Student rag 26e

Student Rag DY / FITNESS / MUSIC FASHION / MOVIES / TRAVEL / COME

Winter 2016 Edinburgh #26

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Budapest on the cheap Jim Sturgess Ed Gamble Gengahr Palace

Lasers, jugglers, pyro, strobes...welcome to the crazy world of PHANTOGRAM

win

All manner of Kigu merch Cirque Berserk tickets Nina Conti tickets

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CONTENTS

4-11

TREND SETTER

Winter fashion..............4-11

WHO WHAT WHERE Winter in the city.........12-15

MOST WANTED 12 best Xmas gifts.........16-19

I SPY Jim Sturgess interview.....22-24

TAKING A PUNT Ed Gamble interview........26-27

ROYAL KNOCKOUT Palace interview...........28-29

ROYAL KNOCKOUT Palace interview...........30-31

THRILLS AND CHILLS Travel for all sorts.......32-35

WHO SAID THAT? Nina Conti interview.......36-38

REALLY F***ING GOOD Phantogram interview..........39

WHATEVER NEXT Coming soon to you.........40-41

MAKE IT YOUR OWN DIY beauty products........42-44

DITCH AND SWITCH Superfoods for less........46-48

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36-38 16-19

Editor: Debbie McInnes. glasgow@student-rag.co.uk Design: Calvin Douglas.

Contributors: Alice Cruickshank, Luke Hawkins, Hannah Gunn, Susie Daniels.

www.student-rag.co.uk Published by Track 10 Media. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. Student Rag magazine takes no responsibility for claims made by advertisements in this publication.

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FASHION

l Black PU Embroidered Skirt glamorous.com £35

l Black Embroidered Across Body Bag newlook.com £15.99

l Floral Embroidered Knitted Jumper missselfridge. com £30 l Moto Dark Blue Embroidered Mom Jeans topshop.com £58 four

Embroidery On Everything

THIS is the one trend that there’s been no getting away from all year, and it looks set to continue into 2017.

Inspired by Gucci and other catwalk shows, the embroidery trend ranges from subtle detailing to some amazingly intricate pieces.

The best thing about the embroidery trend? It saves on accessories.

Keep it simple by teaming your stand-out embroidered items with simple pieces to avoid looking like a fashion victim.

l Coat With l Chloe Perspex Heeled Embroidered Yoke Ankle Boots in Silver Glitter zara.com www.publicdesire.com £119 £49.99

FASHION FUR, velvet, silk and sequins – thank goodness this season’s fashion is so opulent!

Yes, even on the most miserable of days, you can keep cosy in style.

After all, there’s nothing like a bit of glamour to make

ack l PETITE Bl gs Velvet Leggin com e. missselfridg £20

you feel better. So take a break from revision and instead take inspiration from our expert fashion writer, ALICE CRUICKSHANK, with her top tips on how to look amazing on a budget this winter.

Velvet, Velvet Velvet! l Amber Velvet Wine Long Boots ego.co.uk £34.99

TOP tip: velvet will always win you style points in winter, so this is very much a fabric to invest in.

2016 has seen a huge 90s revival, making velvet more desirable than ever.

Keep it simple with a must-have velvet choker, or go full-out gothic glam with a sumptuous velvet cami dress in oxblood.

While it may feel very opulent, the best thing about velvet is it is So. Freaking. Comfortable.

Invest in velvet trousers before the 25th, and that mammoth Christmas dinner will be a breeze.

You’re welcome. l Velvet Jogging Trousers zara.com £17.99

l Dark Green Velvet Wrap Front Dress newlook.com £24.99

l Square Neck Velvet Cami Dress Burgundy missguided.co.uk £20

FASHION

l Tall Metal Yarn Jumper topshop.com £42

l Pink Frill Metallic Knitted Jumper missselfridge.com £39

Luxury Knits

JUMPERS and chunky cardigans are always winter essentials but thankfully your knitwear need not be boring for 2016.

In fact, this season the High Street has added frills, embellishments and even sequins to its cosy collections.

While festive jumpers are

only of use for one month of the year, invest in some pretty knitwear instead and you’ll be wearing it for years.

Choose thinner styles to wear tucked into skirts and under cami tops (so 90s, darling!), or opt for oversized boyfriend jumpers over jeans for a grungy look.

l Fuzzy Knit Jumper Top forever21.com £19

l ASOS Jumper with Sequin Bird Motif asos.com £30 six

FASHION NOTHING feels more luxurious than a fur coat! There’s a reason this winter trend has been around since your grandmother’s dancing days.

Thankfully, faux fur is such high quality these days that no furry friends need die in your pursuit of fashion.

Look for faux furs with two-tone

coats and a thick ply for the most ‘real’ looking fake. Once you find yourself the perfect faux fur, you’ll have it for life.

However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t experiment with a more statement style for 2016.

Try unique colours and bold animal prints for a piece that will really make you stand out in the snow!

A FUR

FAVOURITE l Black Faux Fur Googly Eyes Purse newlook.com £4.99

l Leopard Faux Fur missselfridge. com £89

l White Animal Print Faux Fur Coat dorothyperkins.com £69

l Mini Chain Cross Body Bag www.topshop.com £26

l Waistcoat With Faux Fur Detachable Hood zara.com £49.99

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FASHION

statement bikers THIS winter it’s all about the classic biker jacket – but not as you know it. In fact, the bolder the better!

Trade a black biker for this season’s burgundy, and anything with studs, embellishment or embroidery is an instant win.

Gucci produced ‘the’ biker jacket of the season with its painted on florals and studs, but you’ll find lots of High Street imitations.

Topshop’s version is almost identical, for a tenth of the price. Amazing.

The best thing about a statement jacket is that it instantly makes a simple outfit feel stylish.

Throw your biker over a chunky jumper, your favourite jeans and some ankle boots on and you’re good to go.

l Tripp NYC to Leopard Print Mo Biker Jacket £78 asos.com

l Lost Ink Cozy Biker Jacket asos.com £49

l Badge Detail PU Biker Jacket glamorous.com £45 eight

l Embroidered Leather Jacket topshop.com £295

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FASHION

BIKER BOY

l ASOS Skinny Joggers with Bikers Detail in Charcoal Marl asos.com £28

l Leather Biker Jacket topman .com £90 ten

GET on yer bike…and pick up some of this season’s must have moto-inspired fashion!

Biker guys will always be cool, though thankfully this autumn you can enjoy some of their appeal without investing in a Harley Davidson.

Cough up for a staple genuine leather biker jacket.

Your local vintage shop should be a good place to grab a bargain.

Trust us, this is a piece you’ll be wearing for years to come.

Wear with jeans for instant style credentials, or wear over a suit for an edgy 2016 look.

l Badged Crew Neck T-shirt boohoo.com £8

l Longline Sw PV Sleeves an eat with boohoo.com d Zips £18

FASHION

l Pink and Grey Block Jumper topman.com £22

l Camel Wool Rich Overcoat topman.com £95

THE MODERN MINIMALIST l Ask the Missus Danish Chelsea boots Grey Suede office.co.uk £59.99

l Topman Premium Camel Skinny Fit Cropped Smart Trousers topman.com £45

SOMETIMES you’ve got to step back from all the crazy Christmas jumpers.

If the thought of a 3D Santa or singing Rudolph makes you want to hurl, embrace the minimalist trend this winter.

The pros of this trend – all your clothes will go together so getting dressed is super easy.

The cons? You’ve got to keep this look immaculate – that greying T-shirt and bobbling hoodie won’t cut it.

If you want to rock the understated look, you’ve really got to own it.

For style inspiration, turn to the King of Fashion Minimalism, Kanye.

Now make sure your mum gets the minimalist memo, before you find any garish knitwear under the tree.

l Religion Overcoat with Asymmetric Zip asos.com £170 eleven

GL AS

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WHAT’S ON

WHILE the thrill of circuses is dwindling due to animal welfare laws (thankfully) being imposed and kids no longer being told to “Step right up!” to see the amazing “cat in a box” or “the fearless budgie tamer,” it’s good to know that there are still off-the-wall live performers.

Circus mainstays like the jugglers and acrobats will make an appear-

Cirque Berserk ance as well as the motorcycle “Globe of Death” that Cirque Berserk prides itself on.

This is a more hair-raising, death-defying, adrenaline-fuelled sort of circus; not so much the bucket of confetti, underwhelming animals

affair. “Great for kids and even better for adults!” Case closed.

Price: approx £15-£28 o CIRQUE Berserk appear at the King’s Theatre in Glasgow from January 24-29.

Christmas at GFT SITTING in and watching a film is always better when it’s cold outside and it’s the lead up to Christmas.

Especially when they are classic films that are synonymous with the festive period.

Arguably the most Christmassy of Christmas films, It’s a Wonderful Life will be playing at Glasgow Film Theatre as part of Christmas

at GFT. So bold the cold, wrap up, grab something to eat and then head towards the north of the city centre and enjoy quintessential Christmas.

Price: approx £10 o CHRISTMAS at GFT is on at Glasgow Film Theatre from December 16-24.

A History of GSA Christmas Cards GIVEN the huge number of alumni that have went on to achieve success in the art world, you have every chance of seeing work by an already acclaimed artist or a future icon in this Christmas exhibition.

If you know any art students twelve

then you’ll be aware that these are unlikely to be standard Clinton s style cards; there will be sweet, sincere designs but also the tongue-in-cheek and more bizarre designs will get a showing.

Head along to GSA, the

school responsible for some of Scotland’s biggest contributions to the art world. o A HISTORY of Christmas cards is on at Glasgow School of Art from December 7-21.

WINTER IN THE CITY

LUKE HAWKINS’ GUIDE TO WHAT’S ON IN GLASGOW & EDINBURGH

Marvel Universe Live IN what could – and probably should – be billed as the ultimate superhero mash-up, Iron Man, Wolverine, Hulk and Spider-Man, among others, roll into town to prevent the Cosmic Cube from falling into the wrong hands.

The Cosmic Cube of course being the source of ultimate power in the Marvel Unverse – but you knew that already, right?

Anyway, the no doubt thin storyline promises to be completely lost amid all manner of motorcyle stunts, awesome martial arts sequences and general high-octane jumping around.

Tickets start at £22.70. o MARVEL Universe Live plays the SSE Hydro from January 4-8.

The Lighthouse Loves Christmas THE Lighthouse in Mitchell Lane will be showcasing the best that the secreted museum has to offer throughout winter. In other words: exhibitions, workshops, pop-up shops and good food.

Whether you’ve just stepped off the Subway at Buchanan Street or you’ve completed another length of the Style

Mile, The Lighthouse is perfect to take a load off.

As well as treating your stomach with lunch and your eyes with the exhibitions and installations, you can also treat your loved ones with some of the unique presents on offer in the pop-up shops.

You might even be feeling crafty and make the presents

yourself in one of the many workshops that will be set up there.

Release your inner elf by trying your hand at crafting using textiles, ceramics and woodwork. o THE Lighthouse Loves Christmas runs from December 1-21.

Party Like Gatsby “NEW York, 1922, the tempo of the city had changed sharply, the buildings were higher, the parties were bigger, the morals were looser...” - The Great Gatsby Polio and racism aside, the roaring 1920s were a right laugh. Probably.

This December SWG3 will be hosting a Great Gatsby

style night – circus performers and live music included.

If you’re looking for something a bit different and a bit snazzier than your usual haunts throughout the city then this may be the night for you.

Price: approx £29. o PARTY Like Gatsby is on at SWG3 on December 2. thirteen

ED IN B

UR

GH

WHAT’S ON

MagicFest Christmas COLLECTION of Wonders is the aptly named inaugural MagicFest Christmas show.

At this time of year it only seems appropriate to offer an event that you can go to with your family and be able to look them in the eyes afterwards.

The show will offer everything from sleight of hand magic to mindreading; all lightened up by the host, Kevin Quantum – himself taught by Magic Circle legends Penn and Teller.

With tickets coming in at £14 for kids and £18 for adults, this is an experience that will live long in the

Santa Fun Run and Walk THERE surely are few sights in life so awe-inspiring as thousands of Father Christmases bolting throught the city centre Trainspotting-style.

Yet not only does the vision of Santas galore raise the admittedly slim possiblilty of multiple extra Xmas pressies this year, you also get the warm, fuzzy feeling inside that an amazing charity will benefit from your ability to get out of bed for an 11am start for once in your life.

Still undedicided? Then let us convince you. The route is a mere 2.5km long, the entry price is just £20 and all proceeds go to the When You Wish Upon a Star organisation which creates magical memories for seriously ill children. o THE Edinburgh Santa Fun Run and Walk takes place on December 11 at West Princes St Gardens. fourteen

memory and won’t cost you much more than a standard trip to the cinema. o MAGICFEST CHRISTMAS runs from December 27-30 at George Square Theatre. West Princes St Gardens.

WHAT’S ON

Street of Light THE clue’s very much in the title for this one.

Although the good folks down at the council seem surprisingly reluctant to release details of what they’ve got planned, there are a few things we do know about the capital city’s annual light show.

1. 60,000 bulbs will be used to illuminate West George St. 2. The dancing bulbs will be accompanied by local choirs and bands ranging from the contemporary fiddle music of Blazin’ Saddles to Scotland’s bhangra favourites Tigerstyle.

3. Erm, that’s about it really. What more did you want? o STREET of Light runs from November 20-December 24 on the west end of George St.

Christmas Baking Day WHY not give your poor, long-suffering parents a break from the cooking over the holidays and pitch in with some baking?

The New Town Cookery School will take you in on a one day course and teach you how to bake some festive favourites such as Christmas cake, mince pies and shortbread.

Break the habit of a lifetime

and provide the food rather than just scoffing it – your family will thank you!

They may even offer to refund part of the £155 that it will set you back to get on the course. Though, it’s the thought that counts of course... o THE Christmas Baking Day takes place on December 3 and 7 at New Town Cookery School.

Nina Conti’s In Your Face

I KNOW, I know, you’ve most likely seen this one before – and yet Nina Conti’s innovative ‘mask’ shtick can’t help but have you rolling about the aisles (do people actually do that?).

For the half-dozen or so people out there who’re unfamiliar with the act, Nina essentially humiliates unsuspecting audience members by placing a talking mask over their mouth and controlling their speech.

With volunteers duly stitched up, the rest of us get to have a surprisingly amusing evening witnessing their highly manipulated reaction to a series of situations dreamed up by our protagonist.

Just don’t sit near the front! o NINA Conti plays Edinburgh Festival Theatre on November 20 and Glasgow King’s Theatre on November 22. fifteen

Livescribe 3 Smartpen: £166.35, reichelt. com

Gorone Desk: £100, ebay.co.uk

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FOR THE GAL PAL

AH Japan. Always acutely aware of what the world needs next – and this year that is a desk which keeps your laptop vertical and allows you to use it without suffering the immense hassle of having to move from bed.

A gift suitable for anyone who struggles with the idea of being upright for too long.

ANOTHER genuinely useful (if a little pricey) gift for someone who struggles to keep themselves organised.

The Livescribe pen allows you to write notes in a special notebook which are then automatically transferred to your computer.

It also records audio as you write and can upload doodles and turn them into 3D digital drawings which can be edited as well as recognising dates and entering them into your calendar.

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SleepPhones: £29.99, sleepphones.co.uk POTENTIALLY more practical than air-conditioned clothes, SleepPhones allow wearers to be sung to sleep without having to wear uncomfortable earphones in bed.

They come with a Bluetooth adaptor which connects to any smart phone and allows control of whatever you want to listen to via a single button.

A new version, TellyPhones, which connect to the TV is also available, allowing private listening which won’t disturb bedfellows.

The perfect present for your night-owl partner.

Digitsole Smartshoe 001: £360, digitsole.com

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IN the year 2016 only fools should have to face the indignity of bending down to tie shoe laces! That’s the beauty of the Smartshoe – it tightens on voice command. So as long as the recipient of this expensive gift doesn’t mind being seen in public shouting at their own feet, they’ll love them.

Other useful perks include the ability to choose your ideal shoe temperature – they can heat up to 45 degrees.

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THINGS YOU

MIGHT NEED THIS XMAS

THE most wonderful time of the year is almost upon us again – Christmas!

Time to show love to our favourite people by showering them with

TILE

gifts. This year though, instead of buying everyone you know some last minute Christmas Eve-purchased Ferrero Rocher why not put in some more effort and give

Kuchofuku Air Conditioned Clothing: £200-£400, ebay.

SLIMco.uk IN Japan they’ve discovered the perfect passive-aggressive gift for that colleague who is forever determined to turn your office into the North Pole.

It’s air-conditioned clothing.

Kuchofuku.com stock a vast range of airy items – you can buy anything from a breezy blouse to some gusty jeans.

Though at up to £400 for one item, it’s a high price to pay to avoid simply telling your colleague that you’d prefer not to have the air conditioning on!

Still, needs must.

them one of these new, unusual – and in some cases more than others – useful gifts.

HANNAH GUNN guides you through our alternative take on selecting presents this festive season.

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Tile Slim £48.99 for four, amazon.co.uk THESE little Tiles will come in particularly handy for the scatter-brained amongst us.

Attach them to anything that’s often lost and the Tile will allow you to set a ringtone and text the item from your phone – keys, wallet, dog...child. You need never lose anything under a sofa cushion again.

Bike Balls: £19.99, firebox.com

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THE perfect gift for that one family member who loves to show their testicles to people on dark foggy nights.

All it takes to turn them on is a small squeeze, then Bike Balls will attach to any bike seat where they will cheerfully dangle and bounce, boosting the visibility of cyclists in the dark and finally making it acceptable to flash your unmentionables at motorists.

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Ostrich Pillow: £14, lightinthebox.com FINALLY, the greatest of them all.

We’ve all been there, it’s been a long and stressful day, you’re heading home on the bus or train and thinking; ‘I could really go for a nap right now but there’s nowhere to place my head’.

Well, yet another of life’s problems have been swiftly eliminated with the invention of the Ostrich Pillow.

Now you can doze off anywhere without looking even the slightest bit ridiculous. There is no-one on earth who does not need this pillow.

Buy this for everyone, start a mass wearing of these so that we can all nod off together without judgement.

Hubsan X4 H107C Quadcopter: £49.99, Maplin THIS little drone is mini in all respects – at only 4 inches long it flies a maximum of 100 metres and for a duration of seven minutes.

But for this price it’s more about the fun – using a remote, you can control

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DO you feel a little sad when you turn to your cat on Christmas day and notice that he’s not drunk like everyone else?

Feel like he knows he’s missing out? Don’t we all. Thankfully

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where it goes and take high quality pictures and video which are automatically saved to an SD card.

Give it to anyone who has a sense of fun or a sinister affliction for spying on people.

Pinot Meow: £9, amazon.co.uk

though, cat wine is a thing so now Whiskers can get just as wasted as you!

Made of catnip and beetroot (no alcohol) his little liver will be safe from harm too.

You can even decide if he’s a red or a white wine kind of feline as it comes in Pinot Meow and MosCATo varieties.

And yes, they do dog flavours as well.

Speak Out Game: £19.99, argos.co.uk

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THIS game became a viral sensation after a video of it in action reached over 50 million YouTube views.

The video, which features a lady sporting a large mouthpiece hilariously trying to say a variety of wordy phrases to her family, may be genuine but is rumoured to be a clever viral ad.

What does it matter either way though when the most important thing is that it could provide the perfect way to relieve tension after your annual festive family argument.

Idea – why not incorporate Speak Out INTO that family argument and make it more interesting?

Just saying...

Tweexy Nail Polish Holder: £12, amazon.co.uk

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ONE of the simpler inventions on the list – yet no less useful.

This nail polish holder makes one of life’s most fidgety tasks easier and lets you do it anywhere!

Just attach it to your fingers and it will keep any nail polish bottle firmly in position, allowing easy nail painting whether you’re on the train, in the car (passengers only) or just in bed using your vertical laptop desk.

A welcome gift for your busiest and most glamourous loved ones.

You’re welcome.

For the best fun animal onesies in the world look no further than kigu.co.uk - get cozy for those chilly nights

www.kigu.co.uk Use code STUDENTRAG16 at checkout for 15% discount

Jim Sturgess picture courtesy of Shelby Duncan

INTERVIEW

Layer it on thick THE DISHEVELLED lead singer look from his formative years gigging as a rock band remain and though former musician Jim Sturgess may not have achieved music success things are heating up in the screen world.

He’ll star in Geostorm - an epic Hollywood action disaster movie due for release next year and has appeared in numerous Hollyowood blockbusters.

Now he’s the lead in a BBC post-war drama Close to the Enemy and he’s got something to reveal. SUSIE DANIELS finds out what....

H

E SITS in his attic hotel room tickling the black, shiny keys of the electric keyboard. If not aloud, perhaps in his mind he’s creating a masterpiece symphony.

Holed up, away from the ordinary guests, the life of the long-stay hotel resident has its benefits.

He has befriended all the admiring hotel staff to the point where, on request, his every wish and whim is granted.

Idling the hours away he ponders whether life could be this simple and satisfying. Sometimes he is dressed in uniform and has to shake himself and take a long hard stare in the mirror to remind himself this is not me.

This is not who I am. And yet it is.

Jim Sturgess has managed to immerse himself in his latest acting role so much so that he feels he is mirroring his character’s life off set as well as on.

In acclaimed director Stephen Poliakoff’s latest period war masterpiece Close To The Enemy – also starring Game of Thrones actor Alfie Allen – Jim plays the main character Captain Callum Ferguson.

He is a soldier who has become the spy and the spy has become the musician and the musician has become the tainted, distressed man.

Peel back the layers and Jim Sturgess has become them all.

His character’s mission is to convince German scientist Dieter to work with the RAF to help develop the jet engine ahead of the Cold War. Jim reveals: “My character, he’s a very complicated character. There’s a lot of layers to him.

“He’s a performance within a performance. He’s a soldier suffering from huge post-traumatic stress from being on the front line and he’s very damaged.

“He gives a bravado image of complete control but he’s actually a

very broken person. There are little, brief moments so the audience gets to know.

“Callum really guides the audience from the beginning to the end through his eyes.

“He’s often standing at the side of a room manipulating people to get them to talk.

“You have to learn to switch off but you’re doing it all day every day so it impacts on your life. I got to learn some piano pieces.

“Callum is a musician and would like to write for film to show his delicate side so it meant I practiced and played.

“Stephen (Poliakoff) insisted I was brought in an electric piano to my hotel room. Filming in Liverpool I assumed I would go home at the weekend but I stayed holed up in my pokey room.

“I actually chose it as my little attic room.

While I stayed I got to know everyone in the hotel.

“It’s only a two hour journey home to London and everybody else was jumping back and forth for filming.” mmersing himself in a role isn’t a stretch for Jim. He has already dabbled in method acting for his main-starring role alongside actress Anne Hathaway in One Day. Jim played the role of an Edinburgh University graduate who spent graduation night with Anne’s character but agrees to remain friends the next day.

They reconnect over the years but as a self-centred television presenter his character is extremely hard to warm to until the finale.

Jim admits: “When I was in One Day it’s easy to shut yourself off in

I

a bubble. I spent most of my time as the actor so you end up trying to defend him and his behaviour.”

The English actor has played many varied roles and finds it hard to choose a favourite though his role as Martin McGartland in the real life story of a young lad from Belfast in the late 1980s recruited by the British Police to spy on the IRA had quite an impact on him.

“You have to love them all. I did a film called ’Fifty Dead Men Walking’ and it was a challenge and an amazing thing to be part of.

“It was when I felt I’d really become an actor. I lived in Belfast and it was all about The Troubles in the 1980s.

“I moved to Belfast for a month before I started filming and stayed in character the whole time I was there and I’d never done that before so I got really immersed in my character.

It was very tough.

“Close To the Enemy is very period and features a particular way of talking so I didn’t stick to it all the time because it was a posh 1940s accent I was speaking in on set.

“Living in the hotel and playing the piano I was almost mimicking my character’s world in his own particular way. You’re so immersed when you’re making a film anyway.”

Filming was mostly shot over four months in Liverpool with the last two to three weeks in London.

Director Poliakoff has been very vocal about how London’s redevel twenty-three

oped capital made it harder to find unspoiled locations that would lend themself to a believable bombed out post-World War Two backdrop.

Liverpool, on the other hand still maintains a relative degree of unspoilt interiors.

The meticulous director is a stickler for auditions no matter how established the actor and he also enthuses over everyone getting together in a pre-filming bonding process.

Jim recalls: “We did a four week rehearsal period. Stephen insisted on getting everyone together. I don’t do auditions that often. I hadn’t done it in a while but Stephen insists everyone has to do it.

“I was nervous but when you get the part there’s no better feeling. With nerves you just try to be as prepared as you can be.

“With Stephen it was nice because we had a long time to go through the material. We spent the day together and he gave me the opportunity to go over things – Stephen has a strong idea of what he wants.”

Sturgess has acted alongside famous Hollywood actresses Kate Beckinsale, Chloe Sevigny, Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman.

But it could have all been very different had his band Dilated Spies not split up.

The former singer-songwriter still has the look of a rugged band member who’s been through the glory

WIN

years and is still maturing quite nicely. A chance audition as the lead in a musical romance drama placed him firmly on the path of no return for acting and veering off the music trajectory.

He recalls: “I can’t remember how we (the band) got the name. I never turned my back on music. It doesn’t have to be exclusive.

“When I was in a band it’s all we

cared about, we dreamt, worked and cared about the music 24/7. I had been gigging with the band for four years in London and had the band not split up I probably would not have gone for the audition for Across the Universe.

“I had been doing both TV, adverts and short films. When the band split someone said, ‘you should try and audition’ and that was that.”

CLOSE to the Enemy starts on November 10 at 9pm on BBC2. l JIM’S forthcoming film Geostorm will be released in 2017. l

TICKETS TO SEE CIRQUE BERSERK

WE’RE giving away TWO pairs of tickets to see Cirque Berserk at Glasgow’s King’s Theatre on January 24.

For a chance of winning a pair of tickets, answer the following question:

WHAT IS THE ENGLISH WORD FOR ‘CIRQUE’?

Text your answer FREE along with your name, contact phone number and email address to 07867-757174 or email competitions@ student-rag.co.uk Closing date Nov 30.

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INTERVIEW

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INTERVIEW

Gamble aware ED GAMBLE has American Pie’s Steve Stifler look about him. That young, immature-looking face that sometimes looks innocent (American Pie 3!) and other times looks as if it’s about to let loose some smutty comment.

If you don’t believe me you only have to read the description on his website – ‘Writing’ is the very lofty term for the absolute filth I have committed to paper in the past’.

Ed recently played a very distant royal brother in line (53rd) to the throne, sending up the jolly hockey sticks Royal stereotype which wooed BBC America’s audience.

He’s covered the usual Mock the Week, Buzzcocks, ON Almost Royal for the My Drunk Kitchen promotional sketch (left) you got to wear a floral apron, did you get to keep it?

No, we didn’t get to keep anything!

We interview people whilst pretending to be 53rd in line to the throne. Because it was real people we interviewed they were not always going to play ball but it was a lot of fun to do and at times quite nerve-wracking.

YOUR first comedy show is dominated by how much you hate the ‘lads holiday’. What memorable event happened to lead you to this feeling?

The first show I did was about a lads’ holiday where me and my friends all went on a lads’ holiday in fancy dress and did a bar crawl.

My friend was dressed as Catwoman with black paint on his body and a tail and ears but by the end of the night he lost the tail and ears so just had the black paint which may have offended some people as it may have looked like he was imitating something else!

WHAT’S your new show Stampede mostly about?

My new show for the first half is a compilation of the best bits of the previous two shows and the second half is Stampede, the show I put on at the Fringe – mostly about how I’ve lost weight and try to stay healthy and not follow trends.

Russell Howard’s Good News, Russell Howard’s Stand Up, Russell Howard Does Dallas (okay, I may have made that up) route and written and appeared in Channel 4 comedy Man Down.

The ‘cheeky’ young comic has supported Greg Davies, Chris Addison and Russell Kane and is due to finished his tour at the end of this month (November) before he starts work on a new show.

So the really important thing we want to know is – what’s with cauliflowers and lads’ holidays….?

SUSIE DANIELS investigates...

YOU’RE pretty lean looking – how big could you have been?

I lost six stone over nine months and I’ve kept it off. I did it young enough when I was 26 and things in your body bounce back when you’re young.

In your forties if you lose lots of weight over that short period of time you end up with excess skin – you have a tent of leftover skin that you can wrap around you!

I’ve got a lot of material out of the process of it. I was a more relaxed person when I was bigger. I had a lovely time when I was fat – I didn’t care.

ANY other themes running through your new show?

There is a cauliflower recipe running throughout the show – a recipe for cauliflower pizza. I talk about the base of a mashed up cauliflower for pizza!

WHICH comedian’s influenced your choice of taking the comedy route?

Steve Coogan was an influence in terms of getting me into comedy. In stand-up you want to make yourself a unique prospect.

I watched Steve Coogan, Ray Peacock and Greg Davies. Greg’s an excellent comic.

I like Louis CK and a lot of American comics. I’ve just finished listening to another audio book Steve Coogan’s brought out but I steer clear of watching or listening to other comedians too much as I would (unconsciously) take on their characteristics.

PERK of being a comedian?

The best thing is I don’t really have to get up early on a few days when I’m doing the gigs but there’s a lot of

travel. I have to drive for up to four hours to a gig and then back again.

I’m in a long-term relationship so as soon as I’m finished I’m off home.

YOU joined Durham University’s sketch comedy group, ‘The Durham Review’, was there an audition process to join?

I got into comedy while I was studying philosophy at Durham University.

At university there were comedy nerds and I wanted to do it myself.

I joined the The Durham Review which you had to audition to get in.

They set up a speed date sketch exercise.

It was a quick way of auditioning and was something to do with Marmite.

ANY other comedians who have made a name for themselves that you met at university?

I did a lot of sketch comedy at university. I was in a sketch group with Nish Kumar and Tom Neenan – still a comedian and writer who did a sci-fi themed one man show at the Fringe.

Nish and I haven’t really worked together because we’re both standups and our style has taken us on different paths.

He’s very political and my comedy is blue and heavily whimsical but quite rude.

HOW do you think you are described as a comedian?

I get called cheeky a lot and I embrace that description. I’m self-deprecating!

ED Gamble will play Glasp gow Stand on November 13 and Edinburgh Stand on November 15.

twenty-seven

INTERVIEW

‘I’ll be living it large on that island with Tupac & Elvis’

twenty-eight

INTERVIEW A SPY with a pizza oven – ooh, it’s indie rock and roll but not as we know it.

Gengahr may be filling our head with vampire blood, loneliness and witches but really they’re just another boy band with a whole lof of attitude and some great melodies...it’s just all dressed up in black froth and darkness.

Their haunting falsetto sound in Heroine, Tired I LOVE your song titles like ‘She’s a Witch’ and ‘Fill My Gums With Blood’. Do you think we’ll ever hear songs you’ve written with ‘strawberry’, ‘sunbeams’ or ‘happiness’ in the title or lyrics?

Possibly, but probably only if sarcasm played a large part.

YOUR sound has been described as ‘cute to creepy’ – cool name for a book or on a tombstone.

What should be written on each of your gravestones?

I’m not too fussed what they write on my gravestone as I’ll be living it large on that secret island with Tupac and Elvis.

WHAT would be the very last thing you’d like to do before you die?

Time Travel or an intergalactic adventure of some sort. I’m not greedy, I’d settle for one of the two.

DO you have a bucket list of things you’d like to do before you either die or lose the use of your limbs?

I feel as though I sort of just answered this one but I’d also really like to build my own pizza oven.

WHAT secret talent or party trick do you have that we don’t know about you?

I don’t like to brag about it but I used to play semi-professional netball.

WHAT’S your guilty pleasure that you watch on TV? It’s not really a secret or a guilty pleasure but I watch ‘It’s always sunny in Philadelphia’ everyday.

Love it.

WOULD you ever consider going on the X Factor or Strictly?

I’m not sure what we have to offer either of those shows but if I had to pick one I’d definitely go for Strictly.

You get to wear awesome spandex and learn loads of sweet dance moves.

Come to think of it. I’d really like to do Strictly – it would be fab.

Eyes and She’s A Witch – thanks to Felix Bushe’s beautifully piercing voice – are such dreamy tones that you’ll wish the album went on and on and on.

SUSIE DANIELS talks to lead singer Felix about why his voice led to confusion about his sexuality and how his bucket list includes time travel and an intergalatic adventure.......

DO you go to clubs and if so what sort of songs would have you up dancing?

I never really go to clubs when I’m home but when we are on tour it has been known to happen from time to time.

I enjoy a group dance as much as the next man. Whip on some ironic 90s boy band and I’m always game.

DO you go and prop up a bar by yourself when you have a drink or do your mates need to be there with you?

I’m easy. Sometimes it’s great to fly solo. You can pretend you are in a film that ends up being really boring.

EVER left an entertainment night such as comedy and thought, ‘I can do that!’

Every single time I see anything.

I have a great deal of misplaced confidence.

WHERE would we find you and what would you be doing if the band didn’t work out for you?

Probably an accountant or a special agent, something where you get to wear a suit.

I’ve never really had the chance to wear one before and I think I’d look pretty slick.

IS there any special message you want to give to your fans before the Scottish gigs?

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

YOU play in Glasgow and Edinburgh in December – given some of the titles and videos of your songs, have you done either city’s ghost tours and what do you think comparing it to other cities?

I’ve never been on a Ghost tour before. I find it amazing that there are still people out there making a living from stuff like this though.

With all the modern technology now at our disposal there are still crowds of people turning up to be shown where the local ghosts hang out.

I have a lot of fond memories of being in Glasgow and it’s one of the

few places on tour where I can walk around without having to refer back to Google Maps the whole time!

WHAT’S the best, worst and funniest thing you’ve read about the band?

Very early on we won an award with Spotify. We were at the event with our manager at the time Kirsten and after winning we all had our photo taken together.

This being our first real bit of exposure and media interest we excitedly awaited to see what was written about us the following day.

It was great to see how many people had taken interest in us but I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed that most of the articles had assumed the woman (Kirsten) in the photo was the singer in the band...

WHO’S the band joker and why, the one who’s not great to share a room with and why and who would your nan love and why?

Hugh is definitely the funniest when he’s p***ed so I’m gonna crown him the band joker/ jester.

None of us are bad to share with, although there is normally a bit of a fight to avoid sharing with our sound man Luigi. He has the super power to fall asleep at will and snores loud enough to wake the heavens!

WHAT’S the best thing that’s happened to your life (for each of you) since the album was released?

I think being able to just write music and not have to worry to much about anything else has been the biggest improvement in my life.

It’s a good feeling to wake up every morning and work for something you care about.

ANY bands you’d idolised and have jammed or worked with now?

Most of my idols are dead now but I guess I still live in hope that perhaps David Byrne might wanna work with us on our next album.

p

GENGAHR play Sneaky Pete’s in Edinburgh on December 5 and Nice n Sleazy in Glasgow on December 6. twenty-nine

INTERVIEW

People’s Palace

by SUSIE DANIELS

W

HEN YOU upgrade to a decent music studio it usually means things are on the up in your music

world.

But no band ever ditches the fondness and great memories of the stank studio where it all began.

The Arch recording studio in Tottenham – a run-down old warehouse where creative types from the local community gather – is that music haven for Palace.

Leo Wyndham recalls his recording time there: “We did our first three EPs there so it’s known to us as the Palace House in Tottenham.

“It’s a proper run-down beaten-up old warehouse. We like it run down and rough round the edges.

“For the album we got upgraded to a proper studio – Unwound Studios – with producer Adam Jeffrey who’s

worked with Dev Hynes and Beach Baby.”

Leo is lead singer of Palace whose easy transition from gigging band to record deal is the equivalent in the music world of the Grade A student who everyone is secretly jealous of because it ‘just came naturally’ to them.

Leo admits almost apologetically: “It’s been a crazy ride the last few years. We were very lucky that it all came to us.

“We never had to send anyone a song. We literally got spotted at one gig by Claire who’s now our booker and then we signed with Fiction Records. It hasn’t been a struggle for us.”

The four piece band’s sound is a mix of soft guitar-driven melodies and bluesy vocals.

Three of the members – Leo, Matt

and Rupert – were teenage school friends who got together to form the band when they each landed separately in London.

Leo recalls: “I think from where we lived – I’m from East Sussex and they’re from Dorset – because they were in the countryside it’s not much of a music scene. ondon has an amazing music scene but it’s not the be all and end all but for us it was the right thing. We didn’t live together as mates but we stayed in giant run down places.

“If we’d lived together we’d have killed each other! (laughs) Will eats a lot of lentils and the smell of lentils wafting round is sometimes too much!

“My annoying habit is I’ve been told I do a clearing throat sound and get asked constantly, ‘why are you doing that?’

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“Each of us bring different things to the band. Rupert brings the signature bluesy slide guitar sound.

“It’s the most important layer and a very defined style. He gives it the layer of blue. Matt, sometimes known as Podge, he’s got a very unique style and he’s from a drumming background.

“He sometimes worries he’s not trained. Will’s a musical genius so everyone brings something. We really don’t fight at all and are quite harmonious.”

And as long as Leo’s life is a cesspit of emotional turmoil then the lyrics will keep rolling in.

Thankfully in a twisted way, death, severed relationships and disillusionment have all played their miserable grim reaper hand in keeping the creative juices flowing for Leo. And he’s not shy to share his misery.

Leo acknowledges: “The melody and the song I come up with are thanks to the fact I’ve been through a weird couple of years and it’s been encapsulated in the album.

“It’s about the death of someone close to you, separation from your loved one and going through the tougher things in life. When I’m in

a good mood I can’t write at all.

It’s great to exercise your demons through song-writing. It’s nice shedding your skin and it’s cathartic.

“Interestingly I thought I had found the love of my life for the last five years and was incredibly happy and that’s now disbanded so I’ve changed my views.

“I don’t think anybody experiences sitting on a deckchair sipping a cocktail with little kids running around in a world of bliss.” nd the cathartic process became a chant in Palace’s song ‘It’s Over’. Not that anyone’s counting but is Leo sure he sang those lyrics enough times to convince himself it’s over?

Leo says: “It’s 27 times I sing ‘it’s over’! I was going through some weird things and finding it hard so I was using repetition to convince myself it’s over in a weird mantra-like chant.

‘It’s Over’ was about my parents separating.

“They went through a tough time.

Seeing your foundations falling apart around you there’s an element of denial. I hadn’t told my mum I wrote that song around two years ago.

“I went ‘f**k, I haven’t even told

A

them’ and recently my mum, who lives in Brighton and sweetly checks what I’m doing on the internet, came across the song.

“She finds it difficult to hear some of it and to know what’s going through my head.”

Leo’s younger brother Wilby took his turn playing bass with the band but found it easier to design the album front cover and other Palace images.

Wilby’s now ready to stretch his talent to designing their next music video.

Leo enthuses: “My little brother is 24 years old and he’s an amazingly talented artist and directs videos too.

Everything he’s painted for Palace and done thus far somehow catches our sound.

“People are so drawn to the artwork. We want him to direct a video.

He recently did a video for Unknown Mortal Orchestra for their new song Shake Down Street.

“I’m actually in the video as a medieval knight dancing in the street!”

PALACE play King Tut’s in pGlasgow on November 18. thirty-one

TRAVEL l Instant Bar

Play, Pie & a Pint

MUST DRINK KAZINCZY Street is Budapest’s answer to Kaoh San Road in Bangkok, with busy bars and nightclubs serving up cheap booze until the early hours.

The city is famed for its unusual Ruin Bars – previously abandoned spaces which have been transformed into surreal mazes filled with eclectic décor.

Instant was once an apartment building and has now been converted into a bar, the individual Currency: Forint (HUF) apartments remain Conversion rate: £1 = 336 HUF intact.

Language: Hungarian Corvinteto was Population: 1.7million previously a deFlight time from Glasgow: 3 hours partment store, it’s Time zone: BST + 1 roof now serves as Climate: Humid Continental – ranges from -4 a dancefloor with degrees Celsius in January to 26.5 degrees C stunning panoramic in July views across the Administration: Budapest is divided into 23 city. districts Cost of a pint is Governance: Viktor Orban is the current Prime around £1.50 on Minster of Hungary. average.

THE KNOWLEDGE

MUST EAT BUDAPEST has a huge variety of restaurants, from street food to fine dining, there’s no shortage of food to warm your soul.

If you want to try some traditional

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Hungarian fare, like the national dish, Goulash (a hearty and comforting stew), book in advance at Zeller Bistro, a quirky little restaurant with rustic décor.

This place is perfect if you’re looking for meals designed to be Instagrammed.

Cost: £6-10 for mains.

If you want to spend even less, a whole host of street foods are also available, Bors Gastrobar serves gourmet soups with freshly made bread as well as pasta and other homely meals. Cost: £2-3.

IF it’s culture you crave, Budapest is the best place to start. An architectural paradise, straddling both sides of the River Danube, this city will take your breath away.

Winter is arguably the best season to visit Budapest, a time when the city is transformed into a scene normally reserved only for the insides of snow globes.

Below are a few suggestions to help you get the best out of your winter escapade in Budapest; GO Flights from Glasgow to Budapest will cost around £180 return and buses – which will only set you back around £1 – run regularly from Liszt Ferenc airport and even continue through the night.

DO The must-do winter activity in Budapest is a visit to Varosligeti Majegpalya or City Park Lake, a boating lake for most of the year, from late October it is transformed into Europe’s Largest Outdoor Ice Rink and set against the backdrop of the picturesque Vajdahunyad Castle, also its most beautiful. Cost: £4

TRAVEL SUMMER holidays are totally last season. Now? It’s all about Winter escapes.

So unhand your hot water bottle, release yourself from the clutches of your onesie and book a flight to one of these two, very different cities of Budapest and Andorra la Vella.

Depending on what you consider the perfect winter break – a week of chilling

or something a bit more thrilling – one of these cities is sure to have all you’re looking for.

And being some of the cheapest destinations around, they won’t make too much of a dent in your Christmas savings either. HANNAH GUNN is your guide...

l Budapest

Hungary to chill out?

What better way is there end to a day on the ice-rink than to thaw in one of Budapest’s many thermal pools?

Being built on a meshwork of over 100 hot springs has made the city famous for its many thermal spas, thought for centuries to have medicinal and therapeutic properties.

Szechenyi Baths and Pool is the largest and most popular of them all, with 15 indoor baths and 3 outdoor pools.

Rudas Spa, which dates back to Ottoman times, is quieter and more intimate.

If you’re looking to splash out, Gellert Spa offers an intriguing treatment, a ‘Red Wine Bath’ which involves sitting in a bathtub filled with red wine whilst drinking a bottle of red wine – the dream.

Cost: Around £12 for entry only.

If you can’t get enough of the bathhouse scene, Lukacs Baths run year-‑round night-time ‘Bath Parties’

featuring lasers, fireworks and house music.

These parties often take place in heavy snow.

The steam from the hot pool forms a kind of natural insulation and will hopefully prevent you from becoming Budapest’s latest ice sculpture.

Cost: around £30.

stunning places available on AirBnB for as little as £20 per night for an entire apartment.

For an even cheaper option stay in a dorm room at the highly recommended Friends Hostel where a bed will cost as little as £6 a night.

STAY When considering where to stay in Budapest, remember that the city is split over both sides of the river Danube.

Buda, on the West bank is quieter and more scenic while Pest, on the East is livelier and draws a younger crowd.

The cost of accommodation is remarkably cheap; there are some truly thirty-three

TRAVEL l Andorra La Vella

ANDORRA’S cuisine is influenced by both French and Spanish cooking, particularly methods derived in Catalonia.

Cooking in the country has evolved around the use of ingredients which can be easily produced at high altitudes.

Try some well-rooted Catalan cuisine at L’Olive which serves up meals like Escudella – a stew of boiled pork and veg, to restore some warmth after a day of skiing.

You should also try Andorra’s twist on Scottish Stovies, a dish called Trinxat.

Cost: £10- £15 for mains.

MUST EAT thirty-four

THE KNOWLEDGE

Currency: Euro (EUR) Conversion rate: £1 = 1.1EUR Language: Catalan Population: 25,000 Flight time from Glasgow (to Barcelona): 2 hours, 40 mins Time zone: Central European Time Climate: Oceanic – ranges from -2.5 degrees Celsius in January to 26 degrees C in July Administration: The parish of Andorra de Vella is divided into Andorra la Vella itself, La Margineda and Santa Coloma.

Governance: Antoni Marti is the current Prime Minister of Andorra

THERE are plenty of bars and nightclubs in the city however they are mostly frequented by a mature Spanish crowd and heavy drinking isn’t very common.

Ski resorts do often run 2 for 1 deals on drinks during Happy Hour after the ski lifts close.

This can be the cheapest way to drink in a city where the average cost of a beer is around £2.50.

Try your luck at La Borsa where drink prices fluctuate throughout the night depending on how many are sold, the more the cheaper – so get drinking.

MUST DRINK

TRAVEL

In for the THRILL FOR an all-together more fast-paced trip, Andorra La Vella, the capital of the tiny country of Andorra is another city taking advantage of its extraordinary geological location.

Nestled in the Pyrenees mountains between Spain and France, this is nature at its rawest, a thrill-seekers playground which springs to life during the snowy winter when skiers from across the globe arrive in hoards to take advantage of some of the most thrilling slopes on earth.

Andorra La Vella is not only one of the best places to ski, it’s also one of the cheapest.

Not being part of the EU means paying less VAT, therefore Andorra is far cheaper than its neighbours and as it’s within easy travelling distance of Barcelona, getting there isn’t too expensive either.

Here are a few tips on how to make the most of a trip to this engaging city; GO Getting to Andorra is far less complicated than it first appears, the best and cheapest way is a flight from Glasgow to Barcelona, a return can cost as little as £35.

Buses run regularly to Andorra La Vella from Barcelona Airport (Terminal B) and take around 4 hours, at a cost of about £50.

DO This is one of the few trips you’ll go on when you’ll want everything to go downhill – because the most obvious and exciting l Vallnord

thing to do while in Andorra La Vella in Winter, is ski.

With a multitude of slopes, from gentle and gradual for beginners to intense offpiste courses more suited to experts and those with death wishes.

Andorra’s ski resorts are split into two areas; Grandvalira and Vallnors, each of which are then sub-divided into a variety of different slopes.

With over 300kms of runs between them, you’re sure to find a slope you feel comfortable on and if you don’t, you can take lessons from one of the 450 ski instructors who are on hand to help.

Grandvalria has an app which can tell you everything from current weather conditions on the slopes to which competitions you can take part in.

If you don’t feel comfortable skiing on the slopes, why not descend them in another way?

Sledging is one option or if you’re an animal lover, how about Mushing– a ride in a sledge drawn by dogs.

Cost: £180 for a 5 day ski pass which allows access to both Grandvalira and Valnord.

STAY Avoid paying a hefty price to stay at one of the ski resorts and save money by staying in the city where you can have the best of both worlds.

Barri Antic is a biker café/ bar which doubles up as a hostel.

It’s in the middle of the city and is as central as it gets, so you won’t be too far from the slopes, local buses run regularly to the ski lifts.

The hostel also provides ski hire which is cheaper than at either of the ski areas.

Cost: £25 per night.

If you have cash to spare, you could plan a night at Hotel Iglu, inspired by the original ice hotel in Sweden, this place is made entirely of snow.

You can stay in a dorm room for £100 a night – expensive, but worth it for the novelty factor. thirty-five

INTERVIEW

thirty-six

INTERVIEW

Thrusting into the limelight

I

F THERE’S one thing that makes Nina Conti feel awkward it isn’t her hand up a monkey’s backside, playing a comedy gig at a funeral or audience members fighting onstage.

What really riles the insanely talented ventriloquist / comedienne is ‘the thrusters’.

Nina explains: “The thing I come up against most frequently is people who get really thrusty on stage. The thrusters! Guys who do this d**k stuff and keep grabbing their b**ls.

“You get these thrusters and what’s interesting is it’s primal relief because they’re nervous on stage.

“I keep thinking I should get them to say behind the mask, ‘I’m usually quite shy, do you mind if I do a bit of thrusting?’ The other thing I could do is get really dirty with them!”

The versatile ventriloquist has been performing stand-up for over 20 years and her puppet monkey ‘Monk’ has been there to hold her hand throughout the ride.

Conti also works the audience with a bottom half face mask that audience participants wear manipulated by a hand piece she controls to make it look as if the audience member is talking.

One of the few female ventriloquists in the world – Nina fails to know why but doesn’t question it too much – she has made an art form of making audience members look silly.

It doesn’t always go to plan, but ingeniously that actually is the plan.

Nina explains: “I try not to choose the right or wrong people to go on stage. If I want to adjust

it right to deal with each situation I can be good in that role. Even when people are still talking from behind the mask!

“When I’m meant to be taking over it still works.”

Things can be so unpredictable that Nina’s shows can turn quite chaotic within seconds.

Nina continues: “I remember in one of my shows one guy poured a bottle of water over another guy and it just seemed mean to do that on stage.

“The audience were very shocked and I became aware they were suddenly thinking, ‘that guy needs to die’ because they all liked the other guy and I’m trying to voice as if it’s the mask, ‘I’m so sorry, I don’t know what came over me’.” here’s a crafted brilliant method to the madness of ventriloquism. The University of East Anglia Philosophy graduate explains how her formative years of study were just as ridiculous.

Nina says: “Philosophy is not a direct career path and you’re studying stuff that’s quite challenging and you’re exercising your brain muscle but it helps to have a sense of humour. I did some pretty funny lectures.

“The moral philosophy I studied just tied your brain in knots. It has more to do with trying to discover moral codes for life.

“Anything that justifies something as a code for life is just ridiculous!

“Moral dilemmas we were faced with were many such as ten villagers lined up in a row about to be shot but if you allow one to be shot then the others go free.

T

“It makes sense in one instance but not as a blueprint for life.”

From a relationship with English writer, actor, director and experimental theatre force Ken Campbell, Nina inherited his ventriloquist dummies and after her role in Ken’s Edinburgh Fringe ventriloquist play, ‘Let Me Out’ in 2001 it snowballed from there.

Nina and her puppets became a perfect fit. In between she has appeared on television on everything from Holby City and Black Books to adult animated series Bromwell High.

But it’s when she dons the puppet glove that the audience become putty in her hands.

Her loveable puppet Monk, whose sinister, smutty streak allows no venue to be a dry-eyed zone, unleashes the devilish side of his audience.

Almost like R L Stine’s Goosebumps ventriloquist dummy we’re tricked into thinking he’s the one who’s really in mind-control.

Nina concedes: “I’m fully aware it’s Monk who’s got the power, I know he’s more powerful than me.

“There’s a bit in my show on stage where I’m in a bag and Monk’s seen on stage and the audience open up a lot more to him. It’s the power of no accountability.”

So do her props keep her up at night with dreams of puppets and dummies taking over the world?

“I’ve never had nightmares about my puppets but I wish I did!

“I only remember around one dream every year. Everything I do is dealt with on stage.

“This show is a real test of my immediacy. It’s about getting in the fast lane and going with it. If

thirty-seven

people are on stage I just have to pick up on everything that’s silly or will make people laugh and it’s left there. I don’t take it off stage to dream at night.”

Thankfully so, as some gigs really do turn into nightmares.

Nina’s worst gig she ever played was at a barmitzvah and the best was bizarrely at a funeral!

Nina recalls: “At the barmitzvah I played on stage and somehow stumbled into a marriage dynamic where it was evident from every joke I made that there had been some problems with the parents who had organised it and every joke rang true.

“It was so awkward and throughout I kept thinking, ‘they’re a little frosty’.

“The funeral was a very specific funeral. It was for Ken Campbell who made me a ventriloquist.

“He got me into it and for me to get Monk out and do a sketch would have made him happy.

“Ken wasn’t someone I spoke to on a daily basis.

“He was a brilliant inspirer and a little dangerous in a brilliant way. He wouldn’t sweat the small stuff.

“He infected a lot of people in a similar way. We would all do something and say, ‘what would Ken

“

YOU may remember me from last year when my Mum and I consulted you for some advice over my unplanned pregnancy.

We are eternally grateful for the counsel you gave us during what was a very difficult time for all of us.

”

WIN

TICKETS TO SEE NINA CONTI: IN YOUR FACE WE’RE giving away TWO pairs of tickets to see Nina Conti at Glasgow King’s Theatre on November 22.

For a chance of winning a pair of tickets, answer the following question:

WHAT’S NINA’S MONKEY CALLED? Text your answer FREE along with your name, contact phone number and email address to 07867-757174 or email competitions@ student-rag.co.uk Closing date Nov 18.

say?’ He was never predictable.” Nina admits she too never sweats the small stuff such as her on-stage image.

The comedienne, who we will see more of next year on television, in a documentary and in a play she is also writing, says: “I don’t really care too much about what I wear.

“I like skirts with a bounce and the Goat dress designs and the sixties dresses Dawn O’Porter wears. I wear her designs.

“Jenny Éclair’s got a look I would like. I have the same problem with my house. I just don’t have the creative design look!”

Pregnant? Talk to us

sessions, clothes customisation LIKE shopping? Like discounts? and much more – including the The most anticipated Student chance to win a car, and an after Night in Glasgow is back with a party at The Shimmy Club. bang at Buchanan Galleries on It only happens once a year, Friday 25 September, offering so don’t miss out! students excellent discounts of Can’t make it on the night? up to 30% off brands including Don’t worry – Buchanan GallerH&M, River Island, Levi’s, Fred ies offers a range of excellent Perry, Warehouse, Oasis, Mandiscounts, just for students, all go and Boux Avenue. year round. From 15% off in abortion painful feelings may emerge and Maybe you interested in supportDoors open at 7.30pm Quiz toare 20% off in Levi’s, check – sometimesclose yearsatlater – which are work, perhaps as a volunteer 10pm, giving you two ing ourout www.buchanangalleries. difficult to acknowledge and share. adviser or in some other way? and a half hours to shop your co.uk/offers/student-discounts Our trained volunteer advisors have toall hear you. heart out and see what else is We would to seelove them andfrom save some years of experience in this sensitive The team also speaks to schools, going on. cash. area. One of our clients told us “There’s universities, colleges and women’s And if you pre-register at www.

With over 80 stores, Buno one else I can talk to about this”. groupschanan to educate them offers on its servicbuchanangalleries.com/student, Galleries the We also offer support after miscares. We are eager to add to that list. not only will–you best shopping in Glasgow. With riage. We want women andsecure men your We want to make sure that anyone place, also get everything you need under one – to know that theybut areyou’ll not alone.

If fast who finds themselves in a situation track ontalk theon night fashion brands and the and bewhereroof, want to you entry they from are unsure how to prowith a–chance makeup to technology and gifts TO find out more about Glasgow Pregnancy Choices inphone call.a £500 ceed, has a win give usto the support and care that Buchanan Galleries card tothey need. and gadgets, the centre is a visit a time togift Or arrange and our services or to book an educational session spend on the one stop shop - Choices no matter what Glasgow Pregnancy relies for a quick justnight. us, even for your organisation, please call As well shopping, there will looking for. almostyou’re entirely on donations and in our a coffee, andas chat 0141 248 2667 or visit beattractive bars androoms DJs, freebies, comoffers the best shopping fundraising. We would appreciate in any in Hope www.glasgowpregnancychoices.org petitions, complimentary stylingassistance Glasgow, with over 80 stores in fundraising.

Street, Glasgow.

GLASGOW Pregnancy Choices is a Glasgow based charity, offering support and encouragement to anyone affected by an unplanned pregnancy or a pregnancy loss.

Founded in 2000, Glasgow Pregnancy Choices, a faith-based charity, offers an impartial ear to anyone wishing to access our free and confidential services.

We can help you by talking through your options when facing an unplanned pregnancy.

We can provide up-to-date information about adoption, local abortion services (we cannot refer for any medical treatments, including termination) and the help available if you decide to continue the pregnancy.

We can offer ongoing support whatever decision is reached. After an

THINGS aren’t what they seem with Phantogram. Their latest album Three was released last month following a collaboration of the New York synthpop duo with Outkast’s Big Boi. Phantogram’s music has appeared in The Hunter Games: Catching Fire soundtrack, Grand Theft Auto V and Pitch Perfect.

SUSIE DANIELS discovers that Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel’s chemistry comes down to the sheer joy of annoying your childhood best friend...

DESCRIBE the new album Three in three words.

Really f**king good.

DO the songs ever take on a new meaning when played live instead of just in the studio?

I don’t know if the meaning changes, but we are very visual in our writing process.

We think about how a song is going to look and the feeling that we want to convey in our live show.

YOUR videos all seem pretty high concept and highly produced, how much importance do you place on what visuals go with your music?

It’s super important to be able to tell the story with your visuals.

Luckily, for You Don’t Get Me High Anymore, we were in good hands with one of our favorite directors, Grant Singer. It’s a great experience when you are clicking with the person trying to help tell your story.

WHICH artists are you listening to right now?

A lot of hip hop on the tour bus right now. Vince Staples, Danny Brown, A$AP Mob. I also really like the new Preoccupations record.

ARTISTS like you, Chvrches and Broods are getting a lot of attention – what is it about big synthesizers and female vocals that’s doing it for everyone?

I’m not sure and I try not to think about it too much. We just write what we want to hear, if people like it then great. If not, we’ll keep on writing what we want to hear.

YOU’VE collaborated with Big Boi for the Big Grams project, is the intention to continue/revisit that or is it strictly Phantogram business now?

We love Big, we loved working with him and playing shows so yeah we’d love to be able to pick it up again. That’s what is fun about it.

At a certain point once music becomes your career, the pressure and stresses add up and it’s hard to remember the fun that pulled you to music in the first place.

Big Grams helped us remember the fun, we are one big family now.

It’d be a shame to lose sight of that.

Lasers, jugglers, pyro, strobes, magicians... welcome to the crazy world of PHANTOGRAM HOW would you feel about reaching number 1 in the charts, would it be a big deal or a cool bonus?

It’d be pretty fun, like an added bonus yeah. Three debuted at #5 in the first week in the US, which was such a great feeling.

I remember picking up Rolling Stone magazines when I was a kid and looking at the charts in the back, it was such a big deal back then.

The idea that our album is up there at #5 is crazy and so cool.

BIG Boi, Flaming Lips and Miley is a pretty diverse list. How do your collaborations come about?

We are lucky in that regard, I think we have elements of a lot of different genres that kind of lend themselves to whatever we’re focusing on in the moment.

Indie, hip hop, electronic music – all of

that has shaped who we are so it allows us to step out of our box and collaborate with different people.

IF you could design the perfect stage and venue for your music, what would it look like?

Lasers. Pyro. Jugglers. Magicians.

Strobes. A lot of strobes.

YOU two go way back, how have you avoided annoying each other for so long? Or is the odd bit of tension good?

Sarah has been my best friend since middle school, there’s no one else that we’d like to annoy other than each other.

p

PHANTOGRAM play King Tut’s in Glasgow on November 18. thirty-nine

COMING SOON TO A PLACE NEAR YOU...

Looking for a gig or new release and don’t know where to go? LUKE HAWKINS can help you out with that

Justice DAFT Punk’s glitchier, more distorted (and let’s face it, cooler) successors are back with their album offering, Woman, and from the singles released so far, we can tell they are determined to bring funk and disco to every indie DJ’s decks in the upcoming months.

Latest single Randy has the feeling of a Tame Impala track but is hallmarked with the French duo’s signature sound: floorfiller music slathered in deep, dirty synth.

The single immediately preceding it, Safe and Sound has a four-on-the-floor beat with all the strings of ABBA at their discoball best.

You won’t be able to get away with flares at the clubs just yet, but the spirit is there! l

The Weeknd “TWENTY racks a table cut from ebony, She cut that ivory into skinny pieces, Then she clean it with her face man I love my baby.”

Just a sample of the typically dark and poetic lyrics you can expect from album Starboy. Given the subject matter The Weeknd writes about, it is pretty bizarre at just how commercially successful he has become; winning a Juno Single of the Year Award for a song about ecstasy for example.

He is, however, one of the most talented and worthwhile singer/ songwriters in pop music right now; and with the lead single from his upcoming album being a collaborative effort with Daft Punk, it is likely he will enjoy even more bizarre yet fully deserved acclaim. l STARBOY will be released on November 25.

WOMAN will be released on November 18.

You Me at Six WITH their hair styled to within an inch of its life, skinny jeans and an altogether boy-next-door image, You Me At Six have been groomed into the perfect boyband with instruments.

Their upcoming album slated for release in early

2017 is sure to get the multi-colour haired crowd excited and will surely see the band plastered across certain tween-aimed rock magazines over the next few months.

Night People sees the erstwhile pop-punks attempt

Ryley Walker FINGER-PICKIN’ folk guitarist Ryley Walker makes his way to the basement of one of Sauchiehall Street’s coolest bars midway through November.

Now a night of folk music might not sound appealing to all but don’t think stuffy, old-man-pub folk music, think of the delicacy of Nick Drake with glimpses of Neil Young’s ballads.

Ryley will conjure up romance, whimsy and cosiness.

Get your woolliest cardigan on, order a pizza, have a drink and then descend to a cavern filled with your soundtrack to the winter.

Brand New

WITH no disrespect to Biffy, the flag bearers of Scottish rock who will get the crowd bouncing and chanting as they do, the reason this gig is vital to l Ryley Walker plays Broadcast attend is because of the support act- Brand New. in Glasgow on November 15.

The former angsty emo band’s sound has evolved through their albums into something akin to Nirvana at their visceral best.

“THE Gentleman,” as he And with hints of a often describes himself, is break-up this could be the visiting the Barrowlands in last chance to let Jesse early December – because grooves that will ensure the Lacey and co fire through why wouldn’t you leave Las people will flock to see him. your ribcage with the Vegas for a stint in the East So Sick and Closer are screams and feedback of Glasgow in the middle of shoe-ins to the crowd-pleasthat should propel them winter? ing setlist. It’s always good to to hero status, even if it is The Top 40 storming R’n’B see Barras being as eclectic posthumously. star can best be described as ever – hosting the mainas “usually wearing a hat”. stream and the obscure. l BIFFY Clyro / Brand Apparel included, he is the New play the SSE Hydro epitome of the genre, pushl NE YO plays the in Glasgow on Noveming out catchy, smooth and Barrowland Ballroom in ber 29. sure-to-please-the masses Glasgow on December 7.

Ne Yo

a heavier rock sound – a step in their career that their fans will no doubt enjoy and embrace with open arms as the band and their audience grow up together.

DNCE

l NIGHT People will be released on January 13.

CALL me crazy, but I can assure you that looking out for an album by a band featuring one of The Jonas Brothers (Joe, since you’re asking) is in fact a GOOD IDEA! With Cake By The Ocean – a single that is still going strong now and heard every-

where from student digs to kids parties, DNCE have really hit their stride.

It’s fair to say they have been testing the water until now, having only released an EP. The upcoming self-titled album will be their official debut and is likely to

package together the songs they have been drip-feeding the fans over the past 12 months. l DNCE will be released on November 18. forty-one

HEALTH AND BEAUTY

L OILS

YOUR QUICK GUIDE TO ESSENTIA ESS ENT IAL OIL:

MAI N BEN EFIT:

Basil

Soothing

Chamomile

Anti-inflammatory

Clary Sage

Reduces puffiness

Frankincense

Evens skin tone

Geranium

Conditions skin

Lemongrass

Healthy glow

Neroli

Reduce blemishes

DRY SKIN

OILY SKIN

SEN SITI VE SKIN

J J

J

making THE most appealing thing about freedom your own beauty products is the s of to tailor them all exactly to the need a your own skin – tell people you have and bespoke range of beauty products they will be jealous.

These are but a few of the oils out skin there which work wonders on every

J J J

Cleanse: The Mop

l 2 x activated charcoal capsules l 1 tbsp Shea Butter / coconut oil l ½ tbsp baking soda In a bowl, carefully break open the capsules, add all the other ingredients along with your chosen oils and apply then wash off.

Your face will feel as fresh as a newly mopped floor.

SPOT PRONE SKIN

J J J J

type imaginable, you can add a few e; drops of each of them to any recip mix and match them to create the perfect products for your skin type.

Best of all, you can buy all of these oils at health stores such as Holland and Barrett or get them online.

CHARCOAL is nature’s mop – known for its ability to absorb toxins, it will soak up impurities and draw out dirt and impurities.

Best on: spot prone skin

forty-two

AGE ING SKIN

HEALTH AND BEAUTY

Natural instinct IT’S far easier than you might think to make your own natural beauty products without spending a small fortune.

Along with the fun you can have mixing and matching a world of amazing essential oils – all with their own unique benefits to suit your

Stocking Up

skin type – you can also be safe in the knowledge that you’re using all natural ingredients and at a fraction of the cost of products on the high street.

HANNAH GUNN investigates on your behalf...

AS well as your chosen oils, you’ll also need some base ingredients to start you off.

Don’t be put off by the initial cost involved in getting started as these items are the building blocks to creating a whole range of products.

Coconut oil – for lotions and scrubs, try and use unrefined oil.

Shea butter – an excellent base for moisturisers Olive oil – used as a thinner in lotions and to add extra moisture Sugar and Salt – for exfoliators

Once you’ve accumulated your natural beauty tools, it’s time to get started on your quest for skin perfection by following a few of these super simple recipes.

You can pick and choose whichever essential oil you want to add!

All the recipes here make enough for one application but you can make as much as you want as they can be stored for up to three months.

They have to be refrigerated in warmer climates but thankfully that won’t be an issue here in Scotland.

Exfoliate #1 Tequila Slammer USE these face scrubs to get rid of those pesky dead skin cells, they’re nothing but trouble, exfoliate and shed them to reveal brighter, smoot her skin with fewer blemishes.

Tequila Slammer (Ok the best ingredient isn’t included – no tequila, sorry) Salt and lemon are put to better use than as tequila’s side kicks in this scrub which helps

tighten pores and leave skin glowing – just don’t get it in your eyes, they won’t like it.

Best on: oily skin l l

l 1 tbsp course sea salt ½ tsp lemon juice 1 tsp water

Simply combine the ingredients in a small bowl and mix together, then apply to your face in small circular motions for 1 minute, rinse with warm water.

Exfoliate #2 Lil’ Cuppa BANISH your boring, flat-white face with this coffee scrub designed to stimulate skin, a great way to invigorate yourself in the morning.

Best on: dry skin l ½ tsp shea butter or coconut oil l 1 tsp honey l 1 ½ tsp ground coffee Combine, mix, apply! Less complicated than a triple, venti, soy, no foam latte – and lets face it, more exciting.

HEALTH AND BEAUTY Tone: Wee Potato Face

Moisturise: Oat so Simple OATS aren’t only for porridge and cookies. They, like charcoal, can remove bad stuff from your skin but are more gentle than other ingredients, this moisturiser is known to help those who suffer from eczema.

Best on: Sensitive skin l 1 tbsp Coconut oil l 1/3 tbsp Shea butter l 1/3 tbsp Ground oats (blend or just put in a sandwich bag and attack with a rolling pin) Melt the coconut oil in a pan over a low heat until it turns to liquid, add shea butter then the oats and ensure ingredients are completely mixed then removed from the pan and put in the fridge to cool and harden.

Apply to your face like your normal moisturiser.

STOP running from carbs, embrace the power of the potato!

Don’t go dipping your face in your dinner too soon though, they only work as a natural toner when they’re raw.

a bowl, apply to your face with a cotton bud, leave on for 30 minutes, rinse off.

The combination of potato and cucumber help to even skin tone and reduce redness.

Best on: all skin types l 2 tbsp potato juice (grate it, put it in cheesecloth, squeeze) l 2 tbsp cucumber juice Mix the juices along with a few drops of essential oil in SO with a little help, in a world where we are expected to look our best at all costs, you can lower yours.

There’s no need to spend your hard-earned wages on expensive, over-rated products with mystery ingredients when you can so easily concoct your own natural potions, perfectly suited to your beautiful skin!

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COMPETITION

WIN

LOOKING for this year’s must-have Xmas gift? Then it’s your lucky day as we’re giving away FIVE separate pieces of brilliant Kigu goodies.

You could get your hands on a luxury Onesie (up to the value of £39.99), a backpack, a neck pillow, a poncho (up to the value of £29.99) or a neck warmer.

For a chance to win an item of your choice, answer the following question:

BY WHAT NAME IS ST NICHOLAS BETTER KNOWN? Text your answer FREE along with your name, contact phone number and email address to 07867-757174 or email competitions@ student-rag.co.uk Closing date Nov 30.

Student Rag

JOIN OUR TEAM

?

STUDENT RAG magazine is on the lookout for persons of interest.

They might be you, your friend or someone you haven’t met yet.

Be on guard. Are they studying journalism? Do they have writing experience?

Do they have an inquisitive mind that longs to share what they’ve learnt and think with others?

Does the art of writing give them ASMR? If so, get them to contact Student Rag – the country’s top student publication.

They will gain invaluable experience.

It will also seriously enhance their CV

so be on the lookout. If you see them, tell them who we are.

We pay them simply – with knowledge, experience and we’ll gladly swing them a free gig ticket or two!

Just ask Alice Cruickshank, Hannah Gunn or Luke Hawkins – three of our top contributors.

Drop us an email at glasgow@student-rag.co.uk and include your name, course and areas of interest.

We’ll be waiting for you...

HALF WRITE ABOUT:PAGE Fashion, Music, Films, Comedy, Travel, Health & Beauty, Tech...

PREGNANT? Worried?

Confused?

Need to talk?

We are here to listen!

GPC Glasgow Pregnancy Choices

• Free pregnancy testing • Time to talk through all the options • Practical help and information • Post-abortion and miscarriage support

For all advice please call

T: 0141 248 2667 All our services are free and confidential Office: Suite 259/260 Central Chambers 93 Hope Street • Glasgow G2 6LD T: 0141 248 2667 • E: info@glasgowpregnancychoices.org

We do not provide referrals for any medical treatments, including terminations.

SEED OIL

COCONUT FOR RAPE

100ml Coconut oil: £2.00 per 100ml Rapeseed oil: 13p per ely, everyone is all DIT CH: Coconut oil. Lat drinking its water, re we’ t; onu coc the about it in our hair. frying with it even putting highly beneficial to But while coconut oil is out there which can oils health, there are other at no extra financial do exactly the same and cost. ter oil, which in fact has bet PIC K UP: Rapeseed t in terms of health, with credentials than coconu rated fat (the fat you nearly 15 times less satu the monounsaturated don’t want) and double fat (the fat you do want) than coconut oil.

It also does a better job of burning off bad fats, lowering cholesterol and preventing heart disease.

Tick, tick, tick! It’s far cheaper too. Tick!

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Coconut water: £3.49 per Litre Water: Free AS

a quick side note, whi le we’re on the2016 © top Student Rag Magazine ic of coconu ts, let’s just disp el a myth.

Coconut water claims and more hydrating tha to be better for you n boring old water (who needs it?).

And despite the fact tha t this has some truth behind it, unless you or someone who regular are an athlete strenuous exercise, wat ly participates in er In truth, the claims tha will suffice. has any real benefits ovet coconut water r water are extremely lacking.

Just turn on the tap.

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WINTER

ESSENTIALS MAKE-UP

HEALTH AND BEAUTY WE all want to stay healthy and the key to good health is a good diet, but what exactly is a good diet?

Each year a new gang of ‘Superfoods’ rise to fame and are hailed as the answer to everything, from staving off cancer to making you smarter.

The problem is that when a food’s popularity rises, so does its price tag. The truth of the mat-

ter is though, that there are plenty of alternatives which are just as beneficial to your health as these ‘now’ foods – and they can be up to ten times cheaper.

Don’t waste your wages on wheatgrass.

HANNAH GUNN presents some of this year’s most fashionable foods and their equally healthy, yet far less pricey, alternatives;

Get supercharged on the cheap KALE FOR SPINACH Kale: £6.00 per kg Spinach: £4.00 per kg DITCH: Kale. Kale sales have shot up by 60% since 2006 and we can be pretty certain that isn’t because it’s become better for our health.

In fact its sprout in popularity is the result of a clever marketing campaign when ‘The American Kale Association’ – it’s a thing – asked a PR agency to big up its product.

Now here we are, in a world where people wear t-shirts which simply state ‘Kale’ on the front.

Ok, kale is good for you but so are most other green leafy vegetables.

PICK UP: Spinach. It might be so five minutes ago but its many healthy properties have never changed.

You can do all the same things with spinach that you would with kale; put it in salads, smoothies, whatever you feel like plus it has just as many antioxidants, vitamins and minerals as its cooler cousin.

URBAN DECAY NAKED SKIN LIQUID FOUNDATION fabled.com £27

CHAMELEON GLOW HIGHLIGHTER IN ‘SHUFFLE THE CARDS’ topshop.com £9.50

ESSIE NAIL LACQUER IN ‘ANGORA CARDI’ boots.com £7.99

KAT VON D TATTOO LINER LIQUID EYELINER IN ‘TROOPER’ debenhams.com £16

BOURJOIS ROUGE VELVET LIPSTICK IN ‘JOLIE DE VIN’ asos.com £7.99

HEALTH AND BEAUTY QUINOA FOR LENTILS Quinoa: £6.00 per kg Lentils: £4.00 per kg DITCH: Quinoa, an ancient crop once grown by the ‘Inca’ people is another food which has been labelled ‘super’.

The high levels of plant protein it contains have been said to be able to make you super-charged, providing an endless bout of energy.

Though it would be a dream come true if this was the case, sadly it isn’t.

A handful will

probably provide you enough energy for a small run rather than turning you into Forest Gump.

PICK UP: A handful of lentils, which have double the protein, iron and more Vitamin B. So if you’re seeking endless energy they are a better bet – ok you probably won’t make it round the world armed only with your strong spirit and a cup of lentils but you can save about £2 and that’s something.

GOJI BERRIES FOR BLACKCURRANTS Goji berries: £17.50 per kg Blackcurrants: £7.50 per kg

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DITCH: Goji Berries, native to China and used in Chinese medicine for 6000 years, are also known as ‘Wolf Berries’ – no explanation as to why though, perhaps just to make them a bit more mysterious?

These little berries have been branded as the cure to most things you can think of – boosting your immune system, helping with weight loss, they’re even said to help with erectile dysfunction (again no real explanation for this one).

Unfortunately once again these

claims don’t seem to have much basis – most trials which have been done have been inconclusive and there’s no concrete evidence for the benefit of these expensive ‘miracle’ berries.

PICK UP: Just when you thought all hope was lost, enter blackcurrants! There are actual studies which prove that they help with a variety of illnesses including asthma and urinary tract infections.

They can also improve digestion and contain four times the vitamin C of oranges, as well as astonishing levels of antioxidants which help with everything from preventing cancer to fighting off ageing.

This Christmas could you give someone the most precious gif t?

G

lobally there is a growing need for egg and sperm donation. Sperm quality appears to be deteriorating but the need for egg donors is especially great.

A woman is born with all the eggs she will ever have and as she gets older, her eggs get older with her.

Woman reach their peak fertility in her late-20s, it declines till her mid-30s and then falls dramatically thereafter because of the decline in the inherent egg quality.

However, societal changes mean that women are delaying trying for a family (because of career development or saving up to get on the property ladder) but this means that it is harder to conceive, the chances of miscarriage are higher and the risk of genetic disorders such as Down’s Syndrome increase.

These biological realities mean that many such women need better quality eggs i.e. eggs donated from a younger woman.

Sperm donation is relatively straightforward. The sperm donor makes a few trips to the clinic to produce sperm which is then frozen and about a month later returns to the clinic to repeat the virus screening tests.

The sperm can then be released for use and the donor receives financial compensation of £35 per visit.

It is important to appreciate that up to 10 families can be created from one sperm donor.

Altruistic egg donors must go through the IVF process. This means daily injections to grow multiple follicles (the injections are given by the donor in to the skin) and then a procedure to retrieve the eggs, under anaesthetic, is performed.

The eggs are given to a single anonymous woman (occasionally divided between two anonymous women) and the donor returns about a month later to have repeat virus screening tests and the donor receives financial compensation of £750.

In order to be an egg or sperm donor, the potential donor must pro-

...the gif t of life vide a personal medical and family history, have some genetic tests, to ensure a normal chromosome make-up and exclude carriage of a particular gene mutation, and also be screened for various infectious diseases.

For sperm donors, a “test freeze/ thaw” is performed to ensure that the sperm can tolerate being frozen.

A young woman must have a blood test, measuring a hormone called Anti-Müllerian Hormone, AMH).

Every woman is biologically different, and some women are born with more eggs than others.

AMH tells how many eggs are left in the ovaries at that point in time, which in turn gives us an idea of how many eggs might be recovered in an IVF cycle.

Provided the sperm quality is good and the AMH level is satisfactory, then the potential sperm or egg donors sign a variety of consent forms.

At this stage, we encourage potential donors to write a “pen portrait” about their interests, why they

To find out more visit www.gcrm.co.uk or call 0141 891 8749

became a donor and a message to any future child.

We also encourage them to speak to a counsellor to better appreciate the implications of being a donor.

Gamete donation does not have an impact on a donor’s future fertility, or for egg donors the age at which she goes through the menopause.

A year after the donation, donors can ask the clinic if any child has been born from their donation, but they can never trace that child. owever, when that child is 18 years old, he or she can approach the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA, the UK regulatory body) and can trace the donor.

Whilst the child’s parents can never trace the donor and the donor can never trace the child, any child conceived with donor gametes now has the legal right to approach the HFEA when they are 18 years old and that young person can trace the donor.

However, it is also important to appreciate that the donor has no legal, emotional or financial obligations to that young person.

There is a growing need for egg and sperm donors and it can be a truly rewarding experience by helping someone fulfil their desire to have a family.

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At GCRM we are fertility specialists and are aware of the large and growing demand for donated eggs and sperm.

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To find out more visit www.gcrm.co.uk or call 0141 891 8749