ORBITAL THE
ISSUE 1 2013
HARRY POTTER
THE SOCIETY TO WATCH HIV AIDS A CURE ON ON THE HORIZON VOLUNTEERING WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW AND WHAT YOU SHOULD BE ASKING
WOOLWICH ATTACK
THE STORY SO FAR COOKING WITH
VODKA
UNIVERSITY OF LONDON UNION - IS IT WORTH SAVING?
HERONSHAW THE BAND SET FOR FAME BASED AT RHUL AND UOL COLLEGES
THE SCIENCE OF SOUND & MUSIC TO ALL THOSE GRADUATING THIS YEAR - THE ORBITAL WISHES YOU THE BEST OF LUCK FOR THE FUTURE!
EDITOR’S NOTE
EDITORIAL BOARD Editor in Chief SIMON RAWLINGS
Acting Deputy Editor SIMON RAWLINGS Administrative Director GILLIAN CRAIG Acting Design Editor DAN KELLY Sub-Editors JOSEPH ADEWUNMI & REBECCA HILSDON News Editor CORINNA TAYLOR Deputy News Editor HARRY ANGERS Comment Editor JACK KILKER Deputy Comment Editor ANTONIA KING Features Editor RACHEL IVENS Deputy Features Editor ALESSANDRO TRIDICO Lifestyle Editor BRYONY BOWIE Deputy Lifestyle Editor VICTORIA TIMMS Arts Editor NICHOLAS HYDER Deputy Arts Editor CHARLOTTE COLE Sports & Socs Editor ALEX REILLY Deputy Sports & Socs Editor NATASHA KHALEEQ
A
NEWS
Woolwich Attack: p.4-5 Bangladesh Fire: p.6 EU Referendum: p.6 News Pinboard: p.7 College News: p.8 COMMENT
Postman Isaac: p.9 ULU Closure: p.10 A Cure for AIDS: p.10 Superficial Networking: p.11 Volunteering: p.12
o
LETTER
W
contents
FROM THE
EDITOR
elcome to the Summer Issue of The Orbital. You will have noticed that the publication is now a 32 page, full colour, glossy magazine and I sincerely hope you are pleased with the transition we have made from our previous newspaper format. For the past few weeks I have exchanged a countless number of emails and telephone calls with printing companies and graphic designers to be able to present the publication’s new form to you, the students of Royal Holloway. However, this transition is not a permanent one! In the coming few weeks, a survey will open on the SU website to give you, the readers, a decision that will shape the publication’s future. Do you want The Orbital as a magazine or newspaper? Cast your vote! I would like to take a brief moment in my first Letter From The Editor to welcome our new board members to the team, I know that the upcoming year will be fantastic if the past month of collaboration is anything to go by. Each section has an Editor and respective Deputy Editor and, should you wish to be a part of The Orbital, please get in touch via getinvolved@theorbital.co.uk. After all, we could not exisit without all of your valuable contributions, so please don’t hesitate to contact us!
Finally, I ask you to cast your eyes over to the opposite page, if you haven’t already. You may have noticed that this page is graced with the words and signature of a very special person; one of Britain’s most esteemed fashion designers, Vivienne Westwood. For the past few months I have had the privilege of exchanging emails with Cynthia King and Cindy Sasha, Co-Directors of Vivienne Westwood’s ‘Climate Revolution’ initiative and I have some exciting news. I am honoured to annouce that Vivienne and the Climate Revolution team have agreed to work with me to bring us, the students of Royal Holloway, the messages of Climate Revolution! A message from Vivienne shall feature in each issue of The Orbital throughout the upcoming year; I urge you all to take note and join the revolution.
FEATURES
Satire: p.13 Inspiration: p.14 The Science of...: p.15 Creative Writing: p.15 Summer Ball: p.16-17 LIFESTYLE
The Roaring 20s: p.18 Model of the Month: p.19 Summer Cocktails: p.20 Vegetable Chilli: p.21 City of Masks: p.22 ARTS
Our Arts Editor: p.23 Rust and Bone: p.23 Heronshaw: p.24 A Writer’s Lot: p.25 The Great Gatsby: p.25 Plans for the Summer: p.26
The Importance of Being Earnest: p.27
SPORTS & SOCIETIES
RHOscars: p.28
Four to Watch: p.29
Sporting History: p.30
A Season of Uphill: p.31
Wishing you a pleasant summer,
This magazine has been designed from scratch by Dan Kelly and Simon Rawlings within 48 hours. Imagine what we could create after the exam period... Dan - Contents, News, Comment, Features
02| THE ORBITAL | ISSUE 1
Simon - Front Page, Lifestyle, Arts, Sports & Societies
CLIMATE REVOLUTION
CLIMATE REVOLUTION Vivienne Westwood has a message for the students of RHUL ... Join the revolution!
“IF WE WANT A SOUND ECONOMY, WE HAVE TO HAVE A SOUND ENVIRONMENT. WHAT’S GOOD FOR THE PLANET IS GOOD FOR THE ECONOMY/WHAT’S BAD FOR THE PLANET IS BAD FOR THE ECONOMY.” PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITED TO BEN WESTWOOD
VISIT: www.climaterevolution.org.uk www.savetheartic.org www.activeresistance.co.uk www.coolearth.org
ISSUE 1 | THE ORBITAL | 03
NEWS
It has recently come to light that one of the men arrested at the scene of the crime in Woolwich was already well known to security services for at least 3 years before the attack on 22nd of May. Michael Adebolajo was one of 7 men arrested in Kenya in 2010 for allegedly being part of a terrorist plot. Michael Adebolajo’s family have said that following the accusation, he was held in detention and tortured, but then allowed to return to the UK without charge after being told he would probably be hanged or beheaded. On his return home, his family states, M15 ‘pestered’ Mr Adebolajo to infiltrate extremist Islamic groups and become an informant for them as little as 6 months ago. When he refused, MI5 then put pressure on his family members. Mr Zuybyr – Adebolajo’s brother in law, and informant – states that him and his wife had to move from London to East Lancashire to try and escape the harassment from the authorities, but was followed and the pressure continued. Mr Zuybyr states that he and the family of Michael Adebolajo firmly believe that it was his arrest and torture in 2010 and proceeding pressure from MI5 that pushed Michael over the edge. Sir Malcolm from MI5 has said: “I have been following all the news items and you can certainly assume that any of these serious allegations will be put to the intelligence agencies.”
The attack and murder of British soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich, London has sparked dramatic reaction across Britain. Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Oluwatobi Adebowale, 22, attacked Rigby in broad daylight on the 22nd of May with meat cleavers, allegedly hacking and eventually beheading him, however the cause of death has not been confirmed by post mortem examination. The attackers spoke to witnesses after the attack, as they waited for the police, saying: “I apologise that women have had to witness this today, but in 04| THE ORBITAL | ISSUE 1
our land our women have to see the same. You people will never be safe. Remove your government, they don’t care about you.” “We must fight them as they fight us. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” Armed officers reached the scene in 14 minutes. The two men ran at the police truck and were shot. They are currently in two separate hospitals with non-life threatening injuries. Following investigation, three people were arrested on Thursday on suspicion to conspiracy of murder. However, two women were released on Friday and one
man on Saturday. Subsequently, a further three men were arrested on the same charge on Saturday. Investigations are still on-going. The response to the attack has been varied. Following UKIP’s unexpected success in the recent elections, there have already been signs of a stronger right wing presence in Britain. The attack on Lee Rigby has been a catalyst for right wing demonstrations, both official and non-official. Only hours after the attack, EDL protesters clashed with police outside Woolwich Arsenal railway station. Elsewhere in Woolwich that night, between 75
NEWS
WOOLWICH ATTACK
THE FACTS
“It’s completely wrong to blame this killing on the religion of Islam. The fault lies wholly and exclusively in the warped and deluded mind-set of those responsible” Boris Johnson
and 100 men gathered at a pub to sing nationalist songs. So far, two men have been arrested for two separate attacks on Mosques. EDL leader, Stephen Lennon says: “This issue is political Islam, political Islam that is spreading across this country.’’ Muslim leaders have accused EDL and the BNP – who are planning to demonstrate in Woolwich soon – of exploiting the attack to stir up hatred and nationalism in Britain. Boris Johnson has said of the attack: “It’s completely wrong to blame this killing on the religion of
Islam. The fault lies wholly and exclusively in the warped and deluded mind-set of those responsible.” This view is repeated by the Prime Minister, who came back to Britain upon hearing of the attack, cutting his state visit to France short. Asghar Bukhari, a founding member of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK (MPACUK), gave an interview with the BBC where he said that the response to the attack should not be a choice between blaming Islam and blaming individuals. While he ascertains the attacks were evil
he states that the reason for them is because there is no help for Muslim youths who are horrified by the violence committed in Muslim countries by British forces. He states: ‘’Every people on earth who have been oppressed took to violence. Muslims are no different.’’ And highlights the cycle of violence that will continue if the Government does not review it’s foreign policy. CORINNA TAYLOR To follow the opposing views on Twitter, see @AsgharBukhari and @EDLTrobinson ISSUE 1 | THE ORBITAL | 05
NEWS
BANGLADESH FACTORY FIRE On May 10th the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh, which produced clothes for Primark, H&M and Gap, collapsed in flames, killing 1,127 of its workers. This has triggered worldwide concern as to the standard of health and safety being kept to supply popular clothing brands as cheaply as possible. There is increasing pressure against chain stores such as Benetton and Zara, who source their clothing from the Bangladeshi factory, to move towards safer working conditions for the people who work in these ‘sweatshops’. By signing the binding Fire and Building Safety Agreement, the clothing companies make a promise to protect the garment workers by ensuring that all safety standards that are expected are kept. H&M were one of the first to sign the agreement, as other chains followed in their path to show their support for better working conditions. But why is it that only now there is a public appeal for the improved working conditions of ‘sweatshop’ owners? It is open knowledge that companies source for cheap labour in order to provide the requirement of fast-fashion in modern day culture; the need to have the latest trends and the best bargains is a mantra that many shoppers live by. Yet we continue to buy clothing that is sourced this way. Why? Many people argue that ‘sweatshops’ should be shut down permanently. When we try to envisage what the working conditions of a ‘sweatshop’ is, we imagine tight working spaces, heavy and humid air with minimal lighting and a worryingly increasing amount of child workers, which in Bangladesh is 30,000 children and increasing every day. The average age for child workers is 13. Despite this, we have to consider what the effects of closing down ‘sweatshops’ could be for the workers themselves. Despite all the pros for shutting them down, we have to consider that if we take away the option of working in a garment factory, we reduce the worker’s available choice from a selection that is already limited. They have chosen to work there over jobs which may offer worse conditions. If we choose to no longer purchase from stores that contract these factories, or if they chose to produce their clothing in their own countries, we reduce the need for ‘sweatshops’ and therefore the need for workers who rely on them for a livelihood. Perhaps it is just a case of focusing on more foreign investment into the garment factories so that they the working conditions are better quality and remain at a high enough standard so that we prevent further tragedies such as the Rana Plaza fire from happening. As Rep. George Miller, the senior Democratic member of the House of Education and Workforce Committee, stresses, “if they fail to sign an enforceable agreement, they are declaring that they accept blood on their labels”, an image no one wants to face. CHARLOTTE COLE
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THE EU REFURENDUM As the Conservative government openly defy Cameron and ask for an EU referendum, the Prime Minister has to make a decision whether to hold the referendum in 2017. But what should he do? Cameron has been in a tight corner this month and no matter what decision he makes on the United Kingdom’s remaining in the EU, he will upset someone. While Cameron has already promised a referendum, this next step will place it in stone – in case anyone thought the Conservatives would go back on an election promise. There are 3 ways forward for the prime minister: If he holds the referendum tomorrow, the people will almost definitely vote ‘no’ for EU participation. In this economic climate, there is just too much hatred and scapegoating of the EU. This will lose Britain her only place in a rapidly globalising world. In the US, Obama has called for a strong Britain and a strong EU helping each other. Leaving the EU will create economic consequences all over the world. If he doesn’t hold the referendum, it will be another election promise not fulfilled. And the next election isn’t looking too bright for Mr Cameron, with UKIP hovering, ready to pounce at the first fall. But at least the Lib Dem’s will be happy. It seems likely that he will promise to hold one in 2017 if he is re-elected. If so, Britain’s economy will suffer. No-one will invest in such an uncertainty. France’s President, Hollande, has said that Cameron is ‘splintering’ Europe with this promise. Perhaps waiting is the worst thing Cameron can do. But the fact remains that if this mammoth question is put to referendum, no one will decide the future of our country but us. So, “Do you think that the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union?” No pressure. CORINNA TAYLOR
NEWS
TORIES TO KEEP HOLD OF RUNNYMEDE WHILE
PRIME MINISTER TO DECIDE WHEN TO HOLD
FERGUSON RETIRES AFTER 26 YEARS OF MANAGING MANCHESTER UNITED, SIR ALEX FERGUSON RETIRES. HIS ABSENCE IS EXPECTED TO HAVE GREAT RAMIFICATIONS FOR
VOTER TURNOUT WAS LOW,
REFERENDUM ON UK INVOLVEMENT IN EU
CONSERVATIVES STILL HELD
THE PEOPLE SET TO DECIDE IN 2017, HOLLANDE
ON TO ALL 6 DIVISIONS OF
SAYS THIS IS ‘SPLINTERING EUROPE’.
RUNNYMEDE.
THE CLUB.
EBOOKS OR REAL BOOKS? NATIONAL LITERARY TRUST REVEALS THAT 52% OF YOUNG PEOPLE PREFER READING FROM A SCREEN, 32% PREFER BOOKS AND
SUFFRAGETTE AND RHUL STUDENT, EMILY
THE REMAINDER DO NOT ENJOY READING.
DAVISON WE CELEBRATE HER SACRIFICE AT THE 1913 EPSOM DERBY 100 YEARS ON.
GRADUATE SOCIAL WORKERS NOT TRAINED ENOUGH ‘FRONTLINE’ SCHEME CAUSES CONTROVERSY
HUMAN EXTINCTION
AS GRADUATES ONLY TAKE PART IN
OXFORD UNIVERSITY’S
5 WEEKS OF TRAINING FOR SOCIAL
FUTURE OF HUMANITY
WORK.
INSTITUTE DECIDES THAT TECHNOLOGY WILL KILL US OVER EPIDEMIC OR NATURAL DISASTER.
HMV TO CLOSE IN STAINES IT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED THAT STAINES HMV WILL BE PART OF THE SECOND WAVE OF HMV CLOSURES. ELTON JOHN WILL BE HOLDING A CONCERT TO TRY AND SAVE THE FRANCHISE.
SURREY SEX ATTACK DEFENDANT INSISTS ‘I AM NOT A MONSTER’ PERRY CHENNELL, 25, INSISTS HE DIDN’T KNOW HE WAS HURTING THE WOMAN WHO RECEIVED ‘LIFE CHANGING’ INJURIES. HE WAS FOUND GUILTY.
FRESHERS NOT GETTING THEIR MONEY’S WORTH 1 OUT OF 3 FRESHER’S BELIEVE THEY ARE NOT GETTING £9000 WORTH OF QUALITY. THE NUS ARGUE THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE A SYSTEM THROUGH WHICH THEY CAN COMPLAIN.
ISSUE 1 | THE ORBITAL | 07
COLLEGE NEWS
SUMMER COMMUNITY ACTION This has been a fantastic year for Royal Holloway’s Community Action, thanks to all your hard work on and off campus. In February, Community Action celebrated ten years of service to the local community, clocking up over 50,000 hours of student volunteering since 2002. There are currently over 2,000 registered volunteers and over 170 Community Partner organisations regularly joining forces to enhance life in the local community. Part of this success has been down to the Volunteering Weeks throughout the year. In March, over 100 of you lent a helping hand across the local community for the annual Big Spring Clean. There were over 20 projects taking place across the local area, with more than 300 hours of work being completed across the scheme alone. As well as this, other projects on campus this year have included Santa’s workshop, the aid for Syrian refugees project, Library Fines day in aid of Room to Read plus the new Love Your Campus initiative. The annual Community Action Volunteering Awards on 3 June will celebrate this year’s success, awarding individual students, as well as community minded clubs and societies, for all their hard work. Several projects have been lined up for the last few weeks of the academic year, with activities for everyone to get involved with. So why not do something worthwhile while having fun in the sunshine?! Volunteering Week 2013 takes place between the 4 and 6 of June. Activities include campus based sport sessions for local schools, activity workshops in local schools and youth centres, and numerous community projects. Over 250 student volunteers are expected to get involved during the week, including members from many clubs and societies. You can sign up online on the
ADVICE ON HARASSMENT Over the last few years we have noticed an increase in the number of complaints made, relating to allegations of harassment between students. Many of these complaints are related to the use of social media sites, or as a result of a relationship breakdown, although other issues do arise. Royal Holloway has a Code of Practice on Personal Harassment. This confirms our commitment to upholding the individual and recognises the significant
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Community Action page to take part. As the end of term approaches, Community Action has also teamed up with the British Heart Foundation to collect all the things you no longer need. The scheme is running now until the end of term, with various collection points being made available across campus. A team of dedicated volunteers is required to distribute bags and raise awareness campus-wide, including halls of residence and academic departments. Please visit the Community Action website to find out more info about how to take part. impact harassment can have. Complaints of harassment are taken very seriously and can be grounds for disciplinary action which, in very serious cases, can result in a review of registration at the College. Where possible, there is a preference that harassment complaints are resolved at an early stage without the need for a formal hearing. Often complaints arise as a result of misunderstandings or impulsive actions. It is preferred that people have an opportunity to explore any possible understandings, apologise where appropriate and review their behaviour in a more relaxed setting. For allegations of moderately severe harassment there is the option of informal dispute resolution (which does not apply in cases of extreme harassment). Student and Advisory Services are available to discuss this process and the available options, with students who feel they are or have been a victim of harassment. Leaflets can be found at the Student Advisory Services, the Student Enquiries Desk and the Advice and Support Centre. For questions please call into Founders West 148 or view the Code of Practice on eCampus, as part of the Online Student Handbook. HELEN GROENENDAAL
COMMENT
POSTMAN ISAAC: WHERE DO YOU STAND? An acknowledgement: The Orbital would like to acknowledge that Isaac Masih strenuously denies creating the Islamophobic and homophobic tweets in question and, upon believing his Twitter account was hacked, has since disabled it. IN DEFENCE Before I begin, let it be made clear that no one is in defence of the prejudiced views which were allegedly expressed by Postman Isaac, myself included. They are clearly in no way representative of the student body. However, the campaign for him to be banned from the SU or otherwise reprimanded I do not agree with. As many have said on the matter, his supposed views have not been expressed to students at Royal Holloway in person. No students, to my knowledge, have felt personally victimized by Isaac. If this was the
case, then of course it would be an urgent matter requiring direct action. It is true that students and students’ unions should fight prejudice on campus and should work hard to do so, but whether this prejudice was brought onto campus is very debatable. Furthermore, I do not believe students or staff should be punished for views unless they are actively victimizing others on a personal level. Freedom of speech and thought does not only extend to those you agree with. It is clear that there is widespread disagreement with the
“Freedom of speech does not only extend to those you agree with” views allegedly expressed online. However, this should not naturally infer that Isaac should be banned from the Students’ Union if he were to hold these views, especially considering that he has not caused offence in person. In no way am I saying prejudiced views are acceptable, but equally they do not justify the SU or any other organisation preventing from doing
their job or entering their place of work. To prevent someone from doing their work based on their beliefs is inherently wrong. Furthermore, if we start banning people from the Students Union and smearing them based on disagreeing with their views, I believe this sets a worrying precedent and is not conducive to the freedom of speech the SU is supposed to believe in. In conclusion, I do not believe the views allegedly expressed on Isaac’s Twitter account mean he is unable to do his job or should be banned from the Students’ Union building. ANTONIA KING
ON THE OTHER HAND... IN OPPOSITION Following the recent online petition against Postman Isaac, there has been a considerable polarisation of student views. The online petition, started by Joe Rayment, sought to prevent Isaac from entering the SU building based on anti-Islamic views displayed on his personal twitter account. Rayment has said that “Student unions have always been at the forefront of fighting fascism and prejudice on campuses and should remain fighting
against this.” Though it may seem unfair, the Student’s Union could not be seen to do nothing against this issue when it was first brought to their attention. Part of the role of the Union is to protect the students from potentially offensive ideology or behaviour, and just because Postman Isaac has not done anything based on his alleged views at this point in time, it does not mean that his views are in anyway diminished. This case is similar to that of Paolo Di Canio, Sunderland football
team’s manager, who has been associated with Fascist groups and been photographed performing the Fascist salute. Upon his appointment, questions were raised about the suitability of such an individual to fulfil such a public position. Questions like those which are being raised about Isaac’s suitability are in no way uncommon in such a situation: some individuals or groups of individuals may feel victimised by, or nervous around, such an individual as Isaac because of the views which he is
now associated with: should they be left to feel this way at the expense of the individual who has created the situation? In no way is this article an attack on Postman Isaac as an individual, I am merely considering the pressure upon the SU to be seen to be working to protect the student body from offensive viewpoints. This article merely uses Postman Isaac’s situation as an example of a wider debate. Where do you stand on this issue? JACK KILKER
ISSUE 1 | THE ORBITAL | 09
COMMENT
ULU: WHY ITS CLOSURE ISN’T AN OPTION The University of London has announced that its Student Union will close this year. This decision was not put to a student vote; no student was even on the review panel which confirmed the closure. This represents an undemocratic attack on student unionism by University management. Of course it’s important that Universities have their own individual unions, but as part of the collective of London Universities, we need a student-lead institution that encompasses all of the involved universities. The University of London Union (ULU) is important in student fights to maintain rent prices around London, and involved in the maintenance of Senate House Library, as well as other London University services. ULU also allows input from all London Universities, not just the most renowned ones. Being so far from central London, RHUL students in particular need a way to communicate with other London Universities over important issues. In the last ULU elections, over 3000 people voted for positions, only a fraction of the 120,000 people who study with the Univ. of London. The fact that the majority does not vote does not remove the right to vote of the minority: the solution to low turnout is to work to increase participation, not to disband the organisation altogether. The votes of 3000 are more representative of popular opinion than the opinions of a board of managers. Even if some of the ULU services are maintained without the Union, they will be done in such a way as to exclude the students of the University of London from having an input, as we do at our individual unions. These services will continue for the ease of their practitioners, not according to student needs. It cannot be denied that ULU has been flawed as an institution, and generally doesn’t attract the attention of many students, but in the last year there has been an increased interest in the Union and improvements have begun to occur. Where it falls short, we should be working to improve it. Instead, the planned closure will destroy it altogether. TOM HARRIS
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A CURE FOR AIDS? Following the work of Danish scientists on innovative new ways to lure the HIV virus out from its DNA hiding place, rumours have arisen this year of a potential cure for AIDs. The idea is that the virus will be brought out into the open so that the body’s immune system can destroy it organically. What this means is that HIV sufferers with a strong enough immune system may be freed forever of the disease-suppressing drugs which they have become dependent upon. There have been success stories to support these claims, as fourteen adult individuals from the Pasteur Institute, Paris, are now free of the drugs which they once completely relied on. Some have even been ‘cured’ for over ten years. Essentially, HIV will still exist within their bodies, yet because it is no longer part of the DNA, the body can manage its replication independently, without assistance from pharmaceuticals. The main issue raised by this, however, is that these fourteen individuals were part of a collective of seventy who took part in the program; the rest relapsed and their quality of life has not been enhanced. What has been made clear is that rapid treatment shortly after infection or birth is crucial. This is not yet a cure which can be relied on, as the situation of these fourteen was very exact, each having taken the ARV which has cured them for three years uninterrupted. As experts estimate that it may still be five years before we have a fully functioning cure, the main sentiment they are promoting is to remain diligent and safe, and, if you have concerns, get yourself checked. There is now overwhelming evidence suggesting that early action is the best weapon which we currently have against the disease, and campaigners are calling for health services to actively seek out possible sufferers rather than waiting for them to admit themselves. If nothing more becomes of this cure, at the very least, much more will be done to prevent the spread of HIV and help new sufferers to manage it in the best way possible. JACK KILKER
COMMENT
SUPERFICIALITY OR ‘SOCIAL NETWORKING’?
As we tune in to the (anti-)social network, what exactly do we share in our profiles and how much of it is true?
In 1917, Eliot wrote of a time “to prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet”. Despite Eliot writing just under one hundred years ago, he neatly encapsulates the essence of social media, and the cultural compulsion to convey a specific type of person: a surface, a “face”. Social networking insistently requires us to create this surface – to select our profile pictures, ask us what we’re thinking/ how we’re feeling, whether we’re interested in men or women, where we live… Though we’re entitled (and quite rightly) to withhold this information from public display, the fact that
we’re asked creates an increased self-awareness and the means to categorise ourselves. Social networking engenders an opportunity to technologically emulate society’s obsession with “faces”. I finally created a Twitter account and a blog to go along with it (I like to think they go nicely with my already established Facebook, Instagram and Google+ profile). Why? Because I want people to see me. But I want people to see the ‘me’ that I create for myself. Particularly since going to University I all too frequently find myself trawling through my Facebook, editing my timeline, deleting photos that could not possibly be allowed for public display because they’re too honest: they’re not the ‘Chloe’ I want to display. I am not condemning those who use Twitter, Facebook etc: social media users are not necessarily superficial; social networking itself is. The nature of social networking, being a product and a tool with which to alter our outward appearance, makes us inclined to “prepare a face” in the form of our personal profile. Yet, ultimately, I find acknowledging why we behave in such a way – being propelled by the giant of social networking - is better than remaining wholly ignorant So the next time Facebook asks “what’s on your mind?” perhaps you could reply with nothing rather than joining the parade of people, exhibiting themselves in the social networking microcosm. CHLOE SEYMOUR
ISSUE 1 | THE ORBITAL | 11
COMMENT
VOLUNTEERING
What you ought to know. What you should be asking
You awaken in your basic room, the sound of cockerels, voices you don’t understand and the dust stirring outside your open window as the light and the heat from the sun already surpasses any summer day back home. You slip on your khakis/ harem pants, pull your patterned head scarf onto your ruggedly tousled hair and most importantly your array of ethnic-y beaded bracelets. You head off in your pack, laughing, chatting of the day to come and generally looking very cool and adventurous. The smiles you are met with every day seem to allude to the fact that what you’re doing feels pretty worthwhile, an amazing experience, great on the CV...
Sound familiar? To countless students and young people, this will surely stir memories from that unforgettable volunteering trip they did in -insert name of third world developing country here-. The “Voluntourism” industry as it’s called is growing at a rather whirlwind rate as these kinds of trips appear increasingly appealing to young people. Has this whole venture of volunteering abroad become nothing more than a trendy commodity amongst students and young people? In The Globe’s article Are Overseas Volunteer Trips Worth It?, Craig and Marc Kielburger comment that on these trips ‘the “work” can range from bottle-feeding baby elephants by day and partying by night, to back-breaking labor and living in intensive home-stays exactly as the locals live’. Is it okay that our status as tourist and volunteer should merge when on these trips? Are there specifically ‘correct’ contexts for us to indulge in ‘touristy things’ and if so where do we draw the line exactly? Critics comment that dropping in to take photographs of orphaned children, who may have seen parents recently waste to death, reduces them to the status of lions and zebras on the veld. All hardened ethics aside however the reality is most companies do offer excursions, a week safari for example, or other general touristy ‘stuff’ as part of the package, simply because this is what is most
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appealing to volunteers looking to go abroad. The actual volunteering work should make up the majority of the trip and should be organized in places where workers are needed beyond those who exist locally. When finding a volunteering program, it is key to look past the adventurously glam pictures of attractive tanned teenagers posing with school children or orphans. With the abundance of ‘volunteering abroad’ companies on Google alone, it has become increasingly important to check a few things before committing to one company alone. For example: Asking how the work you will do will benefit the community after you leave - will it be sustainable? Volunteering should be about what is needed and what will be sustainable, as the length of time most volunteers spend at their sights is fairly brief. If the company you are organizing your trip with lists a number of areas that they provide volunteer work in, for example teaching, manual labor, agriculture; don’t set on one. Having an open mind about what you may be required to do may mean some hard work and things you never imagined yourself doing. Unless you have specifically organized a certain type of work beforehand, being picky or disappointed at the work given to you only seems to justify that your motives for the trip are selfish and not rooted in a genuine desire to help out struggling communities. Key features of the volunteering holiday should be: 1) A seemingly ethical volunteering company- one that promotes sustainable community development providing jobs that can’t simply be done by locals. 2) An open attitude and willingness to do whatever needs to be done. As volunteers on trips that can be as brief as two weeks, we need to acknowledge we are a small (yet significant) working part in a greater machine. At its heart, volunteering should be about offering up one’s services, specifically time and skills, for free. A genuine desire to give our time and effort for free should remain our fundamental motive. Thoughts about ‘attractive’ CV’s and such should be disassociated and if you want a holiday full of ‘banter’ you should not look to struggling third world countries. ALICE HOPKINS
FEATURES
CAPTION COMPETITION
IN NUMBERS 0 Seats free in Bedford library at any given time
90 tonnes Coffee consumed per student, daily...
75,000 Number of rats on campus
£4 million Average worth of a RHUL student’s car
“GUFFAW! LOOK AT HOW THE POOR TRAVEL” ALEX LUCHINSKY
“We know everything!” RHUL Facebook page owners hold university to ransom Following a rise of Facebook pages compiling the private confessions of Royal Holloway students, the owners of these pages have decided to exploit the stupidity of the pages’ contributors. “We’ve spent the past year collecting all your dirty secrets, now it’s time to put them to use” claims one B. Brother, who plans to blackmail fellow students in exchange for Crosslands loyalty stamps. “We know who you slept with last month, what you did your your flatmate’s toothbrush and where the body’s hidden. It’s amazing how trusting people are of absolute strangers”. However, the owner of a certain Finder of Fitties took a more positive approach: “realising everyone else’s inability to speak to their crush makes me feel much better about my own chronic social anxiety. Plus my new-found God complex has done wonders for my self esteem.”
CLASSIFIEDS - Brightly coloured, chino clad gent looking for a like-minded, Jack Wills wearing girl for polo and maybe more! - Socialist individual seeks fellow Trotskyite for embittered discussions of student politics and class privilege. - Drama student seeks job prospects
STUDENT PUKES PRICEY Leaving the Students’ Union last Friday, an inebriated student was seen to spew three Bentleys, twelve Apple Macs and an intact bottle of Moet. “I chundered caviar everywhaar” slurred the gazeboed chap. Such occurrences are on the increase on campus, with less affluent students collecting and selling the regurgitation to pay off their student loans. “It’s like ambergris” claimed one Ebayer, “every mouthful is worth its weight in gold”.
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FEATURES
INSPIRATION... Focusing on those who inspire us to do more. Visit here each issue for a dose of motivation, as we provide quotes and profiles.
THE CARYL CHURCHILL THEATRE
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he Caryl Churchill theatre – named in tribute to the feminist playwright – has been broken in this summer with a series of plays from the Drama and Theatre department. But who is Caryl Churchill? Considered by many to be one of the foremost British playwrights alive today, Churchill’s work spans six decades with influences of Brecht and Artaud’s ‘Theatre of Cruelty’. Her most recent play, Love and Information, was held at the Royal Court theatre last autumn. Churchill was born in London in 1938, though moved to Montreal, Canada for much of her childhood. She returned to England in 1960 to study English literature at Oxford University where she began writing for student theatre. Churchill later moved into radio dramas and television plays at the BBC before dedicating herself to stage plays and gaining popular acclaim for Cloud Nine in 1979. While exploring gender, sexuality, and power politics, Churchill’s arguably most famous play Top Girls (1982) charts the loss of a woman’s humanity in her single-minded pursuit of power. The playwright herself refuses to discuss her works, claiming that ‘the plays speak for
themselves’. However, she has been known to hold often controversial views, with her pro-Palestine play Seven Jewish Children (2009) being accused of anti-Semitism, a claim denied by the Royal Court. Her 2006 play Drunk Enough To Say I Love You attacked the power-play of British and American foreign policy in a sexualised depiction of modern politics that gained mixed but impassioned reviews. As a key female playwright in an often male-dominated sphere, Caryl Churchill seems a fitting choice for the Royal Holloway, with its long history of women’s education. Professor Dan Rebellato, Head of the Drama and Theatre Department, said that naming the theatre after Caryl Churchill is “a great honour for the College and just recognition of her restless theatrical creativity”. The £3m building, designed by architects Foster Wilson, connects to Sutherland House in the university’s drama department and replaces a smaller studio built in 1981. The theatre seats 175 audience members with a welcome foyer, rehearsal and dressing rooms, workshop areas, and separate teaching spaces. Its long windows and warm brickwork interior create a bright, versatile space. RACHEL IVENS
One pound of learning requires ten pounds of common sense to apply it Iranian proverb The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience Harper Lee A rose looks grey at midnight, but the flame is just asleep. And steel is strong because it knows the hammer and white heat Johnny Cash In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different Coco Chanel
BILLIE JEAN KING A former World no.1 tennis player, winning 39 Grand Slam titles before retiring in 1983. Now, 68 years old, she is an advocate for gender equality, one of the first openly gay professional athletes, and has been named as one of the “100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century” by Life magazine. Billie Jean King serves on the boards of the Women’s Sports Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation and is a member of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition.
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12.41
I’ll make myself a mask of your face. I’ve been training a long time for this Complete with puppet stick in hand I’ll dance your name across the land Until we hit the floor, Exhaust sets in And I’m to cradle you once more.
FEATURES
Creative Writing blahblahblah
I’ll take your mask and place it over my brittle skin That waits for yours. I’ll press our masks together. Nobody can tell us apart Like this. I remember looking up at you from my bed Your lips shaping the words from a storybook as you read And I watch you Barely listening Barely hearing anything. It’s been 15 years And still I cannot make your mask quite right The dreams are fading Details collapse each time I have to recreate You In the shaping of this mask… The task is near impossible some days I awake as puppeteer and still you are not operational I am unprofessional – I apologise. Your arms are floppy and your forehead frowns in shyness Your brow has no direction. You cannot cry but I do weep I know the wood won’t rot But I still fear it could… Today I made your mask the same As every other day And flattened in your picture frame A lifeless mask you must remain.
Daisy Thurston-Gent
THE SCIENCE OF... SOUND & MUSIC The upcoming Summer Ball promises, at the very least, an evening full of sounds. These sounds may, if you’re lucky, be to your liking, depending on your taste. While some of you will drift in a state of bliss towards the hum of the speaker systems, others will recoil at the noise as you may with an elections campaigner. Whatever your reaction may be, our mechanical perception of sounds are all the same. To prevent possibly upsetting any physicists that may be reading, I will keep my description of sound brief. Put simply, sound is a change in pressure within a medium, i.e. the air around us. It has an original source, for example a mouth, and from this point if radiates as a series of
‘sound’ waves which our ear picks up. A sound’s amplitude determines its loudness. Large amplitude results in a loud sound, and vice versa. Similarly, the frequency of a sound wave can be described as it’s intensity, and it is this that determines a sound’s pitch. Our many skilled vocalists are able to control the frequencies of their voice to change their pitch; a higher frequency means a higher pitch, for example. So how do hear a sound? The human ear converts the physical properties of a sound wave from our environment into nerve impulses. When thought of like this, a single sound is severely limited and unoriginal. You can bet your student loan that every singular sound we are capable of producing and
hearing has already been produced and heard. However, when we perceive music, we are not hearing a single sound but a combination of sounds. Combinatorial possibilities of sounds are virtually endless. This can lead to original sound. It is human nature to be particularly fond of music that tends towards originality. Think of The Beatles: A Hard Day’s Night; musicians couldn’t work out the opening chord for years when trying to cover it. The chord was an original combination of sounds that is exceedingly pleasant to hear, and resulted in a huge hit. Sound is limited. Music is capable of great diversity. For those that are going, let’s hope the SU has hired acts which take advantage of this. JACK CHALK ISSUE 1 | THE ORBITAL | 15
FEATURES
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SUMMER BALL: EXPOSED...
he thing at the forefront of everyone’s minds right now is the Summer Ball and we will be covering a lot of what’s going on. Through exclusive content from the SU, these are the facts. The Summer Ball is an exclusively SU event, organised by the Commercial Services Management Team, and exclusively RoHo, sponsored only from within the University. A relationship has been built up with Luke from LFXEvents, who knows exactly how to put on a Uni Ball, just the way we like it. The staff are pretty much all
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students too, although 3rd years are given the day off to enjoy. Yet, some partake in any case because it’s such a great event to be a part of. The students that you have been seeing all year around campus, serving you in all SU buildings, will be the ones at the Summer Ball. Outside caterers are employed for the stands and there is a professional photographer inside Founders. There is also a crew involved who are part of a specialist team who can fit the Dodgems into Founders – quite a feat! The Summer Ball takes months
to organise, becoming full time in the weeks leading up to the event. On the actual day, managers work for 15 hours or more. As well as this, all other SU venues are open as normal, even the SU Blowout. A problem students sometimes overlook is the extreme health and safety and insurance requirements that having such a beautiful building entails. The safety plan for the Ball is 200 pages long and the whole thing is considered a building site until RHUL H&S sign it off at 3pm on the day of the event. The event takes 9 days to build and is effectively a construction site with numerous
An exclusive insight. From safety acessments to sound engineers, find out exactly where your money goes and what it takes to transform Founders
“A DJ we had last year was asking nearly double this year!”
WRETCH 32 JAGUAR SKILLS BEAT-A-MAXX THE MEND RYAN KEEN WHERE YOUR MONEY GOES...
regulations & legislations to deal with. How are musicians and acts approached and asked to play? LFX Events deal with this, because they know how to navigate the minefield for agents, managers and PR. Again, our contact Luke knows exactly what value the act has and if their price corresponds to it. ‘A DJ we had last year was asking nearly double this year!’ The whole budget of the Summer Ball is only funded by student ticket sales. There are no outside sponsors. The budget for entertainment is 30% of ticket
sales, and that’s all entertainment: disco’s, fairgrounds and the main stage. Every penny of ticket sales goes into the Ball. While most University Balls push them into heavy debt, ours always breaks even, and any money made goes back into the SU. We have one of the only Balls in the country to run for 10 hours, with a location in the heart of campus. A true Royal Holloway celebration, in the beautiful Founders building. We hope you have a great night! CORINNA TAYLOR & RACHEL IVENS
Main Stage, Marquees, Bar Hire, Artist Cabins & Toilets, Fencing (lots!), Ground Protection (RHUL are very protective of their walkways and grass) Plant Equipment, Forklift Hire, Fuel, Event Safety Barriers, Main Stage Sound & Lights, Main Stage Electrics, Video Mixing, Audio Visuals, Decor, Lights & Cable Hire, Customer Food, Stock Cost, Welcome Drink, Artist Catering, Staff Catering, Bar Stock , SU Bar Staff, Flair Bar Tenders, Glassware, Fruit, Ice, Ticket Printing, Wristbands, PDQ Charges, Postage & Printing Charges, Merchandise, SU Vehicles and Insurance, Cancellation & Equipment Insurance, Radio Hire, Bar Tills, Bar Furniture - Sofas & Picnic Tables, Refrigerated Trailers, Trestle Table Hire (x17), Artist Hotels, PPE, First Aid Equipment, Banners & Branding, Clean-up Costs, SU Security, External Security, SU Tech Crew, Pro ARC Tech Crew, Pro Crew, Headphone Disco Staff, Artist Liaison, Noise monitoring, First Aid Cover, Management Costs, Staff & LFX Accommodation, Event Management, Event & Production Managers SB13, Expenses.
ISSUE 1 | THE ORBITAL | 17
LIFESTYLE
A WELCOME FROM THE NEW EDITORS
Bryony Bowie and Victoria Timms. The new section editors let you know what they’ve got in store! Hello, all!
We are Bryony Bowie and Vicky Timms, the new Lifestyle Editor and Deputy Lifestyle Editor respectively. We’re both very excited about the opportunities this section has to offer, and bursting with new ideas for it! The amount of contributor interest we’ve had already has been fantastic, and we hope next year to bring you some exciting new things. This term has been a hectic one for everyone, full of exams and assessment deadlines and goodness knows what else, so here’s to the last couple of weeks of it being full of sun and frivolity - and most of all some fun! Hopefully a few things in this section will catch your eye as a great postexam bit of entertainment - and in the other sections, too. For all you budding travellers, this issue we’ve got articles on Tanzania and Venice, whilst for those aspiring Delia Smiths we have a delicious pasta dish and Bryony’s vegetable chilli recipe. To tie in with the release of the eagerly anticipated film The Great Gatsby we have a brilliant piece on 1920s fashion as well as our top summer cocktails, to help get you in the mood for summer. Whether you have a passion for baking, are spending the summer globetrotting or were inspired by the BBC’s Great British Sewing Bee, we’d love to hear from as many of you as possible. If you think you might be interested in contributing – or just want to be kept up to date – find our new Facebook page at www.facebook.com/OrbitalLifestyle or follow us on twitter at twitter.com/Orb_Lifestyle. We hope you all have a lovely summer holiday, and look forward to seeing most of you again next year!
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THE ROARING 20s Glamour and pure elegance. The 1920s time when society let down their hair and induged in the finer things in life. Can we learn a thing or two from the era? The 1920’s Flapper-Girl image is recognisable to all. Low waistlines, bob cuts, strings of beads long enough to play a somewhat overlyelegant game of ‘Cat’s Cradle’ and bright red pouting lips. With Baz Luhrmann’s visually exhilarating adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ sparkling away on Britain’s silver screens, it’s no wonder high street shoppers are being inundated with all things dapper and flapper. For those who could afford it, the Roaring Twenties was an era of extravagance, late nights and the disregard of previous stuffy social standards. Women tore off their corsets and showed a bit of leg, men put on their dancing shoes and the party never ended. Now, it’s here that I spot some correlation between the guys and dolls of the Twenties and us, in the here and now. Is not the youthful fire of over-indulgence and flamboyance, the desire to dance away the dregs of a stressful day still aflame and tickling the ribs of all
of us? Perhaps we have the party animals of the 1920s to thank for the establishment of our own nights of frivolity with fine friends, good cheer and one too many glasses of Bacchus’s brew. However, despite still having the late nights – and if anything even more booze – I would argue that in many ways we have lost the flirty elegance of style that so shaped the fashion of the Twenties. If, like me, you want to try and bring back some of that glamour to your wardrobe, ladies, I say indulge in bright red shades of lipstick, don sequinned dresses and matching hair accessories and a pair of one-to-two inch heels – the perfect footwear for a Charleston! This last month has been a somewhat quiet one for us all. My advice: Shake off the doom and gloom of the exam season by putting on your glad-rags and dancing shoes and go to the Media Society’s 1920s themed Summer Media Ball on June the 5th. Go on, let your hair down. You deserve it! JAMIE ROSE DUKE
Through the lens
It was really exciting to have Freddie on board for this month’s issue. As soon as I saw him with the most prominent cheek bones and his noticeably tall stature, I knew he would be great to photograph. Being a model, he knew exactly what he was doing and naturally did not need much instruction from me. Even in just 20 minutes, we managed to get a lot of good shots. Freddie even climbed a tree for some pictures. It was great fun doing the shoot (regardless of being in the rain the whole time). I would definitely want to shoot with him again! - GYAN GURUNG
From the model Freddie Rayner Tell us a bit about yourself: I’ve been modelling since I was 17 - I got scouted waiting for a bus in my school uniform and it’s been a roller coaster ever since.
Have you had a favourite shoot? There have been crazy shoots... there was one in Paris where we had to get up at some god-awful time and we ended up just running around the city.
Where do you shop? It’s quite difficult to find clothes in my size so I usually go all over. If I see something cool I’ll probably buy it - but knowing me I’d probably wreck it a few days later.
MODEL OF THE MONTH
LIFESTYLE
VODKA & TOMATO PASTA
Zosia Edwards reveals her recipe for a pasta dish with an adult twist cook this for your flatmates and you’re bound to impress! - 20g butter - 200ml vodka - 400g can of chopped tomatoes - 1 vegetable stock cube - 1 tsp of dried rosemary - 100 ml double cream - 125g pasta - Salt and pepper - Fresh basil and grated parmesan to serve
Serves: 2 Time: 15 minutes Price: £4.60
Method:
In my time as a university student I’ve done an awful lot of cooking with alcohol. Some of the alcohol even made its way into the food. This tomato vodka pasta is a simple, speedy recipe, and if you make it once I promise you will be craving it again soon. It’s excellent food for a hangover, and this recipe makes enough for two servings so you can share it with a friend or pack some up and take it with you to the library for some great-tasting brain food. You won’t get intoxicated from eating this recipe because the alcohol evaporates as it cooks, but it leaves the tomatoes tasting splendid.
Ingredients:
- 1 red onion, chopped - 3 garlic cloves, chopped - 1 tbsp olive oil
Exams are finally over and the sun is shining, so what better way to spend a lazy afternoon than dressing up and showing off your mixology skills with our top summer cocktails. VICKY TIMMS
1. Melt the butter in a pan with the olive oil, and then add the onion and garlic. Fry gently until the onions begin to colour slightly. 2. Put your pasta on to boil. The rest of the recipe should take about the same amount of time as your pasta, so everything should be ready at the same time. 3. Add the vodka to the onions. Leave to simmer for a minute then add the tomatoes. Crumble in the stock cube, add the rosemary and mix thoroughly. 5. Stir the sauce regularly as it cooks over a medium heat. It should begin to thicken. 6. When your pasta is nearly cooked, add the cream to the sauce and stir in. 7. Season with salt and pepper and add the fresh chopped basil. 8. Serve the pasta smothered in sauce with extra basil to garnish, and as much parmesan as you fancy. Enjoy!
SUMMER COCKTAILS Long Island Iced Tea My personal favourite, this is light and refreshing and can be lethal after a couple. - 1 measure (24ml) vodka - 1 measure gin, white rum, tequila, triple sec or Cointrea and of lime or lemon juice - 2 teaspoons sugar syrup or caster sugar - Coke Put all the ingredients into the cocktail shaker, with ice in both the shaker and glassesShake and strain into the glasses Top up with coke and enjoy!
Lynchburg Lemonade
& g n i l o co hing! refres 20| THE ORBITAL | ISSUE 1
Straight from Tennessee itself, this is one for all you whiskey drinkers. Serves 1 - 2 measures Jack Daniels - 1 measure lemon juice - ½ measure (12.5ml) sugar syrup - Lemonade Put the ice into the glass and pour in the whiskey, lemon juice and sugar syrup and stir. Top up with lemonade
VEGETABLE CHILLI A taste of Mexico. Make this meat-free dish for a spicy meal that’s bursting with flavour and full of vitamins and protein.
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his chilli is so easy to make that it’s really impossible to get it wrong - it just takes a bit of time to make. It feeds a whole bunch of people so it’s great if you’re having friends round, plus it freezes brilliantly. It’s also packed with the things your parents always ask if you’re eating enough of, and what’s more, you can adapt it to whatever you fancy or just happen to have in the fridge - use different kinds of beans or vegetables, or play around with the spices to vary it. MAKES: 6 PORTIONS TAKES: 70 MINUTES TO MAKE INGREDIENTS: - 1 onion 2 peppers (yellow and red) 2 sticks celery 1 large carrot 2 cloves garlic 2 chillies (red and green) 300g Quorn mince 1tsp chilli powder 1½tsp ground cumin 1tsp ground coriander 2tsp cinnamon
1tsp paprika 1 glass red wine 2x 400g tin chopped tomatoes 2x 400g tin kidney beans (or any you like) 200ml vegetable stock 1 bay leaf 30g fresh coriander
METHOD: Heat some olive oil in a large pan or wok. Roughly chop the onion, peppers, celery, carrot, garlic and chillies and add to the pan, then cook for about 10 minutes, until softened and beginning to colou Add the Quorn mince (straight from frozen) and cook for a few minutes until it’s browned, then add the spices and cook for a further 5 minutes. This is the only point where you really have to watch it, or the spices will stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.
seriously scrumptious! Stir in the tomatoes, red wine, bay leaf, vegetable stock and beans (drained), then give it a good stir to mix it all together. Bring it to a boil, then let it simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so to make sure it isn’t sticking. Turn off the heat, then roughly chop the coriander and add it to the
A HEALTHY VEGETARIAN OPTION FULL OF YOUR RECOMENDED DAILY INTAKE OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES!
pan, along with salt and pepper to taste. You can serve it with basically anything - my personal favourite is in tortilla wraps with sour cream and a strong cheddar, but you could serve it with rice and add chopped spring onions, or even just eat it by itself. The choice is yours! BRYONY BOWIE
LIFESTYLE
VENICE: CITY OF MASKS
A city of culture, tradition and beauty
Renowned for its history of art, architecture and music, it is hard to find someone who hasn’t fallen in love with Venice. It was the masks that first drew me in: the colours, the intricate, beautiful designs, the feathers and the doll-like delicacy in their features. Carnival masks are a part of the city as much as the canals, gondolas and St Marks Basilica. The actual wearing of masks in Venice has a chequered history. In the beginning they were allowed to be worn at all major events, bar religious festivals. But in 1339 the wearing of masks was limited to daytime and in 1608 the anonymity and immoral behaviour associated with wearing a mask led to them being banned apart for carnival and banquets. If you were going to Venice specifically to revel in the wonders of these beautiful works of art, I recommend the weeks leading up to Ash Wednesday, Carnevale; the Carnival of Venice. Originating in the Middle Ages, the carnival’s popularity declined in the eighteenth century, but was brought back in the 1970s and is now one of Venice’s main tourist attractions – holding the possibility of attending a Masquerade ball, which are held across the city. These can cost up to 500€, including costume hire, and for the more exclusive parties you have to book months in advance. Don’t despair though – the popularity of Carnevale, means that a visit to Piazza San Marco or a gentle stroll around the back-street canals guarantees that you witness the variety and beauty of these costumes and masks in their natural setting, as worn by both locals, tourists and street artists. Finally, a trip to Venice would not be complete without the purchase of your very own mask. Everywhere you turn in Venice, there are places to purchase masks, from high-end shops to market stalls. I purchased mine from the market on the Rialto Bridge for about 40€ but they vary in price, depending on the size and type of mask you go for. There are so many masks; all with their own unique design that despite anonymity your own voice will still shine through. VICKY TIMMS
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PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN TANZANIA: THE ‘DALE DALE’ A quick and cheap way of getting around, if you don’t mind death-defying driving, sardine-like people-packing or being handed a child/chicken to hold on your lap for the entire journey. A ‘Dale Dale’ ( dar-lay dar-lay) is a minibus taken to various stops in and out of town. A 20 minute ride costs about 30p. Your best chances of catching a ride is to find the nearest ‘station’, as it were - a sort of large gathering zone where many start their routes. It basically looks like a large herd of white minivans surrounded by drivers shouting and packing as many people into their vans as they can possibly hold. The first thing to note is that the locals take their peoplecramming skills to a serious level. The other issue is the stops: seeing where you are, or where to get off, can be difficult through the narrow windows. Furthermore, with the sheer kamikaze speed that the van hurtles at one can only usually only make out blurs of browns and greens dotted with the colours of vintage coca cola signs, the goods of street vendors and the bright clashes of Masai clothes. So long as you ask for your stop if you’re not sure, or go with someone who knows their way around, its pretty easy. Most vans are run by two men: the driver and the money collector, and if you’re crammed in behind the front seats there is a standard passing forward of money that becomes a very routine procedure after your first few rides. The overall point is that it’s efficient on most levels and, aside from the dangers of capsizing (though there’s enough people crammed in to create a human airbag), it’s safe, in the daytime and in numbers. So if you’re looking for a cheap, convenient and social mode of transport - and by social I mean standing for up to twenty minutes with a stranger’s bottom millimetres from your face - then the ‘Dale Dale’ is for you. ALICE HOPKINS
ARTS
A WORD FROM NICHOLAS
Our Arts Editor muses on the current art scene... The seasons limp towards summer as we approach the half-way mark of 2013. Arts-wise it’s been exciting on-campus, with As You Like It, Tales from Ovid and Rope from Shakespeare, Classics and Drama, and offcampus, with treats galore past and future – see this issue’s preview for the best of the upcoming months! With three months to spare, as well as indulging in everything our writers have recommended, why not dip into a good book? The phrase “summer read” generally means some tripe you can pick up at the airport on the cheap, so I’d like to amend that by picking out some better literary indulgences for the next three lazy months. One book likely to be read up and down the country now is The Great Gatsby. Rightly so – the film gets a great write-up in this issue and Fitzgerald may have written the intimate, hypnotic Great American Novel. It’s a brief but brilliant tome with endless secrets, so why not read or reread it while it’s topical? The big news is Dan Brown’s return to Robert Langdon. Inferno might not top the critic’s best of 2013 but will top the bestseller lists. Brown’s always had a talent for a gripping story so we’ll see if this gets the pages turning as quickly. Or, to feel more highbrow, read Dante’s Inferno and join in conversation. With time on your hands, indulge in something
longer. Try Anthony Powell’s modern classic twelve novel sequence A Dance to the Music of Time. Spanning pre-topost WWII England, its narrator Nicholas Jenkins weaves joyous, tragic and memorable tales, and the toady Kenneth Widmerpool is one of the greatest characters in English literature. You’ll make dozens of friends this summer in Powell’s prose, but Widmerpool will haunt you more than any. And what would summer reading be without a book about summer? Even if you’ve not read L.P. Hartley’s The GoBetween you’ll know its opening: “The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there”. The story of a heated romantic summer, it’s a youthful, heated tome where the temperature rises on every page; it more than compensates for current the bad weather. Or just do as you please. It’s your summer, after all. Keep safe and have a pleasant, artsy holiday! NICHOLAS HYDER
REVIEW: RUST AND BONE Jacques Audiard’s last feature, A Prophet, is seen by many as one of the best films of the last decade, resulting in a lot of buzz and excitement for his latest film, Rust and Bone, starring the wonderful Marion Cotillard. Arguably two of the best French filmmakers of recent years, the film has been greatly revered by critics as a touching love story. However, the film is in many ways Audiard’s worst to date. It tells the story of two people in tragic circumstances: Ali, a wannabe fighter, struggling to raise his young son in the absence of his mother and with little money made in illegal fighting rings, and Stephanie fighting through the pain of losing both her
legs in a tragic killer whale accident. The two meet, fall in love and help each other correct their lives. It is a plot done time and again in America, and isn’t much better than the Hollywood versions. Both leads act well and carry the film for large parts, but the ending seems rushed, and within the first twenty minutes it is not difficult to say where the film will go. Many will still enjoy it, welling up at the feel-good ending, deeming it with greater artistic merits because of the filmmakers involved and the fact that it is French. However it is a very safe film after the masterpiece that was A Prophet, and is a great disappointment. Anyone who has seen Audiard’s previous work will know some of his films tend to be a bit eccentric and more predictable, but this is less enjoyable than those. While A Self Made Hero was predictable in places, it seemed less generic, scenes were not cheesy and it never felt like a drag. During points of Rust and Bone the plot grinds to a halt as you wait for it to finish. It is not a bad film, but it is not the masterpiece many are making to out to be. It feels like a Hollywood film; not a fault in itself, but what is an issue is that it feels like an average Hollywood film, not the latest by one of cinema’s foremost creative talents. Many will still probably enjoy this, and it is very much an enjoyable film to see one afternoon, but the film is unlikely to stay with you, and may not be worth the energy to buy on DVD. THOMAS MCDONALD
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ARTS
HERONSHAW: ONE TO WATCH Their inspiration and future Find out what’s next for these rising stars
W
ith any luck, Heronshaw is a name you’ll be hearing much more in the future. The best way to describe their genre is ‘Alternative Indie Folk Rock’ but that doesn’t quite do their varied music justice. As they say on their website, defining their music is like finding Wally – exciting, addictive and you can’t quite put your finger on it! Most importantly, their drummer, Matt Arnold, is from Royal Holloway! Heronshaw’s music is a melting pot of different genres that works a treat. The five band members – Tom Seebold (Vocals, Keyboard), James Gibson (Guitar, Banjo), Miles Walker (Guitar, Violin), Connor Guille (Bass, Vocals) and Matt Arnold (Drums & Percussion) – work together to make enchanting music that’s already made an impact, and with their forward planning they look to make even more of an impact soon. The band met at school in Portsmouth and now they all study at various University of London colleges. About practicing between studying their drummer, Matt Arnold, says “It’s a difficult one really but we make it work. There are a lot of hours spent talking on the group page on Facebook discussing
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out k c e h C e outub Y r i e h t ion t a s n e s Youth ideas, rehearsal dates, future gigs, but it just works. We usually rehearse either at Royal Holloway or in Matt’s Studio in Hampshire. When we do rehearse, we always try and be on the ball and learn our parts or have an aim.” Their influences range from Mumford & Sons, Radiohead, Led Zeppelin, Kodaline and acoustic acts such as Ben Howard. These influences are clear in their covers and the music they write themselves, which have garnered lots of attention on the internet. “One thing we love though is playing a gig and from that we get say a few likes on Facebook and a message saying I really enjoyed your set or something similar. It’s awesome because we know that they have gone home, typed in Heronshaw to Facebook and liked the page,” says Arnold. They recently released their first EP, ‘The Truth, It Hurts’, apparently an “interesting” experience: “It was exciting, nerve racking and tiring all in one. It’s an amazing experience hearing your own work develop in this way.” It’s a tremendous EP which shows their varied musical interests and just how talented they are. Their YouTube page is also fizzing with excitement with their covers
and new music gaining lots of coverage and views. Their focus on one take live performance has paid off, with their videos totting up views and fans. Other than recording, they’ve been busy performing. They launched the EP at Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower, 100m about ground, something the band say might be their biggest achievement yet. They’ve done numerous gigs and are planning more HD videos for YouTube in the coming months. Expect covers of Ben Howard, Kodaline, Bastille and many more very soon. You can also see them this summer, with various dates of gigs planned in the upcoming months in London, Hayling, Swanmore and Portsmouth. So what’s next for Heronshaw? “In the short term over Summer we’re going to be recording another batch of original tracks (around 6) to add to our collection of songs now totalling around 20,” says drummer Matthew Arnold, “We’re also going to be recording loads of videos for YouTube so you can expect a few uploads over Summer. We’re then going to be learning some more covers for our live set which is always fun as we put our little twist on things. In the long term, we’re going to be writing around 30-40 tracks before we start thinking of an album and before that we will most likely do a second EP in the studio. It’s during this time that we will be approaching management and labels. That will happen within the next 2 years most likely. We’re going to be really busy gigging, but the main focuses for us are videos, originals and covers for gigs and we’re really excited about it.” This year they look to push into new territory with their new repertoire. Their EP is available now on their website and this is really one band to watch. 2013 looks likely to propel them even further. NICHOLAS HYDER
ARTS
A WRITER’S LOT Interview: Charlotte Cole talks to writer and director, Josh King and Jemima Standen-Jewell, of A Writer’s Lot, an original play written and performed by Royal Holloway Students. CC: What can you tell me about your lives here as students? JK – I’m a third year English and Creative Writing student. I’ve done a few things on campus, like Midnight at the Boilerhouse and the Writing Society. It’s all built itself up to this from first year, so it is a massive thing for me to be able to do this. JS – I’m a second year Drama student and I’ve done quite a few shows on campus helping out backstage, but this is my first time to actually direct a show. What can you tell me about A Writer’s Lot? JK – It’s about William, a playwright, who through his fixation with writing plays about death, has to eventually choose between his art and his mind. How did you come up with that? It sounds pretty intense.
How did you come up with that? It sounds pretty intense. JK – Yeah, I took one to PLAY! 2012 last year, which involved a woman shooting her husband, a light comedy you could say! There is no way of getting a better drama and making something more interesting by killing someone; it’s something that affects everyone in an immediate and quite emotional way. How do the cast and crew feel about everything? JS – The crew are amazing, they’ve been the backbone of it, as well as the cast. It was great at the first read through because no one had read it and, after that, everyone was really excited for Josh’s play. How have you been fundraising? JS – We’ve had our pub quiz every Tuesday at the Foresters Arms until the end
of term as well as applying for grants. We’re going to do a big fundraiser on the green, as well as the preview show which is at the village centre on June 10th. How long did it take to write A Writer’s Lot? JK – It’s my final project for my playwriting course, so I have been slowly writing it throughout. When they [intwothewings] posted that they wanted scripts, in a fit of desperation, I just wrote it. I’d written half of it over the past year and I quickly wrote the rest and sent it to them, as a rough first draft. What can you tell me about intwothewings? JS – Everyone on the production team are taking on a new role, which they’ve never done before, and so everybody is sort of being trained by others who have experience. That is why
we wanted the ‘wings’ in the name, to represent our focus on the crew and production elements of a play as well as the actor and performance element. It also has the double meaning of ‘taking off’ on our first play. The ‘two’ represents Eleri Owen and I, who is also producing A Writer’s Lot. It’s nice to have our little family made. In one sentence, why should people come to see A Writer’s Lot? JS – What’s that line from the play? It’d be perfect for this. JK - “It’s vivid, it’s visual, it’s a bloody play”.
When to see it: Windsor Preview – 26th July Edinburgh Fringe Festival – 2nd to 17th August
THE GREAT GATSBY
A tough act to follow Finally deserving of the ‘Great’ Baz Lurhmann’s take on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, is an explosion of colour, music and sexual tension, bringing to life what I consider to be a story that trails at a snail’s pace. Behind all the glitz and glamour of Lurhmann’s directorial style, it is his choice of actors that helps to give life to the otherwise lifeless portrayals of Fitzgerald. Leonardo DiCaprio does well in playing the infamous Jay Gatsby, a man both famous and mysterious for his regular mansion parties, whose relationship with Carey Mulligan’s Daisy is made both awkward and increasingly addictive from their first encounter. My admiration of Gatsby’s characterisation increases drastically alongside the rapid fall of Daisy’s likability, a woman who frustratingly glides through life, child-like and immature in her lack of decision making and her want to impact in anyone’s life. DiCaprio’s
Gatsby is compelling to watch in his passionate attempts to hold on to the past, whilst Tobey Maguire’s Nick succeeds in continuing to be the quiet onlooker of their lives that I could not stand in the novel. With films such as Moulin Rouge! and William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet already under his belt, Lurhmann’s use of combining the great tracks of Jay-Z and Lana del Rey, alongside colourised black and white footage that was not his own, is typical of his style but amazing visually, highlighting the division of class, gender and race. Finally, I could feel the buzz of the roaring 20’s, increasing the story’s exhilarating atmosphere. Despite all the criticism surrounding his adaptation, I believe that Lurhmann has done well in recreating the excitement, evidently proving that, in some cases, the film can be better than the book. CHARLOTTE COLE
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ARTS - Film – Man of Steel, (June 14th). From the man who directed 300 comes the remake of the Superman movies. Many superhero films seem to be going through a reboot or remaking recently, such as Spiderman (The Amazing Spider-Man). If that remake is anything to go by, then this version of the Superman story should whet the appetite of any super hero fan. - Film – Despicable Me 2, (June 28th). After the first film acquired high acclaim from audiences of all ages, Steve Carell makes his animated return as Gru, the evil scientist turned good, who has changed his plans from world domination to looking after his three adopted children. A film full of fun and laughter should be expected, not to mention the gleeful return of the tiny yellow alien helpers who provide hilarity throughout. - Film – Despicable Me 2, (June 28th). After the first film acquired high acclaim from audiences of all ages, Steve Carell makes his animated return as Gru, the evil scientist turned good, who has changed his plans from world domination to looking after his three adopted children. A film full of fun and laughter should be expected, not to mention the gleeful return of the tiny yellow alien helpers who provide hilarity throughout.
No plans for the Summer? We’re here to help
What to do with the next three months? Let Nicholas Hyder (theatre), Matt Pullman (film) and Victoria Timms (music and art) help you out…
Theatre
– Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Theatre Royal Drury Lane (May 22nd). Sam Mendes, after directing the best Bond yet, makes the logical career move of putting singing Oompa Loompas on stage. After Matilda, is there room for another Roald Dahl musical? With the great Tony-winner Douglas Hodge taking the central role, this could be the musical of 2013. - The Drowned Man, Paddington (June 20th). Punchdrunk push theatrical boundaries far to great acclaim. Here they set Büchner’s Woyzeck in a Hollywood studio in a large building off Paddington. Will this three-hour promenade production continue Punchdrunk’s success? - Theatre – Henry VI, Shakespeare’s Globe (July 23rd). Who wouldn’t enjoy nine hours of the Bard? This is a good time for obscurer Shakespeare with Titus Andronicus at Stratford and Tom Hiddleston’s Coriolanus coming at Christmas. The rare chance to see this trilogy (also on individually) should be embraced.
Film
– The Purge (May 31st). Set in near future America, where crime rates are at an all time low and unemployment at 1%, thanks to just one day of the year on which all crime for 12 hours is legal. When a family allows a man fleeing for his life into their home they are faced with a decision: hand over the fugitive or face an attempted break in from his murderous pursuers. This unique storyline should be a nail biting thriller with fascinating twists.
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Music
- BBC Proms (July 12th). Now in its 119th year, the Proms is the biggest classical music festival in the world; where else would you find world-class musicians performing over 90 concerts in 8 weeks? The tradition of Promming makes this festival unique: for each concert, there are up to 500 unreserved standing tickets for only £5, meaning that if a concert has already sold out, you may still be able to get in. The more popular the programme or orchestra the earlier you may have to arrive. But this is never a problem for seasoned Prommers, who come equipped with deck chairs, picnics, and playing cards amongst other things to pass the time. It is this relaxed informal atmosphere which makes the Proms so accessible. It’s not just your stereotypical ‘classical’ music performed. This year sees a Gospel Prom, an Urban Classic Prom and the return of the Doctor Who Prom celebrating its 50th anniversary. Other highlights include Daniel Barenboim conducting Wagner’s Ring cycle, a Tchaikovsky symphony cycle and two film music nights, including the return of the John Wilson Orchestra for the fifth consecutive year. All are broadcast live on Radio 3 and many are also televised. So why not go to the Royal Albert Hall and immerse yourself in the finest music ever written, performed by some of the greatest musicians in the world for only £5?
ARTS
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST The 2013 Quad production: A moment with the director on her concept, vision and why Oscar Wilde was the only choice for her.. Over the years the Quad production has seen a lot of Shakespeare and Renaissance plays, but these are not the only classics. It is our hope that this year, with The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde,
we will re-vitalise the Quad and bring summer to Royal Holloway. After a busy year and a term full of exams what Royal Holloway needs is a bit of fun, and it is for this reason that I chose to bid The Importance
of Being Earnest. With muffin fights, cucumber sandwiches and, in the production, a man in drag, we hope to bring back the witty silliness for which British comedy is so renowned. When people asked me what I wanted
to do with the play, my answer was to have fun. Indeed my answer for all questions such as ‘What is your director’s concept?’ was simply the word ‘fun’; I was worried I sounded a bit like a broken record. But that is really what I
want to do. I want people to be able to sit back, relax and laugh the night away. That is if I have done a good job. As with all bids, pulling together a team is always the hardest task. There are many people you know would be wonderful for the job but not everyone is willing to commit. I
roped in my Producer after a rushed conversation in the library, and after a lot of sweet talking I had got myself a DSM and designer. I could not have been more happy with the team. The Earnest Crew are a great bunch with so much talent they could outshine the cast. Rehearsals have been
an entertaining enterprise so far. With everyone being so busy they have been very higgledy piggledy (word of the month) but boy they have been fun. All the cast work so well together and as soon as you put them on stage it is hard to make them stop. After two weeks we are well on
our way, and hopefully by week seven it will be fantastic. So grab your Pimms, picnic blanket and your cucumber sandwich and come along to The Importance of being Earnest on June the 11th, 12th and 13th. I promise you will have, well….fun. HELENA JANE KIRBY
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SOCIETIES
SPORTS&SOCITIES
RHOSCARS
THE RHUL RED CARPET EVENT OF THE YEAR
T
he life of a student is rarely associated with glamour. One night of the year, however, we dust off our bow ties, scrub our faces and revel in the glory that comes with prancing along a red carpet and actually having freshly washed hair. We arrive on the arms of handsome men, and the majority of us stumble out a few hours later, with a lucky few drunkenly brandishing the revered ‘little golden man.’ While we spend the majority of the year at each other’s throats, battling over deadlines, rehearsals and meetings; this is an evening which quite simply reminds us why we have so much love for what we do. Since 2007, the RHOscars have been uniting all manner of performance loving folk. Bringing the techies down from the rigs, the musicians away from their pianos, and the actors down from the stage - this is the evening where we have the opportunity to appreciate each other’s work and unique disciplines; looking back with pride and forward with anticipation. On Saturday 11th May, the Drama Society, Student Workshop, Absolute Harmony, Savoy Opera, Shakespeare, and The Musical Theatre Society gathered in the Student’s Union for an evening of awards, drinks vouchers and debauchery. The evening was led by the dashing and charismatic duo Tom Midgely and Alexander Jeremy, who’s charming and yet efficient approach to hosting lead us through the awards with grace and humour. By presenting with such panache they reminded us that while the awards were very important, we were really there to celebrate one another - easing the worries of the stress-drinkers amongst us. Amidst the chaos this hectic year has brought we have seen some diverse and exciting work from all the societies present on the night. The Savoy Opera Society has had magnificent successes with their productions of The Mikado and Bittersweet. We have seen dark history and comedy from the Shakespeare society with Richard III and As You Like It. The Student Workshop have had an enormous amount of shows this year, congratulations go to the cast and crew of Frozen, 28| THE ORBITAL | ISSUE 1
winner of the best production award. MTS have once again proved their relentless energy with so many great shows, the winner of which was Mack and Mabel. The Drama Society have taken us from a post-apocalyptic drug fuelled world and into the dark mind of Stanley Kubrick and back again, with the best production award going to Rope. Congratulations also go to Absolute Harmony, and their talented group of musicians who have created such arrangements as the ‘Bon Jovi Medley’, ‘Skyfall’ and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ Our eritable feast of disciplines and passions has led to an incredible index of work this year. Special congratulations must go to those winners of the Outstanding Contribution Awards. This is a special award, reserved for those who have truly signed over their hearts and souls to their societies. There is something to be said for these individuals who really are the driving forces behind the various successes of their committees and members. On a day to day basis, they juggle their degrees and the responsibilities they take upon themselves to move their societies forward and to keep producing work to be proud of. Here at Royal Holloway we have a fantastic thing. The diversity of performances throughout the year is vast, and truly is something worth celebrating. Congratulations to all of those involved with the incredible work of each society - and to all of those award winners & nominees. We have something here to be very proud of, and the Rhoscars evening was such a fantastic way of marking this. As we look to the end of the year, keep your eyes peeled for the last few bits and bobs: Drama Society’s Quad production of ‘The Importance of being Earnest’, on the 11th, 12th and 13th of June. Grab a jug of Pimms from Crosslands and join us for what we’re sure will be another great production!Of course, this wouldn’t be a gushing review written by a drama student if I didn’t throw in a horrendously cheesy (but nevertheless genuine) phrase such as ‘we are all winners’. ‘Don’t stop believing...’ ‘We’re all in this together...’ ‘My life would suck without you.’ Rebekka-Kate Taylor
SPORTS & SOCIETIES
FOUR TO WATCH TABLE TENNIS – BACK WITH A PONG AT HOLLOWAY! Alex Reilly-Cooper Announces a new club! The Orbital is proud to announce the rejuvenation of the Royal Holloway Table Tennis Club! The club has been officially sanctioned by the SU and will begin competing in the BUCs league this coming September! There was such a club in existence a few years ago but after having a proposal turned down to start one up again last year the future for competitive table tennis at the university looked far from promising. However, after emphasising the social aspect of the club as well as the competitive side this time around, the club was approved. All standards of players are welcome: from social players at the hub as a break from studying to topspinning enthusiasts; there is something for everyone! Keep an eye out for team trials, male and female, next year; beatthe-robot competitions; and a UV event in the sports hall!
THE ANIME SOCIETY ANDREW LILLEY Sums up one of the smaller socieites on campus and what they get up to. Anime is Japanese animation, covering many genres and themes.This year has been a great year for our society. We’ve been able to watch two or three short series each term. We normally go out to Crosslands or Medicine for our viewings so it is a great chance to get to know each other and go out socially too. Trips and days out are a big part of our society; the MCM Expo and London Anime Convention are two of the big annual events we attend and are not to be missed for Anime enthusiasts! We are very open to suggestions on activities and also welcome input from members on how we can improve your experience within our society.
‘WEE POTTER’S THE ONE, VOLDY’S GONE MOLDY, NOW LET’S HAVE FUN!’ Clare Sherry & Katie Tomlinson. Alohomora! Finally! The Royal Holloway – or should we say Hogwarts – Harry Potter Society apparates in. Like a packet of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Bean there is something to everyone’s taste. From day trips to film or book nights there is something to provide a bit of magic for everyone. We even hope to start a longawaited Quidditch team – something the International Quidditch Association is excited about! Make sure to join at the start of the year so you can find out how the Sorting Hat see’s you and which house you’ll be competing in to win the first House Cup! If you’re looking for a magical and memorable year, join our society! Find us on Facebook at the ‘Royal Holloway Harry Potter Society’. And finally: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!
MEN’S FOOTBALL 3RDS DOES THE DOUBLE! NATASHA KHALEEQ Speaks to Football Captin, Mike Toffolo. The Mens Football 3rd XI had one of their best ever seasons this year. Not only did they win the BUCs cup, they also managed to win the LUSL cup to achieve an unprecedented double, a first for Royal Holloway. After being invited to go and cheer the boys on in a game against Kings Medics, I was able able to witness their grit and determination as they turned a one nil deficit into a convincing 3-1 victory. This seasons captain, Mike Toffolo, had this message for his team: “Thank you to each member of the team for making mine and Pedro’s lives as captains so easy and I hope you can be just as successful next year!” Toffolo, amongst others, is retiring at the end of the season meaning that the team will be looking for new members come September, so make sure to look out for team trials and join in on the success!
Email sportsandsocs@theorbital.co.uk to feature your club or society! ISSUE 1 | THE ORBITAL |29
SPORTS & SOCIETIES
RHUL BADMINTON CLUB: A SEASON OF UPHILL
Find out what the badminton team have been up to this year and what they are already planning for the upcoming year
Looking at the fixture lists for all three badminton teams; men’s first, women’s and men’s seconds, was not pleasant summer reading material. With long journeys to Portsmouth and Chichester on the horizon as well as visits to sport driven universities Surrey and Brunel, all three respective captains knew they had a hard task of managing their squads to get the very best from their players as they looked to once again secure divisional status for the 2013/14 season. All teams got off to a tough start, leaving it until the end of the second week of fixtures before the club earned their first point. A true captain’s knock by Harriet Mortimer inspired her girls to a 4-4 draw at St. Mary’s University. Not to be outdone by the girls, both men’s teams would have their first points after two workmanlike performances against Chichester and Reading Struggling to earn anything more than draws as a club, the women’s team finally earned a win by following up another draw against St. Mary’s with an emphatic 8-0 thrashing of the same team winning the final match in the trilogy between the two, ensuring divisional status for the following season. The men’s second team would follow suit the following week with a 5-3 win at Roehampton, immediately returning their opponents to the division below for next season. In contrast, the men’s first team would end up suffering relegation at the hands of local rivals Surrey University on the final day of the season. Even though on the court the clubs fortunes were not always great, off the court was another story. As a group of twenty three members plus alumni (who just cannot keep away!), RHUL Badminton club has some great memories to
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take away from an up and down season with racket in hand. It started in October with initiations at Come in Your Kit Part One, where the ‘freshers’ experienced the dreaded ‘tube.’ Even though not every member of the team managed to survive initiations and stumble down to the SU it was a great night all round and really set the tone for the social outings which followed! Any frustration on the court from the rough start to the season was quickly vented on a day trip to Ambush Adventure Paintballing. Despite initially and extremely accidentally leaving two-time northerner of the year award winner Aidan Taylor behind, the team enjoyed a great day out where even the crisp, handnumbing weather couldn’t cause descent amongst the ranks as the team stuck across various games. With Christmas fast approaching it was off to our sponsor, The Foresters’ Arms, for our annual Christmas meal and internal award ceremony. Murray Maynard took home the prestigious Players’ Player of the year award; Reimi Kawato won the Committee’s choice whilst fresher’s Charlotte Smith and Alex Reilly won Fresher of the year and President’s Choice awards respectively. The first weekend of March meant one thing and one thing only: the club’s annual trip to The AllEngland Badminton Championships. This was a great weekend as the players got to relax and watch some top quality badminton as well as get photographs taken with the top stars. Next up: Colours Ball. After a difficult season for her team as a whole, women’s team captain, Harriet Mortimer was awarded half colours after an incredible 9 wins from twelve matches. President, Dan Thorne, was awarded a Crest Award to acknowledge his immense contribution to the club over the last three years which saw him go from social player to treasurer to president year by year! Finally, it was time for elections to decide next year’s committee members. After having to answer further questions following an initial tie, Laura Robyn beat first year Alex Reilly to the role of President and would go on to be voted in as Treasurer and second team captain. Hannah McCarthy will be the secretary of the club next year with Harriet Mortimer retaining her role as women’s team captain. Murray Maynard and Huw Vicary were voted in as men’s first team and mixed team captains respectively. With a high percentage of the team graduating this year the new captains have a tough task on their hands recruiting enough high quality players to start next season stronger than the one just gone, so get down to the Freshers Sports Fair come next term! Alex Reilly-Cooper
SPORTS & SOCIETIES
SPORTING HISTORY: MUHAMMAD ALI “The Greatest of all Time” Ali Whether it be the Ancient Greeks and the Olympics, the Romans and the coliseum, Kamakura Japan and sumo wrestling, medieval jousting or football and the ‘hooligans’ in the terraces, sport has had a key role to play in how society has developed. From the roles it plays in the economy, politics and media coverage and more, sport has always had an impact on day to day life. This new recurring feature will look at different sporting events or sporting figures that helped shape their sport for the better, or the worse in some cases. So, where, or who, else would be better to start off with than “The Greatest of All Time,” Muhammad Ali? More specifically, his first title defence against Sonny Liston. The fight dubbed ‘First Round, First Minute’ was the eagerly anticipated rematch of their bout almost fifteen months earlier. Both fights will go down as two of the most eagerly awaited match-ups in boxing history with the second going down as one of the most controversial too! On May 25, 1965 Sonny Liston would look to avenge his sixth round defeat to the young champion. Or would he? The fight was originally scheduled to take place six months earlier but a training injury to Ali pushed it back. Many feared that Liston would not be able to peak physically again due to the delay. It could be argued that Liston knew this himself as he was knocked out by the nowfamous ‘Phantom Punch’ 114 seconds into the fight - ‘Phantom’ because even to this day no one is truly sure whether the punch, which Ali would go on to call the ‘Anchor Punch,’ connected with Liston or whether he took a dive. Even Ali, the man who threw the decisive punch, wasn’t utterly convinced at the time as he stood over the fallen challenger shouting “Get up and fight,
sucker!” A clear indication he felt he didn’t truly connect! He even refused to go to a neutral corner, delaying the referee’s mandatory ten-count when a boxer hits the canvas. After twenty seconds of confusion, the referee called for the bell, declaring Ali the winner by TKO. Even though his first title defence was marred in controversy and conspiracy theories, the youngest man to win the title at the time would go on to dominate the heavyweight division for years to come. During his Hall of Fame career, the threetime Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World also had fights with Henry Cooper, George Forman and a classic trilogy of bouts with Joe Frazier which culminated with the slobber-knocker aptly named ‘Thrilla in Manila,’ all of which also had a great impact on the boxing world. Without the man who “floated like a butterfly, stings like a bee” and “was so fast, that when he turned the light off at night he was back in bed before the lights went out” successfully defending his title at the first attempt, regardless of the circumstances, would “Iron Mike” Mike Tyson have been inspired to go on and break Ali’s record for youngest ever World Champion? Would Lennox Lewis have wanted to emulate
“The Greatest” and similarly dominate the boxing world throughout the 1990s and early 2000s? The list goes on, and will forever go on, as thanks to Ali and the career success he managed to sustain right until the very end of his illustrious career there will forever be young athletes who want to go on and try to be as good as he was. Ali wasn’t just known as being a great fighter. In 1999 he was named “Sportsman of the Century” by Sports Illustrated and “Sports Personality of the Century” by the BBC. This was recognition of his charisma, swagger and larger than life personality he portrayed inside the ring and out. Sadly, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1984, aged 42. Never the defeatist, the former Olympic Champion, (Gold Medal at the 1960 Rome games in boxing), was an official torch bearer for the 1996 Atlanta games. To this day Ali, aged 71, remains upbeat about his fight with Parkinson’s. A true characteristic of a champion is that he never gives up on a fight, and whether it was in a boxing ring or in his fight against Parkinson’s disease, Muhammad Ali is without doubt a champion through and through. Alex Reilly-Cooper
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Volunteering Week 2013 4, 5 & 6 June
Get Involved! students in action, serving the community
sign up with your availability at: royalholloway.ac.uk/volunteering
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