap which is free to enter so why not give it a go!

Seren Recommends: Giant Yorkshire puddings

Oscar’s Lounge

Oscar’s Lounge is a weird one. One week it’s an Indian restaurant, the next it’s a wine bar. Whatever the theme, Oscar’s is a safe retreat from the hectic mayhem often found in the likes of Paddy’s.

Interior design is cool and sleek, and the atmosphere is always welcoming. Beware when taking drunken friends to this bar, however, for you might end up footing the bill of that £30 bottle of bubbly they ordered but couldn’t provide the cash for. True story.

Seren Recommends: All you can eat Indian buffet

6 5 Crumbs

A great alternative to Subway, offering larger portions at a fraction of the price with everything freshly prepared in front of you. Serving a wide range of sandwiches, Jackets and pastas, which you can mix and match the filling to suit your tastebuds. A great choice for your lunchtime needs if you are down on the highstreet.

Seren Recommends: Chilli and cheese jacket potatoe

7 The Pier Cafe

This really is one place that you should visit during your time at Bangor. If not to enjoy the pier itself but for the great reward of tea and scones in this warm and inviting cafe. being served by the friendly staff it is a quiant way to spend a day out Seren Recommends: Scones and tea

The Belle Vue

With the renovation, life has been forced back into it, giving it a more up to date look that not only looks but feels more alive. With its opening up of the room allowing more of the bar to accessed at any one time, freeing it from its previous clostrophobic layout. serving a usual selection of beers, wines and spirits to start the night off right or to continue on until the end. the outdoor courtyard allows you to take a break on a night out for some fresh air and chat in the peaceful setting.

8 The Butcher’s

If you thought you had good meat, then you’re in for a treat. The butchers serves some of the finest cuts of locally sourced meat that are usually cheaper than their supermarket counterparts.

Using their fine range of fresh meats in sandwichs, pastries and deli options makes it a great alternative for lunch on the go. With their friendly staff you’ll never be disappointed with a visit.

Seren Recommends: The breakfast baps

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.

The

ROGUES GALLERY TATTOO AND ART STUDIO

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01248 355140

The Rogues Gallery

Whatever you’re looking for, whether that be a new tattoo, your first tattoo, another piercing for the collection or even just some cool jewellery the Rogues have got it. We guarantee you won’t find a nicer, more helpful or professional bunch. The studio is located just up the hill past Varsity and is also home to The Rogue’s Den where you can get some really cool, antique items. The gallery is one to keep an eye on as we hear those rogues are planning a special student event real soon!

Relics

Out of the way behind the high street, Relics is guaranteed to fill your house with everything from quirky little trinkets to beds and sofas. You can always find a good bargain when you go in and who knows what treasures you might find there.

Some of our best finds were mirrors for £1 and desk chairs for a fiver.

12

11 The Late Stop

The only 24hr convenience store within walking distance in Bangor. There to help you out on those long all nighters when all you need is another bar of chocolate and an energy drink to keep you going.

This place is a complete god-send when it’s past closing time on a Sunday and your house has run out of tea or loo roll.

Elias Garage

For a lot of students finding a reliable garage isn’t at all relevant but for those of us with cars its essential! The guys at Elias are a friendly bunch and won’t screw you over like a lot of other garages.

They are honest, professional and always up for a good chat. Located at the end of the High Street, Elias Garage is definitely your first stop for motor problems. Plus they are part of Love Bangor!

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Sparks

Nice ‘n Naughty

Zip Print

Oriental Grocery Food Store

Sparks is a place that can be easily missed being tucked away in the upper floors on the Bangor high street, but one that definitely shouldn’t as you will be in need of this hidden gem for all of your fancy dress parties. With the store catering for everything from full costumes to those finishing touches on your own inspired designs. Without a shred of doubt fancy dress nights are part of the essence that is the university experience, you will find yourself calling in on this place in your hour of need just before what is sure to be an epic night out.

Not many people would admit to paying a visit to Nice ‘n Naughty but it’s something many residents of Bangor have done. It’s great for novel birthday presents, the item you need to explore that new fetish or spice up a hot night. With some of the friendliest and most professional staff around you’re sure to feel comfortable, whatever your needs.

With an interesting selection of flavoured lubes and condoms, you’re guranteed to find something that takes your fancy.

You probably won’t see much of this place until the end of your third year but it’s somewhere you need to be aquianted with when your planning to get down to writing that dreaded dissertation. Just don’t leave it till last minute as I’m sure you’ll be tempted to do, as around hand in time this place gets very busy and you may have to allow extra time for binding. Though if you are in a pickle, they do have a rush binding service that costs a bit more but could mean you’ll be making that deadline.

Feeling a bit homesick or fancy a totally new taste experience? This might be the place for you, you’ll find all the ingredients you’ll need to be cooking up a storm in no time.

If you’re feeling sick of Morrisons’ 17p noodles then you might want to try some from here, they have a very wide selection with every flavour under the sun. And if you want to get hold of some real Mountain-Dew then they have that too!

Find our stands at any of the points or pick up a copy from any of these locations - Your halls kitchen - Late Stop - Mike’s Bites - Students’ Union - Rathbone and Garth - JP Hall

- Management Centre - Academi Shop - Uno - Fridd Shop - Rogue’s Gallery - Neuadd Willis

i a n M e

Halls of Residence

BA

Sports and Leisure buildings University buildings Nightclub Library Supermarket

Friddoedd Site

Restaurants to take your parents to, see page 38 1 Brigantia 2 Hen Goleg 3 JP Hall 4 Rathbone

5 Finance Office 6 Dean St 7 Wheldon 8 Brambell

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Playing Fields

Maes Glas Sports Centre

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Normal Site Library Y Bistro

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BE L N MO

Menai Bridge, Treborth Sports Site, A55, Junction 9

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Freshers’ Issue 2012

his Summer Seren was invited back to Bangor Fire Station for a cup of tea, a chat and the chance to dress up as a fireman and play with all the cool toys. This year Editor, LJ, was joined by Design Man, Cisco and News Editor, Nicola. The friendly Blue Watch were eager to tell us about everything they do for the city of Bangor. After giving us those cool statistics that we have further down the page, they took us out to have a look at all the kit. From the heavy gear used to cut through cars to the fire Jeep, super secretive IRU and new to the collection speedboat you can be rest assured that Bangor Fire Station are fully kitted out to keep us safe. We also learnt Cisco has a good throwing arm and Nicola rocks the cool ‘I’m just sitting in a speedboat’ look.

The sudden sound of alarms was treated casually by the guys who quickly suited up and rushed out to a call. Ten minutes later they were back, Bangor was safe.

That’s when we got down to business and moments later Cisco and Nicola were suited up. Have a look what we learnt.

300 £600 67 The amount of call outs to university halls per year

THE COST TO SEND OUT 2 FIRE ENGINES

The average number of smoke alarms set off from steam per year

The firefighters at Bangor express that they don’t want to be seen as a uniform service; they are very approachable!

Bangor’s firefighters are fully trained to deal with flooding and have their own top of the range fire speedboat.

Unlike other emergency services, the Fire Service can’t prioritise calls. This means if they are called to a false alarm they could be delayed to a real emergency!

Freshers’ Issue 2012

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Money

SAVE MONEY WITH few n we’ve come up with a re Se at re he t Bu ! ive ns s for cheap food Being a student is expe ded overdraft! From idea ea dr e th of t ou u yo ep gether a simple tips to ke vered! We’ve also put to co it t go ’ve we wn do lls even rated the to ways to keep your bi ounts, freebies, and we’ve sc di lf se ur yo t ge to es u need?! list of the best plac city. What more could yo e th nd ou ar le ab ail av s discount card

HOUSEHOLD BILLS

s may seem like saving money on your bill ople do assume pe Some of these top tips for ny ma w ho g t its surprisin simple common sense bu need to do. n’t do y the s ng thi they are appliances, such as your tv, Instead of leaving electrical n it off. You sole etc on standby, tur DVD player, games con could save up to £130! ally n forget about it, especi one in to charge and the soon as its as it ing gg plu It’s easy to plug your ph un t jus did you know that by if you’re off to bed! But y bill. save £5 on your electricit ld cou you fully charged se its cheap or to warm s of tea, whether its becau Students seem to like cup broken we’re not sure. Either way if you make g’s them up when the heatin il as much water as you’re going to need then bo ly on you at sureth r bill! that’s up to £50 Off you light blubs do lbs! True energy efficient rm up but by And then there’s lightbu wa to ger lon e etimes tak cost more money and som n you can save on average £30. m the switching 5 bulbs to the

GROCERY SHOPP

What time do they start reducing?

ING

Okay so there’s a go od chance that wh with supplies in to oever sent you off w. There’s also a go to university did so od chance that yo Freshers’ Week ea u’ll spend a lot of ting takeout. But th at ca going to have to do a shop but here at n’t last forever. Eventually you are how to keep that Seren we’ve got a price down. few handy hints on

Its easy, especially on your first shop , to opt for brands. and the ones that The ones that you you like. Sometim know es they are on offer buying them but and maybe its wo the majority of the rth tim e you could get chea a go! This doesn’t mean you necessa per. Give downsiz ing rily have to buy the need to do is selec cheapest brand, all t the next brand do you wn in price from the on Give it a go and jus e you’d usually bu t see how much yo y. u can save.

Sometimes you’re not sure which sto re to go to. Bangor there’s Morrisons, has quite a selectio Tesco and in Nove n, mber there’ll even forget Lidl and Ald be an Asda. And do i! Try something lik n’t e mysupermarket. prices. com to compare a few Have you ever tho ught about shoppin g online? For stude a car it can sometim nts who don’t have es work out pretty well, saves you fro bags of shopping m carrying bags an home in the rain! d It also means you spending and sto can see how much ps you buying stu you’re ff you don’t need end of an aisle! Th tha t you might see on ere’s lots of options the for delivery times busy you can selec meaning that if yo t specific times to u’re su it you or even opt for delivery by seeing slightly cheaper when the van is alr eady going to be in your area!

Meat is expensive . We’re not saying you need to go ve the amount of dis getarian but if you hes with meat in pe limit r week then you’ll definitely lower yo ur bill!

Sometimes you ma ke too much, or so me of the ingredien If you think ahead ts are spare. about what you co uld reuse then ma yourself some mo ybe you can save ney.

Remember if you’r e on a tight budg

25% Off

50% Off

et only buy what you need!

Did you know tha t use by dates are more of a guidelin will last an extra 3 e? Typically food days. Though keep an eye on it ‘cause true! its not always

WHAT CARDS SHOULD I GET? NUS Extra

Love Bangor

Pubs and Clubs

The most popular and most recognised of student discount cards is the NUS card, you probably had one in college, right? Well, as a university student you can apply for an NUS Extra card which will cost you £12 For the year, that’s just £1 a month! An NUS Extra card offers you discount from a vast amount of companies such as Topshop, Cineworld, Endsleigh Insurance, Amazon, McDonalds, Asos, Orange and hundreds more! Plus, this year, you can not only get 50% off of Spotify Premium but you can have your smartphone insured for free! If you head to their website NUS have even put together a cool quiz which works out approximately how much you could save with a card from your usual expenditure.

Unlike most university cities Bangor doesn’t have all the high street stores and restaurants that the NUS Extra card offers discount on. Don’t worry though because the SU have been onto this problem for a few years now and have got in touch with local businesses to ensure that us Bangor students are still getting the discount we deserve! See our Union pages for a full list of the discounts. One of the best things about a Love Bangor card is that it comes free with a NUS Extra card! And this year the Students’ Union will be printing your NUS Extra, complete with Love Bangor, cards at the Fresher’s Fair Serendipity on 26th & 27th September so you won’t have to even wait the usual two weeks for your discounts!

We can’t deny that university life does mean going out, whether you’re drinking, clubbing or just having a meal out with the flatmates. So we reckon its pretty important that you know where you can get more discounts. One of Bangor’s most popular pub cards is the Yellow card. You can get the card from Yellow (Yr Hen Glanfron) for just £1 and when you register it online you get a free burger as well as discount on loads of drinks, like 25p off all shots. It also works at Yates’ too!

Freshers’ Issue 2012

seren.bangor.ac.uk

27

Health and Beauty Cheeks: L’Oreal

Fall 2012 u W n o s a J NATURA L LIP SMOKE Y EYE

The One Sweep Sculpting Blush

NYFW FALL 2012

RUNWAY HAIR

While fashion week is about fantasy and illusion, the most captivating trends from the fall shows emphasized wearable texture, natural ease and feminine approachability. From polished ponytails to unfussy strands left free around the shoulders, hairstylists offered up plenty of inspirational — and achievable — ideas that float from the runway to the real world surprisingly well

Eyeliner: MAC Smudge Minted Eye Kohl (used on runway), Maybelline Unstoppable Liner in Sapphire

Eyelashes: L’Oreal

Knot it UP! Whether braided around the crown, coiled half-back or knotted into an updo, hair was manipulated in fresh, new directions this season.

While some looks require an extra set of hands, others put a simple and attainable twist on the classics.

Voluminous Mascara

Jason Wu is a now an d his m favourite des igner ri akeup are jus g looks o t as bri n the ru ht lliant a spring nway s his clo collecti thes. F on we and bri or his saw m ght, bo inimal ld lips, flipped eyes but for the scri fall 201 pt with 2 he smoky natural emera lips an ld gree d n eyes .

More

H&B

Health and Beauty on the Precise Ponys The ponytail always plays a part in fashion week and this season it was all about concise, perfectly pulled-back looks. Hair was prepped with styling serums to prevent frizz and add shine, then flatironed into sleek curtains. To secure the base, stylists used everything from shiny black tape at Jason Wu to simple elastics carefully concealed with a few loose strands at BCBG and Ralph Lauren.

Disheveled Ponys Tibi’s artfully disheveled version is our favorite. There’s nothing cooler (or sexier) than messy hair and nothing easier to wear on a daily basis than a ponytail. Consider it the Holy Grail of wearable fall 2012 hairstyles The pony is positioned just above the nape of the neck and had a great messy texture.

shadow in Club (used on runway)

K

THE LOO

Website Embellish Statement hair accessories turned up at multiple shows, often sharing (or stealing) the spotlight from their accompanying updos. From cosmic hairpins to ceremonial floral headpieces, adding a little embellishment is a very good thing this fall.

Get in the habit

Everything about uni and being a student is a recipe for unhealthy habits. The late nights, the fried food, ramen, and more coffee than considered healthy, there is little hope for maintaining a healthy diet. Luckily for you, here are a few tips to keep you on track during your years without losing any of the fun!

Up late studying?

Scan the QR code with your smartphone!

LADY GAGA

Deadly Nightshade

After months of media buzz, Lady Gaga Fame has finally been launched. You probably know by now how this celebrity perfume thing works. Some celebrities—like Sarah Jessica Parker—get down and dirty in the design process, vetting the concept, going through the mods, arguing for dirtier musk, losing arguments for dirtier musk, announcing that next time things are going to be different. Then there are those under whose noses you presume a scent strip has passed, but who have not attended that endless cycle of developmentalphase meetings. Lady Gaga appears to be of the assertive former type.

Early reports had it that the singer wanted her perfume to be based on blood and semen and be suited to an ‘expensive hooker’. Now that wasn’t likely to sell, so the rumour changed to the perfume having the same molecular structure as the bodily fluids.

Roll on to August 2012 and we can reveal that the fragrance box bears no mention of blood or semen. Instead it has notes of Belladonna - a deadly nightshade, pulverised apricot, saffron and honey drops - the first ever black Eau de Parfum that sprays clear and becomes invisible once airborne.. After first whiff it is sweet, erring on sickly, but it dries down on the skin to a soft, addictive scent – reminiscent of the addictive nature of fame, perhaps?

According to Gaga, ‘my perfume was designed for women, but a lot of my gay friends wear it’, Where it’s lacking in shocking notes, it makes up for in its unusual look. The juice, in the futuristic bottle, is a murky black, representing the ‘dark heart’ of fame. Spritz the fragrance and it turns clear while airbourne.

Lady Gaga Fame launched nationwide on 22 August, from £25 for 30ml

blood & semen

Eyeshadow: MAC Eye-

Instead of choosing Maccies or some dirty pot noodle, instead opt for some baby carrots and hummus, or maybe some celery and cheese and chive dip? These options are just as delicious, and have far less calories and sodium, and fill you up so much more than junk.

Don’t ignore salad!

Yes, the burgers and ice cream both look fantastic, but take a peek at the veggie section, YES it usually takes longer to prepare, however that prep time usually feeds you hunger slightly! Indulge in fresh fruits and veggies, and to make your plate as colorful as possible. Instead of heavy creamy dressings, try out a vinaigrette or olive oil on your salad, it will taste lighter, and will be hundreds of calories lighter.

Going to Fatcat?

It’s one of the most simple and straight forward social activities in uni. Don’t miss out on the fun just because you’re trying to stay healthy! Simply order off the salad portion of the menu and skip the bread and fries if there is any. If you simply can’t ignore an amazing pasta dish on the menu, order it! Just be sure to only eat about half of what you’re given, portions in restaurants are not accurate portions for one meal. Plus Varsity are devils for filling your face!

Stuck at the Library?

On hour 6 at the library, and you know it will be a while until you can leave? Only option is the taking a pile of junk food? Never fear! If you are hungry for just a snack, fruit bags from Morrisons or Tesco, nuts are epic revision food also an unknown smartfood popcorn! This delicious treat is typically only 100 calories a bag and so tasty... I’m not on about the sugary variety!

Cook at Halls

If you have the option to cook for yourself, defiantly take advantage! When you’re the chef you know exactly what and how much of something is being put into your meals.

Being able to control how much butter, sugar or oil goes into meals allows you to be more conscious of your food choices. If living with a group of friends, coordinate nights to cook together or nights were you each take on a meal and serve to one another. Cooking can be fun, social and also help you maintain a healthy lifestyle! Plus its an great excuse for halls COME DINE WITH ME

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Fashion

Freshers’ Issue 2012

NYFW 2012

C

urrently on our radar is designer Jason Wu. FOR the past few seasons, Jason Wu’s collections have been comedy. He’s not alone in being fascinated with contrasts by trying to marry two extremes. For spring/summer 2013 the designer explored a pair of photographers and their distinct views on the female form: the fetishism of Helmut Newton and the hazy, humanism of Lillian Bassman. In the past, an emphasis on duality has been a savvy move on Wu’s part, appealing to two distinctly different customers, and perhaps bridging the divide along the way.

Wu’s collection remained true to his preferred silhouettes - high-waisted shorts, bodysuits, A-line skirts, sleeveless sheaths, and collared blouses - but toyed with fabrication. He focused on bringing together leather and lace - boudoir textiles for the dominatrix and pin-up.

The opening look was a crocodile dress with a lacy keyhole, but what was striking was how the material looked matte and pliant, hugging the body in a seductive hourglass. Coquettish pieces like bandeau tops and apron dresses were stripped of their effete qualities when constructed from sable hides. In fact the models, with their smooth hair covered with lofty veils and scarlet lips, were bestowed with a swaggering authority.

Other stand outs included the archetypical bad boy wardrobe staple, the biker jacket, streamlined and rendered in soft pink, inky coats made of floating organza and the frisky harnesses worn over many of the ensembles.

The other half of Wu’s proposal was handled with the sort of painstaking detail that he’s become known for. Lasercut leather skirts somehow had a lightweight swing in their movement. The detailed incisions meshed with pieces of transparent lace, sometimes so beautifully melded that it was hard to detect where one ended and the other began.

Nylon gloves that reached up the arm were reminiscent of silk stockings while circular hat boxes, shimmering clutches, and bucket bags harkened back to a bygone era of demureness hooker.

Overall, while Wu wrestled with familiar ideas, the overall feel of this collection is of the clarity and precision with which he executes it. Even in looks where he used draping, there was a presence that is unmistakably part of Wu’s DNA. The Wu customer may be many things behind the closed bedroom door, but one thing she’s definitely not is unkempt.

JASON WU SS13

JASON WU SS 2013

LONDONFW 2012

PETER PILOTTO

H

More

FASHION Health and Beauty on the

Website

ow clever are Peter Pilotto (yes it is plural, they’re two designers called Peter Pilotto and Christopher de Vos). And they are clever. They’re pattern wizards who are also geniuses at cutting and draping. But don’t think of this as a technical dissertation, because the spring/summer collection was too sexy and elegant to be dissected into dry theory, tempting although that is when one’s feeling in the mood for a nerdy fashion discussion.

But this is about clothes to wear. And those differently scaled patterns - a theme tackled elsewhere but nowhere more eye-catching or inventively than here - would certainly get you noticed. But unlike some of the kaleidoscope clashes we’ve seen, you wouldn’t look freaky.

There’s a point beyond the decorative to those oh so cleverly mismatched patterns and it’s this: spinning something new out of separates.

In this instance, it’s separates that when worn together, look like a dress. It’s a three for the price of one deal that is really taking off in the current climate.

And like others in London, they’re playing with shapes. Sure there were plenty of slinky, below the knee pencil 1940s style skirts - although

LONDONFW 2012 Scan the QR code with your smartphone!

SS 2013 there was nothing retro about the end results, once they’d been dunked in glowing shades of coral-red and cobalt and occasionally smothered with twinkling plastic flowers, to ravishing effect.

While their rivals are busy getting swept along to a tribal African beat , they played with wavy lines, clouds and a rope print that twisted round hems and waists to striking effect. More arresting still were the swooping peplums, sometimes to the ground and those big swooshing skirts that hit just above the knee - a silhouette that just a season ago looked untenable but now seems increasingly like a contender for cool, experimentalists. It certainly makes

a change from pleated chiffon maxis. And for the brave there were latex look, pastel bustiers and boleros - an alley most recently explored

by Proenza Schouler. Not that you could accuse these two of plagiarism. They’re true originals - but they might want to ditch the rubber.

TOPSHOP UNIQUE

A

fter seasons of über-themed shows from Topshop’s designer label UNQUE, each one styled to a level that would make Lady Gaga look like a jeans–and–T-shirt kind of gal, next spring sees the label go all grown-up and polished, with nary a flash of neon, punk studding, or shredded denim in sight. It’s clear that under the creative control of former British Vogue fashion director Kate Phelan, Unique is taking a more sophisticated approach, a process Phelan started with the pared-down utilitarian deluxe fall collection that’s now hitting stores. This, in a nutshell, is what she and her team are thinking of for next season: plenty of soft, wide gauzy pants in a bold check, blown-up painterly florals and silver on one side, white on the other, variously worn with an oversize jacket, tee, or shirt; a swingingly voluminous palest-ecru biker jacket over a short black lean skirt; and two great sculpted tops—one in a gray neoprenelike sweatshirting, the other in white ribbed cotton punctuated with zippers—both paired with short narrow skirts doing that doublelayer thing we saw in New York last week, here combining sheer with opaque, matte with shine. Worn with all of this was the simplest statement in shoes: barely there ankle-strap

SS 2013

stilettos in white leather mixed with clear plastic, that synthetic also turning up on more than one runway in London, and, for that matter, in New York.

[LOOK FROM SHOW] What’s interesting about all this is that in some ways it’s the bravest move Topshop could make. After a decade or so of creating looks that referenced the vagaries of street style with an intense speed, this shift to clothes that could dress women in their 30s, 40s, and beyond might just be a smart one. One thing about fast fashion is that it has tended to skew ever younger. Unique’s vision of spring will speak to those in that until-now disenfranchised constituency who don’t think they have one foot in the grave but have it firmly planted in a closet full of pieces that are cool, nuanced, and youthful without being young.

Will teen and twentysomething Topshop acolytes find something here for them? That’s to be seen. Yet, sitting front row, Pixie Geldof, a virtual poster child for all the aching street hipness the brand stands for, was wearing a crisp white J.W. Anderson for Topshop shirt, black kilt, and sedate silver sandals, her hair a demure dark brown rather than the trashy blonde with roots of old. Could be that even

Freshers’ Issue 2012

seren.bangor.ac.uk

SEREN STYLE

29

Fashion

DOWN

£25

TOWN Effortless, urban and cool.

Autumn doesn’t get much simpler than this

£65

£20

LONDONFW 2012

MEN’S DAY

£45

M

en’s Day closes London Fashion Week, and, truth be told, it’s a pleasant change to the champagne and drama of the womenswear shows. There’s less of the egos and snippy front-row politics, and, maybe this is a between the legs thing, but the men just get on with it!

Saying that, Topman’s front-row did turn into celebrity watch: Jamie Hince, Mr Hudson, Mark Foster, Alex Zane, Rick Edwards and Thom Evans (aka Mr Kelly Brook... aka my future hubby), plus Sir Philip and the Green clan triggered a tide of flashes.

But that interlude doesn’t detract from the point that, on Men’s Day, the clothes take centre stage. So, what of them?

Call it the London 2012 influence, but everyone seemed to have sportswear on the brain - see the bomber jackets at Lou Dalton; plastic rain macs at Matthew Miller, a new name on talent platform MAN’s schedule; and nylon

TOPSHOP UNIQUE SS13

£35

Downtown

SS 2013

£75

looks are relaxed yet strong and filled with ATTITUDE, it has an off duty military feel yet its NATURALLY CHIC with relaxed denim & OVERSIZED cable knits and boyfriend coats.

£46

£28

£38 All looks from

SEREN STYLE

BLAZERS, polo shirts, fine knits and dark wash denim are the key elements to this fine look inspired by urban living in our rural city.

are using products from RIVER ISLAND

£40

£85

£22 TOPSHOP

£45

£30

£36 £30

TOPMAN

£22

£50

METRO

parkas and smart jogging bottoms at Christopher Shannon, who is carving a healthy niche in luxe sportswear.

More subtle - and beautiful - was E Tautz’s take, the Savile Row label headed up the dandyish Patrick Grant. The early 20th century Olympics, when men came dressed for the games in their own clothes, before the tracksuit became uniform, was the starting point. Hence, “track pants” came loosely tailored in wool and structured linen; a T-shirt’s cobalt pocket referenced the cycling styles of the time; and lots of unstructured linen and silk jackets appeared in blues.

Speaking of blues, that was another keynote: dark colours.

Save for the neon yellow and pink T-shirts at Martine Rose, another upcomer fostered by MAN, and the pink and lilac trousers (yes, really) at JW Anderson, currently the fashion pack’s wonderkid after his sophomore womenswear show last week, there wasn’t a whole lot of sun in these summer collections. Black was the predominant hue at Dalton which makes sense when you realise that the miners’ strike of 1984 was the inspo for her pieces.

Thoughts were on sunnier things, though, at Topman and Shaun Samson. The far-flung shores of Mexico inspired Samson’s poncho-style striped shirting, while Topman’s silk tops and shirts with Ikat prints were Moroccan in tone. If the latter’s offerings are a hard sell, they’re nothing compared to its pyjama-style trousers. Or its patent burgundy embossed clutches - Has the metrosexual man evolved enough to tackle one of these? I’m sure I’ll be hitting Topman Design, but don’t be expecting any of it in the Bangor store as they tend to get very basic stock... *SOB*

30

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Music

THE VACCINES

hAIL & fAIL

Our selection of who’s hot and who’s not in music

Kaiser Chiefs

Muse

Not many take the Chiefs’ music seriously but they continue to be bloody good fun wherever they go. Their performance of The Who’s “Pinball Wizard” at the Olympics closing ceremony was inspired, and cemented Ricky Wilson’s position as one of the greatest British entertainers of the last ten years.

Much like Matt Bellamy’s goatee, their official Olympic song “Survival” is a shocker, and they’ve almost become a parody of the band they used to be.

Now they’re being sued for Resistance allegedly ripping off a space rockopera. Given how devoid of inspiration it was, it wouldn’t be a surprise.

Pussy Riot

Lana Del Rey

“We’ve been fighting for the right to sing, to think, to criticise... No matter the risks, we go on with our musical fight in Russia” Not only have Pussy Riot reminded us how important music is as a medium for protest, they’ve also shown us how even a country as big as Russia can be so far behind in terms of civil liberties.

Lana herself has claimed she was sent to boarding school at 14 as a form of rehab, so she could kick her drinking habit. The song “Born to Die” was based on her “wilderness” years apparently, but it sounds more Home Alone than Johnny Cash. Being a millionaire’s daughter must have been a tough upbringing, no?

Frank Ocean

Chris Brown

Put a difficult summer of prejudice and controversy behind him with a huge performance at the VMAs, reminding the industry why he is where he is anyway. Latest album Channel Orange has been a critical success, achieving an average of 92/100 on Metacritic.

Adding homophobic slurs to the list of reasons to dislike this odious man, his continued success is an unquestionable victory for marketing over talent and culture, and his latest album Fortune was given “NO STARS EVER”

by Aussie mag X-Press in a review I could only dream of writing.

(Content printed prior to THAT neck tattoo.)

Classic Album Review: Word Gets Around

by TOM DAVIS

I

f you’re a dedicated follower of musical fashion, there is no doubt you’ll have heard of The Vaccines.

Their debut, What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?, was a highlight in what was otherwise a poor year for British music. Well, unless you enjoy sobbing to Adele. At best it effortlessly combined the punk rock melodies perfected by bands such as Ramones with the steady indie rock sensibilities of The Strokes, but at times it was naive and rather green.

Justin Young is a more than competent lyricist despite his own reservations, and at times it’s hard to distinguish whether he’s playing it cool or is genuinely uncomfortable with being a frontman. At times Come of Age can be uncomfortably gloomy, with “All In Vain” staring down the barrel of a gun and “Lonely World” bemoaning a lack of confidence, but these moments are where The Vaccines are at their most endearing. “Teenage Icon” is perhaps this album’s finest moment, with its bouncy, riotous chorus perfectly betraying the sheer self-depreciation (ordinary/

by TOM DAVIES

L

ong Live The Struggle is a far cry in musical terms from any of The King Blues’ previous albums.

Sometimes such a departure can work for bands. Each of The King Blues’ prior albums had been quite different from the one before: Their debut, Under The Fog, brought upbeat ska; and the follow up Save The World, Get The Girl complemented their already developed sound with a more popular stance. Punk & Poetry was heavier, but equally as accomplished as its predecessors, and my personal favourite.

I like The King Blues. In fact, I really like The King Blues. They were superb at Leeds Festival in 2011, and their heavily punk influenced lyrics are a breath of fresh air in a (currently) rather bland music scene. Sadly, in April of this year the band announced that they were to split and that Long Live The Struggle,

One to watch

by TOM DAVIES

R

ecent album releases have been bland at best, and, despite massive commercial success, Stereophonics never quite topped their debut album, Word Gets Around. In their current guise, Stereophonics are barely recognisable from the band that exploded out from the former mining town of Cwmaman in South Wales. Riding on the back of the success of Britpop, Kelly Jones & Co brought arguably the best popular music album by a Welsh band to the masses. I’ll never forget the first time I heard this album; 7 years old, from the tape player

of my Dad’s car, and it might well be one of the most important albums I’ve listened to. Not all the songs are stadium anthems but they are all honest tales: Stories of community, drinking, murder, and loss. Dakota these songs are not, but these are songs about real people, from real communities. If Oasis brought the sound of the sprawling council estates of Manchester, Stereophonics gave the villages and towns of Wales a voice, and something no Welsh band has since matched.

Listen to: A Thousand Trees, Local Boy in the Photograph, Traffic, Same Size Feet

Freshers’ Issue 2012

This band are going to be HUGE. They’ve just released their first single Best of Friends onto iTunes and at 99p it’s an absolute no-brainer. Rough and raw, their sound is somewhat reminiscent of the debut Libertines single What a Waster, but substituting crack, prostitutes, and ill-advised C-words for sheer passion and romance. It is similar to the Howler album released early 2012 - which is no bad thing - but there is something far more endearing about the raw energy of this band. 99p, do it.

no mystery/ ... no piercing stare/ just out of shape with messy hair) in Young’s lyrics. Laden with sharp punk riffs, “Bad Mood” is my personal recommendation; probably because I can be as grumpy a git as The Vaccines’ floppy -haired frontman.

So is their sophomore effort a solution to the problems plaguing the British music scene? Probably not.

Over the last ten years or so, plenty of young bands with promising debuts have fluffed their second album (Pigeon Detectives, The Enemy, Fratellis) and faded away. Early indications are that this won’t be the case with The Vaccines, but I can’t help but feel that this is their peak. I’ll be the first to admit that I had reservations about this band, but there is no doubting that this is a really good album. Composed without being cocksure, Come of Age can at times be infectiously retro without overdoing it: One of most pleasant surprises of 2012.

Listen to: No Hope, Teenage Icon, Bad Mood.

released in July, was to be their final album. I’ll start with the positives: “Modern Life Has Let Me Down” is a magnificent track. It really is brilliant; the chorus is a tantrum against the shirt and tie, 9-to-5, to “remind yourself this tie is not a noose”. It is without doubt the best song on the album, and on a par with the very best of their previous work. Unfortunately, that’s it. In “When

“Long Live The Struggle is empty and hollow” The Revolution Comes”, frontman Itch Fox sings of rising up from “the slums”.

I don’t quite get that bit, though. What I always loved about The King Blues was the sheer honesty of their work, that it felt genuine and principled.

But which “slum” does singer Itch have in mind? Long Live The Struggle was recorded in LA, a far cry from the

streets that he sings of on this album.

The best description for the majority of this album is soft. “This Is My Home” is a description of the London riots but at best it is sickeningly cringeworthy, and “Walking Away” is a terribly nondescript tale of a break up, so much so that you really couldn’t care less about it. It is really, really terrible, so much so it could be a different band. I felt cheated when I heard these tracks, cheated by an album that promised so much. Long Live The Struggle is empty and hollow; when such a principled stance is taken by a band, it seems that going through the motions is all the more obvious. “Modern Life...” aside, this is a disappointing end to a band that brought us some fantastic music.

WHAT’S ON IN NORTH WALES PALMA VIOLETS MONDAY 15TH OCTOBER CENTRAL STATION WREXHAM (£6, 14+)

I’ve seen more bands at this venue than I can remember and couldn’t recommend it more. Described as ‘Wales’ leading live music venue’ by Kerrang, it is small, intimate, and only has a maximum capacity of 550 for music events.

Over the years, some huge artists have played here on their way to fame (Biffy Clyro, Kasabian, Robert Plant, Enter Shikari) and this could be Palma Violet’s first steps in that direction. See the One to Watch section of our music pages to see just what I think of this young band!

FRANK TURNER 4TH DECEMBER BANGOR ACADEMI (£16, 18+)

Wait, what? Bangor? BANGOR?!

I couldn’t believe it when I heard, but this is an absolute coup for our student venue and in the three years that I’ve been in Bangor - aside from the Summer Ball perhaps - we haven’t had an artist this big. Frank Turner excels at small venues, large venues, and festivals alike, recently playing to 12,000 people at Wembley Arena AND he performed first at the Olympic opening ceremony. This will be no different. Rave reviews wherever he goes and a guaranteed performer.

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31

Music

The

SUMMER Round-up

A quick look at some of the best abums released throughout the summer.

Bloc Party Four

SPECTOR

ENJOY IT WHILE IT LASTS

by TOM DAVIES

Hot Chip In Our Heads Wild Nothing Nocturne

Two Door Cinema Club Beacon

by AARON WILES & LJ TAYLOR

W

hen Madonna began her career back in the 80s she probably had no idea that now, thirty years later, that she would be one of, if not the, biggest selling solo artists of all time. She probably didn’t think that thirty years later she’d still be raking in millions with a new album and a world tour, and we probably didn’t think that we would be driving for 9 hours to an Olympic consumed Hyde Park and paying £80 each for the privilege, but there you go.

When MDNA came out we were not impressed. We gave it a chance though and by the time we were squished up in Hyde Park amongst many fellow Madge fans we were ready.

In true Madonna style the whole show was an over the top spectacle involving a lot of guns, masked men and even a marching band

suspended in the air. The show opened with a group of druids chanting as they swung a lantern across the stage. We can only assume it to have been some kind of ancient ritual performed to honour ancient beings because Madonna soon made her way onto the stage.

The Queen of Pop was dressed like some kind of viking goddess for all of two seconds before she whipped off half of her clothes. Some things never change. And once she had her group of scantily clad male dancers by her side we were thrown straight into MDNA’s first track ‘Girl Gone Wild’, broken up in the middle by a bit of a ‘Material Girl’ breakdown.

It wasn’t long before Madonna’s apparent new love for guns, she recently joined the NRA, brought us into ‘Revolver’ followed by our personal favourite ‘Gang Bang’.

For the latter, Madonna splashed out on a mobile motel room and a bottle of Jack for company. How-

B

old, brash, and arrogant, or audacious, smart, and confident?

Enjoy It While It Lasts balances precariously on the fence of brilliance and for the most part isn’t quite sure where it wants to fall. Spector are yet another proclaimed saviour of indie, bringing us slicked back hair, dodgy fake glasses, and sharp suits from that dodgy end of the Topman sale that no one ever seems to buy. For singer Fred Macpherson and guitarist Chris Burman this represents their last chance at mainstream success; previous bands Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man and Les Incompétents were commercial flops, but is Enjoy It While It Lasts a desperate and cynical attempt at cashing in?

In short: Yes and no. This is a solid

ever, she wasn’t alone with her Jack for long as a knock on the door brought an onslaught of masked men intent on murdering Madondon. This saw a number of fight scenes occur as Madonna ran round shooting everyone, taking down a helicopter and still finding time for the bottle of Jack.

Once she was done running around with a rifle Madonna found herself carried off by another assortment of masked men and fastened to a tightrope which they all then danced on during a shortened rendition of ‘Papa Don’t Preach’ which soon morphed into the more recent ‘Hung Up’.

The routine was all a little odd but showed the Queen of Pop is nowhere near retirement yet as she kept up with her much younger dancers.

Madonna was aided in her liver version of recent single ‘Give me all you luvin’ ‘ by a giant screen version of rapper Nicki Minaj. The song

was just the uplift that the crowd needed, after the rain prompted an anti-umbrella uprising, and the marching band suspended above the stage were worth a watch too.

Madge ended the night with a beat-pumped version of ‘Celebration’ which saw the stage screens lit up in a Tron-esque cube pattern and the Queen herself dancing atop a moving podium, centrestage, clad in leather sportswear.

Five minutes later and the show was over, Madonna disappeared beneath the stage and we were tasked with finding one another amongst the masses.

Whilst £80 was a bit steep, considering Madonna’s support was a horrificly bad set from one half of LMFAO (the other half had hurt his back), we did not regret it. The tour’s setlist was a perfect balance of old, new and long forgotten Madonna songs and proved that the Queen of Pop has still got a lot left in her.

THE XX - COEXIST

by SEAN TALBOT

T

hree years after the release of their debut, xx, the mysterious London trio, The xx, are back with a followup; the highly anticipated Coexist. After the amazing and well-earned success that found them following their first album, everyone – including myself – was expecting great things from them; so they had a lot to live up to. Well let’s just put it this way; they delivered. And I could easily leave it at that, but that wouldn’t be a very good review, now, would it?

Sticking to what they know best, this album is brimming with low, whispery ambience that will put the bass of any good sound system through its paces. So if you enjoyed xx, you should certainly go out and buy Coexist. If not, you should probably opt for a free live stream instead of parting with £7.99 – because despite it being a must-hear album, that could get you

a few precious beers during freshers’ week.

Main man, Oliver Smith, apparently stated that the sound of the album was inspired by “club music”, after the break from their first tour meant that they had more free time to spend partying. Though I’m not entirely sure where they went clubbing, perhaps Bangor, because the influence is hard to find – except in Missing, where an eerily long silence and epic drop leave you with nothing but love for The xx and everything they do and stand for.

Though the sound is similar, Coexist isn’t simply another xx. They’ve taken the new, awesome and deeply refreshing sound they originally had and made it markedly better; they refined it and the result is an album that is all we anticipated and more. Some stand-out tracks include: Reunion, which adds steel drums to the list of instruments The xx can utilise to produce a creepy and alluringly atmospheric sound, Missing, which epitomises

debut that nails indie-pop in Killersesque fashion, and at its best it comprises the best of 80s synth with mid90s Britpop (more Pulp than Oasis, mind). Recent single “Celestine” is the pick of the tracks on offer and has received plenty of airplay over the summer. Like much of the album, it is meticulously polished and the chorus of “Keep the past in the past and know this/ that I only ever did what I thought was right” is pure pop perfection. “True Love (For Now) is reminiscent of the The Shins circa 2007 and a great song, showcasing Burman’s imaginative guitar riffs and masterful use of a pedal board. However, for the most part, is hard to shirk the feeling that these songs were written to sell, such as “Friday Night, Don’t Ever Let It End”, which isn’t much more than the

everything this band is about and everything I love about them, and finally Angels; possibly the best song to ever be over-played by Radio 1. The vocals on tracks have also been put to much better use in this record, Romy and Oliver are familiarly soft and conservative, but have both acquired a new confidence that is evidently vocalised in Unfold, Swept Away and throughout the rest of the album.

If you’re looking for something that’s both powerful yet understated, this is your thing. The xx have become one of Britain’s most-loved alternative bands of late, and they don’t fail to demonstrate why that is.

Coexist is perfect for chilling out to after a night out in Academi, before a night out in Academi, or basically any time of any day.

title suggests, but great fun nonetheless. Enjoy It While It Lasts is built from the ground up for a festival crowd, swaggering from epic chorus to epic chorus and for the most part it works; showcased perfectly by debut single and album finale “Never Fade Away”.

This is part of the charm, but at times there is a sharp taste of arrogance in Macpherson’s palatial baritone and for some this will be divisive. Spector may not be as good as they might like to think they are, but if they can reign in the strut and stick to this ever so catchy formula they’re on to a winner.

It might not be to everyone’s taste, but this album is written for the twenty-nothings, for us, making it easy to recommend. Enjoy It While It Lasts.

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seren.bangor.ac.uk

TV

Freshers’ Issue 2012

Downton Abbey

Season 4

by Sophie Smith

A

by Sophie Smith

I

t all kicked off with the wedding everyone has been waiting for, and after much criticism for last series’ dizzying leaps through time and outlandish ‘soap opera style’ plotlines, series three is going back to basics.

Reverting to a far more relaxed pace and tightening its focus on Downton and its inhabitants allows us to reestablish what makes this show so compelling; Julian Fellowes’ rich characterisation, which was somewhat smothered by the melodramatic story arcs of the previous season.

That’s not to say that this season will be free of any of the drama we’ve come to love. Indeed, the famous prosperity of the Twenties is something that will bypass the Downton estate, as the series opens with the revelation that poor investment choices have left Lord Robert virtually penniless and facing the imminent loss of the estate. The Crawleys are set to fight for their way of life, something that will become increasingly complicated by the will of Reginald Swire, whose death offers Matthew the means to save the family from financial ruin, but at the cost of com-

by Becki Watson

A

promising his own idealistic moral code, and force him to stop punishing himself (as well as the viewers) for the death of Lavinia.

But it’s not all doom and gloom as the introduction of the fabulous Shirley McLaine, as Cora’s mother Martha Levinson, provides a brilliant comic double act with the Dowager Countess, as they battle out their views of the old world vs. the new.

This theme of modernity and change dominates the first episode, especially through the character Branson. Radical and unwelcome, his new elevated position is a continual source of ire, fabulously depicted by Carson’s sniffy reception and glass breaking disgust. But despite him being completely abrasive, he provides a brilliant way to show how far things are set to change at Downton. His budding bromance with Matthew is adorable, as they pledge to bound together in the face of their ‘insane’ decision to take on two of the hotheaded Crawley girls. Perhaps most surprising of all is endorsement from the Dowager Countess, who seems set to make the most of her man on

the other side, even if she has to hold his hand on the radiator until he complies to her will!

Downstairs ties are also shifting.

With the introduction of new footman Alfred, the partnership of Thomas and O’Brien looks set to be put to the test as she attempts to use her old comrade to help her nephew get ahead and become a new valet, only to be coldly shot down by the former footman, suggesting that this might signal a turn in the relationship of the former duo. Elsewhere, the Bates storyline looks set to continue throughout series three, as Anna doggedly tries to overturn her husband’s guilty conviction, hopefully picking up speed and culminating in a gasp worthy resolution involving that shady new cell mate.

Overall, the series premiere has laid the groundwork for yet another exciting autumn of suspense, petticoats and biting witticisms, and with another wedding, a birth and a funeral due before the finale, the third series of Downton Abbey is shaping to be just as eventful as its predecessors.

fter such mixed reviews to some of the outlandish and slightly unbelievable storylines last season, the season 4 premiere has proved that Murphy and co. certainly aren’t afraid to shake things up, and that this season Glee is going to be all about reinvention.

Despite many doubts about the show’s new format, the new structure seems set to be a success. Though initially dubious about the split focus, I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed it; in following Finn to Fort Benning and Rachel and Kurt to New York as they try to establish themselves at NYADA and Vogue respectively, the show is able to retain its focus on the characters at the heart of the show, and breathe new life into a structure that may otherwise have become stale and predictable. Rachel’s difficulty to adjust to New York, and the establishment of the upcoming love triangle between her, Finn and hot new addition Brody takes things back to the base level of season one, focusing on more realistic storylines that target the emotional dilemmas experienced by its young audience.

My favourite part of the New York setting is the opportunity it gives to break out of the safe high school stereotypes and play with some more interesting scenarios and characters, such the introduction of Kate Hudson as Rachel’s love to hate alcoholic and bullying dance teacher, Cassie July. Her biting criticisms are reminiscent of Sue Sylvester at her peak; her insistence that “If you are not suffering from severe

body dismorphia then you don’t want it enough,” signals that she may well be this season’s breakout character.

Yet whilst I’m undeniably excited to see the direction that this half will take, I’m significantly less interested in the goings on of McKinley High. I feel that Murphy made some terrible choices when deciding which characters to keep on. He cast off every big gun in his arsenal, when the retention of even one of the big characters such as Mercedes or Puck, both of whom I feel had a lot more to give, could have generated more interest in the characters that have been left behind. The teachers and adult characters are already reputedly going to be taking a back seat, though we can expect a lot of will they won’t they wedding drama from Will and Emma, and the fallout of the intriguing alliance between Sue and Roz as they attempt to take down Principal Figgins.

Unlike the New York characters, the new introductions to McKinley are already falling short of the mark. At first glance Marley, Jake and Kitty appear to be blander versions of Rachel, Puck and Quinn, with Wade a.k.a. Unique filling the diva role vacated by Mercedes and Kurt, suggesting that the writers have just recycled old characters in an attempt to compensate for better characters that they have been forced to let go. Even though Jake and Marley have been better established in one episode than characters like Mike or Tina were in three seasons, they feel a little heavy handed and clichéd even by Glee’s standards, to the extent that the interactions between Marley and her mother made me cringe every time they appeared on screen. But despite some potentially rocky ground to cover with the remaining New Directions, I’m hoping this new split focus will make compelling viewing, and go on to become bigger and better than ever.

The Valleys Strike Back

ll there seems to be on television these days is one reality show after another; if it isn’t The Only Way is Essex, it’s Made in Chelsea or Geordie Shore. But after MTV announced their latest show The Valleys set in Wales, a few of the locals have decided enough is enough, and have struck back at the media giant with their own portrayal of life in Wales with The Valleys are here.

The premise of The Valleys is taking a group of Welsh youngsters dreaming of stardom, plucking them from their ‘hamlet towns’ and seeing how they survive big city life in Cardiff.

Despite MTV saying the show will be ’irreverent and funny’ as well as ’familiar and genuine’, it didn’t go down well. Alex, from The Valleys are here team, said, ‘We were fed up with the bad image given of the area, and when we talked to our friends, we found out we weren’t the only ones.’ After discovering the widespread disdain for the upcoming programme, they decided to do something about it: ‘Instead of sitting around whinging, we thought we’d try to do something positive.’

So they got together, set up a website, and tried to get the message out. The aim wasn’t to

brush over the troubles in the area, but to provide an authentic look at what The Valleys really are. The people in the area don’t mind poking fun at themselves, but as Alex explains, ‘MTV has chosen the place because of its reputation and problems.

Poverty is a real problem which many of the people have experience of and it’s not funny.’ But while acknowledging that The Valleys have their bad points, the project aims to showcase the people trying to improve it (‘We wanted to put the spotlight on people who do good work in the area.’), such as local artists, photographers and those working in the media, as well as supporting local charities on their website. The ultimate goal is to create a sense of pride in the area, despite their difficulties.

But what started as a small group of campaign officers and graphic designers running

the project on their weekends has turned into something much more. With no funding whatsoever, the team used their links with small businesses and charities to get the project off the ground. Since then, The Valleys are here has been featured in local newspapers, ITV Wales, and the BBC, and even seems to have put MTV on the back foot.

The levels of enthusiasm involved in this campaign shows just what the locals think of MTV’s idea of Wales, but Alex hopes that this is just the beginning, ‘We hope that when MTV starts broadcasting more people will see it and start to get involved.’

The team has filmed a trailer in partnership with SSP Media, a media company run by Bangor University student Osian Williams, who have volunteered their expertise out of their own free time. Osian said about the project, ‘the main reason for making this film is to help people understand that there is more

to the South Wales Valleys than what people tend to think… it’s about focusing on those individuals who create their own opportunity in The Valleys and learning from them.”

They hope to release the trailer by the end of the month, and a short film is being released soon after. With the campaign growing every day, here’s hoping that some of the negative images of Wales will finally be proven wrong.

If you want to get involved, go to valleysarehere.com or like them and SSP Media on Facebook to find out more.

Freshers’ Issue 2012

seren.bangor.ac.uk

33

Film

Becki Watson

C

oming at the end of this year’s summer film season is Brave, Pixar’s latest animated feature.

As this was Pixar’s first film with a female protagonist, there were high expectations for the studio’s 13th feature film, despite the production being hit with setbacks and disagreements during production.

Set in the highlands of medieval Scotland, Brave tells the tale of Princess Merida (Kelly MacDonald), daughter of King Fergus (Billy Connolly), who rebels against the regal life set out for her by her mother, Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson).

After refusing an arranged marriage and embarrassing the local clan leaders by beating their sons in an archery competition, an argument with her mother leads Merida to find a witch (Julie Walters), who gives her a spell to change her fate. But the spell has unforeseen consequences that leave Merida and Elinor scrambling to find a cure before the kingdom descends into chaos.

The performances of the voice cast are terrific, especially Kelly MacDonald, who brings the right level of charm to the rebellious Merida, and Emma Thompson, who strikes the perfect balance between the regal queen and the mother who ultimately wants her daughter to be happy. The main humour comes from Billy Connolly’s portrayal of the larger than life King Fergus, as well as the antics of Merida’s young triplet brothers. Even

the clan leaders who, at first, appear to be merely Scottish stereotypes, are interesting, as well as comical.

As for the animation, it definitely lives up to the precedent set by previous Pixar features. The film is stunning; every detail of the medieval world is meticulously rendered, from individual blades of grass, to threads on each clan’s tartan, and it brings the magnificent natural beauty of Scotland to life, as well as Merida’s gloriously curly red hair.

Contrary to what many expected from the film, Brave doesn’t focus on the heroine’s efforts to break her culture’s traditions; instead, the central theme is of mother-daughter relations, and the fraught relationship between Merida and Elinor is explored.

Although this central relationship is written beautifully (and is something many parents and teenagers may relate to), the overall storyline feels a little flat, as there are no major twists, and the ending is quite predictable.

This may disappoint fans of Pixar who were expecting something a little more unique and unconventional from the animation giant.

Overall, this film suffers from the success of its own studio. Although Brave is a fine film, it doesn’t quite reach the standards set by previous Pixar animations, such as ‘Wall-E’ and ‘Up’. But even though this isn’t the masterpiece fans may have been expecting, Brave is still a fun, entertaining film for all ages to enjoy.

Matt Jackson

T

he Bourne Legacy is the fourth film of the Jason Bourne series based loosely on Robert Ludlam’s novels. Following years of will they won’t they, the film finally came around to be developed without original director Paul Greengrass and without the appearance of Matt Damon as lead Jason Bourne. This paved the way for Jeremy Renner (previously Hawkeye in the Avengers) to take the mantle of protagonist Aaron Cross.

The Bourne Legacy carries on quite well from the previous trilogy; however it becomes obvious that the film was never meant to be standalone. The plot itself not only carries on from the events of Ultimatum but somehow manages to interlink itself to what has happened. Part of the plot seems to be set simultaneously with the events of Ultimatum but not in a slapdash rush, but in a way that seems as though they always

meant this to happen. The presence of the Jason Bourne character is still felt throughout the film without him actually needing to be present. This however takes nothing away from Renner’s efforts as Cross but builds upon the successful franchise.

The same old villainous government take the place of the antagonist, who still plagues Cross as they did Jason Bourne to set up the style of Bourne film we’ve grown accustomed to. In a similar fashion to the first three films, the new instalment of ‘Bourne’ is spread out in a plethora of expansive locations world-wide and that was definitely something that caught my eye; although a big spending blockbuster shouldn’t really have shocked me, right?

Ultimately the film has left itself

open to the next instalment of the franchise, but that was something we must have surely expected considering the book series consisted of 10 titles, 3 making up a trilogy and the rest making up, well the rest.

All-in-all I felt that The Bourne Legacy was a good film, similar to what we’ve come to expect from the enjoyable series, full of crashes, chases, and shoot-outs. It wouldn’t be an action film without a roof-top chase now would it? Whilst the film could well have attempted to seem like a stand-alone film riding on the Bourne name, the creative team have clearly tried to create a “legacy” for the films and in fact, I found that the title Legacy and lack of Jason Bourne himself made more sense.

revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them. Note all foreigners bar the actual Expendables are enemies in this film, which I thought was pretty comical.

The Expendables 2 does exactly what you expect it to do - mindless action and great camaraderie. Trust me when I say it is awesome. The body count is insane and I was often giggling at the comedic deaths and uncountable blood splats. The movie is as deep as a puddle and the plot is almost nonexistent. It really is an easy watch; having said this, it’s jammed back with action and witty dialogue from start to finish and you can’t

help but get swept along in it all. This movie is worth a watch purely for the action scenes and special effects. The opening sequence and the scenes in the airport towards the end are a major highlight - not to mention Stallone taking on Van Damme is a bit of a treat.

Stallone, Statham, Lundgren, Terry Crews and Randy Couture are all back and the chemistry between the central Expendables really makes this movie what it is. The banter between the group provides some of the best comedy moments in the movie - Stallone and Statham have a particularly great relationship. There

are bigger roles for Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and it’s great to see them team up with Stallone and kick some ass towards the end of the film. These great action movie legends all together allows for some great nod backs to their most famous movies, such as Die Hard, Terminator and Rambo all getting hilariously referenced.

The Expendables 2 is a movie that you can just kick back and enjoy, and marvel in it’s over the top ridiculousness, which is what makes the film what it is.

Kaden Wild

I

t seems pretty silly that I’m doing a review of Expendables 2 even though I’m yet to see the first one. I didn’t go into this expecting anything amazing; in fact this film was a second choice. However it did surprise me, and I left the cinema dying to see the first!

So straight to the point: this movie was all about over the top macho action, blood splatters all over the place, and some great nostalgic nods to the past. If you are into this, you will have a great time. If you are expecting a movie that is meaningful and deep, with plenty of character development and soppy romance then this really

isn’t the film for you.

Bruce Willis plays what seems at first to be a villain, Mr. Church. He enlists the Expendables to take on a seemingly simple job. The task is owed to him by Barney as they have some unpaid debts, so he gathers his band of old-school mercenaries and sets off to collect a map device. But things go wrong and one of their own is viciously killed, which I believe was a huge mistake, as when I saw this actor in the film, I instantly sat up on the end of my seat. However, he gets a knife rammed in the heart not far into the film, so don’t get too excited. The Expendables are then compelled to seek

34

Games and Gadgets O ur world is in ruins, nature is reclaiming the Earth and the only survivors have turned against each other in a vicious attempt to stay alive; what’s left is the last of us.

I am, of course, going to be biased whenever it comes to a game made by California based developers Naughty Dog. My love for the Uncharted series knows no bounds and the dedication of the ‘Dogs’ shines through in everything they do. And so, it has to be said, next year is going to be a great year for gaming with the release of Naughty Dog’s newest epic; The Last of Us. Like a lot of games, movies and tv shows for that matter, The Last of Us deals with a post-apocalyptic world and the idea that there will be a great fight for survival not just between humans and the affected but between the survivors.

So how exactly has the world come to this? Cordyceps Unilateralis of course. Never heard of it? Okay, its a parasitoidal fungus that spreads between ants and affects their behaviour before killing them.

In The Last of Us’ universe it has mutated into a fungal plague that now affects humans in a much similar way, leaving those infected contagious to the last of us.

The game will follow the journey of Joel, the player character, and Ellie, his 14 year-old sidekick, if you like.

Joel appears to be your typical post-apocalyptic hero, he’s rough, ready and likely has some hugely-important-in-the-plotline past. The character is described as having ‘few moral lines left to cross’ which, quite frankly, is probably something you need from a guy fighting for survival.

Wise beyond her years Ellie was born six years after the outbreak and has lived her whole life in the quarantine zone. Unlike Joel she knows nothing of how the Earth used to be and in true Naughty Dog fashion we already have a great plot device in the works.

Beginning in a quarantine zone somewhere in infected Boston we meet Joel as a black market trader for the camp, twenty years after the initial outbreak of the plague, selling both drugs and weapons to the other survivors. After a, as of yet unknown, event leaves the zone in panic Joel finds himself promising to take care of Ellie and escape the zone to a dying friend. And thus begins their journey.

The game promises to take you on a journey across the devastated United States with their survival threatened more and more every day.

Much like 2011’s Uncharted 3 the game focuses on the friendship between Joel and Ellie and the idea of trust being fundamental to their survival.

R

ewind to 4th October 2011, Apple lovers around the world are glued to their Macs, iPhones, iPads, even iPods as they watch livefeeds coming out of the Apple campus in California.

Rumours were swirling that the multi-billion pound company were about to announce the next iPhone; assumed to be the iPhone 5. It wasn’t.

Less than a year later and we’re all back at our many Apple products watching another livefeed, again from California, where the iPhone 5 is actually going to be revealed.

The reveal was met with mixed reaction. In essence, Apple really haven’t done a lot to upgrade the iPhone 5 from it’s predecessor the 4S. Sure it looks a little bit slicker, its taller and there’s a few new features but nothing that warrants its price in the opinion of many disappointed fans.

So what exactly is new about the iPhone 5?

Whilst still the same width of the iPhone 4 and 4S, Apple opted not to make a phone that felt bulky, the 5 sports a new 4 inch screen making it the tallest iPhone yet. The new screen means that a whole new row of apps can fit on your home screen, you can see more emails on your screen, and in horizontal mode you can fit more days across your calendar display. The iPhone 5’s screen is around 9 millimeters bigger than that of the previous iPhone’s but Apple are keen to express that its not too big, its just right, as you can still type and doing everything with just one hand. This is, in my opinion at least, a good move on the California based company’s behalf as a lot of smartphones these days simply look obtrusive. That and they can rake in millions more with an extra 9 millimeters of screen added to their next iPhone no doubt!

The screen isn’t just longer, its new 326 pixels per inch retina display promises to stun. It has 18% more pixels than the 4S and Apple claim that you will no longer be able to make out individual pixels with your eye. Colours are also going to be 44% greater than the previous phones. One of the best parts about the new screen though has to be that you can finally sit back and watch HD videos without the annoying black bars at either end, also known as letterboxing.

The iPhone 5’s brand new A6 chip promises a lot faster iPhone all round. It increases CPU speed meaning that when you open apps, messages, emails they should appear instantly unlike with the slightly sluggish A5 chip in previous models. Graphics are also

seren.bangor.ac.uk

Freshers’ Issue 2012

Enough about the plot though, what can we expect from the gameplay?

From in game footage that has been released to date we can expect a very similar feel from The Last of Us’ gameplay to that of the Uncharted series. Both gunfighting and melee combat will be incorporated as well as ‘dynamic stealth’ a new gameplay mechanic that has been introduced for the game. The developers describe the new feature as allowing the player to approach each situation with a different technique or strategy which will cause a different reaction from each enemy. A lot of gamers will know that enemies often react very similar which means they soon become predictable and a little bit boring so hopefully, if done right, the ‘dynamic stealth’ could potentially put a stop to this.

The thing you need to remember about Naughty Dog is not only are they creative geniuses but they do not seem to know their own limits. In fact, I am starting to doubt that they have limits at all. The team are constantly pushing the boundaries of video game development and half of the stuff they do rivals what some of Hollywood’s blockbusters pull off!

Motion capture is a massive tool used by the Dogs and sees their voice actors offering much more than their voices to the overall game. Think of how they made Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and you’ll get the general idea of how Uncharted and The Last of Us are put together. The overall effect of motion capture in a video game is to the realism. I talk about the plot of video games a lot because I love narrative driven games and that is what Naughty Dog give us time and time again.

The team go the extra mile to make their games a ‘playable movie’ where not only does having fun, shooting people and having the sense of achievement matter but you really begin to care what happens to these characters.

With the release date still be confirmed there’s still a lot for us to learn about the Playstation 3 exclusive but already it’s looking like a game that will be long remembered as an amazing achievement. One of the massive attractions to the Uncharted series is just how real the in game graphics are and it seems that with The Last of Us Naughty Dog have once again pushed their limits and created something beautiful.

LJ Taylor

affected by the chip. With mobile gaming growing at a ridiculously fast pace it’s important for your phone to be able to handle the graphics and give you a higher frame by frame rates.

One of the biggest problems that consumers have encountered when it comes to iPhones is the battery life.

Not only does it not last so long but unlike with other phones you can’t just buy a spare battery to replace it with if you run out. Phones are becoming more and more important in our lives every day with us not only relying on them for calls and messages but for calendars, emails, cameras and hundreds more applications and so its vital that our battery life at least gives us chance to get through the day. The new A6 chip will advance that weak battery life of previous iPhone’s and give you 8 hours talktime, 8 hours 3G browsing time and 10 hours video playback time.

Not long ago I remember seeing a mock ad for the iPhone 5 on the internet that basically showed a digital SLR going by the name of the iPhone 5. It was funny because its true. Phones are used more as a camera than they are as a traditional phone, or so it would seem these days. And so it is not at all surprising that the iPhone 5’s camera comes with an upgrade of sorts. It is disappointing that the 8 megapixel camera of the 4S is still there, though Apple are probably counting on a 5S having 10 megapixels or something of the sort. The 5’s camera however does have 40 percent faster capture, better noise reduction and advanced low light capture.

As well as that there’s a few cool new features for all those budding Instagram-ers out there. The iPhone 5’s new panorama mode is definitely something to be excited about. There’s been a number of apps recently that allow you to create panorama style pictures of digital cameras but they never seem to stitch together right. Apple’s integrated mode however takes a leaf out of an SLR’s book with the way it takes the photo and combined with the new A6 chip produces seamless photos. The front camera which first appeared with the iPhone 4 has also seen a bit of an upgrade and if you use it for FaceTime calls these can now be made over a normal phone connection rather than just wi-fi.

Perhaps the change that has warranted the most outrage is the new lightning connector. Ever since the iPod first came out Apple have been using the same USB to 30 pin connector on all of their mobile products. The new lightning connector however is much smaller to adapt to the thinner, lighter iPhone design. The smaller connector is said to be more durable and is reversible which means that there’s no wrong way to plug it in, much like Apple’s magnetic MacBook chargers. This all seems fine but the outrage comes from

all of the current accessories being 30 pin connector compatible. Apple have designed a lightning to 30 pin adapter to solve this problem but it is of course sold separately at £25 each.

Its understandable that this has annoyed people but to be honest Apple is a business, of course they are going to do things that will annoy people to make money. And £25 is a small price to pay to be able to use all of your existing connectors. Or at least I reckon so.

When the iPhone 4S launched last year it came with Siri, the iPhone’s ‘intelligent assistant’. I hate Siri personally. From what I’ve seen with the 4S there’s still a lot of work to be done on it though Apple do claim that they have advanced it much more for the 5. Once you’re done using it as something to impress your friends though I still think that you’ll never find another use for the feature.

The iPhone 5 hasn’t seen a lot of new features nor has it seen a massive redesign. Other than being a little taller than the 4 and 4S it does look a hell of a lot like them. The silver sides of the 4 and 4S have been replaced by black on the black model which does look very nice and the back is now made of aluminium and pigmented glass (or ceramic glass on the white and silver model). While the phone is thinner, lighter and taller it isn’t massively different from the previous model at all. You will now find the headphone jack at the bottom of the phone however.

All in all I have to agree with critics, the 5 really isn’t anything amazing. But at the end of the day Apple, as a business, can make minor changes and still sell millions of these phones and that’s exactly what they are about to do. If you aren’t near to being able to upgrade then maybe it isn’t worth forking out for an iPhone 5 but if, like me, you’re at your upgrade date then its set to be an amazing phone, like any iPhone.

LJ Taylor

relaxed seating, unique eating

light breakfasts high tea table d’hôte quality wines lunch & dinner

For bookings:

01248 388686 reservations@bangor.ac.uk Bangor University, Main Arts Building, Teras, College Road, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DG

36

Food and Drink

seren.bangor.ac.uk

Freshers’ Issue 2012

Freshers' Guide to Takeaways Chinese

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f takeaways were people, Bella Bella would be Bangor’s behemoth resident. Essentially it’s just an ordinary takeaway serving kebabs, burgers et al for reasonable prices but it’s always busier than its upper Bangor adversary, The University Plaice (they really did stink the room at with that one).

I’m not entirely sure why this is the case; my experiences in both have been largely similar (caveat: I was given a complimentary portion of kebab meat

in University Plaice once. Good job, too, because quantity just about made me forgive lack of quality) but Bella Bella certainly has a greater magnetic pull.

It might have something to do with its convenient positioning at the top of Bitch Hill and in-house seating. The one grievance is their (as is common with the majority of takeaways in Bangor) infatuation with bought-in chips rather than the superior ‘chip shop’ chip.

pizza

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here are four proper, bona fide cafés in Upper Bangor. I can’t comment on Morrisons’ because I’ve never eaten there but it’s always busy enough to suggest that it’s competent enough.

Creperie Café is in its foetal period but still offers something refreshingly different; sweet crêpes cost £2-£4.50 and savouries £3-£5 and are largely value for money (you really can’t go wrong with the grilled chicken, onion, sweetcorn and pickle crêpe).

Options, on the corner of College Road, is a bit of an odd one. Its menu is huge, so big in fact, that I wonder if quality suffers in the face of quantity. http://m.alwecdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Motorino-Pizza-Margherita.jpeg[17/09/2012 17:56:33] That said, the chickpea and pepper salad is fantastic and fresh, with a hit of acidity from the dressing that pleases your palate sufficiently enough to convince you to visit again. Finally, arguably Bangor’s most popular café, Mike’s Bites. It’s a must for any new student. If you’ve just moved into a hall on Ffriddoedd Site, chances are that your walk to lectures will take you past Mike’s Bites. Its bright blue façade leads into a warm and vibrant café – indeed, the front is usually suffocated by the steam coming

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out of the kitchen. And that steam is the spawn of the real reason you should make Mike’s Bites one of your essential stops in Freshers week. The café serves a wide range of breakfasts at not too inconsiderate prices - £4.55 for a small breakfast, £5.95 for the upgrade. But, as any ardent Mike’s Bites goer will tell you, its unique selling point is the ‘Greedy Bastard’. £12.95 gets you three rashers of bacon, three sausages, four hash browns, two eggs, scrambled eggs, steak, fried bread, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, three slices of black pudding, two slices of toast and to wash it all down – a pint of tea, probably cold unless you deal with it first. No substitutions, no toilet breaks. Only a big plate of food stands between you and immortality. Upon unlikely completion of this infamous breakfast, your name will be forever (well, for the rest of the year at least) adorned on the wall of the café.

An honourable mention has to go to Blue Sky Café in Lower Bangor. Four consecutive years in The Good Food Guide is thoroughly well deserved.

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ai Sing, one of two Chinese takeaways in Upper Bangor, beats its competitor Ying Wah on the sole premise that the one dish eaten at the latter lingers in my memory for the wrong reasons - lemon chicken that had an unpalatable washing up liquid acidity to it (that aside, Ying Wah does offer some good lunch time offers that are worth checking out.) Tai Sing is between the Creperie and health food shop on Holyhead Road.

Inside, you’re likely to be greeted by the delightfully cheery woman that takes orders. Though the menu is vast and full of the obligatory Chinese takeaway

favourites, there is an unforgivable omission of any duck dishes. Chicken and sweetcorn soup is fine, the kind of liquid that will be perfect when you’re freezing in January. Things pick up through dishes such as crispy chilli beef but decline again with a chicken curry that is almost wholly devoid of any discernible flavour beyond the residing taste of undercooked chunks of onion. A final mention goes to the Singapore noodles which, in fairness, are more indicative of Tai Sing’s overall quality than other off-the-mark dishes such as the wonton soup.

KEBABS

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izza House (Tŷ Pizza) is next to Paddy’s Bar on Holyhead Road, Upper Bangor. Whilst Bangor plays host to a Domino’s (down by Neudd Willis) it’s always best to support local, independent companies. Pizza House also represents better value for money. Whilst Domino’s will undoubtedly be offering special deals this Freshers week and the rest of the year, Pizza House is invariably the cheaper option. Like Domino’s, it delivers

to your door. Unlike Domino’s, they don’t shaft you.

Offers such as the Tuesday special buy one 12” pizza and get another 12” half price complement the great value of their standard prices. A 9” Hawaiian pizza from Pizza House will cost you £4.20. Its 9.5” enemy from Domino’s will set you back a cool £12.99. Pizza House also has its own Facebook page where Bangor residents eulogise their love for this small pizzeria.

Cafes

where to take your parents

s great as all these takeaways and cafés are, they won’t do much to convince your parents that you’re eating healthy food at university. Nor will they be too impressed if you suggest eating at any of them were they to come and visit.

It would be remiss of me to suggest that Bangor has lots of great restaurants to eat in. It doesn’t. There just isn’t the demand for really good independent restaurants. Prospective restauranteurs habitually flock to neighbouring Anglesey, not least because of its inexhaustible natural bounty of amazing ingredients.

Notable places within Bangor include Blue

Sky Café, Noodle One, Yo’Mamas and 1815. The university’s restaurant, Teras, is especially good (go online to read a review.)

Cross Menai Bridge and convince your parents to go to any of the great restaurants on Anglesey. Harry’s Bistro, Beaumaris, is difficult to justify going to on a student budget but with a burgeoning reputation - it’s been nominated for entry in The Good Food Guide 2013 - it might be the sort of place parents are looking for; roasted chicken with broad beans, asparagus and pea gnocchi costs £12.95.

Also located in Beaumaris is Cennin, a restaurant that has both a well-known chef, former Co-

leg Menai student Aled Williams of ‘Great British Menu’ fame , and the subsequent ball-achingly high prices. That said, the menu reads beautifully, particularly the risotto of prawns, clams, scallops brown shrimp and crab with samphire.

If you think that sounds like food porn, it’s rendered as little more than coquettish foreplay when you hear the menu at The Harbourfront Bistro, Holyhead. This is proper X-rated salacious filth. Pulled pork - the zietgeist barbeque dish of the year - comes in a taco with homemade BBQ sauce as its lubricant for just £5.95. Cancel your subscriptions; spend your money here instead.

If that isn’t enough to get you reaching for the

tissue, the Belgian waffle with caramelised banana and toffee ice-cream should. If it doesn’t, you’re morally bankrupt.

Looking for these places? Flip over to the map 1 Blue Sky 2 1815 3 Noodle One 4 Teras 5 Yo’Mamas

Freshers’ Issue 2012

seren.bangor.ac.uk

restaurant Review

Dylan's Restaurant - Menai Bridge, Angelesy - Tel 01248 716 714

37

Food and Drink

TEN KITCHEN ESSENTIALS

As the year progresses and money gets tighter, it can get harder to justify spending money on the things kitchen cupboards thrive upon. The following ten ingredients will help tweak bland, repetitive dishes and keep your palate from stagnating into the dark world of bland pasta for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

garlic paste

Fresh garlic isn’t especially expensive but as is so often the case, you’re left with the odd clove and decayed garlic skin hanging around your kitchen. Chances are that, unless you’re roasting a whole bulb, you won’t use one in its entirety. There’s a simple way to resolve this – garlic paste. Morrisons sell a large jar of minced garlic (in the Asian Foods section, next to the spices) that costs £1 and will almost certainly serve you all year.

And don’t listen to inane drivel about garlic lingering around you; its hot, pungent flavour enhances anything from a spaghetti bolognaise to a blisteringly hot chicken curry or a warm baguette topped with copious amounts of garlicky butter.

Who cares if it makes you smell; it tastes fantastic.

lemon juice

St.George’s Road, Menai Bridge, Anglesey, 01248716714

by YOUSEF CISCO AND LJ TAYLOR

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iving in North Wales doesn’t often give you a lot of great options when it comes to wining and dining. There are no recognisable brands around, other than fast food establishments, and sometimes it’s difficult to be able to tell the good from the bad when it comes to local restaurants.

I came across this restaurant when I found their beautifully designed menu; two colour letter press print on fully recycled brown paper in my house, something I would never have expected to find in North Wales, and had thought my housemate brought it back from London, or somewhere a little more commercialised. I visited their website and fell further in love; everything about this place seemed perfect. The decision

to visit was already made. I have friends who live in Menai Bridge and missing out on an opportunity like this would’ve been a scandal.

The restaurant looked great; it had the feel of a family owned 50s seafood diner with authentic retro photos on the walls and random nautical objects dotted about the place. The outdoor seating area overlooking the Menai Straits just seals the deal on an already brilliant dining experience. Its location means that you can sail there with plenty of boat parking space in the straits.

The sea bass was done to perfection, grilled on a bed of onions and thyme and drizzled with olive oil. Although it was no match for my dad’s Lebanese recipe, it was still great. It didn’t have much flavour as they left the sea bass to be understated, with no additional in-

gredients to bring out the flavours from one of my favourite dishes.

Dylan’s markets itself as a pizzeria and it’s easy to see why. The thin, Italian style bases come with the perfect amount of tomato sauce and an array of different fresh toppings.

The only problem is the price. Dylan’s isn’t a typical student cheap meal out.

Dishes fall around the £9 mark and things don’t get much better with drinks at £3.50 for a bottle of San Miguel and £2.50 for a glass of cranberry juice. If you want something different, that’s guaranteed to impress, then it’s definitely worth the price.

Its mix of arty Italian flair and rustic sea food diner reminiscent of the 50s is the perfect combination; it’s only a bridge away.

9/10

Cookbook Review

See above. Fresh lemon juice, as delicious and irreplaceable as it is, just isn’t a practical use of a stretched student budget; far better to buy a bottle of lemon juice and rely on its inferior but not devoid of acidity advantages. Try adding a little at the very end of cooking a pasta dish, its acidic hit will complement most pasta sauces. Be careful when adding to anything dairy based; its addition could cause the liquid to split if added too early or not quickly mixed through.

salt

This is a fairly obvious but nonetheless deserving inclusion to the list. Salt is one of the basic tastes that our mouth reacts to, not only making food moreish but also enhancing savoury elements. Add a little to onions whilst they’re frying – the salt will bring out the water content and help to prevent the onions from burning.

Sprinkle on top of meat straight from the oven; stir through a chocolate sauce to harmonise the sweet and bitter notes.

butter Butter is good for anything - spreading on your toast, dolloping on a jacket potato, melting in the microwave and pouring down your throat.

soy sauce Soy sauce contains Umami, the zeitgeist culinary term of this decade. It’s found in ingredients such as tomatoes, cheeses and MSG (take-aways favourite.) It boosts savoury tastes in dishes (oddly, Morrisons sell a little tube of ‘Umami’ for around £2), soy sauce being a particularly umami-laden ingredient. Add a touch of soy to bolognaise and cheese sauces or play it safe and use it as a linchpin for any good stir fry.

frozen peas Peas are pretty much a ubiquitous vegetable in food I cook at home. Risottos, curries and pastas all benefit from the addition of a handful of sweet peas. Fresh ones are great but not possible due to their relatively short season. Using peas as a background accompaniment to a dish is great and helps with your 5-a-day, but they’re also great blended with some stock, butter, yogurt, fried onions, salt and pepper to make a lovely soup.

http://www.dylansrestaurant.co.uk/gallery.php[17/09/2012 18:39:03]

stock

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t’s becoming increasingly common for anyone that’s ever cooked a risotto to publish a cookbook – a quick Waterstones search of ‘cookbook’ brings up 5337 results – making it difficult to work out which ones are worth spending your money on and, with an ever expanding corner of the internet covering most culinary needs, those that just aren’t.

So it’s refreshing to see something different, a cookbook that doesn’t just tell you how to make ‘the bestest chicken curry ever’. Helen Ashley is an artist and illustrator whose idea for ‘Kitchen Drawer’ was born when family and friends started to use her hand-drawn, instruction aided illustrations to cook with at home.

The book’s layout is reassuringly basic.

Each recipe takes up two pages; one listing ingredients, the other showing the

method and drawings. The nature of the book and its layout almost forces the recipes into simplicity; no dish has more than seven separate steps and, almost without exception, use inexpensive produce. The eight chapters cover soups, pasta and rice dishes, meat, fish and vegetarian mains, puddings and lastly, cakes, biscuits and breads.

There are student favourites – shepherd’s pie, pesto pasta and chilli con carne – but also intriguing dishes such as tuna croquettes and aduki bean burgers.The back cover describes the recipes as ‘the comfort food you grew up with (think gooey cauliflower cheese, warming sausage and bean casserole and fresh, crumbly flapjacks)’ and it’s hard to disagree with that, though I’m not sure many of us ate vichyssoise soup too often at home.

If you’re panging for a home-cooked

If Marco Pierre White’s tenuous association with Knorr is observed, every cupboard should have stock in some form – cube; pot; whatever. The use of stock is vital for some dishes – risottos, soups et al but it’s also very handy when money’s a bit tight and you can’t afford meat or fish. Make a cheap and tasty bowl of rice; crumble a stock cube in at the start of cooking and add any leftover ham, cheese, peas etc that you have lying around

spices

This is a bit of a contentious one, primarily because spices spend more time at the back of the cupboard than they do seasoning our food. Be selective; don’t buy smoked paprika because one recipes says you need it. Compromise and use chilli powder; not the same but better than spending an extra £1. Chilli powder, turmeric, cumin and ground coriander should be enough to cover all spice bases.

oils meal, this book is more than capable of giving you the recipe to recreate that feeling, whether it’s a comforting beef stew or a creamy chicken and mushroom pie.

http://kitchendrawerrecipes.com/images/chickmush.jpg[17/09/2012 18:33:20]

This one’s down to personal taste and what’s cheapest, but you should definitely give extra virgin olive oil a wide berth(unless you plan on making lots of salad dressings). It’s a waste of money and for several reasons should never be heated.

Alternatives include the versatile vegetable oil, rapeseed oil (which, amazingly, is now produced in Wales) and sunflower oil.

sugar I don’t have a particularly sweet tooth but I can appreciate the advantages of having a big bag of sugar in the kitchen, not least because of its cake-making commodities.

38

Creative Corner

seren.bangor.ac.uk

Freshers’ Issue 2012

Paintings by Debbie Roberts

Burger King

In The Laundrette

Indicators clicking, we pull into the interchange; car headlights droning over our faces like a last yawn.

Staffordshire Northbound M6 Moto.

8:17pm.

The scrunched packet of a used washing tablet skitters across the floor.

Door slams shut.

The dry, matted, white musk of industrial strength detergent sticks to my hand.

Rustling Greaseproof wrapper, crumpled cardboard coffee cup snapped plastic fork in the Burger King takeaway.

Lorry rolls into a bay outside; engine shudders.

The 559 Bus I scuffle past the drivers booth and a drained Coca-Cola can rolls under a seat.

Wheezing beneath the amber street lights, the 559 bus slugs on.

r! u o Y ork!

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Headlights shatter on impact; rain streaked window of the late night laundrette.

Rumbling traffic.

To my left, the drun of a dustbin sized washing machine from the 1980’s churns on.

Poems by Tom Haynes

Want your work in Creative Corner? Email creative@seren.bangor.ac.uk

Photography by Victoria Warren

Freshers’ Issue 2012

seren.bangor.ac.uk

North Wales International Poetry Festival

By TOM HAYNES

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oetry lovers are in for a treat this October as events of the North Wales International Poetry Festival are to be held in Bangor.

Tony Conran Local poet Tony Conran will kick off proceedings on October 1st by performing some of his works in collaboration with the Conran Poetry Chorus.

The event will begin at 8pm in the Bangor University Powis Hall. Tickets £5, concessions £3.

Nominees of the 2012 Wales Book of the Year, including Karen Owen and Gerwyn Wiliams will give readings on October 4th in the Bangor University Terrace Room 3. The event begins at 6pm. Tickets £5, concessions £3.

A second event, “In Transit” will follow at 8pm in the same room, where five international poets including Katerina Iliopoulou and Jeroen Theunissen will give readings. Tickets £5, concessions £3.

On October 5th, Poetry Wales are set to present a reading by Chinese poet Yu Jian, followed by a conversation about his life. The event will be held at 6:30pm in the Kyffin Café in Bangor High Street. Tickets £4, concessions £3.

At 8pm the same evening in the same location, an Open mic evening

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ith the release of her first picture book “Peta Pengwin” imminent, Anglesey author and illustrator Jane Griffiths-Jones is buzzing with excitement. Tom Haynes gets an insight of the inspiration behind her work.

Yu Jian

in the gallery. I think it’s quite fresh work, that’s really dynamic, and captures the people well from the era he sketched them in.”

Also featured in the gallery are the watercolour and pencil artworks of William Selwyn, and the oil on canvas paintings of Mihangel Jones.

Both artists also offer a glimpse into the life of workers such as quarry-

Your new picture book is called “Peta Pengwin”. Can you tell us more about it?

It is a bilingual children's picture book for Welsh learners age 0-7, but I feel adult Welsh learners will also enjoy reading it too. In the story, Peta is upset by his appearance and turns to his mother for comfort. I think it’s a heartwarming story which is sure to raise a smile.

Anja Utler

men and and fishermen as they once were.

The exhibition is open until September 29th. Admission free.

books, and I can't ever see me doing anything else to be honest. I’m very happy and passionate about what I do!

Finally, what advice would you give to budding writers and artists?

My advice to other writers and artists is to believe in yourself. If you see an idea for a book that you think and believe will work, then go for it. Give it 100% and don't be afraid to contact publishers. They can be very helpful, even if at first your books get rejected, they will often give you invaluable feedback that will help you on your way to getting your work published.

Katerina Iliopoulou

What's on at Bangor Art Gallery?

he work of an internationally acclaimed artist who sketched miners working is making a splash in Bangor Art Gallery this freshers week.

Josef Herman, who died in February 2000 age 89, has his artwork displayed in an exhibition titled “Llafur: Imaging the Labourer”.

Esther Roberts, curator at the gallery said: “It’s great to have the work of an internationally acclaimed artist like Josef Herman

Creative Corner Interview with Jane Griffiths-Jones

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titled “Viva la Poesía”, hosted by Rhys Trimble with special guest Ian Gregson will also be held.

At 12 noon on October 6th, “It’s Raining Words”, a free poetry walk through Bangor, will take place. Beginning at the Whistlestop Café on the pier, there will be a reading by Gwyn Thomas.

The concluding festival event in Bangor will be “A Word In Your Ear” the same day, in which international poets Anja Utler, Cia Rinne, Morten Søndergaard, and Yu Jian will give readings.

Richard James and The Gentle Good will also give musical performances. Bangor University Terrace Room 3, 8pm. Tickets £6, concessions £4.

A special Bangor weekend ticket can also be purchased, allowing access all events from the Thursday to Saturday. Tickets £16.00, concessions £10.00.

Visit northwalesinternationalpoetryfestival.org for further details and to purchase tickets.

Jeroen Theunissen

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What was the inspiration behind the book, and what did you want to achieve with it?

My inspiration came from the everyday dilemma of trying to overcome a bad hair day which, annoyingly, we all experience from time to time! I wanted children to see that even cute little penguins get a bad hair day and that there are ways of resolving it. Penguin chicks are so cute and cuddly whilst also being very entertaining to watch, and I love the way they waddle, play and of course cuddle up to their parents.

Your studio is on a farm in Llandaniel, Anglesey. Do you feel this environment has influenced your work? And what else inspires you?

Living and working on a farm in Llanddaniel is definitely a constant source of inspiration for me, as my stable studio is surrounded by an abundance of wildlife. But unfortunately there are no penguins here. (Only Peta!)

What else are you currently working on, and what do you hope to achieve in the future?

I’m currently working on a few picture books - all of which are about animals and their environment. My day begins and ends with doodling sketches and scripts for future dummy picture

Peta Pengwin is out on Gomer Press in October 2012.

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seren.bangor.ac.uk

Books

Freshers’ Issue 2012

Booker Prize Shortlist 2012

by LUKE DOBSON

T

he shortlist for the 2012 Man Booker Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in literature, was announced last week. Six of the finest novels of the past year are now in contention to win the £50,000 prize in October. It is a mark of distinction to be nominated for the shortlist; indeed, even getting this far in the process will mean they are awarded £2,500 and a specifically commissioned, handbound edition of their book.

In The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng, we are taken to Malaya in 1949. Young law graduate, Yun Ling Teoh, returns for the first time since evading the Japanese occupa-

tion during the war. There she finds the only Japanese garden in Malaya, tended by the former gardener of the Emperor of Japan. She must face advancing Communist guerrillas, the mystery behind how the garden came to be, and her own misty past.

Joe and his family arrive at their villa in Nice to discover a mysterious woman in the pool, in Swimming Home by Deborah Levy. As Kitty Finch insinuates herself into this family holiday, this strange thriller deals with the devastating secrets we keep from ourselves and shows how even the most stable people can come apart at the seams.

The sequel to the Man Booker-winning Wolf Hall, Bring up the Bodies

by Hilary Mantel continues to follow the life of Thomas Cromwell af-

Classic of the Month

H

Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

eart of Darkness was an ongoing joke in my first year doing English. It seemed to crop up in every module, even though the other four books we were told to get before we came to Bangor were only used once.

Most of you will have heard of Joseph Conrad’s novel and, if not, you will have heard of /seen Apocalypse Now. The film was loosely based on the novel, transplanting the action from Africa to Vietnam, using the American Army instead of an English captain.

I remember disliking the novel, as you do when you’re forced to study it. Since then, I’ve grown to love it. The story follows Marlow, a captain employed by the Belgians to transport ivory down the Congo, and is also given the mission

of locating and returning Kurtz, a rogue ivory trader, to civilisation.

On the way, Marlow discovers different kinds of darkness, initiated by the deep dark of the Congo wilderness he must traverse. He encounters the Europeans’ cruel treatment of the native population, a dark stain on our history. However, through Kurtz and his own narrative reasoning, he discovers the darkness within us all, and our ability to commit great acts of evil.

It’s a dark novel, yet it is all the better for it. Conrad weaves his tale by drawing us into the Congo with him, enabling us to sit in Marlow’s chair and ponder on the innate wickedness which we are capable of.

A pure classic, from beginning to end, and a must read; even if you’re not studying English.

ter he has ascended from his more than humble beginnings. Now Chief Minister to Henry VIII, Cromwell must deal with the King’s relationship with Anne Boleyn and how it takes a dark turn for all concerned.

Futh, middle-aged and recently separated, is heading to Germany for a walking holiday in Alison Moore’s The Lighthouse. Whilst there, he deals with a hostile patron at the hotel he stays at, before setting out on a week-long circular walk along the Rhine. He thinks through his life, bringing up memories of his childhood and his first trip to Germany with his father. This account of someone’s life gives us an insightful look at the effects of family on our lives.

Set across the entire 20th Century, Umbrella by Will Self deals tells the sto-

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which made it through to the selection process, the longlist and made it to the final six. Talking of the longlist, there is one book from this year’s which I personally think should have gotten through to the shortlist.

The Teleportation Accident by Ned Beauman is a wonderfully witty and constantly strange novel. Set in the 1930s, starting in Berlin and traversing to Paris and across the Atlantic, it follows Egon Loeser as he attempts to unravel two mysteries: whether, his hero, a seventeeth-century stage designer Adriano Lavicini really died because of a cosmic deal with evil; and why a handsome, clever, modest guy like himself can’t get laid.

Part historical, romance and science fiction; this is a Seren Recommends.

Union Street by Pat Barker

by ROSIE MACLEOD

T

eesside novelist Pat Barker is perhaps best known for her Regeneration Trilogy, which is set in the First World War and follows the lives of men deeply affected by shellshock. Her first novel, Union Street, showcases this author’s strong ability to write in a mesmerisingly addictive style to achieve graphic and horrific accounts of real events.

Union Street is set in the North East at the time of the Miners’ Strike of 1973. Her characters’ lives are all deeply shaped by the socio-political background, and the strength of the novel is that Barker manages to convey how the Strike was not an enclosed issue, but instead brought with it a storm of deprivation that affected everybody who lived amid and alongside it. The economical deprivation, alcohol abuse, wife beating, fear,

Cocktail Books hilst not trying to actively endorse drinking, Seren knows that you will all be indulging in more than a casual of alcohol over the next week. This said, I thought it’d be a good time to bring up the idea that you don’t just have to drink beer to have a good time.

Cocktails are making a comeback. I’m not talking about brightly coloured mixes of one spirit and a pint of flavoured juices; I mean proper cocktails, like an old fashioned Martini. I’m not putting down the brightly coloured affairs you’ll get in most bars, far from it; I have gotten more than merry on a few Kyrptonites’ and Glass Towers’ .

ry of two individuals; Audrey Dearth, who fell into a coma at the end of the First World War, and a young psychiatrist, Zack Busner. Zack finds Audrey, and several other patients, in the vast Victorian mental asylum he transfers too. He sets about trying to wake them, yet doesn’t know the consequences.

Being proclaimed as the best of Self’s speculative fiction, Umbrella deals with the madness of modernity and how it affected the world after 1918.

A city and an underworld are shown in Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil, one and the same, as we are taken on a journey stretching three decades. With an interlude in Mao’s China, this electrically charged novel shows Bombay through a vast cast of pimps, pushers, and poets.

And there we have it, the novels

However, at Uni you have an unparalleled opportunity to try the vast pantheon of alcohol on offer, and you might need a guide to help you decipher your Mojito from your Mint Julep. How to Booze: Exquisite Cocktails and Unsound Advice by Jordan Kaye & Marshall Alter is the book for this.

Filled with the authors’ stories about certain drinks, the main use of this book will be the great recipes that most of you will be unaware of. For example, a Daiquiri, the drink enjoyed by JFK and Hemingway, doesn’t involve strawberry flavouring and slushy machines; it’s simply rum, lime juice and syrup. Ouila! You have

and poverty that all arose from this same stimulus; Barker addresses each one swiftly yet in thorough detail.

This work is divided into chapters, but each chapter is a single individual’s novella. Melvin Burgess’ novel Junk (1996), which is also a hard-hitting piece of social realism focussing on heroin abuse, uses a similar format.

Unlike Burgess, Barker’s characters are all female. Not only that, they are all working-class and each suffer an individual deprivation-induced fear. Barker demonstrates the many ways in which seven women of widely varying ages were affected by the men’s striking.

The Strike is the cause of some women’s hardships, an accessory to others and a catalyst to further troubles.

One of the protaganists is Kelly Brown, who falls victim to a predatory man. Others include Muriel and Lisa Goddard, who have to work long hours and budget tightly in the absence of their husbands’ employment, and Iris

by LUKE DOBSON a classy drink which tastes nice and sets you up nicely whilst pre-drinking.

If you and your pre-drinking buddies begin to like these concoctions, I’d step it up a notch and get The Savoy Cocktail Book. This tome is almost holy amongst cocktail drinkers, as it comprises of the original recipes of hundreds of drinks, using every spirit you could think of.

These books give you the opportunity to explore the wide world of cocktails. Make your own cocktail recipes from the stuff in your flat, buy some from clubs for a change from snakebites; but, most of all, have fun.

King, the matriarch of Union Street, entrusted with the other women’s secrets. All of the stories are loosely interlinked and each Union Street chapter contains a reference to another’s plot, such as when Kelly witnesses a product of a backstreet abortion, which is described in shocking detail in Iris King’s unsettling chapter. The work was published in 1982, nine years after the Strike, yet when it was still firmly in living British memory and deeply etched on the northern psyche. Union Street is a gritty novel that confronts the real-life horror, but is also darkly funny in parts. It is an exposé of a people who lived in uncertain times and how they reacted to them. Although it is far more cynical a work than the film Billy Elliot and the novel Junk, Union Street also demonstrates how tame our current recession difficulties are in comparison to the grit and day-to-day fear that was this strike.

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41

Travel

Top Places to Visit in North Wales

by JORDAINE HULSE

T

here are many sights to see and attractions that North Wales has to offer.

Whether you prefer to relax in the great outdoors or try your hand at go-karting, there is something here that will interest everyone and help to make your time living here a great experience.

Snowdonia

Home to the highest mountain in Wales and not forgetting Electric Mountain too. Snowdonia like many other places in North Wales is one of the exquisite sites not to be missed.

Mount Snowdon has several different paths up to its summit which vary in difficulty and length according to preference. Some people do tend to favour the Mountain Railway and enjoy a leisurely ride to the top. Either way it is easy to soak in and admire the spectacular views of the surrounding national park. We must also not forget that Snowdon is not the only mountain in the area, if science is more your thing then a trip to Dinorwig Power Station or Electric Mountain to see the inner workings of the mountain might just be perfect for you!

Betws-y-Coed

Is located in the Snowdonia National Park is a picturesque and quaint village with a population of only 534 people. There are a lot of shops and cafes around and it is also the ideal place to have a meander along the charming river Llugwy.

Blaenau Ffestiniog

Another town filled with some great history; the Ffestiniog Railway and the mining of Victorian slate being just a couple of attractions

here to see. Here you can travel into Llechwedd Slate Caverns and learn all about how the slate used to be mined and the miners that worked there.

Colwyn Bay

A short train journey away from Bangor and a lovely seaside town which is perfect for a sunny day trip to the beach. Nearby is also the Welsh Mountain Zoo where you can spend the day looking at some of the rare animals such as chimpanzees and snow leopards. As well as this you can walk around the first lemur enclosure to come to North Wales!

Portmeirion

A beautiful Italianate village which is rife with tourists all year round. Some of you may know it as the filming location of the popular television show The Prisoner. This village was originally built and designed by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis in the unusual style of an Italian town and although there is an admission charge into the town it is most definitely well worth a visit.

Caernarfon

Just a bus ride away it boasts a number of tourist attractions. Caernarfon Castle is just one of the popular places to visit - it is a World Heritage Site and has been described as the “most impressive of Wales’ castles”. With great views and plenty of pubs within the castle walls it is just the place for a relaxing time.

Caernarfon is not only known for being a place to relax as the adrenaline junkies out there might know it has Redline Indoor Karting. There is also a cinema in Caernarfon at Victoria Dock which is extremely handy for all film buffs.

Llandudno

You can’t possibly live in Bangor without making a trip up here, whether it is just to go to watch the latest cinema release or to travel up the Great Orme you are guaranteed to have a great day out. The Great Orme Tramway is 110 years old and been very popular over the years for history and nature enthusiasts alike.

From the summit you can see some spectacular panoramic views and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere. For those who enjoy skiing and snowboarding there is also a dry ski slope located on the Great Orme in Llandudno which boasts the longest toboggan run in Britain.

There are also the Great Orme Mines in the area which are a collection of tunnels and caves to explore. Although if you are claustrophobic then this will probably not be your cup of tea!

Anglesey

Practically a stone’s throw away from Bangor, here you can find plenty of things to do and see. For example there are many fantastic beaches such as Lligwy, Red Wharf Bay, Rhosneigr, Traeth Bychan, Benllech and many more.

These beaches have some lovely, golden stretches of sand and not to mention some of the best doughnut stands ever.

If you fancy getting to grips with a bit of nature and seeing some of the wildlife too then Pili Palas is the place to visit – the main attraction is the many different species of butterfly however it is also home to meerkats, reptiles, farmyard animals and lots of bugs!

Of course you can’t forget that Prince William and Kate Middleton live on Anglesey and if it

is good enough for the royal family then it is most definitely a great place to go and visit.

Beaumaris

Another town on the Isle of Anglesey. Here we have another beautiful castle to add to your list with a scenic view of the Menai Straits.

Although the castle is built on marshes so take your wellies along with you if you plan on going on a rainy day! Beaumaris Goal and Courthouse are also an interesting and informative day out – you are able to get a joint ticket for these tourist attractions too.

Holyhead

A large town in Anglesey which also has a ferry port. Why not be adventurous and jump on a ferry across to Ireland for the weekend? If you don’t want to travel that far then why not go and learn about the boats instead – there is the Holyhead Maritime Museum where you can see the old lifeboat station. There is also South Stack Lighthouse which is a great haven for birds during the summer months and a lovely walk if you don’t mind over 400 steps...

Conwy

Another incredibly popular destination in North Wales especially in the summer months.

Conwy Castle is a magnificent sight and you can still see the walls which encompass the majority of the town within them. Of course you cannot go to Conwy without visiting the Smallest House in Britain.

As you can see there are so many things to do in North Wales so why not get out there and start exploring!

HOW TO LOSE THOSE BACK-TO-UNI BLUES

Just come back from a lovely long summer and already nostalgic for your holidays in the sun? Returning to university and the prospect of having to work hard over the following months may not be something that you are looking forward to so here are a few tips for you to beat those post-summer blues and brighten up your September!

Buy a Calendar

What better way to get over the end of summer than to start a countdown to your next holiday? Buying a calendar (or even a personal diary) not only gives you somewhere to jot down all your university deadlines but also provides a place for you to tick off the days until your next holiday or day out. Alternatively why not make one yourself?

Book a Weekend Getaway

Whether you fancy a weekend break in the lovely British countryside or a cheap lastminute holiday abroad – there is nothing better than booking a weekend getaway to have something to look forward to in the near future. There are several websites that can help you to plan your holiday so that you get the best deal for your money.

Create a Travel Wish List

Now is the perfect time to start putting together a list of places that you would love to go to the most. Make a realistic top ten and aim to visit those places in the next fews years.

Start looking at what sights and attractions are there for you to see. You could also purchase a map of the world and pinpoint your dream destinations.

Start Planning for Next Summer

It’s never too early to start looking at holidays for the next year and it is often cheaper to book a year in advance. Once you have booked it you can then start counting down the months until your holiday in the sun. On the other hand why not book a winter holiday? As they say the possibilities are endless!

42

Sport

by BECKI WATSON

A

ndy Murray has become the first British man to win a Grand Slam tournament in 76 years after a heroic 5 set victory over Novak Djokovic at the US Open. Adding to his Olympic gold medal and first ever Wimbledon final, Murray’s first Grand Slam victory ensures his place in tennis history.

It was a very close final, and was as thrilling a match as was expected from the world no.2 and no.3. An extremely close first two sets, which included a 26 minute tie break and a 54-shot long rally, ended in Murray winning 7-6 7-5, and one set away from victory. Many were beginning to think that Andy could win it in straight sets, especially

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Freshers’ Issue 2012

Grand Slam victory for Murray

as Djokovic was making some uncharacteristic errors. But Novak’s legendary strength and stamina kicked in and he took the next two sets 2-6 3-6. A few years ago, this would have been the end for Murray, but the incredible strength he has built up over his last few years on

match and I don't know how I managed to come through in the end.’ This is the first time Djokovic has lost on hard court for over 2 years, but the fivetime major winner was gracious in his tribute to Murray, saying ‘I had a great opponent today. He deserved to win

“I had a great opponent today. He deserved to win this Grand Slam more than anybody. ” the tour came through for him, and he decisively won the last set 6-2.

Murray, watched by his mother Judy, girlfriend Kim Sears, and other famous supporters such as Sir Alex Ferguson, seemed to be in disbelief at his victory, but recovered enough to praise Djokovic’s great performance: ‘Novak is so strong, he fights until the end of every

this Grand Slam more than anybody. I would like to congratulate him.’

Murray’s victory takes him up to third in the world rankings ahead of Rafael Nadal, and his first Grand Slam win has some speculating that his sponsorship earnings will increase to over £100 million, making him one of the highest paid sports stars in the world. But more than

that, Andy’s US open triumph ends in the 76 year long wait for a British male winner, the last being the legendary Fred Perry back in 1936.

As Murray himself admits, it’s a little too early to be thinking of knighthoods after only winning one Grand Slam. But with Murray in the shape of his life and possessing a self-confidence and mental strength that has never been seen in him before, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility for him to win another tournament before the season’s finished. One thing’s for certain - deciding the nominees for Sports Personality of the Year just got a lot harder than it already was.

Moto GP: Racing towards a Kings of the road - F1: The season so far thrilling finish

by TOM DAVIES

by RACHELE JOHNSON

T

his time last year, Casey Stoner had a 44 point lead over Jorge Lorenzo and by race 16 Stoner had secured the championship and won his second GP title. The 2012 Moto GP champion however, is still undecided and with Lorenzo having a mere 13 point lead over second place Dani Pedrosa, and with 6 races still left, it promises to be an exciting finale.

Although the conclusion to this year’s GP is yet to be decided, it has undoubtedly been overshadowed by the changes that will be occurring in the 2013 season, in particular Valentino Rossi’s return to Yamaha after a dismal two years with Ducati in which he managed only two podiums. Whilst riding for Yamaha, Rossi won the Moto GP championship four times, won a total of 46 races and alongside teammate Lorenzo, secured the Triple Crown titles for three consecutive years. When Rossi announced that he was leaving Yamaha to ride for Ducati in 2011, his decision was greeted with an air of shock. Whilst some believed the move to be motivated by money, Rossi is adamant that the switch to Ducati was fuelled by a desire to start a fresh chapter in his Moto GP career.

However, after two seasons of poor results on a bike that only Casey Stoner

has been able to tame, it is clear that Rossi is hungry for more and he believes that riding for Yamaha is the gateway to a fifth championship title.

Rossi’s return to Yamaha is not the only news to have stirred up pre-season frenzy. For British fans, the introduction of Bradley Smith from Moto2 to ride alongside Cal Crutchlow for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team has been exciting news. The British duo will have the chance to capitalise on this season’s impressive results from the Tech 3 team and with both riders proving that they are extremely capable; perhaps a British champion is in the making?

Casey Stoner’s decision to retire at the end of the 2012 season was met with mixed feelings and has undeniably overshadowed his season. The question as to whether he could retire ‘with a bang’ and win the championship has followed Stoner to every race but after his crash at Indianapolis, where he sustained a broken ankle, his chances of retaining his Moto GP title are fairly slim.

With only four riders staying with the same team they began the 2012 Moto GP season, next year promises to be full of excitement, rivalry and good old drama.

B

ack in March, when then season started, if someone had told me that Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso would be leading the Driver’s World Championship with seven races to go, I’d have probably laughed. But more fool me: by now I should have a greater respect for Formula One’s ability to completely reinvent itself.

After the dominance of Red Bull last season, on the back of Sebastian Vettel’s Championship win in 2010, the safe money would have been on the Renaultpowered team to continue their success in Schumacher-esque fashion. Much was said about the pace of the Ferrari prior to Australia, with whispers that it was an absolute dog of a car seemingly confirmed by an absence of pace in preseason testing. So why is Alonso ahead?

The field this year is perhaps the most even it has ever been, with the exception of the three newer teams, Caterham, Marussia, and HRT. For the first time in years we’re seeing teams from the midfield genuinely challenging the top teams: Sauber’s Sergio Perez came so close to beating Alonso in Malaysia, and beat the Ferrari driver to second place at the Italian Grand Prix. Formula One’s Dick Dastardly himself, Pastor Maldonado, shocked with a win for Williams in Catalunya.

Maldonado’s win was not only a demonstration of how different cars suit different tracks, but it also highlighted the impact that this years new Pirelli tyres have had on the competition. After Vettel’s domination of the 2011 Championship, Pirelli were briefed with livening up proceedings, surprising even the most seasoned F1 followers with tyres

that degrade faster than anything seen in the sport before.

In this unpredictable field, consistency has been key, and this is where the wily Alonso has excelled above all others. He is unquestionably at his peak and probably driving better now than when he won his two world championships. His lead has narrowed though; McLaren are experiencing somewhat of a revival, as demonstrated in Jenson Button’s win at Spa and Lewis Hamilton’s win at Monza.

Despite a majestic performance in Belgium, Button is effectively out of the title race, but Hamilton will go to Singapore just 37 points behind the Spaniard. With 25 points for a win, it is wide open.

Inevitably, the focus in the run in will be Alonso, Hamilton, and Vettel, but there are others that could still challenge. After two seasons out, 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen, the Lotus-Renault driver, has had a solid, if unspectacular, season. A string of stubborn performances have taken the Iceman to third in the Driver’s Championship, and only a point behind Hamilton. Kimi came from nowhere to win the 2007 Championship by a point, and a driver of his ability always has the capacity to surprise. The new Texas Grand Prix should be a thriller, and the classic circuits at Japan and Brazil never disappoint. May the best man win!

Pietersen dropped for India

by MATT JACKSON

E

ngland batsman Kevin Pietersen has been dropped from the tour of India following controversial circumstances in which it was revealed that he had been sending provocative texts to his South African counterparts; although Pietersen has denied that the messages revealed tactics. Despite claiming he had apologised to former captain Andrew Strauss (who in the

wake of the scandal retired from professional cricket) and current captain Alastair Cook.

Pietersen had threatened to retire from international cricket himself and had already cast doubt over his future prior to the third test against South Africa; he was instead left out of the squad for the third test in favour of Yorkshire’s Jonny Bairstow; who made a good case for himself to be included in future matches.

England’s squad for the tour of India contains a few fresh faces with uncapped batsmen Joe Root and Nick Compton in line to make debuts as well as Jonny Bairstow keeping his place in the side.

It won’t exactly come as a shock that Bairstow remains as his performance in the third test showed a lot of character and determination. If they resolve their disputes, Pietersen could play limited over cricket in India.

Wales destroyed by Serbia as reversal under Coleman continues

by TOM DAVIES

P

rior to the Serbia game, Wales had lost all three fixtures under new manager Chris Coleman.

The fixtures against Mexico and Bosnia were only friendlies, and tough fixtures, but in each game Wales looked devoid of inspiration and shape, and generally lacked the positional discipline that had been instilled by previous manager Gary Speed. Wales’ first World Cup Qualifier against Belgium was better; up until James Collins’ dismissal for a reck-

less lunge on the impressive Guillaume Gillet, they had looked like causing Belgium’s ‘golden generation’ problems.

However, 10 men against the third most expensive international team in the world inevitably ended in defeat; Spurs’ Jan Vertonghen sealing the victory with a thunderous left-footed drive from outside the box.

The performance against Belgium had renewed some optimism for Welsh fans, but Aleksandar Kolarov’s stunning free kick, and first international goal for Serbia, silenced the small travelling

contingent of Welsh fans. Soon after it was 2-0, with woeful defending allowing Tosic to slot in from close range.

Gareth Bale provided a glimmer of hope with an unstoppable, swerving free kick from 25 yards, and his tireless performance was the only positive for Wales.

Second half goals from Djuricic, Tadic, Sulejmani, and Chelsea’s impressive Branislav Ivanovic, the Serbian captain, completed the rout. Wales’ list of missing internationals is an impressive one, but it is no excuse for the ‘dreadful performance’ in Vojvodina, as described

by the manager himself. Coleman had expressed confidence that his side could qualify for their first major finals since 1958, but it is becoming quite apparent that although the manager is saying the right things off the pitch, he struggling to orchestrate what happens on it.

Defeats to Belgium and Serbia are big setbacks, especially with Croatia yet to play. Miracles aside, this campaign is already a write off.

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Sport

Galloping Ahead of the Competition

by ANNA KIMBER & AMY GALVIN

H

ave you heard the rumour going round Bangor? 2012/2013 is the year to learn how to horse ride, because this year Bangor University Riding Club is hotting up! So try something new, jump in the saddle and Shout TALLY HO as you gallop down the Menai Straits!

So what does riding have to offer?

From lessons to beach rides, jumping to hacking, volunteering opportunities and qualifications to social nights, there’s never been a better time to saddle up in Bangor! We cater for all riders, from complete beginner to advanced, and with the help of the great team at Anglesey Equestrian Centre there really is something for everyone. The superb indoor school means that the Welsh weather doesn’t stop us and neither do those winter evenings.

BURC is free to join for the 2012/13 year, so there’s never been a better time to take up the reins! Our taster sessions for Beginners is on Friday 5th October and the advanced taster session is on Friday 28th September, come sign yourself up to a session at Serendipity!

Working together with Anglesey EC, BURC can provide lessons at a discounted rate throughout the week, both privately and in groups, on a range of well-schooled, friendly horses and ponies. We can also offer hacking for beginners through to experienced, with grassy canter tracks or thrilling beach gallops for the brave!

If competing is your thing then our BUCS team is the place for you! Our team will be competing against Manchester and Chester this year, completing a Novice level dressage test and then jumping a course of up to 3ft, to be marked on style – and all that on a strange horse with a 7 minute warm-up.

Last year we came second in our region, with one of our riders qualifying for the individual regional finals and several team members attaining their AU Colours and Half-Colours for their achievements throughout the year. And that’s not all- we were the first club to get a win on the board against Aber at last year’s Varsity as well! Team Tryouts will be on Wednesday 3rd October 12pm onwards contact Amy Galvin on bangorriding@ hotmail.co.uk for more details.

However if BUCS seems a bit much for you, there are competition opportunities for all, no matter how long you have been riding. We regularly run dressage, showjumping and gymkhanas (and often fancy dress on ponies as well) which everyone is welcome to take part in.

Like team sports? BURC can help out

there too! This year we will be offering our riders a chance to have a go at the exciting discipline of POLOCROSSE. Described as a mixture of lacrosse and rugby on horseback, this game combines riding skills with team play and loads of fun – be warned though, it is VERY addictive and before you know it you’ll be galloping in for your next ride off or tackle!

If you are looking to get a bit more ‘hands-on’ with horses, we are able to offer exciting opportunities this year.

Our proud association with the Anglesey RDA means that anyone who would like to volunteer with the Riding for the Disabled is very welcome. Sessions run weekly and leaders, sidewalkers and helpers are all greatly appreciated. Full training will be given so if you would like to help give something back then please contact our RDA Officer Rachel Holt. There is also the chance to complete qualifications.

But of course, no AU club would be complete without a roaring social life, and BURC has a cracking one! Last year we partied every Wednesday night (here’s a tip, don’t book a lesson for Thursday mornings). Our ‘Pub Showjumping’ night is now legendary – can you handle the ‘shots Chase-me-Charlie’? How good is your fancy dress making skills? Can you scrub up for the AU dinner? Will you survive a night out in Bangor wearing your jodhpurs and long leather boots?!?!

If you want to find out more, then kick on and contact Bangor Riding Club on Facebook, Twitter or via email on riding@undeb.bangor.ac.uk

And Cue Snooker & Pool

by JOE RUSSELL

W

e’re Bangor University’s snooker and pool club.

Though we’re one of the smaller AU clubs, we have a solid base of long standing members who are all happy to play snooker or pool with anyone that fancies giving it a go. All abilities are welcome – missing the ball isn’t a problem, neither’s clearing the table in one visit – and don’t be put off if you don’t have a cue, we’ll be happy to help

you out.

Our main session is on a Sunday at Bar Uno from 7pm till close. Though the tables aren’t great, they give us the opportunity to be a part of the university’s social core. We’re sponsored by Bar Uno and host some of our competitions there, with good prizes to be won.

Whereas Sundays are sociable, our Thursday sessions – 6pm till late at City Snooker – are geared towards tournament standard play. This emphasis has paid dividends recently, with one member going unbeaten in the team event at the BUCS pool event in Great Yarmouth, 2010. The club was equally proud to see a member win MVP at the Welsh Universities Championships in Cardiff last year. These events are great fun, and despite the ball-achingly long journey down to Great Yarmouth, always worth it.

We run semester long pool leagues, last year’s pot reaching £90. Up until recently, the snooker side of our club has been overshadowed by an attention to pool but in an effort to change this, we’ve devised snooker tournaments for the next year.

If you want to give pool or snooker a try but are worried that you aren’t good enough, don’t be. We’ve genuinely seen people who couldn’t hit the ball every time grow into capable pub hustlers.

Similarly, if you’ve come from a competitive background and want to get involved with the club’s teams, come along and we’ll give you the chance to prove yourself.

Feel free to contact us via our facebook page: search Bangor University Snooker and Pool Club or email: snooker@undeb.bangor.ac.uk

En garde with Bangor fencing club

by DEAN ASHBY

O

ver the past few years, Fencing as a combat sport has unfortunately suffered a dwindling amount of interest, particularly from the younger generations. Whether this is due to the niche reputation of the sport or the cost that most associate with participating, it is clearly a hindrance. This luckily could be set to change this year with the excellent coverage, advertisement and commentary that the sport received during the Olympic and Paralympic games this summer.

The BU Fencing Club has long been established to allow students and nonstudents alike a chance to test their metal against other seasoned fencers, or simply to try the sport again or for the first time. Last year the club gained some excellent fencers, some complete beginners, and hope to expand even further over the coming year. To complement this they will be introducing more friendlies with other universities and more within-club tournaments, to allow new recruits to try out competition in a more relaxed environment.

Club membership is free for 2012/13, and members have access to a multitude of club kit, weapons, the qualified coach and fantastic socials. For those that

wish to compete there are currently two BUCS teams, a Men’s and a Women’s, which have done well in recent years.

Recent achievements are: Men’s Northern 2A Champions in 2010/11, Women’s Trophy Champions in 2009/10 and Women’s Team of the Year in 2008/09.

As well as this the club received AU Club of the Year in 2006/07, run intra-club inter-regionals each year and participate in the Welsh Universities Competition, of which they were the champions in 2008/09.

Beginners are more than welcome and meeting details can be found on the website, http://bangorstudents.com/ fencing/.

Lacrosse Overload

The girls gear up for second year in BUCS

by EMILY CHARNLEY

B

angor Lacrosse Club is now entering its fourth year as an AU team and has grown from being relatively small to a club with over 60 regular members. We have both male and female squads with both first teams competing across the North West region. We aim to be a well-rounded team that trains hard, plays hard and always looks out for its members.

Lacrosse is growing in popularity year by year. Last season saw both teams make their BUCS debut, which we all enjoyed immensely. This experience taught us a great deal and we hope to continue this development in the coming season. Another of our highlights from last year was Varsity which we are all looking forward to getting involved with again this year!

A sports team is a great way to meet different people than those you may usually come across and most importantly… it’s a whole lot of fun! We welcome players of all abilities and no prior experience is required. Many of our current members had never played or even heard of Lacrosse before university and are now vital members of our club. It is often said that Lacrosse is easy to pick up but hard to master, so why not give it a try? You could discover a talent that

you never knew you had!

Off the field, the Lacrosse Club also has a great social life with weekly socials and a foreign tour each year. Last Easter, 20 of us travelled to Festival Croatia for a week of sport, sun and sangria... it got messy! Alongside playing sport and socialising, we also work hard to fundraise for various charities. Lacrosse has played a vital role in instigating the FeBRAry campaign and this is only one of the ways that we will be continuing our charity work this year.

At the Athletics Union Dinner before the summer, the Lacrosse Club received the ‘Spirit of the Year’ award. We are all extremely proud of this achievement and felt that it acknowledged our enthusiasm, both on and off the pitch, throughout the year. We hope to continue to thrive this year and would love to see lots of new faces!

During Fresher’s Week we will be holding taster sessions so people can get a feel for the sport, meet everyone and generally decide if Lacrosse is something that they would like to get involved with. If you have any questions for us or would like to learn more about the club, please come and find us at Serendipity (the Freshers’ fair) or contact us on our Facebook page… just search Bangor University Lacrosse Club.

Bangor’s New Game Face

by SALLY HOYLE

T

hinking about picking the racket up for the first time in years? Inspired by this summer’s sporting events? Bangor University Tennis Club has many different forms of the game to offer at all levels.

Having only been an official club for around five years we have done well to retain members and play the majority of our BUCS fixtures. Now, as a more established AU Club, it has been decided that the time has come for a new ‘game face’.

With the help of our new committee we will be delivering our normal training sessions but also be offering a wider range of tennis that has ever been available at the university before. This will be implemented by the new university tennis coordinator (Sally Hoyle) who will also work alongside the committee.

The UTC position is unique to university tennis and we are lucky enough to be one of 22 universities in the UK to

have invested in this role. The aim of the UTC is to increase participation and development within university tennis. This will be achieved by having more training times available for all levels (from beginners through to BUCS players) and also having more diverse forms of tennis (for example, Cardio Tennis, Beach Tennis and Touch Tennis). Alongside this new and exciting programme of play we will be offering a great social scene with plenty of opportunity to meet new people and enjoy our tennis themed events.

If you like the sound of this welcoming, established club with a new and more exciting edge, then get involved in the ‘tennis buzz’ by looking out for our stand at the up and coming ‘Serendipity’/ Fresher’s fair! We look forward to seeing you there and giving you more information on our action packed Fresher’s Week Programme.

Contact: tennis@undeb.bangor.ac.uk

Andy Murray Wins

page 42

Touchdown!

MudDogs score Team of the Year

by NEILL HAROLD

T

he Bangor MudDogs are the University’s American football team and 2011-12 was their third competitive season which they finished with a 5-3 winning record. This was a major step forward for the still relatively new AU club which is looking to improve on this in 2012-13.

The club has now gone through a full three cycle of development, which has seen a huge change from the very first friendly in May 2009, where 15 players took on a squad of 40+ from the University of Manchester’s Tyrants. Bangor finished last season with typically over 45 players on the official roster for each game, a coaching infrastructure of eight staff, just lost out on making the national play-offs and was recognised the AU as its Team of the Year after also winning AU Varsity Team of the Year in 2010-11.

One of the highlights of the season was the season opener at home against varsity rivals Tarannau Aberystwyth who Bangor had played four times in the previous two seasons but had never beaten. Bangor had also not won a game during its two previous seasons so winning 39-0 in front of a huge home crowd on a full size and correctly marked pitch with proper posts from America was an amazing day for the club, and an overdue reward for the longer-serving club members and supporters who had stuck with team through the darker years beforehand.

The club then had the rest of the Northern Conference paying attention by next two games with an 18-6 victory at home against the MMU Eagles and a 46-8 romp away at the Manchester Tyrants. An away fixture at the Sheffield Sabres for the third year running then saw Bangor lose 52-6 to the eventual conference runner up of the BUAFL’s

Northern Conference in which the MudDogs played.

The new year saw Bangor lose 22-0 at home to Leeds Carnegie before travelling to Aberystwyth for a repeat of the season opener. This match was much closer with the scores tied at 20-20 at the end of normal time after the MudDogs dominated the first half but the Bangor offence broke the Aber hearts by scoring on the first play of overtime and the Bangor defence then denied Aber the chance to equalise on their next drive to give a relieved Bangor the season double over their rivals.

Poor weather had been a problem for pitch availability throughout the season and the club found itself at 4-2 in playoff contention with one weekend left in which to play two fixtures. A pitch wasn’t available in Bangor so a double header was arranged on a synthetic pitch in Manchester, where the MudDogs played one extended half of football against the Huddersfield Hawks as one fixture and another half of football against Liverpool Fury for the other. The play-off hopes were crushed with a 17-0 loss to the Hawks who had changed tactics the week before to the infamous ‘Double Wing’ which the team hadn’t played against previously. Honour was restored with a 20-0 win against the Fury but the damage had been done and the dreams of play-off glory were dashed.

The club is now preparing for the new 2012-13 season with the big difference being that the sport is now part of BUCS, which will hopefully result in even more financial support for the game across Great Britain and has already made an impact for the club in Bangor. The club is looking for new players of all abilities and experience levels but we would particularly like to hear from anyone who is big and would like to be a lineman!

The club is also looking for sideline

SPORT

support on home game days, with four people needed each game to be the ‘chain crew’ looking after the down markers. The club is also looking for one or more film buffs to record home and away games so that the club can use the footage to analyse their performance after games.

Want to watch the NFL in Bangor?

The club’s social activities have always focused on getting together to watch live NFL games from American on Sunday evenings and the club is pleased to announce a partnership this year with Varsity on the High Street in Bangor. Live games on Sky Sports will be shown there from 6pm – midnight (UK time!) in a dedicated viewing area for football fans

so, regardless of whether you follow the MudDogs or not, Varsity is the place to watch the sport on a Sunday evening.

There will also be a Superbowl party on the night of Sunday 3rd February starting at around 11pm and going through till about 4am when the game finishes. Find the MudDogs at: bangorstudents.com/bangormuddogs/

Bangor players called up for GB Handball Squad

by MATT JACKSON

O

SPOR TS AND LEISU RE

ver the summer, handball has picked up in popularity following London 2012, and in the run up to the Olympics Bangor University handball club was founded a year ago. The club attracted a lot of interest; especially from people who had never played before.

Every year the club will compete in two main tournaments, the regionals and nationals. Their first win came at regionals with a victory over Liverpool.

The club finished 3rd out of 4 at region-

Bangor University

als; a positive start. The team knuckled down and kept training hard for nationals. They faced tough opposition in Chester’s Deva as a warm-up and narrowly lost 20-19; not bad considering Bangor had been a team for merely 3 months. Whilst the team didn’t qualify from their group at nationals their year was capped off with 5 of their players picked for the ABUHC (British University) squad.

From the national championship, scouts for the ABUHC squad (Association of British University Handball Clubs) selected 5 players, including Filip

STUDENT GYM MEMBERSHIP

Zindovic, Stefan Duvnjak, Matt Boden, Bangor Handball coach Stephi Williams and Club Captain Matt Everett (as both coach and player), to feature in the squad who went to Eindhoven to play in a European tournament. The women’s team did fantastic and a string of excellent performances from coach Stephi Williams saw her get her name on the score sheet to help win some close fixtures.

A similar level of achievement was recorded for the men’s team, including Filip Zindovic being named as our team MVP, performing fantastically

on the line and scoring a brilliant haul of 16 goals, the second highest scoring tally. A highlight of the tournament for Bangor was seeing the GB team beat the tournament hosts 7-6. The most encouraging point however was that 3 of the 5 who had attended the tournament had never played the sport until a year ago, and that Bangor was the third most representatives only being pipped by old guard.

For those who might want to try handball, the team meet twice a week for training, 12pm until 3pm on Sundays and 8pm until 10pm on Mondays.

ONLY £90 FOR 9 MONTHS

ANNUAL AND MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP OPEN TO STAFF AND PUBLIC

FULL ACCESS TO GYM AND ALL CLASSES FOR £135 EXERCISE CLASSES

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NOW THIS IS WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT! Big nights in Bangor? We’re talking the best nights to go out and party with your friends and maybe meet some new ones. Nights where you can go out, have a few drinks, have a great time and still go home with some cash in your pockets.

We’ve put together a quick list of the biggest nights in Bangor and pretty much what you should expect from us, week by week.

We’re always putting on extras, be it events, offers or discounts.

So fly by our facebook pages for loads more info.

TUESDAY 25/09/12

‘OHO AHA’

PIRATES BE

SAILIN!

FROM 7PM

UNITY PRESENTS:

A BRAND NEW

CLUB NIGHT

01/10/12

“BUDGIE BRAIN”

BRAIN SPLODIN PUB QUIZ FROM 7PM

BUDGIES ‘TRAFFIC

LIGHT PARTY’ 10PM - 2AM

SUNDAY 07/10/12 SUNDAY SUNDAY SOOTHER: SOOTHER:

FILM UNO FILM NIGHT

POPCORN POPCORN & & PYJAMAS PYJAMAS FROM 7PM

BAR UNO

Oh and don’t forget to keep an eye out for your mates and your other fellow human beings and you can be pretty certain to have a hassle free good time.

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

26/09/12

27/09/12

HEY UNO!

UNO LIVE:

BATTLE OF THE BANDS

FROM 7PM

FROM 7PM

HEY YOU! BEACH & BUBBLES

CLWB CYMRU BACK TO SCHOOL!

9PM - 2AM

10PM - 2AM

FOAM PARTY

9PM - 2AM

MONDAY

STAY SAFE

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

02/10/12

03/10/12

TAKE IT

EASY ON TUESDAYS

FROM 7PM

HEY UNO!

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? TRACK US DOWN ON FACEBOOK NOW!

IT’S ALL ONLINE

Get online and find us on facebook or our website.

It really is the best way to stay up to date!

FACEBOOK “BAR UNO BANGOR”

“BANGOR ACADEMI”

& OR HEAD TO WWW.BANGORACADEMI.COM

FROM 7PM

HEY YOU!

HEY I JUST MET YOU! 9PM - 2AM

Look for

“BAR UNO BANGOR” & “BANGOR ACADEMI”

or come see us at: BANGORACADEMI.COM

SHOWN HERE

O T E M O C L E W

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