The Journal - Edinburgh Issue 048

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EDINBURGH'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

ISSUE XLVIII

WINDS OF CHANGE The Journal examines Scotland's burgeoning reputation as a global home for the renewable energy industry

WEDNESDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2011

» p18/19

Fury over RUK fees

IN NEWS >> 6

Eyewitness interview: Norway terrorist attacks The Journal speaks to an Edinburgh student who survived the attack that claimed 69 lives

Students express outrage at tuition fees for Rest-of-UK students, as the Universities of Edinburgh and St Andrews announce plans to become the most expensive in the UK DAVID SELBY

IN NEWS >> 9

Cutting edge research Napier graduate invents new leg shaving solution for pregnant women

IN COMMENT >> 15

The end of the Scottish Tories?

Tory leadership candidate Murdo Fraser speaks out on his plan to disband the Scottish party

»3 Heriot-Watt triumph in university rankings

SPECIAL REPORT: REACTIONS TO THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH'S £36,000 FEE DECISION

University named Scottish University of the Year by Sunday Times University Guide Amanda Svensson Falk News Editor HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY IN Edinburgh has been crowned the Scottish University of the Year by the Sunday

Times University Guide.

The guide, published on 9 September, noted the University’s international reputation for profession-based courses and high graduate employment as grounds for the distinction, with editor Alistair McCall commenting: “Excellent teaching, intelligent

students and first-rate facilities are a potent mix. The University has a fine record for innovation and relevant research and its graduates are highly regarded throughout the world. Their appreciation of the institution where they study speaks volumes and is one we thoroughly endorse.”

The university ranks fourth in Scotland and 31st in the UK, an ”outstanding” result according to Mr McCall who also deemed the University a ”hugely deserving winner”.

In a statement Professor Steve Continued on page 2

IN PROFILE >> 23

Robin Parker The Journal sits down with the new head of NUS Scotland to talk about his turbulent first few months in office

2 News

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Heriot-Watt triumphs in uni rankings

THIS WEEK INSIDE

University named Scottish University of the Year, ranked fourth in Scotland

»4

Bash the fascist Scottish Defence League march in Edinburgh stalled by police and Unite Against Fascism counter-demonstrators

»4 Save the Hetherington Student occupiers force Glasgow University U-turn on threatened building

The circus » 42 leaves town The Journal takes a look back at the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe

Continued from p1 Chapman, Principal of Heriot-Watt University, expressed his delight at the award, accrediting the result to the dedication and hard work of all University staff as well as the close working partnership the University has with its students.

However, Prof. Chapman pointed out the importance of not becoming complacent but rather to “continue to work to improve our teaching, research and the student experience”.

Heriot-Watt was recently one of four Scottish institutions of higher education to introduce £9,000 fees for students from England, Northern Ireland and Wales.

In a comment to The Journal, a spokesperson for the University said: ”The fees and accompanying bursaries packages were decided on, and made public prior to, the announcement that Heriot-Watt was named as Scottish University of the Year 2011/12 in the Sunday Times University Guide. The two issues are quite separate.”

The Sunday Times University Guide is compiled by weighing in factors such as student satisfaction, graduate employability, entry standards, research and drop-out rate. It also takes into consideration the proportion of top quality degrees (1:1 and 2:1) awarded.

Robert Gordon University, another Scottish university recognised in the Guide, received the title Top Modern University, ousting Oxford Brookes after ten years at the top spot. It was also shortlisted for UK University of the Year.

» THE RANKINGS 1. University of St Andrews 2. University of Glasgow 3. University of Edinburgh 4. Heriot-Watt University 5. University of Strathclyde 6. University of Dundee 7. University of Stirling 8. University of Aberdeen 9. Robert Gordon University 10. Edinburgh Napier University 11. Glasgow Caledonian University 12. University of Abertay Dundee 13. Queen Margaret University 14. University of the West of Scotland Source: Sunday Times University Guide

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» 42

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STUDENT NEWS

News 3

Fury over RUK fees as Edinburgh, St Andrews announce £36,000 undergraduate cost NUS Scotland president brands Edinburgh fees "outrageous" as universities are forced to defend 2012 fee plans EWAN MCINTOSH

Richard Morgan Staff writer

» THE FEES SO FAR

£36k University of Edinburgh £36k University of St Andrews £27k Heriot-Watt University £27k Glasgow School of Art £27k University of Aberdeen £21k Glasgow Caledonian

SNP minister Michael Russell, who recently announced that he would relax government restrictions on tuition fees for RUK students the Scottish Government was "protecting places for Scottish students and the competitiveness and quality of our universities."

Heriot-Watt University, the University of Aberdeen and the Glasgow School of Art recently announced that they would also increase their undergraduate fees to £9,000. However, all three institutions have announced a fee cap of £27,000, bringing them into line with top English universities including Oxford and Cambridge. The plan means that RUK students will pay for only three years of a four-year degree.

So far, only five of the fifteen universities in Scotland have announced their 2012/13 fee plans. Glasgow Caledonian University recently that they would charge £21,000 for undergraduate students.

The University of Edinburgh has defended the fee-hike, announcing a new bursary package which they claim will be the best in the UK. The bursaries will be funded by the extra revenue gained from charging students for their fourth year of study.

University officials said that 54 per cent of the income from tuition fees will go towards financing the bursary package. Student leaders, however, have maintained that while the new bursary provisions are a step forward, students should not have to foot the bill.

Edinburgh University officials have also said that they will be encouraging more students who achieve the necessary A-levels to choose second-year entry in order to reduce the fee burden, but Mr Williamson said that he felt this was "not a solution to the problem, as the first year of study is essential for getting to grips with the inner workings of the university."

The average cost per year to educate one student is around £9,600. Previously, RUK students paid £1,820 in fees, with the Scottish Government paying the remainder. But this “top-up” system will now be abandoned, and universities are arguing that it is essential that they charge more in order to provide the same level of education.

The University of Edinburgh has pledged to invest the remainder of the income from fees in improvements to the student experience.

Professor Mary Bownes, vice-principal for external engagement, said: "These students will be studying at one of the world's top teaching and research institutions.”

The Northern Ireland Executive announced on Thursday a four-year freeze on tuition fees, leading to speculation that more students will flock to other British universities rather than coming to Scotland.

Last Monday, the University of

Edinburgh held an open day for next year’s prospective students. However, these future applicants were unaware of the discussions taking place to increase fees to £9,000 per year, raising the question of whether they will still choose to apply, regardless of the quality of the course.

Mr Williamson said that the decision placed the reputation of the university in jeopardy, and that next year's applications would undoubtedly be affected. He told The Journal that universities "are making people choose between debt and the course which is right for them."

Continue the debate EUSA, the Scottish Government and Universities Scotland discuss their views on tuition fees for Rest-of-UK students

COMMENT » 16

ONLINE

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THE DEBATE OVER Rest-of-UK tuition fees at Scottish universities has intensified after two Scottish universities announced plans that would make them the most expensive places to study in the UK. The Universities of Edinburgh and St Andrews last week announced plans to charge undergraduate students £36,000 in tuition fees for a four-year undergraduate degree. From September 2012, the two Russell Group institutions will charge £9,000 per year in fees for students coming from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scottish students will continue to study for free.

Edinburgh announced their plans on 5 September, after members of the University Court voted 20-2 in favour of the increase. The two opposing votes were cast by sabbatical officers from Edinburgh University Students' Association (EUSA). Student president Matt McPherson and vice president (academic affairs) Mike Williamson were present at the Court session to lobby the university for a lower fee level.

Mr Williamson told The Journal he was "disappointed", and that he "thought the university would take a stand" against higher fees.

Both universities have also come under fire from the National Union of Students Scotland, who called the £36,000 "ridiculous". Speaking the day after the Edinburgh announcement, union president Robin Parker told The Journal that the plan was "incomprehensible."

"It's bad for their reputation, and I don't see how it can be good for them in a business sense," he said. "I don't know why someone would pay £36,000 to go to Edinburgh when they could pay £27,000 to go to Oxford, Durham or Imperial."

The Scottish education secretary Michael Russell put forward a proposal in June to allow Scottish universities to set their own fees for students coming from other regions of the UK. This follows the UK government's decision to raise the maximum fee level to £9,000 per year. The rise in fees will go ahead as planned, following the end of a consultation period in the Scottish Parliament.

Writing in The Journal today, Mr Russell claimed that "by taking decisive action to introduce legislation to allow our universities to charge higher fees",

Further cash cuts for Scotland's colleges Funding changes could force further college mergers

Edinburgh voted top tourist destination The capital came second in poll of most popular tourist destinations in the UK

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STUDENT NEWS

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Legality of RUK fee rise questioned Report: 28 per cent of Scottish in human rights case Human rights lawyer Phil Shiner announces legal action against the Scottish Government Leighton Craig Student News Editor THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT is facing legal action from English students who claim that its decision to charge the maximum of £9,000 a year in University fees breaches their human rights.

The decision has been made as the University of Edinburgh, University of Aberdeen and Heriot-Watt University all chose to charge the maximum fee for a degree course for non-Scottish students from the UK. Heriot-Watt and Aberdeen Universities will be charging £9,000 a year, but will not charge for student's fourth year, making the total cost for a 4 year degree £27,000. Edinburgh will charge the full £36,000.

Public Interest Lawyers, the Birmingham-based law firm who are representing the students, argues that the system violates the European Convention on Human Rights and potentially Britain’s Equality Act. Phil Shiner, of Public Interest Lawyers, has said that he will be instigating legal proceedings as soon as possible.

Mr Shiner is said to be representing

seven English students who feel that the fees are “discriminatory”.

The Scottish Government have been accused of acting unjustly by providing a free university education to Scottish students but charging students from other UK residencies the maximum fee.

The decision is deemed even more controversial given that EU nationals from outwith the UK can receive free university education in Scotland, as EU laws dictate that students from other EU countries must be treated the same way as their Scottish counterparts.

However, the Scottish Government has defended the fees, insisting that they are legitimate and that they are not based on students' “ordinary domicile” but rather their nationality.

The SNP administration says that they do not want Scottish Universities to be seen as “the cheap option” in the UK and have set their policy on fees accordingly.

Tom Zanelli, president of Napier Students' Association and originally from Skegness, Lincolnshire, expressed his concerns to The Journal: “I think it's a disgrace, how are English students supposed to pay for their education?

I was lucky enough to be studying in Edinburgh before university and to

college students drop out

Tom McCallum

Phil Shiner

have my fees paid by SAAS. However, if I wasn't studying in Scotland then I would have struggled to be here. This needs to be heavily addressed.”

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A NEW REPORT by the Scottish Funding Council has revealed that 28 per cent of college students in the country are dropping out of full-time further education before completing their courses.

A further 12 per cent of students finish their courses but fail to achieve the full qualification they hoped for.

However, a sharp rise in the number of people enrolling and the higher proportion of full-time courses available may account for the high drop-out rate.

There is also speculation that outreach programmes to enroll disadvantaged students into further education may have had an impact on the figures.

Compared with the 2008-09 report there has been an increase in the number of college students from the postcode areas in which the 20 per cent most deprived members of the population live.

The Scottish Funding Council's chief executive, Mark Batho, said: “To an extent, the statistics reflect the challenges faced by colleges reaching out into communities and trying hard to get people involved in learning.

“Giving people the right opportunity in the right place with the right kind of support is really important in terms of people's progress through lifelong education, and so we will be

working closely with colleges to seek improvement in this area.”

Sue Pinder, Principal of James Watt College, has spoken of her hope for the future and feels the report does not tell the full story. She said: “There are a number of reasons why students leave James Watt College and some of these factors are not reflected by the statistics. One reason is that many of our students find work in their career of choice before completing their studies. In our opinion these are success stories.“ She added: “At James Watt College we are committed to retaining as many students as possible. We now have a retention strategy in place where we work closely with students, from the moment they enrol at the college, to iron out any possible future problems they may face.”

Any improvements in the situation, however, may be reliant on government funding which many fear may be further reduced. Deputy President of NUS Scotland, Graeme Kirkpatrick said: “We fear that any reduction of funding by the government of college budgets, above and beyond last year’s devastating cuts, will lead to a further increase in drop-out rates and severely damaging cuts to courses, support and teaching hours.

“We need to see investment in student support, replacing the college bursary system with an entitlement to support, and we need to see college budgets protected.”

Recession fallout still hitting 2007 graduates 'Worrying' trend of rising unemployment among class of 2007

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A RECENT SURVEY has revealed that nearly 28 per cent of university graduates who completed their course in 2007 are yet to find full-time employment.

The figures, compiled by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and based on a sample of 49,065 graduates who left university in 2007, could raise concerns amongst current and potential students regarding their future.

The survey suggested that 21 per cent of the 2007 graduates were either working part-time or back in education, whilst 3.6 per cent said they were unemployed and a further 3.5 per cent responded as ‘other’.

Sally Hunt, General Secretary for the University and College Union commented on the results, stating: “It is worrying that the number of graduates

assumed to be unemployed has risen.”

Miss Hunt also highlighted the difficulties of finding a job in the current market particularly for those who have recently graduated, and said that students “deserve better prospects”.

The results of the survey have come at a time of large-scale cuts to university funding as well as increasing tuition fees.

However, Miss Hunt did reassure prospective students that entering higher education would ultimately be beneficial, as countries that place emphasis on graduates will “prosper in the long run”.

For graduates already in full-time employment the numbers looked more positive: 85.4 per cent of those questioned who had entered long-term employment since graduating said their qualification had been helpful or necessary in getting them into their current position. In addition, 76.5 per cent said that university had prepared them well for their career.

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STUDENT POLITICS

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News 5

EUSA to send new constitution to referendum After a three-year battle, union reform proposal to be put to campus-wide vote Marcus Kernohan Editor-in-chief

The Free Hetherington occupiers celebrate the conclusion of their seven-month protest

Inquiry: 'No legal authority' for police eviction of Glasgow student occupation Alan Robertson Managing editor for Glasgow POLICE AND UNIVERSITY bosses have come under fire over efforts to end a student occupation that culminated in “considerable public disorder and disturbance”.

An internal inquiry into the attempted eviction of protestors inside the Hetherington Building at Glasgow University found Strathclyde Police had “no legal authority” for the move earlier this year.

Senior university officials also came under attack by the inquiry, led by Charles Kennedy, former leader of the Liberal Democrats and the university’s rector, for the “opportunistic” attempt to bring the occupation to a close “without due consideration of the possible outcomes”.

The part played by protestors fell under the spotlight amid claims their actions coupled with damage caused to university property rendered the

occupation “beyond legitimate protest”.

Students involved in the sit-in “beyond doubt” behaved illegitimately, the panel concluded, albeit “disappointment” was expressed no members of the Hetherington occupation reportedly submitted evidence to help the inquiry draw up recommendations.

In response to the findings, the Free Hetherington group demanded a formal apology from both university management and Strathclyde Police amid criticism the inquiry failed to deliver independent findings.

A spokeswoman said: "What should have been solely an inquiry into the forceful and illegal eviction of a peaceful protest has decided to comment on the legitimacy of the protest itself.

“Free political protest is a basic tenet of democracy and regardless of disagreement with the occupation the panel members have no right to decide if it was ‘legitimate’ or not.

"We welcome the admission by the police that the eviction was illegal. We expect a formal apology to follow from

both Strathclyde Police and University management."

The sit-in came to a close in the last few weeks after protestors spent a total of 212 days inside the former postgraduate research club over plans to close the building as well as wider cuts to the higher education sector as a whole.

However, a botched eviction attempt seven weeks into the protest saw more than three dozen police officers, a doghandling unit and a helicopter deployed to the scene in University Gardens.

Police confirmed to the panel that officers who attended and removed protestors “should not have done so as they had no legal authority for this action”.

Superintendent Nelson Telfer of Strathclyde Police said the report acknowledged "the fact that our officers behaved professionally and courteously during what was a difficult situation.

"We do accept, however, that for a short period at the start of the incident, our officers did assist in the eviction of some of the students. This is something that should not have happened."

0 www.biblosedinburgh.co.uk | 0131 226 7177

Edinburgh University Students’ Association will submit a new constitution to a campus-wide referendum in October, union officers have confirmed.

The constitutional reform proposal will be put to a vote of the University of Edinburgh student body on 12-13 October, and if approved will see major changes to EUSA’s corporate and representative structures in a move officials hope will boost student engagement.

Speaking to The Journal, EUSA president Matt McPherson said that currently the union was “very democratic, but it’s not as representative as it should be, and we don’t communicate with our members as well as we should.”

The new constitution, he said, would "empower students who want to get involved to make decisions."

Mr McPherson confirmed that official ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ campaigns will be funded by EUSA, and noted that as an organisation the union will take a neutral position. However, Mr McPherson and other sabbatical officers confirmed to The Journal that they will actively campaign for a Yes vote.

The referendum marks the final act in a three-year political saga which has dogged successive sabbatical administrations. Crucial to the new constitution is a shift towards the use of online

voting, as opposed to the current system of physical balloting at general meetings, to decide policy.

The online referenda proposal has proven controversial in the past, with an enabling motion design to pave the way for the new system’s introduction repeatedly defeated, thanks to a string of inquorate meetings and stiff opposition from the Edinburgh University Debates Union.

However, that society is not believed to oppose the new proposals. EUDU officers could not be reached for comment.

Mr McPherson said he was confident that the proposal would pass.

If it does, the existing Student Council Executive will be abolished, and replaced as EUSA’s primary policyforming body by four committees. The External Affairs Council, Welfare Council and Academic Council will hold specific policy remits, while the Campaigns & Accountability Forum will act as the final authorising body.

The three policy councils will be comprised largely of elected representatives, but the new structure does allow for ordinary students to attend committee meetings and vote on policy.

Moreover, EUSA would relinquish its legal status as a charity to become a company limited by guarantee. However, Mr McPherson confirmed that the organisation would retain its charitable aims, and that the restructuring was designed to give the union greater operational flexibility.

CARLOTTA MATHIEU

Physical voting at EUSA may become a thing of the past

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INTERVIEW

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Exclusive

'I remember his face just like it was yesterday' In July, an Edinburgh student found himself caught up in the chaos and horror of the Norway terror attacks. He spoke with the gunman, while his brother was later arrested as a suspected accomplice. Speaking exclusively with The Journal, he tells his story FABIO DUMA

77 people died during the 22 July terrorist attacks on Oslo and Utøya. The perpetrator, Anders Behring Breivik, is currently standing trial in Norway.

Olivia Pires

I

N AN EDINBURGH cafe, as police outside corral the opposing masses of Scottish Defence League protesters and Unite Against Fascism campaigners who have gathered on the eve of the tenth anniversary of 9/11, John tells me about a cold July day on a Norwegian island called Utøya, when he found himself caught up in one of the greatest human tragedies of recent times.

On 22 July 2011, a far-right extremist named Anders Behring Breivik murdered 69 people, mostly teenagers, in cold blood on Utøya, hours after carrying out the bombing of a government building in Oslo which claimed eight more lives.

John - not his real name - is a 22-year-old student at Edinburgh Napier University. He met Breivik that day: they exchanged pleasantries, and John unwittingly helped unload cases of ammunition from the boat that ferries visitors to and from the island.

John’s 17-year-old brother Anzor was also on Utøya island that

day. In the chaotic aftermath of the attack, and amid reports that Breivik had not acted alone, Anzor was arrested by police and held in a cell adjacent to Breivik’s for 17 hours on suspicion of being an accomplice in the attack.

“I wasn’t supposed to be on the island,” he tells me matter-of-factly.

“I went there because my brother was there, and his friend asked me if I would come and help with organising some stuff, so I thought to myself: why not? I’ve got nothing to do. Why not?”

Utøya sits just 500 metres of

"I saw him...

I talked to him... He was quite polite.

He wasn't smiling or laughing - he was serious."

the mainland, and is owned by the youth wing of Norway’s governing Labour Party. Each summer, the Workers’ Youth League organise a summer camp there. On 22 July, a social event was to take place at the main campsite, to thank the young volunteers for their hard work and effort.

“I saw him - Anders Breivik,” the student tells me. “I talked to him, because I was there when he arrived with the boat. He was a normal guy. But he had two massive cases - black suitcases - and he asked us if we could help him lift them from the boat onto the island, because they were so heavy.”

The gunman was dressed as a policeman - highly trusted and respected individuals in Norway - and with the gathering that afternoon it seemed normal for there to be extra security, especially after the Oslo bombings only hours before.

He didn’t think twice about helping Breivik, he says. “Someone in the street asks you [for help], especially a policeman, you say ‘yes, of course, why not?’ They were so heavy. I thought it wasn’t normal for a suitcase this size to be so heavy.

“I never asked him what was in the case, but we all assumed it was

equipment for the party - maybe some speakers? I don’t know. It could have been anything.”

“I wouldn’t say he was friendly, but if you asked he answered. He was quite polite. He wasn’t smiling or laughing - he was serious, but he seemed alright. He was a normal guy.”

John explains how he helped carry the cases onto the island, and into a small car to be taken from the pier to the main campsite to be met by organisers, who had previously received a call saying that police were coming to the island as an added security precaution.

As Breivik drove off, the student remained at the water’s edge, talking to his friends.

A few minutes later, they heard the first gunshots - two single shots fired close together, he says, then a few seconds’ pause before a seemingly incessant burst of gunfire.

The student and his friends were sitting on the shore drinking beer when crowds of people came running through the woods, screaming and crying.

“I saw something I’ve never seen before,” he says. “They were running as a group, and when people get panicked they don’t know what they’re doing, so they just run. So he came after them. He was saying

"It was chaos, because people were running all around... people were screaming, because somebody lost their friend, brother, sister."

‘Come here, I’ll help you. Why are you running from me? Come to me, I’ll help you.’” The fact that Breivik was dressed as a police officer only added to the confusion.

John describes a scene of horror as the gunman fired into the fleeing

The Journal Wednesday 14 September 2011

crowd, and perhaps 25 people fell to the ground. “Blood everywhere.

I don’t know how to describe it. I don’t want to. It was a horrible picture,” he says, lowering his gaze.

They fled along the right-hand side of the island, knowing that there they would find patches of woodland and caves in which they could seek refuge. They thought about trying to overpower the shooter, but his height and muscular physique would have made it almost impossible.

“When I was running with my friends, it was chaos, because people were running all around.

You could see dead bodies - people were screaming, because somebody lost their friend, brother, sister.”

Shock set in. To survive, many hid under the bodies of their friends and family members. Two Norwegian boys, no older than eight or nine, stood motionless in the panic, until the Edinburgh

Two Chechen youths saved 23 others, leading them to the safety of a cave and throwing stones at the gunman to distract him from killing student picked them up and carried them to safety. They were so frozen with fear, he says, that they didn’t even cry.

The gunman wore a bulletproof vest, and according to witnesses carried so many firearms that there was no need to reload: he would just empty one gun, drop it, and start firing with a fresh weapon.

“I’ve never seen so many people dying at the same time... so many young people, and there’s just one guy walking around shooting everybody,” he says, shaking his head, unable to understand.

Elsewhere on the island, 17-yearold Anzor was also fleeing for his life. He urged groups of people to spread out, but in the chaos they didn’t hear and were murdered before his eyes. One of his friends, a 17-year-old Somalian boy, was shot in the neck and died as Anzor tried to carry him to safety.

Anzor and a Norwegian boy escaped onto the rocks, hanging just below the lip of a cliff with nothing but the root of a tree to hold on to. At one point, they saw the gunman’s feet linger near the edge of the cliff. He did not look down. After 40 minutes hanging there, Anzor’s companion was unable to hold on any longer. He fell to his death on the rocks eleven metres below. He was just 18 years old.

In the immediate aftermath of the massacre, confusion set in.

People crept out from their hiding places, many screaming and crying in shock. Breivik had killed nine children in the last moments of his

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rampage, while police waited for boats to take them across to the island, unable to act. By the time he surrendered, 69 people were dead on Utøya.

Anzor had clung onto that treeroot for two hours before it seemed safe to emerge. He quickly found two of his closest friends: Movsar Dzhamayev, 17 and Rustam Daudov, 16. They are the Chechen youths who managed to save 23 others by leading them to the relative safety of a cave, and who threw stones at the attacker to distract him from killing.

Anzor thought the ordeal was finally over, until he was arrested by police on suspicion of working with Breivik. The arresting officers, Anzor said later, didn’t believe that he was the same person shown on his identification documents, and that they likened his shaved head to the style favoured by neo-Nazis.

He spent 17 hours in the cell next to Breivik, the man who had killed so many of his friends. He was not able to make a telephone call, and his family feared that he was among the dead. They spent hours driving around hospitals and morgues, desperately searching for him.

“We - me and my parents - we thought he was dead,” says John.

“We were looking for his body so we could make a proper funeral, but we couldn’t find him and the police wouldn’t allow him to give us a call. I was helping with the dead bodies, and I was looking for him.

I wanted to find his body, at least.

I wanted to see that he was dead, because there were so many people who tried to swim to shore and Breivik shot them, and their bodies were underwater.”

Anzor was eventually released from custody, and later received a personal apology from Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg.

As Norway comes to terms with the horror of the attacks, questions have been raised about why the police were unable to intervene sooner, and about Anzor’s treatment while he was in custody.

Police officials have apologised for the fact that Anzor, a minor under Norwegian law, was not able to contact his family while he was being held. But now, John says, they just want to get on with their lives.

At this point in our interview, the weather takes a turn. It’s late in the day. My interviewee has remained calm throughout our conversation, rage bubbling up quickly suppressed. The enormity of the tragedy on Utøya is incomprehensible, and Breivik’s motives - if he had any - may never be understood, but as we part he gives his final judgment of the murderer; one that echoes the senselessness of his actions.

“I remember his face just like it was yesterday. You could see that he was not thinking of the children he was shooting. He was not thinking about what he was doing. You could see the calm on his face,” he says. “He was not a psycho, he knew what he was doing.

“I don’t know how a person can be so cold and cruel. I don’t know.

I can’t understand this guy. I don’t think I’ll ever get over it, but if you ask me if I feel more or less safe now... yes, I do.”

Editor's note: The Journal agreed to grant anonymity to the subject of this interview on the grounds that he is currently living and studying in Scotland.

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INTERVIEW

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ACADEMIC NEWS

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ECA-University of Edinburgh merger formally takes effect Student leaders upbeat, despite some lingering concerns over circumstances of merger

News 9

Fringe Award for QMU lecturer

DAVID SELBY

Kirsten Waller

Edinburgh College of Art is now part of an expanded School of Arts, Culture and Environment at Edinburgh University

Katie Richardson

The University of Edinburgh's merger with Edinburgh College of Art has formally taken effect, two years earlier than originally proposed.

The two institutions legally merged on 1 August 2011, meaning that ECA is now part of the university’s School of Arts, Culture and Environment. The new ECA will offer courses in art, history of art, design, music and architecture.

The Scottish Funding Council have invested £13.8 million despite education secretary Michael Russell's harsh criticism in January of ECA's prior financial management.

With some 1,600 students currently

studying at ECA, there are also concerns that university facilities will be stretched and that ECA students may lose control of their existing spaces most notably the Wee Red Bar, which is to be taken under the management of the university's Acccommodation Services department.

But Edinburgh University Students' Association president Matt McPherson told The Journal: "EUSA is one of the best student associations in the world, so when we get more members, that’s nothing but a good thing; we are broadening our horizons on what we can actually deliver.

"We’re now not only one of the best academic institutions in the world, we’re now also one of the best art colleges too. Now that the two have

combined the students will feel the full benefit of that."

Mr McPherson was confident that instead of becoming a financial burden, ECA students would actually benefit the existing student body: “Edinburgh University is a much bigger organisation than ECA and they certainly wouldn’t have taken it on if they thought it was a sinking ship. The real outcome here is the student experience and the strength of a degree from Edinburgh University, and is enhanced by the partnership with ECA.” The University has recently increased EUSA’s grant and invested £15,000 into the refurbishment of ECA’s Wee Red Bar which Mr McPherson is determined he will be keeping “a close eye on” to make sure it continues to be

Cutting edge invention from Napier graduate New Razor could help pregnant women Eilidh Dobson A graduate of Edinburgh Napier University has invented a product to enable pregnant women to shave their legs more easily.

The patented device attaches to all standard razors and was created

by Jordan Scott who worked on it during his degree in product design.

Initially taking inspiration from

a pregnant friend’s complaints, Scott told The Journal: “As the idea developed, it was clear that the extension could be used by a broad range of people, such as those with arthritis, back pain or obesity problems.”

Scott is currently working with the Scottish Institute for Enterprise with the aim of marketing the device to manufacturers and online businesses.

Jordan Scott with his invention

student-led.

He went on to say: “This has been an institutionally-led merger but it’s now our responsibility as a student union to make sure it becomes a student-led merger.”

Abigail Barr, ECA's student president, told The Journal that "The art college has always been an exciting and vibrant place and I want to help this ethos continue now we have merged with Edinburgh University."

It is understood that Ms Barr will be the final president of ECA's independent Student Representative Council. At this stage, however, it is unclear what steps will be taken to incorporate the ECA student body into EUSA's representative structure.

KATE NELSON, A lecturer at Queen Margaret University (QMU), has won a Scotsman Fringe First Award for a play staged on her own allotment.

The production, entitled Allotment, was written by Jules Horne and describes the complicated and sometimes bitter relationship between two sisters.

In-keeping with its title, the play was performed outdoors at the Inverleith allotments, with no lighting or protection from the elements. Audiences were greeted with a cup of tea and a home-made scone on arrival, before settling down amongst Ms Nelson's vegetable patch.

Ms Nelson, programme leader for Drama and Theatre Arts at QMU, staged the play in collaboration with the Assembly and Nutshell Theatre.

She is also Nutshell's Artistic Director, having directed a number of plays for the company, and has worked with the Traverse and Citizens' Theatres based in Glasgow.

A fellow QMU colleague, Sarah Paulley, was responsible for the set design.

Ms Paulley lectures in Costume Design and Construction.

The idea for the play’s staging came to Ms Nelson during last year’s Fringe as she took to working on her allotment as a form of respite from the hectic festival atmosphere. However, she discovered that there were similar themes present between the drama and the vegetable gardens, making the Inverleith allotments an ideal setting. She told The Journal: “People do come here to dig furiously, to work things out”.

The production received favourable critical attention, with Fest, The List and The Telegraph each awarding it four stars. Fest described the play as “one of the most treasurable sensory experiences on offer at this year's Fringe”.

On awarding Allotment a Fringe First prize, The Scotsman said that the show was “charming, thoughtful and deep; it is remarkable how much ground […] is covered by this comparatively short play”.

The Scotsman Fringe First Awards were set up in 1973, and are designed to recognise original drama. The awards are presented weekly during the Festival and the work must be premièred in Edinburgh. Shows featured in the Comedy, Events, Music or Exhibition sections are not considered eligible.

10 News

ACADEMIC NEWS

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The Journal Wednesday 14 September 2011

The University of Edinburgh launches mobile app U@Ed allows students to access University services from their smartphones, on the back of research suggesting that 67 per cent of students now own a smartphone

Greg Bianchi

The University of Edinburgh has created its first mobile app in a bid to allow students to access university services from anywhere, at anytime.

On Friday 26 August 2011 the University launched the U@Ed Application for students to download onto their mobile devices. The aim of the application is to help students keep up-to-date with university announcements whilst on the go. It is also viewed as a strategy to reduce the strain on library computers and therefore open up more study space.

The application will be available to all affiliates of the University including students, staff, visitors and applicants.

A statement on the University student portal MyEd states that the downloadable application “enables students to stay informed with the ease and convenience that mobility brings”. The statement also adds that “the University

of Edinburgh is one of the latest leading universities in the UK to roll out a student mobile campus”.

The mobile app will provide students with services such as course information, campus maps, library information and the availability of computers around the University buildings.

The move to launch an application is supported by the Edinburgh University Students' Association (EUSA), which states that two separate surveys carried out in 2010 suggested students to be "extremely keen to be able to use mobile phones to support their studies and other activities”.

A statement on the EUSA website also explains that the move is linked to research which suggests that 67 per cent of students now own a Smartphone which would support the application.

The app can be downloaded from the MyEd portal or from the website http:// www.ed.ac.uk/is/mobile-campus.

It is supported by Apple’s iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad as well as Android models, and will be extended to Blackberry

phones in the near future.

The University has also set up a helpline for the application at IS.Helpline@ed.ac.uk.

The U@Ed app in action

54 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EJ • 0131 225 6936

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SDL march blocked Scottish Defence League supporters outnumbered by anti-fascist campaigners at Edinburgh rally DAVID SELBY

Hannah Raine DAVID SELBY

Local News Editor Scottish Defence League (SDL) protestors took to the streets of Edinburgh on Saturday despite city councillors attempts to prevent them from marching and a major counter-protest by antifascist campaigners.

The far-right group's plan to march near the US consulate at the east end of Princes Street were quashed by council members due to fears of "public disorder.

Colin Keir, the SNP, MSP for Edinburgh West, last week expressed his concerns about the proposed march taking place on the eve of the anniversary of the 11 September terrorist attacks.

"The timing of this march is designed to incite controversy and it should not be allowed to go ahead," he said.

Around 200 members of the SDL, which is the Scottish counterpart of the English Defence League, held a rally just after 12pm outside the Apex hotel on Waterloo place. It is understood that SDL supporters from as far afield as Luton arrived by coach, while hundreds of police officers from across several different forces were drafted in to seal off Princes Street.

An hour earlier, around 400 protesters from Unite Against Fascism began to congregate in front of the National Galleries. Among the speakers at the

SDL protesters were held back from marching by police rally were NUS Scotland president Robin Parker, Edinburgh North and Leith MSP Malcolm Chisholm and Leith councillor Gordon Munro.

Edinburgh University Students' Assocation vice-president (academic affairs) Mike Williamson, who was present at the UAF demonstration, told The Journal: "Once again, the people of Edinburgh have shown that fascists like the SDL are not welcome on the streets of our city.

"But it's important to remember that when mainstream politicians talk about immigrants like they're a problem, and talk about Muslims as if they're ideological enemies, they are pandering to far-right organisations like the BNP and the SDL, and they cannot then turn around and say they oppose racism in all its forms."

The UAF protestors then marched along Princes Street towards Waverley Steps to await the SDL’s arrival at

Waterloo Place.

Graham Smith, an Edinburgh University student and chair of UNISON's National Young Members, said that "the SDL's failure to enter the city centre is a massive victory thanks to the hundreds of Edinburgh citizens who came together to make clear that there is no place for racism in Scotland.

"The racist message of the SDL clearly hasn't resonated with the people of Edinburgh on both occasions they've attempted to spread their message of hatred."

Lothian and Borers Police confirmed that no arrests were made on Saturday.

Assistant chief constable Iain Livingstone said: "The day passed without significant incident and allowed local residents and businesses to go about their day with minimum disruption."

Five people were arrested in February 2010 as a result of a previous SDL march in Edinburgh.

Man who threatened students with knife jailed Olufemi Olumide thretened to kill students during burglary

The armed intruder who tied up and threatened two students from Edinburgh University in their own flat has been jailed for six years.

In April of this year, Olufemi Olumide broke into the flat of Christina Robbie, 24, and Brett Dorrans, 23, at Gardener’s Crescent in Edinburgh and threatened them with a knife.

He told the students: "If you don't want to go into witness protection then you won't call the police."

The students had left their top-floor flat to go shopping. On the way downstairs they noticed a man in the stairwell but continued on their way. On their return they found the flat door open and Mr Olumide in the living room with a knife. He asked them: "Have you any valuables?"

Ms Robbie ran to the bathroom because Olumide threatened to slit her throat. He then threatened to do the same to Mr Dorrans if she would not come out.

According to STV Edinburgh, Mr

Olumide then forced the students to hand over their mobile phones, cameras, games, an iPod and a watch.

As he tied up Mr Dorrans, Olumide said: "I'm sorry about this but I'm desperate, you seem like nice people." After he left, the students untied themselves and called the police.

When Mr Olumide was arrested he said: "Judging by what I've done today I'll probably get three to five years but in Scotland I'll be out in two."

However, at the High Court in Edinburgh, judge Lady Clark of Calton stated: “To assault the young occupants in their own flat with a knife, tie them up, terrorise them and threaten them with horrible consequences is completely unacceptable and very worrying to the court.”

Mr Olumide also pledged guilty of breaking into a flat in Gibson Terrace five days earlier and stealing a TV and other valuable items.

Defence solicitor advocate, David Allan said: "He did not intentionally set out that day to commit this particular offence.

“Although this was a terrifying ordeal, there was no physical injury or use of the knife on the victims."

ONLINE

journal-online.co.uk

Jenny Kassner

Trams chaos continues Council forced to U-turn on tram route in city centre

Student pub banned from playing music Popular student bar The Southern attracted 36 noise complaints in recent years

LOCAL NEWS

News 11

Sept-Oct 2011

Edinburgh University Students’ Association events are open to ALL STUDENTS.

eusalive.co.uk

Hailing from Sunderland, the Futureheads are a 4 piece postpunk revival band. Their 4 highly charted studio albums contain singles like ‘Hound of Love’, ‘Decent Days and Nights’, ‘The Beginning of the Twist’ and ‘Heartbeat Song’ .

Fri 30 September 8pm Potterrow £10 | £8 students

Hallowe’en Party

Plenty of prizes, guest acts, great music, top entertainment and ghostly goings on – dress to the max as we are going to get SPOOOOOOOKY!

Mon 31 October 9pm Teviot £5|£4 students (in advance); £6|£5 students

Live Nation Present

Daniel Sloss – The Joker

Zane has fast become one of the most respected Radio DJs in the UK. Since starting on Radio 1 in 2003, his 2 hour show has grown to be one of the most sought after slots for a band to be plugged on where he tips the ‘hottest band in the world right now.’ With his enthusiastic and fast paced style, we’re delighted to welcome Zane Lowe to the Potterrow decks and boy, are we excited! Buy these ones in advance people!

Sun 23 October 9pm The Venue, Potterrow £6 (Students only)

Zane Lowe

Scotland’s half-manhalf-Xbox, hormoneridden comic prodigy started stand-up aged 16, starred on ‘Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow’, ‘Comedy Rocks’, ‘8/10 Cats’, ‘Mock the Week’, and his own BBC show and selling out three Fringe seasons 20082010 – all before he started shaving.

Winner of 2011’s Scottish Variety Award – Best New Comedian.

Fri 28 October 7pm Pleasance Theatre £14 | £12 students

BRAND NEW SHOW

Ways to Book Online: www.eusalive.co.uk Phone: 0131 650 4673 In Person: Teviot, 13 Bristo Square, Edinburgh EH8 9AJ Teviot Box Office opening hours: Mon – Sat 11am – 7pm | Sun 12pm – 5pm

thelist08_2011_3.indd 1

24/08/2011 12:50:59

The Journal Wednesday 14 September 2011

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NATIONAL POLITICS

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Scottish Government promise gay marriage consultation The announcement coincides with the lifting of the ban on gay men donating blood EWAN MCINTOSH

Jonathan Baldie

Caption The consultation on gay marriage will be led by deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon "Any attempt to redefine marriage is a direct attack on a foundational building block of society and will be strenuously opposed."

Green MSP Patrick Harvie attacked the Cardinal's stance as “absurd”.

He said: "Just as non-Catholics respect Catholic marriages, so it's time for the Cardinal to start respecting the right of every adult to love who they please.

"The Cardinal should also remember that he doesn't speak for all people of

faith, or even all Christians.

"There are many faith groups who want to conduct same-sex marriages for their members, and the Catholic Church seems determined to try and suppress their freedom to do so."

The consultation on legalising gay marriages coincides with the decision to lift the life-long ban for gay men to donate blood.

From 7 September gay men will be able to give blood in England, Scotland and Wales given that they have not

had sex with another man in the past 12 months. This is considered a saftey measure to allow for the detection of blood-born viruses, such as Aids.

However, Ben Summerskill, Chief Executive for gay rights group Stonewall, considers the safety window too long. He said to the BBC: "To retain a blanket ban on any man who has had sex with another man in the last year, even if he has only had oral sex, remains disproportionate on the basis of available evidence."

Murdo Fraser, the current favourite to win the Scottish Conservative Party leadership has said that Scotland needs a new centre right party

National Politics Editor MURDO FRASER, THE MSP currently favoured to succeed Annabel Goldie as leader of the Scottish Conservatives, has vowed to form a new political party if he wins the leadership election in October.

Mr Fraser announced his plans in an interview with the BBC, highlighting that he does not wish to disband the Conservative party in Scotland, but rather to add to the current political landscape.

Politically, his new party would be a “new, progressive centre-right party

SHORTS

Clearing students lose out in Scotland.

Students looking for better value higher education cast their glances abroad.

Tory MSP vows to form new party Jonathan Baldie

NEWS

WITH UNIVERSITY TUITION fees set to take a large hike next year, A-level students were clawing at the doors of universities for a spot on their desired course. Throughout the UK, university places were snapped up in the clearing process, in some cases almost a third faster than average. The trend was somewhat different in Scotland however, as Edinburgh, Robert Gordons, St Andrews, Dundee and Stirling universities all declared themselves as having no places available for clearing. Glasgow Caledonian, Edinburgh Napier, Queen Margaret and Glasgow University offered extremely limited places for a very sparse selection of courses. Last year, Glasow University had an intake of 1% of its overall populous through clearing; this year it anticipates even less again. In 2010, Scottish universities received 43,234 applications. That figure increased this year to 43,437.

National Politics Editor A consultation on whether Scotland should officially recognise same-sex marriages has been launched by the health secretary, Nicola Sturgeon.

Support for such a motion is widespread, as 60 per cent of Scots are in favour of same-sex marriage according to a recent Scottish Social Attitudes survey.

Speaking to The Journal, LGBT Youth Scotland gave a positive response to the Government's consultation: "LGBT Youth Scotland warmly welcomes the Scottish Government's consultation on marriage equality.

"LGBT young people across the country have consistently raised marriage equality as a top priority, and the LGBT National Youth Council have campaigned for marriage equality for the past two years.

"We look forward to an end to the outdated and exclusionary law on marriage, so that Scotland can move closer to becoming a truly equal society."

However, there are concerns that legalising gay marriage could cause friction between ecumenical bodies and the Scottish Government. Ms Sturgeon said that religious groups that did not wish to “solemnise” gay marriage should not be forced to.

The Catholic Church showed a negative sentiment towards the consultation as Cardinal Keith O'Brien gave a strongly-worded opposition to the idea of same-sex marriage in a homily last week, insisting that it is a “direct attack” on the institution of marriage.

He said: "The Church esteems the institution of marriage as the most stable building block upon which any family can rest.

"The view of the Church is clear, no government can rewrite human nature; the family and marriage existed before the State and are built on the union between a man and woman.

News 13

with a distinct Scottish identity.” It would be an independent entity, only circumstantially similar to the Conservative party in terms of policy.

Speaking to The Journal, Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray called it "a startling admission" that "shows the Tories are still a toxic brand in Scotland."

"But their problems go much deeper than that," he said. “People haven't forgotten what they did the last time they were in power and they are furious with what they are doing now."

In Scotland, the number of Conservative MPs sent to Westminster has dwindled to just one since Margaret Thatcher's reforms during the 1980s proved so unpopular in Scotland. However, Mr

Fraser insists that the Scottish party has been in decline since the 1960s, and it is this belief that has motivated his plan to split from the UK party.

His plans prompted recently-elected Glasgow MSP Ruth Davidson to confirm that she will contest the leadership and defend the present structure of the Scottish party.

She said: "I am proud to be a Scottish Conservative and Unionist. This is a destabilising distraction that will be welcomed by no one more than Alex Salmond. I've got the confidence to speak to Scots about the issues that really matter

to them."

Mr Gray believes Mr Fraser's plan for a new party is "doomed to fail" and that it is hard-line, right-wing policies rather than the Conservative's internal structure that alianate people. He went on to say: "His blunt acknowledgement that the Tories have lost a lot of ground to the Nationalists shows how the Conservative Party alliance with the SNP in the last parliament, supporting their budgets, backfired on them and now so many natural Tories feel at home in the SNP."

COMMENT: Murdo Fraser states his case for a new centre right party for Scotland

»15

SAVVY STUDENTS ARE starting to look for a cheaper alternative to studying in Britain with the shadow of the tuition fee hikes looming large on the horizon. Many universities ranked in the top 100 in the world are offering low cost English language programmes. Amsterdam, Utrecht and Leiden universities in the Netherlands, all offer English speaking programmes for under £2000. Some universities in Germany are offering similar programmes for around £800, and some universities in Scandinavia offer English speaking programmes for free. The attractiveness of reduced education costs, coupled with the opportunity to experience a new culture without having to learn a language is expected to be popular.

Experts are expecting applications to British universities to suffer significantly next year.

Scottish Labour leadership candidates throw their hants into the ring TWO CANDIDATES HAVE now announced their intentions to seek the leadership of Scottish Labour.

Glasgow MSP Johann Lamont and MP Tom Harris have both indicated that they will stand, though Mr Harris said that his leadership bid was fuelled by frustration at the lack of candidates.

Current leader Iain Gray announced he would stand down after the bruising Labour defeat at the Holyrood election last May.

14 Editorial

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EDINBURGH’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

The Journal Wednesday 14 September 2011

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ISSUE XLVIII

RUK fees

Race to the bottom TEN MONTHS AGO, the Browne Review and subsequent deregulation of tuition fees in England marked a tectonic shift in the landscape of British higher education funding. Now the tremors have reached Scotland. The decision by Scottish Government education secretary Michael Russell to relax restrictions on the tuition fees charged by Scottish universities to Rest-of-UK students — that is, those domiciled outside Scotland — has created an unsightly race to the bottom.

As The Journal went to press, two Scottish institutions - the Universities of Edinburgh and St Andrews - had announced that they would charge £9,000 per year for all four years of a normal undergraduate degree. Three more — Heriot-Watt, the University of Aberdeen and the Glasgow School of Art — said that they would offer a buy-three-getone-free deal with a total degree cost of £27,000. Only one institution has so far resisted outright the urge to charge £9,000 per year in tuition fees, for three years or four: Glasgow

Caledonian University, where a degree will cost £21,000.

As Scottish universities scramble to charge their class of 2016 as much as legally possible, the once-treasured idea of the ‘democratic intellect’ seems to be slipping through the cracks. The commitment of the Scottish Government to protecting the ability of Scottish students to study for free is admirable. But this academic nationalism comes at a high cost for students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The tacit acceptance by almost everyone - politicians, principals and student presidents - that there is no alternative but to raise RUK fees is pragmatic. But to blithely accept a stratification of universties’ academic reputations on the basis of degree cost is philosophically and practically ludicrous. Scottish universities are now doing precisely what so many of their English counterparts have done in recent months: following the lead of Oxford and Cambridge in order to be perceived as being in

the same league as those ancient institutions.

If nothing else, the decision of Edinburgh and St Andrews to make themselves the most expensive universities in Britain demonstrates the need for a legislative intervention by the Scottish Government. Left to their own devices, many Scottish universities have chosen to increase the annual cost of a degree five-fold. This is unacceptable.

The Journal must again repeat what we have said from these pages many times before: it is imperative that education be as accessible as possible to as many people as possible. If fees must be raised to resolve the current funding crisis, so be it.

But if we allow ourselves to sleepwalk into a brutal academic free market where students are punished for their education by the burden of tens of thousands of pounds in debt, or if people are deterred outright from entering higher education, we leave to future generations a poor legacy indeed.

Blood donation by gay men

Medical discrimination FINALLY, AFTER THIRTY years, a little piece of prejudice close to the heart of British society is overruled by the forces of science and reason. Last week, the department of health announced that they would finally lift the ban on gay men donating blood.

The regulation, instituted in the 1980s in response to the emergence of a terrifying new epidemic in the form of HIV/Aids, had benign motives, but after three decades it had become an anachronism. It was a knee-jerk response to a terrible disease which we did not yet understand. It is true that — in the developed world, at least — HIV and Aids first appeared

PUBLISHER Devon Walshe EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Marcus Kernohan DEPUTY EDITOR Megan Taylor MANAGING EDITOR Marthe Lamp Sandvik DEPUTY EDITOR (NEWS) Amanda Svensson Falk NATIONAL POLITICS Jonathan Baldie ACADEMIC NEWS Katie Richardson

predominantly among the gay community. And scientific evidence does suggest that men who have sex with men are a particularly vulnerable group when it comes to blood-borne infections.

But Aids is not a 'gay disease'. Statistics show a sharp increase in cases where HIV was transmitted through heterosexual sex. Rather than focusing on individual sexual practises as the key risk factor, the ban stigmatised gay men, making a blanket judgment on the entire community by labelling them 'too risky'.

The announcement is not entirely progressive. Restrictions will still

STUDENT NEWS Leighton Craig LOCAL NEWS Hannah Raine STUDENT POLITICS Greg Bianchi DEPUTY EDITOR (COMMENT & FEATURES) Richard Martyn-Hemphill DEPUTY EDITOR (ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT) João Abbott-Gribben FILM Matthew Macaulay THEATRE Amy Taylor

apply: men who have had sex with men will be barred from donating blood for twelve months afterwards, due to fears that diseases like Hepatitis B can remain dormant in blood for up to a year.

The government are right to be careful. It is essential to ensure that infections are not passed on through blood transfusions. But we would hope that we live in more enlightened times than the days when the ban was implemented. Medical caution and social prejudice are different things — policymakers and NHS administrators must be careful not to use the former to justify the latter.

ART Emily Burke FOOD & DRINK Caroline Bottger CLUBS James Corlett FASHION Jessica Heggie DEPUTY EDITORS (SPORT) Jamie Timson Sean Gibson CHIEF SUBEDITOR Jen Owen PICTURE EDITOR David Selby DESIGN TEAM Joni Langdale Jamie Galbreath Ross Jardine

The Journal is currently recruiting: visit www.journal-online.co.uk/get_involved or email us to find out more.

is recruiting Get involved: www.journal-online.co.uk/recruitment

Join The Journal Writers and editors The Journal is always looking for students with an eye for a great story to write or edit for one of our news desks. If you’re passionate about current affairs, particularly issues affecting students, we want to hear from you. We are also recruiting for people with a passion for the arts to write features and reviews, and talented sportswriters to keep us ahead of the game in both university and professional sport. Experience is a plus, but what we’re really looking for is enthusiasm and a desire to learn about the craft of journalism.

Layout and graphic designers We are keen to hear from anyone with experience using Adobe InDesign, and who are interested in helping us keep the paper looking its best.

Subeditors If you have an eye for detail and a flair for language, we need you to help us iron out the creases during our production period.

Subeditors work on copy, ensuring that spelling, punctuation and grammar are accurate and that our headlines grab the eye. \

Photographers

If you prefer to tell the story visually, there's a place for you on our picture desk. to help make sure that our reporting is accompanied by the great artwork to give it a real visual impact.

Letters Heriot-Watt RUK fees An increase in tuition of any kind is a devastating blow for all students.

The focus at an institutional level will be ensuring that widening access remains high up the agenda in the RUK fees environment.

- Mike Ross (Senior Vice-President, Heriot-Watt University Students' Union), via Twitter University of Edinburgh RUK fees 36k fees is a scandal! Let's talk inclusion, shall we? Oh aye, and the Ed Fringe income?

- Chris Mackie, via Twitter

I'm lucky I went to the University of Edinburgh before fees were introduced, because there's no way in hell it'd happen now.

- Nine, via Twitter.

Blood donation by gay men The relaxation of the ban on gay and bisexual men giving blood is welcome, but the requirement to have not had sex for a year will discourage potential donors. How many men would be willing to say that they are not getting any, and haven't for some time?

- John Hein (Publisher, Scotsgay)

The Journal Wednesday 14 September 2011

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Comment 15

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Comment Discussion&Debate

"A new captain is not enough. We need a new ship" The deputy leader of the Scottish Conservatives explains why he wants to disband the party and start afresh

Murdo Fraser

Deputy leader, Scottish Conservatives THE SCOTTISH CONSERVATIVE and Unionist Party keeps losing. We lost all our MPs in 1997. We lost vote share in 1999. We lost seats and voteshare in 2007, and then again in 2011.

It wasn’t for lack of trying: our people worked hard and we had good, strong leaders in David McLetchie and Annabel Goldie.

As we stand now, we are more of a hindrance than a help to David Cameron in forming a UK Conservative Government.

Scotland is dominated by a sterile conflict between two centre-left parties – Labour and the SNP – and I firmly believe that Scotland needs a strong, progressive, centre-right party to challenge this consensus.

However, in its current form, our party – the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party – is not fulfilling that role and it will never be able to promote effectively the values we stand for – the values which Scotland needs.

Why? Because we haven't practised what we preach. We are a party

Is this the end of the Conservative Party in Scotland? which believes in devolving power to people. But we haven’t devolved power to ourselves.

We needed a distinctive Scottish identity in order to attract the votes of people who used to vote Conservative but who have left us, and of

people who have never voted Conservative. But we didn’t have one.

I want us to start winning again.

But we can’t start winning unless we understand why we keep losing.

And the brutal, honest truth is that we keep losing because our party is

not fit for purpose in its current form.

It’s time to start again. I will transform the party into a new party for Scotland. A new party, distinctly Scottish, standing up for Scottish interests.

A new party which supports the

excellent work David Cameron’s Westminster government is doing and whose MPs support a Conservative prime minister, but which is not afraid to disagree with it if it’s in Scotland’s interests. On fisheries, for example, or the future of our historic army regiments.

This is, in effect, going back to the situation that existed prior to 1965 when a distinct Scottish party sent many MPs to Westminster who took the Conservative whip.

The UK Conservative Party will benefit, since there will be more MPs from Scotland supporting a future Conservative Government.

Change is not an option, but a necessity – and I don’t mean superficial change. A new captain of the sinking ship is not going to be enough. We need a new ship.

Of course, a new party is not sufficient in itself, but it is the crucial first step in building a new centre-right movement in Scotland: to encourage those voters who have left us to come back, and to make voters who have never considered voting Conservative before think, “Maybe next time.”

Einstein said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. It’s time to learn the lesson.

It’s time to change. It’s time for a new party for Scotland.

Why the Free Hetherington matters Sarah Jones on why she feels that the occupation at Glasgow University was a victory for students AFTER 7 MONTHS of continuous occupation, students at Glasgow University have won a victory against cuts to our education. We occupied the former Hetherington Research Club on the 1st of February in protest at the cuts to courses and jobs at our university. Now the longest running student occupation in the UK has ended in a significant victory for the anti-cuts movement on our campus.

The occupation, dubbed “The Free Hetherington”, became a base for activity on campus - placards and banners were made, leaflets were handed out and demonstrations were organised, with free evening meals cooked to fuel this hive of activity.

Alongside this many film showings, workshops and lectures were held, from physics to politics, and many celebrities such as Liz Lochhead and

Billy Bragg came to show their support. A social and organising space at the heart of our campus, I feel we helped build the sense of community that university management intended to crassly and illogically tear away from our university with their cuts, made whilst the University of Glasgow was and still is operating in a financial surplus.

The occupation’s negotiations with university management resulted with a deal that meant that no further course cuts or compulsory redundancies would be made in the near future. This was after a mass campaign against course cuts, of which the Occupation was a part, united students across departments with lecturers and other staff, along with graduates and members of the community. We successfully

prevented management from passing through proposals to cut Modern Languages, Nursing, Department of Adult and Continuing Education, Classical Studies, Anthropology, Archaeology and Social Work. Though these courses were saved, cuts to Liberal Arts at Crichton Campus and Slavonic studies are still currently going ahead.

Another concession won by the occupation is a mass meeting with the principal of Glasgow University Anton Muscatelli to be held in October. Here, students and staff will be able to hold Muscatelli to account for the poor decisions of management – by asking why £16million has been spent on the ineffective MyCampus computer system whilst cuts to some courses are still going ahead, demanding that Liberal Arts and

Slavonic studies are not axed, and making sure that the occupation’s agreed wins including that of a new postgraduate social space are kept to. It is by such collective action that we will ensure management are held to account. When on March 22nd we were evicted from the Free Hetherington, hundreds of students took part in a spontaneous occupation of the Senate rooms of the university, resulting in a negotiated return to the Hetherington. This demonstrates what collective action is able to achieve.

Edinburgh University has recently announced a £36,000 price tag on a degree. Free education is a necessity for a civilised society. We must ensure that the same massive debt is not forced upon English students at our own University as well as

continuing our campaign against cuts to courses.

We do this, however, with the hope that we have in some way constructed a narrative of possibility - the possibility that we are capable of stopping cuts to our education and we and others around the country can do so again. Last winter saw a wave of protests and occupation across Scotland and the rest of the UK. It looks likely that we will see this happen again. Into the new semester we continue the fight, stronger and inspired that our movement can gain more, and defend our university as a great place to study, work and live.

Sarah Jones is a second year student at the University of Glasgow and a former Free Hetherington occupier

16 Comment

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On the fringes of the Fringe Matthew Howard on the trials and tribulations of taking a student show to the largest arts festival on earth.

E

DINBURGH IS WELL known for lots of things. Castles, trams, but probably most of all the Fringe. People come from all over the world to take part in the largest arts festival on Earth.

Which is rather daunting for a student performer, when faced with the sheer amount of talent that descends on Edinburgh every August.

I actually took part in the Fringe this year, which was both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.

There are a surprising number of students performing at the Fringe and I wondered; “What made them do it?” For me personally, it was a year old promise I’d made with a couple of friend I met in the Edinburgh Revue to write and perform a sketch show at the Fringe.

From what I’ve heard of the big names, the Fringe is something almost dreaded, three weeks of gruelling tiredness, stress and pressure.

And it is. That bit is true. When I finished the Fringe my reward was to stay in bed and sleep. It was incredibly tiring and also quite stressfully trying to make people laugh every day. I went to see a puppet show about a man who lived underwater.

Midnight comedy wrestling. Sexy quantum stories. I learnt what soil erosion is. And the key to human happiness.

In all that, who could forget the Royal Mile (if you've never been, imagine being trapped on a very busy Tube at rush hour, but everyone's trying to give you flyers and also half the passengers have maps and are trying to find the castle). I had to flyer for my show and my belief in the goodness of people evaporated. Almost everyone walking past you will hate you instantly when they see that little paper flyer in your hand, another student trying to sell their show. But remember, flyerers are people too.

True, I’m bothering you by trying to flyer. But you’ve hurt my feelings.

Now we’re both in the wrong. All those famous comedians you’ve heard of don’t have to flyer, they can pay someone else to do it.

But on the flip-side as students living in Edinburgh we didn’t have venue hiring cost. We didn’t expect to make a profit. We weren’t worried about reviews. We did the Fringe because we wanted to. And it was fun. If you ever get the chance to do the Fringe go for it. Even if you don’t enjoy it, at least you can be an atypical student and complain about “how hard it was”.

Matthew Howard is the Vice President of The Edinburgh Revue

Freshers' Week by Oliver Ninnis

Scotland's sleep-walk towards independence The leaders of the unionist parties in London and Edinburgh are apparently blind to the true strength of the SNP's present position Pierre Thistlejohn

When I heard that Nick Clegg had told Forth One radio during his visit to Scotland in August that he “would like to see Megrahi behind bars”, I did a double-take. Was the deputy prime minister suggesting that the UK government would try to overturn a decision made by the devolved administration in Edinburgh?

I needn’t have worried. The radio station had clipped his interview to the interesting bit, but left out the part where he said: “It is for the Scottish Government to reflect on how the circumstances have changed. I’m just expressing my own view.”

Naturally, the UK government shouldn’t ride roughshod over perfectly legal decisions by devolved administrations, and the rights and wrongs of the Megrahi case are a separate issue. But if the leaders of the UK coalition feel that Megrahi’s release represents such an egregious travesty of justice, with such serious consequences for the country’s international reputation – isn’t that worth replacing hand-wringing with action?

The episode illustrates a failure to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation now facing unionists in Scotland and across the UK. Alex Salmond has a parliamentary majority, and stands unchallenged as the dominant personality in Scottish politics. Every other political party is in retreat, with the two largest unionist blocs engaged in self-regarding

leadership contests, one lethargic and the other chaotic. There will be an independence referendum within the next five years, as much as Iain Gray taunts the First Minister at FMQs for not having called it yet.

Has David Cameron ever gone in front of a camera to say that he’d rather Scotland didn’t separate? Is it even conceivable that he would – even though that is his position? If an independence referendum is to be defeated, Cameron and the UK leaders of all the unionist parties will have to do much more than just that; they would have to mount a political offensive the likes of which the country hasn’t seen since the Corn Laws. That’s how high the stakes would be, and yet the political will instead matches that seen around the AV referendum. That simply isn’t enough.

In Canada, a Quebec separatist movement more militant than the SNP will ever be – it even had a paramilitary wing – has all but been extinguished. Yet when Francophone nationalists first came to power, their situation was as enviable as the SNP’s is now. The Parti Québécois enjoyed overwhelming public support and Rene Levesque, the party's founding leader, was the dominant personality in provincial politics much as Salmond now is in Scotland.

Yet today, Quebec separatism is a spent force, abandoned at the ballot box. It was overcome by aggressive campaigning by a succession of federal prime ministers, who recognised

that separation wasn’t an issue to be relegated to the provincial level.

Every party leader in London should now wake up to the same reality.

Of course, unionists aren’t helped by the fact that the United Kingdom is a constitutional four-car pileup, with a resultant inability to articulate an endgame for devolution or a place for Scottish national aspirations within the UK. If the SNP's case for independence is to be undermined, then the shutters of the ramshackle edifice that is the British state need to be thrown open so some light can shine in. Is Britain to become a federal state? What do we as a society want to be run at the local, regional and national levels? Where do we want most of our governing done – in the

nations, or in London? After 600 years of muddling by with the Magna Carta, Britain needs to sit down and do the paperwork that comes with being a nation. A national conversation needs to be had on the UK’s constitutional status, and everything should be on the table.

If the forces of unionism are to have any hope of winning the argument over Scotland’s future, they need to realise that they are in the trenches – because right now the battle is being lost. Scotland is sleepwalking towards independence, and if those who want to see Scotland remain part of the United Kingdom cannot summon greater efforts, then they must prepare for an outcome they do not wish, but that is of their own making.

Alex Salmond EWAN MCINTOSH

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Rest of UK tuition Fees

DEBATE

THE STUDENT

THE POLITICIAN

R U K(idding)?

EUSA's Vice President (Academic Affairs) speaks out on Edinburgh University's decision to raise RUK fees to £9,000 per year

Mike Williamson Vice-President (Academic Affairs) EUSA

I

HOPE STUDENT readers from the rest of the UK realise how lucky they are. Just think, if your parents had brought you into the world a few years later than they did and you were due to come to the University of Edinburgh next September, you’d be looking to fork out £36,000 for your degree - even more if you wanted to do an MChem, MPhys, Medicine, Vet Med or any of other, longer programmes. If you're here right now, you’re getting an education deemed to be worth almost

£40,000 for just a fraction of that price.

In case you haven’t heard, the University of Edinburgh decided last Monday to charge £9,000 per year for those students who normally live in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, in response to the deregulation of tuition fees by Scottish education secretary Mike Russell, thereby making a degree at Edinburgh the most expensive in Europe for these students.

Immediately thereafter, the university issued a press statement through Professor Mary Bownes (Vice Principal for 'Eternal' Engagement, if you believe some publications), praising the wonderful bursary scheme which was the result of the decision. The £9,000 fee was just an afterthought, according to the statement: it’s all Holyrood’s fault, apparently, because they cut the funding. Holyrood,

meanwhile, blames Westminster for forcing them to put up fees. The bully made them do it.

Some of this buck-passing and blame-dodging is legitimate, but much of it is not. The University Court could have made a stand against higher tuition fees, but they chose not to. And while the bursary scheme is genuinely very good, it is being funded by students' fees. To avoid squeezing out Scottish students, the Scottish Government either had to raise the fee cap or introduce quotas, but they by no means had to set them as high as £9,000. Equally, they refused to allow variable fees, which will introduce a market for education to the Scottish sector. That was their choice, and they should take responsibility for it. At EUSA, we'll be making surethey do when the issue is debated in

Parliament in November.

Many of the roads taken here really do lead to Westminster. All three main parties there have now played key parts in ensuring that students bear the brunt of the responsibility for funding their education. Only Westminster sits on the necessary tax-raising powers to ensure that education is funded from the public purse, and it is the current universities minister David Willetts who is forcing students to pay more for less.

That’s why Scottish student unions should support a national demonstration in London against the White Paper. It is the biggest attack on students as a demographic that the UK has ever seen, and if we can beat it at the source the rest of the fees regime might start to unravel.

THE ACADEMIC

RUK fees: Behind the headlines The Scottish Government have faced the consequences of a decision made elsewhere

Simon Jennings

Deputy director Universities Scotland

I

N INTRODUCING THIS policy the cabinet secretary Michael Russell said it gave him no pleasure and he would rather no student, whatever their domicile, had to pay fees to study in Scotland. Universities Scotland described the Scottish Government’s decision as a tough and difficult choice. It’s fair to say there are no enthusiasts for the necessary increase to fees paid by students resident in the rest of the UK. As fees are published and newspapers rush to reduce detailed announcements to a single sensationalist headline of £9,000 a year, I’m concerned that much is being overlooked. Central to these

concerns is the reason why these changes are necessary in the first place. This is a decision the Scottish Government had to make in response to the UK government’s decision to transfer the majority of the costs of university education to the individual.

The Scottish Government, by contrast, chose to keep higher education free for those it represents.

As with all devolved areas, it is the Scottish Government’s right to prioritise spending as it sees fit. For the Scottish Government to continue to subsidise the university education of students who study in Scotland from across the rest of the UK, when the government with direct responsibility for these students does not, would be unaffordable.

Worse still, to do so would have brought untenable pressure on places for Scottish students at Scottish universities. This is the second issue: had fees stayed at £1,800,

Scotland’s high-quality universities would have been overwhelmed by applicants looking to avoid high fees elsewhere in the UK. With university applicants from the rest of the UK outnumbering Scottish applicants by twelve to one, Scottish applicants would have been squeezed out of Scottish universities. Principals, the Scottish Government and student bodies across Scotland could not have stood by and watched this happen. In addition, much of the detail in the fee announcements we’ve seen so far has simply been ignored. Three universities have capped their fees in line with the standard (though far from universal) three-year degree length in England.

Universities have also highlighted opportunities for direct entry into year two for A-level candidates.

In short, no student need be financially disadvantaged by Scotland’s four-year degree. Universities have also voluntarily set out

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significant new and additional bursary schemes based on household income and academic ability. Finally, at the time of writing, three-quarters of universities are still to announce their fees. Talk of a rush to the top based on a handful of announcements is premature at best and, at worst, damaging. We can expect to see further variety in the announcements to come over the next few weeks.

Scotland’s universities are justifiably proud of the quality of education they offer and the cosmopolitan mix of their student body. It is for these reasons they are in demand from students across the UK and internationally. They want to retain and enhance their reputation in both of these areas. Confronted with the consequences of decisions taken elsewhere, the policy the Scottish Government has brought forward offers universities the best chance of achieving that.

Ours was a difficult decision but a pragmatic one

Mike Russell

Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning

A

S A GOVERNMENT we fundamentally believe in the principle of free education, and that is why we have made it clear that we will never introduce tuition fees for Scottish undergraduate students.

In an ideal world, no student attending a Scottish university would pay fees. However, with the UK government introducing tuition fees south of the border of up to £9,000 per annum we must take action to ensure that we protect opportunities for students who live in Scotland to study at Scottish institutions, and we make no apologies for that.

If we were to take no action, Scotland would become the cheapest destination for higher education in the UK. Students who usually live in England could, for example, continue to pay fees of £1,820 per year to attend a Scottish university as opposed to up to five times that – £9,000 – in their home nation.

This would create an unparalleled level of competition for places at Scottish universities, squeezing out suitably qualified Scottish domiciled students.

However, by taking decisive action to introduce legislation to allow our universities to charge higher fees we are protecting places for Scottish students and the competitiveness and quality of our universities.

Universities have already made clear that they intend to offer a range of bursaries and scholarships to make sure Scottish higher education remains accessible to learners from diverse backgrounds across the UK. Our decisive action will ensure young Scots are able to reap the rewards of our excellent universities and they won’t end up saddled with years of debt by doing so. This can only benefit our young people and in turn Scotland’s economy.

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The Journal Wednesday 14 September 2011

Renewable energy in Scotland

The winds pushing Scotland forward The Journal explores the thriving renewable energy industry in Scotland, and what this boom could mean for the country's economic future

Aquamarine Power demonstrate a model of their Oyster hydro-electric wave device

Marthe Lamp Sandvik Managing Editor In the global race to develop sustainable alternative energy sources, Scotland is among the countries currently leading the pack. With 25 per cent of Europe’s tidal power and 10 per cent of its wave energy, the Scottish renewables sector is poised to become a major player not only when as traditional fuel sources dwindle or disappear in the future, but in the difficult decades which lie immediately ahead.

The success of the business, and its ability to meet the ambitious goals set by government and sector interest groups depend on two factors: the ability to create a new generation of appropriately-trained engineers and the development of low-risk exploration techniques that will boost the confidence of investors on the financial markets.

According to Joss Blamire, policy manager at Scottish Renewables, the sector is well-positioned to reduce carbon emissions in the region by 42 per cent by 2020 and take advantage of the “outstanding natural resources” on offer in Scotland.

The Scottish Government, meanwhile, recently announced that it was aiming for an 80 per cent reduction in emissions by 2050.

Although few of us ever think it as we make our way through rain and wind, Scotland's unpredictable weather - if harnessed correctly - might well be both Europe’s environmental savior and Scotland’s economic future.

Up until now, attention has focused on wind power, both off-shore and on. Chris Tomlinson, director of operations at Renewables UK, told The Journal that "the wider importance of wind energy cannot be undervalued", calling wind technology "the catalyst for a prosperous and sustainable renewables industry in Scotland, providing HI the necessary investor confidence and infrastructure that EU L T will allow emerging technologies to realise their full AS potential."

SC W But other solutions - most notably in LE the fields of wave and tidal energy - are emerging, and may be just as wellsuited to Scotland's environment.

With tidal and marine power stations installed on the country's rugged northern coast projected to produce up to 1.6 gigawatts of electricity by 2020, experts believe that the Atlantic currents flowing into the straits around Caithness are perfect for this kind of project.

It isn't just conventional natural resources that make Scotland such a haven for renewable energy research. In Speyside, one of the world's largest drinks manufacturers, Diageo, have announced plans to build a bioenergy plant that will produce green energy from byproducts of malt whisky distilling. Brian Higgs, the company's malt distilling director, claimed that the move would create "a sustainable future for Scotch whisky production". Although the sector's main focus is on renewable wind and tidal energy, initiatives like the Speyside plan help set moral standards for both local and internaitonal companies, and set a strong example for private sector enterprises looking to reduce their carbon footprints.

The provision of proper training through relevant engineering courses at Scottish universities is likely to prove crucial to Scotland's efforts to take the renewable energy market by storm.

Business secretary Vince Cable recently announced a £6.5 million investment in this area, including the funding of a new Industrial Doctorate Centre in Offshore Renewable Energy (IDCORE) based at the Universities of Edinburgh, Strathclyde and Exeter. IDCORE aims to equip PhD candidates in engineering with the business acumen necessary to lead the sector in the coming decades, but although it's a strong start from a policy perspective, it is nonetheless likely that the sector will remain heavily dependent on public sector subsidies for the forseeable future, while more efficient energy production techniques are developed.

The financial markets have traditionally viewed renewable energy research as risky to fund, and the blocking of innovation by lack of investment is a growing problem for a field still in its infancy. In the short term, banks and other financial institutions must approve funding for high-risk renewable projects if less risky alternatives are to be developed in the future.

Fortunately, some banks are already choosing to overlook the perceived financial danger tied up in experimental research projects like these, and are slowly growing more willing to provide the financial backing that will ultimately help to establish and sustain a market value for these companies. Barclays recently agreed a £3.4 million loan to Aquamarine Power, an Edinburgh company specialising in wave energy - the exploratory phase of which is seen as among the most costly in the sector. Tidal energy research has

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thus far been heavily subsidised by the government, and the entry of commercial financial institutions into the market bodes suggests that we may soon see the much-needed non-governmental investor into the renewables sector - an impression bolstered by Barclays earlier approval of a ÂŁ22.8 million loan to the Drone Hill wind project in the Scottish Borders.

As with most emerging industries, financing is key. The initiatives undertaken to provide developers with financial backing, and young engineers with the appropriate skills, are crucial if the sector is, as some expect, to become the crown jewel of the Scottish economy. The Scottish Government has expressed strong feelings on the issue, and seems remarkably aware of the importance both of financial risk-taking and of the need for government support in development of the necessary technologies. Speaking to The Journal earlier this year, First Minister Alex Salmond commented that the Scottish Government's investment in the renewables industry is intended to "galvanize" them, and to create interest in the sector among a new generation of engineers.

"We're in a strong position with all these technologies," he said. "The jobs are already coming because of offshore wind. We're a wee bit further away with other resources like tidal and wave, but we're still ahead of the world."

Scottish companies developing this technology are indeed world-leaders so much so that Palemis, a company based in Leith developing marine energy technology, recently secured a contract with Portuguese government to develop similar techniques to be used in the coastal waters of southern Europe.

This is a prime example of the ways in which knowledge and engineering skills will bring not only new techniques, but a whole new identity to the Scottish market. Mr Salmond hopes that "tidal and wave industry will conglomerate in Scotland, and once you've got the best engineers, thinkers and researchers you build an industry, and then it takes on its own momentum.

"We're the Silicon Valley of renewables."

It looks like public opinion is behind him on this one. An independent poll commissioned by Scottish Renewables in 2005 revealed that 73 per cent of the Scottish public agree with wind farms as a method of generating electricity for Scotland now and in the future, while 78 per cent agreed that the national grid should accommodate renewable schemes to make possible a gradual move away from more environmentally damaging power sources like coal.

At this point, discussions about Scotland's economic and environmental futures are fundamentally flawed if they disregard renewable energy. With the current economic and environmental costs of oil being what they are, and persistent doubts about the safety and sustainability of nuclear energy, Scotland finds itself in a unique position to take advantage of its natural resources and to help bring in a new era in the production of electrical energy.

Âť WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY With Scotland being one of the windiest countries in Europe, it has a strong comparative advantage in both on-shore and offshore wind power. Wind turbines are currently one of the fastest-growing energy technologies in Scotland, and according to the department of energy and climate change, wind power generated 11 per cent of the electricity consumed in the country in 2009. In 2011, that figure is expected to rise to 16 per cent.

The strong Scottish winds also help increase off-shore wave power, increasing the potential energy to be harnessed from Scotland's

coastal waters. Edinburgh-based company Pelamis have pioneered techniques designed to harness this energy using large floating tubes which capture the kinetic energy of the waves.

Alternatives include the use of LIMPETs (Land-Installed Marine Power Energy Transformers), which generate power from the force of waves crashing onto shore.

Unlike wave power, tidal power is very predictable (and thus, a potentially stable source of energy), but as research in this field is still in its infancy, it is likely to be several years before we can realise the

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Feature 19

Diageo are planning to build a bio-energy plant on their Glenlossie distillery site in Speyside

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After Burns, cooler heads prevail at NUS Scotland From environmental activist in Aberdeen to NUS Scotland president, Robin Parker has come a long way. As he nears the end of his first hundred days, he tells Marcus Kernohan about the path that brought him here NUS SCOTLAND

R

OBIN PARKER IS working late. When the new National Union of Students Scotland president greets me at the door of his office on a damp Tuesday evening, the union’s plush headquarters in Edinburgh’s New Town is so quiet it looks like he might be the last man standing. And his day isn't over yet, he tells me: he’s off to London on an overnight train to check in with NUS’ national honchos.

The 24-year-old is still in his first hundred days at the helm of the union’s Scottish wing, but it has been a far from tranquil start. The day before we meet, the University of Edinburgh announced plans to charge UK students from outside Scotland £36,000 in tuition fees, while two other institutions (HeriotWatt and his alma mater, the University of Aberdeen) announced Rest of UK fees capped at £27,000 in buythree-years-get-one-free concessions.

It's the issue which may come to define his presidency. Lambasting Edinburgh's decision as "outrageous", he speaks with the frustrated air of a campaigner gearing up for a long, difficult fight. "It's bad for their reputation, and it can't be good for them in a business sense," he says.

A sober Englishman with a wispy beard and long blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, he isn’t your average student politico: in Parker, the standard student unionist mix of brash charisma and political fervour is supplanted by a quiet earnestness and a thoughtful demeanour which doubles as a mean poker face. Ask him about his politics, and he’ll readily identify himself as a floating voter.

"I think I've voted for at least three parties in the last two years," he says with a small laugh.

Indeed, the association of student unionism with party politics seems to bother Parker: the idea of young people as naturally left-wing is a truism, he says, and "in recent terms it's unfair to brand NUS as simply a Labour Party breeding ground."

In conversation, Parker is relentlessly circumspect: at first it seems like evasiveness, but it soon becomes clear that he weighs his words very carefully before speaking. Even on the issues about which he is most passionate - climate change and widening access - Parker is impeccably measured.

A native of London’s diverse Mile End district, it is to those environs that he credits a political identity concerned heavily with social equality. "East London is very polarised in terms of people's lives and people's expectations," he says. "There are very wealthy people working in Canary Wharf, and there are people from Bangladeshi or Somali backgrounds who have far fewer opportunities open to them."

He studied geography at the University of Aberdeen, admitting that he initially took little interest in student

"I think I've voted for three different parties in the last two years."

Parker was an environmental activist and students' union sabbatical officer before coming to NUS politics there. Indeed, he confesses that the first vote he cast at Aberdeen University Students’ Association was for himself, during his successful bid for the union presidency in 2009.

To hear him tell it, Parker’s political history is a narrative of idealism accelerated by benign peer pressure:

an environmental activist (he was president of Aberdeen’s People & Planet affiliate, the Shared Planet Society), his AUSA presidential nomination came about as a consensus decision by a nebulous coalition of students unhappy with the union establishment. Two years later, his

decision to stand for the NUS Scotland presidency was at the encouragement of fellow members of the union’s Scottish Executive Committee. He's quick to clarify that he isn’t some kind of perennial figurehead: indeed, he might be better characterised as a skilled but slightly reluctant

political operative who thrives, or perhaps relies, on the support of a circle of trusted colleagues. When asked if he would have run without that extra momentum, he hesitates longer than usual before answering: “I think I’ve always really valued the friendships that have brought me along the way."

He speaks warmly of NUS UK president Liam Burns, his presidential predecessor. Parker’s views were often divergent with those of Burns, a Labour-supporting union establishment figure, but that didn’t stop Burns from tacitly supporting Parker’s presidential bid on his way out the door. In fact, according to Parker, “one of the reasons [Burns] supported me to be his successor was because I disagreed with him when he needed to be disagreed with.”

The Scottish presidency, he says, “seemed like a natural progression, after having been on the exec committee and having played quite a vocal role in trying to keep our exec team on track, and trying to be a critical friend to Liam.”

That election was both closefought and close to home: Parker beat his opponent, Jennifer Cádiz, by just over 10 per cent of the vote. Curiously, Cádiz was both Burns’ deputy and Parker’s girlfriend, but he rejects the idea that the election was “an establishment/disestablishment contest in the way that my first Aberdeen election was.

“It was much more two people who are both well-known and wellrespected within the student movement in Scotland," he says. "I think our differences were more about nuances in terms of what we wanted to do and what we wanted to focus on.”

The job can be "frustrating" and "hectic", he says, but even these gripes echo a heartfelt enthusiasm for the cause and the campaigning trade. Three months in, he admits that he's finding hard to advance his personal agenda: "To some extent, my agenda has been set for me," he says. With the consultation over RUK fees ongoing, Parker's focus is now on lobbying Holyrood for a legislative intervention to cap fee levels.

It's set to be a long process, and Parker is carefully pragmatic about the role of campaigning organisations like NUS. "At the end of the day, we can't decide what universities do, or what the government thinks is best for students. We can only influence as best we can."

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Arts & Entertainment 21

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Feature

Fringe 2011 retrospective As the dust settles on yet another Fringe, The Journal reflects on the highs and lows of this year's theatrical offerings

The Journal On the horizon MUSIC FRIDAY 16 SEPTEMBER

Crystal Fighters

STEREO, £8

All-screaming Basque dance/punk/ folk five-piece, fusing their disparate elements into one weirdly pleasing mix.

FRIDAY 16 SEPTEMBER

Rise Kagona

WEE RED BAR, £TBC

The founding member of Zimbabwean band The Bhudu Boys, with his intertwining guitars, drums and punchy vocals

SATURDAY 17 SEPTEMBER

Song, By Toad

WEE RED BAR, £5

All-singing, all-dancing musical adaptation of the hit movie featuring teen queen Elle and her trusty Chihuahua, Bruiser.

Funk, hip-hop, soul

20 - 24 SEPTEMBER

Rhinestone Mondays

FESTIVAL THEATRE

Light-hearted rom-com set to a classic country soundtrack

22 - 24 SEPTEMBER

THE QUEENS GALLERY, £5.50 (CONCESSION)

This exhibition brings together over 100 works by the greatest Northern European artists of the 15th and 16th centuries.

The Writing on Your Wall

An exhibition that looks at printmaking as a socially concerned, democratic media designed to disseminate radical ideas.

COMEDY FRIDAY 16 SEPTEMBER

The Friday Show

THE STAND, £9

Friday night special with a changing rota of performers.

SATURDAY 17 SEPTEMBER

The Saturday Show

THE STAND, £15

Packed bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes. Hosted by Joe Heenan.

FRIDAY 16 SEPTEMBER

Rumination on the many faces of King Arthur, through a rather magical exploration of the king's exploits.

UNIT 6/7 OMNI LEISURE DEVELOPMENT, GREENSIDE, £10

15 SEPTEMBER - 1 OCTOBER

Kes

BRUNTON THEATRE, MUSSELBURGH

PERMANENT EDINBURGH RESIDENTS will be more than familiar with the annual madness that surrounds the Fringe; the crowds, the late licences, the street performers and the flyers. Oh how we all love the flyers, and the people that hand them out. But, while the Fringe can be a stressful time to be in Edinburgh, it is also one of the best times to be in the city, as it opens up Edinburgh to so many people. Tourists and residents alike can see new pieces of theatre, comedy shows, exhibitions and other installations for good prices, and sometimes even for free. Performers come from all over the world for the hope of being discovered and appreciated, and no matter how much the crowds and all the traffic can affect you, the fact that the 2011 Fringe is in its 65th year, shows that there is a huge demand for cultural events like this, and that is a fantastic thing.

This year, there were 41,689 performances of 2,542 shows in 258 venues, and of course with so many

The Northern Renaissance: D£rer to Holbein

Arthur, The Story of a King

TRAVERSE THEATRE

Theatre

UNTIL 15 JANUARY 2012

EDINBURGH PRINTMAKERS, FREE

Legally Blonde

Re-telling of the heart-warming tale of one wee boy and his best pal, Kes the kestrel.

performance poetry on the subject of being cool, showcased some amazing poetic talent and enviable stage presence.

Mission Drift – Performed by New York-based theatre group The Team, and featuring haunting music

by Heather Christian, Mission Drift delved into the heart of the global financial crisis by following the fortunes of a leading Las Vegas casino, and the lives of those around it.

Roadkill – Fringe 2010’s success story returned for just one week to once more highlight the very real dangers of the sex trafficking trade in Scotland and Africa.

And the worst: Ten Plagues – Marc Almond’s one man show, written by Mark Ravenhill, presented the realities of living during the plague, but Almond’s weak lyrics and Ravenhill’s never-ending narrative made this one to avoid.

Wondrous Flitting – The Lyceum’s Fringe outing was a world premiere of a show that questioned issues of faith, morality, mortality and belief, but was undermined by the play’s repetitive and underdeveloped plotline.

Two series of images by the renowned Japanese photographer entitled 'Lightning Fields' and 'Photogenic Drawing'.

delectation.

EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE

different types of show available, it was impossible for just one person to see all these performances and events. So here is a brief rundown of some of the best shows we saw this year.

The Oh Fuck Moment – From Hannah Jane Walker and Chris Thorpe, merged true stories, personal experiences and poetry to create a short but sweet show all about the moments that cause you to say those two magic words: “Oh, fuck.”

The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart – Performed earlier this year, the NTS’ ode to ballads written by Scotland’s leading playwright, David Greig, brought booze, ballads, adventures and music to the heart of the Ghillie Dhu. Bane 1, 2 and 3 – The one man film noir parody, written and performed

by Joe Bone and featuring music by Ben Roe, officially became a trilogy at the Pleasance this year. Featuring the same physical comedy and trademark one liners as previous years, the complete trilogy was a total success.

Aisle16 R Kool! – Don’t let the name put you off, this free show, comprised of some of the best

Hiroshi Sugimoto

SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART, £5 (CONCESSION)

UNTIL 29 OCTOBER

12 - 17 SEPTEMBER

Amy Taylor

UNTIL 25 SEPTEMBER

Local music blogger Song, by Toad handpicks a selection of local and touring up-and-comers for your

THEATRE

2011 was the biggest year in Fringe history

as she refers to it 'My Greatest Hits' charts the development of the artist's distinctive abstract style.

ART UNTIL 2 JANUARY 2012

Elizabeth Blackadder

THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY, £6 (CONCESSION)

A rare chance to experience a retrospective exhibition of work by one of Scotland's best loved artists

UNTIL 16 OCTOBER

David Mach - Precious Light: A Celebration of the King James Bible

CITY ART CENTRE, £3.50 (CONCESSION)

A collection of visually striking collages and sculptures exploring the legacy of one of the most influential works in the English language.

UNTIL 9 OCTOBER 2011

Ingrid Calame

FRUITMARKET GALLERY, FREE

Ingrid Calame's first retrospective or

Comedy Live

Mixed showcase of established and up-and-coming comedy talent. Doors 7pm.

CLUBS SUNDAY 18 SEPTEMBER

Sunday Club

THE HIVE, FREE

Two rooms of chart, cheese and all the indie-pop requests you can think of.

SATURDAY 17 SEPTEMBER

The Egg

WEE RED BAR, £3

Indie institution with DJs Chris and Paul.

TUESDAY 20 SEPTEMBER

Split

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FREE

Long-running D'n'B night from a rotating collective of DJs.

01/02/11

Circus Arcade

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, FREE

Pop quiz and musical bingo.

03/02/11

The Vinyl

WEE RED BAR, £3

DJ Bob Grasse presents a night of retro.

P R O P E R T Y L I S T I N G S P R O V I D E D BY W W W. C I T YL E T S . CO. U K

Property

Broughton Annandale Street, £1800, 5, 5D G Z, 0844 635 4820 East Claremont Street, £1500, 5, 2S 3D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 Mcdonald Road, £1500, 5, 5D G PG O, 0844 635 9326 Annandale Street, £875, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Powderhall Brae, £750, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Powderhall Road, £725, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 8694 North Pilrig Heights, £695, 2, 2D G CG P, 0844 635 8696 Pilrig Heights, £675, 2, CG P, 0844 635 9352 Broughton Road, £675, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Hopetoun Crescent, £640, 2, 2D -1B -1T E, 0844 635 9332 Broughton Road, £525, 1, 1D -1B -1T G, 0844 635 9332 Broughton Road, £525, 1, 1D G CG, 0844 635 9245 Broughton Road, £500, 1, 1D 1B G CG, 0844 635 9245 Redbraes Grove, £495, 1, O, 0844 635 9338

Bruntsfield Bruntsfield Place, £2000, 4, 5D G CG, 0844 635 6450 Bruntsfield Place, £1875, 5, -1S 5D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 Glengyle Terrace, £1600, 5, 5D G CG O, 0844 635 9592 Bruntsfield Place, £1500, 4, 3S 1D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 Leamington Terrace, £1500, 4, 4D G, 0844 635 9300 Marchmont Road, £1450, 4, 4D G CG O, 0844 635 3780 Bruntsfield Gardens, £1400, 5, 5D G Z, 0844 635 9302 Bruntsfield Gardens, £1400, 5, 1S 4D G CG Z, 0844 635 9592 Bruntsfield Place, £1240, 4, 4D G, 0844 635 9318 Viewforth, £1200, 4, -1S 4D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 Bruntsfield Place, £925, 1, E CG, 0844 635 6872 Montpelier Terrace, £895, 3, 1S 2D G CG, 0844 635 3780 Viewforth Square, £700, 1, 1D 1B G, 0844 635 3780 Bruntsfield Place, £600, 1, -1S -1D -1B -1T G, 0844 635 4475 Forbes Road, £550, 1, 1D, 0844 635 2418 St. Peters Place, £550, 1, 1D CG, 0844 635 2418

City Centre West Maitland Street, £1650, 5, 5D G Z, 0844 635 9592 Dundas Street, £1350, 3, 1S 2D P, 0844 635 3364 Merchiston Crescent, £1300, 4, 4D G O, 0844 635 9300 Leamington Terrace, £1200, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 9300 Hopetoun Street, £1100, 3, 1S 2D G PG P, 0844 635 6872 Lothian Road, £1100, 3, 3D G, 0844 635 9392 Lothian Street, £995, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 2418 Broughton Market, £975, 2, G, 0844 635 9300 Hopetoun Street, £900, 3, 1S 2D G P, 0844 635 9384 Rattray Drive, £900, 2, 2D G PG P, 0844 635 3364 Lindsay Road, £795, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 9300 Blair Street, £770, 2, 2D W Z, 0844 635 3920 Lawnmarket, £750, 1, 1D W CG O, 0844 635 7774 Lothian Road, £625, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 9560 Easter Road, £595, 2, 2D G CG, 0844 635 9688 Rutland Square, £415, 1, CG Z, 0844 635 9352

Dalry Newton Street, £1060, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Easter Dalry Place, £775, 2, 2D P, 0844 635 4820 Easter Dalry Road, £750, 2, 2D E P, 0844 635 9679 James Square, £700, 2, 1S 1D, 0844 635 1312 Caledonian Place, £690, 2, 2D 1B G Z, 0844 635 9560 Dalry Road, £690, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 3780 Caledonian Crescent, £650, 2, 4D G, 0844 635 9338 Temple Park Crescent, £595, 1, 4D G Z, 0844 635 8696 Caledonian Road, £545, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 4820 Murieston Road, £525, 1, 3D CG Z, 0844 635 8696 Murieston Terrace, £525, 1, 1D 1T G CG, 0844 635 2418 Springwell Place, £520, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 2418 Caledonian Crescent, £495, 1, 1D E CG Z, 0844 635 2418 Downfield Place, £495, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 2418

Springwell Place, £495, 1, 1D -1B -1T G, 0844 635 9332 Cathcart Place, £450, 1, 1D W CG Z, 0844 635 9688

Easter Road Easter Road, £1150, 4, -1S 4D -1B -1T O, 0844 635 9314 Easter Road, £1100, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Easter Road, £900, 3, -1S 3D -1B -1T O, 0844 635 9314 Easter Road, £895, 3, -1S 3D -1B -1T O, 0844 635 9314 Easter Road, £690, 2, 2D W P, 0844 635 9456 Albion Gardens, £675, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 4820 Hawkhill Close, £675, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Albion Gardens, £625, 2, 2D, 0844 635 4820 Edina Place, £600, 1, Z, 0844 635 9352 Bothwell Street, £595, 2, 1D 1B G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Easter Road, £575, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Rossie Place, £525, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 9468 Dalmeny Street, £520, 1, CG O, 0844 635 9308 Albion Road, £495, 1, 1D E CG O, 0844 635 9390 Elgin Terrace, £495, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 9679 Bothwell Street, £475, 1, 1D O, 0844 635 8694

Gorgie Gorgie Road, £1550, 5, -1S 5D -1B -1T CG O, 0844 635 9314 Murieston Terrace, £1250, 4, CG O, 0844 635 9352 Gorgie Road, £900, 3, -1S 3D -1B -1T O, 0844 635 9314 Sinclair Place, £750, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 9320 Gorgie Road, £625, 1, 1D G P, 0844 635 4820 Westburn Grove, £600, 3, 1S 2D G CG O, 0844 635 1312 Gorgie Road, £550, 1, 1D, 0844 635 4820 Wardlaw Place, £525, 1, 1D G CG O, 0844 635 3780 Smithfield Street, £500, 1, 1D CG O, 0844 635 1312 Wardlaw Place, £500, 1, 1D E, 0844 635 3330 Stewart Terrace, £495, 1, 1D G CG O, 0844 635 4414 Ashley Terrace, £475, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 2418 Smithfield Street, £475, 1, 1D G O, 0844 635 9560 Wardlaw Place, £475, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 2418 Wheatfield Place, £475, 1, 1D W O, 0844 635 4820 Wheatfield Street, £475, 1, 1D 1T G CG, 0844 635 2418 Wardlaw Place, £450, 1, 0844 635 9338 Wardlaw Street, £425, 1, 1D E Z, 0844 635 4820

Grange Oswald Road, £1675, 3, 3D G P, 0844 635 4820 Strathearn Road, £995, 3, CG, 0844 635 9308 Dun-Ard Garden, £875, 2, 2D G CG P, 0844 635 9594

Grassmarket Websters Land, £550, 1, 1D E, 0844 635 2414

Haymarket James Square, £1100, 3, 2S 1D W P, 0844 635 4820 Coates Gardens, £950, 3, 3D G PG Z, 0844 635 9688 Morrison Street, £930, 3, 3D W, 0844 635 9318 Rosebery Crescent, £750, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 3780 Grove Street, £595, 1, 0844 635 9338

Holyrood Leith

Iona Street, £950, 3, 3D G, 0844 635 3780 Ferry Road, £900, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9446 Portland Terrace, £900, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9322 Bothwell Street, £845, 3, 0844 635 9338 Sandport Way, £800, 2, 2D G PG P, 0844 635 6872 Commercial Street, £755, 1, 1D P, 0844 635 4638 Admirality Street, £750, 3, -1S 3D -1B -1T O, 0844 635 9314 Portland Street, £750, 3, 0844 635 9338 Cables Wynd, £750, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Portland Row, £750, 2, 0844 635 9308 Lindsay Road, £725, 2, P, 0844 635 9308

Lindsay Road, £725, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 9558 East Cromwell Street, £700, 2, P, 0844 635 9308 Salamander Court, £700, 2, 2D G O, 0844 635 9320 Giles Street, £700, 1, 1D 1B G P, 0844 635 0085 Coatfield Lane, £695, 3, 0844 635 9338 Balfour Place, £695, 2, 1S 1D 1B G CG O, 0844 635 9422 Mcdonald Road, £695, 1, CG O, 0844 635 9352 Western Harbour Midway, £675, 2, CG P, 0844 635 9308 Bonnington Road, £650, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 4820 Coburg Street, £650, 2, 0844 635 9338 Dalmeny Street, £650, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Ferry Road, £650, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 9362 Great Junction Street, £650, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 3330 Salamander Court, £650, 2, 2D G CG P, 0844 635 3780 Sheriff Park, £650, 2, 0844 635 9338 Springfield Street, £650, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 9384 Great Junction Street, £630, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Elbe Street, £625, 2, 2D E P, 0844 635 4820 Ferry Road, £625, 2, 2D G O, 0844 635 9464 Great Junction Street, £625, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Iona Street, £625, 2, 1S 1D G CG O, 0844 635 9558 Leeward Court, £625, 2, 2D 2T G CG P, 0844 635 2418 Poplar Lane, £620, 2, 2D -1B -1T G, 0844 635 9332 Bethlehem Way, £600, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Easter Road, £600, 2, 2D W O, 0844 635 9245 Ferry Road, £600, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Sheriff Park, £600, 2, 2D W CG, 0844 635 9245 Great Junction Street, £595, 2, -1S 2D -1B -1T O, 0844 635 9314 Trafalgar Street, £595, 2, 2D G O, 0844 635 9592 Pilrig Street, £585, 2, 1S 1D G O, 0844 635 9245 Buchanan Street, £585, 1, 1D G CG O, 0844 635 0085 Lindsay Road, £585, 1, 0844 635 9308 Easter Road, £575, 2, 0844 635 9338 Prince Regent Street, £575, 2, 2D E O, 0844 635 4820 Chapel Lane, £575, 1, 1D E O, 0844 635 9422 Pilrig Heights, £575, 1, 1D G P, 0844 635 1312 St. Clair Place, £555, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 8708 Cables Wynd House, £550, 2, E O, 0844 635 4478 Allanfield, £550, 1, 1D E P, 0844 635 9320 Edina Place, £550, 1, 0844 635 9338 Sloan Street, £550, 1, 1D, 0844 635 4820 Elbe Street, £545, 2, 2D -1B -1T, 0844 635 9332 Salamander Court, £535, 1, CG, 0844 635 9308 Spiers Place, £525, 1, 1D O, 0844 635 4830 Springfield Building, £525, 1, 1D G CG O, 0844 635 4820 Thorntree Street, £525, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 4820 Madeira Street, £500, 1, 1D E O, 0844 635 4820 Summerside Place, £500, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 4820 Balfour Street, £495, 1, 1D O, 0844 635 9558 Couper Street, £485, 1, 1D, 0844 635 3700 Duke Street, £425, 1, 1D W O, 0844 635 9312 Easter Road, £280, 4, 2S 2D, 0844 635 3700

Leith Walk Leith Walk, £1200, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700 Croall Place, £1150, 4, -1S 4D -1B -1T O, 0844 635 9314 Albert Street, £1100, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700 Crighton Place, £1100, 5, 5D G O, 0844 635 9322 Kirk Street, £850, 3, 1S 2D G O, 0844 635 6450 Leith Walk, £850, 3, 3S -1D -1B -1T O, 0844 635 9314 Hopetoun Street, £775, 3, 3D G CG P, 0844 635 3780 Montgomery Street, £775, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 0085 Brunswick Road, £695, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 2154 Iona Street, £695, 2, 2D G O, 0844 635 9362 Leith Walk, £650, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Smith’s Place, £645, 2, 2D, 0844 635 9316 Springfield Street, £625, 2, 2D, 0844 635 4820 Leith Walk, £615, 2, O, 0844 635 9308

HOW TO USE THE LISTINGS Meadows

Area Agent phone number

Buccleuch Street, 750, 2, 2D W CG Z, 0870 062 9434

Bedrooms Monthly Rent Location

Smith’s Place, £610, 2, 1S 1D P, 0844 635 9316 Iona Street, £595, 2, 1S 1D G CG O, 0844 635 9422 Leith Walk, £575, 2, 2D E, 0844 635 2152 Mcdonald Road, £575, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 9679 Leith Walk, £525, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Albert Street, £495, 1, 1D 1B G O, 0844 635 9322 Albert Street, £495, 1, 1D O, 0844 635 9460 Halmyre Street, £475, 1, 1D G CG O, 0844 635 9460 Madeira Street, £280, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 2267

Marchmont Warrender Park Terrace, £2500, 5, 2S 3D G, 0844 635 4820 Lauriston Park, £2125, 5, 5D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Spottiswood Street, £1600, 4, CG Z, 0844 635 9352 Strathearn Road, £1600, 4, 4D G, 0844 635 4830 Spottiswoode Street, £1480, 4, 4D G CG Z, 0844 635 2287 Warrender Park Road, £1440, 4, Z, 0844 635 9308 Thirlestane Road, £1400, 4, CG Z, 0844 635 9352 Warrender Park Road, £1300, 5, 5D G, 0844 635 9316 Roseneath Terrace, £1300, 4, 1S 3D 2B G CG Z, 0844 635 9592 Warrender Park Road, £1120, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 9560 Gladstone Terrace, £1050, 3, 1S 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 9558 Marchmont Crescent, £1050, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 9362 Marchmont Crescent, £875, 2, 2S 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 3780 Sylvan Place, £875, 2, Z, 0844 635 9308

Meadowbank Wolseley Terrace, £1175, 4, -1S 4D -1B -1T O, 0844 635 9314 Parsons Green Terrace, £1100, 4, 2S 2D -1B -1T O, 0844 635 9314 Meadowbank Terrace, £800, 3, -1S 3D -1B -1T O, 0844 635 9314 Queen’s Park Avenue, £695, 1, 1S 1D G CG O, 0844 635 9422 Parson Green Terrace, £675, 1, 1D 1B G O, 0844 635 4820 Dalgety Road, £600, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Cambusnethan Street, £595, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Piersfield Grove, £590, 2, 1S 1D W O, 0844 635 9688 Parsons Green Terrace, £575, 2, 1S 1D G CG P, 0844 635 9464 Dalgety Street, £570, 1, 0844 635 0085 Dalziel Place, £530, 1, 1D G O, 0844 635 9234 Dalgety Avenue,, £525, 1, 1D CG, 0844 635 2418 Marionville Road, £500, 1, 1D W CG O, 0844 635 8694 Dalgety Road, £495, 1, 1D CG, 0844 635 3780 Dalgety Street, £495, 1, 1D G CG O, 0844 635 9424 Meadowbank Crescent, £475, 1, 1D G CG O, 0844 635 3780 Bothwell Street, £460, 1, 0844 635 1312

Morningside Hermitage Terrace, £1650, 3, 1S 2D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Morningside Road, £1625, 5, 2S 3D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 Morningside Road, £1600, 5, -1S 5D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 Morningside Road, £1450, 5, 2S 3D, 0844 635 3700

Belhaven Terrace, £1300, 4, 1S 3D -1B -1T CG O, 0844 635 9314 Morningside Road, £1300, 4, -1S 4D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 Morningside Road, £1300, 4, 4D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Morningside Road, £1050, 3, 3D G CG Z, 0844 635 9592 Morningside Drive, £900, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9322 Woodburn Terrace, £850, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 9464 Millar Crescent, £800, 2, 2D E, 0844 635 3780 Viewforth, £795, 2, 1S 1D 1B G CG Z, 0844 635 8696 Falcon Road, £750, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 6872 Falcon Gardens, £700, 2, 1S 1D G, 0844 635 9318 Belhaven Place, £625, 2, 2D E CG P, 0844 635 4820 Belhaven Place, £625, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 9300 Greenhill Gardens, £600, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Balcarres Street, £575, 1, 0844 635 0085 Springvalley Terrace, £575, 1, G Z, 0844 635 2418 Springvalley Terrace, £560, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 9334 Braid Crescent, £525, 1, 1D W Z, 0844 635 4820 Maxwell Street, £520, 1, 1D CG Z, 0844 635 9434 Springvalley Terrace, £500, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 9326 Millar Place, £450, 1, 1D 1B, 0844 635 9318

New Town Henderson Row, £2250, 5, 5D G O, 0844 635 9362 Annandale Street, £2100, 5, CG Z, 0844 635 9352 Dundonald Street, £2100, 5, CG Z, 0844 635 9352 Ainslie Place, £2000, 6, 6D G, 0844 635 4820 East Claremont Street, £1750, 5, 2S 3D -1B -1T G, 0844 635 9332 Eyre Place, £1650, 5, -1S 5D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 East London Street, £1600, 4, 4D G Z, 0844 635 9320 Eyre Crescent, £1500, 4, 0844 635 9338 Bellevue Terrace, £1450, 4, 4D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Barony Street, £1400, 4, 1S 3D G Z, 0844 635 9688 Dundonald Street, £1300, 4, 4D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Howe Street, £1300, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 9464 Huntly Street, £1200, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Bellevue Crescent, £1200, 2, Z, 0844 635 9308 Windsor Street, £1200, 2, 2D P, 0844 635 4489 Huntingdon Place, £1000, 2, 2D G CG P, 0844 635 6872 Brunswick Street, £970, 3, 3D, 0844 635 9316 Hart Street, £900, 3, 1S 2D G CG, 0844 635 6872 St Leonards Crag, £895, 3, 0844 635 9338 Bellevue Street, £895, 2, CG O, 0844 635 9352 Hopetoun Crescent, £895, 2, G P, 0844 635 9320 East London Street, £875, 2, 2D G CG P, 0844 635 9362 St Vincent Street, £850, 1, 1D G PG Z, 0844 635 4820 St Stephen Street, £825, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Scotland Street, £825, 1, 1D 1B G Z, 0844 635 4820 Bellevue Crescent, £800, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 6872 Thistle Street, £795, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 9460

Bedrooms: Heating: Garden: Parking: Furniture:

Barony Street, £790, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 9688 East Silvermills Lane, £750, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Henderson Place, £725, 2, 2D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 Silvermills, £725, 2, 2D E P, 0844 635 4820 Hanover Street, £700, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 3780 Jamaica Mews, £700, 1, 1D E P, 0844 635 4820 Abercromby Place, £610, 1, Z, 0844 635 9308 Henderson Row, £600, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 4820 Canon Street, £595, 1, 0844 635 9338 Clarence Street, £575, 1, 1D W Z, 0844 635 4820 East London Street, £550, 1, E CG Z, 0844 635 6872 Cumberland Street, £495, 1, Z, 0844 635 9308 Barony Street, £450, 1, 1D W CG Z, 0844 635 9688 Windsor Street, £Negotiable , 5, 5D G CG P, 0844 635 4489

Newington Clerk Street, £2100, 6, 6D G CG Z, 0844 635 9679 Clerk Street, £1875, 5, 5D G CG Z, 0844 635 2287 South Clerk Street, £1875, 5, -1S 5D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 East Preston Street, £1750, 5, -1S 5D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 Dalkeith Road, £1625, 5, 5D G O, 0844 635 2256 South Clerk Street, £1550, 5, 1S 4D G CG, 0844 635 9488 East Suffolk Park, £1550, 2, 2D G CG P, 0844 635 4820 Mayfield Road, £1495, 3, 1S 2D G PG P, 0844 635 6450 Newington Road, £1440, 4, 2S 2D G CG P, 0844 635 9302 Mayfield Road, £1420, 4, 4D G CG, 0844 635 9316 East Preston Street, £1400, 4, CG Z, 0844 635 9352 Montague Street, £1350, 5, G CG O, 0844 635 9384 Viewcraig Gardens, £1350, 5, 5D G P, 0844 635 9302 Montague Street, £1350, 4, -1S 4D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 Viewcraig Gardens, £1350, 4, 4D E P, 0844 635 9302 Blackwood Crescent, £1300, 4, -1S 4D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 Dalkeith Road, £1300, 4, 4D G O, 0844 635 9446 Causewayside, £1250, 4, 4D G PG P, 0844 635 9464 South Oxford Street, £1250, 4, 1S 3D G, 0844 635 9245 Upper Gray Street, £1250, 4, 1D 3T G, 0844 635 9245 St Patricks Square, £1200, 4, Z, 0844 635 9352 West Nicolson Street, £1200, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 St. Patrick Square, £1050, 4, 4D G, 0844 635 9392 Spottiswoode Road, £1050, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Dalkeith Road, £990, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9324 Montague Street, £980, 3, 1S 2D G Z, 0844 635 9384 Savile Place, £975, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9558 Craigmillar Park, £850, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Dalkeith Road, £800, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Blackwood Crescent, £775, 2, 2D 1B G CG Z, 0844 635 9679 Montague Street, £760, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 9688 Blackwood Crescent, £750, 3, 2S 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 9688 South Gray Street, £750, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 8694 St. Leonards Hill, £750, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 9320

S Single D Double T Twin B Box G Gas Central W White Meter E Electric PG Private CG Communal Z Zone O On-Street P Private UF Unfurnished

St. Leonard’s Street, £750, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 9245 South Clerk Street, £725, 2, 2D, 0844 635 4820 East Suffolk Park, £725, 1, 1D G CG P, 0844 635 4820 Dalkeith Road, £695, 2, 1S 1D G CG O, 0844 635 9558 Richmond Place, £675, 2, 2D G PG Z, 0844 635 9424 Causewayside, £650, 2, P, 0844 635 9352 Dalkeith Road, £650, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 9424 Ratcliffe Terrace, £650, 2, 0844 635 9338 West Newington Place, £650, 2, 1S 1D G Z, 0844 635 9424 Duncan Street, £630, 2, 1S 1D G P, 0844 635 9424 Lutton Place, £600, 2, 1S 1D E Z, 0844 635 9424 St. Leonards Street, £600, 2, 1S 1D W, 0844 635 9326 Causewayside, £560, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 9245 Upper Gray Street, £550, 1, 1D, 0844 635 9245 East Crosscauseway, £525, 1, 1D G CG, 0844 635 2418 Causewayside, £520, 1, 1D 1T E CG Z, 0844 635 2418

Old Town George Street, £1500, 3, Z, 0844 635 9308 George Iv Bridge, £1300, 3, 3D G, 0844 635 4820 Blair Street, £900, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 9688 Cranston Street, £900, 2, G Z, 0844 635 9688 Forrest Road, £850, 2, 2D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314 Old Tolbooth Wynd, £850, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Bells Wynd, £790, 2, 2D W Z, 0844 635 9688 Blair Street, £750, 2, 2D -1B -1T, 0844 635 9332 Jeffrey Street, £750, 2, 1B Z, 0844 635 9384 Greyfriars Place, £650, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 9474 Forrest Hill, £650, 1, 1D E, 0844 635 9326 New Skinner’s Close, £575, 1, 1D, 0844 635 9326 Cockburn Street, £500, 1, 1D E Z, 0844 635 4820

Polwarth Polwarth Gardens, £2250, 6, 6D G CG Z, 0844 635 9320 Temple Park Crescent, £1450, 4, 4D G PG Z, 0844 635 9334 Temple Park Crescent, £1395, 4, 4D G Z, 0844 635 9592 Harrison Road, £1200, 4, 2S 2D G Z, 0844 635 2418 Polwarth Crescent, £1150, 4, 4D G CG O, 0844 635 9326 Polwarth Gardens, £1150, 3, 3D Z, 0844 635 4820 Polwarth Crescent, £1100, 4, 4D G CG Z, 0844 635 2418 Polwarth Crescent, £625, 2, 0844 635 9338 Harrison Road, £575, 1, -1S 1D -1B -1T O, 0844 635 9314 Watson Crescent, £515, 1, 1D E CG Z, 0844 635 4820 Yeaman Place, £495, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 9334 Fowler Terrace, £465, 1, 1D E, 0844 635 9560

Sciennes Melville Terrace, £1360, 4, 4D G Z, 0844 635 9560 Sciennes, £575, 1, 1D E Z, 0844 635 9592

South Side Parkside Terrace, £700, 2, 2D E P, 0844 635 9488 Buccleuch Street, £675, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 3780

Stockbridge St. Stephen Street, £1200, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9238 Patriothall, £850, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 St Stephen Street, £850, 2, 2D, 0844 635 4820 Silvermills, £800, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 4820 Learmonth Court, £795, 2, 2D W CG P, 0844 635 2418 Comely Bank Road, £775, 3, CG Z, 0844 635 9308 Comely Bank Road, £750, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 9446 Silvermills, £750, 2, 2D P, 0844 635 3780 Leslie Place, £725, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 9464 Dean Street, £680, 2, CG Z, 0844 635 9308 Hamilton Place, £625, 1, 0844 635 9308 St. Stephen Street, £575, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 9424 Dean Park Street, £550, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Patriothall, £530, 1, 0844 635 9308 Raeburn Place, £510, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 9334 Dean Park Street, £500, 1, -1S -1D -1B -1T, 0844 635 4475 St Stephen Street, £475, 1, 0844 635 9338

Tollcross Lothian Road, £1400, 4, 4D -1B -1T G, 0844 635 9332 Gilmore Place, £1400, 3, 1S 2D G, 0844 635 9318 Lower Gilmore Bank, £1100, 2, 2D P, 0844 635 4820 Glen Street, £1050, 3, 1S 2D G Z, 0844 635 9560 Grindlay Street, £1000, 3, 3D E CG Z, 0844 635 4820 Lochrin Place, £900, 2, 2D -1B -1T P, 0844 635 9314 Lauriston Gardens, £790, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 9560 Brougham Street, £675, 2, 2D, 0844 635 9320 Drumdryan Street, £650, 2, 1S 1D G CG, 0844 635 1312 Glen Street, £650, 2, 0844 635 9338 Bread Street, £650, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 4820 Glen Street, £600, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 9560 East Fountainbridge, £595, 1, 1D Z, 0844 635 2418 Lochrin Place, £525, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 9592 East Fountainbridge, £500, 1, 1D E Z, 0844 635 4820 High Riggs, £450, 1, 1D E Z, 0844 635 4820 Home Street, £450, 1, 1D 1T, 0844 635 2418

West End Alva Street, £1950, 5, 1S 4D G Z, 0844 635 9326 Cambridge Street, £1650, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Bells Mills, £1500, 3, P, 0844 635 9308 Magdala Crescent, £1475, 4, 4D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Clarendon Crescent, £1400, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 9245 Haymarket Terrace, £1380, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Douglas Crescent, £925, 2, 1S 1D, 0844 635 4820 Manor Place, £925, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Grindlay Street, £900, 3, 1S 2D -1B -1T Z, 0844 635 9314

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Art

Theatre

David Mach: Precious Light

Orpheus in the Underworld

Beautiful on the surface but Machiavellian in spirit

Arts & Entertainment 23

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...reveals the true power of Offenbach’s hilarious parody of classic Greek tragedy Amy Taylor Theatre SCOTTISH OPERA JOIN forces with Rory Bremner to create a new version of Jacques Offenbach’s seminal comedy, Orpheus in the Underworld. Directed by Oliver Mears, this new and very colourful production probes the depths of recent celebrity scandals to present a sensational and energetic revival of a classic play.

In Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld the once-famous musician Orpheus (Nicholas Sharratt) travels to the underworld to (grudgingly) win back his selfish wife,

Orpheus in the Underworld Eurydice (Jane Harrington) from the god of the underworld, Pluto (Gavan Ring). But a number of forces conspire against him, mainly the King of the Gods, Jupiter (Brendan Collins).

It is very fitting that Bremner, who has become synonymous with political satire, revealing social commentary and the accurate mimicry of a number of unlucky politicians, is the man tasked with bringing Offenbach’s popular comedy to the stage once more. Taking such well-worn themes as the cult of celebrity, notoriety, luxury and fortune, Orpheus in the Underworld not only pokes fun at our obsession with the rich and the famous, but also attempts to represent the values of popular public opinion.

Although a number of very current issues, such as super injunctions,

VENUE: CITIZENS THEATRE DATES:THU 8, 10 SEP PRICE: £12.50 - £18.00 scandals, bankers and affairs are alluded to, Bremner’s decision to include these themes makes them seem suddenly tired, meaningless and boring. However, sex, wanton depravity and general debauchery are introduced early in the show and remain apparent throughout, giving the play a light hearted and fun feel.

While a very entertaining production, Mears’ Orpheus in the Underworld is a timely, but somewhat clichéd foray into the cult appeal of celebrity and the affects of the financial crisis. Nevertheless it reveals the true power of Offenbach’s hilarious parody of classic Greek tragedy.

Precious light

Matthew Macaulay Art Editor IN A RECENT interview with The Telegraph, in reference to his latest exhibition at the City Art Centre, David Mach said the following: “I’m sure I’m going to get accused of hijacking something that I don’t really have massive feelings about.

It’s not about me. It’s about what I’m making.”

It is clear from the above quote that Mach considers the intention of the artist to be of little importance when viewing an artwork. This intellectually lazy attitude is flawed: a work cannot be fully comprehended in isolation from its creator. In fact in the case of Precious Light: A Celebration of the King James Bible, it is arguable that Mach’s motivations are more important than the works exhibited.

There is no denying that the biblically inspired sculptures and collages that make up Mach’s contemporary re-telling of the King James Bible are visually arresting.

The three enormous crucified figures which dominate the gallery’s entrance, composed of coat hangers – radiate, through barbed surfaces and anguished expressions, the physical and mental torture which according to the sacred text,

VENUE: CITY ART CENTRE DATES: UNTIL 16 OCTOBER 2011 PRICE: CONCESSION: £3.50 Christ and two criminals suffered at Golgotha.

However, this veneer of sincerity evaporates when you realise that the primary motivation for Mach’s artistic exploration of the King James is not to express any deep-felt religious devotion, or even interest, but to generate money. In his own words, "I have no desire to make all these things and be poor. I want to be the exact opposite of that."

There is of course nothing wrong with making money through art, but to capitalise on the 400th anniversary of one of the most influential books in the history of mankind for self-gain is morally reprehensible. Not to mention emblematic of the increasingly vapid and money driven nature of contemporary art in the UK. Mach is an astute businessman and knew full well that selecting a polarising subject such as religion for the basis of his exhibition would bring in the crowds, both secular and religious.

The power of religious art lies in the sincerity of the emotion it conveys. Mach’s collages and sculptures may be aesthetically beautiful but are sadly lacking in soul.

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Art

Mystics or Rationalists?

This show proves that magic is present in everyday representation if only you look hard enough.

Delphine Thomas

At every twist and turn of the 'Mystics or Rationalists?’ show at the Ingleby Gallery, one is given the opportunity to unearth unexpected gems.

Unexpected because upon first consideration of the aesthetically-striking content present, the depth of the significance behind the process or idea remains concealed.

Susan Collis’s You Again is not simply a carelessly-arranged pile of ordinary scrap, though one could be forgiven for having thought so. The story behind it, that is, the combination of prized materials such as rare veneers, gold screws and English oak assembled through hours of labour, confronts the viewer with a sort of

reverse alchemy and compels them to reconsider their initial perception. The baroque, ornamental materials and the thorough methods involved are in direct contrast to the banality of the subject.

Such contradiction is played out differently in Cornelia Parker’s series of Bullet Drawings, delicate designs drawn in a wire reminiscent of thread.

The origins of the wire, drawn from a bullet, add a new and weighty symbolism that forces us to question our first impressions of such innocent beauty.

The appreciation of truth and reason - the basis for the theory of Rationalism - is not absent from these pieces, which stake no claim to wizardry. However, they draw attention to the fact that magic is present in all sorts of everyday representations of such reason, and that in order to see it, one only need delve a little deeper.

Mystics or Rationalists artwork

Art

Anton Henning Grid Iron's co-production with the Traverse is a powerful and damning Jennifer Owen

A visual cacophony runs amok in the Talbot Rice. Conflicting sensations will likely pass through one's mind upon stepping onto the cream carpet, or discerning the garish pastels that adorn the walls of the first room; as Anton Henning's Interieur No. 493 walks a fine line between conceptual, stimulating art, and unadulterated kitsch.

Pastiche paintings line the walls, with muddled art-historical references and retro furniture at times resembling the shop floor of a bargain home store. But on moving past the initial shock of this seemingly-tacky domestic space, it becomes clear that an analysis of questionable art is exactly what Henning wishes to investigate.Antonius reflects this: Henning's contemporary addition of a plastic snake to a

nineteenth-century model (itself indebted to far older religious precedents) features multiple, layered meanings, and provokes us to consider our own role in the production and reception of such significations.

Through these potentially tasteless works, then, Henning questions our judgement of them as kitsch, asking us how we constructed this judgement from the physical pieces. Furthermore, through the placement of the works in a primarily domestic interior, Henning plays with notions of the comfortable and uncomfortable in an arena not usually troubled by such concerns. And while the physical content of these paintings (abstract patterns and naked frolicking females) may be familiar, through this method of presentation, within an interior we may recognise and feel compelled to reject, Henning has created a space within which questionable matters of taste - and the questioning nature of art - overlap freely.

Anton Henning artwork

Arts & Entertainment 25

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DJ Q at Telefunken Fashion

Fashion Editor

James Corlett

DATES: 9TH SEPTEMBER, 2011 PRICE:: £5 (£4)

WHEN GEORGE MOREL’S Let’s Groove is being played out around twelve you know things are warming up nicely.

Descending to the bowels of the Cab, Morel’s tell-tale disco loop imbued a sense of timely home coming to Edinburgh’s underground hub.

DJ Q, not to be confused with East Coast Jerseyite, Qu (something I ignominiously failed to distinguish in neglecting the additional vowel) has remixed for labels Isgud and Soma, releasing original productions on Filter, Glasgow Underground and NRK Music.

Q’s set traversed the realms of rumbling party tech-house, disco inflected beats and the odd apocalyptic techno number. It made for a fairly diverse assemblage that at times was truly an aural delight: A floor filling rework of Beatles track, Come Together and the inspired selection of DJ Sneak’s remix of Gotta be Me and You by Yousef comprised highlights, the underlying

groove of the evening affirmed by Ray Okpara’s infectious, Booty. The ace within the pack frequently doesn’t arrive at the dénouement of a set but come ten to three a bass heavy bomb was unleashed in the form of Pets Recordings’ Eats Everything. With things rapping up, the temporally incongruous track, entitled Entrance Song put the icing on the cake prior to the rude awakening: lights on, ascend to Blair Street.

What with lingering festival hangovers and big name guests last month, Telefunken were seemingly behind the eight ball for this one. Nonetheless, cheapish weekend drinks and the pulling power to entice names like Derrick Carter and Sneak maintain Telefunken jaunts a must for the diary. This time around the floor was comfortably full with music appreciators as the night progressed and a jolly good time was had by all. Roll on the next one.

A&E 27

A bumper year for Scottish Fashion as ECA graduates clean up at this summer's awards ceremonies

Jessica Heggie

VENUE: CABARET VOLTAIRE

CLUBS & FASHION

Success for Scottish Fashion

Clubs

Cabaret Voltaire plays host to the American tech-house DJ

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This summer has been quite a spectacle for Scottish fashion.

Edinburgh College of Art seems to be churning out some of the most promising designers of the future, with graduates Felix Chabluk Smith and Kyle Spires scooping 2 of the awards at Graduate Fashion Week, whilst University of Huddersfield graduate Campbell Dunn took home the award for Graduate of the Year at the Scottish Fashion Awards.

This year Graduate Fashion Week celebrated its 20th anniversary of recognising the new stars of British fashion. Chabluk Smith went home with one of the top 5 awards: the Menswear Award. His perfectlyexecuted classic collection showed stunning attention to detail and proved him a worthy winner of the prestigious award.

Spires was announced as the winner of the Karen Millen Portfolio Award. Karen Millen’s joint Managing and Creative Director, Gemma Metheringham, judged over 50 portfolios from the country’s leading art and design colleges and selected a shortlist of 3 candidates. Ms Metheringham commented: “I was extremely impressed with the amazing variety of skills and illustration styles on show, from textiles and knitwear, to hand drawn and computer generated imagery, there was an incredible level of skill on display. Selecting my final shortlist of 3 was an almost impossible task”. Ms Metheringham chose the portfolio she felt best-expressed a very strong ability to demonstrate trend predictions and express ideas creatively. On winning the prestigious award Spires said: “Winning this award validated my hard work and determination to succeed. It was truly an honour to be presented with this award.”

The Edinburgh College of Art’s success did not stop with the achievements of students. ECA won the Stand Design Award at the show.

The judges said: “They have delivered a beautifully inviting and engaging stand. Cohesively designed and incredibly well thought through.”

ECA was also launched as Britain’s first educational centre devoted to the promotion of diverse body shape at Graduate Fashion Week.

Fashion expert, broadcaster and commentator, Caryn Franklin chose Edinburgh College of Art as a centre of excellence to represent All Walks Beyond the Catwalk.

Caryn co-founded the high-profile campaign with model, Erin O’Connor and PR, Debra Bourne to encourage diversity in the fashion industry.

Students in Fashion at Edinburgh College of Art will be the first in the UK to work with size 8-18 mannequins to encourage diversity in the

fashion industry.

In response to the award announcements, Mal Burkinshaw, Head of Fashion at ECA said: ‘I’m absolutely delighted to see ECA go to the forefront of British fashion education. This brings the college huge esteem from the industry and the links that we are making now will have such a massive impact in the future. I am very proud of our students.’

Success for Scottish fashion didn’t stop there. The Scottish Fashion Awards named Campbell Dunn their Graduate of the Year 2011. Marks and Spencer sponsor the award, and offer the winner the chance to have their item made and sold in the Marks and Spencer ‘Limited Collection’.

Although graduating as a menswear designer, Dunn’s prize-winning dress was perfectly tailored and very feminine, but also maintained his personal style.

ECA has played a central role in Scottish Fashion

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Sport 29

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SPORT

Team GB underwhelm at Worlds

ADAM KERFOOT-ROBERTS

Trail

Author & Author Sean Gibson Packers back with a bang to beat Saints in season opener

Mixed results fail to capture the imagination in Daegu Sean Gibson Sport Editor As the World Championships drew to a close last week there was a general feeling of unease at a performance where, yet again, some tremendous positives were put in the shade by unexpected negatives. Team GB got a respectable haul of seven medals, two of which were gold, meeting head coach Charles van Commenee’s target set before the games.

However, the manner in which several of Britain’s more illustrious athletes crashed out has become the main focus, souring to an extent the apparently-solid progress. It is debatable whether or not van Commenee should be so openly critical of his own team, considering how a large portion of the press will gladly dish out the condemnation on his behalf. What is undeniable is that personal and season’s best were few and far between for British athletes, as were qualifications for finals.

Two of the team’s best sprint hopes – Dwain Chambers and Christine Ohuruogu – fell victim to the sport’s strict false-start rules. Realistically, though, Ohuruogu should not have shouldered too great an expectation, having missed Berlin’s 2009 World Championships and both the European and Commonwealth Championships in 2010 through injury. Chambers was easily the men’s best hope in the sprints as he continues to ply away admirably, but a spot in the final is about the greatest we could have hoped from him on his recent history.

What should be of greater concern is the lack of pressure within the team being applied to a man who is now well into his thirties and who was sidelined for two years by a drugs ban. Harry Aikines-Aryeetey promises much but is yet to stump up – and it was with him that the men’s 4x100m run fell apart.

On a more positive note, it was not only Team GB who struggled to set personal bests in the awkwardly windy Daegu stadium. What is more, gutsy displays by favourites Mo Farah,

Last year’s Super Bowl winners, Green Bay Packers, saw off the resilient New Orleans Saints in the NFL ‘kick-off’ game last Thursday night, winning 42-34. The fans at Lambeau Field witnessed Packers’ second-round draft pick Randall Cobb equal the all-time NFL record for the longest kick-off return of 108 yards. Despite the rookie’s showstealing move, Saints had a chance to tie with the final play of the game from the 1-yard line, but the Packers’ defence stood firm. A start full of positives for the champions.

Long jump Jessica Ennis and Phillips Idowu were rewarded only with silver, not gold, because of the awesome efforts of those who beat them; Ibrahim Jeilan, Tatyana Chernova and Christian Taylor respectively. Idowu was beaten despite jumping two season bests; Chernova set a string of personal bests on her way to the Heptathlon title.

Farah put his 10,000m disappointment behind him to claim 5,000m gold.

Dai Greene, Hannah England and Andy Turner – in the 400m, 1,500m and 110m hurdles respectively – all took medals

in fine fashion. Van Commenee has been pragmatic enough to acknowledge the fulfilment of his medal target as well as the steps taken towards success at London 2012.

No one can predict what will happen at the Olympics next Summer, but rather than dwelling on this year’s wasted potential we should be cautiously excited that most of our athletes are yet to reach their peaks; they have all the forward momentum of challengers and little of the expectation of established world leaders.

SPORT

London beckons for Britain's swimmers Plenty of promise in the pool twelve months before the Olympics Sean Gibson Sport Editor Earlier in the Summer than Daegu’s track and field athletics equivalent, Shanghai hosted the Aquatics World Championships. Amidst the sparring of established talents like Lochte and Phelps and the explosive arrival of young talents such as the USA’s Missy Franklin, Britain claimed a solid sixth in the medal table with three golds and three silvers and enjoyed a healthy number of appearances in finals from promising young swimmers of their own.

Britain’s women certainly put on a strong show. Keri-Anne Payne became the first British athlete in any sport to ensure her qualification for the London 2012 Olympics by retaining the 10km Open Water title that she won in 2009. Rebecca Adlington pleasingly

returned to strong form – rejoining the battle with nemesis Federica Pellegrini of Italy – and Fran Halsall’s competitive swims in the 50m and 100m freestyle laid down a stern warning to her rivals, considering her injury woes this season. Ellen Gandy and Hannah Miley will each be looking to build on a brilliant silver medal in preparation for next year and with other swimmers such as Jemma Lowe and Elizabeth Simmonds reaching multiple finals, that whole side of the team is on an upward curve.

Britain’s men were fewer and further between, although world-record holder Liam Tancock kept in fine fashion the 50m backstroke title that he won in Rome two years previously.

Tancock’s 100m backstroke will need greater fine-tuning, however, as it is this, not the 50m, that is part of the Olympics – and here he could only manage sixth in a tight final.

In the 200m freestyle both Ross

Hacker:

Davenport and Robbie Renwick were competitive in their respective semifinals, but couldn’t find the extra halfsecond needed to get into the final.

Michael Jamieson came an impressive fifth in the 200m backstroke with Andrew Willis by no means adrift behind him in eighth. In the 200m individual medley James Goddard will take heart from a fourth-place that saw him only one-tenth away from the medals – behind the intimidating trio of Lochte, Phelps and Cseh – while the team as a whole can take heart from competitive performances in each of the 4x100m, 4x200m and medley relays.

There are usually disappointments at the big meets and this year was no exception. Illness arrived to rob Gemma Spofforth of a chance to defend her 100m backstroke world title as she crashed out in the heats, while in the men’s 10m diving Tom Daley and Peter Waterfield came fifth

SWIM IRELAND

Dominant Brits secure Triathlon world titles Great Britain’s Helen Jenkins’ strong second-place finish in Beijing’s World Series Grand Final secured her the women’s triathlon world championship title, following up the success of her compatriots, brothers Alistair and Jonny Brownlee, who secured a one-two finish in the men’s final standings. Jenkins this year won the London triathlon on the very same course that will be used in the 2012 Olympics and has ensured that she will be seen as the woman to beat come next Summer’s games. However, since the discipline’s introduction to the Olympics in Sydney 2000 Britain has yet to win a single triathlon medal, so the home nation’s contenders won’t be taking anything for granted – even going in as favourites.

100m king Blake turns the wick up in Zurich

Swimmers take a break and eleventh respectively in the individual event and sixth as a pair in the synchronised event.

These athletes know better than anyone what they can do to pick themselves up and just how to prepare for next year’s Olympics. Whether on the rise or on the recovery, the British athletes could well be on course to put on a fantastic show in London.

Recently-crowned 100m world champion Yohan Blake showed he still has plenty in the tank as he powered to a new personal best on his way to victory in the same event at Zurich, as the Diamond League resumed last week. Blake has filled the space vacated by the injured pair of Powell and American Tyson Gay, not to mention the recently-banned Steve Mullings (Jamaica) and Mike Rodgers (USA) – the third and fourth fastest men in the world this year, respectively, prior to Daegu.

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The Journal Wednesday 14 September 2011

What to expect from the Rugby World Cup TELCHE HANLEY

Jamie Timson Sport Editor

T

HE SEVENTH RUGBY World Cup began on Saturday in New Zealand: akin to the Brazillians and Football, the Kiwis enjoy an intense relationship with the oval ball. Having not won the William Webb Ellis trophy in 24 years and despite being the team to beat at almost every tournament since, the All Blacks have choked more often than an English penalty-taker. For British sports fans this is a chance to sit back and watch someone else struggle under the terrible burden of expectation.

It is often said in New Zealand that if God was a rugby player he’d be an All Black number ten; unfortunately for Him this would entail a lot of bench-warming due to a certain Dan Carter. If the influential Fly-Half stays fit, it will be difficult to see defences stopping their backline.

The question of who plays outside of the star stand-off will be the hotly debated topic from Invercargill to Whangarei. The amateur boxerturned-master of the offload Sonny Bill Williams, appears to have lost out to the deceptively quick and intelligent Centre Conrad Smith. Often seen as the odd one out in the New Zealand backline, Smith’s performances have left his competitors in his wake and it will be the development of his partnership with Carter and the awesome Ma’a Nonu that will ultimately decide the All Blacks fate.

Of the home nations, Martin Johnson’s England side look best-placed to pose a challenge to the predicted Southern Hemisphere dominance.

The English have a piece of Southern Hemisphere dominance of their own in Samoan-born Centre Manu Tuilagi. Having just one season’s domestic experience, Tuilagi is somewhat of an enigma. However, his clinical finishing in England’s warm up win against Ireland suggests that should their forwards provide quick ball, England’s backline could match the flair of Australia’s Quade Cooper and the power of South Africa’s Brian Habana. The Scots are desperate to maintain some consistency and continue their impressive record of always making it out of the pool stages. For their English coach Andy Robinson, the first of October will bring the crucial game against the Auld Enemy, where he and all Scots will be hoping the outcome is more Bannockburn 1314 than Wembley 1996. Relying on a good breakdown and the influential 6 foot 9 inch Richie Gray, Scotland could justify their world ranking of Seventh. The Welsh and the Irish should both make it out of the pool stages, though having two of the Pacific Powerhouses in their group could hinder Wales’ prospects. The Journal’s big prediction for the tournament is that the Samoans, Fijians and Tongans cause some surprises. Expect upsets.

Expect frightening tattooed men trampling through a midfield near you.

Scottish Rugby fan

Football and Scotland: still not friends Sean Gibson Sport Editor Scottish football is in the doldrums right now. That is not to exaggerate – most of the time it’s hardly a bed of roses – but these past few weeks and months have witnessed rumblings both at domestic and international level. Questions have hung in the air, unanswered, for long enough; it is time to press the issue.

Despite Celtic’s reinstatement on a technicality, August saw all Scottish interest in European club competitions come to an end – Rangers, particularly dismally, had two bites of the cherry and still fell. Couple this with prolonged uncertainty about the future shape of the SPL and the difficulty the national team faces yet again in qualifying for the finals of a major tournament and you can see the country is at a low ebb. However, it is doubtful that there is any terminal decline in the works here – at least, no more so than usual.

Teams have rough seasons and it just turns out that this year Scottish

clubs have managed to play their way (almost) out of Europe in the qualifying rounds. It happens; somebody has to be eliminated at that stage.

Rangers were playing in the UEFA Cup final three years ago in Manchester – they have hardly gone missing.

The national team need only look back as far as the qualifier against Czech Republic at Hampden Park for an example of the misfortune (or refereeing decision), that can mean the difference between qualifying and not.

What is less easy to dismiss is the reformation of the SPL and the shadow that the whole debate is casting over the league. The sooner the degenerative, short-term demands of the television companies are reconciled with the more long-term needs of the league the better. The point has been made by many that the Old Firm’s funds are no longer filtering down through the Scottish league system, because they are no longer picking the best Scottish talent but rather looking at cheap foreign imports or middleof-the-road English Championship

players. The effect of this in Scotland is inevitably detrimental.

What is more worrying is the fact that Scottish players are not bedding in well at all when they chance a move south of the border.

Both Scott McDonald and the SPL’s all-time record top goalscorer Kris Boyd are currently plodding around England’s second tier; Kenny Miller has shown his limits in several failed cracks at the Premier League; Shaun Maloney will now try again in England’s top flight with Wigan after his 2007 Aston Villa switch never got off the ground. David Goodwillie at Blackburn probably holds the greatest hope, as it stands.

Red cards, injuries and refereeing injustices can all explain away the more immediate superficial concerns of both the club and the national game. What is ever-more exposed now is the need to firm up the foundations of Scottish football so that a few seasons of rough luck or bad buys in the transfer market for the big clubs don’t snowball into a disaster for all concerned.

TOM BROGEN

Scotland Vs. Ireland match

The Journal Wednesday 14 September 2011

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No success please, we're British Jamie Timson Sport Editor A lot of British sports fans are masochists. The pain has become so ingrained that it is now part of the pleasure. Think Gazza’s tears, think Murray’s glorious failures, and think of Scotland’s 14 years and counting of missing international football tournaments. There’s something undeniably poetic about British failure.

As such, this next sentence is sure to shake these fans to their very core. This summer England became the number one country in the world at Test Cricket. It doesn’t sit right, but its true; their historic Ashes win in Australia has been followed up with a home series win against the previous number one, India.

It wasn’t just a win, it was a 4-0 whitewash. It wasn’t just a 4-0 whitewash; each win in the series was as convincing as the previous. There remained two standout performers of the series and surprisingly,

considering the final result, they come from both teams.

Ian Bell has made no secret of the fact that he wants to bat at number three for England. The only trouble is that Jonathan Trott, the regular in that position, has a Test batting average of 57.59, which puts him just ahead of Garry Sobers and just behind the immortal Wally Hammond in the top 10 batsmen of all time.

But after his recent century and double century, Bell has proved to everyone that he can bat in that position, where he so often failed when he was a younger and less accomplished player. This brings a startlingly formidable complexity to the England batting order, with Pietersen looking back to his imperial best and Cook still shining from his heroics in Australia. It will be another challenge altogether to stay at number one but for now, England deserve the plaudits, much like the second and arguably greater man of the summer, Rahul Dravid.

In the build-up to this tour, all the focus was on the ‘Little Master’, Sachin Tendulkar and whether he could achieve

the unparalleled feat of scoring his 100th international century. In fact it wasn’t to be; rather it was Rahul ‘always the bridesmaid’ Dravid who shone and showed what an underrated player he’s been in his 20 years at the crease. He made 461 runs at an average of 76.83, which accounted for 23 per cent of India's runs. In the tone-setting first innings, he made 388 runs at an average of 184, and 35 per cent of India's runs.

Their losing setting however could compromise these awesome statistics but they merely embellish his greatness.

This is also why Dravid's best hundred of the series was arguably his last.

During the first two he had a legitimate expectation that his runs might win the match and the series. At The Oval, however, the series was gone, and it very quickly became apparent that India were going to lose the match regardless of what Dravid did.

Dravid had all the justifications he desired to fail. It would have been easy to allow the tiredness to take hold and to look around for help from a depleted

Why do we even bother? dressing room, yet he managed to achieve the concentration necessary to resist the metronomic England bowling attack. For this Rahul Dravid ,“The Wall” as he is affectionately known, should be the defining memory of the Indians number one tenure.

Having a number-one team in the world doesn’t have to be disquieting; indeed the Australians managed it in separate sports and still retained that inimitable ‘quality’ of self-confidence. So The Journal has one suggestion to get us through this new period: temporarily

suspend our critical faculties.

Shut down the part of you that wonders whether England are only number one because the competition is not as strong as it once was or could be. Ignore the questions about whether they will be able to win on the sub-continent, or who their batting reserves might be, or whether or not Monty Panesar is going to be good enough to cut it as their second spinner. Snub the enjoyment found in these islands of glorious failure and enjoy winning…because it might not last long.

On your marks, get set...

Sean Gibson Sport Editor The recent IAAF World Championships in Daegu threw up plenty of talking points; with the London Olympics looming there was intrigue and anticipation in abundance. All that, however, was rather overshadowed by one jumbo hot topic. Yes folks, it is time for The Journal to throw in its tuppence-worth on the false-start rule.

Indignation was aroused to some extent by the earlier disqualifications

of the popular Christine Ohuruogu and (perhaps less-so) Dwain Chambers due to false starts. That was never going to be enough though. In a sport so apparently stubborn as athletics, a campaign to get a ridiculous rule overturned would need a real poster boy; it is fair to say that Usain Bolt more than fills that capacity.

Part of the reason why the older, established false-start rule (each athlete allowed one false start of their own) was changed was the demands of television stations, as some races suffered chronic delays through multiple false starts. But I wonder what

the television stations made of a World Championships 100m final with the title-defending, world-record-holding favourite suddenly out of the running – in a race already shorn of so many of this year’s star men, through doping bans and injuries. How great an anticlimax; how loud the sound of millions of televisions flicking the channel over in unison.

In a sporting sense, the current falsestart rule has been trumpeted as the solution to gamesmanship. The likes of Steve Cram have come out in support of it for that very reason, with a general ‘rules-are-rules’ tone – dismissing it as

part and parcel of the race rather than any serious problem. Quite what an ex-runner of the 1500m knows about exploding out of the blocks is open to speculation, but even though Usain Bolt himself admitted sole responsibility for his false start – calling it “a lesson” – that does not mean that the rule is not harsh.

Walter Dix and Kim Collins – who finished second and third in this 100m final respectively, thus profiting most from Bolt’s absence – lead a not insignificant line of athletes who want the rule changed back. Ultimately, if athletes are determined to try mind games

then they will find a way whatever the rules are. We may as well accept that and return to the sanity of a system which doesn’t punish the merest indiscretion with disqualification.

The harshest injustice of all those that this false-start rule has wrought is that nobody is discussing the arrival of another serious contender on the men’s sprint scene, Yohan Blake – a sprint scene never more so than now overflowing with world-class talent. Everyone needs to stop talking rules and start watching the races, but the current false-start rule is hugely obstructive in that respect.