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Friday 14.10.11 Volume 58
Issue
What’s Reading raises grade requirements for new fees Inside? 7 current students have noted that previously the University had dropped their points requirements after applying. Third year Zoology student, Craig Harrison stated, “I needed 300 [points], they lowered it to 210 but I only got 180 so they put me into Science Foundation as my personal statement screamed I loved the subject. The UCAS points were only a formality.” It is yet to be seen if this old admissions policy on not achieving the required points will change, with many departments moving to a grades system. What also remains to be seen is whether the entry requirements increase has been influenced by the fee rise. With fees going up to £9000 per year for 2012/13 students, middle-table universities need to prove that they are not just a second choice University in UCAS applications.
It is unclear whether the entry requirement rise is influenced by the rise in fees
Students celebrating their A Level results. Photograph from fishguard.today.co.uk Henrietta Clark-Hughes
The University of Reading grade requirements are on the increase for 2012/13 students due to growing competition, higher league positions and improving A-Level grades. The most common change is a shift away from the UCAS based points system to a grades system in order to keep academic standards the same. However some grade requirements are increasing in some departments meaning higher grades than those stated in the January produced 2012 prospectus. With more than six applications per place, competition for places is fierce and the University aims
to select students with the highest potential for its courses. This move also reflects the recent ranking of the University of Reading as 164th in the influential top 200 rankings by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2011, a rise of 46 places.
Entry requirements should reflect the University’s global standing This shows the University to hold a significant place globally and clearly entry requirements should reflect such a considerable ranking. According the Guardian.co.uk,
A-Level pass rates in 2011 have risen to 97.8% whilst applicants rose to 673,570.
A Level pass rates have risen to 97.8% whilst applications rose to 673,570 This highlights the increasing competition for university places. What perhaps seems startling is the lateness of the grade change in the year; although the deadline for UCAS is 15 January 2012, meaning A-Level students will be informed before applying, it still appears somewhat late. Some
Raising grade requirements ensure that the best students apply for the right reasons, proving Reading is worth £9000 a year and is not a second rate university. When asked if the grade increase would affect her application to Reading, 18 year old BTec student Charlotte Andrews said, “No, it makes me want to work harder for the University of Reading.” This also raises the question; do we have to provide services equal to universities of similar entry requirements? Charlotte stated, “I don’t expect drastic changes due to rises, my choice is due to course structure and the units, of course the services are important but I don’t expect universities to raise their game.” The rise in entry requirements appear to show Reading is stepping up academically. Whilst doing well in tables and with students becoming more competitive, it seems to be a move that ensures the university is a first choice amongst the best candidates.
Political Comment
The Syrian protests continue
Arts
20
Shrek the Musical- the review
Technology
30 Steve Jobs: a tribute
Travel
32
Exploring the Greek island of Santorini
2 News
Friday 14 October 2011 Spark*
news.spark@reading.ac.uk
Reading starts Post-Secret campaign Bethany Lunn
In November 2004 a man called Frank Warren printed 3,000 postcards inviting others to anonymously share their secrets with him. Gradually, people found the postcards and began to return them to Frank. He compiled some of the findings in a unique art project called PostSecret. People have never stopped sending secrets to Frank, and he receives anonymous post cards from all over the world in countless languages, and every card is a work of art because it communicates something true the that person has never shared before. This concept reaches out across barriers of language and gender to affect everyone, because we all keep secrets, from others and from ourselves. It is human nature to keep secrets; to be ashamed of a past event, to regret, to be afraid, to feel betrayed in some way. However, somewhere inside us all there is also the conflicting desire to confess these things to somebody. PostSecret provides a unique opportunity to be creative in our confessions and to let somebody listen who can never know our identity, which is a very liberating concept. The PostSecret Campaign has been adapted for UoR by Steph Johnson, the VP Welfare and Representation. Steph explained the
An example of a post secret wall. Photograph from flickr.com
Reading reaches world rankings Paddy Gaughan
The University of Reading has climbed to 164th in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, claiming its place among the top 200 and thus top 1% of universities in the world, a feat it failed to manage last year when it placed 46 places lower. The system used to decide positions includes an evaluation of performance pertaining to five “overall factors” which themselves branch out into thirteen “individual factors”. The five overall factors are industry income, teaching, research, citations and international outlook – each weighted differently. The latter of these shows Reading achieving 75.1, which is greater than several top 10 universities including Harvard and Stanford.
Reading beat both Harvard and Stanford in citations and international outlook It is always important to note that while such rankings have their place in students decision making and do go some way to be indica-
tive of the quality of education offered at any given university they do not define it. Professor Tony Downes, Acting ViceChancellor for the University of Reading, commented saying “The University of Reading is playing an increasingly influential role in addressing many of the major issues of global concern, ranging from understanding the impacts of climate change to the importance of food security and the causes of and consequences of international conflict.
“Reading plays an increasingly influential role in major issues of global concern Research in a global context, high quality teaching delivered in the UK and across the world and support for the growth of higher education in developing and emerging countries, means the work of our staff is having a transformational impact. We are delighted that this work is recognised in the the World University Rankings, but we would also counsel that league tables show only a small part of universities.
We would advise prospective students to do their research on the universities that match their interests and to come and meet staff and current students completely understand what an institution can truly offer. At the University Reading, it is the combination of academic rigour, engagement with business and the provision of one of the best student experiences in the UK that makes us such a popular choice.” Until 2010 Times Higher Education had produced rankings in conjunction with Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), before deciding to split and create its own rankings using a different system. The QS rankings remain influential however and this year the University of Reading fell from 185th to 215th, its first time outside the top 200 since the QS rankings inception in 2005. In the Academic Ranking of World Universities Reading places invariably in the top 300 universities in the world. It is hard to argue, given the consistent history of recognition that the University of Reading has experienced, that such high placing is anything other than completely long-deserved.
campaign saying “The theory is that those who open up about their feelings and concerns are less likely to reach a critical stage at which point they require professional help. The PostSecret campaign is an interactive campaign that encourages students to anonymously share thoughts and feelings that they may not be willing to share openly to friends, family or those within the institution. We hope that this campaign will act as a release for some students, but also that it will work as a source of comfort as students realise that they may well not be alone in the thoughts/feelings they are having.” RUSU have adapted the PostSecret campaign by encouraging students to fill in a PostSecret card based on the feeling of homesickness that is common during this time of change but is not often discussed. There will be boxes left on campus to post the postcards into in the Carrington building, the RUSU Hub, or in the Medical Practice on Northcourt Avenue. The anonymous postcards will then be collected and turned into posters around campus in grouped categories with sensitive advice attached. This will begin in week five when advertisements for RUSU PostSecret will be displayed on campus and boxes and postcards will be placed in the designated areas.
Oxford Prof critiques coalition university reforms over costs Calum Mcintyre Rogers
The coalition university reforms will result in university educations being a greater burden on the economy than they were previously, wrote Oxford Professor Howard Hotson in New Scientist. When analysed in conjunction with its GDP, the UK has (until now) a remarkably efficient system, in which the university/ GDP ratio of the UK is almost triple that of the USA - in essence, for the amount of money spent on maintaining an American institute, you can fund three British institutes. Britain is only beaten in terms of ‘bang for buck’ by two other nations according to Professor Hotson: The Netherlands and Hong Kong.
British universities are beaten in terms of ‘bang for buck’ only by two countries The coalition leadership pitched the reforms on the grounds that they will save Britain money. Instead, the research shows that
the new schemes are likely to cost the economy more than they would produce savings in order to reduce the national deficit, the priority for the coalition government. Hotson further critiqued the reforms for being unsound even as an experiment, and challenged Universities and Science minister David Willetts to produce evidence to prove the reforms would be beneficial in terms of efficiency.
Professor Hotson described the research as “terrible news” for David Willets, Universities Minister. The research comes amidst the announcements by 12 universities that they will charge fees of £7,500 per year, as institutes deliberate over how they will adjust to the reforms - though predictably, most institutes (including Reading) are unchanging in their demands for the maximum £9000 a year. Hotson’s research leaves the government with some explaining to do. There has been no official response as of yet.
Spark* Friday 14 October 2011
news.spark@reading.ac.uk
News 3
Reading Alumni visit the House of Lords Amber McDermott
Last month 300 graduates came together in the House of Lords to celebrate the fifth University of Reading alumni reception, with the graduates spanning several decades back. The students had the opportunity to catch up with old friends. The University thanked the alumni for their generosity, as students continue to donate money to keep the university one of the world’s leading higher educational institutions. Since 2004 the generosity of more than 5000 donors has raised around 2.7 million. These donations make a significant difference to the lives of students of the current and future generations at the University of Reading.
The donations help towards bursaries, scholarships and student activities The money goes into financial support, including bursaries, scholarships, developing innovative teaching methods and money funding the extra curriculum activities that no doubt every student will be involved in at least one of the 110 clubs to choose from.
Professor Downes said: “Our alumni and friends play an enormous role in every aspect of our work, whether through volunteering, mentoring, donating or hosting such an event.
Our alumni and Friends play an enormous role in every aspect of our work Getting together with our alumni in a stunning venue like that is a great way of staying in touch. It was also an occasion to thank the generosity of benefactors whose support expands the opportunities available to students and increases the breadth and depth of our world class research.’’ The alumni enjoyed reminiscing their student days, those that graduated in 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001 and 2011, celebrated the important milestones. From the mentioned years alone the donors raised £32,000 all of which went in to bursaries that went to the most talented across the faculty. Alice Carter-Tyler (BA English, 2011) “I found the House of Lords Reception a fantastic experience, providing the chance to meet a wide range of Reading alumni from different years in stunning surroundings that provided a real talking point.’’
Students suffers burns from oil fuelled fire Chayya Saal
A fresher was rushed to hospital for treatment of burns on Tuesday 4th October after using water to try and put out a fire fuelled by cooking oil. A fire crew from Wokingham Road were called out to Benyon Hall (formerly Reading Student Village) in Sherfield Drive at 1:20pm. An 18 year old girl had been heating some oil in a pan whilst making her lunch when it caught fire. Fire fighter Jason Schofield said: “She tried to deal with it herself by putting it into the sink. When the water touched it, there was a reaction and a flash.”
Flames burnt the girl’s hands, arms, melted the extractor fan and scorched the kitchen The flames burnt the girl’s hands, melted the kitchen extractor fan above where she was cooking and scorched parts of the kitchen. Her burns were treated on the scene by fire fighters before an
ambulance arrived to take her to Royal Berkshire Hospital.
The burns were treated by the fire department until an ambulance could arrive However, incidents like this are extremely rare because the university does not allow students in halls to use chip pans when cooking as they are dangerous and are more likely to cause a fire than other methods of cooking, especially with inexperienced students. To prevent incidents like this from happening students living in halls are asked to attend a fire safety talk which explains the dangers around the kitchen and in halls and educates students on what to do if a situation like this occurred. They are urged to remain in the kitchen at all times when they are cooking. Unfortunately the fire talk came too late for this student. New students are often living away from home for the first time and are unaware of the dangers of every day life.
RUSU President Karl Hobley and fellow alumni Alice Carter-Tyler attending the event. Photograph from the Reading University Alumni Facebook group
Shinfield rivals the University Lizzie Pollington
Shinfield parish residents are petioning against the University of Reading’s attempts to build more housing in the area. This stage in the ongoing disagreements between local residents and the university shows clearly the strength of feeling that opposes the building plans. The university’s plans were rejected in July of this year, but they appealed this decision recently.
600 local people signed the petition to stop the progress of the sppeal The inquiry sparked by this appeal began on Tuesday 11 October at 10am, and is expected to last four weeks. However, 600 local people signed a petition to stop its progress. Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) originally stated that the Shinfield area would have up to 2,500 homes by the year 2026. After local outrage the WBC reduced this number to 750. The issue that residents have with the plans proposed by the university,
in conjunction with Taylor Wimpey and David Wilson Homes, state that they are trying to build 1,350 homes, including a primary school and sheltered housing for the elderly, thereby exceeding the 750 house limit decided upon by the Parish Council.
The plans include 1,350 houses, a primary school and sheltered housing for the elderly When asked about residents’ opinions towards the plans, Parish council planning commitee chairman Peter Hughes said “local residents in Shinfield parish have accepted the need for new homes in the area and want WBC and the university to stick to Wokingham’s agreed core strategy.” The university maintain that their plans are in line with the strategy that was in place at the time the application was submitted and that they have met requirements and addressed concerns raised by the local authority. Not only are residents concerned with overcrowding in the area,
they also want to keep the identity and individuality of their parish intact. Mr Hughes stated that “Most people living in Shinfield parish are quite rural and there is a clear identity between them. We do not want to see that disappear.” The parish council also disagree with the expense of the inquiry the University of Reading have asked for. They described it as a “waste of money” as the teams of lawyers employed by each side of the inquiry are costing hundreds of thousands of pounds. However, Alex Brennan, spokesman for the University of Reading says that “To minimise costs, the university offered to meet with the council to reduce the areas of difference between both parties ahead of the inquiry.”
Residents are worried about losing their identity as parish The disagreement between Shinfield residents and the University of Reading has been ongoing since July 2010 when the first plan was rejected.
4 NEWS
Friday 14 October 2011 Spark*
news.spark@reading.ac.uk
The Spark* team gets a new home Kate Delaney
The Spark* team have a new home starting this year. The office has moved to The Lounge, which is also the home of University radio station, Junction 11, and University television network RU:ON. The move was done to make the three branches of student media a more united group. It aims to create a close relationship between the teams and make it easier for the different media streams to offer a consistent service to the students.
The old office was hidden away behind the hub and had no extra space. The Lounge gives the Spark* team access to meeting rooms and Lounge social spaces. Student media gives the students an opportunity to experience media roles and get an idea of how a newspaper, radio station, or online television network works. It is also a great opportunity for work experience. The newspaper helps to keep students informed about what is going on around campus and in the many societies and sports clubs.
The editor’s attempt at decorating the new office
Some of the team working hard in the office in the new Spark* hoodies
Reading students rile up residents Kate Delaney
The residents of Reading have been complaining about the excessive level of noise coming from hoards students on route to the town centre from their respective halls of residence. The resident complaints imply that the University is sending hundreds of students down their roads as a designated route to the various clubs and bars in Reading.
Residents complain that large groups of students are being lead down their streets The news students are not yet expected to know their own way around so Junior Common Room committees are given the responsibility of guiding them through the week of events. This results in large groups of young, excitable students who will inevitably make a large amount of noise as any group would. Redland’s Road is among the streets affected by this problem. The hostility has arisen because the issue came up
last year and still nothing has been done. Residents believe that it is down to the University to prevent this behaviour.
Residents are concerned for the safety of students An unnamed Redland Road resident commented “We had hundreds of people coming down the road - it was out of control”. She also complained that despite assurance from the University that they had contacted the police and publicised term dates, this was not the case. Her concern was not only for the level of noise, but also for the danger they could cause themselves, students were apparently walking in the middle of roads with no regard for traffic. Redlands councillor Daisy Benson said: “The niversity must not overlook the needs of residents when they are planning events such as freshers week.” Stenton Hall was among the various halls that used the Redland’s route with around 400 students.
Stenton Hall President Freddie Clifford told Spark* “Before planning our week, we liased with the police and the university to ensure disturbances to local residents could be kept to a minimum. However, at the end of the day, students, when under the influence of alcohol are going to make some degree of noise.” He added “the students are responsible adults and we’re not here to act as their parents. We’d like to take this opportunity to apologise to any local residents disturbed during Freshers’ Week and hope they can understand why we do walk into town with the freshers”.
“We liased with the police and university to keep disturbances to a minimum.” Redland’s Road is used as a route because it is one of the safest and well lit routes into town. It is important to show the new students how to be safe in Reading.
Despite the concern, the amount of reported anti-social behaviour is lower in areas closer to the university. Map from www.police.uk
Spark* Friday 14 October 2011
news.spark@reading.ac.uk
Alan Levey gets life for the murder of Damian Whyte Jon Hulks
Alan Levey, a 35 year old man from Southampon Street, Reading, has admitted to the murder of Damian Whyte in Reading Crown Court today before Judge Zoe Smith.
The culprit was described as “well liked, sociable and a friendly person” Whyte, nicknamed “Tottenham Paul,” was described by officers as a “well liked, sociable and a friendly person” and popular member of the community before his death on 23rd Feburary. He was found with multiple stab wounds on a riverside path on View Island, Caversham, at 9.30 in the morning by a passing dog walker. Not long after on 1st March, police arrested Levey for his murder, as well as another man of 27 from Katesgrove who was subsequently released without charge. Levey stayed in custody appearing at different hearings until earlier this morning where he admitted committing the crime. At the time of writing, the motive for the crime is still unknown. This case inevitably raises the issue of the safety of students here
at the university and around town. With Reading’s crime rate now almost double the national average for violence against people, 27.4 people per 1000 as opposed to the average of 14.8. The figures seem to suggest it’s a dangerous place to live. However the general consensus among students seems to be that although “crime is a shame, it does happen regardless of where you go, especially this close to London.” Two female students I interviewed said that they “feel perfectly safe during the day time, but at night we’re very wary about going anywhere alone.”
“As horrible as it is, it is not a regular occurrence and it is not contained to Reading” Steph Johnson, Reading University’s Student Welfare and Representation Rep, commented on the situation saying “It is likely to be particularly worrying for prospective or new students, but I think reassurance can be found in the fact that as horrible as it is, it is not a regular occurrence and it is not only contained to Reading – unfortunately events like this happen up and down the country.” She also agreed with the students
I interviewed in that she does not believe “the crime rate will have a direct effect on the number of students applying to the University of Reading as the institution has such a sterling reputation both in the UK and abroad.
“The hard work of the local police means that while not perfect, Reading isn’t as bad as some other places” “The hard work of the local police authority and other such groups means that while not perfect Reading isn’t as bad as some other places.” The University advises students not go out alone, particularly after dark, especially for female students. Students should always make sure someone knows who they are, and you should look out for your friends. It is not a good idea to go home alone after a night out. Students should avoid areas that are unknown or deserted, particularly places that are known to have a bad reputation. In confrontational situations it is best to walk away and contact the police if necessary.
News 5
Not easy being Cheezzy Zorba’s to close for 2 months Chayya Syal
Popular late night student snack establishment Zorba’s has been forced to shut for two months by the council. Zorba’s Mr Cheezzy Chips, est. 1963, owned by Peter Joannou, 67 had recently applied to Reading Borough’s council for an application to extend his opening hours from 3am to 4am. This had been his opening hours 16 months ago. However, it came with a counter application from the police calling for a review of Mr Joannou’s food licence. The store was accused of breaching their food licence by serving food after 3am and not keeping CCTV footage for 28 days. The counter application stated that 15 reported crimes adjacent to the takeaway including actual bodily harm, affray and criminal damage since the last review in June 2010. Some of the reported incidents actually took place inside the premises: including a member of staff buying a stolen TV and another attacking two customers with a chef’s steel, causing head injuries. Both incidents took place before the previous review. PC Simon Wheeler said that when police were investigating a rape behind the premises they had asked Mr. Joannou for CCTV
footage taken inside the shop, only to find that it had not been retained for 28 days as required by the licensing conditions. Chairman of the committee, Councillor Paul Woodward said: “Although we acknowledge that Zorba’s Cheezzy Chips has been serving its customers very well for many years we do have a number of concerns.”
There had been 15 reported crimes in and around Zorbas since June 2010 He added: “We decided on a twomonth suspension so that you can get your house in order, to ensure that everything is up to speed.” Mr. Woodward said that the committee could have been more severe in their ruling. Mr. Joannou’s representative Tim Childs said that Zorba’s was no more responsible for the unlawful incidents than local taxi ranks. Mr. Joannou said: “I think they had already punished me by reducing my hours and I have been punished again.” He is now looking at his current options in terms of an appeal in the committee’s decision against his kebab shop.
Government’s £250m goes to waste: no weekly collection Sarah Lienard
The fortnightly bin collections carried out by Reading Council don’t look set to change any time soon, despite the Government offering £250 million to councils in England to aid a return to weekly collections. The Council currently operates a two-week system of rubbish collection – collecting grey bins for mixed rubbish and green or red bins for recyclable material on alternating weeks. The Council claims that the current system is sufficient for the majority of smaller households in Reading – but is this the case for student houses?
The Council claims that the current system is sufficient for most smaller households
The effects of fortnightly bin collections. Photograph from dailymail.co.uk
While fortnightly bin collections may be adequate for smaller households, problems arise where there are larger numbers of people living under the same roof. In student accommodation, where six or more adults share
one rubbish bin, it is common for waste to pile up. As students are frequently shopping individually for themselves rather than as one household, as well as buying more convenience foods, more packaging waste tends to be generated.
“Bins get overflowed and we have to leave stuff near it. Then foxes get at them” Adam Marchant, who is in his third year studying Economics and Geography, gave his experience of the nuisance caused by a build up of rubbish while living in his house with five other students. He explained: “Sometimes the outside bins get overflowed and we have to leave stuff near it. Then foxes get at them, creating more rubbish.” Although the Reading Council website assures that pests should not be a problem as long as the lids of bins are kept closed, clearly it is not always possible for students to place all of their rubbish inside the bin when it reaches it’s capacity – a factor that the website’s advice page does not address.
Following the Government’s recent plans to increase the funding available to Councils for more frequent rubbish collections, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles described weekly collections of rubbish a ‘basic right’ for homes in Britain. However, in September this year local Councillor Paul Gittings, lead member for environment and climate change, claimed that “there is no appetite for a return to weekly collections of black bags” in Reading. He added that there were financial issues to be considered, as a return to weekly collections would likely increase the Council’s landfill tax. In the meantime, the Reading Council website offers some advice for keeping waste sanitary and safe. Although arranging more frequent collections for individual residences is not possible at this time, households with more than five adults can apply for a larger bin, reducing the problems created by foxes and other rodents. Students are also encouraged to tie bags up securely, particularly those containing food waste, and to move the bin into the shade if possible to avoid the heat from the sun.
6 NEWS
Friday 2011 Spark*
news.spark@reading.ac.uk
Fortnightly Media Blog Junction Radio Hey Guys! Hope you had a fantastic Freshers’ Week, you probably saw us all over handing out flyers. We had a great time meeting all of you on campus or at Freshers’ Fayre, and had some really encouraging chats with a lot of interesting people. Currently we’re in the middle of interviewing all the new presenters. Hopefully this will mean that when we go live for real on Monday 17th we’ll have the best possible line up ready for your listening pleasure! I don’t know if anyone sitting across from us knows how awesome an experience they’re going to have this term, but they all seem keen to get cracking none the less. Speaking of awesome experiences, why not have a listen? (What? Too cheesy?) As I said, we go live for regular programming starting 9am on Monday so join us then and every week day from 9am till 9pm. We’re going to have a massive variety of personalities and tastes behind the mic, so check the schedule when it goes up this weekend on the website, and I as
sure you that you’ll find something that sounds good. If anyone reading this is as of yet unsure how to tune in, don’t worry ‘cause it’s well easy. Just go to www.junction11radio.co.uk. That’s where you’ll find everything you need to become a regular J11 fanboy/girl. Oh, and there’s Facebook (facebook.com/junction11) and Twitter (@junction11radio) too. That’s all for now, hope to welcome you to our listenership soon! Chris Diffin, Station Manager. RU:ON Things are very busy down at the RU:ON office in preparation for Fresher’s week. With a new banner, new logos and a fresh lick of paint, the station is ready for a new batch of students hoping to get involved in student media. We have been up to much over the summer with the Freshers page ready on our website (ruon. tv) featuring our own video guide around campus. Also, we have produced videos both for RUSU and for Societies both in time for the new term.
We will be making a big physical presence around campus. You may notice our broken TV sculpture outside the Palmer building, our new welcome video for Freshers, various members of the station darting around campus filming all the most exciting and important events, postcards sent out to each hall and, of course, our stall at the Freshers Fayre. But RU:ON will still be continuing into the term as we run several sessions for prospective members to either receive invaluable training in television production or simply have a bit of fun. In weeks one, two and three there will sessions in basic skills, presenting, tech and editing. Not forgetting the Golden Bodge where one group can win a cake (exciting, I know). Of course the station will still be pumping out the same steady stream of programming with both old favourites and fresh new shows. So though TV may be dead, RU:ON is most certainly live and kicking this year. See you around campus! Niall Norbury - Head of Editing And the RU:ON Team.
what’s going on? what
where
14th
Live Music FM Freshers’ Tour
3Sixty
18th
Student Voice
Cafe Mondial
19th
Flirt
3Sixty
25th
Studen Officer Scrutiny
Cafe Mondial
28th
Fusion - Halloween SC feat. DJ Fresh
3Sixty
when October
October
October
October
October
next issue of Spark* out:
Friday 28th October 2011 across the students’ union
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To apply you must be over 18 and a British citizen. Discretion is vital. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.
7 POLITICAL COMMENT
Friday 14th October 2011 Spark*
politics.spark@reading.ac.uk
POLITICAL COMMENT News Natters
Bringing you the political headlines that matter each week... JESSICA REES
Three women have won the Nobel Peace Prize. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first democratically elected female president, Yemenese activist Tawakkul Karman and women’s right activist Leymah Gbowee split the 10 million Kroner award between them. The prize sought this year to rec ognise the important of women’s rights and demonstrated its importance and impacting role on Global Peace. After the recent protests by unions and NHS workers, the Lords have been set to debate the recent NHS bill that has been proposed by the government. Thought to be a total ‘shake up’ and overhaul of the NHS the debate will see whether the contro-
versial proposals will be adopted or binned. Myanmar this week announced amnesty for some 6,300 prisoners. The move has demonstrated the first of hopefully many reformist measures to be adopted by President Thein Sein, with some of the 2000 political prisoners that are being held hoping to be amongst those being released. Ukraine’s former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has been found guilty of illegally forcing an agreement to import natural gas from Russia at a high price after signing an agreement in 2009 with Moscow. However, Tymoshenko has persistently argued her innocence, with the EU also seeing the trial as a politically motivated case to silence Tymoshenko, the chief political rival of Viktor Yanukovych. With the EU warning Yanukovych to drop the trial or face a blow to Ukraine’s steps towards the EU, the outcome of the trial is somewhat of a huge knock on the Ukraine and its accountability.
Syrian protests continue Chris Brooks
Eight months since the start of what is now referred to as the ‘Arab Spring’ it’s still rumbling on, and still causing enough changes in a volatile area to warrant a large amount of attention. Egypt has flared back up, with Coptic Christians protesting and being murdered on the streets of Cairo. Libya’s NTC is in its final offensive against the last stronghold of Gaddafi in Sirte, where fighting has been fierce and hard-won. Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been forced to step down in the coming days due to pressure from within his own country and even Saudi Arabia, having been the most unaffected country in the region, is suffering a rise in dissent from its population demanding change in its laws, especially pertaining to women.
Fighting and protesting has been prolonged and bitter And then there is the Syrian issue. The international community
remains sorely divided about how to deal with the issue
The international community remains divided about how to deal with the issue Unlike Tunisia and Egypt, where mass protest forced the respective governments to step down, Syrian protests have had their President Bashar al-Assad, use the full might of the military to commit mass murder and other human rights abuses against them. Fighting and protesting has been prolonged and bitter, with both anti- and progovernment factions committing themselves for the long run, with estimates of nearly 3000 people being killed since the start. A recent UN resolution drafted by Britain and France was vetoed unexpectedly by Russia and China, due to the lack of clarity concerning the use of interventional force, citing Libya, where the general feeling was that NATO had overstepped its mandate to protect civilians by overtly helping the rebels defeat Gaddafi. Russia has
since come out and called strongly for al-Assad to either stop the use of force or step aside, but China has remained quiet, merely stating that the violence should stop. It was a clear diplomatic rebuff and perhaps a forestalling of interventional force that could be, theoretically, applied one day against them. This issue will undoubtedly continue for some time, but what will make the difference is whether we step in and help stop the killing, whether we continue on a purely diplomatic route or we do next to nothing to help, because when it’s all over, it will decide how the entire region will progress forward – with or without the West.
Friends with benefits? Jessica Rees
Are you interested in writing, journalism or simply have one hell of an opinion and passion for Politics? If so we welcome you to our section and we would love to hear from you! Spark* is a great place for the students of Reading to get creative and write what they want for other students. Here at Spark* articles are written by students for students. With Political Comment you can write about any Political issue that has got you thinking, whether its Syria, the Middle East, problems
that have surfaced or where you think Gaddaffi is hiding! You don’t need to be the world’s best writer, or a nerdy Politician in the making, you just simply need to be reliable, and have a passion for Politics, be it at world, national or on a local or even campus level. To sign up and write for Political Comment please contact me, Jessica Rees, the Political Comment Editor at politics.spark@reading. ac.uk or join our facebook group Spark* Political Comment.
In the last fortnight the political field has been full of stories, photos and anecdotes about Defence Secretary Liam Fox and his best buddy Adam Werritty. Questions have been raised as to why Fox’s ex-flatmate and best man has accompanied him on 18 of 48 business trips overseas, and had access to top level meetings at the Ministry of Defence. Advertising himself as an ‘adviser’ to the Defence Secretary on his business cards, Werritty has taken the term friends with benefits to a whole new level and now royally landed himself, and Fox, in a political mess.
Werritty accompanied Fox on 18 of 48 business trips overseas With no security clearance it has proven to the country how any Tom, Dick or Harry can have access to whatever information and meetings they wish, so long as
they know the right people in the right places. Whilst some may suggest the situation has been blown out of proportion and become ‘far-fetched,’ the fact of the matter is that many opposing MPs are now calling for the resignation of Liam Fox, and a full scale investigation.
It has proven how any Tom, Dick or Harry can have access to whatever they wish Fox has politically and publically apologised, telling MPs, “I accept that it was a mistake to allow distinctions to be blurred between my professional responsibilities and my personal loyalties to a friend and I am sorry for this.” Yet, despite the apology, questions of why Fox could not travel without his right hand man, and how Werritty’s trips were funded as he has no paid or formal role in the Conservative party have surfaced, and the Prime Minister has called for all to be answered.
Both Fox and Werritty admit they may have made ‘mistakes,’ yet insist that no wrong-doing has occurred, so was it merely a case of Werritty jumping on the band wagon? Having a free ride and a perma holiday visiting Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Dubai, Austrailia, Sri Lanka and more?
Both Fox and Werritty admit they may have made ‘mistakes,’ Or is this an abuse of power, and a threat to national security? Only Friday 21 October will tell when Cameron receives the full report from the investigation and decides on Fox’s future.
8 INTERVIEW
interview.spark@reading.ac.uk
Friday 14 October 2011
Spark*
interview Mind the gap:
The student perspective on industry placements 27 hours a week it probably wasn’t as much of a jump for me than for other degree courses. The getting up early everyday was quite an issue to begin with but as I am living with two of my course mates we all helped each other. It was hard to get used to the fact that when we got home we didn’t have any reading or essays to prepare and that we were literally free to do anything - it’s great!
This year is all about having a go in all the departments to get a feel for what I like So far, have you found the placement has confirmed that going into the food industry is what you want to do when you graduate?
Definitely. I have always known that I want to work in the food industry but until I got here and actually had a tour around the factory I never knew quite how huge and fast-paced the industry is. The factory I am currently working in is the largest chilled foods factory in Europe and is about 12 times the size of the Reading students’ union. I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to work in such a high profile place and I have had some amazing experiences so far. I have been travelling all around England and Wales visiting different suppliers which we are hoping to use for new ready meals we have ideas for. I have also been to different factories including the one that makes all the Mr Kipling cakes. What have you found most exciting about your placement so far? The office gossip, work kareoke nights or developing an addiction to coffee? Diwa Sharma
This week Interview decided to catch up with one of the University of Reading’s placement year students, Fern Varker. Varker is studying Food Sciences with Business and entering her third year of study where she has begun her placement year at RF Brookes, associated with Premier Foods. Premier Foods makes such brands as; Hovis, Hartley’s Jams, Mr Kipling, Branstons, Oxo and Bisto. RF Brookes is a company within Premier Foods and makes
ready meals for M&S and Morrisons. Yum yum. I wanted to find out more about the Wales based company’s newest recruit. What have you been getting up to over the summer? Have you had much of a break or has it been mostly about settling into the swing of working life? Simply because of the fast pace of the food industry I haven’t really had a summer this year. They wanted me to get settled in before they took on a huge contract from ASDA. As soon as summer break
and summer ball were over, it was straight into moving to Newport in Wales and getting ready for work - which involved a lot of shopping for work clothes! Has it been a big transition for you from being a second year university student to an intern in a huge corporation? What have you found most challenging? It is definitely a big change from the days of just hanging around and the library on odd occasions. But because my timetable last year was quite jam-packed with
Probably being given the keys to a 61 plate Vauxhall Insignia to drive to visit a supplier in Kent. I would definitely advise working for a massive company. How did you go about applying for your placement? My course is lucky enought to offer a year in industry and because of this it has its own industrial placement organiser who gives us a list of all the places offering placements which count towards 10% of the final year grade. We were given a deadline to apply to all the different placements at the start of second year. Our CVs were
sent out and short listed. Each placement was different, some were like mine in a huge factory whereas others were in a lab doing more scientific based work. Others were in the retail sector with Tesco’s or Sainsbury’s for example. Premier Foods got back to me quickly and I had a short interview with one of the managers. After this interview I was then short listed for a second interview in Wales. The first term of second year was probably the hardest as I was having interviews left, right and centre. When I heard I had got the RF Brookes placement, I was so happy as it was my first choice out of 15 positions I applied for. Plus, it’s a paid internship: I get £16,000 for the year. Do you feel your placement year is everything that you thought it would be? Are you treated just as another intern and maybe demoted to the ‘coffee girl’, or have you been treated as a co-worker and really being able to get into the ‘nitty gritties’ of the role? To be honest I really didn’t know what to expect. I went into the interviews not really knowing what I wanted to do within the food industry but that is what this year is for – to have a go in all the departments in order to get a feel of where I want to be after I graduate. I definitely have not been treated as a coffee girl. I have certainly been welcomed within the team and I feel I can ask anyone if I need help. I didn’t think they would give me quite the amount of responsibility as I have been given and sometimes I felt as though i had been thrown in at the deep end, especially when they told me I would be working closely with the people at M&S headquarters. However, now I’m all settled in and loving it. Hopefully if I do well in this year I will be offered the graduate scheme which is a further two years after I graduate and after that 100% of people who have been on the graduate scheme have been offered permanent jobs. Placement schemes are offerend on some courses, like Fern’s. With other courses that don’t provide placements, they are still available in vactions, for shorter periods, or you could do an internship after you graduate. Employers are always impressed by experience, and in some cases, like Fern’s, they may even keep you on after you finish!
Spark* Friday 14 October 2011
comment.spark@reading.ac.uk
DEBATE 9
Debate
Is the invention of a ‘stay-sober’ pill a good idea? Yes No
KERRIE BLACK
A few weeks ago American and Australian Scientists announced they had made great breakthrough in their research of a ‘Stay-Sober Pill’, a pill that would allow you to drink as much alcohol as you want while limiting the effect it has on the brain. Alcohol as most people (especially students) know is a depressant, slowing the function of the central nervous system making people lose motor control, slur words and generally turn people into Mr Hyde, drunken parodies of their normal, rational selves. Scientists from the British Journal of Pharmacology suggest that this pill changes the Glial cells which make up 90% of our brains, shutting off the immune system which in turn caused the remarkable phenomenon. The drug in question, Naloxone, is currently used to treat those suffering from a heroin overdose but could be saving you from embarrassment at your Christmas party in the not so distant future. Although the tests are currently being conducted on mice people’s minds are already aflutter with the thought that within the next three years the leap will be made to humans and to an over the counter, fully retailable product. I personally believe that the positive effects of such a pill heavily outweigh any negatives. University of Adelaide researcher Mark Hutchinson said: “When a mouse gets drunk, it is quite similar to a human that’s drunk. It can’t work its motor co-ordination properly. If you stop these immune cells from working, the animals didn’t get drunk and that its reflexes were much improved”. I like to drink to be social and in no way condone excessive binge drinking; however I get drunk very quickly. It’s just one of those things, and as a result it means that I normally feel the effects of alcohol more quickly and much more violently than my peers. Wouldn’t it be great if I could drink and not feel the horrible repercussions of getting inebriated , if I still had the same reasoning skills and reflexes? Not being able to get drunk is
lizzie pollington
much safer. As a female I am less likely to be seen as vulnerable and taken advantage of, something that I am constantly aware of on a night out. Moreover it would mean that you could drink and still drive a car in complete safety, knowing that your reflexes are not impaired by alcoholic substances in your system. Moreover Hutchinson states that: ““[Such] medications may prove beneficial in treating alcohol problems”, this pill could easily be used to ‘cure’ alcoholics and binge drinks. There is already talk of an implant which would constantly release this medication to alcoholics; without the ‘buzz’ from alcohol, such people could be more easily ‘weaned’ off alcoholic beverages. Also of course let’s not forget the fact that taking this new pill would stop black-out drinking all together. High alcohol consumption can temporarily interfere with the function of the brain causing the brain to be unable to retain information in short term memory. But as we all know it is still possible to cause plenty of mischief! Upon regaining consciousness, the drinker may not know where he or she is or what is going on, who they texted last night or in some cases much worse things. Wouldn’t the world be much better if we knew everything we did on a night out and didn’t have to piece together the clues on Facebook? In Korea they already have supposedly ‘hangover free’ alcohol, so is this pill really much of a step beyond what is already available? Honestly, I’m all for the new StaySober Pill, but not so that i can drink all day long and harm my body and put my health and life in in harms way- alcohol is still very dangerous and the invention of this pill will not change that- but if I am able to go out and enjoy an evening of drinking without the hassles of getting drunk you would surely be stupid to say no wouldn’t you?
Wouldn’t the world be much better if we knew everything we did on a night out?
Let’s face it, if you don’t want to get drunk, don’t drink!
There is already talk of an implant which would constantly release this medication to alcoholics The answer is educating students in the dangers of alcohol
As university students, drinking is a massive part of our culture. I’m not saying this is necessarily a good thing, although I enjoy a cider as much as the next girl, but it is something that students do and I doubt it will be changing any time soon. The problem with this, let’s call it a tradition, is that, as with most things, it gets taken to the extreme and drinking in excess is becoming more and more common. We’ve all been there, dancing for so long in torturous shoes and suffering the next day with the most swollen and sore feet known to man. Waking up bleary eyed and having to check your ‘Sent Items’ to find out what stupid things you said to all your friends and family. Spending ridiculous amounts of money on shots, mixers and more often than not, entire bottles of alcohol. These all seem to be habits for students rather than odd occurrences. So surely, a pill that can stop you getting drunk is a good thing? I would argue that it most definitely is not, and that it is, in fact, far more dangerous. The first thing to point out is that the reason students drink so much is because they want to get drunk. University is stressful, pressured and difficult (despite what some people may believe) and drinking is a coping mechanism to help us unwind, forget and let loose. So the concept of a pill that will stop you from doing all of these things seems pretty pointless. But, if a student were to take such a pill, there would be no limit to how much alcohol they could pump their body full of. If you don’t get any of the warning signs from drinking too much, such as numb face, nausea and verbal diarrhoea, people will simply continue drinking. Ok, so you will be in control of what you say, what you do and where you go but you will be damaging your liver much more than you would be if you had actually realised that you’d had enough. There comes a point when you are drinking that you are having so much fun being drunk you forget to drink anymore. If you were staying sober no matter how much you drank you would keep on
poisoning yourself, possibly evening requiring hospital treatment before you realised how much you had really drunk. A pill that prevents the feelings of drunkenness would also have devastating effects on students’ finances. The more you can drink whilst maintaining in control, the more drinks you can have in one night and so, the more money you can spend on drink. Lots of people pre-drink at university, drinking at home or in a cheap pub before you get to the expensive clubs. If you are surrounded by people who are drunk before you even get out, you will naturally try to catch up with them and so spend much more money on doing so. Taking a drug in order to stay sober means that you are introducing an unnatural, foreign chemical into your body. It’s bad enough that you are planning on drinking but mixing drugs into the equation as well? This should be ringing alarm bells to anyone of sound mind as a bad, bad idea. Let’s face it, if you don’t want to get drunk, don’t drink! You may argue that students have to drink on a night out because they suffer peer pressure and are mocked or even bullied if they don’t drink with their friends. The answer to this seems pretty clear to me. If your friends don’t respect your wishes, they aren’t very good friends in the first place. The answer to the student binge drink problem is not a pill that prevents drunkenness. The answer is educating students in the dangers of alcohol, offering alternative forms of entertainment, and accepting that we are only human and sometimes we do need to blow off steam and go a little bonkers. Student culture does need to take the focus off drinking somewhat, that is for sure, but a Stay-Sober pill is not the answer and it is definitely not the cure.
10 COMMENT
Friday 14 October 2011 Spark*
comment.spark@reading.ac.uk
comment If I could offer you only one tip Laurence Green
Every self-respecting student knows Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)’ – the five minute slice of spokenword pocket-psychology that everyone seems to know and adore. If you can cast your mind all the way back to 1999 when the track was a number one single, you’ll remember it begins with the reassuring adage ‘If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.’ Now, I won’t pretend I’m capable of offering anything quite as amazing as protection from the sun’s blazing rays, but there’s a few little pieces of advice I’d like to share with you – and like all the best advice, it comes from personal experience.
In the moment, everything feels like the end of the world Maybe you’re new to the University, brimming with enthusiasm and full of wide-eyed prospects for the future. Maybe you’re an old hand, gearing up for your final year of education, slowly counting down the days until you’re out into the world of work. One thing’s for sure though, you’re bound to come up against those days where nothing seems to go your way. We all fall prey to it from time to time; I’ve seen the most confident of people break down in tears of
homesickness, seen the most ambitious of sportsmen wracked with doubt. The thing is, our minds are tricky customers. More often than not, they don’t do what we want them to do and go off on confusing and sometimes downright dispiriting tangents. And when that happens, we could all do with a little pick-me-up
What seems so significant in the here and now shrinks away So here’s my piece of advice. A very good friend once told me that whenever you’re feeling down, whenever it feels like things are getting a bit too much, like you’re drowning in a sea of essay deadlines, irritating acquaintances and money woes, that you need to tell yourself one thing, that this too will pass. Lost in the chaotic, hectic confusion, we often can’t see past the next five minutes. But if we can step outside ourselves for just a second and look to the future, things take on a whole new perspective. How often have we told ourselves ‘I can’t believe I got so worked up about it!’ It’s just not worth it. So, the next time you feel your mind boiling up into overdrive, remember all the old clichés: things will look better in the morning... time is the greatest healer, etc and remember, they’re only clichés because they’re true.
Chicken soup for the soul Lizzie Pollington
As students we are not strangers to the feelings of panic, stress and being overwhelmed. Coursework deadlines loom, dissertations fester and revision sucks out our souls. So what are we meant to do to sooth ourselves? Most people opt for the numbing balm of alcohol, loud music and dark sweaty rooms. I’m not averse to a good night out but I have discovered something far more therapeutic and cathartic for when all I want to do is tear my hair out, curl up in a ball and sob. This magic cure is cooking. I love cooking. I think it’s the best creative outlet on the planet. All you need is a few ingredients and some form of heat and you can make truly delicious things. My love of cooking for comfort is probably intrinsically linked to my comfort eating but I think there’s more to it than that. Cookery is, in some ways, a science, a form of chemistry. If you heat cheese it will melt and become stringy and glorious. Cook meat and it will brown, sizzle and no longer give you diseases. I could go on, but I won’t because I’ll only dribble. Think about it for a second, picture the scene. Your essay is officially rubbish. Your research is half hearted and adding nothing to the aforementioned essay and you are on the brink of bawling into your laptop keyboard because everything is spiralling out of your control. What do
you do? Simple. You start cooking. Get out a recipe that you love and lose yourself in it. You know when you fry those onions they will soften and when you add stock to the rice it will become plump and creamy. Voila! You controlled something, you made it work, it’s a deliciously simple and tasty risotto and now, you are fed, happy and ready to tackle that tricksy little blighter of an essay. Cooking saves the day once again.
My love of cooking for comfort is probably linked to my comfort eating but I think there’s more to it Baking is often more complicated than cooking and as such it’s even easier to lose yourself in it. When you are mixing a bowl of cake batter (by hand because you are a poor student who can’t afford an electric whisk) all you are thinking is “blimey this is a heavy bowl, my arm really aches”. Bye-bye stress! One of my friends at sixth form was a stress baker and at exam time, her tupperwares full of brownies, cookies and cupcakes came as standard every lunchtime. They were glorious and the process of baking made her happy, so everyone was a winner. Of course you do then need to frequent the gym slightly more often but hey, we all need to do that anyways.
This can even apply to the very simplest level. Sometimes you literally are on the wire and seriously stressed out. Your essay is due tomorrow and you can’t just drop everything to bake a batch of white chocolate and macadamia cookies (not matter how much your poor wasted soul wants you to). I have the answer for these situations too. Make a hot drink. There is a ritual and calmness to filling up the kettle, switching it on and making tea or coffee or hot chocolate. Not only is this a much more slimming answer than my other stress busting pastimes, but it also gives you a boost of caffeine to give you the push to keep going. I personally find myself mesmerised by the tea infusing in the water, transforming the water from clear purity to brown fogginess or the milk combining and blossoming through the less dense liquid. It’s only a moment of escapism but sometimes it’s exactly what you need. You’ve left your room, you’ve left your mind and you are ready to start again.
I could go on, but I won’t because I’ll only dribble No remedy will ever be foolproof when it comes to handling stress, a little bit of escapism never hurt anyone.
Saudi women receive something resembling freedom Lucy Ponder
September saw the first step forward of any sort of liberation for women in Saudi Arabia. King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz announced that women are theoretically to be given the same opportunities for political participation as men; the ‘theoretically’ in that sentence says it all really. As groundbreaking as this new law may sound, in practice women will probably be limited by restrictions such as a requirement for permission from a male relative to participate in public life. So they can vote, they’re just not allowed to go outside without consent. Forgive my unsubtle sarcasm but I struggle to get my head around these limitations in the 21st century. However, some Saudi women believe this is a very positive step in gaining the equal rights they
have been campaigning for, for so long. Hatoon al-Fassi, a university professor believes it’s a response to demands made by women for years and should be celebrated as such. However, despite this optimism, women will not be able to vote in the next elections taking place on the 29th of September. Their suffrage does not begin for another 18 months time.
Local media is still subject to censorship and many issues are considered taboo The uprisings in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain this spring are undoubtedly one of the reasons why King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has come to this decision. Similar to the feelings that have been voiced in the other Arab
countries, many in Saudi want political and economic reform and an end to the corruption that has been rife in the country for many years. But living in a country that gave women the vote over a hundred years ago, it is still baffling to me why women in Saudi Arabia are struggling to gain any political or social headway. Local media is still subject to censorship and many issues are considered taboo to talk about in public. Some internet sites deemed inappropriate by the authorities are blocked, although many young people find their way around the firewalls. So if this suppression wasn’t enough, a woman who was caught driving two days after the King declared women eligible to vote was sentenced to 10 lashes by religious clerics. Furious with the decision, the king then personally repealed the flogging – signalling in no un-
certain terms that anyone opposing the empowerment of women in the country would be in direct conflict with him personally. It does sound like the King is making some sort of progress in giving women some sort of freedom. But his efforts do sound like they are falling on deaf, stubborn and highly conservative ears.
So good luck to the women who are fighting so hard for the suffrage that we all take for granted in this country. Let’s hope King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has the courage and the common sense to start changing the lives of the women in his country who deserve to finally have their voice and their opinion heard.
Spark* Friday 14 October 2011
comment.spark@reading.ac.uk
COMMENT 11
Feminism calls in the muscle
Kerrie Black
I constantly feel that I need to physically transform myself into this ‘ideal woman’ by wearing infashion clothing, wearing makeup and walking around in very uncomfortable shoes. And ladies, if you are honest with yourself in one way or another I bet you do too! The question is: am I really more accepted for being this way? Now back to the present and Marsh’s all new sinew. If you can never reach the feminist ideal, you can never become the perfect female (because of course it is unreachable), so what do you do? Marsh’s new look shows her dissatisfaction with conceptions of beauty of stereotyped femininity in general.
All I need to say is two words. Two tiny words and they sum up the whole bloody feminist debate. And they are the most unlikely two words, truthfully that I ever thought I would couple with the age old fight for female equality. Are you ready for them? Jodie Marsh. There, I said it. I’m sure that dear Jodie needs no real introduction, but for those of you stuck in a bubble, Jodie is an internationally renowned glamour model, the page three exclusive, or to put it another way, the woman with the GG boob job. Or so she was until last week when she revealed her new look. I’m sure you’ve seen the pictures; lacquered in self tan and strategically applied baby oil Jodie Marsh has become a bodybuilder with muscles the size of small children.
Jodie Marsh with her new muscles has now pushed into the boundaries of the ‘unfeminine’
We as woman are always under attack from society to look a certain way I know what you’re thinking. But Jodie sums up the plight of every woman in western society. Let’s take a step back for a moment shall we and look at the facts. Marsh once embodied the hyper-stylised female ideal. We as woman are always under attack from society to look a certain way, to act a certain way, to be a certain way.
Anything other than that and we are seen as letting down our gender. Jodie Marsh, we can assume had her plastic surgery in order to reach this extreme and unattainable ‘female ideal’; she needed it so she could survive in an industry where the ideal has to be a reality.
So much was this need to reach this ideal she needed to physically transform her body. However, when Marsh reached this ideal she was still never really accepted by society. Now I know that Jodie Marsh is a bit of an extreme example, but
The death of TV talent shows Steven Howse
As I sit here on a Saturday night watching the last few acts on The X Factor I can’t help but think: whatever happened to Saturday night TV that wasn’t reality shows? Just over 10 years ago, before Simon Cowell took over, game shows such as The Generation Game or Blind Date would have you laughing your socks off whilst Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (in its prime) might actually make you feel smarter before you popped into bed. But as they say, all good things must come to an end; and as the new millennium rose so did the revolution that was reality TV, with talent contests spearheading the charge. Over the past 10 years we’ve been through a rollercoaster ride of emotion from Popstars to Pop Idol and finally onto the undeniable The X Factor.
The idea of the shows was simple. Take hundreds and thousands of people, hand-picking the most talented and the socially deranged for the entertainment of the masses and ironically even for those who themselves auditioned and failed. As fans flocked to their TVs every Saturday night to see this circus, the contestants had their five minutes of fame and the judges rolled on the money. As the pounds, and even dollars, spun for Simon Cowell and company, everyone wanted in on the act. The BBC introduced Strictly Come Dancing, the talent show for the Werthers Original generation, and Andrew Lloyd Webber spun out talent competitions just so more people would see his shows. However, Lord Webber couldn’t have said it more perfectly himself. Just over a week ago he said what was lurking in all our minds: “I think the reality shows are at saturation point and probably what
proves that is what has happened to The X Factor in America.”; in this case he means the recent ratings drop for Simon Cowell’s US X Factor project, which has had to battle with his own creation in American Idol on a rival channel.
The contestants had their five minutes of fame while the judges rolled on the money But as Lord Webber had hinted to, the demise of the talent show era has been a long time coming. Two Christmas’s ago Joe McElderry failed to win the seemingly given Christmas number one, and earlier this year did anyone even watch Britain’s Got Talent? Let alone care once you realized Simon Cowell had left it! The X Factor isn’t the only talent show feeling a little stale.
will to be strong and powerful.” To stand up to this ideal, to say ‘this is who I am like it or leave it.’ But also, women equally fear breaking away from this ideal, fearing they will become “manly” and “unattractive”. Scala states: “It’s what’s known by psychologists as ‘stereotype threat’, the anxiety that by pushing at the boundaries of an established role [in this case, womanliness], a person will lose an essential part of their identity”. Has Marsh lost part of her identity by transforming herself into the bodybuilder she is today? Is she any less feminine? I’ll let you be the judge of that. But the most important question is: will Jodie be any more accepted in society with her new looks? She has completed the most but it seems like you can never win. Maybe it is time women stop trying to reach an unobtainable ideal and society stop forcing such ideas on us to start with.
Jodie’s strength of character for breaking away from such conceptions is parallel in her new found physical strength and with this she shows commitment (it takes more than a can of spinach these days to get muscles) and dedication to her cause. Yet, Jodie Marsh with her new muscles has now pushed into the boundaries of the ‘unfeminine’. Sabrina Scala, who is a famous female coach, explains that most women have major conflicts with their bodies. She says “There is a
With ratings and viewer interest dropping in Strictly Come Dancing, producers are lead to putting the female contestants in smaller and smaller outfits, giving Ofcom a field day and not really suiting the majority of older viewers
tastes. The X Factor has changed the entire judging team to seem fresher, and to fight the stench of over saturation. The end must be nearing for these Saturday night institutions. The only question is, can anything replace it?
12 FILM&TV
Friday 14 October 2011 Spark*
film.spark@reading.ac.uk
film&Tv
Johnny English Reborn: Mission Incompetence Directed: Oliver Parker Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Gillian Anderson, Dominic West Running Time: 101 Mins Genre: Action/Comedy
overcome his own inadequacies as a secret agent.
There are homages to old and new Bond with a Swiss mountain base and a chase across the rooftops
Jonathan Edney
Although not a huge critical success, Johnny English performed well at the box office so it’s perhaps not surprising that a sequel was on the cards. What is more surprising is that it has taken so long, but ultimately, this has been to the film’s benefit, for since 2003, Bond has been rebooted and this has clearly made an impact on the makers of this film. There are homages to old and new Bond with a Swiss mountain base and a chase across the rooftops, and there is plenty of gadgetry on display throughout as Johnny English is called out of retirement to prevent the assassination of the Chinese premier. However, it is not just the mysterious terrorist organisation Vortex that English has to overcome; he must once again
Rowan Atkinson is on fine form throughout the film, raising chuckles through his delivery of words like ‘vole’ and ‘turd’ as well as the physical gags. He is given strong support from Gillian Anderson, Dominic West and Rosamund Pike as his fellow MI7 agents and particularly by Daniel Kaluuya (Skins) as his new companion, Agent Tucker, who often has to atone for English’s incompetence. The fact that everyone except Atkinson is playing it straight compliments his antics all the more, and the villains are effective without descending to the ridiculousness of John Malkovich’s Pascal Sauvage from the first film. The plot is also far more tradi-
tional, which helps ground the silliness in at least some reality. Oliver Parker also relishes the opportunities to spoof Bond/ Bourne action sequences and these provide some of the film’s funniest moments. The bar has certainly been set higher since the aforementioned franchises rebooted the spy genre and Parker rises to the challenge admirably, especially since his last film was St Trinians 2. Although many of the gags are predictable, part of the fun comes from seeing them carried through and there are some surprises along the way, including a few homages to the original film. There may not be quite as many belly laughs as the first film but it is consistently funny due to its clever action scenes and Atkinson’s gift for physical comedy. The franchise feels more sophisticated despite the fact that it really isn’t and provides 100 minutes of fun, which is just what you need after a hard day of lectures or essay writing!
HHH
Crazy, Stupid, Love: It’s Crazy, it’s Stupid and I Don’t Love It Directed: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa Starring: Steve Carrell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling Running Time: 118 mins Genre: Drama, RomCom
minutes that you realise that each storyline ties together, but in a very twisted and slightly confusing way. I certainly didn’t fall in love with this film, nor any of the characters. In spite of this, Crazy, Stupid, Love was saved by the superb Steve Carrell who cannot be faulted, unlike every other actor including the incredibly disappointing Ryan Gosling.
Emma Dawson
Crazy, Stupid, Love. For starters, I would definitely call it stupid. As for love, I’m not so sure. You expect this to be a typical romcom, but it was more a story of friendship and the embarrassment of middle aged men.
I would definitely call it stupid
The humour is minimal and very predictable, making the film even less interesting At forty-something, straight-laced Cal (Steve Carrell) finds out his wife, Emily (Julianne Moore) has cheated on him and so turns to girls and bars, but having not dated in decades, finding ‘the one’ isn’t as easy as is for Cal’s new and ever so smooth friend Jacob (Ryan
Gosling) who gives Cal a ‘guy makeover.’ Alongside the central plot, there are many side stories which seem irrelevant, and you’re sat there thinking ‘who are these people and why are they even in this film?’ However, it’s not until the last 10
The humour is minimal and very predictable, making the film even less interesting. It was hard to find any positive points about this film but if you’re into touching moments between a father and son and some great panning shots, then this may improve your opinion of the film. It was nice to see something different compared to the traditional American rom-com and Steve Carrell showed off his versatility by portraying a character I wouldn’t have ever expected to see from him. Lessons learnt from Crazy,
Stupid, Love are never fall for a guy who plays the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, and if you’re feeling too hot in a sauna, get out, or the consequences really won’t be enjoyable. It was one of those films where you wait for it to get good and it never does. Other than the occasional one liner from Cal (Steve Carrell), Crazy, Stupid, Love lacked pace and decent acting, cer-
tainly a dull two hours of my life. It got to the stage where people walked out and my flatmate had fallen asleep. However, if you’re into unrealistic, extremely cheesy and let’s not forget cringe worthy American films, then this would be perfect for you.
H
FILM NEWS IN BRIEF - Bond 23 has a villan! Javier Bardem has been cast in the next installment and will star alongside Daniel Craig in the titular role
Spark* Friday 14 October 2011
film.spark@reading.ac.uk
Abduction: Leave your brain at the door Director: John Singleton Starring: Taylor Lautner, Sigourney Weaver, Jason Isaacs, Alfred Molina, Michael Nyqvist Running time: 106 mins Genre: Action/Thriller Karishma Shah
For all the Twilight fans: Jacob!! Taylor Lautner!!! Yay! *heart* For those with a clearer mindset, a word of warning: leave your brain and any appreciation for profound acting and moving dialogue at the door, and you might manage okay. You'll even laugh at how clichéd the characters sound; they
end up being hilarious at points of apparent seriousness or suspense. The premise sounds interesting enough, initially. Nathan Harper (Lautner) lives the normal suburban life, ‘PARTAYYYs’ and all. He finds his baby picture on a missing children's website, and so he questions who his parents are and what's really going on. So far, so good. It takes about half an hour for the real plot to start, which consists of an international espionage involving a mysterious list, including predictable car chases, explosions and fights aboard trains. Very Bourne Identity wannabe stuff. Oh yeah, and he dragged along his high school crush as a sidekick, and so
is pretty much obliged to start a romance with her. Ho hum. Despite a cast of previously lauded actors like Sigourney Weaver, Jason Isaacs and Michael Nyqvist, the apparent draw of this movie lies with Taylor Lautner's sculpted body and washboard abs. To provide for this, it only takes about five minutes to get to his first shirtless scene.
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wannabe stuff While still riding on his Twilight fame, he's trying to break out on his own, but fails to understand that acting requires more than standing or running around with a continuous surly expression. Even in his happy moments, his smile looks more like a grimace. Other negative factors include the script getting more cheesy and stereotypical by the minute, with stale quips like “Trust has to be earned” and “I'm not leaving without her!”; the 'hope-they're-toodistracted-to-notice' plot holes and convenient coincidences; and last but not least, when on earth did FACEBOOK start doing product placement??? Surprisingly, the music wasn't half bad; Lenny Kravitz and Train lend their vocals to create a pleasant background sound. If you want anything from this film, I'd recom-
FILM&TV 13
Then why not write for Spark* Film & TV?
mend getting a copy of their songs rather than the DVD. All in all, the poorly written script, complete waste of genuinely good talent and insipid romantic side-plot makes this a movie not worth seeing, unless broody moody Taylor's the one thing you'll actually notice.
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Dont Be Afraid Of the Dark: Putting Horror to Shame Director: Troy Nixey Starring: Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce and Bailee Madison Running Time: 99 Mins Genre: Horror/Thriller
film completely lacked in…well, anything really.
Hardly an awardwinning epic horror movie
Jack Marshall
In a nutshell: there’s a big house which is sort of haunted by little creatures which are (allegedly) really quite deadly, but a young – rather irritating – girl, her ignorant father and his girlfriend who just wants to be loved. Aw. As far as horror movies go, writer Guillermo Del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy) has pretty much nailed all the clichés with this modern-adaptation of the 1973 ‘cult film’ of the same name. Not having seen the original (or having even heard of it before hearing of this film), it’s hard to say how much homage has been paid to it and how much is Del Torro’s own flair. Even though it had a brilliant opening - real tense, edgy and teeth-gritting stuff - the rest of the
But within the first fifteen minutes or so (including a cringe-worthy credit-sequence) too much of the plot had already been exposed, leaving little mystery for the remaining 94 minutes which, believe me, are the longest 94 minutes you’ll ever experience. With so many details revealed so soon the story really fell flat on its face – there was no real direction and it was hard to take an interest in where the story was actually going. What was harder still was to develop a true connection with any character, despite the lead (Bailee Madison) being a young girl who should have been vulnerable but was far too cocky and confident for us to really care about her. Now I’m not saying the film is completely rubbish. Director Troy
Nixey really knows how to build up some tension with some lovely close-up shots, cranking up your own lack of awareness for what might be just out of frame. The score is also pretty decent, which is somewhat of a relief as without it half of the ‘scares’ wouldn’t even frighten a squirrel. Unfortunately though, the only scene really likely to startle you senseless is already shown in the trailer, so when it happens in the film you can expect what will happen. A further thing which bugged me with this film was the plot inconsistencies. For example, if you’re going to have it that a certain object has certain powers, don’t suddenly ditch the significance of said-object at the crucial moment! Sure it might add a sense of helplessness but in the case of Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark it was almost laughable. Hardly an award-winning epic horror movie, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark had the potential to be a pretty decent remake but in the end the plot was just too empty to run for 99 minutes. There were so
many points where it could – and probably should – have ended, but it went on relentlessly from one pointless addition to the other until you were almost laughing at the end of it. If anything made Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark worth-while
it was the opening sequence – a real cracker for a horror movie. It’s just a shame that the rest of the film failed to follow in the same way.
HH
FILM NEWS IN BRIEF - For all Avengers fans, the trailer has ben released! The blockbuster trailer even includes a short cameo of Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk!
14 FILM&TV
Friday 14 October 2011 Spark*
film.spark@reading.ac.uk
film&Tv
The Debt: Nazi Hunting with Helen Mirren Starring: Ciaran Hinds, Helen Mirren, Jesper Christensen, Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas, Sam Worthington, Tom Wilkinson Director: John Madden Running time: 113 Minutes Hayley Garwood
Adapted from a 2007 Israeli film of the same name, John Madden's latest spy thriller is undeniably intelligent, unpredictable and monopolizing. Set in both 90s Israel (the 'present day') and 60s Berlin, The Debt tells the story of Rachel, David and Stephan, three secret agents sent on a mission to kidnap a notorious war criminal, the surgeon of Birkenau, based on the infamous Josef Mengle, the 'Angel of Death'. In the present time, the now retired Rachel (Helen Mirren) is attending her daughter's book launch, a book written about their heroic exploits, bringing justice to the twisted doctor's Jewish victims. In flashbacks we watch their mission miserably fail and see how
the repercussions shape each of their lives for the worse. Furthermore, the destructive love triangle between the three young agents makes their task seem less like cold-blooded government revenge, and more of a personal search for fulfillment and recompense, Rachel's mother and David's entire family having been killed in the war. A lot of attention seems to be paid to the older actors in the cast, when in fact I found the performances of Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life) and Sam Worthington (Avatar) the most admirable. Posing as his new gynocologist patient, Rachel faces the doctor in the most chilling way a woman possibly could. Chastain is utterly convincing as the brave, yet extremely vulnerable and fragile heroine leaning towards her counterfeit husband, Worthington, who remains enigmatic and closed throughout (for pretty good reasons I shouldn't disclose). My only query with the film is the unnecessarily jumbled time sequence, something a lot of recent thrillers tend to acquire, sending
10. Transformers
9. Spider-Man
A record-breaking film that brought comic book adaptations to the forefront of popular culture. Solid performances from Maguire and Dafoe make this a must-see.
8. Kick-Ass
A different take on the traditional super-hero film featuring dark humour and even darker violence (performed by an eleven year-old girl no less!) earns Kick-Ass a place on the list. their audiences into fits of confusion so they feel ten times more satisfied if they figure it out by the resolution (take Shutter Island or Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, for example). I believe the film could have worked better if it were entirely set in 60s Berlin because it was a kind of fantasy of revenge upon the Nazis (precisely what Inglourious Basterds aimed for and very
Director: Diarmuid Lawrence Starring: Tara Fitzgerald, Keith Allen Genre: Crime drama Lauren Purcell
guts, maggots and flies make frequent appearances. The concept and the way the show is shot make for good viewing but I do have a few misgivings about The Body Farm. Unlike its predecessor, the show is only an hour long which doesn’t allow enough time for a more in-depth story to build up. The seemingly puzzling mysteries quickly become unravelled and I have found it easy to correctly guess the conclusion. The body farm itself is located in the countryside which
By Phil Lamplugh
The first Transformers film by Michael ‘More Explosions’ Bay introduces the Autobots and Decepticons to modern day Earth in a visual feast for the eyes.
successfully achieved). The end of the film returns to the present day scenes which, although equally as gripping, were far less stylish, dangerous and generally sexy than those set in the past. Nonetheless they do intensely bring into question what it truly is to be a hero in our society.
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The Body Farm: The glamorous world of forensic science
As a huge fan of crime dramas, I was one of the many TV viewers who were saddened by the loss of the hugely popular series Waking the Dead and was therefore both excited and nervous for the new spin-off series The Body Farm. The series follows the Waking the Dead team’s forensic pathologist Eve Lockhart (Tara Fitzgerald) in her private forensic pathology facility that conducts scientific research into the decomposition of human remains. Eve and her team are approached by lone gruff police officer DI Craig Hale (Keith Allen) to help him solve gruesome crimes that include the insides of two young teenagers found plastered over every possible surface of the room in a tower block flat and a human rights lawyer set alight in his study. This is not a show for the faint-hearted; blood,
Top 10 Comic Book Film Adaptations
far removes it from the gritty London world of Waking the Dead but there is the slight confusion of the lab being in a farmhouse where in one room they perform autopsies and in the next they all eat breakfast together. The character of DI Hale is the replacement Superintendent Boyd in Waking the Dead; Hale spends a lot of his time getting angry and being impatient with the team (which he called in!) because the scientific facts and figures are not being reached fast enough and, be-
cause we as an audience know next to nothing about his backstory, it makes his behaviour just annoying and unnecessary. It would have been refreshing to have a change from the egotistical policemen with anger management problems but the character of Eve Lockhart does stand up to Hale more than she did with Boyd, keeping him in check. Overall it is best not to consider The Body Farm as a spin-off because there are very few links at all to Waking the Dead, and even the character of Eve Lockhart seems different and never mentions any of her previous team members. The show goes into more detail into the fascinating world of forensic science than most detective shows and I would put it up there with fantastic programmes such as Silent Witness for doing that. But The Body Farm would definitely benefit from being a longer show and for making the character storylines, of the team and the victims and murderers, far more in-depth.
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7. Batman Begins
A brilliant film from Christopher Nolan makes us forget about penguin armies and an ex-governator Mr. Freeze, whilst Bale continues to demonstrate himself as a superb actor.
6. Thor
A film that achieved vast success from a director of Shakespeare adaptations defied expectations. Many people left the cinema wondering why they had never heard of Chris Hemsworth before.
5. Watchmen
A chilling alternate take on the Cold War era featuring vigilantes who are as morally questionable as the criminals seen in other super hero films. Jackie Earle Haley is an outstanding Rorschach.
4. Iron Man
A stellar performance from Robert Downey, Jr. sees Tony Stark portrayed as an arrogant and extravagant billionaire that you can’t help but love.
3. 300
The Battle of Thermopylae is reproduced beautifully for the big screen with gorgeous battle scenes that make Lord of the Rings look like Sesame Street.
2. The Dark Knight
Heath Ledger managing to outshine Christian Bale as well as veterans Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman is one of the many testaments to show how truly phenomenal this film is.
1. V for Vendetta
Hugo Weaving’s highly intellectual and insane V is matched in performance only by Portman’s dedication to her portrayal of Evey. Very valuable viewing indeed.
FILM NEWS IN BRIEF - The Human Centipede II will be released in the UK having been banned a few months ago. Several edits have occurred however
Spark* Friday 14 October 2011
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FILM&TV 15
Dark City: An underrated classic Director: Alex Proyas Starring: Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, William Hurt Running Time: 100 mins Genre: Sci-fi, Thriller Sam Burgess
As the year 1999 recedes into the distance, and the consensus opinion of the Wachowskis’ Matrix trilogy slowly but steadily decays, one thing that has not been eroded by hindsight is the immortal phrase ‘Mr. Anderson’, uttered by Hugo Weaving’s menacing Agent Smith. It’s a line that has become famous off the back of its intonation, soaking in the sound of its own importance. Time hasn’t touched that. But Dark City will. You have your humble scribe’s personal guarantee, Spark* readers, that within one viewing of this extraordinary and neglected classic, you will forevermore replace the growl of ‘Mr. Anderson’ with the delicious alliteration of ‘Mr. Murdoch... yesss?’, and to top it off, you will have seen one of the best and most thrilling films ever made on the age-old questions asked about how we influence, and define, our reality. Dark City is the story of John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell), who wakes up in the eponymous city
with no memory of who or where he is, but is presented with the terrible idea that he might have committed murder. He flees, and not only is he sought by his wife Emma (Jennifer Connelly) and the desperate Dr. Screber (Keifer Sutherland), but the Strangers seek him also; led by the terrifying Mr. Hand and Mr. Book (Richard O’Brian, Ian Richardson), the revelation of what they truly are is almost par for the course in a film where no-one is quite what they seem to be.
wrapping the whole package up in a hard, but permeable, science fiction shell. Thinking in those terms, this becomes a truly rare movie, a film that explores the soul without ever condescending or patronising its audience. The comparison to The Matrix, incidentally, is not as specious as it might first appear; all that
Tom Hill
I'm not going to lie, I was hoping to do a joke review for this film (the fact that Vue only had one showing of the film didn't give me much hope, though Trollhunter only had one showing and that was AWESOME). I was hoping just to write 50 words saying what I could have done instead of watch this film (probably watch The Avengers trailer 20 more times). Anyway, Shark Night 3D is a poorly made film which relies on shock kills to cover the poor acting, bad CGI and 3D effects, without the gore and nudity, this would usually leave it as a terrible teen horror film, if it wasn't so damn funny! Firstly, everything is ridiculous with this film, it follows nearly every stereotype perfectly. The 'story' follows some Florida college kids (I use the term 'kids' loosely to describe this group of 30 year
of pointing out that while parts of Dark City might well seem familiar, they are dealt with in such an original and absorbing fashion that the movie makes the images its very own. This is utterly incomparable science fiction, and one of the most underrated films ever made, so if you get the chance, watch it!
This is incomparable science fiction, and one of the most underrated films ever made What starts out as a seemingly workaday thriller story, by now long since consigned to pulp fiction, wastes little time in blossoming into something extraordinary, if that word can truly be applied to a movie so totally wrapped in darkness; the director is Alex Proyas, the mastermind of The Crow. The aesthetic is a beautiful blend of noir art deco and towering futurist architecture, the story is an ingenious blend of twisted thriller and elegiac musing on the nature of the human soul,
Shark Night 3D: Sharktacular! Director: David R. Ellis Starring: Sara Paxton, Katherine Mcphee, Dustin Milligan Running Time: 91 mins Genre: Comedy/Horror
movie and so many others before and since have tried to do, Dark City manages to do with double the brains, panache, pacing, style and substance. You’ll see entire scenes, sets and shots in the film that others have stolen without so much as the batt of an eyelid. This isn’t a comparison made in contempt, mind you; it’s a means
olds) who go to a remote island for a weekend, only to be attacked by sharks... for some reason. There's the 'Hollywood geek' who falls in love with the blonde with a troubled past, meanwhile there's the African-American football star whose engaged to a hispanic diva (try and guess who dies first....), alongside these are the B-team who, obviously, all get killed by sharks jumping at least 10 feet in the air. And don't bother trying to remember any names, not important. When reviewing this film, how it compares to other animal-massacre films (as I am now affectionately calling them) is the most important thing, though it isn't better in any way than Sharktopus, Megashark Vs. Giant Octopus or Megashark Vs.Crocosaurus, it does beat Piranaha 3D and Snakes on a Train (By the way, I recommend all of those films, especially for use in drinking games). The main thing this film gets right is that it doesn't take itself too seriously, unlike other flops like Battlefield Earth, and so can be laughed at, not yawned through. If you enjoy laughing at a seriously bad film, such as films made by The Asylum, then I definitely
recommend Shark Night 3D. Oh, also the film has this amazing Labrador who basically saves the day.
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This fortnight at the RFT... Student Tickets: £4.50 This fortnight at the RFT: Potiche, featuring Gerard Depardieu, a film following a french trophy wife who steps in when her domineering husband’s factory workers go on strike. Also Tree of Life, the winner of the Palme d’Or at this years Cannes Film Festival, proving that cinema still has the power to explore the meaning of life and the origins of the universe.
Tuesday 18 October (20.00): The First Grader (12A) Thursday 20 October (20:00): Potiche (15) Tuesday 25 October (19:15): The Tree of Life (12A) Thursday 27 October (19:45): Julia’s Eyes (15) Tuesday 1 November (19.30): A Seperation (PG)
Prices: Members £4.50 Non-members £6.00 Annual Membership £10.00
FILM NEWS IN BRIEF - Sony have bought the film rights to the late Steve Jobs’ authorised autobiography. The book itself will be released on 24 October
16 MUSIC
Friday 14 October 2011 Spark*
music.spark@reading.ac.uk
music OPINION
Are you five-CDs-a-year guy? It’s time to face the music
Laurence Green & Jamie Milton
Pictured above; your average Ed Sheeran fan. The X Factor’s abysmal indie-wannabe Frankie Cocozza in many ways represents everything that’s wrong with current music habits. When he’s not busy baring his tattooed arse to the judging panel or admiring the female contestants (in an interview with The Sun he revealed how he ‘got lucky’ on the first night of bootcamp), he’s probably listening to one of five CDs. You see, the majority of people who buy music don’t actually buy a lot of it. There’s a whole heap of statistical wizardry available on the internet that shows how your average bloke down the road really only buys five CDs a year. Be it through a car advert or a cover on this year’s The X Factor,
the average five-a-year’s favourite song is likely to come from a limited number of sources. For this very reason, they are the stuff of Simon Cowell’s dreams. They need not worry about the fact that The Zutons penned the Mark Ronson/ Amy Winehouse hit Valerie; they don’t sweat a bead over whether Ed Sheeran is actually a genuine hard-grafting singer-songwriter, and they don’t turn their head to the fact that at times, they’re buying the same club-anthem three times over, failing to notice that it’s just a different artist singing a doppelganger song. They still enjoy their music, only they do so in a far less obsessive and far more nonchalant way than your average vinyl-junkie or electro-head would. Major record labels sign acts up on the promise that they might be one of the royal five; an artist
that catches a vast amount of the country’s affection. A quick look at this week’s charts shows a song recently featured on a Twinings advert sneaking into the top 20, whilst a live iTunes chart has Matt Cardle entering the top five - at the time of writing, this is a mere few hours after his limp X Factor performance. In reality, Ed Sheeran is just a failed drop-out from ITV’s doomed Britannia High, and his album a quick impulse purchase alongside a meal-for-two down the local M&S. Five-CDs-a-year guy think he’s buying an album full of romantic ballads to woo his girlfriend, in reality he’s just bought an ode to a teen girl who sells her body in exchange for drug money. Listener and music: profoundly out of touch with each-other.
The ArchAndroid album had a staggering 4928% sales rise after many saw BBC footage of her show at this year’s Glastonbury). Your average five-a-year enjoys their music just as much as the rest of us and their love for Pitbull is genuine. But whether they’re aware of it, they’re buying music in an almost robotic way - label heads know that these people will have laptops at the ready in their living rooms when X Factor comes on. It’s obvious that these people will have no hesitancy in clicking one or two buttons to buy an mp3 as soon as one consumable song pops up on their television screen. But then again, the same can be applied to your 30-a-year consumer; someone who relies on music critics and tastemakers or
your everyday middle-aged dad who spends their cash on Rolling Stones re-issues. Most of us are willingly giving in to being told what to buy. The X Factor isn’t bad. In fact, it’s a great bit of weekend telly. But randy teenage contestants like Frankie Cocozza are like a bad STI: incredibly irritating and difficult to get rid of. These are the kind of people that your five-a-year buys into without a single drop of guilt. It’s a disposable kind of purchase for the time-poor generation and with every copy of Ed Sheeran’s debut ‘effort’ sold, the UK’s musical integrity as a whole wavers just a little. Oh, and you have to ask yourself, who exactly is still buying Adele’s album?
A quick impulse purchase alongside a meal-for-two down the local M&S There might be a difference between the physical music purchaser who goes out and buys the odd album every few months for a birthday present and someone who, as above, likes to buy a 79p download impulsively as soon as they’ve heard a song on the television. Nevertheless, both develop their music taste through reality TV, Radio 1, BRITs performances and perhaps from summertime festival footage (Janelle Monae’s
FEATURE New singer/songwriter society launches! Reading University Singer Songwriters is an exciting new society at the University of Reading. Our aims are to get people performing in front of an audience, and to encourage people to write their own music. We’ve got lots of great events and live artists confirmed for the year ahead as well as opportunities to perform on Junction11 and RU:ON, at open mic nights and gigs across Reading, and even at the Oxford O2 Academy! RUSS is for anyone who sings, songwrites, does a combination of the two, or wants to do any of these. We’ll give students the confidence and encouragement to get out there and show their talent. Some of the events we’ve got lined up include ‘Speed Songwriting’, ‘Busking For Charity’,
‘Teacher For The Day’ and ‘Introductory Singing Lessons’. We’re very excited about our ‘An Evening With...’ events, where professional musicians and people in the music industry come in for a Q&A session and a live performance, and our ‘Song Feedback’ sessions, where students perform their new material to a small group of fellow musicians to receive advice and constructive criticism.
Look out for RUSS this year. It’s going to be huge! We’re creating as many opportunities for our members to get out there and perform as we feel everyone deserves a chance to
do what they’re passionate about. We’re also giving back to our local community by fundraising for the charity Launchpad, which helps some of Reading’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged people to turn around their lives and fulfil their full potential. RUSS was set up by three students who are hugely passionate about music and song-writing and have had lots of experience playing in Reading. We cannot wait to get started. Look out for RUSS this year. It’s going to be huge! If you want to find out more, join our group on Facebook ‘Reading University Singer Songwriters’, follow us on Twitter @RUSSongwriters and email readinguniversitysingersongwriters@hotmail. co.uk.
Spark* Friday 14 October 2011
music.spark@reading.ac.uk
ALBUMS
Mosh pits, psychadelia and Laura Marling’s new effort... Black Tide Post Mortem Spinefarm Records
Phil Whittaker
To anyone who is familiar with Black Tide, this album may come to you as a shock. They have transformed their original sound to one of a more mainstream style, one obvious inspiration being Bullet For My Valentine. This is hardly surprising as Matt Tuck (lead singer of Bullet For My Valentine) lends his vocals to the opening track Ashes. To sum up, this album is the would-be result if Iron Maiden got Avenged Sevenfold pregnant on a one-night stand in the filth-ridden toilets of any underground club. Despite their new approach to the metal scene, all hope is not lost for the cliquey audience who love the original Black Tide sound. Fist-pumping intros, intricate acoustic work and enough wailing
Girls Father, Son, Holy Ghost Turnstile
Jack Price
From the outset it is clear that the aim of Father, Son, Holy Ghost, if nothing else, is to give a musical insight into the romantic failings of singer songwriter Christopher Owens. In fact, simply the name of the band, Girls, gives a clue towards exactly where Owens’ priorities lie. However, the way this differs from many other generic whining front-men is the contrast of moods that are delivered throughout. The ability to imbed the recollection of despairing relationships and angst with heartfelt love songs gives the impression that the differing musical influences is not the only thing erratic about Owens. It is exactly this erratic musicality that makes Girls so refreshing; the combination of styles (musically and lyrically) when referring to relationships gives Father... an interesting development from their original sound, whilst maintaining what was so unique about their debut.
MUSIC 17
The romantic despair in Honey Bunny,(“I’ve been messing with so many girls/Who couldn’t give a damn about who I am”) alongside the Win Butler-esque wails of “Nothing’s gonna be ok/It’s all going down the drain tonight” in Die could only really come from someone clearly damaged psychologically. These hopeless cries, accompanied by the ever whirring guitar fills, do seem far more legitimate through Owens monologue than your average singer songwriter who writes about sadness just for the sake of it. After all, he did grow up in a religious cult that banned music and encouraged suicide. This contrast of moods is most evident in the eerily brilliant song Vomit, with the haunting calibre of Owens’ voice and lapping guitars typifying this bands undeniable appeal. Unlike much of the current attempts in the charts to blend different ideas, Father... hops delicately between genres in a way that feels totally natural; Ed Sheeran combined grime with indie and ended up with a fan base of teenage girls, whereas Owens at points strikes the perfect balance between psychedelia, indie and feel good pop. With this variation we have a musical limbo between the beauty of acoustic love songs and the intrusive nature of psychedelic rock. It is this intrusion however, that makes the album work so well. Although not totally groundbreaking, Owens and co. have again delivered a truly excellent collection of songs.
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Laura Marling A Creature I Don’t Know Virgin
Jamie Milton
I remember at the time of her emergence, arriving with the sweetest of voices, with the most interesting of tales to tell, it seemed like a missed opportunity to call Laura Marling’s debut anything but perfect. Of course, it wasn’t. But this was an artist with light years ahead, harbouring such visible talent that your average critic might have felt required to champion the album with a smattering of hyperbole, just to nudge forward the success she so promised. But to give Alas I Cannot Swim a lukewarm reception would have been a wise decision at the time. She had room to grow – she wasn’t mistaken otherwise – and whilst we were impressed with her initial rise, most if not all of us waited with baited breath for whatever came next. It seems odd, considering how much we expected of Laura Marling, that her inevitable growth has been even more colossal and rapid than ever imagined. She no longer
pinched harmonics to wake the dead, Post Mortem is a guaranteed mosh-pit starter so I highly recommend that you see this band live if you can. The best track on this album, in my opinion, is definitely That Fire. It blends the perfect mix of Spanish style acoustics, chugging palm mutes and head banging riffs. However, the cherry on the cake has to be the solo: Gabriel Garcia, you are a pure guitar genius.
A guaranteed mosh-pit starter The criticisms that I have of this album are that it loses momentum towards the last few tracks, and the screaming introduction of Walking Dead Man definitely does not suit Black Tide’s style. However, it is early days for this band, and niggles like this will probably be resolved in an almighty third album. Three is the magic number recalls waking up on grubby benches after lengthy, reckless nights; she’s forgotten about the boy who would tap at her window, too. This artist has evolved into a songwriter of almost intimidating confidence and quality. She has a restless, creative drive and this has never been as evident as on A Creature I Don’t Know. Throughout, she’s showcasing a previously withdrawn wealth of ideas; The Beast, the record’s obvious centerpiece, is powerful and to the point; opener The Muse has a almost jazz-like vibrancy as each backing member bounces their instrumental invention against one another and My Friends is rare in that lyrically, it sounds as if Marling is almost content – a contrast to the typically dark themes which dominate her previous full-length, I Speak Because I Can. So indeed, she continues to surprise the listener by adding to an already extensive list of skills.
The balance will be reached But in maturing and in experimenting, there’s a recurring, dreadful sense that she’s tossing back her initial appeal without so much as a second glance. We’re offered small portions of the sweetness, the charm and the naivety, so prominent on early work, through Sophia’s lulled, lighttoned verses. Night After Night, too – easily the most eye-opening song on the album – shows Marling at her most hurt and vulnerable. The point that’s been driven home here, is that we’ve all heard the voice become more ragged
after all. Albums such as Master Of Puppets, Number Of the Beast and Reign In Blood all confirm this.
Enough wailing harmonics to wake the dead In conclusion, this album gets better every time it is played. It will definitely grow on the older fans of Black Tide. If you have never heard the band’s old material then you will most likely have an unbiased love for this album. In my opinion, Black Tide should combine this revamped mainstream feel with their previous classic, stygian sounding thrashmetal of the underground scene. If so, then their third album will be the stuff of legends. This is definitely a band to look out for in the future.
HHHH and we’ve seen the content of her songs evolve into more profound beings and yet, with added invention and smart, show-off poise, there’s a danger that we’re becoming alienated. No question: Laura Marling has a backbone, now. She’s a universally applauded artist, with Brit Awards, Mercury Nominations and an adoring flock of fans to turn to if ever she requires validation.
There’s a recurring, dreadful sense that she’s tossing back her initial appeal A Creature I Don’t Know won’t be remarked upon as her finest work in years to come, however. There’s a balance required: This woman is becoming more ingenious by the day – for this she should, and will, be recognised for. But sitting on top of this album is the stark and frustrating fact that these songs, as commendable as they are, simply aren’t as alluring as those on previous works. The balance will be reached and Marling will create her masterpiece – we should have little doubt of this. But A Creature I Don’t Know, far from being a shortcoming, remains nothing but an additional testament to her incredible growth. It’s a timely, perfectly-slotting piece in a trilogy of introductory albums, helping to announce this special artist and all of her frenzied, fantastic intentions for the future.
HHH
18 MUSIC
music.spark@reading.ac.uk
SINGLES
What happens when a who’s-who of UK urban stars cover a classic? Sak Noel Loca People Blanco Y Negro
Rachel Pilcher
The Collective Teardrop Island
Laurence Green
It was always going to be a tough one. With a track as monumentally iconic as Massive Attack’s Teardrop, there’s a notion that any new cover version of it could never possibly hope to live up to the towering landmark of a track the original is. There’s just some songs you don’t mess with. As much as you might seek to take it in its own context - even more so because this version, by Gary Barlow’s ‘The Collective’, is in support of this year’s Children in Need appeal you can’t separate it away, and listening to the rapped verses, you can’t help but feel this is another case of when Dizzee Rascal inserted his own lyrics into Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? All things considered - and raps aside - musically, The Collective’s version remains pretty faithful to the original; full of hiss and crackle and that wonderful harplike melody. Bringing the song up to date is a sharp, dubsteppy beat (surely unavoidable these days, right?)
Friday 14 October 2011 Spark*
Despite starring an immense array of urban stars including Chipmunk, Dot Rotten, Ed Sheeran, Ms Dynamite, Mz Bratt, Rizzle Kicks, Tinchy Stryder and Wretch 32, the real star is undoubtedly Tulisa, who gets the lion’s share of the vocals and video time. A more cynical mind would suggest this is a blatant attempt to cash in on dear Tulisa’s newfound The X Factor stardom and begin to position her as a massive solo artist in her own right.
It becomes clear what a massive star Tulisa is set to become With a rather jarring shift from the raps into the sung chorus, Teardrop feels even more like a vehicle for ‘solo Tulisa’. One thing’s for sure though, she brings a hell of a lot to the song. It is her that makes this cover, and it’s a refreshing reminder of what a brilliant singer she actually has. If anything, it’s here, more than ever, that it becomes clear what a massive star she is set to very shortly become.
HHH
Metronomy Everything Goes My Way Because
Jamie Milton
Consider that a few years back, Joseph Mount was a high-aiming producer, albeit one receiving little recognition and few plaudits. Today, he’s producing tracks for Nicola Roberts and writing songs such as Everything Goes My Way. To say things have improved would be something of an understatement. Roxanne Clifford, vocalist of London pop-punk purists Veronica Falls, heads this Metronomy track - a highlight off the Mercurynominated The English Riviera. Portrayed as some denial-ridden, lovestruck kid, she repeats the line “love, I’m in love again” until the empty phrase resembles something true to her. Joseph Mount’s troupe usually sport a more brash sound than this, and it’s a sweet contrast to the rest of the record’s tracks. A light, minimal song, all the more cementing the band’s ability to make some of the freshest, most earnest pop music out there.
It’s not often you hear a song on the radio that makes you wonder whether you’re either dreaming or ridiculously drunk. Unfortunately, the summer blessed us with one of these, and it keeps getting bigger and bigger, reaching the heights of a number one chart position. Sak Noel’s Loca People is pretty much unavoidable at the moment. To sum it up, it’s your stereotypical European dance track, but this one is characterised by a girl who is discussing her great surprise at
how people in Spain like to party “all day, all night.” Shocking I know. There are some Spanish lyrics that are thrown in just for fun, followed by the girl phoning her friend Johnny, the point in the track where complete confusion comes in and you realise that the lyrics are ultimately ridiculous nonsense. I’ll admit, it is annoyingly catchy. Put it on in a club, and it’s guaranteed that 99% of people will dance around like mad to it. However, the track itself is not good, and never will be, no matter how many times radio stations insist on playing it.
H
HHHH Lana Del Ray Video Games Stranger Records
Jamie Milton
Every music snob with too much time on their hands has heard of Lana Del Ray. And in the past couple of months she’s gone from future darling of critical acclaim status, to becoming a target of utter, vitriolic hate. Why? Well, she seems to be a rich kid who, with the help of a good PR company, has managed to evolve into some uber-cool, Hollywood-starlet right before our very eyes. Every part of her image, like your Gagas and Rihannas, is finetuned and calculated to perfection. Previously, under the alias of Lizzie Grant, she was making
faux-country pop with little appeal - now she’s on the edge of everybody’s lips as the next big thing. The contrast between the two has left a sour taste in the mouths of those who first picked her up as an interesting new artist, going against the norm. This sudden backlash is in part quite justified - we’ve been had on - but it’s crucial we don’t forget that there’s substance behind the image.
She’s managed to evolve into some ubercool, Hollywood-starlet The music video for Video Games is made up of old film clips - kids falling off skateboards, fireworks setting off - all clumped together to help bring up a nostalgic feel to the singer’s work. A lot of people
aren’t buying into this, especially considering the recent allegations of manufacturing (she’s even been accused of having lip implants). The fact remains however, that Lana Del Ray is on course to sell out every one of her headline dates and a song such as this helps to explain why. Its bare bones are that of a good pop song - one of swirling harp patterns, a passionate vocal performance - a song that needn’t appeal to the music snobs or the anti-pop bores. Like the rest of her early work, this is a song that, given the right treatment and PR, is likely to find itself in the charts, possibly even quite high. It will probably appeal to a far more adoring and devoted group than those who initially discovered her.
HHH
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20 ARTS&BOOKS
Friday 14 October 2011 Spark*
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Arts&BOOKS
Once upon a time... Review of Shrek - The Musical Theatre Royal, Drury Lane 5 October 2011 Laurence Green
As far as fairytale stories go, Kimberley Walsh's debut performance in Shrek - The Musical ended up being every bit as magical and enchanting as the story of everyone's favourite ogre itself.
is here, on the esteemed boards of a West End stage, that she steps into her first major role. For those that have seen the first Shrek movie (who hasn't?!), the plotline of the musical version remains pretty faithful, although obviously interspersed with all manner of fantastic and catchy showtunes. If you're in search of a feel-good night out packed with
fun-factor, then this will not let you down. Walsh’s Fiona is the perfect counterpart to the rough, Scottish charms of Shrek (Nigel Lindsay). Taking over from a pregnant Amanda Holden and tapping into a feisty bossy-madam attitude, she's the heroine with real staying power - an apt fit for the empowered pop princess Walsh represents as one fifth of Girls Aloud.
Walsh’s Fiona is the perfect counterpart to the rough, Scottish charms of Shrek
The performance feels definitively British in its quaintness
The role of Princess Fiona, originally played in the animated film version by Cameron Diaz, feels like a career move Walsh has been building up to all her life. She may have dabbled with acting in the past - a brief one-off cameo in Les Miserables and her recent role in the Horrid Henry movie - but it
Resolutely the professional, Walsh also impresses with her grasp of Fiona's American accent, though I was pleased to hear her own rounded Yorkshire tones slipping
Glower Power: baby boomers Book Review of What did the Baby Boomers Ever Do For Us? Francis Beckett Adam Knowles
Are you tired of being called a ‘donothing student?’ Are you annoyed about all the insinuations that ALevels are supposedly getting easier? Are you irritated by increased tuition fees? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, this book might interest you.
Beckett’s style is not overly academic, making it easily accessible ‘What Did the Baby Boomers Ever Do For Us?’ by Francis Beckett takes a look at the generation born during the period of increased birth rate following World War Two (the baby boom) from its cultural roots in 1945 right up to its political activity in 2010: it is undeniably quite an ambitious
With brilliantly funny supporting roles; Donkey (Richard Blackwood), Lord Farquaad (Nigel Harman) and the Dragon (courtesy of some incredible stagecraft), Shrek - The Musical is just as much a laugh-a-minute comedy as it is a tour-de-force of fun pop singalongs. And it is in these two qualities that Walsh proves her worth to the show. Not only is she a strong singer - with a voice that has always seemed perfect for the enunciation needed in theatre - but she clearly has a knack for comic timing, delivering her lines as if she's been playing the role for years.
project, but one that seems to have paid off. The book raises a number of interesting points in a clear and concise manner. Beckett’s style is not overly academic, making it easily accessible, but ample references to his sources give the reader the means for the possibility of a much deeper look at the issues at hand. Beckett clearly isn’t afraid to stir up controversy, pointing out at one point that many of the very same politicians who successfully campaigned for the enormous rise in tuition fees recently went through university at a time when “the idea that one might have to pay for education, at any level, seemed...primitive and backwardlooking.” In this way, even the chapters devoted to the relatively early days of the Baby Boomer generation feel brutally relevant to the world of today, and it’s fortunate that Beckett’s style is so easy to read, because in some ways, the subject matter really isn’t. Some of the material, particularly that which deals with more recent history, is as irritating to consider as it is intriguing.
That said, the book provides a wealth of interesting and often humorous little facts.
The book provides a wealth of interesting and often humorous little facts For example, did you know that Gordon Brown was, from 1972 to 1975, the first student Rector of Edinburgh University? The first and last, for Brown signed a deal agreeing that, in future, students would not be eligible for the position. As Beckett eagerly points out, this appears to be typical of many of the Baby Boomers’ social victories in that the prize, once won, was not passed on to the next generation. So for anyone who is interested in politics, or simply able to think about it without breaking out in horrible rashes, I would thoroughly recommend Francis Beckett’s What Did the Baby Boomers Ever Do For Us?, Biteback Publishing, 2010.
through from time to time. Shrek - The Musical, in so many aspects, feels like a far more chunky, downto-earth production than the slick CGI films. Whereas the movie was playful, bold and pioneering, the musical has the luxury to be more tongue-in-cheek, more bawdy. Best of all, placed here, in the heart of London, the performance feels definitively British in its quaintness. A fairytale story to encompass all others, it seems to tap into a sense of tradition and communal enjoyment. By the time the rousing finale of I'm A Believer rolled round, the entire audience was up on their feet singer and cheering along - surely the greatest sign of a job well done by all involved. It might have been the fact Cheryl Cole and Nicola Roberts were also in attendance to support their bandmate, but the sheer buzz in the atmosphere of the theatre that night felt like it could have been one of Girls Aloud's own sold out concerts. Walsh, going it alone, has made her mark, and the public love her.
Hello potential writer! Are you are interested in writing reviews of: • Books • Theatre performances • Musical shows • Art exhibitions Or would like to submit a short story, poetry or other creative work, then please contact Nadine Michaels at: arts.spark@reading. ac.uk
Spark* Friday 10 October 2011
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ARTS&BOOKS 21
Macbeth is dead, now for the sequel! Review of Dunsinane RSC Swan Theatre Lizzie Pollington
For those that love Shakespeare but want to see something a little bit different, Dunsinane by David Greig is definitely not to be missed. As the name very subtly suggests, it is a sequel to Macbeth, and it seamlessly follows on from the battle that closes the Shakespearian classic. The plot is engaging and manages to find loose ends in its seemingly watertight predecessor. It uses the premise that Macbeth had been a good king and did not deserve the grisly end he met.
Greig has written a play that manages to be thrilling, touching and funny This intriguing notion turns Macbeth on its head and serves a double purpose; for those who do not know Shakespeare’s play, the idea of deception and greed is riveting enough to go on, and for those who do know the original, it questions those details that are left out of Macbeth. For example, how much time actually passes in the play? What did the general populous think of Macbeth? And so on.
The stage in the RSC Swan Theatre is perfect for this production. Its smaller, more intimate size, coupled with its thrust stage make the audience feel more involved and immersed in the action. The actors are so close to the seating that you feel you are actually eavesdropping on a personal conversation. The walkways that allow the actors to pass through the audience add an extra sensory element to the play, as costumes whip past creating a breeze and the actors are so close they share spit and scent. Sets are kept to a minimum, emulating the sparse nature of a castle of the time, whilst simultaneously allowing the audience’s imagination to run free. Simple lighting fits in with this Spartan
staging and allows the best parts of the play to shine; the actors and their scintillating script. Greig has written a play that manages to be thrilling, touching and funny. The use of a young soldier’s letters home as a narration of sorts is inspired and offers a truly emotional insight into battle, loss and strife, whilst easing the darker moments with youthful hope and enthusiasm. He also includes sections of Celtic in the dialogue of Gruach (the late Macbeth’s wife) and her maidservant. This adds a dimension of history and accuracy to the play that was even lacking from Macbeth. Including the script as part of the programme makes this use of another language much more accessible and easier to understand,
so that the depth it provides is not undermined by confusion. The dialogue is, for the majority of the play, in modern English rather than Shakespearian, which makes the play more engaging for those who are not acquainted with or accustomed to Elizabethan speech. The story is so well rounded and intriguing that Greig’s play stands on its own just as effectively as it continues Macbeth. The acting of Siobhan Redmond (Gruach), and Jonny Phillips (Siward), stands out starkly among that of their fellow actors. Their scenes together are by far the most engaging and dramatic, and although Redmond’s Celtic accent can be a little confusing and inconsistent, it adds a certain gravitas to her character. Whilst their colleagues often played more than one character, Redmond and Phillips portrayed Gruach and Siward respectively throughout. This reinforced their importance at the centre of the plot and gave them the scope to fully flesh out the fascinating characters that Greig adapted so tactfully. Whilst Redmond and Phillips shone, they were skilfully backed and accompanied by a company of talented actors, with impressive Scottish and English accents. Overall, the acting left nothing to be desired and did justice to the script.
The costume designs were simple but effective. Where actors had more than one character to play, simple substitutions were made to signify the change. For example, adding a fur to a soldiers uniform in order to show a Scottish character and removing it for the same actor’s English characters. Gruach’s dress and Malcolm’s robes were fitting of their royal status without being garish and distracting. The costumes were also used to reinforce allusions made in the script, that is, coats were worn to show winter, less clothing was worn inside than outside. Although these may seem insignificant, they were important factors to the overall subtlety of the play. Dunsinane is a truly brilliant play, built up from clever and intriguing ideas, executed with talent and skill to make an absolutely entertaining evening. Lovers of Shakespeare will appreciate the respect Greig clearly has for Macbeth whilst revelling in the questions that no one has previously thought to ask. Newcomers to the story will be enthralled by the fascinating characters they are presented with and the clever story they tell, and everyone will be touched by the striking and emotional finale. This play has something for everyone and is well worth seeing.
Think fire, think flames, think apocalypse Review of Loud Tate art and music event Tate Britain 01st October 2011 Vinjeru Mkandawire
Who says the nineteenth century romanticism in John Martin’s paintings and urban, bubblegumchewing teenagers sporting “skinny pants and some vans” (Lil Wayne, eat your heart out) don’t mix? Saturday 1 October saw a cross between the two as hundreds of young Londoners flocked to Pimlico’s scenic banks of the Thames, all in anticipation of Loud Tate. So likewise, I geared up for the year’s hottest weekend and London’s hottest exhibition, literally. Organised by Tate Collective, Loud Tate is an annual, vibrant art and music event. Its catchy slogan: “run by young people for young people” attracts youths from all across London each year. It is part of BP Saturdays’ series of free events for families and young people, aimed at encouraging more people to visit the gallery.
With this year’s theme being the underworld, “the sublime” and “the underground”, Loud Tate was accordingly set against the visual backdrop of John Martin’s mind-blowing ‘Apocalypse’; the renowned exhibition of harrowing and dramatic scenes from the biblical disaster.
Art and culture, with a tinge of rebellion The event was swarmed with films, talks and creative workshops, including a Youth Market & Topman screen printing workshop and an Urban Portrait Workshop, where visitors created their own portraits with the help of professional street photographers. Self-assembled oversized badges were all the rave and visitors were able to showcase their talent on a giant wall mural by Zombie Collective, featuring creative designs of supernatural characters. My personal favourite was The Poetry Takeaway, with visitors literally queuing up and ordering
a poem to take away. That simple! Whether you were looking for an ode to Charlie Sheen’s Roast on Comedy Central, or a lyrical ballad about Jared Leto’s eyes and other lovely things, or even a eulogy to your dying ability to attend 9am lectures, the sky was the
limit. Within minutes, the poetry chefs had written and delivered a performance of the poem, as well as a handwritten take-away copy. Somewhere, a dead poet is turning in their grave. The event featured a range of live performances, from the elec-
tronic sounds of Osaka and Bristol to the haunting vocals of indiedubstep band, Nedry. Yes, that’s right, I said it: indie-dubstep. In fact it’s so unnatural, it’s absolute pure genius. Visitors to the exhibition on this date were also treated to the perfect blend of techno with UK garage and house by London DJ trio Dark Sky. And if that wasn’t enough to float your trendy little boat, Rinse FM’s Horsepower Productions, a four-man-strong collaboration, showcased their latest album, Quest for the Sonic Bounty, relevantly composed around its aura ‘of impending doom and destruction’. All in all, it was a brilliant afternoon out for some art and culture, with a tinge of rebellion. The Tate Modern, of course, is no stranger to this concept. There was, however, something truly refreshing and pleasantly unusual about seeing it happen at its more traditional sister gallery. For information on future Tate Collection events, join Tate Collective online.
22 FASHION
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Friday 14 October 2011 Spark*
FASHION Introducing... Threads TV flo maats
From blogs through to television, we’re constantly searching for a medium which will provide a new and interesting way of looking at fashion. Finally, it has arrived. Threads TV is an exciting online fashion series which gives its viewers an insight into the latest developments in UK fashion, music and lifestyle in a jam-packed ten minute episode on the first Friday of every month. Hoping to introduce viewers to the latest young, up-and-coming designers, as well as explore the latest street trends, hosts Jay London from Choice FM and the wonderful dancer Freckles Ogbu take the everyday and make it worth paying attention to.
The episode is then topped off with a brilliant acoustic performance Presenting innovative fashion ideas (ranging from Lego jewellery to everyday street and urbanwear) as well as interviewing
celebrities on their unique styles, the show offers a platform for new brands, ideas, styles and shops to anyone who watches. Threads TV manages to provide it’s viewers with a bit of everything that is hot right now in their cutting-edge regular features. Freckles presents ‘Whats Hot & Whats Not’ which involves hitting the streets of London to ask the fashion-forward public what they think are the best and worst looks of the season. Presented in a chatty and fun way, this feature keeps you up to date with current looks as well as gathering interesting views on what unique trends appeal to the public. Each month a brand is introduced in the feature ‘Brand Spotlight’. Threads TV is not the stereotypical show about fashion, and neither are the brands it presents, giving viewers inspiring ideas from the freshest brands in fashion. The feature ‘My Style’ follows a stylish celebrity guest to selected boutiques to show the public what they love to wear. All of these fashion features are ensured to bring the viewers ideas for shopping tips and styles they have not heard of, trends and pieces that will inspire them and extremely
entertaining interviews and filming.
Threads TV is about individuality and less about mainstream The episode is then topped off with a brilliant acoustic performance in the ‘Threads in Session’ feature. The hottest, newest independent artists and bands do both an original song as well as popular cover song, perfectly rounding off an entertaining ten minute episode. Threads TV is about individuality and less about mainstream fashion. It predominantly covers the commercial and independent worlds of fashion. There’s not a single dull moment with its vibrant hosts and guests. The show is truly inspirational, especially for those of us who wish to know what is happening in the world of independent fashion. Threads TV certainly has an idiosyncratic style that will keep the viewer wanting and wishing for more. www.threadstv.co.uk The next episode of Threads TV is out today, Friday 14 October.
Petrina’s wish list
petrina de gouttes
Unfortunately for my wardrobe, for the past three years my student loan has been spent solely on paying the rent. Part-time employment can only get you so far, and it definitely won’t get me a gorgeous Michael Kors watch. So my wish list will remain but a dream for just a little while longer. Though I’ll probably sneakily treat myself to the shoes. They are practical after all.
1. Topshop - Moto Supersoft Green Leigh Jeans
I stopped wearing jeans about six years ago, but recently I invested in a pair of high waisted black jeans from Topshop. I’m now completely obsessed. I really can’t get enough, and now I’m eyeing up these colourful jeans! What is the world coming to?
2. Dorothy Perkins - Tan Cuff Pocket Blouse
I rarely visit Dorothy Perkins out of personal choice, but I think this shirt would look great with these Topshop jeans. The two colours would compliment and work perfectly together. As an alternative, I would go for a burgundy sheer shirt, paired with a chunky black cardigan.
3. Zara - Raffia Shopper
I can’t wait to be able to shop in Zara properly. Their ‘youth’ collection is too youthful and the ‘woman’ collection is precisely that: for women. Britney lyrics now come to mind. Saying that, the best shirts I own are from Zara.
4. Michael Kors - Crystal embellished Chronograph watch
Come Christmas, or my 21st birthday, I shall be asking for this beautiful watch. Michael Kors watches (and generally Michael Kors anything) have a special place in my heart. His ����������� womenswear collections seem to embody the perfect New Yorker, in a similar way to how Celine’s Pheobe Philo captures the chic Parisien in her collections or how Christopher Bailey’s work at Burberry epitomises English heritage.
5. Topshop - Klover Gold Trim Suede Slippers
Everytime I visit Topshop (which is at least twice a week, online or in store) I contemplate buying these shoes. The moment I decide to get them, they’ll almost definitely be sold out. Hopefully I can find them on Ebay in five months time...
Spark* Friday 14 October 2011
Get in my wardrobe
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Kanye’s fashion line debut EMMA WARD
matt andrews
The A-listers were out in full force at Paris Fashion Week to see Kanye debut his new range for women. The likes of Lindsay Lohan, Ciara and even fashion world’s heavyweights like American Vogue editor Anna Wintour, were spotted in the crowds as the rapper introduced a series of luxe sportswear pieces that are set to be huge next season. Slashedthrough tube dresses and slouchy leather separates were combined with colour block trousers and bulbous, spiky heels.
As the sun disappears and winter comes into full swing, one item that I want for this season is this new Checked Blazer from Zara. The pattern is bold enough to keep things interesting and away from the dull monotonous colours usually seen in autumn/winter collections. The style is casual enough that it would look great on top of a white t-shirt for day to day wear, or as pictured looks great with a smart shirt for a stylish evening look. I will definitely be adding this to my autumn wardrobe as soon as I can!
Blogspot
A Beautiful Mess was started in 2007 by fashion designer and boutique owner Elsie Larson, but by no means is it a strictly fashion blog. She has created a hub filled with her interests in fashion, crafts, beauty tips and tasty treat recipes of which she updates frequently. This blog has almost everything you need, from a step by step guide on how to achieve the perfect beehive hair-do to an online ‘e-course’ on sewing. A fun, eccentric look at personal style, this blog is a must visit for anyone interested in ‘all things pretty’.
Campus style:
The star has dedicated his designs to his late mother who died in 2007 following complications after cosmetic surgery. Although reports state that the immediate reaction to the show was positive, more recent reports have been anything but. Both industry insiders and bloggers have been quick to dismiss the fashion included, with one blogger writing, ‘‘Good thing Kanye has a day job... The only thing more painful than witnessing the dress was watching the model pitch down the runway in shoes so ill-fitting that her spike heels were bending at angles.”
“A vast quantity of luxury materials can’t blind people to a lack of creativity” It would seem that the blogging world has gone mad to further critize the singer for his lack of creative design, with another writer declaring, “...there were lots and lots of tight leather pants... Yet a vast quantity of luxury materials can’t blind people to a lack of creative marksmanship.” Kanye does have one supporter though in his friend and fellow art-
ist Ciara, who was seen applauding wildly after the show and went on to say, “There was a lot of attitude.” Nice one Ciara, because it seems Kanye needs all the support he can get right now! amber mcdermott
Got the time?
Name: Joe Williams Degree: Business and Management Year of Study: First Year Top is from: Primark Trousers are from: Primark Shoes are from: River Island Watch is: Topman Sunglasses are: Topman
nathalie hammond
abeautifulmess.typepad.com/
FASHION 23
Topman, around £8 collette naden
The first thing I notice about a person is not their eyes or smile, but their ‘wrist candy’. This is not because I’m extremely materialistic, but because you can tell a lot about a person by their chosen timepiece. Most of us have the time on our phones. However, getting out your mobile to tell the time doesn’t have the same appeal as pulling up your sleeve to gaze at a beautiful face and strap, wrapped neatly around your wrist. In a world where money is no object, I would opt for a vintage Rolex. Nothing looks classier than
Casio, around £30 that little piece of Swiss luxury. I’m assuming that as students, you unfortunately do not have £10,000 just casually sitting in your bank account. So here are some alternatives that can be found around Reading.
You can tell a lot about a person by their chosen timepiece Looking for something fun? Topman has a lot to offer with their range of rubber watches. They are available in every shade of
Armani, around £210 neon that you could imagine and start from as little as £8. Casio’s gold tone bracelet watches have always been a popular choice. They are available from around £30 and compliment other things that might already be on your arms, such as festival wristbands. If you have much, much more cash to spare, opt for a watch from Armani’s ceramic range. They are big, chunky and different from the normal metal and leather options. These are real statment watches and they look great with everything . Well, I must dash, time is ticking.
“I’ve seen a lot of guys wearing coloured chinos lately and liked the look of them. I thought this pair was a nice and different colour so i chose these.” Clothes like these are popular, the style is similar to current clothes in Topman but Joe was able to stick to a student budget and get the style for less in Primark.
Tweetbox ‘Just checked out of Manchester hotel when a woman came up and said,“oh I love you Vivienne Westwood”. What the...’ - @maryportas
‘The surest sign yet it’s winter. The Abercrombie greeters are wearing shirts.’ -@jo_elvin
24 BEAUTY
Friday 14 October 2011 Spark*
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BEAUTY Conceal that hangover!
EMILY BUTLER
No-one looks good with a hangover, and whilst wearing whatever make-up you had on the night before just isn’t acceptable, these tips will have you looking ready to face the day, and fool the world that you didn’t wake up on your bathroom floor. Firstly, make sure you wash everything off your face. You can’t be sure what you were lying on/in last night but you definitely don’t want it stuck there any longer. Something cold will reduce puffy eyes; if you don’t have ice, anything from the freezer will do: peas, a rocket lolly, or even just a cold can of coke will do the job. A good moisturiser is key – the effects of a hangover are dehydra-
tion and that goes for your face too, so keep your skin soft and dewy to look fresh faced.
You can’t be sure what you were lying in but you don’t want it there any longer The last thing you want is a heavy foundation that will flake and smudge, particularly when you’re holding your throbbing head. Opt instead for a light reflecting concealer – to minimise those suitcase-sized eye-bags, and a sweep of blusher to give your skin the healthy glow that it’s lacking. When it comes to your eyes, put down your usual black or brown
mascara and channel your mum in the 80s. Blue mascara will draw attention to the whites of your eyes, and make them appear less bloodshot. Steer clear, also, from heavy eyeliner, which will weigh down your eyelids and make you look squinty and tired. A highlighter along your temples will give your face a wide-awake glow, sadly lacking in the dull green complexion of a hangover victim. Finally a flash of brightly coloured lipstick is your best friend today. Make sure it is a moisturising one though because cracked lips are not pretty. This will distract from all the flaws your face is carrying; your puffy eyes, your dry skin, and brighten your entire face a real hangover life saver.
Tom Ford Beauty JO HAMILTON
We want your hair LILY BROWN
Product review: The Tangle Teezer EMMA WARD
There comes a time in every girl’s life when that tangle in your hair just will not come out. These times usually present themselves the morning after the night before, you have to be at work in fifteen minutes, and that nest on your head simply won’t do the job. Not only this, but I’m starting to worry that I’ll end up with no hair left on my head with the amount that falls out during those tugging sessions. It is in these desperate times that you need a tool to sort out this mess, and this is where the Tangle Teezer comes into play. Hairdresser Shaun Pulfrey designed the brush over fifteen years ago, but it wasn’t until 2004 that he began building prototypes. The brushes work because their specifically-designed teeth flex
just the right amount to minimise tugging while smoothing the cuticle, and even have the capacity to boost shine. Pulfrey took his idea to the Dragon’s Den lot way back in 2007, and was immediately rejected. However, sales of the brush have exploded in the last three years and profits now exceed £1.5 million annually. Yes, the brush looks weird, and one friend has even commented that it looks like something you would use on a horse, but it really does work. It removes the stress and pain of brushing through knots and helps to add shine and give volume at the same time. It also comes in a really bright pink colour so it can easily be found in your bag. The Tangle Teezer is stocked in larger Boots stores and retails at around £10.
The amazing fashion designer Tom Ford has recently launched a new beauty range, the Tom Ford Beauty Colour Collection, and word on the street is that it’s actually pretty damn good. With everything from eyeshadows to iconic lipsticks, you can be sure that there’ll be something to tickle your fancy. The fashion marvel has also spread his wings into the fragrance world with the release of his new perfume, Violet Blonde. Unfortunately this range doesn’t come cheap, but it can always be a great gift idea.
What’s Hot: Spencer’s makeover REBECCA INFIELD
We got the shock of our lives when Made in Chelsea came back on our televisions last week: Spencer has cut his hair off! Finally! Goodbye slicked back look and hello godlike new short hair!
What’s Not: New X Factor hair
While we were loving some of the most recent new hair styles on the box, the new X factor manes were definitely not doing the trick. From Amelia Lily’s new pink do to Sophie Habibas’ clipped in fringe, something was going majorly wrong.
Autumn can be a trying time for our hair with the cold weather and wind drying it out. However, there are some celebrities whose hair always seems to look perfect and who we can turn to for inspiration when we are having a ‘bad hair day.’ Zooey Deschanel is a hair chameleon, traversing styles and colours with the greatest of ease. Although better known for her long brunette locks, she sported a much shorter blonde look in the Will Ferrell film, Elf. Her thick brown hair is the envy of many and she has shown herself to be ‘queen of the fringe’ constantly switching between the full and side fringe depending on the occasion. She also manages to carry off a range of different looks from elegant up dos on the red carpet to more laidback styles for the day. Changing your hair is a perfect way of both updating and changing
your look completely, something Deschanel showcases magnificently through her use of colour, parting and length.
Deschanel is a hair chameleon, traversing styles and colours with the greatest of ease To achieve Deschanel’s current style, ask for a thick full fringe. If your mane isn’t as thick as Zooey’s, or you don’t want to take the plunge of having a full fringe cut in, you could try a ‘winge,’ (a hair piece that clips in to the front of your hair in the place of a fringe) and ask for some extra layers around your face to create the illusion of thicker hair. Then do as Zooey does and wear any way you like; curly, straight, up, down, or with quirky hair accessories.
marketing@rusu.co.uk
Spark* Friday 14 October 2011
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26 HEALTH&FOOD
Friday 14 October 2011 Spark*
health.spark@reading.ac.uk
HEALTH
Sexual health 101 Lizzie Pollington
Starting at university, whether it be for the very first time or even the third time, brings with it new experiences of all kinds. The independence of university, and the fact that you are meeting new people pretty much every day means that one thing is going to be on the cards a lot more readily than it probably was at home: sex. We’ve all had sex education classes at school. They were sometimes awkward, sometimes useful and sometimes just downright funny, but it is just useful to remind ourselves of all the most important things when it comes to sex. Your body, your choice The most important thing to remember is that you are an independent person with your own feelings, opinions and emotions. This means that no-one, and I really do mean no-one, can make you do anything you don’t want to do. Saying no can be very difficult and how you do it depends on your situation. If you are in a relationship, you need to be able to talk openly about sex. After all, if you can’t talk about being intimate with someone, how are you going to be able to actually do it? Tell your partner how you are feeling and they should respect it. If
Write For Us! The Spark* Health & Food pages need more writers. Even if Health and Food is not your ‘thing’, any aspiring writer or journalist can benefit from writing outside their comfort zone. Email Renate at health. spark@reading.ac.uk or search “Spark Health and Food Writers 2011-12” on Facebook for more information.
they don’t then they aren’t worth your time and you shouldn’t even consider having sex with them. If they do, it’s something that the two of you can decide to do when you are both ready.
Be strong, be firm and don’t let yourself be manipulated If you aren’t in a relationship, but you are in a situation that has started to go beyond your comfort zone, remember that you still have every right to put on the brakes. Be strong, be firm and don’t let yourself be manipulated. If it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it. You can always walk away from a situation that you are uncomfortable with and if things start to get ugly don’t be afraid of calling for help. Protect Yourself Protection is incredibly important. Not only can it prevent unwanted pregnancies it also protects you from diseases that can be painful, uncomfortable, and can sometimes have long lasting side effects. The simplest, most common form of protection is a condom. No matter what situation you are in, unless you are actively trying to have a baby you should always use a condom during sex. They are the only way to protect yourself from
STIs. Contraceptives like the pill, the implant and the injection are all effective ways of preventing pregnancy but they can’t do anything to stop the spread of disease. You can also use female condoms, as they do the same job as the male version, but they are slightly more difficult to find in the shops. It’s much better to be safe than sorry, so always carry a condom with you and make sure you use it! It won’t do anyone any good if it stays wrapped up in your wallet or purse. Remember, no one form of contraception is 100% effective so it’s a good idea to use more than one if you can. When things don’t go to plan If you do find that you, or someone you have slept with has fallen pregnant, the most important thing to do is stay calm. There is no way of knowing how you will react to this situation so it’s a good idea to take a moment to just think about what you want to do.
People spread chlamydia without even knowing that they have it Don’t rush into anything that you might regret, take the time to consider each option and choose what is right for you. If you feel like you can, discussing the situation
with your sexual partner might help you come to such a decision. However, if this isn’t something that you or they feel comfortable doing, you can seek help from professionals who are trained to give help and advice. There are two family planning centres in Reading with staff who can discuss the options with you and help you make the right choice for you. Whatever you do, don’t suffer in silence and make a rash decision, talking things over always helps, it’s just about finding the right person to talk to. The most common STI among young adults is chlamydia. This disease is passed through unprotected sex and presents no symptoms. Quite often, people carry and spread the disease without even knowing that they have it. If it is untreated chlamydia can
Going for a Spin Renate Cumming-Benson
Tell someone you are off to a spinning class and their immediate reaction is usually something along the lines of: “Spinning? Isn’t that where you cycle for, like, an hour?” This description of Spinning is more or less correct; you spend 45 minutes to one hour cycling indoors. However, those who think you can get the same work out
pedalling on a regular stationary bike for an hour are very much mistaken. Firstly, Spinning classes are a whole lot more fun and motivational than pedalling away alone. Secondly, let’s face it, without the watchful eye of an instructor not many of us, myself included, would push ourselves that hard. So what actually happens during a spinning class? I went along this week for the first time in four years (a born-again Spinning vir-
gin if you will) to remind myself. The class started with seated pedalling at a low resistance to warm up before doing a series of routines of approximately one track each in length.
Without the watchful eye of an instructor not many of us would push ourselves that hard These included hill climbing both standing and sitting, sprinting intervals and ‘jumps’ where the cyclist transitions in and out of the saddle. We even did some toning moves, using the handlebars for press ups and lowering ourselves in our pedals below the saddle to perform squats (yes, it was as painful as it sounds). Luckily, Spinning bikes are
cause infertility and more long term illnesses. If you think you may have chlamydia, or if you just want to be sure, there are many ways you can get yourself checked out. Every few weeks a company comes to RUSU and provide free Chlamydia testing. They have a stall by the toilets in the Students’ Union building and send the results in a discreet and confidential manner. If you don’t want to wait you can go to the university medical centre and get tested there too. Sexual health is an embarrassing thing to talk about but it is incredibly important. Don’t just forget about it, look after yourself, physically and mentally. You won’t regret it. For more information on protecting your sexual health, visit www. nhs.uk/livewell/sexualhealth. Image: Injuryboard
designed with enclosed pedals that allow the rider to stand up out of their seat without slipping forward, another reason why Spinning can’t be emulated on most regular exercise bikes. As well resembling a pickled beetroot, I left the class feeling as though I’d had a really good full-body work out, dispelling any assumptions that I’d only be working my legs. According to the official “Spinning” website (Spinning is a trade name, not a generic term for indoor cycling), a forty minute class can torch as much as 400-500 calories and cover 15-20 miles of cycling; that’s pretty impressive for an activity some believe to be a joke. Spinning classes are available at the Sportspark. For more information about Spinning, visit spinning. com. Image: Spinning.com
Spark* Friday 14 October 2011
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HEALTH&FOOD 27
Food Try it tonight! Delicious veggie recipes broken down and the sauce has thickened. In a bowl, beat one egg and add the yoghurt. Mix together to form a creamy white sauce, and season well with salt and pepper. Check the filling mixture and season to taste. Take your lasagne dish and cover the bottom with a layer of tomato sauce, then alternate sheets of lasagna with the filling. After the final layer of lasagne, pour over the white sauce and top with the diced mozzarella. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until bubbling through and golden.
Renate Cummings-Benson
Whoever said vegetarian food was dull? Student and food blogger Sarah Lienard shares three meatfree dishes that even your most carnivorous friends will enjoy.
Quorn Lasagne (Serves four) For the filling: 300g quorn mince, frozen One tbsp olive oil One onion One clove of garlic A stick of celery One carrot One red pepper Two handfuls of button mushrooms One packet of chopped tomatoes Salt and pepper 1/2 tsp dried basil 1/2 tsp dried oregano Pinch of ground nutmeg Dried lasagne sheets 1/2 cup tomato sauce For the ‘white sauce’ topping: One large egg, beaten Two tbsp plain or low-fat yoghurt Mozzarella, diced
Gas Mark 6. Finely chop the onion, garlic, celery and carrot. Slice the red pepper and mushrooms. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and gently fry the onions until translucent and soft. Add the rest of the chopped vegetables and garlic and cook until softened. Add the Quorn mince and ‘brown’ for a minute or two. Next, add the chopped tomatoes, half a cup of water, the dried basil, oregano and nutmeg, and some salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for 15 minutes until the tomatoes have
Rice and Lentil Stuffed Peppers (Makes three or four peppers) Ingredients: Three or four large peppers 90g uncooked brown rice One tbsp olive oil One medium onion One clove garlic Tomato sauce or passata One 390g packet of lentils in water Fresh parsley Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/
Gas Mark 5. Cut the tops off the peppers so that they stand upright. Spray the peppers with cooking spray and place in the oven on a baking tray for 20-30 minutes, or until just tender. Put the rice on to boil until it is cooked through. Finely dice the onion, garlic and the tops of the peppers, and sauté in a tablespoon of olive oil until soft. Add some fresh parsley and tip in the rice. Add a few tablespoons of tomato sauce, season with salt and pepper to taste and mix well. Stuff the mixture into the peppers, which should be starting to soften. Bake in the oven for another 5-10 minutes or as required until the peppers are cooked through. Top with fresh parsley and serve immediately.
Sweet Potato and Chickpea Soup. Adapted from the Sainsbury’s Magazine (Serves 3-4) Ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/
400g sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped One onion Two tsp grated root ginger 1/2 a red or green chilli, deseeded and chopped One clove garlic, chopped 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 litre/two cups vegetable stock 230g pre-cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed Handful of parsley, to serve Peel and chop the sweet potatoes and put them in a large pan with the onion, ginger, garlic, chilli and cumin powder. Pour in the stock. Cover the pan and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to simmer for about 10 minutes. When the sweet potato is almost tender, drain and rinse the chickpeas. Add them to the pan, cover it again, and simmer for another five minutes. Purée the soup with either a hand held electric blender or in a food processor until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper, adding a little more cumin if necessary. Serve hot with some parsley on top.
Gooey apple and walnut flapjacks Ben Fox
So you’re finally away from home, for some the first time, for some - another year. Before I started uni, I said to myself ‘I am going to try and cook some really great food for myself – I’m not going to be the typical student’. Well... that didn’t last very long! So before the motivation fades, why not try this really easy but ridiculously tasty flap jack recipe? They are great to just have around, perhaps for a night in with a movie or when recovering from a hangover. In
my case, they make a great postworkout snack to help restore those energy levels! They might be high in calories and sugar, but we all need an occasional indulgence, right? Ingredients: 250g Oats 125g Butter 125g Soft Brown Sugar Two to three table spoons Golden Syrup Handful Walnuts Handful diced Cooking Apple Handful Raisins
Cinnamon How to: Place the oats in a large mixing bowl. Put the butter and sugar in a seperate bowl and heat on full in the microwave until it is slightly runny and then mix it into the oats along with the Golden Syrup. Mix well. Chop the Walnuts roughly and then add to the mix a long with the diced apple, raisins, and plenty of cinnamon to taste. Again, mix well.
Use a piece of kitchen roll to coat a baking tray with margarine or butter and then spread the mixture out about 2cm thick. Place into a pre-heated oven on 200C for around 15 - 16 minutes, take out and allow to cool. Cut up and enjoy! These flapjacks come out of the oven gooey and soft, and will stay soft and will last quite a long time – if you can resist eating them all at once! So go on – have a treat and comfort any home sickness with these fantastic Flapjacks!
28 GAMING
gaming.spark@reading.ac.uk
Friday 14 October 2011 Spark*
GAMING
The ones to watch out for Upcoming games in the next few months Rosi Hirst
Batman: Arkham City 21 October
The sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum is shaping up to be every bit as good as its predecessor, and is out just a week from now. The game takes on a similar format to the previous game as Batman faces off against the Joker, except this time the action is not merely confined to the titular asylum but takes place all across Gotham City. As well as the Joker, Harley Quinn, The Riddler, Poison Ivy and Bane’s return, in this installment they are also joined by Catwoman, Two-Face, and The Penguin. New gadgets are also available, including ice grenades and rope for tying up and incapacitating enemies. The winning combination of stealth, fighting and detective work has also been left intact, leading us to believe that this will be a very exciting game indeed, and bring us ever closer to everyone’s childhood fantasy of becoming the Batman.
Battlefield 3 28 October
Another game coming out very soon, Battlefield 3 looks set to push the current standards of both sound and design, utilizing the powerful new engine, Frostbite 2. A game from a series which has often been unfairly accused of being a Call of Duty wannabe, this game may be the one to sway the opinions of fence-sitters in the debate onto the side of Battlefield, and perhaps even convert a few COD fanboys and girls, or at least persuade them to check it out. The previous installment was highly praised for its great multiplayer experience, and this will return alongside a brand new online co-op mode. Interestingly, the game will also be linked to a social network allowing players to track friends’ performance and compare scores. This game may or may not have what it takes to topple the giant that is COD, but it certainly looks like it will be another fun and worthwhile shooter.
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception 28 October
Uncharted is one of the most universally acclaimed games series of all time, and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception looks like it will be no exception to this trend. A PS3 exclusive, Nathan Drake, the protagonist of this adventure series, knocked the treasure-hunting crown from the lofty head of Lara Croft, of Tomb Raider fame, and brought the dusty genre into new and better times. One of the best features of the series so far is the original and involving storyline, which alone would be enough to make fans buy this latest episode. However, if that’s not enough for you, the game also looks absolutely stunning, as per usual, and takes full advantage of the PS3’s powerful processor. Although Xbox 360 owners will miss out on a great game, if you have a PS3 there is no reason not to keep your eyes peeled for this guaranteed classic.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 8 November
The big daddy of the gaming world, Call of Duty is one of the best selling series ever, on any console, and is the reason many people even have a console. No matter its eventual quality, this game already has tens of thousands of pre-orders, and will undoubtedly sell millions of copies and become just as record-breaking as its predecessors. The game promises to reach the dizzying heights of the last Modern Warfare as it continues to follow the exploits of John ‘Soap’ McTavish and Captain Price who are now on the run. As an Infinity Ward effort, the game will almost definitely be perfectly polished and engrossing, with a multi-player that promises to eat up the lives of the gaming community for months to come. Sure, it will sell millions of copies regardless of quality, but this is one game that deserves it.
Spark* Friday 14 October 2011
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GAMING 29
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 11 November
Perhaps the definitive epic fantasy series, The Elder Scrolls has a large long-standing and avid fanbase, and the fifth entry, Skyrim, has been highly anticipated since its announcement. The story this time is typically grandiose, as your super-customisable protagonist must face off against a hugely powerful dragon god who is prophecied to destroy the world, and promises hours of questing, fighting and other typical RPG-fare. The previous game, Oblivion, while a true classic at the time, is starting to look a little ropey by current standards, so this update is definitely welcome. From what we’ve seen, it will encompass the same vast scale as we’ve come to expect from Elder Scrolls games, with landscapes ranging from beautiful verdant forests to barren and rocky territories, so be prepared to sink days of your time into exploring the land of Skyrim.
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations 15
November
Every Assassin’s Creed game in the series so far has had a certain element of ‘WTF’ in the endings, which is a great strategy to ensure followers of the franchise will pick up the next episode. This game already has plenty to recommend itself: it has a brand new location in the sprawling city of Constantinople in the height of the Ottoman empire, and features new weapons such as craftable bombs, a hookblade for grabbing enemies in combat and ziplining across the city. Revelations marks the end of the Renaissance chapter of the Assassin’s Creed timeline, so this presents the fans’ last chance to spend some quality assassinating time there. It has also been reported that this will be the last game to feature both Altair and Ezio Auditore, the protagonists from Assassin’s Creed and Assassin’s Creed II and Brotherhood respectively, so if you want to know how their stories end, this game is unmissable.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword 18 November
Those of you who are looking for a slightly more light-hearted gaming experience, Nintendo’s stalwart Legend of Zelda series has a new edition, which oddly seems to be a combination of the cel-shaded, cartoony style of Wind Waker and the DS games, and the more realistic Twilight Princess and N64 installments. Don’t let the colourful nature of this game fool you though: Zelda games are almost guaranteed to be sure-fire hits, with only the occasional slip up in an otherwise spotless reputation. Sure, it’s a Wiiexclusive. Sure, it’s going to be basically the same game Nintendo have been making since 1986. But that doesn’t mean that Skyward Sword is going to be anything less than a brilliantly fun little adventure which will consume far more of your time than you’re happy with.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
22 December
Despite the slightly odd release date (too late for the Christmas rush and likely to be overlooked in the sales), this really is a game you should not allow to slip by unnoticed. Set in the Star Wars universe in the same time period as Silicon Knight’s Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel, this is an MMORPG that looks set to be the next big thing, and could perhaps even challenge that old behemoth of MMORPGs, World of Warcraft. KOTOR itself was a personal favourite and had probably the best storyline twists I’ve ever come across in a game, so The Old Republic at least has the potential to be truly great. And who can honestly say that they’ve never dreamed of being a Jedi, Sith Lord or bounty hunter? This could be the game that finally allows you the freedom to make it happen.
30 SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY scitech.spark@read-
Friday 14 October 2011 Spark*
SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY iCon: a tribute to Steve Jobs Mat Greenfield
Within hours of the unveiling of the iPhone 4S, a surprisingly minor update in the smartphone series on Wednesday, the news came out that former Apple CEO Steve Jobs has passed away aged 56 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. In a statement, Apple said, “We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today. Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve. His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.”
His public-speaking was part of what made him so infamous; his charisma onstage Jobs was born in California in 1955 and co-founded Apple alongside Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in 1976. In its infancy, Apple sold computers hand-built by Wozniak to a local technology store, which became known as the Apple-1. Several more incarnations of the Apple Computer series followed, until, in 1984 Jobs unveiled the Macintosh, the first computer with a graphical user interface, which became a staple feature in every commercial operating system. The following year, however, Jobs was fired from the company he’d started after an internal power struggle; he would later describe this as one of the best things that’d happened to him, claiming that it allowed him
In other news
Opera has announced that its upcoming version is going to support hardware acceleration. Many rival browsers have already implemented that solution in order to increase visual performance on many fronts - from HD videos on YouTube to Flash-based online games. Together with a reworked JavaScript engine for online applications, these moves should hopefully put Opera Software back on track in the browser wars.
more freedom to create. He returned to Apple several years later and worked his way back to CEO. In the time since his return to Apple, he turned the somewhat floundering brand into a global phenomena bordering on cultstatus. From the simple change of adding colours to the otherwise beige and boxy world of home computers, to leading the charge in revolutionising almost every technology market from MP3 players to smartphones, Apple has managed to set the bar and beat any competitor that tries to match it. His public-speaking was part of what made him so infamous; his charisma onstage, the childlike glee on his face as he showed off the latest flashy rectangle he’d invented, the reaction he could get in vindicating (or not)
months of frantic rumours with a single word. His words would make headlines, solely on the basis of the man on the stage and the logo on the box. The effortlessness with which Jobs managed this serves only to amplify the abject failure of rival companies to imitate this. Whatever you think about PCs or Macs, every Microsoft advert feels like a tremendously forced attempt to generate such a publicity buzz.
He was an inventor, a businessmen and a showman Jobs’ health has been the subject of regular news coverage since he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2004. He became visibly thinner in recent years and has taken several medical leaves of absence from Apple, undergoing a liver transplant in 2009. Rumours of his deteriorating health were exacerbated after his decision to step down as CEO of Apple Inc. in August 2011, naming Tim Cook as his successor and saying that he could “no longer meet [his] duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO” though he stated interest in being involved with Apple creatively in the future. Apple’s future will be the subject of much scrutiny in the coming years. The creative genius and the stage presence of Steve Jobs now vapourware,
it’ll be interesting to see if Apple decide to try and emulate him, or reinvent themselves once more for this Jobless age. Steve Jobs saw the gaps that nobody else could, he had the ideas nobody else did, and he had an inimitable sense of style and stage presence that sold what would otherwise have been just another drop in the gadgetry ocean. What he created, as CEO of Apple, will have lasting impact on the world for years to come. The history books will, quite rightfully, acknowledge him as one of the men who defined consumer technology as we know it today. He should be remembered, however, only for what he was: an inventor, a businessmen and a showman.
Wikipedia is a website which we have really got used to checking when we quickly need some information. What we seem to forget is that the whole thing depends on grants to keep running. Wikipedia has just received its biggest donation to date - 3.6 million dollars, from Stanton Foundation. Previously the top donation had been from Google and the amount was two million dollars.
Spark*
Friday 14 October 2011
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SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY 31
The online digital revolution continues...
SHENOL CHAKAR
Gone are the simple days when we used a browser to send emails and read the news on the homepage. I remember the first iteration of Internet Explorer. Ah, simple times. As opposed to those days, now you can watch HD videos on YouTube and use Google Maps to find your way around. There are no boundaries to the multimedia revolution, and this breeze of change has touched browsers as well, transforming the online user experience. They are becoming the portals to access a world brimming with next-generation visuals and immersive audio experience. The latest figures point towards Google Chrome as a browser which is clearly increasing in influence around the world. It will be the second most widely used browser sometime around the end of the year. It might be worthwhile to mention that Chrome has already surpassed Firefox in the UK.
It does spring to mind that the real battle has only just begun As of now, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is still holding a pretty wide chunk of the market – around 42%. Firefox and Chrome have around 27% and 24% respectively. The interesting part is that Firefox’s market share is declining, while Chrome’s has jumped dramatically over the last several months. Despite Chrome’s aggressiveness, Mozilla’s open source browser is still very popular in the United States and certain parts of Europe – namely Germany, France and Italy. The
fact that Firefox 4 was downloaded over 7 million times in the first 24 hours after its release to the general public should not be ignored, at least in my opinion. So it’s not over yet. IE 9 is actually not so bad, and if Mozilla manages to decrease Firefox’s memory usage problems, then the next stable version of Firefox can give Chrome a run for its money and perhaps even grab the hearts and minds of many users once more.
It might be worth to mention that Chrome has already surpassed Firefox in the UK The latest figures point towards Google Chrome as a browser which is on its way to acquiring a significant edge over most of the other contenders. And this should probably come as no surprise considering Chrome’s supremacy in many performance tests conducted by various independent agencies. And we’re talking about almost every test from JavaScript speed, through CPU stress levels to browser cache performance and page rendering performance. The only spot where Firefox seems to have a slight edge is page loading times.
Whoever loses, we win. We’re the users, aren’t we? Hmm, kudos to Mozilla I guess... Kudos to Microsoft as well. Didn’t expect that one now did you? OK, Microsoft have finally done their homework and understood a very valuable lesson:
a company has to listen to its customers.
There are no boundaries to the current multimedia revolution Customer feedback and recommendations has been a big factor in shaping both Windows 7 (which is awesome by the way and much better than Vista) and Internet Explorer 9. IE’s development cycle is moving at a frantic pace right now, it’s just that they are not that open about it like Google. Not bothering with verison numbers too much, Microsoft has done some fantastic under-the-hood improvements to the rendering engine. To be frank, I’ve always been disappointed with IE. Well, not anymore. IE 9 is snappy, it loads quickly, and is a breeze to operate. Good job, Microsoft.
The latest figures point towards Google Chrome increasing in influence around the world. And even though personally I’m not a huge fan of Opera, I can recommend it to those who’d like to have instant access to their favourite webpage (Opera Speed Dial), integrated email client and bittorent support and nice personalisation features. With the proliferation of smartphones and tablets and the ever-improving visual computer capabilities of mobile devices in general, it does spring to mind that the real battle has only just begun.
Kudos to Microsoft as well. Didn’t expect that now did you? And if the rumours that Crytek are thinking about expanding CryEngine 3 to the Flash-based games space, then the browsers will share a bright future indeed, irrespective of browser market dynamics.
IE 9 is snappy, it loads quickly, and is a breeze to operate. Good job, Microsoft Whoever loses, we win. We’re the users, aren’t we ? So if the Firefox thing is not giving us what we want, we’ll just jump on the Opera bandwagon. I’ve never liked Opera though. It’s too noisy.
32 TRAVEL
Friday 14 October 2011 Spark*
travel.spark@reading.ac.uk
travel Santorini: island blues Andria Takkidou
What is left from decades of volcanic eruptions is the paradise- like island of Santorini (or Thira) located in the Aegean Sea. Renowned for its breath-taking sunsets and the ever-beautiful scenery, it is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Greece. My experience of Santorini was not the typical tourist trip as I had the priviledge of getting the insider’s tour by a local. My first recollection of Santorini was the taxi ride from the port to Oia where my hotel was. The island was built on steep cliffs overlooking the sea. The Cycladic-style white houses with blue windows give Santorini a very uniquely fresh atmosphere. As I got out of the taxi I couldn’t believe the scenery that unfolded before me. I felt I could literally see the sun stroking the sea. One of the most memorable days of my visit to Santorini was the boat tour around the island. My initial reaction when I saw the small, red, bloated boat was a bit….skeptical? As we were sailing across the island I was mesmerised by the deep blue clear waters and the virgin scenery around me. We visited secret caves, the red beach and churches located in small cor-
als in the sea. Part of the day was our visit to the hot springs. We decided to swim in them as they are renowned for their therapeutic and beautifying effects. The waters were hot and the smell of sulphur was distinct. The stones in the surroundings were volcanic stones that created beautifully shaped patterns. Perivolos was the final destination of the day. It was located at the other end of the island. It was a small traditional location by the sea full of taverns, donkeys and traditionally built houses. As we watched the beautiful sunset an overwhelming feeling came over me. It was the place where you could feel the harmony between nature and humanity, a rare privilidge. Last, but not least, the fresh fish and the Mediterranean cuisine made the trip even more exciting. Either eating unique Greek ‘mezedes’ overlooking the whole of the island or fresh-caught fish by the sea, the aphrodisiac tastes were a treat to the palette. The islanders also produce their own freshly made wine, which goes perfectly with the rich Mediterranean cuisine. A location highly recommendable for any traveler, that guarantees a million treats to the eye as well as the stomach.
Photograph by Andria Takkidou
Gaudí’s Barcelona
Erica Macheriotou
Towards the end of April, while in the depths of desperation, with exams lurking round the corner and not having seen the sun in oh so long and with no foreseeable means of escape over the next 4 months or so, I needed a light at the end of the tunnel. And easyJet, true to form, did just that; £60 round trip to Barcelona at the start of October, right before the start of term - Jackpot! I’ve been to Spain before, but the way people speak about Barcelona, I knew I just had to go and see for myself. It’s easy to see why the city is adored by so many (Wikipedia tells me Barcelona has been voted the 16th most livable city in the world according to Moncle lifestyle magazine and it also shares the same rank for the most frequently visited city in the world). It has the hussle and bustle of a major global city, but also the artistic finesse of a culture capital, and for much of this, Barcelona has Antoni Gaudí to thank.
Barcelona is very much Gaudi’s city. His signature curves and colourfull mosaic patterns are written all over the city, from La Perdera (formally known as Casa Mila), to Casa Batllo, to the Park Güell, with views overlooking the city, winded around his former house (now a time-capsule museum of his life), and of course, his life-long masterpiece and international symbol of Barcelona - the Sagrada Familia. This gigantic roman catholic church, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has been under construction since 1882, and now over a century later still remains incomplete. Wherever you go in Barcelona you just can’t help but feel Gaudí’s presence in the city’s architectural landscape, all the while wondering ‘Wow, what the hell was this guy tripping on?!’. FYI – an interesting, yet slightly disturbing fact: Gaudí’s death was caused by getting hit by a tram in Barcelona. So while you’re there, roaming the sun-kissed streets in a trance, stop and watch where you’re going!
No bull.
Straight talking from KPMG.
Graduate Programmes All degree disciplines
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Spark* Friday 14 October 2011
ADVERTISEMENT 33
34 LETTERS
Friday 14 October 2011
editor.spark@reading.ac.uk
Letters
Hello readers! These past couple of weeks have been a rather hectic time at Spark*, as we have just moved to a snazzy brand new office in the Lounge, which now houses all the student media streams. As well as providing us with a great new space to work in, it also allows us to be closer to Junction 11 and RU:ON, which will hopefully lead to us working even closer together in the future. If anyone needs to visit the Spark* office from now on, look for us in our new home, although be aware that it is still a little spartan as we haven’t fully decorated yet! I have been flexing my creative muscles in coming up with lots of ideas for how to decorate our space, some of which I have been told are very “inter-
esting” and “unique” (see page 4 for an example of one of my particularly artistic efforts) but others which have been slightly better received will be carried out soon, so watch this space for what will surely be the best-looking two rooms in the whole of the University! Another more unfortunate announcement I have to make is that our Interview editor, Diwa Sharma, has decided to leave us due to other time commitments. This means that the position is open, and anyone who thinks that they would be a good match for the role are welcome to contact either myself or Diwa for more information. We are ideally looking for someone who is responsible, preferably who has written for the paper
before, with an excellent grasp of spelling and grammar. Having experience of working with Macs and editing software would be a bonus. The role requires at least 3 or 4 hours of solid work every issue, so please only apply if you can spare this time. Aside from this, it was absolutely brilliant to see so many people at Fresher’s Fayre, and we have a whopping list of writers now, who surely all will prove to be incredible journalists! If you missed out at the Fayre, you can still apply to write for us by emailing the editor for the section you are interested in writing for, the contact details of whom you will find at the bottom-right of this letter. Hope to hear from you all soon! Rosi Hirst, Editor
The Spark* timeline in the new office made up from front pages of the various incarnations paper throughout the years, dating back to The Rattler from 1928, before Reading was an official University!
Does Spark* talk to you? If not, talk to us! P.O. Box 230, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AZ Tel: 0118 378 4140
Email: editor.spark@reading.ac.uk
Any praises, comments, suggestions or complaints are always welcome Above: Lizzie Pollington, deputy editor, in the process of creating Spark*. Below: Part of Spark*’s editing team. Left to right: Rosi Hirst, editor, Kate Delaney, news, Steven Howse and Thom Dixon, film & TV Lizzie Pollington, deputy editor, Sophie Elliot, sport
Vol 57. Issue
Editorial Staff
Editor:
Rosi Hirst editor.spark@reading.ac.uk
Deputy Editor:
Lizzie Pollington deped.spark@reading.ac.uk
News Editor:
Kate Delaney news.spark@reading.ac.uk
News Sub-Editor:
Calum Rogers news.spark@reading.ac.uk
Comment Editors:
Lucy Ponder and Kerrie Black
comment.spark@reading.ac.uk
Political Comment
Jessica Rees
Editor:
politics.spark@reading.ac.uk
Interview Editor:
Diwa Sharma interview.spark@reading.ac.uk
Film, DVD & TV
Steven Howse and Thom Dixon
Editors:
film.spark@reading.ac.uk
Music Editor:
Laurence Green music.spark@reading.ac.uk
Music Sub-Editor:
Jamie Milton music.spark@reading.ac.uk
Science & Tech
Mat Greenfield and Shenol Chaker
Editor:
scitech.spark@reading.ac.uk
Gaming Editor:
Tom Wood with Rosi Hirst gaming.spark@reading.ac.uk
Arts&Books Editor: Nadine Michaels arts.spark@reading.ac.uk Fashion Editors:
Petrina De Gouttes and Roberta Sarll
fashion.spark@reading.ac.uk
Travel Editor:
Erica Macheriotou travel.spark@reading.ac.uk
Health Editor:
Renate Cumming-Benson health.spark@reading.ac.uk
Fun&Games Editor: Chris Ryder fun.spark@reading.ac.uk Sport Editor:
Sophie Elliot and Cameron Humphries
sports.spark@reading.ac.uk
Photo Editor:
XXX
Head of PR:
Collette Naden pr.spark@reading.ac.uk
Proofreaders:
XXX
photo.spark@reading.ac.uk
Spark* is written, designed & typeset by students at the University of Reading. Printed by Newbury News Limited, Newspaper House, Faraday Road, Newbury, Berkshire. RG14 2DW. Published and funded by Reading University Students’ Union vp.studentactivites@rusu.co.uk. Spark* is completely editorially independent. Complaints should be made to the Editor, in the first instance, and thereafter to RUSU. All complaints should be made in writing. All articles, letters etc. must include a name, address, and contact number/e-mail address. These may be withheld from publication at specific request. Spark* or RUSU can take no responsibility for products or services advertised herein. Spark* reserves the right to reject or edit any submissions. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the Editor. The views expressed in Spark* do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, particularly those expressed in the comments pages, which are often the opinions of the specific authors. Photographs in Spark* are copyright to the photographer concerned.
Spark* Friday 14 October 2011
fun.spark@reading.ac.uk
fun&games Crossword 027 ducing shelter (5) 13. James is taking marijuana and another hallucinogen (10) 14. Nurse showing right direction (6) 16. Feisty monster eats a number of brands (8) 18. Mistakes sewer rat as invader (6) 20. The most in favour of wood? (6) 21. Tell about past life (6) 22. Unusual to get an early finish at the water barrier (4)
Straight Clues
FUN&GAMES 35
Notices to readers: •
•
Would whoever took the ladder from the Spark* office return it immediately or further steps will be taken. Answers to puzzles are obtainable in advance of the following edition by bribery alone.
•
•
Anyone who thinks the Fun & Games page is unattractive ought to see its editor. Readers are reminded that this newspaper is not generally considered to be a lifesaving device.
Sudoku
ACROSS
Cryptic Clues ACROSS
3. Animal entered age of chaos (10) 8. Run head and shoulders in front of the French (6) 9. Given tea, maybe? Maybe not (8) 10. Perfect finish (8) 11. A fine invasion can be suspicious (6) 12. By now, Jack and his superior have a collection of books (8) 15. To compromise sounds like pie (4,2,3,6) 17. Convulsions linked back to pains (8) 19. Doctor of unknown origin held back in city (6) 23. Like being at hospital, deep down? (8)
24. Name fits unpleasant cargo (8) 25. Substitute teachers at zoo visit (6) 26. Stewed, so declares bankruptcy (10)
DOWN
1. Planet with lake drying up very strongly discouraged (3,3) 2. Universal subject is cut by one in an ideal world (6) 3. Protect workers – they’re always being blamed (10) 4. All pigs are on the run from the clinic (7,8) 5. Futile, like being stuck at a red light? (2-2) 6. Returned President written about by journalist (8) 7. Square way sailors lounge? (6) 11. Nomad mitigated by intro-
3. Low-life; person of low moral standards (10) 8. Rush around in a hurry (6) 9. Pessimistic (8) 10. Total; containing all parts (8) 11. Frightened (6) 12. Next to (8) 15. Find a happy medium (4,2,3,6) 17. Violent storms (8) 19. High-ranking English university (6) 23. Privately; to oneself (8) 24. Apparent; noticeable (8) 25. Makeshift; artificial (6) 26. Cooked in a stew (10)
DOWN
1. Distracted from a task (3,3) 2. Imaginary perfect world (6) 3. Those being prosecuted in a trial (10) 4. Centre for the treatment of various illnesses (7,8) 5. Not possible (2-2) 6. Backtracked (8) 7. Traditional pub (6) 11. Confess (5) 13. Hallucinogenic drug (10) 14. Pattern shown by data on a graph (6) 16. Exemplifies (8) 18. List of revisions (6) 20. Large area of trees (6) 21. Narrate a story (6) 22. Low dam used to control river height (4)
Answers to last edition’s puzzles (Friday 30 September 2011) pick-up back and you stop drinking. - Louis Saaberda 3. A banker is a person who is willing to make you a loan if you present sufficient evidence to show you don’t need it. - Herbert V. Prochnow
Dear Auntie Adelaide... Adelaide Featherstonehaugh returns with gusto to blast away the world’s problems with all the effect and misplaced optimism of a starting pistol in a shoot-out.
Dear Adelaide, For many years now I feel as though I have been missing something crucial from my life. I am currently in my third year and my existence seems futile. Every day is the same old boring routine from start to finish: I get up, I go to
lectures, I do a little housework, I have dinner and I go to bed. I live alone and know very few people at university, none particularly well. The most excitement I have had in the past year was the day I woke up with a terrible headache and had to stay in bed until 10.30am, although I discovered I was able to fit everything in during the day by carrying out all my tasks precisely 17.3% faster than normal. I am sure there is more to life than this dreary slog from morning to night in which I find nothing to stimulate me physically or
4. In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. - Douglas Adams
mentally. Please can you give me some much-needed advice? Yours, Nigel
Dear Nigel, Your problem is as clear to me as a window into which a bird has just flown. You must take a different course to Quantity Surveying. Yours, Adelaide.
Cryptograms 1. I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult. - E.B. White 2. What do you get when you play country music backwards? You get your girl back, your dog back, your
5. Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else – you are the one who gets burned. - Buddha 6. My mother used to say that there are no strangers, only friends you haven’t met yet. She’s now in a maximum security twilight home in Australia. - Dame Edna Everage
SOCIETY SPOTLIGHT 36
Spark* Friday 14 October 2011
SOCIETY SPOTLIGHT
In this returning feature, Spark* takes a look at what the societies of the University of Reading have to offer. This issue: Reading University Breakdance Society The Breakdance Society has been around for over a decade now, and as it is among the longest-running of its kind in the whole country, it is clearly doing something right. Former members have gone on to compete to a world standard, and several are now part of a professional breakdance group, Soul Mavericks, many of whom still visit their old society occasionally to give instruction. The society meet several times a week for informal dance sessions, instructor-led lessons and crew training, and are very relaxed about how much or little members participate. You can often find them in 360 doing their thing, and it certainly looks very impressive. Tim Cheung, president, said to Spark* “The society is open to literally anyone. Physical fitness is not an issue at all, as you will get stronger the more you train, and most people who start with us are absolute beginners so you’ll always be with people learning on the same level as you.”
“If you are interested in this type of dancing at all this is the best place to do it, as you are surrounded by people who are exprienced and can help you with anything you want to do. This society is really important and has such great heritage, and it’s a great confidence booster as well, not just in dancing but the rest of your life. Personally, I was pretty reserved before I joined the society, but you meet such a diverse range of people here so it’s a brilliant way to get out and about!” “We’ve recently branched out into street, house and pop and lock as well as breakdancing, so anyone who fancies trying out these styles too are also welcome.” If you’d like to see the breakdance society in action, they are planning on participating in DanceAid in December alongside other dance societies, and Uni Champs in February, or just drop in to one of their meetings. From Spark*’s own experience, they are definitely one society to watch..
For more information email rubreakin@gmail. com or join the Reading University Breakdance Society group on Facebook. Membership costs £10 until the end of October when it rises to £15. Anyone is welcome to drop in to open sessions to try it for yourself, but future sessions require a membership. Sessions are: Mon 6-7:30pm in 360 Weds 2-4pm in 360 Thurs 4-6pm in 360 Fri 4-6pm in 360 Sun 5-7 pm in SportsPark Dance Studio
SPORT Spark* Friday 14 October 2011
sports.spark@reading.ac.uk
SPORT 37
Exiles gain bonus point in home win Sophie Elliott
London Irish 42 Worcester 24 Irish tries: Hala’ufia, Homer, Joseph, Shingler, Thompstone Cons: Homer 4 Pens: Homer 3 Worcester tries: Benjamin, Garvey 2 Cons: Carlisle, Goode 2 Pens: Goode Despite a last gasp try by Worcester’s Marcel Garvey, a weakened London Irish sealed a win over Worcester last weekend, by 42 points to 24. Despite missing a massive five injured team members, the Exiles went into half time in the lead, but not commandingly so, and needed to convert their share of territory into further tries.
Man of the match, captain Dan Bowden, controlled play well and the win saw the team move into the top four of the Aviva Premiership. London Irish full back, Dan Homer, whose impeccably kicking in the first half kept Worcester from fighting back, cemented a good performace with a try; his points totalling 22 for the match. Exiles tries also came from centre Steve Shingler, wing Adam Thompstone, number eight Chris Hala’ufia, and centre Jonathan Joseph. This resulted in a scoreline that perhaps unfairly suggests a below par performance from Worcester. However, although the Warriors attemped to get back into the game, they allowed London Irish to keep them pinned back in their own half and conceeded more points as a result. With twenty minutes to go, the pace which had dominated the second half slowed as the replace-
ments were brought on, but London Irish managed to stay ahead by at least two converted scores, and so closed out the game well. Worcester’s points came from Miles Benjamin and an unrelenting Marcel Garvey, who scored a consilatory try in the dying minutes of the game.
The win saw the team move into the top four of the Aviva Premiership In other Aviva Premiership news, Saracens moved up to second in the table with a 25-5 win over a lack lustre Newcastle and Wasps closed out a 27-24 win at home against Bath. Premiership leaders Harlequins beat Leicester Tigers, who find themselves 11th in the table after only one win in six games.
Bonus win: Steve Shingler beats Marcel Garvey to the line. Photo courtesy of PA Photos
Button wins as Vettel takes title It seemed inevitable that the Brit would claim his first win in Japan, however Alonso, by now having taken second place from Vettel was closing fast and with two laps to go the gap was a mere 1.2 seconds.
Cameron Humphries
Sebastian Vettel became Formula One’s youngest double world champion in Japan, when an imperious drive by Jenson Button to win the Japanese Grand Prix was not enough to deny the young German. Button needed to win the season’s remaining five races and hope that Vettel would not pick up a point, yet the Red Bull driver finished third on the podium behind Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso to secure back to back titles. Once again Lewis Hamilton collided with Felipe Massa, despite the resulting puncture the McLaren driver recovered to finish fifth.
The incident riled Button but the Brit would soon get his revenge An action-packed race was won by Button, with less than two seconds covering the top three places at the race’s conclusion. It marked Button’s first victory in Japan, an emotional one due to the close ties Button holds with the country – having a Japanese girlfriend and previously having driven for Honda.
It became apparent long ago that Vettel was destined for the championship
F1’s current top 3: Button flanked by a delirous Vettel and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso In a season which Vettel had dominated since winning in Australia in March, the script was written for him to wrap up the title with a 10th victory, however Formula One drivers are fierce competitors and both Button and Alonso were out for the victory. There was drama from the very beginning, the stewards investigating Vettel’s move to block Button’s attempted overtake at the start, which in turn allowed Hamilton through into second place. After deliberation the stewards decided the move was fair and Vettel was let off the hook.
The incident riled Button but the Brit would soon get his revenge. After slowly closing the gap on Vettel, following the second round of pit stops he re-emerged from the pit lane to take the lead from the Red Bull. At this point Hamilton and Massa collided for the second race in a row, bringing the safety car out again and bringing the leaders back together at the head of the pack. However, from this point on Button’s pace was exceptional, fastest lap after fastest lap stretching his lead from Vettel and Alonso.
Right on cue Button hit back with the fastest lap of the race to secure a third victory of the season and continue his very impressive recent form. Lewis Hamilton’s disappointing season continued with a fifth place finish. After an early puncture Hamilton went on to collide with Felipe Massa, while he recovered from the incident fifth place finishes are not what the former world champion demands of himself. It became apparent long ago that Vettel was destined for the championship, Button and McLaren will find encouragement from their recent results. If the improvement continues there is no doubt that a title challenge is possible next season. The other drivers at the big teams may not hold the same posi-
tive outlook. Mark Webber has been consistently outperformed by Sebastian Vettel and his long term future is by no means certain. For Fernando Alonso at Ferrari, there are no doubts about his quality, however Ferrari have struggled to supply a competitive car this season and a significant improvement will be required if the double world champion is to challenge next season. Alonso’s teammate, Felipe Massa, is seemingly in a state of permanent retreat and it remains to be seen whether the Brazilian driver has a long term future with the Scuderia.
Hamilton has some serious work to do if he is to challenge once again for the title The woes of Massa and Webber are clear, yet the award for the most disappointing season has to go to Lewis Hamilton. There have been flashes of his brilliance, notably in his wins in China and Germany, yet numerous incidents with other drivers as well as strategy errors have cost the Brit. As Button looks set to be the first of his teammates to outscore him over a season, Hamilton has some serious work to do if he is to challenge once again for the title.
38 SPORT
sports.spark@reading.ac.uk
Breaking the Cycle Reading University Bowmen report Tom Castle
Mid July saw the Berkshire Archery Association 60th Outdoor championship held in an overcast but hot Wokingham. This event, has for the past 10 years been dominated by a select few elite within the county; until now when archers from the University of Reading attended the shoot! The competition involves the archers shooting 144 arrows at a 5 ring target at varying distances, as far as 100 yards in some cases (that’s about 91 meters).
Reading University Bowmen managed to claim a total of 6 medals and 2 trophies The total is then added up and the archer who scores the most out of the available 1296 points wins. Simple really.
At the end of the days shooting (and a lot of sunburnt faces) came the prize giving, where University of Reading Bowmen managed to claim a total of six medals and two trophies. In the Gents Senior category, club President Tom Castle managed to claim, after a personal best, a silver medal. Julie Chenery also shot a personal best, managed to claim a gold medal in the ladies senior. Lastly, Reading University Bowmen’s team of four shot so well that they were able to win the team trophy (and a gold medal each) with a combined score of 3611. This trophy, which now sits proudly in RUSU, will hopefully be the first of many that the university archery club will claim for their own. If you are interested in giving archery a go, come along to one of our session; all the details are on our website: www.knightsarchers.co.uk.
Convincing opening day win for Knights Men’s fourths
Cameron Humphries
Knights Canoe Club Fresher’s Paddle Jamie Boyd
The canoe club is predominantly a white water club; however we dabble in all sorts of different disciplines including canoe polo, canoe surf, freestyle, marathon and sprint! We are a very active club with two river sessions, one pool sessions and two socials every week. We are a very relaxed club and don’t mind people popping in and out when they please.
The canoe club had a great day at Fresher’s Fayre and enjoyed meeting all the freshers and spreading the word about our action packed sport! With hardly a moment to breathe, on 7 October 2011we hosted FRESHERS PADDLE. This is where we give the opportunity to as many fresher’s as possible to come down and give it a go! This year we took nearly 100 freshers down to our purpose-built facility and hosted a great intro to paddling session,
BBQ and infamous canoe club party! If we sound like a club you want to get involved in we are always welcoming new people and you can give it a go for free whenever you like. Find us on Facebook: Reading University Knights Canoe Club or at www. rucc.co.uk. Alternatively send an email to president@rucc. co.uk.
Friday 14 October 2011
Reading 6 Greenwich 1
The men’s football fourth team come into this season looking to build on the third place finish and semi final place last season and reach new heights. The fresh new faces and the old guns instantly clicked and played some fluid football in the first half. The team almost scored in the third minute when Simon Griffiths should have converted a header from six yards from Lewis Huntington’s long throw in. After 20 minutes of dominating the possession and a few missed half chances, Reading broke the deadlock when Sam Wheeler picked the ball up 25 yards out and curled it into the top corner giving the opposition goal keeper no chance. The pressure was kept up and Greenwich couldn’t handle it. A long ball was pinged to lone striker Simon Griffiths and released to Martin Butcher who took on their centre back and powered home off the cross bar, again from 25 yards. The team were playing with confidence, stringing passes together across the pitch which was rewarded 10 minutes before half time when some build up play on the left wing lead to a cross for Harry Pople to tap in from close range. The trio of Tom Clark, Pat Cannon and Martin Butcher in central midfield were commanding
the game, winning every header and tackle before linking well with the wingers and striker. Reading were 3-0 up at half time and looked in control. Captain Matt Lindridge made three changes reverting to the traditional English style of play 4-4-2. Dave Lynch, Will Hooper and Alex Kwong replaced Martin Butcher, Pat Cannon and Sam Wheeler. Greenwich came out in the second half more spirited and looked to pressure Reading, closing down every ball giving them less time to play their football.
It goes to show football is a language of its own All game Huntington’s long throwins had been feared by Greenwich and ten minutes into the second half, Huntington assisted Will Hooper’s diving header, with a throw even Rory Delap would be jealous of. He is sure to be a lucrative asset and one Reading will capitalise on plenty of times this season. Greenwich pulled one back no more than five minutes later when a free kick was taken from the left wing 50 yards from goal, an error from Davies. Apart from this mistake Davies had a superb game in between the sticks, offloading great distribution and was unlucky not to earn a first clean sheet of the season.
This had been frustrating game for Greenwich as Reading didn’t let them play any football. Adding salt to the wound, Alex Kwong scored an open goal due to a goal keeper mistake. The Greenwich number 11 had been pushing the boundaries, getting at the referee all game and was lucky to only get a yellow card when Griffiths was fouled by a slide tackle. Clark took the resulting free kick, the goal keeper parried it for Huntington to pounce on and clinically finish from five yards, a goal worthy of the back flip celebration. Huntington was part of the back four alongside Lindridge, Chris Page and Tom O’Hagan who peformed well all game, dominated in the air and distributed well to the midfield. All in all this was a great team performance. It goes to show football is a language of its own, the team were learning each other’s names an hour before kick off and yet went on to play fast free flowing football and never gave Greenwich the opportunity to stamp any authority in the game.
With dreams of winning the league, the Reading football fourth team have given themselves a great foundation to build on for the rest of the season and will be taking a lot of confidence with them to West Thames College next Wednesday.
Spark* Friday 14 October 2011
sports.spark@reading.ac.uk
SPORT 39
England Secure Top Place International Finish
The goals conceded during the 2–2 draw were defensive howlers. Failure to close down wide threats and disappointing marking in the area were to blame for both goals. Phil Jones, whilst being hugely impressive all season, was out of position for the first goal, not getting back in time after over committing to an attack.
Matt Davies
Rooney’s crazy red card, and England’s inability to retain a two goal lead cried out as inevitable headlines, and there is certainly work to be done with a team that lacked discipline, experience and composure. Fans’ first reaction to the game will be relief; had the game lasted ten more minutes England may not have escaped with that crucial point. As it was, first half goals from Young and Bent were enough to earn a draw.
Ashley Young can play wide or in behind the striker England should feel proud of their achievement, having qualified unbeaten and top of the group. They must now begin to consider the aspects of their play that they will need to improve. The team’s flaws were unceremoniously exposed in 45 minutes that saw them drop a two goal lead and lose the services of their talisman Rooney for at least one game of the finals. His replacement is the first issue to resolve. It became evident that with the 4-4-2 formation England found themselves outnumbered in midfield. A 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 set up would resolve this. Were Capello to employ one of these, there would be room for one striker with either two wide players, or three supporting attacking midfielders.
The squad go into the tournament with young, talented exuberance coupled with years of experience Seeing red: Rooney sent off in the clash with Montenegro Carroll and Bent are both good in the air and capable of playing the lone striker role. Ashley Young, a revelation to the England team, can play wide, or in behind the striker.
England should feel proud of their achievement, having qualified unbeaten Either of these forwards would utilise the service that the in form United winger will provide. Whilst Bent is the more prolific finisher, Carroll is the bigger physical presence and more of a target man, whilst still being good with his
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feet. Against a physical side, Carroll may be the best option. However, England will come against very tough opposition, with chances few and far between; they will need to be clinical and ruthless in front of goal, for this there are few more consistent finishers than Bent. If Agbonlahor and Sturridge’s rich vein of form continue, Capello will not be short of attacking options, though Rooney’s overall contribution to the team is almost irreplaceable. In conjunction with the problem of Rooney’s stand-in, the Italian will need to decide on his strongest team. The passing style that Wilshere brings to the side is vital; inability to retain the ball was England’s most damaging fault in the draw with Montenegro. For Wilshire’s
To keep up to date with all university and world sport news, then folllow us on Twitter We are @Spark_sport We are also on Facebook so if you are a university team and would like to get your fixtures in Spark*, then get in contact through the Spark* Sport 2011/2012 group. You can also email us at sports.spark@reading.ac.uk.
1. St Andrews 2. David Haye 3. Caroline Wozniacki 4. Dan Carter – NZ – 1250 points 5. German 6. Peter Shilton - 125 caps
Both goals were due to a failure to close down wide threats and disappointing marking In Scott Parker, England has an experienced defensive midfielder who is hugely effective, breaking play up and protecting the back four, he should bring an aspect of substance and calmness that will sure up the midfield.
Knights Women’s Football Josh Stedman
QUIZ ANSWERS
composure in possession, he must be a mainstay in the side. However, another fault of the Three Lions was inexperience, and failure to see out a game will be costly once the European Championships commence.
However, this is a minor fault in a young player with amazing potential, who is improving each week. A season playing alongside the talents of Vidic, Ferdinand, and Evra amongst others will ready the Manchester United defender for the finals in Poland and Ukraine. With the English defensive list boasting names like Terry, Ferdinand, Cole, Jones, Smalling, and Cahill, Capello’s defensive worries won’t be a priority. It is important to not be entirely negative; they have finished top, something to be congratulated. The squad go into the tournament with a blend of young, talented exuberance coupled with years of experience in some of their veterans. England should prove a force to be reckoned with, provided certain issues are addressed.
After narrowly missing out on becoming league champions last year, the University of Reading Women’s Football Club is set for a fresh challenge. An influx of new players means the club may be fielding three separate sides, a remarkable feat after folding two years ago due to a lack of numbers. Last season’s impressive comeback saw the team finish second in their respective league, only losing one match to Royal Holloway on the opening day, and making the quarter finals of the cup. This achievement was recognised by the club being named Most Improved at the annual SportsFed awards ceremony. The previous year has sparked confidence amongst the players. Current President Kayleigh Foster sights league success as the main goal for the season, hoping to go one better than last year. Equally
ambitious is the aim of going further in the cup.
Last season’s comeback saw the team finish second in their respective league Last season’s top goal-scorer Mel Fletcher will once more lead the attack, whilst Jennifer Turvey will wear the Captain’s armband. In addition, winger Emma Poffley was the name on everyone’s lips when asked which new player has been most impressive in preseason. Poffley is set to start her first game for the university at left midfield when the first eleven meet Roehampton in their opening league match. A rigorous training regime will hopefully pay dividends come next Wednesday. New players have certainly been put through their paces with a tough schedule;
including numerous practice sessions, inter-squad friendlies, and fitness training. The hope is that with such a mass of new players the team will be able to gel in time. As the new season beckons the mood emanating from the squad is one of determination, camaraderie, and most excitingly, optimism. The feeling is that a serious title challenge could well be on the cards, owing to the already competittive squad being improved
by the best of the fresh faces.
The UoR Women’s Football team on the pitch
40 SPORT
Friday 14 October 2011 Spark*
sports.spark@reading.ac.uk
SPORT Inside...
Introducing the Knights!
Formula 1 Round up
John O’Brien
Exiles home win
Uni sport
The Reading University Knights, or Knights for short, is the brand new name for all the sports teams at the university and ushers in an exciting new era for sport at the University of Reading. Under the Reading Knights banner RUSU are attempting to create more pride around campus about the sporting success of our teams by increasing the media coverage on campus.
The Knights ushers in an exciting new era for sport at UoR RUSU are also developing events such as Varsity (which this year is against a stronger sporting university, Oxford Brookes) and is also offering training programmes to make Reading University the best for sport. This year RUSU have set each club and teams targets that must be achieved to help Reading reach its aim of being a top 25 university in BUCS and regarded as the Best University for Sport in the South East. RUSU are also linking up with local sports clubs to improve the
standard of coaching received by Reading students. These include Reading Rockets Basketball club, Reading Hockey Club, Reading Wildcats Lacrosse Club and Reading Rugby Club. As well as local clubs RUSU are also working with many more National Governing bodies including England Netball, England Squash and Racquetball, The Lawn Tennis Association, Berks and Bucks FA and The Rugby Football League amongst mainly others. Throughout the year you will see brand new events and merchandise to develop the Knights brand. Visit the Knights on Facebook at ‘Reading University Knights’.
Calling all writers... If you are interested in reporting on universty or world sport? Then please contact us at sports.spark@reading.ac.uk. Spark* Sport Quiz 1.Which golf course has been confirmed this week as the location for the 2015 British Open? 2.Which British heavyweight boxer announced his impending retirement last week? 3. Name the women’s number one ranking tennis player as of the 10th October 2011
4. Who is currently the alltime top points scorer in international rugby union? 5. What is the nationality of Formula 1 racing driver, Nico Rosberg? 6. Who is the most capped England football player of all time. Answers on page 39