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NERVE
MARCH14
WHO’S ON BOARD? Editor Joshua Iredale
editor@nervemedia.org.uk
Features Editor Wil Oxford Alys Penfold (sub) Will Clarke (sub) features@nervemedia.org.uk
Fashion Editor Shannon Hards Jade Jannotti (sub) Sarah Mckelvey (sub) fashion@nervemedia.org.uk
Sport Editor Craig Rodhouse Tom Bennett (sub) Ash Hover (sub) Andrea Avellano (sub) sport@nervemedia.org.uk
Entertainment Editor Abigail Payne-Humphries James Hibberd (sub) ents@nervemedia.org.uk
Comment Editor Natalie Taylor
Got it COVERED P11
Check what we’ve got for you this month...
FRANK TURNER Frank Turner has gone from performing to 20,000 people to just 800 in his hometown of Winchester. The Wessex boy talks to us about his journey on the road and the importance of staying close to your roots.
comment@nervemedia.org.uk
Online Editor Katie Roberts online@nervemedia.org.uk
Subbing Anushka Naidoo Abbi Hayden Advertising Andy Elsey susales@bournemouth.ac.uk 01202 961461
Media Coordinator Joe Tattersall
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RE: SIZE 16 MODELS
After the views about size 16 mannequins being introduced in shops caused a bit of a stir in Issue #4, Cara Crowcombe writes her views on the topic.
P28
STUART PEARCE
After a huge career playing for England, Stuart Pearce moved on to managing the nation’s under 21s. We chat to him about the future of the team after his departure.
sunerve@bournemouth.ac.uk 01202 961681
Wanna Join?
For opportunities to get involved, whether it be writing, design, illustration, photography or even a spot of photobombing, email editor@nervemedia.org.uk for details.
P30
PROCRASTI-BAKING
What better way to avoid that dreaded revision than baking a batch of delicious cakes? We agree, and want to show you this new level of procrastination!
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STRANDED APPAREL
We talk to fashion designer and Journalism student Jordan Bunker, who has had huge successes with his clothing brand.
NERVE | 3
NERVE
MARCH14
Contributors Writers Scarlett Dixon Katie Pathiaki Anna Pujol-Mazzini Joanne Ball Cara Crowcombe Casey Farr April Hollamby Eve Hewitt Megan Reid Mallory Mabe Aaron Newbury Danielle Cardy Laura Geall Chantelle Argent Georgia Reed Rosie Baker Bethany Connor Design Team Becca Whitmore Katherine Dove Steph Bradshaw Lucy Figiel Alice Taylor Rachel Burke Pamela Odumusi Gaby Rock Jack Mullen Monkia Małkowska
Word From Your Editor
I don’t know about you, but I think this year is going pretty quickly. We’re already in March, and more importantly, this is the penultimate issue of Nerve! With the last issue comes all the Summer Ball build-up, so something to look forward to there. Before the fun and games that is our Summer Ball, we’ve got loads in this issue to keep you busy. For a start, local man Frank Turner has a chat with us about his homecoming gig. We’re packed full of even more music this issue, with Lostalone, The Twang and The Special’s vocalist Neville Staple. We look at Procrasti-baking, the new way of avoiding work, and some of our writers
Illustrators Grant Corlett Nathan Hackett Aisling Crosland Charlotte Gay
Keep Up facebook.com/nervemagazine twitter.com/nervemagazine www.nervemedia.org.uk
Important Stuff
Here at SUBU, when we print Nerve Magazine, we print on 100% recycled paper using vegetable - based inks by Indigo Press Limited. You’ve got to start somewhere. Nerve Magazine is produced by SUBU (the Students Union @ Bournemouth University). Information correct at time of publication (March 2014). The views expressed are not necessarily those of Nerve Media, SUBU or the Editor. Nerve Magazine is printed on 200 gsm silk cover and 115gsm body provided by Indigo Printing Press.
swap their pens and papers for a spot of Coasteering! With London Fashion Week in full swing, our fashion experts look at the trends on show. A bit closer to home, we’ve got South Coast Fashion Week coming up and we chat to Stranded Apparel creator Jordan Bunker. Ex-England under 21s boss Stuart Pearce talks to Nerve this issue, as well as a look at the new Formula 1 season. Of course, we’ve got some comment for you as well, with a Reply to Size 16 Models, which was featured in Issue #4. Take a look at that and all the other regulars we have for your reading pleasure. Joshua Iredale
The Full Line Up
REGULARS 06 Mix Tape 08 Heads Up
09 Winners/Losers 34 Through the Lens 67 Top 5
FEATURES 19 Coasteering 30 Procrasti-baking 36 Eating Primal 38 Tried and Tasted 40 Surfing for Sex 52 #100HappyDays 54 Mind the Gap
ENTERTAINMENT 11 Frank Turner 22 Lostalone 26 The Twang 32 MØ 39 Neville Staple
44 Twitch Plays Pokémon 46 Reviewed 48 Nerve FM
FASHION 14 London Fashion Week 16 Style on the Street 42 Stranded Apparel 50 South Coast Fashion Week 57 Style Clash
SPORT 28 Stuart Pearce 58 AFCB: Yann Kermorgant 61 Gearing up for Formula 1 62 Varsity: Men’s Football 64 Poole Pirates
COMMENT 25 RE: Britain’s Next Big Model 41 The Real Tragedy of Ukraine 51 Backchat to Snapchat
Essential TRACKS we’ve been listening to this MONTH
TROPIC OF YOUTH POA KICHIZI KAMA NDIZI Poa Kichizi Kama Ndizi is Tropic of Youth’s second single. With the follow-up to You, Tropic of Youth have created a wonderful atmosphere of light self-labelled ‘soft rock world beat’. Poa Kichizi Kama Ndizi will instantly take your mind off all worries and invite you to an acoustic holiday. You’ll love this song if you like bands such as Fair Ohs.
DUKE DUMONT I GOT U (FEAT. JAX JONES)
PALOMA FAITH CAN’T RELY ON YOU Paloma Faith is back with her new single Can’t Rely on You, written by Pharrell Williams. The track delivers a mixture of ingredients; old school blues, funk and a pinch of retro soul, while her enchanting vocals take us to church, giving a southern feel and elements of African American gospel.
The summer smash hits are starting to appear already, with one fo 2014’s first being Duke Dumont’s latest track I Got U, featuring fellow producer Jax Jones. The song embodies the Caribbean through its use of catchy steel drums and addictive hooks. It was released earlier this month, and no doubt it’ll be one of this year’s club anthems.
CHRISTINA PERRI HUMAN Empowerment comes to mind in Christina Perri’s latest single Human. The American songbird shows her vulnerability in this power ballad saying that it’s okay to make a mistake or two. Her smooth tones dominate the track, and then eventually soar into a powerful chorus, the heavy percussion and dramatic piano instrumental create musical perfection with her breathy but pure vocals.
PHIL LEWIS AGE OF NOTHING Phil’s guitar-heavy tunes combined with tribal drums merge into a well-crafted song. The Cardiff-based singer-songwriter takes you back to the 80s and melodically mixes Indie with Top 40 pop. The catchy song reminds us of U2 with a dose of Peter Gabriel-esque atmosphere.
THE CHAINSMOKERS #SELFIE
TA-KU DRIVE SLOW, HOMIE,PT. III Ta-ku has teamed up with HYPETRAK and delivered a soundtrack that consists of slow jams, headnodders and addictive jams that leave you orgasmic and twitching for more. For anyone that’s a lover of mixes, this is the perfect soundtrack for summer BBQs, a chilled afternoon at the beach or cruising down the M27 in your ride.
Head straight to the playlist by scanning the QR code or visit www.nervemedia.org.uk NERVE | 6
A cheeky satire based on the twin obsessions of Instagram and selfies, set to a fun, electro-house beat, it’s hard to decide whether this song is really great or simply awful. It’s not doing bad in the chart either, making an appearence in the top 20. For now though, we like it, and at least it actually has a reason for using a hashtag in the song title.
JHENE AIKO THE WORST If you’re looking for a slow-piano jam, type Jhené Aiko into your search engines. Although The Worst has never seen a UK release, Aiko’s vocals hauntingly linger long after the song is playing and her scorning is executed in the most devious but melodic way. Now we just have to wait for the album!
HEADS UP!
YOUR MONTH IN BOURNEMOUTH
MCBUSTED @BIC 21-22 April 28-29 May CLUBBING
Saints and SinnersThe Valleys Halo 24 March
Priority PresentsJamie Lomas
GIGS
The Correspondents
Dan le Sac Vs. Scroopius Pip
Old Fire Station 4 April
o2 Academy 29 April
BIC 5 April
EVENTS
BIC 6 April
Old Fire Station 27 March
Russell Watson
Cameo & Myu 28 March
Tinie Tempah
Old Fire Station 29 March
Manic Street Preachers
We Are Your Friends Metalheadz
Old Fire Station 5 April
Fusion
Old Fire Station 12 April
Easter Oldskool Eggstravaganza
O2 Academy 8 April
Pavilion 28-29 March
Wrestling Spectacular
O2 Academy 13 April
Bournemouth Pavilion 9 April - 27 May
BIC 21-22 April & 28-29 May
BIC 13 April
McBusted
Gary Barlow
O2 Academy 19 April
Alkaline Trio
NERVE | 8
Sarah Millican
Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Pyramids Glasshouse 18 April
One Nation
Comedy Nation
BIC 23 April
Pyramids Plaza 27 April
Never been to Scunthorpe, but will be visiting Bournemouth. Tinie Tempah @ BIC, 6 April
Frank Skinner
Bournemouth Beer Festival BIC 18 - 20 April Some top quality Black Country humour. Frank Skinner @ BIC, 13 April
matthew mcconaughey Bournemouth Uni Well, we want to be winners! Yes, with over 150,000 tweets, we’re currently second (well, when we went to print!) among 18 other universities to win a whopping £50,000 for our Summer Ball courtesy of MTV! Thanks to everyone to tweeted and retweeted ‘#YESpimpmysummerball Bournemouth’ and lets keep that number rising!
The McConaissance continues, as the actor once known for appearing in terrible romantic comedies picked up the Best Actor award at this year’s Oscars, as well as appearing in the gloomy but stunning True Detective TV series. Alright, alright, alright.
jess glynne After spending four weeks at the top of the singles chart with her collaboration with Clean Bandit on Rather Be, Jess has now gone back to the top spot again with her appearance on Route 94’s My Love’ Not bad for someone with less than 1000 fans on Facebook.
WINNERS
LOSERS MONTH OF THIS
alan pardew The Newcastle United manager got himself into a little spot of bother after headbutting Hull City’s David Meyler, getting himself sent off and picking up a 7 match touchline ban with total fines of £160,000.
leonardo dicaprio Unlucky Leo has now been nominated for an Academy Award four times, and is still yet to win, despite being one of his generation’s greatest actors. Still, he earns millions, dates supermodels, and is the thinking man’s man-crush, so let’s not feel too sorry for him.
Piers morgan Poor Piers Morgan. After doing so well for himself bagging legendary Larry King’s slot on CNN, he has now been told that the dream is over. The talk show he’s been fronting for three years is being pulled due to poor ratings. Oh well, at least this will leave him with more time to argue with Gary Lineker on Twitter.
Frank Turner
ENTS
From huge arena gigs to small, intimate venues, Frank Turner loves a good show. The singersongwriter spoke to Nerve about his new records and love for live music
F
Words James Hibberd Design Steph Bradshaw Photos Brantley Gutierrez
rank Turner has just finished playing his biggest headline show to date, entertaining almost 20,000 devoted fans at London’s O2 Arena. Tomorrow, he will return to his home, Winchester, for the first time since 2009, performing at the city’s Guildhall to 800 lucky people who snapped up all available tickets within one minute of going on sale. You might think that tonight’s stop at Portsmouth in between these two major landmarks would be a case of going through the motions, but not for Frank: ‘I always feel a bit cautious about saying the London show is the most important show. I’m not sure it’s the most important, but it’s certainly the biggest. It is also where I live now, and where my friends and family generally live too, so it was kind of a big deal on that level as well. But I don’t want to do down tonight’s show or any of the other shows, I like to think every show is equally as important.’
The last couple of years have been filled with achievements that are almost unbelievable considering the DIY punk ethos that Frank Turner is fully committed to; playing both Wembley Arena and the O2, as well as the Olympic opening ceremony, releasing his fifth album Tape Deck Heart and seeing it get to No.2 on the album charts, and, whisper it, licensing it to a major label. ‘Sue me’, he laughs, and in all fairness, he was still able to make the album he wanted, despite the added pressure of working under the Interscope umbrella: ‘It ended up being a very personal record, partly because I had some shit that I wanted to talk about, but also I think that it seemed interesting to me because I knew this record was definitely going to get a big push. It seemed to me that the obvious NERVE | 11
T R A CPOLAROID K BY TRACK PICTURE EP The latest single from Frank Turner is a nostalgic look back at a childhood friendship, so who better to talk us through the track listing than the man himself? Who’s Got A Match? (Biffy Clyro cover) Biffy are old friends, I saw them in ‘98, Million Dead toured with them, I’ve toured with them and they’re a great band. For me, to do a cover, you want to reinterpret it at least in some way, so that’s what I’ve tried to do. Modern Leper (Frightened Rabbit cover) Frightened Rabbit are another one of my favourite bands, and Scott Hutchison is a great friend. They’re so fucking good, it’s kind of ridiculous. I got their new record, and there’s a song called Nitrous Gas on there, and I actually stopped the record, called him up and said ‘Really? Fuck you man, that song is too good.’
kind of thing to do would be to go outward, so I thought it’d be nice to go inward. I think it’s a very weird and dense, and quite intense record, and not a particularly poppy and obvious one, which again, I quite like. I feel like when I should have put out England Keep My Bones Part 2, I didn’t, and I like that.’ Though some of his more hardcore fans may be frustrated that his increasing popularity is forcing him to play bigger and bigger rooms that his songs were never intended to be played in, Frank insists that as an entertainer, his job is to make as many people have a good time as possible. He explains: ‘There are some people who say, ‘I don’t really want to see you play an arena show’, but when we play smaller shows, they sell out really quickly, and then ticket touting starts happening, which obviously we do our best to clamp down on but it still happens. We’re not playing arenas because we’ve got airs and graces. It’s because I want everybody who wants a ticket to be able to buy a ticket. If I’m less popular on the next tour, we’ll play somewhere smaller.’ This brings up another contentious issue; the setlist. With five albums and plenty of other material from B-sides, covers and pre-album releases, navigating a path through his own back catalogue has become almost NERVE | 12
Plea From A Cat Named Virtute (The Weakerthans cover) We generally make a habit of recording our live shows, I’m not entirely sure what for though. I’m sure one day when I’ve got nothing on I’ll go back and listen to the tapes. We were doing regional covers on the US tour, we were in Winnipeg and the Weakerthans are pretty much my favourite band, so we did this song there with the full band. Sweet Albion Blues This is a new song which at some point may get a full band treatment, but I was demoing some new songs and I just thought I’d bang that on there because I like the way it sounds.
a scientific procedure. Indeed, he says that he could probably write a book on curating setlists. Everybody has their own personal favourite tracks for their own reasons, but Frank finds that listening to his most dedicated fans’ requests is not actually the best way to go: ‘I realised a few years ago I need to stop reading the forum on my website when it comes to setlists, because as much as I get that the people there are regulars and they’re passionate, they’re not actually representative of the crowd as a whole. The classic example of that is the song Redemption, which is easily the most requested song in my catalogue by miles, and every single time I play it live it goes down like a fart in a spacesuit, apart from about five people at the front who go mental and love it.’ There are certain songs, like traditional set closer I Still Believe that make a Frank Turner set complete, and he insists that despite those who tell him that he ‘doesn’t need to’ play it, he always will. Has he considered not playing hometown anthem Wessex Boy in Winchester as an act of rebellion? ‘No, I think I’d be strung up from a lamppost if I did that!’ He’s modest, self-deprecating and well aware that he is a conspicuous face amongst the kind of names that usually grace the
O2 stage, sticking out like a sore thumb amongst mega pop stars like Beyonce and Katy Perry or the stadium filling anthems of The Killers and Coldplay. He even rejects the idea of being known as one of the most hardworking people in music, due to his infamously gruelling tour schedules, as he puts it: ‘I know lots of bands that work really hard, and secondly I know lots of people who work really hard at much less fun jobs who don’t get given pats on the back and accolades and awards and all that kind of shit’. Last year was the hardest he’d ever had to work though, he admits, as the triple pressures of a packed calendar, the pressure of working with a major label mixed and a back injury that left him wheelchair-bound making for a ‘bananas hard’ 2013. He has learnt from his experience though: ‘A little part of me looks back and thinks there was a degree of bravado to my touring schedule in the past years, and I’m not entirely sure who it was I was trying to impress. If, going forward, I just have a couple more weeks off here and there, I don’t think that’s a problem.’ Looking forward, the tour moves on to Europe after a couple of days’ rest, then Frank will hit another milestone, playing for the first time in South Africa. After that it’s festival season, where he’s so far been confirmed
“ ” ENTS
It ended up being a very personal record, partly because I had some shit that I wanted to talk about for Coachella in the US and Sonisphere over here. He’s also planning a debut album with his hardcore punk side project, Möngöl Hörde, featuring former Million Dead bandmate Ben Dawson on drums, and Matt Nasir, of his current backing band The Sleeping Souls, on guitar. Speaking about the prospect of his first return to a band since the split of Million Dead in 2005, he says: ‘The weird thing about Möngöl Hörde is that I’m so used to being the boss, but now there’s two other people, and I’m like ‘fuck, now I have to compromise!’ What I’d quite like to do is not do any kind of build up to the record at all, and then suddenly people wake up one Monday morning and it’s out and you can buy it on vinyl and on iTunes. I’m really excited
about it, because I think it’s completely fucking over the top and I think it’s gonna shock quite a lot of people.’ It’s clearly evident that FrankTurner is relishing the chance to shock those who might have written him off as just another nice-guy folk singer without knowing his roots in the punk scene, but it’s also clear that that crowd is seriously diminishing in size. His career trajectory is on the biggest upward curve yet, so if his career is to take an unexpected downturn in the next few years, and he does have to go back to playing slightly smaller rooms, would he care? Not a chance. Frank Turner’s latest album, Tape Deck Heart, and the Polaroid Picture EP are both available now.
T H E U LT I M AT E S H O W
Frank isn’t afraid to show his appreciation for live music, but who would be on his fantasy line up? We have to agree that this would be an incredible show!
Queen
The Weakerthans
FASHION
L O N D O N FASHION WEEK AW14
Words & Images Scarlett Dixon Design Pamela Odumusi
THE RUNDOWN
W
ith an assortment of bold prints, patterns and crazy designs, London Fashion Week in its entirety can be a little difficult for the average person (no matter how much you love fashion) to comprehend. Whilst tight leather bodysuits (with slashes in rather revealing places) might look fabulous on the catwalk, it isn’t really a feasible outfit for a trip to Asda. However, as a landmark event in the world of fashion, dictating the trends of the following season, what is making its way down the showspace of Somerset House, is worth taking note of. Here’s what to look out for in AW14 (it’s a long way off, but at least there’s time to start saving!):
HOUSE OF HOLLAND Despite Autumn/Winter traditionally featuring a monochrome palette, it seems that this year we will be venturing into a very bright winter wonderland, with a colourful mix of acid green, bold fuchsia and mustard yellow. Following on the same page as the current ‘preppy sports luxe’ trend that is rather prevalent on the high street at the moment, turtle neck printed t-shirts, boxy tops, bomber jackets and below the knee pencil skirts seemed to make an impact on the catwalk, teamed with polka dot detailing and furry pompom sandals (I may be giving those a miss). Upcoming trend: Long dresses over trousers. It sounds weird, but it works. Emma Watson worked it at the Golden Globes. And so - apparently - will we.
BURBERRY PRORSUM Although admittedly not the most student friendly, price wise, it is always interesting to see what the top designers are coveting - as more often than not, they are the trends our favourite high street stores opt to ‘tone down’ for our benefit. Rather unlike your typical winter wardrobe, Burberry’s catwalk featured supermodels such as Suki Waterhouse swathed in billowing fabrics, abstract printed scarves and a plethora of different textures. Upcoming trend: Layering. It’s already a staple feature of many wardrobes, but layering is soon to become a trend of its own. The more texture and the bigger the variety of fabrics you choose to layer, the better.
NERVE | 14
With London Fashion Week just round the corner, Scarlett Dixon looks at the designers to look forward to this year
TOPSHOP UNIQUE A rebellious schoolgirl vibe was the key feature of Topshop’s star studded show, which left the audience at the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall absolutely speechless. Lemon, cornflower (or powder) blue and beige featured heavily, with luxurious faux fur coats, preppy pinafores and printed cigarette trousers taking centre stage. Upcoming trend: Long dresses pinafores, beige blouses and collars galore, we’ll all soon be sporting a St Trinians inspired look, only this time, it’s not fancy dress.
MULBERRY Always famed for its gorgeous display, Mulberry’s AW14 show certainly didn’t disappoint, taking on a wonderful woodland secret garden stage to set the scene for the angelic, floaty fabrics that followed. As usual, the brand chose to shine a spotlight on a talent who made her name walking their show in previous years - Miss Cara Delevingne, who has designed a collaborative handbag collection with the head designers. Keen to make an impact in the fashion world, not only for her unique looks, Cara really impressed audiences with a versatile three-in-one style, featuring a rucksack, holdall and body cross strap. Upcoming trend: ‘Kate Middleton meets grunge.’ Think primed hair, flawless make-up and casual, comfortable fabrics.
NERVE | 15
FASHION
STREET STYLE This month Scarlett Dixon of scarlettlondon.com hunted down some of the hottest trends worn by LFW’s onlookers
Sports luxe is a big trend this season. Not only does this look provide serious sporting credentials, the monochrome colour palette creates a huge fashion vibe.
Zeynep Kartal coveted a very feminine, textured collection with an array of gorgeous evening wear. A classic, plain jumper always looks chic. These fashion week attendees have paired their knitwear with natural looking hair styling and make-up which creates the perfect minimalistic look. NERVE | 16
Design Abbi Hayden
Images Scarlett Dixon
Fashion Scout showcased a whole host of amazing collections. The models at Zeynep Kartal debuted ombrĂŠ lips and bronzed contoured cheeks.
Black ensembles are timeless. The addition of a pastel-pink, boyfriend fit coat takes this outfit to the next level. Accented by subtle jewellery this look is on trend and effortless.
Black boots are clearly a winner at this year’s LFW. Accompanied with a bold printed dress. this combination of classic styles is a sure winner
The Merit Award Showcase featured tailored mesh textures in a plethora of bright summer shades.
This capsule collection displayed in the ones to watch show, featured a very neutral, yet on trend palette.
NERVE | 17
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coasteering: taking the plunge
FEATURES
Looking to inject some adventure and adrenaline into your free time? Chances are coasteering will do just that. Katie Pathiaki and Anna Pujol-Mazzini went to find out more
W
hen it comes to the routine of day-to-day life most of us can get stuck in a rut. We fail to challenge, stimulate or push ourselves to really live life to the full, try new things or meet new people. Time at university is supposed to be the most exciting of our lives – so why aren’t more of us taking advantage of each precious day? However, there are in fact loads of activities out there for those looking to inject some adrenaline into their daily routine. With Dorset’s prime location on the coast, a new, alternative activity to eat up your time has become increasingly popular within the past few years, with more than 4000 getting involved in Dorset last summer alone - and the high it delivers is almost certainly one of the healthiest you can get. Coasteering, the practice of climbing up, jumping off and generally scrambling around on seaside cliffs, has seen its participation across the UK explode over the past two decades as more and more adventure companies have been set up to buy into the wider trend of more people going outdoors and getting active. Dorset may have been the last county in the UK to cotton on to the trend, but it is now the biggest coasteering hub in the entire country. One of the many companies offering coasteering in Dorset is Land and Wave. The biggest outdoor adventure company in the county provides a whole
host of other activities, from kayaking to coasteering to bushcraft – the chance to live the entire ‘go-outdoors’ experience is provided. But what exactly does bushcraft entail? "The teams practise fire lighting, shelter building and deer butchery." Explains Land and Wave’s operations manager Sophie Tanner. "They skin the deer and eat it for dinner. It’s not as gruesome as it sounds, there’s no blood and it’s fairly easy to do." Of course, most will draw the line at skinning animals when it comes to living the go outdoor experience – but Sophie assures that even those fearful of getting involved in coasteering have little to be scared of in terms of its image as a hard and gruelling activity. "You’re equipped with a thick 5mm wetsuit, socks, helmet and gloves which should keep you warm. The only parts that usually get cold are your fingers." Coasteering is one activity with few barriers – weather, fear and age are no factors in determining who or when you can do it. Sophie explains that bad weather makes the whole experience more fun, and that there are options available even for those terrified of heights. "It’s more exciting with waves! Part of the fun of coasteering is in the waves. But if people don’t want to jump or don’t feel ready, there’s always something else to do." NERVE | 19
Here at Nerve, we weren’t just going to take coasteering at face value – so we sent two of our writers to get involved with the activity for themselves. Here’s what they thought... Katie Like millions of people around the world, I’m not too keen on heights. The thought of looking down from a cliff is enough to make me anxious and sweaty. But there I was, about to jump and being told by my instructor Bill, "it’s a lot warmer than last year!" All I could think is "it’s going to freeze me to death"! Unbelievably he was right, it was warm! So my first fear had been smashed immediately. I felt like I could do anything as I powered on to the first rock, scaling my way up like the next Lara Croft; I was invincible! With the jumps getting progressively higher, there were always butterflies fluttering around my stomach, but they soon flew away as I descended towards the sea, screaming with delight – not fear, I promise!
I later found out that if you’re unfit, like myself, coasteering is pretty exhausting work. I accrued quite a few bumps and bruises climbing the rocks as my upper body failed to pull the rest of my body onto dry land. About an hour in, my prayers were answered and I got to sit down. The team produced chocolate bars out of thin air and served them with warm orange juice, which is much nicer than it sounds! "Don’t be afraid to say no, no is such a powerful word!" our instructor preached in his strong, Welsh accent. Those words resounded in my head as I loomed over a 16ft drop. The waves crashed against the rocks and there never seemed to be a good time to jump. "You can always say no!" Screw that. Today, I found bravery; I jumped!
“
The waves crashed against the rocks and there never seemed to be a good time to jump
“
Words Katie Pathiaki, Anna Pujol-Mazzini, Wil Oxford Design Alice Elizabeth Taylor NERVE | 20
FEATURES
“
For me, it will be fewer hangovers, and more adrenaline
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Anna I am sitting with a friend, sharing chocolate bars and hot drinks, while talking about boys. Pretty normal for a Wednesday afternoon. Except this time, we are sitting on a rock in the middle of the ocean. In spite of the unstable February weather, the view is stunning. We are at Durdle Door, on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, getting ready to go back in. I am in aggressive water, full of life and swimming like a puppy. For as much effort as I am putting into the activity, my body does not seem to move an inch. It’s two strokes forward, one stroke back. But as we climb, walk, and jump, everything we see is explained. Every single shellfish feels like a great discovery, and I even discover three different types of seaweed. I’m scared now. I’m standing on the top of this rock, and six people are expecting me to perform my last jump from it. That’s what I’m here for,
trying new things, far from my usual student Netflix-filled routine. There is too much air in my lungs. Or not enough, I’m not really sure. I volunteered to jump first, because I am bold. Or at least the girl I want to be is. It’s funny how much can go on in your head in that very moment. That’s it, I just did it. I’m high up in the air, falling while my lungs and stomach seem to have stayed on the edge of the rock. Weirdly, this is a marvellous feeling. As I stumble out of the sea, the cold has disappeared. The grin on my face, however, probably won’t for a while. My mind is made up: I want to try new things. I would not go coasteering every Wednesday, because the beauty of it is that it was something new, something different. But what about skydiving? Pole dancing? Travelling? This afternoon reminded me what life should be about: novelties, emotions, and overcoming fears. For me, it will be fewer hangovers, and more adrenaline.
If you want to have a go at coasteering or some of the other activities on offer at Land and Wave, visit their website www.landandwave. co.uk
NERVE | 21
ENTS
LOSTALONE As Lostalone announced their new tour, Joanne Ball caught up with lead guitarist and vocalist Steven Battelle as he talks about his fans, from breaking up fights to staying around to chat to them after the show Words Joanne Ball
we’ve really got to sell ourselves and get ourselves out there too, so it’s a bit weird." Steven discussed the poetically named Shapes of Screams. "Nothing I do is just for sound, it means something, everything we write means something — it’s how I process the world. Shapes of Screams, it’s how I see them when I close
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A three piece in a bigger band world?
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teven kicked off the interview with news that the tour dates had jusr been released, and new music uploaded to the web for millions to download. "You can’t believe how exciting and stressful just updating things can be" he said, "You’ve spent so much time on it, and it’s yours but then at the click of a button it’s out there. iTunes have it, Amazon have it. It’s quite a daunting and exhilarating thing." This is especially with social media where feedback is instant, however in an internet age, while being constantly in touch with your fans is a blessing, it can also be a curse. "I sometimes feel like a salesman you know" Steve starts, "it’s great you like it, please buy it. If you don’t- we won’t be a band. It’s not 1975 where bands can make five albums and not have a hit, but to survive we need people behind us. It’s like, always at the back of my mind when people tweet or Facebook us saying they love a song or a show or whatever — ‘did you steal it or did you buy it?’ "And I’m a musician, I’m a writer, but
my eyes. If you’re angry or scared, I see these kind of shapes which are very red.
Design Steph Bradshaw
I might have a problem, but that’s how I see things, and that’s where the name comes from." At the beginning of the year, they were on tour with The Blackout, a band they toured with previously in 2011. They’re also in the same circle at the Kerrang! awards, when they both feature, so they know them quite well. "They’re all great guys, very similar attitude in how they do things and towards music. It was a pleasure to be out with them, and they were great audiences." One of the standout shows for them was Bournemouth, which they all loved. "It felt like a celebration of a really great tour". Another place they were fond with was Newcastle. "When we play, I like to get into the crowd with my guitar and really get a connection with them. In Newcastle, I jumped into the middle of a fight between four girls, so I had to sort that out. It’s something I’ve not done before, and kind of don’t want to again, but it was memorable!" The band’s schedule shows they like to be busy, announcing their April tour,
it’s our fans who got us here and will keep us here, but love us for our music. "Every show we do, if people stick around we’ll meet every one of them. It’s always happened, since rock ‘n’ roll that if you like a band, you’re going to want memorabilia. Also it’s so good to get
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If you like us as a band for our music we’ll give you everything
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punctuating festivals, and supporting shows in Britain, the USA, and in mainland Europe. "It’s funny," Steve says, "when we started out we were very popular in mainland Europe", where they headlined (and filled) venues they could only support in the UK. "Mind you, we played a headline tour at the beginning of last year in small venues which was amazing — really busy — so there’s all kinds of shows we’ve done. "Audiences are different too. If you’re doing a show in London, even if it’s your own audience who are there to see you, which is brilliant, there are bands every night of the week — often more than one — so you’re fighting for people’s attention and time. If you go to Spain, or South America, even in the big cities, bands don’t tend to go there much, the audiences are so passionate. And that’s not changed, if you see the documentaries of big bands back in the 80s like Queen or Iron Maiden, going to Rio where the fans are insane, some quitting their jobs and travelling halfway across the country just to see the show. It’s just a testament to how music can affect people, which is why we put so much into our fans. "If you like us as a band for our music we’ll give you everything. "If you want to get to know us, like our favourite colour or what we ate for dinner, not so much. We do social media chats a lot and we try to answer all comments on statuses and tweets, because
feedback from people that really matter. At the end of the day, you get on a stage because you want to impress people, so having people tell you they like it is a good thing. No matter how serious you are as a band, we’re in the entertain-
ment business." As a three piece, they have a lot more to do, both behind the scenes and on stage, something which is clear when they play before The Blackout. "There’s definitely more responsibility" Steve says, "and you’ve got to think about what you’re doing more. I’m the guy who has to interact with the crowd. When you’re a guitarist and lead singer, you’ve kind of got a barrier between you and the audience, it’s a lot harder to just be spontaneous because I’ve got to think of the music I’m playing. I can’t just start walking or dancing off the cuff, like Sean or Gavin, [singers in the Blackout] but I’m lucky, really lucky. Alan and Mark are such a good rhythm section, and they let me to an extent do whatever when we play-like going into the crowd and doing a dance, or stopping a fight, I can stop and talk to the audience or just sing, because it’s those guys who really keep it together." Before their headline tour the band are packing in some smaller festivals, such as Takedown in Southampton, and Radstock in Liverpool. This summer is proving as successful as the last, as they’re also signed up to appear in some bigger festivals, but were keeping those under wraps for now. Asking him for any final comments, Steven says "if you’ve got ears, buy the album"! Shapes of Screams is out on 7th April. The band will be performing a 15-date tour from 3rd-18th April.
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COMMENT
Re: Britain’s Next Big Model The models in shop windows are not grotesque, they are a celebration of our diversity
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fter reading the previous article Britain’s Next Big Model slamming the introduction of ‘plus size’ mannequins into high street stores, my opinionated self couldn’t resist but retaliate with a more positive approach. I do not feel that this introduction is neither a ‘bizarre’ nor ‘disgusting’ way to sell fashion, as expressed previously. In fact I feel the complete opposite. As a person strongly concerned with health and wellbeing, minus the odd chocolate bar here and there, I promote that the awareness of the benefits from exercise and eating in moderation is important. However, I strongly oppose any ideas that having larger and simply, more realistic mannequins is supporting ‘laziness and gluttony’. In fact, after reading the worring article expressing such opinions, something that was recognised by almost all of the girls I spoke to was that women can be athletic, health conscious and pro-active and buy a size 16 item. Should they care? No of course not. We, as humans come in all shapes and sizes and if you differ from a size 8 mannequin seen in the majority of fashion retailers, or from a size 16 mannequin, that it is perfectly normal and frankly, absolutely brilliant. Personally, I neither match the ‘normal’ size mannequin, nor the newer, larger mannequins, so why should I feel so strongly? My disgust towards comments previously expressed in the original article, claiming that a size 16 mannequin makes the "backside look not dissimilar to that of a rhino’s" are based on the fact that there is already far too much negativity in the world, particularly towards our own bodies and how we are told we should look,
with the impression that the thinner you are the more desirable you are. What a load of conceited nonsense. I feel that we should all be made aware that your body size, your ethnicity, your gender, or your sexuality for that matter, does NOT determine your self worth. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. The writer mentioned in the original article, "..does not mean that we can tell society that you should feel proud of your body size, whatever that may be". I disagree entirely, for obvious reasons. We should embrace and enjoy the way we are, as it is what separates us from all walking around like mindless clones. The celebration of our different body sizes in society is something that has appeared in the media a lot recently, with movements and campaigns towards acceptance and calls for retailers and magazines to represent all women, rather than ridiculing each other for not fitting an image which is sold to us as ‘perfection’. I feel that this introduction of size 16 mannequins displays not only a brilliant understanding of a brand’s target market, but also a celebration of diversity. Perhaps opinions about varied types and looks of mannequins would change if it were down to colour? Let’s imagine that instead shops used mannequins with flesh tones. Now imagine if these shops only made one flesh tone, reflecting one ethnicity. Not representing the general public, which of course is made up of various ethnicities. Not reflecting diversity. I’d find this hugely controversial and I can assume the negative opinions expressed about diversity in mannequins and models would change. So why is it different for sizes?
Words: Cara Crowcombe Multi-Media Journalism @CaraaaC Illustration: Nathan Hackett AUCB Illustration Graduate
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We, as humans come in all shapes and sizes
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Something
to say?
Get your opinions published by sending your thoughts to comment@ nervemedia.org.uk
NERVE | 25
ENTS
THE TWANG
Casey Farr spoke to founding member and bassist Jon Watkins about the new album, Neon Twang, the significance of the title, and how things have changed since the band began in 2001
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s far as legitimate indie bands go, The Twang tick all the necessary boxes. For those of you who weren’t part of the festival circuit in 2007/08, they’re a guitar band from Birmingham that formed in the millennium, just in time to catch the tail end of NERVE | 26
Britain’s indie glory days. Part of a wave of talent to come from the Midlands in the late nineties/ early noughties - and compared to bands like The Enemy - they’ve spent the last 13 years touring max capacity venues. They’ve headlined the John Peel
stage at Glastonbury, sold out shows at the Brixton Academy, and collaborated with the likes of Pro Green and Mike Skinner from The Streets. Right now they’re on the brink of releasing their fourth album Neon Twang, titled in honour of the name the band adopted when they first formed.
Kind of... it’s a return in a sense of the way we go about things now. It’s reference to how we were before we got signed, when we did everything ourselves creatively. When you sign a big record deal, lots of other people get involved, and you lose sight of who you were in a team of creatives. Signing with a big major label, you have to do a lot of things you don’t want to do, because you have to fulfill commitments. You end up putting out singles and videos you don’t even like. Now we’re back to doing it all ourselves, being in control of what we’re doing, so it’s a loose reference to that.
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We’ve got our own studio and label, so we can go in whatever direction feels right
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Out of interest, why did you originally drop the ‘Neon’ from your name? Well we’d been gigging for probably 2 or 3 years as Neon Twang, and we’d built up kind of a reputation that wasn’t... well it was quite tarnished within the industry. Our fans were quite boisterous, and we got banned from quite a few venues. When we got a new manager he suggested that we drop the Neon from the name, and make a fresh start. So we did.
Q&A
The title of your new album suggests a return to your roots, is that the case?
after school. We weren’t old enough to get into clubs, but we knew what was going on in the clubs. Then we caught on to the end of the Oasis thing, and The Verve, and all the other great bands that came at that time, so we got into guitar music. Before, we used to kind of take the piss out of it, but Oasis changed all that. That era of Blur, the Stone Roses, The Smiths, Happy Mondays - we were big Happy Mondays fans, they were a big influence on us.
The peak of fame for The Twang coincided with popularisation of indie culture; as electronic music regains traction, how do you see The Twang fitting in? Do you feel any pressure to adapt your sound? Maybe, maybe. On the next record we might go that way. You’ve gotta do what’s natural as well. Our manager said to us four or five years ago, "Why don’t you put the guitars down and go electro?" but I don’t think you can just ‘go electro’. I don’t think you should really just follow the crowd, unless you feel inclined. I mean we’ve listened to a lot of dance music in our time, so we’ll see. Your collaboration with Mike Skinner and Pro Green for the remix of ‘Either Way’ united some unusual characters, how did that come about?
We were huge Streets fans from the start. I remember listening to the first album, and I’d never heard anything like it. When we first signed our deal we were always referencing him — he’s also originally from Birmingham. We were travelling to Brighton one morning, and our manager called saying, "Skinners done the remix". We listened to it. We loved it. Then when we got to Brighton, he was parked in his Rolls Royce outside the venue waiting to shoot the video. It was surreal, y’know? Pro Green was signed to his record label at the time, so he was bought on for a bit of exposure. Now he’s huge! Is there any one else you’d be keen to collab with? Errrrr... Let me come back to that one.
Fair enough. Who were your musical influences growing up then? We were into dance music when we first used to hang around together
So what’s been the highlight of your career so far?
a record deal because it’s what you dream of doing, and what you need to progress. It’s a double-edged sword really though, because you get the money and the coverage, but you have to live up to the hype. The highlights have to be Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds, travelling and meeting people. There’s so many. Where do you find inspiration?
At the moment from books, I’ve been reading all sorts for the last few years. It opens up your creative headspace, I’ve been doing a bit of writing as well, and that feeds ideas for songs. Being creative like that, it keeps the mind active. It’s like anything, if you take six months off from playing the guitar or writing a single lyric it takes a while to get back into it, because the mind switches off. You’ve gotta keep feeding the mind. Maybe that’s The Twang’s secret, that you’ve never really taken a break from music?
Yeah maybe. You’ve gotta enjoy it as well I think. And what are your plans looking into the future? Do you see yourselves continuing at this pace?
Yeah, absolutely. We’ve got no plans to stop. We may do a little side project in the next year. We’ve got our own studio and label, so we can go in whatever direction feels right. Good to hear there’s no signs of slowing down yet! Let’s leave it on that positive note. It’s been a pleasure catching up!
[Interrupting abruptly] We’d like to collaborate with a band called DIIV from New York. Told you I’d remember! Nice one. Anyone else you’d like to big up more locally?
There’s a couple of bands from Birmingham: JAWS and Superfood. They’ve just signed a big deal, I think they’re gana be quite big. Grafham Water Sailing Club are quite good, and Babypink are getting a bit of coverage as well.
You can grab yourself a copy of Neon Twang now.
At the time it was probably getting NERVE | 27
SPORT
STUART PEARCE After England only just scraped their way to this summer’s World Cup in Rio, Nerve sits down with former u21 boss Stuart Pearce to hear his thoughts about the future of the national team
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aving suffered heartbreak with the three lions numerous times during his 78 caps for England, Stuart Pearce knows more than most about English football. After hanging up his boots, the 51-year old went on to take over management responsibilities of the U21 national side, where he enjoyed six years in the hot seat, albeit suffering a slightly messy finale. Pearce’s young lions crashed out of last summer’s European Championships in Israel after losing all their group games and netting just once in a total of 270 minutes, resulting in a dismissal and a sour ending for Pearce’s managerial duties. But ‘psycho’, as he was referred to on the pitch, looks back on his time with England with fondness. "If I could replicate another six years of management like that then I would snap your hand off. It was a great and successful time. We went to four tournaments consecutively, no European under-21 country had done that before. Yes, at our last tournament we didn’t get out of the group stages and that was a real disappointment, but I warned the FA prior to the tournament that eight of my best players at under-21 level were missing." NERVE | 28
Pearce guided his under-21 side to the final of the 2009 European Championships, eventually losing out to Germany, and admits that he should have done a few things differently. "I should have taken the best players available to every tournament and not upgraded them to the senior level until they were ready, as it gives them the totally wrong impression that they had done enough groundwork at lower level. I would have taken every age appropriate player and until we start to do that, we will never be successful at senior level. " "My last six years were viewed on how many trophies we won, and if you ask why we didn’t pick that many up it’s because the best players didn’t go to the tournaments. It’s as simple as that. If you want a statistic, Theo Walcott, since going to the World Cup with the senior squad in 2006, at age appropriate level, could have gone to two World Cups, two senior level European Championships, three u21 tournaments, an Olympic games, two u19 finals and two u20 finals. But since going to the World Cup in ‘06, I think he’s played something in the region of fiveand-a-half matches in its entirety, which works out at half a game per tournament. That’s mismanagement of one of the brightest young talents in the country." With English players now accounting for less than a third of all minutes played in the Premier League, a worrying picture is being painted for the future of the English national game, and Pearce believes until something changes, we will not win a major tournament again. "We might win one if we’re lucky and have two or three superstars who are absolutely superb like Paul Gascoigne, but we wont do it, because we haven’t put a process in place." "If you look, I think it’s only Greece and Denmark in 1992, who have won a major tournament without having success at younger age groups at some stage earlier. " "If you roll the clock back to around 1998, before France won the World Cup and the European Championships, their under-21s, a few years earlier, were under-21 champions, under-19 champions, you name it. Spain were the same – they were winning all the under-age groups before they went onto win something major. It’s all down to planning and sending your players to all the tournaments possible." Statistically, the problem hovering over English
football is only getting worse. The percentage of minutes accumulated by English players in the Premier League is down 3% from 2008, and when compared to Europe’s other top leagues, La Liga for instance, is made up of 59% homegrown players- almost double our own figure. How do we expect to compete with these international powerhouses if we’re neglecting our own talents and aiding the development of theirs? "The problem is only going to get worse unless we put a quota system in place to cap the amount of foreign players coming over here," says Pearce. "My experience as a manager often found just six of my 23-man squad actually played on the previous Saturday for their respective domestic clubs." "But you can’t rely on English clubs to support the English national game, it’s just not going to happen. The FA has to look after the English game. The clubs don’t have a vested interest, their fans want them to be the best in the world so you can’t expect them not to spread their net and try to capture the best talent from all over the world." "The EPPP [Elite Player Performance Plan] and everything is all good, but there are certain things which need changing. The loaning system – there are too many clubs not loaning out their players because they have to loan them for three months, six months etc. The system has to be more flexible. Clubs should be able to send players out and recall them at the drop of a hat. People would argue that it would bring up fair play, but I’ve been in the position before as a club manager. I had young players like Daniel Sturridge, who were 18th or 19th in the squad and travelling with the team. If I could have, I would have loaned them out on the Thursday or Friday knowing full well, that if one of my other players picked up an injury, I could recall them straight away. But when you have to commit to a month or two months at a time, and your job is on the line, you just don’t do it." Pearce has previously called for a radical change to the English national game, boasting the idea of fielding an English under-21 side in the SkyBet championship, resulting in more game time for the country’s brightest, but unplayed talents. Whatever happens, Roy Hodgson’s side should expect a hard time over the next few years, until the problem is tackled at its root – grassroots football.
Words Ash Hover Design Jack Mullen NERVE | 29
Procrasti-Baking FEATURES
More than ever before students are getting busy in the kitchen, indulging in an alternative way to stave off doing dreaded exams and assignments – but why? April Hollamby went to find out more
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ith Easter just around the corner, the temptation to dive into a sea of naughty treats is overwhelming. Chances are most of us will eat a chocolate egg or two over the holidays – but what would you say to the idea of creating your treats from scratch? Despite our good intentions at the start of the year, a new form of binging has replaced alcohol-fuelled nights and we are instead tantalizing our taste buds and challenging our culinary skills. Student bakers are increasingly displaying their baked goods all over the internet on Pinterest, Instagram and personal baking blogs more so than ever before – and these are not all half-hearted attempts. From basic cupcakes to a ‘salted caramel velvet cake, topped with hazelnuts dipped in hot caramel’ – it seems students have upped their game. Lizzy Wallis, President at BU Baking Society runs weekly meetings where amateur bakers can, at a small fee, advance their skills, socialise with their baking partners and volunteer doing things like cake decorating at the Freshers Fair. "We are the largest society in BU and have big presence on campus." The society is made up of both BU and AUB students from all years and genders: "We have successfully removed the stigma that only ‘housewives’ bake with 15% of our members being male." Even the lads are getting involved – a new tactic to entice the ladies perhaps? Lizzy explains that baking isn’t
NERVE | 30
just about the finished product; progressing through the recipe and into the baking process is a therapeutic experience. Joining the baking society breaks the monotonous routine of university and enables students to be creative, de-stress and socialise. However baking does take time and it can be a slow process. Being forced to sit and wait for bread to rise, or pastry to chill is a relaxing exercise in itself. Not to mention the tactile pleasures of kneading, whisking or precisely decorating your baked treat. And then, of course, there’s the sense at the end of creating something spectacular – whether for yourself or someone else. This idea of ‘procrasti-baking’ allows us to fill time that should be spent doing other things, yet can be completely justified by producing patisserie perfection. TV shows like the BBC’s ‘Great British Bake Off’ can also be attributed to our new fixation for pretty wicker baskets filled with sugary pastry goods. The show saw over 2 million viewers last season and has seen three finalist student bakers, with one winner, John Waite in 2012. The show inspired desires in the not-even-amateur-baker to give it a go. "Celebrity participation and high media coverage in baking has gotten people motivated. We were inspired by GBBO to hold the coveted ‘Star Baker’ award says Lizzy. A trendy way of fighting the stereotype of students poor skills in the kitchen, and being able to say ‘Oh this?
This is just something I whipped up ‘cos I was bored – no biggie.’ Of course, another treat-filled holiday - Easter - was never going to slip our minds when Crème Eggs were put on shop shelves just 6 days after Christmas. I mean, how were we really expected not to eat our body weight in chocolate again until April? It’s simply barbaric.
This in turn lead to the emergence of ‘crème egg brownies’; brownies made with cut-in-half crème eggs put in the middle of the mixture and then baked in the oven to all ooze together in a mouth-watering, heavenly mixture. The Baking Society is well acquainted with recipes like these, and often do holiday themed sessions making ‘Halloween cheese-
Want to try out an alternative treat to chocolate this Easter? We have just the recipe.
DUFFINS:
a cross between a doughnut and a muffin
Ingredients:
cake’ and Valentines ‘treacle tart hearts’. Inspiration is also taken from their trips and socials, with the society looking forward to upcoming trips to Cadbury World and the Cake International exhibition. But baking has also become really popular for those who are inclined to be very aware of the food they are eating. It isn’t all lemon drizzle sponges and icing sugar; many recipes being posted are to promote alternative, healthy baked goods, as well as allergy safe treats. "We encourage those with dietary requirements to participate by providing alternative ingredients. Baking products instead of buying shop-bought cakes enables students to know exactly what is in the food they’re eating." Lizzy explains that recipes such as the ‘2 minute berry mug muffins’ with the minimal ingredients of oats, 1 egg and some blueberries, actually provides a healthier and cheaper snack for the bored, sweet-toothed student. Though ingredients such as butter, sugar and milk don’t necessarily adhere to the check list of maintaining a slim physique, it seems only good things are coming from baking; delicious cake, liberation and an alternative to the mundane routines of everyday student life. Design Rachel Burke
150g caster sugar, 200g plain flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 2 large eggs, 100ml plain yoghurt, 150g melted butter, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 12 tsps. jam or your own filling Extra caster sugar for the coating
Method:
1. Heat oven to 180°c and lightly grease a 12-hole muffin tin. 2. Put sugar, flour &baking powder in a bowl & mix to combine 3. In a separate bowl/jug, whisk together the yoghurt, eggs & vanilla extract. 4. Pour the wet ingredients &melted butter in the dry ingredients & fold until mixed well. 5. Place 1 tbsp. of the mixture into each muffin hole. Add 1 tsp. of the jam (or your own filling e.g. marmalade, lemon curd, nutella) into the centre of each and then cover with the rest of the batter. 6. Place the muffins into the oven and allow to bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown & cooked through. 7. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tin before removing & rolling in the caster sugar. Serve warm! .
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You might not have heard of Danish singer MØ yet, but you will soon. She talks to Eve Hewitt about fashion, feminism and her debut album No Mythologies to Follow
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Writing the songs is the best part of it
NERVE | 32
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ince her EP Bikini Daze dropped last year, Karen Marie Ørsted, otherwise known as MØ, hasn’t had a day off. She describes 2013 as ‘crazy, wish-fulfilling and no sleep’. During the interview, she’s chilling in the apartment she shares with seven other young people in Copenhagen. Although MØ misses the times where she could relax and hang out with friends she says a life of touring and making funky electro-pop music is her dream. After a little nervous laughter MØ admits that The Spice Girls were the ones who inspired her to become a musician, "I felt like they were appealing to me and all my friends. I started making songs and became addicted to it." The Spice Girls may have influenced MØ to become a musician, but after that she was all about punk and grunge music. She says her biggest inspiration is Sonic Youth. "My music doesn’t sound like them but their lyrical creativity and the visual stuff which goes along with the music — the whole universe they have created around themselves and their attitude is inspiring." MØ struggles to name current bands that inspire her, she’s been compared to electro-pop artists such as Twin Shadow, Grimes and Santigold but doesn’t actively listen to much music herself. "There’s a lot of stuff that I like but I never walk around at home and put on a record. I don’t listen to music like that because I’ve always made music myself so I get too confused if I listen to too much music." Her debut album No Mythologies to Follow will be released in March, "the theme of the album is being young and confused in modern society. Nowadays we don’t have guidelines or Bibles to navigate through our crazy weird society. The media, or social media has become religion. We glorify eternal youth and eternal beauty, fame and money, and it’s so hard for young people who feel like they need to live up to all these things but it’s impossible to be flawless" she adds "it’s about being young and restless and frustrated and wanting to escape the society but also wanting to be a part of it" she explains.
Don’t Wanna Dance, MØ’s latest single, is about the bright side of being young and confused. She explains it’s about enjoying the best time of your life and "just hanging out with your best friends, it’s just so fucking precious". The idea behind the song is to embrace the times where you get drunk with your friends and don’t care about the morning light. Despite being young and confused MØ loves youth and doesn’t dare think about getting old. "Writing the songs is the best part of it" MØ says when we discuss her creative process, "I like to arrange my own vocals, the leads and the choirs and all that stuff and actually make a full acapella song" shining examples of her acapella are Pilgrim and Waste of Time, which you may recognise from the Koppaberg advert. On track XXX 88, MØ collaborated with DJ and producer Diplo who has worked with a number of artists including Beyoncé, M.I.A and Snoop Lion. He is also the creator of an electronic dancehall project called Major Lazer. "I love his sound. The song Get Free by Major Lazer is my favourite song of all time. He has a heaviness and a depth to his music and he’s just so fucking cool. He definitely inspires me, very much." Other collaborations MØ would love to do would be Blood Orange and Twin Shadow. She also says working with up-and-coming electronic artist SOHN would be cool "because he’s just so fucking great." MØ has played gigs all around the world, so when asked where her favourite place to perform is, she takes a while to decide, and answers with "New York" as it was "a crazy experience". But home is where the heart is and MØ speaks highly of Denmark’s music scene: "we have a pretty big scene for music but the UK is legendary! We’re good at making music that is underground. There are some good pop acts too but we’re strongest when it comes to edge." Anyone who has seen MØ perform knows that she doesn’t hold back; she punches the air and throws the wildest of shapes. "I’m very much just trying to let go" she says. Her songs are drawn from personal experiences and part of her performance is to tell the story behind them, "on stage I’m just going crazy. Feeling it. Smashing it. Well...trying to anyway," she laughs. MØ describes her style as sporty,
grungy and natural but is quick to make sure she is not perceived as a fashionista: "I don’t see myself as a fashion guru" it’s quite endearing. In reference to a small Pussy Riot tattoo on her inner arm, questions on whether MØ is a feminist or not are raised. "I’ve been in the left wing punk environment for so many years so I’m a bit afraid of the word feminism because it can be misunderstood. But I am very much for equal rights." Twenty years from now MØ would
like to still be making music for a living. "I’d love to have an apartment in Copenhagen, one in New York and one in London" she laughs, "but that’s just a dream scenario. In twenty years I’d like to have released ten albums... I don’t know if that’s possible but something like that!" We can only hope. Design Becca Whitmore Images Thomas Skou NERVE | 33
THROUGH THE LENS
SEND YOUR PHOTOS TO photo@nervemedia.org.uk
Cuban Car Megan Reid Freelance Photographer These cars are quintessential iconic images of Cuba. As you can see this car and all of the other cars that were there that day all date from the 1950’s. It may look fancy but these cars are people’s everyday transport and amazingly they have been kept running by the ingenuity of the Cuban people. Because of the embargo imposed on Cuba there were no spare parts available so the people had to improvise and made spare parts from things like washing machines, old tyres, and even made their own brake fluid from household chemicals.
EATING FEATURES
PRIMAL Dieting is tricky when there are so many types to choose from. But what would you say to reverting back to the eating habits of our ancestors? Mallory Mabe went to find out more.
Words Mallory Mabe Design Lucy Figiel Illustration Aisling Crosland
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common day foods like pasta, cereal, or any other grains and dairy products. This means sweets and chocolate have to go too, folks! Grains are composed of carbohydrates, and those carbs are turned into a type
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e all think we have evolved. That there are no longer Neanderthals or wild humans roaming about, that McDonalds is a main food group and that Starbucks is an acceptable way to get vitamins. What we don’t realise is that in terms of nutrition, we have evolved into dangerous territory - leading to higher health risks in mankind each year. From the 5:2 to Weight Watchers, or eating everything and only exercising, everyone has their own eating habits or their theory of the best lifestyle to follow. But what is it that we have evolved from, exactly? Paleo. The Paleo diet is, in a sense, a diet without dieting. Also referred to as the primal lifestyle or caveman diet, this ‘diet’ is one from the beginning of human time. The Paleo lifestyle is one of only natural foods. The lifestyle consists of primarily meatbased dishes with vegetables, nuts, seeds, and dark chocolate. To put it simply: if it has a shelf life then don’t eat it. This is a low carb, no sugar, no grain lifestyle with a primary focus on eating, well... like cavemen did. The key aspect of Paleo is to rid the body of unnecessary toxins within
This is a low carb, no sugar, no grain lifestyle with a primary focus on eating, well... like cavemen did
of sugar known as glucose in our system to be used for energy and various other tasks to help our body function. Any glucose that isn’t used as energy is stored as fat. This lifestyle consists of a cold-turkey approach to rid of sugar
cravings before allowing you to reap the benefits. The benefits of this diet outweigh the negatives and in recent years the Paleo diet has become one of the leading weight-loss lifestyles. Because of the unlimited amounts of fruits and veggies permitted on The Paleo Diet, your body will be slightly alkaline – meaning that diseases and symptoms of acid/base imbalance (osteoporosis, kidney stones, hypertension, stroke, asthma, insomnia, motion sickness, inner ear ringing, and exercise-induced asthma) will improve. One of the most common misconceptions with this lifestyle is that you can never bake or eat ‘junk’ again. For every junky, sugary food that you love there is a Paleo version. Instead of using regular flour simply replace it with coconut or almond flour. For sugar in a recipe substitute honey. Fancy a cheeky pizza? Use almond flour or even cauliflower to create the base.There are Paleo recipes for anything from pancakes to cinnamon rolls or pizza to pasta so don’t let the grain-free aspect of this lifestyle scare you away – it’s brilliant!
Still not tempted to go back to basics? Nutritional Physiologist and Anti-Ageing Fitness Nutritionist, Rick Hay, explains the pros and cons of this wild lifestyle: What is your opinion on living the Paleo lifestyle? I like the going back to basics element of this diet but have concerns that some people just focus on the meat aspect of it and end up contradicting some of the positive effects that come with eliminating highly processed foods and grains.
the diet varied. I believe that some people eliminate all fruit from their diet thereby missing out on lots of antioxidant-rich phytonutrients. I caution people not to eat too much red meat as this, in my opinion, is just as bad as too much sugar. For people considering making the change to this diet, what is your advice?
What are the key benefits? Weight management and its associated benefits like lower blood pressure - so long as the focus is not on red meat, good amounts of omega 3, more energy, better digestion, improved hair, skin and nails, lean muscle mass and toning. What are the negatives of this lifestyle? People think that caveman or Paleo means they can eat lots of red meat as they choose - you need to keep
If you want to follow the Paleo diet make the changes slowly - do your research on what is and isn’t allowed. Don’t eliminate everything on day one and make sure your Paleo diet stays varied! Is limiting fruit and dairy intake good or bad nutritionally? If you are looking for weight management results tropical fruits are best avoided but two servings of fruits like raspberries or blueberries
are beneficial, in my opinion, for energy, vitality and to boost immunity. The nuts, seeds, leafy greens and fish options like salmon and sardines provide calcium. How can this meat/seafood-dominated diet help weight-loss compared to a high-carb, low-fat diet? High carb diets are only beneficial for certain athletes when training or competing to give extra energy and we need good fats in our diets so I’d prefer the low red meat version of Paleo. Doesn’t the meat-based diet of our ancestors promote high cholesterol and heart disease? Yes if the focus is on red meat - red meat twice a week with the rest of the week’s focus being on veg and fish based dishes will achieve the best results for health.
FEATURES
T R I E D & TA S T E D
We love a pizza – but next time you have a hunger for the famed Italian dish, Nerve’s Andrea Avellano suggests going authentic. We sent him to Bellagio Pizzeria in Winton to sample the menu
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short walk up Winton high-street is the authentic Bellagio pizzeria, a traditional family-run independent restaurant on the doorstep of thousands of pizza-loving students. Booking is necessary if you go late in the evening, but if you’re eating alone at half-past six like me, then there’s no need to embarrass yourself in advance. The waitress assumed on my arrival that I was getting a takeaway – "No, unfortunately not – table for one please." I arrived to a rather quiet restaurant, only two tables were occupied and on first impressions the restaurant is rather simple: wooden tables and chairs, seating around 35 maximum. You immediately see why this restaurant is rated fourth out of 500 eateries in Bournemouth on TripAdvisor - their pizza oven. A real wood fire oven that cooks pizza the classic Italian way, not on a conveyor belt oven like those employed in many typical high-street pizzerias. The service was kind and friendly, making me feel at ease as soon as I sat down, and I was assured that eating out alone was OK. I ordered a San Pellegrino orangeade that was a mere £1 and some
bruschetta and calamari to start. Bruschetta is a perfect way to start a meal because it’s both filling and refreshing. Bellagio’s wasn’t bad, priced at a fair £3.95; thick toasted bread drizzled with olive oil and served with ripened tomatoes, with a hint of garlic and oregano. It did require a little salt and some more oregano would have transformed it, but that’s just my palate. Calamari is a tricky one. Priced at a £4.95, the squid rings were edible but strangely served on a plate that resembled a mosaic that you’d find in the Vatican. The balsamic glaze underneath the calamari was completely futile. The tartar sauce that accompanied it was incredibly sharp to the extent where I was gasping for water. Overall, the calamari did not leave me wanting more and I wouldn’t recommend them. So far it was pretty mediocre but great things lay ahead on the horizon. I ordered the house pizza, ‘the Bellagio’. A margherita pizza served with Parma ham, cherry tomatoes, rocket and parmesan. The photo doesn’t do it justice but I was wowed when it was presented to me. Look at the crust - all crisp and puffed
Ratings
up. A generous scattering of thin, decadent Parma ham and a perfect amount of salty parmesan cheese. I was given some homemade chilli oil to drizzle over and it was deliciously hot, fiery and incredibly moreish. Bellagio took me back to my childhood on the streets of Naples, the birthplace of pizza and of course, yours truly – and I’m sure the pizza served at this quaint little restaurant would fit in perfectly over there. ‘The Bellagio’ pizza is the most expensive item on the incredibly varied menu at £7.95, which is a complete steal. Going back to the popular chains, which are only good on Tuesdays and if you are hung-over, the cheapest pizza is £13.50 and that’s only for an uninspiring cheese and tomato with around 10,000 calories. If you’re looking for something that will take you on holiday to Italy in a single mouthful then Bellagio is the place to go. The pizzas are special and the pasta dishes looked great too. You can bring your own alcohol which is very helpful, in doing so the restaurant does charge you a little, but, kudos to them for allowing us students to take our stocks of cheaply bought booze.
Words Andrea Avellano Design Rachel Burke
Atmosphere
Food
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Service
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8/10
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Neville Staple
ENTS
The original rudeboy and figurehead of ska Neville Staple is back. Eve Hewitt caught up with him to discuss post-Specials touring, his new band and a few more unusual topics ahead of his set at the Larmer Tree Festival this Summer
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eville Staple, formerly of The Specials and Fun Boy Three, is somewhat a veteran when it comes to the music industry. He’s heard every question from the press over the years, so even the more unusual question of choosing between free food for a lifetime and the ability to read minds didn’t faze Neville. After a few moments deliberation he chose free food, "It’s pointless being able to read minds because they’d only be saying what a tosser I am." In case you were wondering whether Neville would rather be in a hammock or a teepee, he’d choose a teepee because it would keep him out of the rain, "I don’t know about these abstract questions! I’m just an ordinary rudeboy, I’m not an educated rudeboy." So the conversation turned to music. After being in the music industry for over 35 years Neville feels like his sound has matured;
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"I’ve learnt over the years" says Neville, "it’s like an apprenticeship and when I play with The Neville Staple Band, I think it’s all worth it. The music is more lovely to me, more lively." Neville is currently touring with his self-titled band, with support from the Dub Pistols. Fans can expect to hear some old Specials classics as well as some new material, which will appear on his new album, released this month. Unsurprisingly, Neville only listens to old reggae and ska. Prince Buster, Rico, Desmond Dekker and Dennis Brown are his favourites, just to name a few. "Ah man, I could keep going on" he sighs. Before The Specials, Neville was a sound system (a Jamaican term for a DJ who plays ska or reggae music) in Rugby, playing records and talking over them. He then joined The Coventry Automatics, who went on to become The Special AKA and then most famously, The Specials. They were renowned for their tours, with their live show EP being only the second of its type to top the UK chart. "There’s been so many gigs that it’s hard to say which one was my favourite," he laughs. The Specials supported many of the punk bands that were around at the time and even played with legendary punk rock band, The Clash. Neville was in and out of The Specials over the years, but left because the band was too rigid and touring became less enjoyable. He believes things may have been different if founding member and keyboardist Jerry Dammers was still in the band, and Neville says he would probably still be part of the group. His new band, The Neville Staple Band is less rigid than The Specials, "it’s not just ‘a show’ - we enjoy being on stage". Life out of The Specials is more relaxed, The Neville Staple band is looser on stage but Neville is still a rude boy "in the nicest way possible" he adds. If made to choose, Message to You Rudy and Monkey Man are Neville’s favourite Special’s songs. Neville has made a huge name for himself and hopes to be remembered for his music. "I’m just happy to have inspired people to pick up an instrument and make music."
I’m just an ordinary rudeboy, I’m not an educated rudeboy
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FEATURES
Surfing for SEX With the popularity of online dating increasing rapidly, Wil Oxford looks at Shag at Uni, a dating site specifically for students who want to satisfy their sexual needs
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Shag at Uni is just there if they want to top up on the amount they are getting, or if they find it hard approaching people
Design Monika Malkowska
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ou might have heard about Shag at Uni. It’s the student dating website that went viral at the end of last year after 20-year-old University of Exeter student, Elina Desaine, was crowned ‘Britain’s horniest student’ in the site’s wildly controversial competition, where hoards of sexually-charged students entered in the hope of winning £500 and claiming the coveted title. While the details of the competition and its triumphant winner has dominated media attention on the issue – notably Elina’s huge number of sexual encounters and her casual attitude towards sex – the very site at the heart of the competition remained almost ignored. Students having sex is one thing, but are we really using the internet sites to help us do so? Sex, relationships and love – chances are if you’re not already getting one of the three, you’re actively seeking it out, with a growing number of you doing so online. The days of casual hook-ups in bars and locking eyes across the lecture theatre are seemingly fixtures of the past - the global business of dating online is reportedly worth over £2bn, with the 18-25 age bracket representing a rapidly growing source of profit in the market.
Image stefaniarca (Studio 25)
Tom Thurlow, founder of controversial dating site shagatuni.com, as well as its less notorious sister-site dateatuni.com, believes that the growing market for student dating online comes in line with the removal of barriers around young people sharing information on the web. He reveals to us that in Bournemouth alone there are 320 members on Date at Uni, and around 1200 on Shag at Uni. "People are getting a lot more public about their online profiles. They start to think, ‘well I’m on Tinder, I’m on Facebook – what’s the harm in online dating?’ I think that there’s already a lot of flirting taking place on all social media platforms, and so online dating is really just an extension of that." Interestingly, nationwide membership numbers for Shag at Uni versus Date at Uni – 150,000 v 40,000 to be precise – highlight that the dating landscape online for 18-25 year olds is much more weighted in favour of casual hook-ups rather than finding a relationship. The majority of students aren’t going online to find love; they’re logging on to have no-strings attached sex. Ethically this inevitably raises questions of safety and the consequences of creating a means in which what many would argue emotionally and physically damaging lifestyles are encouraged by these sites and their media-driven competitions – which can then in turn be played out by students. But critics of sites like Shag at Uni are not seeing the bigger picture, explains Tom. "Students are going to have sex regardless. Shag at Uni is just there if they want to top up on the amount they are getting, or if they find it hard approaching people or aren’t great at
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introductions – it’s just another platform for them to do so. As long as they are being safe in terms of wearing protection, I don’t see the harm in it. "A lot of the time you don’t really know who’s single," explains Tom. "So if you’re joining sites like Date at Uni or Shag at Uni at least you know everyone there is available and that they’re looking not to be. Universities can also have big campuses, so it’s unlikely you’ll meet every student while studying there. Joining a student dating website gives them the opportunity to meet all these good looking, nice people that they otherwise would never have met." Twenty-four year old Bournemouth student Ian agrees, and explains online dating gives him the confidence that he lacks in person. "Unless I’d had a drink, I would find it difficult to approach a complete stranger I found attractive." Ian, like most of his mates, uses dating apps like Tinder, Badoo and Plenty of Fish – but points out the problem with these applications is people misrepresenting themselves, ultimately leading to awkward and failed dates. "Dates tend to go ok because I’m pretty easy going, but I haven’t met anyone I’d like to take it further with because they weren’t how they looked in photos, or had a completely different personality." Tom explains that as well as being as true to yourself as you possibly can be, the most important thing before meeting anyone from any dating site is to remain safe. "When you meet them in person for the first time we recommend you always meet in a public place, where there’s a lot of people around, so like a bar or a pub. We do also publish a safety guide on our website that users thinking of joining online dating sites can refer to which gives loads of tips about meeting people for the first time."
COMMENT
The Real Tragedy of Ukraine As the situation in Ukraine unravels day by day, Aaron Newbury reflects on the long lasting impact
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rmed men stand outside Government and military buildings in Crimea and at the time of writing, the newly formed Government of Ukraine mobilize their army in response, as the Kremlin practice launching their ballistic missiles for apparently ‘routine testing’. I almost expect James Bond to swoop in via jet pack any moment now – but this is unfortunately not a James Bond film – it’s actually happening. Not the James Bond bit, he never passed his jet pack test. In the time frame of a several months a few protests in Ukraine have evolved into a full scale military occupation of an entire part of an independent nation. The Americans have given off some rather ambiguous threats to the Russians implying that there will be ‘costs’ if they do not withdraw. I imagine the Kremlin were quaking in their fur lined boots when they realised that the USA literally cannot do anything to stop them. Of course, it isn’t just the Americans making warning sounds, for the European Union has also issued warnings of ‘Trade Embargos’ and in a typical European Union way has issued some strongly worded complaints to the Kremlin stating that the occupation is illegal. Once again, I imagine the Kremlin took a quick look at their control of the European gas supply, passed their gaze over their tank line and quickly went back to tearing down Ukrainian flags. Naturally, David Cameron has
followed his American friends as the PM usually does. Oh wait! He hasn’t! In what came a surprise to many – and a relief to most – the Prime Minister ruled out military intervention, and has also said that they will not be freezing assets of Russian people in the UK, as London is a financial hub for Russian billionaires. It is this concept that brings me to my final and main point. Whilst the world looks on, the EU hides behind paper work and the USA and Russia look at their armies and start plotting war again – we have all forgotten something. The reason it all started... greed. It was the European Union, with the most support coming from Germany, that approached Ukraine with the trade deal. Only then did Russia make a counter offer - $20 Billion to say no. Instead of negotiating, the EU and Russia refused to budge, preferring instead to use the Ukraine as a bargaining chip to bring more wealth, cheap labour and market size into their economies. We started this for money but the cost in the end could be greater, and measured in innocent lives. So, whilst we look at the crisis unravelling in Ukraine, let’s not forget the real victims. It’s not the wallets of the EU or Russia we should worry about. It’s not the image of the USA or the Reputation of the Financial Hub in London. It’s the people in the Ukraine trying to keep their country independent, and safe that are under threat, and it is about time we remembered that.
Words: Aaron Newbury Business Operations & Project Management Illustration: Nathan Hackett AUCB Illustration Graduate
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I almost expect James Bond to swoop in via jet pack any moment now
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NERVE | 41
FASHION
N D A ED R T
S APPAREL
Recently featured in Boxpark in Shoreditch, Stranded Apparel are being recognised away from the South Coast. Nerve spoke to creator Jordan Bunker about an exciting 2014 so far
Design Pamela Odumusi
Tell us about how your career as a fashion designer began. So I started making designs when I was around sixteen back in college as part of a graphics project I was doing. I’ve always had an interest in fashion so when the opportunity came around to integrate fashion into my project I just went for it. It was great to start at that age, when I was able to do it whilst in college and then go back home and carry on with my designs and building the foundations of the brand. Why did you choose to release your ‘Resolution’ collection on New Year’s Day? What was the response from the launch like? Well I called it the ‘Resolution Collection’ as I felt the range was a progression what from the previous two collections we had released. The first two collections were really a learning curve for the brand. The first collection kind of outlined what the brand was about and what we represented and supported. The second collection was to show off our brand identity and at the same time we were really boosting our social media networks so we wanted our logo to be quite prominent. It just felt kind of normal to launch on New Year’s Day, it was a new chapter for the brand and it was NERVE | 42
received really well! People were very complimentary on the range, and I also recognised a lot more online retailers were quite keen to have our clothes on their website. I just want to make sure we choose the right websites to represent us. We heard some of your range made it into Boxpark in Shoreditch. Tell us more about that. Yeah we were in Boxpark for a week under the brand ‘TMRW’ (Tomorrow) and it was great. The opportunity came about as I am a writer for them and as soon as I found out they were doing it, I decided I really wanted to be a part of it! TMRW is a great brand that everyone should check out and it was cool to be alongside some well-established brands like Serge DeNimes and others much larger than mine. It is a glimpse of what things could be like I guess. A little closer to university, MINT will be stocking the brand in the upcoming weeks so make sure you go and check the range out for yourself! Have you got any plans for future ranges? Yeah the designs for our next range are pretty much done. We’re just tweaking our special collaboration with Tom Winslade, designer at INDCSN and we’re really excited about that.
FASHION PICKS
Jordan takes us through some of his clothing, the ideas behind them, and the best places to be seen wearing them Name: Stranded Black tee Collection: Resolution Perfect for: A gig "This collection we wanted to bring in different types of print. The Stranded Black tee is my favourite from this range as I personally love black on black and with the gloss finish it really makes for a nice and simple design."
Name: Stranded 12 tee Collection: Resolution Perfect for: A night out "We wanted to do a front and back print tee to commemorate our launch in 2012, so we went for this one. Loads of people got in touch to ask whether we would be releasing a varsity style t-shirt so we had to bring one out!"
Name: Stranded Sweater Collection: Resolution Perfect for: A chilled one "Our sweaters are ridiculously comfy (and I’m not being biased!) so it’s definitely perfect for a chilled one. Although we could have just done a simple one colour print, we wanted to make it different and embroider our logo." NERVE | 43
ENTS
Twitch Plays
Pokémon
Just when you thought you’d put down that Gameboy Colour down for the last time, you can now play Pokémon online, but the catch is, you’re playing it with thousands of other people...
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here are some things that are universally true in this world. Toast will always land butter side down, England will be knocked out of a major football tournament on penalties, and if you were born in the early 90s, you have played at least one Pokémon game. Now, almost 20 years since the Japanese phenomenon entered our consciousness, most of the 90s kid generation have sold their Gameboy Colour on eBay, packed their trading cards into a dusty box in the attic and forgotten the joys of new adventures with Ash and Pikachu on SM:TV every Saturday morning. But an online ‘social experiment’ on video game streaming site Twitch has brought a fresh approach to the classic first instalment of the games, Pokémon Red and Blue. Twitch Plays Pokémon was a pretty simple idea; viewers controlled the main character, very originally named Red, through the chat function beside a live streaming video of the game’s progress. Not too difficult, until you add in the fact that the stream averaged around 50,000 viewers at any one time. The constant stream of often conflicting instructions led to an unpredictability that pulled in even more viewers who wanted to contribute to the chaos or just watch it unfold. Tasks that were simple when playing on your own such as walking in a straight line or not accidentally releasing Pokémon back into the wild were suddenly impossible, and sections of the game map that would usually take minutes to navigate, took hours. Trolls would attempt to deliberately sabotage the game by sending Red the wrong way and
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pausing the game, which only added to the appeal of beating the unbeatable for those determined to reach the end. During the 16 days that it took to complete the game, over one million people took part and helped guide Red to his place as the ultimate Pokémon champion, while the stream was viewed almost 37 million times. Perhaps more impressive than the numbers however, is the role that social media played in creating a brand new mythology surrounding the game. The greatest example of this came from the tendency of Red to try and use items that were not relevant during battles thanks to the random inputs from thousands of users, usually the Helix Fossil, which is used later in the game. From this, the Helix Fossil became seen as a kind of god that Red would attempt to consult for guidance, and led to the creation of multiple back stories, artworks, memes and almost a fully-formed religion. The story of the game took a backseat to the new one that was being created and added to every day, with a main theme being the division between the two modes of play, democracy and anarchy; democracy counted only the majority button choice every 30 seconds, while anarchy took every single button press into account. Anarchy was viewed as the ‘purest’ way to play the game, with anarchists claiming that democracy was making it too easy and spoiling the chaotic nature
Sure, it’s just another nerdy obsession, but it was a homemade one
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of the experiment. The Pokémon captured throughout the playthrough were also given remarkably convoluted histories, usually based around the nonsensical nicknames dished out to them as thousands of people attempted to type them at the same time. It’s debatable whether the amount of fan fiction that sprung up surrounding an event that didn’t quite last as long as the Winter Olympics is a testament to human creativity, or just the result of far too much time on too many hands. One thing is certain though, people seemed to genuinely care about what was playing out in front of them. Every small victory was greeted by a chorus of all caps celebrations, while Pokémon lost to the ingame storage PC were mourned with commemorative comics and fan art. Sure, it’s just another nerdy obsession, but it was a homemade one. It’s perhaps unfair and untrue to suggest that
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people seemed to genuinely care about what was playing out in front of them
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Credit: Nintendo
TPP has revived a dying franchise, as Pokémon is still going strong, especially in its homeland of Japan, despite the numbers involved now being somewhat ridiculous. There have been 16 films and more than 800 TV episodes, while catching all 718 Pokémon in the latest Nintendo 3DS versions, Pokémon X & Y, is more of a lifetime goal than a casual video game hobby. Yet perhaps it’s these overwhelming figures that boosted the average lapsed Poké-fan’s interest in this nostalgic throwback to simpler times with a modern twist. Combine that with the excitement of participating in a mass shared goal that at times seemed unachievable, and maybe it’s not so surprising that this social experiment outgrew everyone’s expectations. Words James Hibberd
Design Abbi Hayden
R E V I E W E D Bastille
Bournemouth International Centre 05/03/14, By Jordan Bunker Bastille delivered an energetic sold-out performance at the BIC, which is pretty much expected from the London band, and proves why their album Bad Blood has just returned to number one exactly a year after release. Amidst the screaming girls when lead singer Dan came on stage, the boys opened up with an amped-up version of Bad Blood and then dived straight into Weight of Living meaning a lively start to their set. For the most part they stuck to the core of their album, which they’re touring with for the third time, but mixed it up with two new songs titled Blame and Sword ft Angel Haze. Sword certainly took the crowd by surprise, with rap being blended with some typical Bastille percussion. It was an interesting change of direction and it’ll be interesting to see how it is received when released. The band finished strong with Flaws, Of the Night and Pompeii, big crowd pleasing songs which left me feeling like I was leaving with exactly what I came for. Credit where credits due, not many bands can tour an album three times and get away with it. Kudos to you boys.
Will and the People
Non-Stop
Will and the People, a band of five Londoners, succeeded in filling out The Winchester with their exciting mix of well-crafted songs encompassing genres from ska to rock. The crowd was full of bobbing heads of all ages, with a good 40% pulling off a full mop of dreadlocks, which just shows the sort of liberal, laid back audience WATP carry with them. The set consisted of a mix from their first and second album, including The Game, a slow starting, pop infused song that got everybody bouncing along and Salamander, which saw one tipsy crowd member replicating the dance of a salamander. While tracks such as Holiday got everyone skanking, it was made especially memorable for one 18 year old who was invited onstage for her birthday. In contrast, the more melancholic sounds of Masterpiece offered an impressive sing-a-long to end a quirky set, with lead singer Will Rendall left ‘thoroughly emotional’. NERVE | 46
It’s Liam Neeson, with a gun, on an aeroplane. What more can you ask for? Non-Stop is a loud, stupid action movie that plays out like Murder On The Orient Express on steroids. Despite its inherent idiocy, the tale of a US Air Marshall menaced by a murderous rogue passenger is engaging from start to finish. Neeson gives one of his textbook badass performances amongst a cavalcade of bland, forgettable supporting characters. In fact, they’re so boring that any of them could be the hidden killer. The ending veers wildly into generic craziness and the motives of the antagonist make about as much sense as Katie Price winning a Nobel Prize for Literature. However, it’s a testament to the film’s sense of tongue-in-cheek fun that this never forces it into an outright crash landing. It doesn’t matter that the landing is so bumpy, because the ascent and the flight itself is an absolute riot.
The Winchester 28/02/14, By Charlie Souter-Phillips
In Cinemas 28/02/14 By Tom Beasley
ENTS
The Lego Movie
Cuban Fury
"Everything is awesome" proclaims the earworm of a theme song that appears throughout The Lego Movie. Never has a truer word been spoken. This is more than just a kids’ film about building blocks. It is one of the wittiest, cleverest, most innovatively made animated movies to come out of Hollywood in recent years. The genre is going through a real purple patch at the moment, and The Lego Movie may well be the pinnacle. Whether it’s the recognisable faces of Batman – voiced with real vim by Will Arnett – or the new creations like protagonist Emmet (Chris Pratt), every character gets its moment to shine here as the jokes fly at a real rate of knots. It takes a huge about turn in the third act that rescues it from drifting into more standard territory with a moment of great wit. Everything is indeed awesome.
This amiable British comedy pits loveable bloke Nick Frost against his slimy colleague Chris O’Dowd as they fight for the affections of new boss Rashida Jones. The twist is that Frost’s character has a trick up his sleeve – a childhood salsa dancing career. Credit must go to Frost for working so hard on this film, which was clearly a passion project for him. The dance sequences are very well staged and burst with colour, so it’s a real shame that the rest of film doesn’t quite scale those heights. The performances are decent, but the script is in need of a severe polish and the pacing is all over the shop. It’s a lot of fun though, with enough smirks and giggles to please the date night crowd and a scene-stealing display of glittering camp from Fonejacker star Kayvan Novak.
In Cinemas 14/02/14 By Tom Beasley
In Cinemas 14/02/14 By Tom Beasley
The Overtones
Her
Expertly mixing classic big band favourites with their unique take on modern hits, The Overtones’ gig at the BIC was certainly eclectic. Tunes such as Can’t Take My Eyes Off You were typical of the crooning five piece, but their unexpected performance of Daft Punk’s megahit Get Lucky was both unexpected and a stroke of genius. As expected, this left the majority of the somewhat older audience bewildered but allowed the band to inject a youthful appeal into their classic style. The rapport that the lads built with the audience leaned on the lactose intolerant side of cheesy at times, but it didn’t matter a bit. As they ventured out into the crowd for Say What I Feel, it became increasingly clear that they had the audience in the palm of their hands. They might not be particularly cool, or relevant for that matter but if you’re looking for a band that harks back to the glory days of sharp suits and the big band sound, then The Overtones are truly unbeatable.
With quirky dark humour and impressive subtle costume choices to match, Her is a fantastic take on what our not so distant future may develop into with the popularity of hand-held dating apps such as Tinder, and interactive assistance tools like Siri. Although we don’t yet depend on either (well, most of us), Joaquin Phoenix convinces the audience that the human desire for love (and an organized email inbox) could be satisfied by this new kind of digital age relationship, despite the lack of any physical interaction. Nominated for Best Picture at this year’s Oscars and winning ‘Best Screenplay’ at the Golden Globes, you may be left slightly confused, a tiny bit violated and questioning your reliance upon securing dates on your mobile phone, but you won’t be disappointed. Downloading the soundtrack will also help with those assignment/dissertation blues.
Bournemouth International Centre 27/02/14 By Nick Reilly
In Cinemas 14/02/14 By Lauren Barnie
NERVE | 47
NERVE fm
Hitting the Airwaves With our friends at Nerve Radio broadcasting on FM, we couldn’t resist a cheeky plug. Here’s what you can expect from the guys this week
K
The huge variety of music that Nerve offers is definitely one of its strengths. "Here at Nerve, we like to be different and do things on our shows that will set us apart from other stations in Bournemouth. I think this is definitely something we want to show during our time on FM" says Sam Fowler, Evening Coordinator at the station. As shows are growing bigger and better than ever before the radio hosts want to support musicians who would like to play live on air, with their version of a ‘live lounge’. The team also hope to host more nights at the Old Fire Station to promote and give their DJs a chance to perform live. Its non-stop action at Nerve Radio over the next month and it doesn’t stop there. Next up is a Guinness World Book of Records attempt where members of the radio team will be on air for 80 hours straight. This gives the guys a chance to show what they’re made of between inevitable coffees and a few hours sleep each night. Nerve Media is an ever growing community that is always looking for fresh faces to help further them as a media network. If you are looking to get involved then the door is always open. Sean Montague, DayDid you h time Coordinator, is always looking for av know if th e your picture tak new talent to join his team. "Just come e is n in the N Drop us a is you and we’ll g erve FM b upstairs and see us, we’re not that bad" et you in n e-mail o o th ? Let us to Lollipo at editor@ p for free he said. nerveme ! dia.org.u k Don’t fret, it is not just Radio DJs that Nerve are looking for, as they seek to spread their services across the board. They welcome people of all abilities that are willing to learn and bring something to the table. "Plus we’re going this year" jokes Sam, "so we’ve got to have someone to fill our shoes!". icking off with a launch party at The Old Fire Station, Nerve FM is now in full swing. The 12 days of broadcasting began on March 17th and runs until March 28th. The 12 days is a showcase of talent from the radio station, with a plethora of different shows and personalities, as well as plenty of opportunities to get involved with competitions, news discussions and broadcasts from around the uni. Station Manager, Rupert Clarke is looking forward to the final week, where he says there will be loads going on. "We will be bringing you exciting competitions including giving you an exclusive chance to win BU Summer Ball tickets and most of all, a great range of music to suit whatever you’re into". Due to high demand and popularity within the student community, Nerve are doing something that they have never done before- broadcasting until 3 a.m. Live DJ sets will deliver a huge range of music to keep you entertained until the early hours, the first time that the student radio has ever broadcast past midnight and ventured into the early morning.
Seen you rself?
ENTS
OUR PICKS Here’s the shows we think you should be looking out for this week on Nerve FM RYAN & AIDEN
Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri @ 12-2PM & Wed @ 1-2PM More northern than a hotpot with a brew on a cold day in Yorkshire, Ryan and Aiden bring you music and friendly chat whilst you’re having your lunch. With important topics such as ‘what do you call your fizzy drinks’ and a look at what their listeners are having for lunch, the guys will keep you entertained throughout the early hours of the afternoon.
RYAN THRUSSELL
BIG BEATS
Weekdays @ 8-10AM
Monday 24th @ 8-10PM
If you need a wake up call, Ryan is your man. Playing hits from the 90s, naughties and current chart hits, there’s something for everyone. The tall, excited Watford boy is combining Friday night into your early mornings, so if you’re a constant partygoer, use Ryan as your alarm clock.
Award winning Big Beats are back on Nerve Radio for another year of madness! Josh Worsfold will be playing the latest big beats including - Ghetto Funk, Hip-Hop, Electro Swing & Breakbeats! Perfect for those who like their music different, but still packing a punch!
WHO’S ON AIR? Check out some more of the amazing talent Nerve Radio has to offer this week Mon 24th
Tues 25th
Wed 26th
Thurs 27th
Fri 28th
8-10 AM
Ryan Thrussell
Ryan Thrussell
Ryan Thrussell
Ryan Thrussell
Ryan Thrussell
10-12 AM
Sam & Beth
Sam & Beth
Sam & Beth
Sam & Beth
Sam & Beth
12-1 PM
Ryan & Aiden
Ryan & Aiden
News Hour
Ryan & Aiden
Ryan & Aiden
1-2 PM
Ryan & Aiden
Ryan & Aiden
Ryan & Aiden
Ryan & Aiden
Ryan & Aiden
2-4 PM
Sarah & Cara
Sarah & Cara
Sarah & Cara
Sarah & Cara
Sarah & Cara
4-6 PM
Sean & Emily
Sean & Emily
Sean & Emily
Sean & Emily
Sean & Emily
6-8 PM
SOS
Sub 40
SOS
Sub 40
SOS
8-10 PM
Big Beats
Big Chill
Cleo & Mia
Big Chill
Cleo & Mia
10-12 PM
Kemi
John White
Robbie Dove
Leo, Connor, Joe Kemi
12-1 AM
Harrison Twinn
Rory & Chris
Phil Sural
Rory & Chris
1-3 AM
Mike & Paul
George Turner
Invoke
George Turner NERVE | 49
south coast FASHION
fashion week
F
or the first time in May the South Coast will enter the world of fashion frenzies, Catwalk spectaculars, and an exclusive insight into the latest trends perfect for fashion enthusiasts. The innovative event will be hosted at the BIC (Bournemouth International Centre) welcoming all devoted fashion fanatics, exhibitors and labels. "The South Coast will have never seen anything like this before," says Mandy Pearce, organiser of the event. With the likes of London Fashion Week and Clothes shows taking part in the fashion phenomenon elsewhere around the country Bournemouth is set to be added to that list and a ‘must have’ date set in the diary. "South Coast Fashion Week is somewhere in between London Fashion Week and small Fashion show cases. There is nothing else like it, and will be refreshing for the fashion market." The idea sparked 3 years ago when Mandy noticed that there was a gap in the market for a prodigious fashion event. With the opportunity starting to materialise she knew she was onto something big. "Due to the recession I noticed that that there is great difficulty for upcoming designers and artists to get noticed. This event is going to be refreshing and a new start for entrepreneurs in this industry to get their career on track. It is going to brilliant for the South Coast." She had, and still has, ambition for this idea and event to grow and develop into something stunning, and after attending various meetings and accumulating a team the event began to grow and embark on the fashion world. Now in two months time their hard work will be strutting down the South. The picturesque resort was amongst many other towns and venues when hosting the event. Events Manager Steve Chafe says, "we looked at venues in Southampton and Plymouth as well as other destinations, but Bournemouth won over our hearts, and won by a long shot from the other venues. The infrastructure of the town is ideal for the event as well as the hotels, restaurants, and bars available for the exhibitors to stay." Mary then adds "the talent round here is amazing too, this was another temptation! We are getting all talented acts involved in the event. This show really is for everyone." BIC is tailor made for the event. With the large venue is big enough for the catwalk, performers as well as a vast collection of stalls tempting
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The organisers of the fashion extravaganza preparing to strut its way through the South, speak to Danielle Cardy about what they have in store for Bournemouth
you with their goods it is set to be a shopping spectacular. The organisers have already participated in a variety of satellite events in the area in the past year promoting and endorsing the event on local residents as well as individuals from outside the town, including one competition called ‘The face of the South Coast.’ A variety of contestants took part in the competition in which Mathew Holbeche and Emily Francis were crowned the face of the South Coast. They won a year’s modelling contract and will be modelling throughout the fashion week. The event is aimed at anyone and everyone who are fashion addicts. From young children, to students, to parents and the elderly, there will be something for everyone at the show. "You can either take a relaxed approach to the event and put your feet up with a glass of Champaign and watch the day unreal, or submerge yourself amongst the hangers and clothes rails," says Mary. Arts University Bournemouth students will be getting involved with the event, having their stunning collections walk down the runway. Steve says "their work is beyond average standard level. You could see their work at London Fashion Week, and you wouldn’t even know that a student has created such astonishing designs. We are delighted to be showcasing this at the South Coast Fashion Week." Talent scouts will be hauling their watchful eye around the event of the three days, spotting any fresh new talent that Bournemouth has to offer. Throughout the day the main stage will be filled of talent. With ambition to have music and individual artists filling the room with their material, as well as dance groups strutting their talent, to stunning labels and collections walking up and down the catwalk. South Coast Fashion Week is planning to be an annual event. With a guaranteed annual event for the next five years, who knows where this is going to lead. They will be supporting the Teenage Cancer Trust and will be getting a wide variety of people involved. South Coast Fashion week is a chance to devour you passion for clothes and submerge yourself into the world of fashion. This event will tantalise any fashionista’s mind and is the only excuse for fashion lovers to abide by the saying ‘buy what you see.’
a new start for entrepreneurs in this industry to get their career on track
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NERVE | 50
COMMENT
Backchat to Snapchat Laura Geall investigates whether social networks are adversely affecting our relationships.
W
hy go out to actually see your boyfriend or girlfriend when there are so many social networking sites that offer to do the walking and talking for you? Take Snapchat for example, which gives the user the option of sending a picture on their phone, along with a caption, to have a virtual conversation. The only part of their body that they actually have to move are their fingers to snap, type, then choose from their Snapchat list who they want to send it to. However, what if our relationships with social networks take over from real-life relationships, then we are not fulfilling our functions as humans. We go out looking for relationships, so why would we replace them with a computer or phone? Now, I’m not saying Snapchat is a bad thing for relationships, far from it. Especially in modern society where there are estimated to be 14 million people (in the US) in long-distance relationships. Social networks like Snapchat allow the people in these relationships to keep in contact. Rebecca, a Marketing Communications Student at Bournemouth University left her boyfriend James, a Journalism Student at Brighton City College, behind when she came to university. James says that Snapchat is a fun, easy way to carry on their relationship. There is something more personal about Snapchat than other social networks. Everyone can see posts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, whereas on Snapchat, someone can choose if they want to send a photo to a group of people, or just that ‘special
someone’. What are more important however, is the visuals. When you’re longing for your boyfriend or girlfriend to come home, isn’t it nice to actually see their face? Our society has perhaps become vainer, with the word ‘selfie’ having recently been added to the Oxford English Dictionary as a result of Snapchat. So are we starting to prefer to see each other, rather than actually talk to each other? Rebecca disagrees, saying that social networks are something that they can live without in their relationship, arguing that the core principles of trust and communication are what keep relationships together. I also spoke to Dom Belcher, a Journalism Student at Bournemouth University. Half-way through his previous relationship with his long-term girlfriend, Snapchat was invented. He said it affected their relationship because his girlfriend Snapchatted "every funny or quirky moment" that they shared, so "nothing was exclusive to [their] relationship anymore". With Rebecca’s relationship, the fact that Snapchat is personal makes it better, but sadly for Dom, Snapchat was used to make everything public information. Some people may disagree with Snapchat and what it is doing to our relationships, but sometimes it’s better to have it ironically, or in fact begrudgingly, than not have it at all. How about instead of typing out what you want to say, actually say it. Snapchat users need to give their fingers a rest and allow their face muscles to relax, after a hard morning of selfies, and have a chat without all of the snapping.
Words: Laura Geall English Illustration: Nathan Hackett AUCB Illustration Graduate
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Snapchat users need to give their fingers a rest and allow their face muscles to relax
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Something
to say?
Get your opinions published by sending your thoughts to comment@ nervemedia.org.uk
NERVE | 51
s y a D y p p a H 00
FEATURES
#1
You’ve probably seen it littering your timeline and twitter feed – but #100happydays is more than just a hashtag; it’s a way of life. Alys Penfold tells us why Day 19: Home is where your cats are. #100happydays
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y now, we’ve all heard of Neknomination, some will recognise ‘The Cinnamon Challenge’, and even planking became a popular phenomenon. It seems, however, that these social media trends are, as well as being pretty dangerous, peer-pressure fuelled acts set out to prove something. But there’s a healthy new hashtag, in the form of ‘100 Happy Days’. The name says it all really; it’s a rather simple yet effective idea. Users choose their platform, whether it’s Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or email, and take a photo of something that makes them happy everyday for 100 days. The idea is not there to make others jealous, or a competition. It’s more of a challenge - seeing as 71% of people who have attempted it have apparently failed due to a lack of time - to see if the individual can successfully last the whole 100 days. Those who manage to complete #100happydays have claimed that it has made them start to notice
what makes them happy every day, made them more optimistic, improved their mood on a daily basis and some people have even claimed to have even fallen in love. And to remember it all, you also get sent a 100 page book with each of your pictures printed to remember the whole affair by. From a personal point of view; I started the challenge on New Year’s Day after I saw a Facebook friend post the link. As I’m writing this, I’m on day 60 and I can definitely support the claims that it improves your mood. Even on days when I feel like there is little to be happy about, I can always pull out a rabbit from the magic hat. It has made me appreciate the smaller things in life and my pictures have ranged from a great meal, to a catch up with friends, to my cat! I’ve also seen friends take up the challenge and post some rather inspiring stories alongside their pictures. "Day 3: My quiet morning was disturbed by a guy knocking on the front door asking for an ambulance.
Day 30 : Back to my healthy eating routine.#100happydays
Day 4: At last! Global cafe at the uni. Free cookies, tea and smiles. #100happydays
Day 51: Best day ever. First surf lesson...finally living out my dream! #surferchick #100happydays#thelittlethings
Design Alice Elizabeth Taylor
He was drunk or high, maybe both. Said he was punched in his face and it really hurts. Why I uploaded this picture to my 100happydays album? Because I called for an ambulance, let him in and offered him a glass of water without judging. Suddenly I felt happy that I’ve never been in this kind of state or trouble and I hope I won’t. All the best for George and I hope he will get better soon. #100happydays" (says Juste Daracuite on Facebook). It’s important to focus on these little things, and what we can find in our day that puts a smile on our face. 100 Happy Days’ website perfectly sums up why people should take part in the challenge, because it’s very rare we stop and take in everything around us. "We live in times when super busy schedules have become something to boast about. While the speed of life increases, there is less and less time to enjoy the moment you are in. The ability to appreciate the moment, the environment and yourself in it, is the base for the bridge towards long term happiness of
any human being." It’s also encouraging to see a social trend that is positive and for your own benefit. Most of the information that we put onto the internet is for someone else to read and respond to. Of course #100happydays is great to share with your friends and family, but each picture is a memory and is personal to you. This is definitely a great challenge for any student to take part in. With assignments, dissertation, parttime jobs, social life, love life, family life...basically the list is never ending, it seriously pays off to sit back and reflect on your day. We can get weighed down with negative thoughts and drive ourselves into a black hole, but #100happydays encourages us to see the silver lining on every cloud. Start today. Sign yourself up on the website: http://100happydays.com/ to get snapping and hashtagging!
Mind The Gap
More and more women are going to the extremes to achieve the latest craze in body perfection – the thigh gap. But should we be worried about the trend? Chantelle Argent investigates Design Lucy Figiel Illustration Charlotte Gay
W
hether they are strutting down catwalks or sprawled across adverts, supermodels set the bar for gorgeousness. But rather than admiring the clothing that hangs upon their trim physiques, we often look upon them with envy as we contemplate renewing our gym memberships. Whether it be tackling tummies, battling bingo wings or shedding muffin tops, women relentlessly find new parts of their body to tweak in order to look the best in their size 8 jeans. Supermodel, Cara Delevingne, recently made a statement about her body, in which she said, "Some people have straight legs but I have bow legs." Then, out came the remark that would send the female population into hysteria - "And a thigh gap." Just like that Cara went from top-model to pro-gardener as she planted seeds NERVE | 54
in the minds of young women everywhere. So inevitably, the most recent way of measuring up to the supermodel image is by measuring the gap between your thighs. Yep, thigh-gap rage is invading the nation, but what is its weapon of choice? The ‘Lipoglaze’ fat freezing machine. Lipoglaze is a non-invasive treatment that targets stubborn fat. A vacuum-like gadget is attached to the treatment area to suck and freeze the fat cells. They are then excreted from the body naturally. As Cara’s exposure has increased, so has the demand for treatment on the thighs. Many celebrities are jumping aboard the thigh-gap bandwagon and taking a ride to the nearest beauty clinic. Louise Thompson from ‘Made in Chelsea’ recently had the treatment in pursuit of perfect thighs. The 23-year-old shared her experience online,
FEATURES tweeting, "Feeling super skinny thanks to @LoveLiteUK #thighgap coming along nicely". Since Louise’s comment, ‘thighgap’ was tweeted around 4,000 times in 24 hours alone. A number of Facebook and Twitter accounts dedicated solely to thigh-gaps have arisen with more than 700,000 followers sharing images of women
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the most recent way of measuring up to the supermodel image is by measuring the gap between your thighs
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who are thought to possess perfect thighs. Patients may leave with a lighter purse and a pair of jeans that are sliding on like a treat, but what about the image these body-shaping treatments may be promoting? Arguably, trends like this may fuel the nation’s desire to be thin and cause it to spread among the minds of young girls like fire across a heath. Micki Bennett, from Dorset Health’s eating disorder team, says "anything which gives a sense of failing to live up to a particular image is likely to increase dissatisfaction and can lead to a desire to make unhealthy changes." There are frequent pictorials in the media with grown women exhibiting the
renowned gap. In many cases this may be owed to Photoshop and its capacity to airbrush ordinary women into masterpieces. Micki commented, saying "I worry about image distortion. Photoshopping means that the images you see are unreal." She also argues that cosmetic procedures which facilitate body-sculpting "create the illusion that perfection is attainable and therefore if you don’t achieve perfection, it’s because you don’t care." Micki adds finally "You would find this sort of push towards perfection on pro-anorexia websites." Katherine Vitoria from ‘Sun and Moon Beauty’ clinic in Poole has a different outlook on the subject. Sun and Moon offer a treatment similar to Lipoglaze, called Lipolaser. Katherine says the procedure is "not invasive at all. You can go straight back to work after a session. It’s painless and safe." With regards to the thigh-gap and the coverage of cosmetic treatments in the media, Katherine said, "the media definitely inspires more people to have treatments. We bought a new machine about a year ago; six months later it was in the news and after that it became really, really popular." But Katherine views this positively and says, "Part of the reason I love my job is because customers leave feeling more confident and they feel happy." Unlike Micki, Katherine doesn’t believe that cosmetic treatments convey perfection as attainable. She states that the consultants talk about having realistic expectations with every customer. "We do half and they have to do the other half by eating healthily, exercising and drinking lots of water." She maintains that "it’s a balance" and that they "don’t claim to work miracles". So, perhaps it is just a case of each to their own; beauty is said to be in the eye of the beholder after all. While the desire to have extra air between the legs may well be appealing to some, many critics might advise that there is no shame in enjoying the occasional cheeseburger. So don’t be afraid to take those petite pins for a walk to the local fast-food outlet; the after-taste of a nice meal might last longer than the thigh-gap fascination.
NERVE | 55
Pastel colours and punky looking clothing are big trends this season. Both styles have graced the catwalks at recent Paris, Milan and London fashion weeks, but what fashionable look will you go for?
T
is the season to ditch your drab Winter wardrobe for some summery soft colours. Pale colours such as lemon, peach and mint are a must have for the Spring season. These soft shades are taken from floral prints, and teamed together your outfit will look sweet and stylish. London Fashion Week saw plenty of pastels hitting the runway and Burberry led the way with designer Christopher Bailey using the powdery pastel shades in beautiful lace and suede. Models Cara Delevingne, Jordan Dunn and Suki Waterhouse sported Burberry’s collection that consisted of stunning fitted
FASHION
dresses and seperates. Plenty of pastel colours were also incorporated into accessories, showcasing some beautiful clutches. The collection was observed by a star-studded crowd, including Harry Styles and Bradley Cooper. If you are a fan of this look, pastels can be seen in plenty of our high street shops. New Look have a great range of pastel coloured jeans in lavender, mint and sky blue. Asos have a beautiful array of coats and jackets in Summery light colours as well. The pieces are fashionable yet affordable and are sure to make you look amazing.
STYLE CLASH
PASTEL VS PUNK Words Georgia Reed Design Pamela Odumusi
I
f you are not a fan of wearing brighter colours and enjoy a darker look, then there are still fashionable styles out there to suit you. Punky looking clothes can be seen everywhere on the catwalk and in our high street shops. Big and black buckled shoes have been storming through our shoe racks this year, seeing everyone’s winter boots bigger and bucklier than ever. London Fashion Week debuted Hunter’s stylish and unique collection. The welly boot designers have now expanded their work to clothes too, and used the
magician Dynamo to perform on stage at their catwalk show. The show had a quirky and mysterious feel to it showcasing some beautiful dark and leathery looks. Such pieces can similarly be found on our high street shops. If you are looking for the punkier pieces, then Topshop have a range of clothing from embroidered leggings to leather skirts to lacy tights. Adding a bit of leather to your look is a must have, whether it be trousers, a jacket or a bag. It adds texture to your look and teaming with a bright top is sure to make your outfit stand out.
NERVE | 57
NERVE SPEAKS TO AFC BOURNEMOUTH STRIKER
YANN KERMORGANT AFC Bournemouth’s flagship January signing Yann Kermorgant chats to Nerve about the tough decision to move from his beloved Charlton and how he is preparing for life on the south coast with the Cherries
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very club has their deadline day target. Yann Kermorgant was AFC Bournemouth’s. Kermorgant arrived at the Goldsands Stadium from Charlton Athletic on the afternoon of 31st January and put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half year deal with the Cherries. Celtic and Blackburn Rovers were both interested in the 6ft striker but Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall convinced ‘Big Yann’ that the Cherries Championship project was the best suit for the Frenchman. It took him just five games to introduce himself to the red and black army. Following four appearances from the substitute’s bench, Kermorgant netted a hat-trick on his home debut during a 5-0 win against Doncaster Rovers earlier this month, which included two headers. "I knew before signing here that Bournemouth had a very good crossing ability so I think the gaffer wanted me for that and it really worked today," he said after the Cherries celebrated their biggest win in the second tier of English football. Goalscoring has always come naturally to the 32-yearold, who was a terrace legend at Charlton and knew the Addicks faithful would be sad to see him depart. "It’s difficult because I didn’t expect to move and I had a very good relationship with the Charlton fans and I love them to be fair. "I will always be grateful for what they have done for me and the club has been taken over by a new owner and you have to take a decision. Now I have to move forward and it’s my new club and I will do all I can do to achieve the best." Kermorgant arrived in England in August 2009 after a successful trial with Leicester City. The attacker spent just a year with the Foxes before moving back to France on-loan at Arles-Avignon. He scored just three times in 26 appearances for the French side but Charlton came knocking and Kermorgant found his home in south London. "It was a really difficult decision for me and my family because we were settled in London and we were enjoying it there," he said. "But that’s football and sometimes you have to move on and I’m looking forward to my new challenge at Bournemouth now. "I didn’t expect to be moving in the January window and I’m not used to doing that, but I know that sometimes
thing change and you have to make a decision as quick as possible. The last few days were a little bit stressful for me because my family were settled and so you have to have a chat and say that you might have to move. So it wasn’t an easy decision but I definitely think it was a good one for me. "I will have to work hard to be ready and to help to improve the team but in terms of lifestyle it should be fine. I come from Brittany and it’s quite similar, near the sea and we are quite happy to come down and have the sea near to us. "I had a few offers of course but you have to make a decision and try to take a good one. I felt it was a good decision for me to come here and I want to be a part of a good challenge for me." Kermorgant’s challenge at Bournemouth is not just keeping the Cherries up this season. It goes much further than that. Bournemouth beat Kermorgant’s former club Charlton on the opening day of the season, in which Kermorgant scored a consolation goal for the Addicks, which kick started a campaign which would promise much more than flirtation with relegation – something Big Yann was always keen to link up with. "I like the way they (Bournemouth) like to play it on the floor and their passing play is very good", he said. "Also
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i know the owner wants to push on and get into the premier league so it’s a good challenge for me
it’s a young manager and I’ve seen his results from the last couple of years and I think it’s a very good project for the club, I know the owner wants to push on and get into the Premier League so it’s a good challenge for me. "I had an enquiry from the club and after talking to my agent and the manager here, I was quite impressed with what he wants to do. It’s quite a small club but it’s growing and I want to be a part of the project for the future. "I’ll have to talk to the manager and see how he wants to use me but at first I have to work hard to get
my place in the team. I think he (Eddie Howe) likes my aerial ability and how I can play in the hole just behind the striker and I know that they put in a lot of crosses and they maybe just need someone to get their head on them." Dean Court is like a playground for Kermorgant and he just can’t stop finding the net upon his visits here. "I just hope it can carry on. I remember the goal I scored in League One was in the last minute and the one this season wasn’t enough because we lost 2-1. But I hope we can achieve something as a team and as a club." NERVE | 59
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arlier this month the new season of F1 began at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, Australia. The race was the first of nineteen scheduled for a potentially scintillating year of Formula One racing in 2014. The decision to implement a new points scoring system for the start of the 2014 campaign was certainly greeted with its fair share of controversy when it was declared late last year. The rule change now means that the winner of the last race of the new season, in Abu Dhabi this year, will score double points. Although many were in favour of this idea, claiming that it would increase competition and make the championship more unpredictable and exciting for fans, it did not sit well with many of the drivers. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull’s winner of the 2013 Drivers’ Championship, protested, calling the idea ‘absurd’ and claiming that it ‘punishes those who have worked hard for a whole season’. If fifty points have been awarded in the final races in previous years, rather than the typical twenty five, many current champions would have missed out on their crowns, including Lewis Hamilton in 2008. Whether you’re in favour of this new rule or not, it will certainly make the 2014 season one of the most dramatic and butt-clenching of all! In addition to the new points system there are, of course, the new cars. Arguably one of the most noticeable adjustments is the height of the nose of the car. The maximum height of the nose has been radically reduced from 550mm to 185mm for safety purposes. In the case of a nose-to-rear tyre collision, the lower nose is designed to prevent the cars from being catapulted upwards. 1.6 litre V6 turbo engines are replacing the V8s. The new V6 revs up to 15,000rpm and has 600 brake horsepower. The old Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) have been replaced by ERS which generate additional power from braking and waste heat. The old KERS provided drivers with
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a further 80bhp for around six seconds per lap, but the new ERS will generate approximately 160bhp for each lap, lasting around an impressive 33 seconds. An eighth gear has also been introduced to the vehicles in 2014 although the teams must select the gear ratios before the first race and these must then be used at every race of the season. This will prove to be a tough challenge for the teams, as ratios that may suit the snaking tracks of Monaco or Singapore may not be ideal for high-speed straight circuits. Fuel is no longer unlimited and is now restricted to 100kg per race in a bid to encourage fuel efficiency. There is now only one exhaust tailpipe which must be directed upwards, rather than positioned in an attempt to make the car more aerodynamic. These are merely a few of the changes that the cars have undergone and emphasises just how hard teams will have been working in the build-up to the new season. Pre-season testing in Bahrain led to some interesting insights and overall it was Mercedes and Williams that seem to be the ones to beat in terms of speed. The money is currently on the popular forerunners, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg of Mercedes. The underdogs, Williams, however could also be the ones to watch after former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa set the fastest lap time with one minute 33.258 seconds. Current World Champion Vettel did not seem to be having so much luck as technical difficulties, including an electrical fault and break failure during testing, disrupted his preparations. Kimi Raikkonen has re-joined his former team, Ferrari, and will be racing alongside esteemed driver Fernando Alonso. New rookie faces to keep an eye out for are Kevin Magnussen, racing for Mclaren alongside Jenson Button, Daniil Kvyat in the Toro Rosso and Marcus Ericsson in the Caterham. Fasten your seatbelts and prepare for an eventful season!
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Men’s Football Despite a heavily disrupted Christmas period, Bournemouth’s varsity footballers have still got plenty to play for as the season enters its final stages. The side boasted an unbeaten league record before the winter weather took its toll and put paid to a number of fixtures since the festive period ended. The momentum that the side had worked so hard to build up had been cut off at its source and the team have subsequently struggled to recapture quite the same form that saw them start the season in such blistering form. However, the near perfect beginning to the campaign – which saw them win all but one game in 2013 – still means that the side’s fate still rests very much in their own hands. Left back Jack Papadatos has been an ever-present for the team this season, but it could have been all so different if he hadn’t taken some wise advice from his friends during freshers. "I’ve been playing football since about the age of five, but I only decided to play for the varsity side this year as I was encouraged to by my housemates." said Jack. "My position is left back so my overall game is quite defensive. I based my game upon solid defending and good crosses and delivery into the box. However, my overall game has improved since playing for the uni team and you can learn a lot from playing alongside quality players week in, week out. "On a personal level I feel I have played okay this season. The team as a whole performed extremely well before the Christmas period, winning every
i am very confident we will finish top NERVE | 62
game bar one draw. Since the Christmas period our season has been heavily disrupted by the weather which affected our momentum and ultimately our results. We’ve had a few disappointing results in recent weeks but it is still in our own hands to win the league." And it certainly seems as if Papadatos’ decision to join the side was a wise one. A string of consistent performances has seen the full back secure his place in a side that have cemented their position in the upper reaches of the Western 2A division for the majority of the season. Despite the few sticky results since the New Year, Papadatos is still optimistic looking ahead and believes that everyone in the side is going to have to play their part if they are to secure the title. "We are more than capable of winning the league as long as we improve from our recent games. We have a huge game on Monday which is a season decided but we have more than enough quality to win the game. I am very confident we will finish the league top of the table." "Our captain is a big player for us and will be influential for us in the remainder of the season in terms of organisation and preparing the team. Saying that, I think that every player is just as important. We rely on the forwards for goals, the midfield to get the ball down and play, and obviously the defence and goalkeeper to keep out the goals. A few players play for other teams during the week and I think their fitness and strength could be a real bonus for the team."
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Rodhouse Words: Craig which 2013 season c ti a m ra d a the Elite Following Pirates take le o o P e ks to th saw , Nerve spea e tl tI y a w d e h on the League spe il Middleditc e N r e g a n ow a team m paign and h m a c st la e th is time emotions of ith in youth th fa g in c la p wn he will be tain their cro re to im a y e around as th
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fter a sensational title winning campaign last season, Poole Pirates team manager Neil Middleditch is now relishing the task of retaining their Elite League crown this time around. The Pirates recovered from a woeful start to the season – which saw them beaten in seven of their first ten meetings – before eventually sneaking into the final playoff spot and beating Swindon and Birmingham on their way to the title. Team manager Middleditch – who has been at the helm at Poole Stadium since 1999 – has now secured five Elite League wins during his spell in charge but ranks the Pirates’ unexpected success in 2013 as the best yet. "It was a huge achievement, definitely the biggest achievement I’ve had as a manager for sure." said Middleditch. "Coming from right down the bottom to winning the final was really sweet last year for sure. We just never gave up, that was one thing that Matt Ford (Poole Pirates owner) and I said through the bad times that we’re not used to having. We said that whatever happens we will not stop trying to put a good team out for the fans – we owed it to them – and for ourselves." Alongside the team’s uncharacteristically slow start out of the blocks last year, the 2013 season was littered with set-backs for the Pirates. Key riders Chris Holder and Darcy Ward missed large chunks of the campaign through injury meaning that the side were rarely able
to keep their strongest riders in the saddle at the same time. The hindrances only made the success sweeter for Middleditch though. "We lost a number of riders through injury, we lost Darcy early on in the season which was obviously the biggest blow, and then as soon as we got him back Chris went out. So things just went from bad to worse and it just seemed like we were not destined to win it. But we never gave up. "I think it just showed what the Pirates can do when all the cards are on the table. Signing Greg (Hancock) was a masterstroke and he brought a stability back to the team because we had seven riders to work with. For half the season I was wandering down the pitch knowing that the riders weren’t my boys. Once we got Greg back into the side we got the team back and things just moved on from there." And move on things did. After signing Hancock on the 26th July, the Pirates went on to win five of their next eight meetings and snuck into fourth place in the table, just three points ahead of King’s Lynn. Although the Pirates had entered the end-of-season shootout with momentum behind them, not even Middleditch could have anticipated how well things would go for the side during the playoffs. "I was shocked and surprised to be fair. Swindon came down to ours having beaten us at Swindon and I think they thought that they could down and protect that. I think they came down a little bit too over-confi-
dent though and to their cost, the same with Birmingham. "I looked down the Birmingham side and I thought that there wasn’t a weak link there, but I think that they just overrode a little bit and thought that they had it in the bag. They had done us before and we’d lost quite heavily at Birmingham in the past and they thought ‘this is going to be a walk in the park’ and it certainly wasn’t because we were the wounded animal and we had nothing to lose." Now that the dust has settled on the side’s success, Middleditch can begin to firmly set his sights on the 2014 campaign which gets started on the 9th of April against Eastborne at Poole Stadium. Although the side are currently the bookmakers’ strong favourites heading into the new season, Middleditch is refusing to add any unnecessary pressure onto the shoulders of his side as they look to retain their title. "It’s all in the past and I don’t really see that much pressure on us to defend the title. We’re obviously going in it to win as we always do but we’ll just take one meeting at a time, hopefully get into the playoffs and then we’ll see what happens from there." "The preparations have been good and I think we’ve got a good team. There are some good teams about though, I’ve just seen the new race format and it’s going to make for some very interesting racing I think. But you never really know until the boys get on the bikes." With stalwarts from last season Chris Holder and
Greg Hancock unavailable for the beginning of the new season, Middleditch will need to rely on a youthful seven strong team of riders to get the 2014 campaign off to a good start. "We’ve got a young team this year and hopefully that will work in our favour, they’re very enthusiastic and we’ve got Darcy steering the ship. He was a very capable captain last year and performed way above his years and showed a great maturity in himself on and off the track. "Josh (Grajczonek) rode with us last year so we know what we’re going to get from him and I think he’s just going to improve throughout the season. Maciej (Janowski) needs to sharpen up his act a bit on some of the smaller tracks where he perhaps slips up a bit. With Darcy, what you see is what you get and Pawlicki is also a very capable rider. I don’t know a lot about Vaclav (Milik) but he impressed me with his speed, but again it’s going to be a bit of a test for him down at the likes of Eastborne and Lakeside." While Middleditch is still unsure of exactly how the Pirates’ season will pan out, what is for certain is that the aims for the forthcoming campaign will remain the same as always. "We’re the Pirates and we always want to win, it’s what we do. The fans, the club, we’re all passionate about Poole speedway and second isn’t good enough for us I’m afraid and we want to win. We’ve had success and now we want more of it."
Ever wondered what kinds of amazing things you could do with all the everyday items lying around your house? Here’s a list of unexpected uses for the things you thought only had one purpose
UNUSUAL USES FOR ORDINARY THINGS
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Coffee as a hair dye
Low on money but your roots are looking like they need a little TLC? Do not fear, your morning pick-meup may just be the answer. If you are a blond who prefers to be brunette, find your strongest pot of coffee and brew a generous portion. After waiting for it to cool you can apply it to your freshly shampooed hair, leave it for 15 minutes and then rinse with water. The darker your desired colour the more coffee you will need to use, but this quick fix will give you an extra week or so to find the money to get to the hairdressers.
Credit: jean_victor_balin (vector.me)
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Vodka to eliminate odours
You want to wear your favourite jumper but you remember its 95% wool and dry clean only, and you don’t really have the money or time to get it cleaned. What do you do? Well, resort to your alcohol cupboard of course! That cheap vodka you bought for Saturday night can be diluted with water and sprayed onto your garments in between dry cleaning. Not only for clothes, this can also work on your smelly shoes. Just make sure you don’t go overboard with the spraying, as you as you may end up smelling like you have spent all day down the pub (or possibly even all night).
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Words: Bethany Connor
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Stamps to decorate your nails
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Cinnamon as a natural deterrent for bugs
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Using a glass as a speaker
Although there is such thing as nail wraps (effectively stickers for your nails), they are often overpriced. So why not eliminate this problem by using stamps instead. Not only are they cheap to buy, but they also offer a range of quirky patterns and designs for your talons which would be impossible to re-create with nail varnish. You will avoid the inevitable disaster of thinking your nails have dried when actually they most definitely haven’t, and you end up with only one nail without a smudge. Simply shape the stamps to your nails and apply them with water, making sure you hold them down firmly. They might not last as long as nail wraps, but you get your money’s worth.
Pesticides can be expensive and last on a student’s budget list, and many people don’t like to have them around the house. However, bugs can be a big problem in student housing, especially as Summer approaches and they seem to be gathering in their thousands. But that can all change with a little sprinkling of cinnamon, so make sure you have this spice to hand. Ants particularly hate its aroma, so spread it anywhere you catch sight of them, particularly in the months before flying ants start to appear. It also has the added benefit of smelling a lot nicer than the mixed sprays of countless chemicals that you would usually buy.
Your iPhone has all the features you could ever ask for, but when in need of some music it sells you a bit short. If you don’t have a set of speakers nearby, a glass or a bowl can amplify the sound substantially. So next time you’re at a party, or wanting to set the mood by playing a specific song, chances are there will be some crockery nearby. Whatever you do just make sure you check for liquids before dropping your phone into the glass on your bedside table, as we cannot take responsibility for any damages! NERVE | 67