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December 2014
EXAMPLE EXCLUSIVE: SOMETIMES, IT PAYS TO MEET AND GREET ME Fuss over nothing: Prof Nigel Piercy says there are a lot of untruths being circulated
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1,000 AND COUNTING VS THE ONE ...but under-fire professor shrugs off student petition CHERYL BERRY THE outspoken dean of Swansea University’s troubled school of management has brushed off the latest calls by students for action. Prof Nigel Piercy waved aside their petition which garnered 600 signatures in a day and more than a 1,000 in a week. SU of�icers say they are receiving up to 20 student complaints a day about the school and how it is being run. It follows damaging – although subsequently
unproven – claims the school had manipulated results in an attempt to climb the performance league tables. Ilana Cohen, a Swansea University graduate and the SU’s education of�icer, said: ‘I have been overrun with students and staff coming to me over the negative publicity surrounding the School. ‘Current students were dissatis�ied with their education and ex-students were coming to me saying the negative publicity had led to them having prob-
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lems gaining employment. ‘When I brought up these issues surrounding management with the university, I felt I was being ignored.’ She organised the petition calling for action to be taken to address concerns.’ But Prof Piercy said: ‘Some of you will be aware that the school has been subject to some negative publicity recently in the form of an online petition and articles in the student newspaper. ‘I think our students
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December 2014
University experts called in to uncover the root cause of Bili’s problem
I’m a bit down in the mouth IAN LIGHT POOR Bili the chimp was feeling very down in the mouth, only no one could see why. The former circus chimp, thought to be aged about 33, had suffered with a painful swollen jaw for months. Staff at the Wales Ape and Monkey Sanctuary feared he could have a tumour so Swansea University’s College
Catch a great of German movies ACCLAIMED German film-maker Andreas Dresen is to present two of his films and discuss his life and work with students in Swansea. He is visiting the university as the first ever filmmaker in residence at the Centre for Contemporary German Culture. ‘I am pleased the visit can now finally go ahead, especially as it is 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. What a great coincidence,’ he said. His film, Summer In Berlin, will be shown at the Taliesin Cinema at 2pm on November 26 and Andreas will be in conversation from 7pm in SURF room, Fulton House.
of Medicine was called in to help. Using specialist imaging equipment, they found a thickening in Bili’s jaw, most likely from an abscess on his wisdom tooth. He didn’t need surgery, just a course of antibiotics to perk him up again. Dr Rhodri M Evans, from the College of Medicine, said: ‘It was a unique humanitarian opportunity
for our staff. We hope he gets better and can enjoy the rest of his retirement.’ The sanctuary’s Graham Garen said: ‘Thank goodness there is a facility locally in Wales that could help Bili.’
Archives win history ‘Oscar’ SWANSEA University’s Richard Burton Archives has been awarded an ‘Oscar’ for its historical signi�icance. It became the �irst university in Britain to achieve an archive service accreditation earlier this year and the award was celebrated at the House of Commons. Accreditation is the standard for archive services. It de�ines good practice and identi�ies agreed standards within the archive sector. The Burton archives have over 1.3km of documents, kept in secure and temperaturecontrolled conditions. As
Feeling better: Keepers thought Bili had a tumour
well as housing some of the Hollywood legend’s diaries, the archive is home to documents, deeds, pictures and records of life in Wales over more than a century. Elisabeth Bennett, Swansea University archivist, said: ‘We are very proud to be the �irst archive service in Wales, and the �irst university service in the UK, to achieve the Accreditation. ‘We are �inding that the concept of accreditation is widely valued and it has signi�icantly raised our pro�ile within Swansea University and outside.’
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December 2014
December 2014
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what’sON
music November 25: THE ORDINARY BOYS, Bodega, tickets £10 November 26: KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD, Bodega, tickets £5 November 27: HUSKIES, Bodega, tickets £4 November 28: THE HEARTBREAKS, Bodega, tickets £8
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November 28: GUNS N ROSES EXPERIENCE, Rock City, tickets £10 November 28 & 29: KASABIAN, Capital FM Arena, tickets £33-£105 November 29: DEAD!, Rock City, tickets £3 December 1: MASTODON, Rock City, tickets £22.50 December 2: ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN, Rock City, tickets £26.50 December 2: WAR OF THE WORLDS, Capital FM Arena, tickets £48-£125 December 3: ALFIE BOE, Capital FM Arena, tickets £28£105 December 3: PROFESSOR GREEN, Rock City, £18.50
Versatility is the key as Bandits raid Rock City Clean Bandit: Rock City
HOUSE, pop, r’n’b, electronic, drum ‘n’ bass … and classical. Clean Bandit’s chart-topping rise has covered them all. Having supported Disclosure at Rescue Rooms last March playing to a smaller crowd, a year later the Cambridge graduates are welcomed by deafening cheers upon their sold-out Rock City show. Live, they are six-membersstrong, with no lead singer. December 4: MADNESS, Capital FM Arena, tickets £39£100 December 4: 3 DAFT MONKEYS, Bodega, £10 December 5: BIG SIXES, Bodega, tickets £6 December 5: THE WHO,
Mixed bag: Clean Bandit started as a classical quartet but now blend pop, electronic and drum ‘n’ bass Instead, along with Jack (bass guitar and keyboards), Luke (drums), Grace (cello) and Milan (violin), they are joined by guest vocalists. Elisabeth Troy, who despite a major name-check failure (‘what’s up Norwich?’), shines in an energetic rendition of Heart On Fire and a livelier reggae-influenced Mozart’s House (which includes a section of Wolfgang Amadeus’s String
Capital FM Arena, tickets £67£80 December 5: ’68, Rock City, tickets £9 December 6: FELL OUT BOY, Rock City, tickets £7 December 6: CULTURE CLUB, Capital FM Arena, tickets £43-£99
Quartet No. 21, although that wasn’t common knowledge among the teenage crowd). Real Love is the first of two new songs and their second golddust collaboration with popstar-in-waiting Jess Glynne. A lung-emptying, euphoric two-song encore featured a modern take on Robin S’s house classic Show Me Love and Rather Be, the feelgood
December 8: PEOPLE ON VACATION, Bodega, £12-£32 December 9: JACK GARRATT, Bodega, tickets £5 December 9: DIVERSTIY, Capital FM Arena, tickets £28-£40 December 10: ANDRE RIEU, Capital FM Arena, tickets £44-£144
festival song of the summer. Support act Years And Years, who play the Bodega in February, and feature on countless onesto-watch lists, impressed with tropical synth-led pop-house throughout new single Desire, piano-led Eyes Shut and Real, which charismatic frontman Olly Alexander reveals is, ‘a song about when I got dumped’. Ben Jolley
December 10: SAXON, Rock City, tickets £26 December 11: STATUS QUO, Capital FM Arena, tickets £44 December 12: BY THE RIVERS, Bodega, tickets £7 December 13: NEW MODEL ARMY, Rock City, tickets £21
December 14: GOGOL BORDELLO, Rock City, tickets £19.50 December 19: FROM THE JAM, Rock City, tickets £20
December 20: LACEY, Rock City, tickets £6-£12
Back marking boycott, union urges students DECEMBER 2014
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IAN LIGHT STUDENTS are backing their lecturers in a marking boycott as a dispute over pensions escalates even though it threatens their studies. The executive committee of the Students’ Union is urging all members to lobby the vice-chancellor of Swansea University to use his position to bring a swift end to the action. Student union president Ceinwen Cloney said changes to the lecturers’ pension would cost ‘current and future members thousands of pounds in lost bene�its’. She added that it would ‘cause problems in recruiting and retaining the best staff’
Plea: Ceinwen Cloney PICTURE: SU
and ‘put off potential future staff from entering into the profession’. Members of the University and College Union nationally have voted to stop marking assessments, or coursework, until the row over changes to pensions is settled. Other universities have
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threatened to dock staff taking part in the action up to 25 per cent of their pay – based on the estimated amount of time they spend on marking – citing breach of contract. The SU has produced a standard letter to send to Prof Richard Davies which says: ‘Please make a public statement that you will call on Universities UK to resolve this dispute before my studies and those of thousands of other students are further disrupted.’ ‘As a your students’ union, we implore you to take direct action to end the industrial action as soon as possible by writing to the vice-chancellor of the university,’ the union said in a statement.
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STATESIDE: Students from Swansea University share a drink with Texan counterparts during a visit to the Lone Star state. Theatre students from Texas A&M, left, performed excerpts from DJ Britton’s radio play Chelsea Dreaming as part of the visit. The two universities are building close ties and future research collaborations will include ageing and Alzheimer’s.
contactLIST Email us at swanseaeditor@unipaper.co.uk EDITOR: CHERYL BERRY For all editorial enquires please contact: swanseaeditor@unipaper.co.uk For all advertising enquires please call: 020 7580 6419
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inBRIEF
Piercy ‘needs to stop the sarcasm’
December 2014
‘Show off’ driver jailed for student death crash JOE CHARPENTIER
from p1 are too smart to believe everything they read online or in student newspapers. There is a considerable amount of misinformation, maliciousness and untruth in some of what has been circulated.’ But students remain concerned. ‘I feel there is a lack of confidence and students do not feel reassured on what is being done to reverse the damaged image,’ said one third year accountancy student. And a second year business student said he was worried the bad publicity could affect his job prospects. ‘Professor Piercy needs to make a public apology to the students, staff, to the entire university really, and stop making sarcastic remarks,’ he added.
A TALENTED young artist was killed in a car crash after the reckless driver was showing off doing 70mph in a 20mph zone. Chinese student Yuan Meng Qu had only been in Swansea for a couple of days when the car she was in smashed into two parked cars. The driver, her friend Kin Chung Lau, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and was jailed for four-and-a-half years. Swansea crown court heard 21-year-old Miss Qu, known as Mavis and Meng Meng to her family to her family, was visiting South Wales with her mother, Hong, who was not involved in the crash. His Honour Keith Thomas said he was satisfied the main cause of the crash had been Lau’s ‘greatly excessive speed’. He said it was ‘impossible to resist the suggestion that the
Speed: Kin Chung Lau PICTURE: SOUTH WALES POLICE
speed represented your desire to show off to your female companion’. He added: ‘Human life cannot be restored, nor can its loss be measured by the length of a prison sentence. ‘No term of months or years imposed on an offender can reconcile a family to their loss nor will it cure their anguish.’ Meng Meng had been studying since 2010 at the University of Arts in London. She and her mother had been exploring Gower and the Mumbles prior to meeting student
Lau. Meng Meng was an only child. Lau, from Swansea Marina, crashed the car in the city’s SA1 development in April. He was banned from driving for five years. Sgt Gethin Hewer said the ordeal was a nightmare for the Qu family, particularly for her mother, on her first visit her and unable to speak English. ‘This was a horrific loss for the Qu family,’ he said. At the time of her death, her father, prominent Chinese businessman, Ji Bin Qu, said: ‘She was such an independent girl – not many 16-year-olds would travel to another province alone, then at 18 she travelled to the UK to begin her degree. ‘She was such a determined girl. She won many educational awards during her young life including being the sole female student to be awarded the National School of China informatics gold medal. Quite simply she was a brilliant student.’
They came seeking truth FOUR lecturers and five students from Norway’s Volda University visited the University of Wales Trinity Saint David seeking the truth. They are taking part in the Playful Truth Approach Masters programme looking at how we perceive and experience truth in society. They took part in three days’ of debate.
Parking patrols for 15hr a day TRAFFIC wardens will be on patrol for 15 hours a day to tackle illegal parking in Swansea’s residential areas. Enforcement officers will operate between 7am and 10pm. One student said: ‘I live in Brynmil and parking is a nightmare, I have to drive around in two or three times before we can find anywhere to park.’ Cheryl Berry
Promising artist: Yuan Meng ‘Mavis’ Qu
PICTURE: FACEBOOK
£150 health fee ‘is unfair’ STUDENTS have spoken out against plans to introduce a £150 surcharge on foreigners who use the NHS. From next year, all foreign students will have to pay the fee as part of their visa application to study here. British-born student Sarah Roberts said she agreed visitors should not expect free treatment on the NHS. But she added: ‘I feel that the surcharge is also unfair. If international students are going to be made to pay for their health care, it should be on a pay-as-you-use system,
otherwise some people may be paying towards a service they never receive.’ And, Paola Blanca, an international student currently staying in Swansea, said: ‘I understand why the government feel the need to charge internationals for the use of the NHS, afterall my parents haven’t contributed to British taxes at all. But an additional £150 per year would have definitely affected my choice to come to university here, I probably would have looked elsewhere.’ Haley Charpentier
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December 2014
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Gory special effects that save lives on the battlefield
Gruesome lifesaver: A computer simulation of a battlefield blast wound which Prof Pallister used to develop his teaching aid
IAN LIGHT HOLLYWOOD war movies seem to delight in showing mangled limbs pumping blood across the screen. But what if military doctors had access to such special effects technology to hone their battlefield surg ical techniques? Swansea University professor Ian Pallister has enlisted the help of a company which has worked on movie SFX to develop a full-scale model of the lower human body with most of one leg blown off. It’s so realistic it pumps out coloured water mimicking arterial blood and allows blood pressure to be monitored. Prof Pallister said: ‘We created 3D printed copies of the muscle groups, bones etc, so they could then be cast in custom-made silicon, which reproduces the physical properties of human tissue,’
he said. ‘The bones were made of resin, while incorporated within the model is simulated circulation which accurately reproduces arterial bleeding requiring emergency surgical control.’ The 3D printing was done by the National Centre for Product Design and Development Research at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Bridgend-based MBI (Wales) Limited, which makes prosthetic jaws and does special effects work for the film industry, helped create the model. ‘The need to control simulated bleeding in the presence of such realistic injuries, while operating on tissues which feel so lifelike, brings a dimension to training which has never been possible before,’ added the Morriston Hospital consultant. The simulator was demonstrated at the Nato summit in Wales.
Surgical control: Prof Ian Pallister at work
inBRIEF
Disability research in line for award AN examination of how disabled people were treated 350 years ago has been shortlisted for research project of the year. Prof David Turner, of Swansea University, looked at the ways in which physical impairment was defined, understood and discussed in England between 1660 and 1830. His work has now been recognised in the Times Higher Education awards. The university itself has also been shortlisted in three categories: university of the year, employer engagement, and excellence and innovation in the arts. Prof Hilary Lappin-Scott, pro vice-chancellor, said: ‘These accolades are a recognisable measure of our performance and reputation.’
More than one gay in this uni SWANSEA is in the top 20 most gay-friendly universities in Britain. Stonewall’s Gay-ByDegree guide gave the university nine out of ten. The SU holds two elected LGBT+ officer positions and events such as LGBT History Month and Bi Visibility Day, among others to ensure awareness and positivity around the issue. Ksenia Bramley
Three minutes to reveal all... COULD you explain why men have nipples? If you can make it all perfectly clear in three minutes then the FameLab wants to hear from you. Swansea’s heat of a competition, backed by Swansea University, to find the best communicators in science and technology will be held at the Dylan Thomas Centre on January 28.
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3,900 hours of charity work earn top honour CHERYL BERRY
much of their free time to help others. ‘Discovery is an inspiring organisation that seems to motivate all those who invest in it,’ she said. ‘I have especially enjoyed working with students from Swansea University over the past 20 years, building on their ideas and enthusiasm as they donate their free time to benefit disadvantaged people here in Swansea and – over the past four years – village women and children living in poverty in Siavonga, in Zambia,’ she added. The Discovery charity was established in 1966 and volunteers work across 25 projects serving older people, children and adults with disabilities, the homeless, people with mental health issues including dementia and refugees and asylumseekers. They also take part in prac-
A STUDENT group at Swansea University has received the highest prize that can be given to a charity – the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. The Discovery Student Volunteer Group last year recorded more than 3,900 hours of volunteer time, helping about 2,000 people in and around the city. The group has also won the Swansea Bay Awards for Businesses Supporting Volunteering and the Chwarae Teg Agile Nation quality mark recognising outstanding approach to equal opportunities. Group manager Christine Watson, who became an MBE this year for her services to student volunteering, said the awards were a recognition of the hard work and determination of the 300 or so students who gave up so
Inspiring: Members of the Discovery volunteer group with manager Christine Watson tical environmental projects such as gardening and decorating, running a food co-op and cleaning up the beach.
Dylan’s sound studio is given new lease of life A SOUND studio steeped in the rich history of Welsh literature has been given a new lease of life. The original BBC Alexandra Road studio in Swansea – from where Dylan Thomas broadcast many of his readings – has hosted a large-scale orchestral recording. It was the culmination of an initiative between the the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, the Welsh government and Sinffonica Wales and saw a philharmonic orchestra made up of
Welsh musicians perform and record the score for the new film adaptation of Thomas’ most famous work, Under Milk Wood. It is hoped the studio will be able to compete with the likes of Abbey Road for recording contracts. Prof Medwin Hughes, vice-chancellor of the university, said: ‘The university’s recording studio in Alexandra Road has potential to be the best in the UK.’ Meanwhile, as Swansea celebrates the centenary of Thomas’s birth, 11
UWTSD students were given placements on Set Fire To The Stars, a biopic about the poet starring Elijah Wood. They were involved in roles from filming to set design. Foundation art and design student Louise Sullivan said: ‘It introduced me to how professional filming is carried out.’ In New York, actor Martin Sheen honoured the poet by reading a previously unpublished poem from a new collection compiled by Swansea University’s Prof John Goodby.
Discovery also has a summer programme in Zambia, the Swansea-Siavonga Partnership, during which students
and professionals from both places work together to improve education and health and tackle poverty.
December 2014
The one that got away was big WE’VE all heard the angler’s tall tales of the one that got away… But fishermen from prehostoric times would have been telling the truth about their catch as most of them really were whoppers. Research led by Swansea University professor Carlos Garcia de Leaniz compared the backbones of 30 Atlantic salmon and brown trout specimens unearthed at ten prehistoric sites in northern Spain, with their living descendants. It showed the size of the fish caught by upper palaeolithic anglers were much larger than today’s fish and decreased rapidly from 12,000 years to about 6,000 years ago.
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Business links reap rewards
Big night: Prof Iwan Davies
SWANSEA University has been named university of the year in recognition of the work it does in building longterm business relationships. It also won the best partnership gong at the Insider Business and Education Partnership awards ceremony at Cardiff’s City Hall. Prof Iwan Davies, pro vice-chancellor, said: ‘These partnerships are founded on trust, bilateral information exchange, and sharing facilities and strengths.’ He added the £450million programme of campus development and expansion would further strengthen ties with industry.
IF SO THE UNIVERSITY PAPER WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU. We are scouring the UK for student journalists, so whether you are looking for work experience or simply spending too much time in the SU, get in touch today. We are on the look out for opinion leaders and change makers who can write engaging copy. Your pieces will be printed in The University Paper which is read by thousands of students across the UK and you will get that all important byline - perfect if you are looking to build a portfolio. Not to mention that age old adage, it will look great on the CV. So if you would like to be an influential voice for the student community or just have a strong front page tell us what is going on - pitch your ideas to The University Paper, email: editor@unipaper.co.uk
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December 2014
I can’t kick my stationery habit LUCY ROBINSON MY NAME is Lucy and I am addicted to stationery. I’m now in my third year at university and I’m realising that I have a strange obsession with stationary. I, like many journalism students, enjoy a good notebook, a sturdy folder, some vibrant highlighters, and some smooth pens to get me through a year of academic chaos. But every now and then, I have this undeniableurgetofillmygiant bedside trunk with more pens and stacks of paper to last any student at least two lifetimes. Looking in this trunk on a semi-regular basis makes me realise how nobody really needs 150 black biros or three unopened sharpies even if they
Highlights: You can never have enough Sharpies
PICTURE: CASS ART
were on offer or come in handy for Bar Crawl T-shirts. I think it stems from somewhere down the line, I realised that a student can never have too many pens or highlighters (except for when you realise you have more highlighters than textbooks) and this stemmed back to the beginning
of it all – primary school. We all remember the glory days of bringing a new set of felt-tip pens into a new year in September, thrusting you into the height of popularity. Getting a new pencil case that could fit a rainbow of colouring pencils, a pen for every day of the week, a ruler, rubber and sharpener, was the most important thing to get during shopping trips. Personally, I don’t think there is a cure for this stationery addiction that I have – it’s unnecessary but something we’ve all gone through once. Especially when you return home from Wilkinsons or W H Smith with a familiar looking notepad, to realise the reason it is so familiar is because you already have four.
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talkingPOINTS BAD LADS: I am in my fourth year and I have seen and, unfortunately, been a part of, this lad culture that engulfs university life. I have witnessed the excessive drinking sports societies enforce on each other and the initiations which involve rituals such as drinking each other’s urine. I have seen my friends hold competitions to see how many women they can pull in one night, witnessing one of them grab girls as if they were items on a shelf Ross Darragh
ALWAYS THERE FOR ME: Despite ending ten years ago, Friends is something people can watch over and over again, reciting favourite lines and crying at the on-off romance of Ross and Rachel. How is it that a simple TV show can still bring such raw emotions out of you when everyone knows the ending anyway? This has to be the greatest skill a TV series has, to draw you into the characters’ lives and cause you to forget that you don’t know the group personally. You genuinely feel like they are your friends and you are theirs. It is simply known as one of the greatest shows of all time Daisy Vickers
AIM HIGH: A first – so unattainable that many students don’t even consider aiming for it. Instead, many have decided, a 2:1 will suffice. A 2.1 is a great achievement but that is no reason to stop yourself aiming higher. University comes with a hefty price tag. Why not make the most of your £9,000? One way of doing this is swapping the occasional back-to-back Friends marathon for an extra hour in the library. Boring... but necessary? Jessica Bott
POWER OFF, PLEASE: PowerPoint tends to trap lectures on a strict pathway. Lecturers will follow their dozens of slides, and rarely stray from them. They are stripped of their teaching freedom and resort to reading the information off the board, forgetting that their students can read perfectly. Should students just accept these lectures? Their investment of nine thousand pounds a year seems rather steep for just PowerPoint slides. Even going back to basics with a whiteboard and marker would give more learning satisfaction Claire Douthwaite
LUNCHBOX STIGMA: You, as students, have total control over your dinner. You can eat whatever you want! You feel like jam and cornflake sandwiches? Sure! Have 20 of them! The lunchbox is your oyster. There is one problem, however, the social stigma. It is well known that making sandwiches at home, wrapping them and taking them to campus in a Tupperware container is cheaper than buying an overpriced meal deal at the local supermarket. It is healthier and gives you greater control over what goes into your body while you’re out of the house. Yet, there is still a certain sense of uncoolness about munching on homemade sandwiches! Benjamin Philpott
MO THANKS: Most guys in Movember look like they’ve acquired a new furry friend on their upper lip when they grow a moustache. If this is you, in all honesty, you probably shouldn’t grow one. If you do, it’s important to keep it under control; just because you can’t shave it, doesn’t mean you can’t trim it. You can take part without looking like you’ve been on a week-long drinking binge Kelly Smith
You can read fuller versions of these pieces at www.unipaper.co.uk/comment. Then, let us know what you think; email us at comment@unipaper.co.uk
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December 2014
theINTERVIEW: Example
Cashing in? Never, I’m setting an Example
Thinking of the future: Fatherto-be Example
‘I
THINK every artist has the duty to use their talents and following to raise money for charities.’ Singer-songwriter Example is on a roll, once again taking aim at some of his moneygrabbing peers. ‘I was quite outspoken in an interview last year about artists who keep meet and greet money for themselves and how I didn’t think it was the right thing to do,’ he says. ‘I am always happy to sign memorabilia for a fan or have a photo taken when I am out and about touring the country. ‘Not everyone has to give their
Rapper Example tells DANIEL ROBBINS why he doesn’t feel bad charging some people to meet him, how acting could be the next step in his career and what makes Plymouth so special... money away from paid meet and greets and it is not for me to tell them what to do. I just think the whole idea of charging someone to meet you is ridiculous.’ Currently on tour celebrating his �ifth album, the 32-year-old – real name Elliot Gleave – is using his meet and greets to bene�it the Teenage Cancer Trust, a charity where he has been an ambassador for many years. ‘I will always endeavour to meet fans outside the venue
INSIDE: What’s on listings P10-13
but if others want to pay for the ‘‘privilege’’ of meeting me then my perogative is to give that money to charity,’ he says. ‘It is half-an-hour out of my day and if I pass the money on, then it is going to a good cause, with this tour alone set to raise £40,000.’ He is in the middle of one of his biggest British tours - while his wife, Aussie model Erin McNaught, is on the other side of the world, pregnant with their �irst child. But the gigs are keeping
him focused. ‘Stoke was amazing to start the tour on the �irst night, Leeds followed up on that but Plymouth has probably been one of the best gigs for a long time,’ says the Londoner. ‘Some gigs take three or four songs to get going, or it might not even be until the last song of the set. In Plymouth, they were massively up for it from the start.’ With a baby on the way, a sixth album in the pipeline, a tour to �inish, you would expect Example to barely have time to breathe. Yet, he has already begun to think about what could lie beyond music. ‘Someone backed me into a
Ghetts grows up P14
corner last year and I mentioned I wouldn’t mind directing or even acting in a few movies,’ he reveals. ‘I studied �ilm at Royal Holloway when I was at university. ‘My �irst acting role came in a recent independent �ilm and could be something I go on to do. As for whether I do ten albums or whether it is just a couple more, I don’t know at the moment.’ So what of his immediate plans with the baby on the way? ‘I will head back Down Under for four months to spend time with the family before heading out on tour there in March,’ he says. ‘We can’t wait to start a family.’
Gorgon ready to roar P15
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what’sON clubbing November 24: AFTER DARK, Bambu, Revolution and Fiction, November 24: MONDAY CLUB, Ice Bar, November 24: BOMBTASTIC MONDAYS, Yates’s, Tickets £ November 24, Monday Ting, Kon Tiki, Tickets FREE November 25: TIGHT TUESDAYS, Diva’s, November 26: PLAY ON, Monkey, Snow Lodge, Peppermint, Idols and Fiction November 26: COCO BAR WEDNESDAY, Coco Bar, November 26: WEDNESDAY CLUB, Ice, November 26: QUIDS IN, Yates’s November 26: WHAT HAPPENS IN POPWORLD, Popworld November 27: SIN SAVERS, Sin City, Tickets £3 November 27: KARAOKE, Yates’s November 28: MONSTERS OF ROCK, Sin City, Tickets £2
November 29: SATURDAY SAVERS, Oxygen, Tickets £5
December 15: MONDAY TING, Kon Tiki, Tickets FREE
December 1: AFTER DARK, Bambu, Revolution and Fiction
December 15: BOMBTASTIC MONDAYS, Yates’s
December 1: MONDAY CLUB, Ice Bar
December 16: TIGHT TUESDAYS, Diva’s
December 1: BOMBTASTIC MONDAYS, Yates’s
December 17: : PLAY ON, Monkey, Snow Lodge, Peppermint, Idols and Fiction,
December 1: MONDAY TING, Kon Tiki, Tickets FREE
December 17: COCO BAR WEDNESDAY, Coco Bar,
December 2: TIGHT TUESDAYS, Diva’s
December 17: WEDNESDAY CLUB, Ice
December 3: PLAY ON, Monkey, Snow Lodge, Peppermint, Idols and Fiction,
December 17: QUIDS IN, Yates’s
December 3: COCO BAR WEDNESDAY, Coco Bar, December 3: WEDNESDAY CLUB, Ice December 3: QUIDS IN, Yates’s December 3: WHAT HAPPENS IN POPWORLD, Popworld December 4: SIN SAVERS, Sin City, Tickets £3 December 4: KARAOKE, Yates’s December 5: MONSTERS OF ROCK, Sin City, Tickets £2 December 5: TOOTERS, Diva’s
November 28: TOOTERS, Diva’s
December 6: SINK, Sin City, Tickets £5
November 29: RISE, Sin City, Tickets £8
December 6: SATURDAY SAVERS, Oxygen, Tickets £5
Out of the shadows: It won’t be a light and cheery evening as anarchism, conspiracy theories, gun crime and unity against oppression are likely to be on the agenda when rap metal outfit Hacktivist play at Sin City, Swansea, on November 26.
December 17: WHAT HAPPENS IN POPWORLD, Popworld December 18: SIN SAVERS, Sin City, Tickets £3 December 18: KARAOKE, Yates’s
December 8: AFTER DARK, Bambu, Revolution and Fiction,
December 10: COCO BAR WEDNESDAY, Coco Bar
December 12: MONSTERS OF ROCK, Sin City, Tickets £2
December 8: MONDAY CLUB, Ice Bar
December 10: WEDNESDAY CLUB, Ice
December 12: TOOTERS, Diva’s
December 8: BOMBTASTIC MONDAYS, Yates’s, Tickets £
December 10: QUIDS IN, Yates’s
December 8: MONDAY TING, Kon Tiki
December 10: WHAT HAPPENS IN POPWORLD, Popworld
December 13: SINK, Sin City, Tickets £5
December 20: SINK, Sin City, Tickets £15
December 13: SATURDAY SAVERS, Oxygen, Tickets £5
December 20: SATURDAY SAVERS, Oxygen, Tickets £5
December11: SIN SAVERS, Sin City, Tickets £3
December 15: AFTER DARK, Bambu, Revolution and Fiction
December 22: MONDAY CLUB, Ice Bar
December 11: KARAOKE, Yates’s
December 15: MONDAY CLUB, Ice Bar
December 22: BOMBTASTIC MONDAYS, Yates’s
December 9: TIGHT TUESDAYS, Diva’s, Tickets £ December 10: PLAY ON, Monkey, Snow Lodge, Peppermint, Idols and Fiction
December 19: MONSTERS OF ROCK, Sin City, Tickets £2 December 19: TOOTERS, Diva’s
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November 26: HACKTIVIST, Sin City, Tickets £9.90 November 28: FUNKTION TEK, Static, Tickets £3 November 28: MONSTERS ON A LEASH, Swansea Jazzland, Tickets £13 November 28: OASIS V THE STONE ROSES, Sin City, Tickets £10 November 28: HAILEY TUCK, Taliesin Arts Centre, Tickets £12 November 29: METALLICA RELAOD, The Scene Club, Tickets £5 November 29: POWER SLAVES, Static, Tickets FREE November 29: FRED V & GRAFIX, Sin City, Tickets £6 December 1: BANNED FROM UTOPIA, The Scene Club, Tickets £TBC December 2: BABY GODZILLA, Static, Tickets £TBC December 3: HOT CLUB GALLOIS, Swansea Jazzland, Tickets £10 December 4: RICHARD AND ADAM CHRISTMAS, Princess Royal Theatre, Port Talbot, Tickets £18 December 4: BAY CITY ROLLERS, Swansea Grand Theatre, tickets from £18 December 5: SUPREME QUEEN, Swansea Grand Theatre, Tickets £18.50 December 6: RIA’S BACK, Swansea Grand Theatre, Tickets £17.50 December 13: MICKYS ANNUAL JAM, The Garage,
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Our comprehensive guide to entertainment in Swansea If you have an event which you would like included please email us at whatson@unipaper.co.uk
Somebody you should go and see
Sticking at it: Richie Ramone played 500 gigs wth The Ramones
SOME drummers like to sing and, well, let’s be honest, it never really works. Think Ringo Starr and Phil Collins. But Richie Ramone is something of an exception. He was, of course, the man with the sticks playing with the godfathers of punk and new wave, The Ramones. Moreover, he would sometimes sing lead vocals as well as writing the band’s hit Somebody Put Something In My Drink. He left the famously quarrelsome US band in 1987 but is still going strong, perfoming solo and with a number of bands. He’s on the road again taking his Something In My Drink tour around Europe. If you are still around on December 16 head for Static in Swansea where you can catch a little bit of rock ‘n’ roll history in action. Tickets are £10.
47 Uplands Crescent, Swansea, £12.50 December 16: RICHIE RAMONE, Static, £10 December 19: BEATLES FOR SALE, The Scene Club, Tickets £12 December 20: THE DYLAN PROJECT, The Garage,
Uplands, 47 Uplands Crescent, Swansea, £15 December 20: NEVILLE STAPLE, Sin City, £16.50 Deceember 22: BAD MANNERS, The Garage, Uplands, 47 Uplands Crescent, Swansea, £18
Tuck into talented Hailey
Paris, Texan: Hailey is a favourite among French jazz fans
SHE’S a throwback to another era and blessed with a voice that will transport you right back there in a beat. Hailey Tuck is a Texan, living in France, who sings numbers by, among others, Billie Holliday, Miles Davis and Edith Piaf. She comes dressed straight out of an F Scott Fitzgerald novel and promises to return you to his era of smoky nightclubs and late-night parties. Critics are cooing about her and she has already established a firm following on the underground Parisian scene. Catch her at the Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea, on November 28.
Get your event on next months
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December 2014
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December 2014
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what’sON arts
theatre
September 16 to December 23: DYLAN THOMAS MANUSCRIPT EXHIBITION, Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea, Tickets FREE
November 25: THE NUTCRACKER, Swansea Grand Theatre, tickets from £27.50 December 1: OUR LIFE ON ICE, Swansea Grand Theatre, tickets £40.50
December 13: ADULT WORKSHOP: A VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS, YMCA Swansea, 11am, FREE
December 2: THE GREAT BIG GILBERT AND SULLIVAN SHOW, Swansea Grand Theatre, tickets £18
November 25: BLACK KETTLE COLLECTIVE, YMCA Swansea, 5pm, FREE Until December 24: WINTER GROUP EXHIBITION, The Attic, FREE
December 3: CHRISTMAS WITH THE SIREN SISTERS, Swansea Grand Theatre, tickets £11.50
Until January 4: SOUTHERN LINES AND NORTHERN LIGHTS, Mission Gallery, FREE
December 5: SUPREME QUEEN, Swansea Grand Theatre, tickets £18.50
Until December 23: CHRISTMAS SHOW, Ceri Richards Gallery, FREE
December 6: RIA’S BACK, Swansea Grand Theatre, tickets £17.50
comedy
December 12: PANTOMIME: SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, Swansea Grand Theatre, tickets £20.50 December 20: ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND BALLET, Taliesin Arts Centre, tickets £13 December 20: BURLESQUE, Swansea Grand Theatre, £12.50
November 26: COMEDY CLUB, Swansea Grand Theatre, tickets £11
IT is a surreal story which has charmed generations of children. Now, you can follow Alice down the rabbit hole in a contemporary version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Lewis Carroll’s classic has been transformed by Christoper Wheeldon into a full-length ballet with music by Joby Talbot. The performance will be live screened all the way from London’s Royal Opera House to the Taliesin Arts Centre in Swansea on December 20; tickets are £13
December 9: JIMMY CARR, Princess Royal Theatre, Port Talbot, tickets, £25 December 20: JASON MANFORD, Princess Royal Theatre, Port Talbot, tickets £26.65
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December 2014 Our comprehensive guide to entertainment in Swansea . If you have an event which you would like included please email us at whatson@unipaper.co.uk
The perfect place to pick up a pressie A
RE you stuck for a present idea this Christmas for that impossible-to-buy-for auntie? Or perhaps you want to replace those tired pound shop decorations and baubles you’ve had slung round your sudent flat with something a bit more classy? Head down to the Ceri Richards Gallery at the Taliesin Arts Centre in Swansea, where there is something to suit every budget... even the stretched student one ... at its annual Christmas show. It features beautiful craft
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objects, gift ideas and jewellery in a wide variety of styles all made by artists from Swansea and its surrounds. It runs until December 23 and it’s free to browse.
Art for Christmas: Some of the items on show at the Taliesin
Caustic: Jimmy Carr
Prepare to crash into Carr
HIS ascerbic putdowns and edge-ofgood taste approach means a night with Jimmy Carr is not for the faint-hearted. Expect a two-hour onslaught of knowing barbs and controversial quips as the 8 Out Of 10 Cats host arrives at the Princess Royal Theatre, Port Talbot, on December 9.
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December 2014
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theBEAT
The bad boy who grew up G
HETTO has grown up, lost the ‘o’ and left London. The grime star, now going by the stage name Ghetts, may have settled in Surrey and into the pre-school run but is not showing any signs of slowing down. Last month, he was nominated for three Mobos including best male act. He made his breakthrough appearance at the awards at the age of 21, when Grime MC Kano invited him on stage to perform in 2005. Now invited back to perform material from his
debut album, Rebel With A Cause, he said: ‘The Mobos were a milestone in my career. To be given a chance to perform on prime time? That was good. I watched that �irst performance the day before going on and I was laughing because I could see I am very different. It is funny to see how far not giving up has got me.’ Ghetts has been on the scene and working hard for ten years. ‘I am always doing work,’ he said. ‘Every time I am in the studio it feels like I couldn’t live without it, I wouldn’t be
able to give up. I am just meant to be doing this no matter how long it takes me or how hard it is.’ His journey started in East London, Plaistow, with a �ist �ight that resulted in him being stabbed. ‘The stabbing shaped my life,’ he said. ‘I was mischievous but I was a good kid before that. I was 12 going on 13, �irst year of secondary school, I wasn’t aware of gun culture or knife culture. I was a scrapper like any young boy, but when I got stabbed, I changed. I never wanted to
Settling down: Ghetts’ next single, Fire Burning, featuring KOF, is out on November 30 on Disrupt
be a victim again, I wouldn’t open up to anyone and I was always on edge.’ That attitude saw Ghetts spend time in youth offenders’ institutions between the ages of 16 and 19 but being inside was
where he found his voice. Thanks to a music course he began to rap. The rapper, who turned 30 last month, has returned with a bang after taking some time out to look after his two-year-old daughter.
students it’s time to experience more with earn points when you spend in hmv turn those points in to money can’t buy prizes plus get your free music download at hmvdigital.com/students **offer only valid on all products excluding games software, hardware and accessories, gift cards, iTunes cards and digital games cards. The offer can be taken up only once between 14/11/14 and close of business 31/12/14 in all hmv stores in the UK, Isle of Man and Guernsey. This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer and can only be used in a single transaction. Offer cannot be used retrospectively. Promoter: HMV Retail Limited, 7 River Court, Brighouse Business Village, Brighouse Road, Middlesbrough, Cleveland, TS2 1RT. For issues with the offer or redeeming the offer, please resolve with the store manager. All offers are subject to availability, whilst stocks last at participating stores only.
He said: ‘I am going to start work on a new album soon. 2014 has been my best year in music and I want to keep the consistency going and keep putting out music as regularly and learn more.’ Laura Raphael
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theBEAT
December 2014 Love your music? So do we! Tune in here for all the latest interviews, previews and reviews
They’re ready for the big time
Deep house duo Gorgon City talk student DJs, chart success and a new album with MORGAN HINTON
F
ORMED just two years ago and cutting their teeth on the University of Bristol student DJ circuit, North London duo Gorgon City have been the crossover success of 2014. Signed to independent London-based Black Butter Records – the same label which gave us Clean Bandit, Bipolar Sunshine and Kidnap Kid – Kye Gibbon and Matt Robson-Scott have enjoyed a meteoric rise, providing support for the likes of Chase and Status and labelmates Rudimental, as well as remixes for Basement Jaxx. But the boys have tasted success in their own right, with their smash hit Ready For Your Love, released back in January of this
with it �inally out there it feels like people are feeling it. The new record features loads of collaborations; who were you most excited about working with? Maverick Sabre was a big one for us. We’re both massive fans of his. Everyone on there from Yasmin to the American artists like Tish Hyman and Erik Hassle have been amazing. What experiences as a fan listening to music in�luenced the way you approach your live sets? Growing up in and around London, going to drum and bass and garage raves de�initely in�luenced our music and the beats we make. Being young DJs in the UK interested in
year, peaking at No.4 in the singles chart. Following the release of their debut album, Sirens, we caught up with Robson-Scott, to take a look back at this year – and to see what’s next. With so much energy surrounding you right now, how will Sirens maintain the group’s momentum? It feels like people are connecting with it quite well. It’s been a long time coming for us. We started writing this album about a year-and-a-half ago, it’s been a long process and
underground dance music has massively in�luenced how we DJ, how we play live and how we produce our music. How does your approach to producing change from your approach to mixing? Which do you enjoy the most? We really enjoy both as we’ve both been doing it for quite a while now. Although we love DJing in clubs there’s nothing better than getting in the studio, producing a cool tune then playing it out on the weekend to 2,000 people. I couldn’t really choose
‘
There’s nothing better than getting in the studio, producing a cool tune then playing it out on the weekend to 2,000 people
Breakthrough act: Gorgon City enjoyed chart success this year with their song Ready For Your Love either-or, they both kind of go hand in hand. How does your creative relationship with Kye affect the music? We both grew up listening to drum and bass, jungle and garage. That’s the thing we really have in common, a love for that UK underground sound. We’re both really into the energy you get from that type of music. When it comes the house tunes we play out now, I think we’ve both just got a common love for that kind of music. When writing Ready For Your Love did you have a feeling that it would gain the success it did or did it come as a surprise? Once it was �inished, it de�initely felt like something special. We were quite excited about getting it out there. Although we didn’t think it would get as big as it did and get as much love on radio or the charts, it really was a great surprise. You’re just wrapping up your UK tour but will you do anything differently to prepare for your US dates? We did a mini tour this summer. It’s cool; the audiences are really up for it and they’re really into the UK sounds at the moment. It’s such a good time for British music in the States right now, we can’t wait to get back out there.
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hiTECH
www.unipaper.co.uk The latest in everything gadgets and gaming
8 times as much fun Super Smash Bros Nintendo Wii U
IF there’s one thing Nintendo does well, it’s multiplayer fun. In this battle beatem-up you can play as a host of Nintendo’s most famous gaming heroes and villains, including Mario, Link and Donkey Kong, as well as a few icons from outside the universe such as Sonic The Hedgehog and PacMan. Eight players can now do battle at the same time and, as with previous instalments, beginners can button bash their way to victory, while more committed gamers can learn to devastate their rivals with combos. This will be a great party game or one for nights in with housemates. PH
Evolved to kill: The creature from Alien: Isolation is that rare specimen, one which captures the true terror of the original Ridley Scott movie
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Perfectly captured organism Alien: Isolation (Xbox One, PlayStation 4) Rating: 5/5
E
VERY once in a while a game comes along that either changes the gaming landscape or rede�ines a genre. Alien: Isolation is one of those games; survival horror titles were getting a bit predictable but not this. Set in the world of the Xenomorph monster between Ridley Scott’s 1979 �ilm and James Cameron’s 1986 all-action sequel Aliens, you play Amanda Ripley on a mission to �ind out what happened to your mother, Ellen, 15 years after the events of the Alien �ilm. It’s a rare delight when a game can totally immerse you in its world. Alien: Isolation does that. The
attention to the details from the cult sci-�i classic are staggering. There have been lots of Alien games but this is the �irst title that truly captures the essence of the ‘perfect organism’ that is the alien and the terror conveyed in the �irst �ilm. You can’t �ight it, all you can do is hide and if it spots you, then your only option is to run. It will kill you. There are genuine frights, at times unbearable tension and shocks all woven within a movie-quality plot. It’s a de�inite contender for game of the year. Be warned, if you buy it your social life and coursework will suffer. Phil Hamilton
Party: Mario in action
Ideal for a night out Polaroid Cube £89 Rating 4/5
NIGHTS out, clubs, sport, there’s so much to do... and you want to capture these moments. This fun action video camera is perfect for that. Other action cams are over-complicated but Polaroid’s take on it is fun, quirky, a little bit retro. And it’s so simple to use, one button takes HD photos and video. It also claims to be ‘weatherproof’ but I wouldn’t want to spill a pint on it. It has decent battery life and 35GB of storage. At only 35mm high, it’s small enough to go in your pocket, perfect for those nights out, although you may not want to watch the footage the next day! PH
Simple: Polaroid Cube
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December 2014
onSCREEN
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Love a good night at the movies? Or perhaps you need a quiet night in front of the TV? Read on to find out what’s on...
Bilbo back for last battle The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies - out December 12
out soon
B
ILBO Baggins and his company of dwarves return to Middle Earth for the final instalment of The Hobbit trilogy next month. The dwarves might have reclaimed the treasure of Erebor but now they must face Smaug and the Dark Lord. Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson has revealed that the movie, based on the 1937 novel by J R R Tolkien, will culminate in a 45-minute battle scene. And if the spectacular CGI send off wasn’t enough to keep Tolkienists on the edge of their seats, Lord Of The Rings star Billy Boyd will also make a guest appearance for the closing song, The Last Goodbye. The world premiere for the film, starring Martin Freeman, Sir Ian McKellen and Orlando Bloom, will be held in Leicester Square on December 1. Laura Raphael Small role: Martin Freeman returns as Bilbo Baggins for the final instalment of the Hobbit trilogy, out later this month
Are you hungry for more Games time?
tvPICK
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay: Part 1 – out November 20
ONE of the most anticipated films of the year, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, is finally out this month. Katniss Everdeen once again takes up the fight to save the oppressed peoples of Panem. Everdeen - fresh from shattering the Games at the end of the second film, Catching Fire - finds herself in the long-forgotten District 13 as the figurehead of the rebellion, her mockingjay emblem its symbol. Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) must
also find a way to rescue her captive love, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson). Lawrence’s portrayal of everyone’s favourite bowwielding heroine from caring sister to national hero is one of the film’s main strengths. The late Philip Seymour Hoffman also stars in his last full-length film. With returning director Francis Lawrence, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 will surely live up to the hype. Aaron Lembo
Fighting girl: Jennifer Lawrence in the third Hunger Games film
Lorenzo Richelmy as Marco Polo
Marco Polo – out December 12 ONLINE streaming giant Netflix has blown a reported £55million on producing its next original series, Marco Polo. The hotly tipped tenepisode drama, which premieres next month, follows famed explorer Polo through his adventures in 13th century China. Co-produced by Game Of Thrones director Daniel Minahan and starring Italian newcomer Lorenzo Richelmy, the series promises sex, drugs and medieval gore.
November 25: HOCKNEY: Live from LA November 28: I Am Ali November 28: Rurouni Kenshin 2 November 28: Horrible Bosses 2 November 28: Men, Women And Children November 28: Monsters: Dark Continent December 5: Black Sea December 5: The Pyramid December 12: Merchants Of Doubt December 19: Dumb And Dumber To
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inSTYLE
Check, mate: T-shirt, £18, Next
Flight of fancy: Bird print shirt, £38, Debenhams
Oh, deer: Festive knit, £20, Burton
% 5 2
R O F F ITY PAPER OF S IVER S UN
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Bold brights: Playsuit, £27.99 New Look
Little White Lies is a British, London based brand bringing timeless quality pieces to the 18-35 year old fashion conscious women. Little White Lies creates exquisite collections, each piece has a unique point of difference- a trim, beautiful buttons or hidden pockets. Every garment has been thought about in detail from beginning to end creating contemporary modern pieces with a nostalgic retro charm.
We use the highest quality fabrics to create soft dresses and separates; with the use of delicate velvets, vegan leathers, silks and georgette overlays. Attention to detail is what makes this brand so charming. This is carried throughout all designs, giving a feeling of femininity with an urban edge keeping Little White Lies in touch with premium fashion trends. The brand is stocked across the UK, Europe and the USA making a name for itself as Drapers Young Fashion Brand finalist. To celebrate the growing success, Little White Lies would like to offer University readers 25% off their next shop online at www.littlewhitelies.com
Go to www.littlewhitelieslondon.com and enter code LWLU25 to claim your discount Can be used on full price items only, cannot be used in conjunction with other coupons.
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inSTYLE
December 2014 From fashionable festive knits to a little bit of winter sparkle, these are the picks perfect for any stylish student’s Christmas wish list. Chosen by SASKIA QUIRKE
Heavy metal: Chain, £14, Topman
Gothic glam: Dress, £68, Topshop
Dancing shoes: Silver heels, £39, Miss Selfridge One-piece wonder Onesie, £28.50, Debenhams
Buckle up: Boots, £89.99, Zara
Petal power: Clutch bag, £35, Accessorize
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yourNIGHT
Enjoyed a big night in Glasgow? We have all the pictures from the city’s hottest nightspots... see if you can spot yourself.
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December 2014
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mealBREAK Just don’t tell your dentist! Three simple
A French way with chicken
Satisfy your sweet tooth
Coq au vin
Ingredients: One tbsp butter; two tbsp olive oil; four chicken pieces; four pieces of smoked bacon, cut into strips; two onions; two carrots, diced; four mushrooms halved; two cups red wine; tbsp tomato paste; cup of chicken stock made using two chicken stock cubes; two tbsp plain flour; salt and pepper Method: 1. In a Ziploc bag put flour, thyme, salt and pepper. Add the chicken pieces and leave for five to ten minutes 2. Brown the chicken pieces in olive oil for three minutes on each side 3. Take the chicken pieces out and put them into a plate. Cut four pieces of bacon into squares and fry 4. While the bacon is frying
Banana bread
French fancy: Red wine and bacon make a classic combo chop up onions and carrots 5. Add the chopped onions and carrots to the bacon 6. Once the onions, carrots and bacon are fried add in a cup of red wine 7. Once the wine has been added add in a tbsp of tomato paste 8. Add the remaining red wine and create your chicken stock (made by adding boiling water to two stock cubes)
10. Once you have added the chicken stock put the chicken pieces into the pot and leave for ten minutes 11. Put the dish in the oven for one hour on 350C 12. Fry the chopped mushrooms and add to the top of the cooked dish. 13. Mix two tsp flour and butter together and add to the coq au vin 14. Add some salt, pepper and serve Aramide Pearce
A
N absolute classic, banana bread is a tasty snack or dessert that’ll appease your sugar cravings while delivering a dose of fruity goodness.
Ingredients: 100g softened butter or margarine; 150g sugar, two eggs, 225g self-raising flower, two tablespoons milk, two large or three small ripe bananas Method: 1. Set your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Line your loaf tin with butter and greaseproof paper or
Who can resist a sweet treat? Reach for the mixing bowl and try these great recipes from CAMILLE BROUARD your cupcake tray with cupcake cases 2. Mix together the sugar and melted butter or margarine until the mixture resembles a paste. Mix in the eggs and milk and then fold in the flour in a figure-ofeight motion. If the mixture is too dry add more milk 3. Mash the bananas in a small bowl and mix them in. Add in any extras you fancy, like raisins or chocolate chips 4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level it
out on top. Cook for one hour or until the cake is golden with a springy texture 5. Leave the cake to cool for a few minutes before loosening with a palette knife and turning on to a wire rack or plate Tip: Other ripening fruits such as three or four plums, two peaches and 15 to 20 raspberries or blueberries, can also result in a delicious loaf cake. With these options you can up the sugar a bit, as these fruits aren’t as sweet
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December 2014
mealBREAK recipes which are guaranteed to keep those sugar cravings at bay
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We’ve all got to eat. So whether you fancy preparing something at home or popping out for dinner, we have the recipe for a great meal
in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of boiling water 3. Mix the chocolate into the cereal, then scoop the mixture into cupcake cases 4. Put in the fridge so the cakes can set Tip: if you’re not so into chocolate you can mix things up with marshmallow (melted in the microwave) or honey with a sprinkle of sugar Chocolate and buttercream butterfly cakes
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Giving you wings: Nothing can beat chocolate cake with buttercream Chocolate-covered cereal cakes
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OU may not have made these since you were ten, but cereal cakes still taste as good as ever and are so simple to make. Ingredients to make 12:
100g cereal, 150g chocolate for melting, chocolates/ sweets/dried fruit for decoration Method: 1. Grab your go-to cereal box (Rice crispies? Cornflakes? Go experimental
PICTURE: WEMMY OGUNYANKIN
with Shredded Wheat?!) and pour into a bowl. If you don’t have weighing scales you can get the right amount by pouring cereal into a cupcake case 12 times. 2. Melt the chocolate in the microwave (on medium-high, two minutes at a time) or
HE richness of chocolate and sugary sweetness of buttercream is a match made in heaven. Don’t deny your taste buds these delicious cakes! Ingredients to make 24: 175g softened butter or margarine, 165g sugar, 125g self-raising flour, three eggs, two tablespoons boiling water, 50g cocoa powder. For buttercream: 175g icing sugar, 75g softened butter or margarine Method: 1. Set your oven to
200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6. Line your trays with cupcake cases and put to one side 2. Sieve the cocoa powder into the bowl and add the boiling water, mixing into a paste 3. Add in the remaining ingredients and beat together with a wooden spoon 4. Divide the mixture evenly into the cupcake cases and bake in the oven for ten minutes or until risen and springy to the touch. Cool in the cases for a few minutes 5. Take a sharp knife and cut out a circle in the top of each cake, about 1cm away from the edge. Cut each circle in half and put to one side 6. To make the buttercream, beat the butter in a bowl until soft then slowly add in the icing sugar until mixed 7. Place the buttercream into the spaces on top of the cakes, and then place the cake semicircles on top so they resemble wings Tip: For a special occasion, buy decorations, such as chocolate buttons, to fill the spaces between the ‘wings’
Extreme cures for a hangover
IF your standard fry-up is not doing the trick, then you need a hangover cure that is so peculiar that it may just do the trick. Try these... at your own risk! Ice lollies: Yes, this may seem like the last thing you’d be craving with a hangover. But they’re tasty, cheap, refreshing and provide hydration Irn-Bru sausage: It’s exactly what it says it is: a sausage cooked in Irn-Bru. It could work wonders … or taste so revolting you forget you ever had a hangover Raw eggs: Eggs have a better nutritional value when left uncooked and it is suggested they give the body the vital nourishment it needs after a heavy night. It’s popular in the US but a kill or cure remedy Monique Bailey
December 2014
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C
an you match the quote to the well-known person?
A: ‘You know, it really doesn’t matter what the media write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass’
B: ‘I’m pretty feminine. I think so... what does that mean, you’re a lesbian or something?’
C: ‘The word “genius” isn’t applicable in football. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein’
D: ‘I think gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman’
E: ‘I never said I hated anyone but just because I feel sympathy, compassion and forgiveness for others, such as Hitler, means I am now a monster?’
Take a break and put your grey cells to work with our selection of puzzles
Who said what? 1 Farrah Abraham 2 Dan Quayle 3 Terry Bradshaw 4 Tila Tequilla 5 George Bush 6 Arnold Schwarzenegger 7 Donald Trump 8 Katy Perry 9 Axl Rose 10 Joe Theismann F: ‘It’s really hard to maintain a one-onone relationship if the other person is not going to allow me to be with other people.’
7 2
4 3
6
I: ‘I’m so obsessed with you I want to skin you and wear you like Versace’
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Can you unscramble these singers’ names…
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J: ‘I may be dumb but I’m not stupid’
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H: ‘For Nasa, space is still a high priority’
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1. LEAZ YIGAGA 2. AN SHEERED 7. HAS MISTS 3. LIPARSAM HERLLWIL 8. LACRIS HARVIN 4. BANED CLANIT ANSWERS 4. FESGERPRO SOREN 6. SWITOR TAYFL
1. Iggy Azalea 2. Ed Sheeran 3. Pharrell Williams 4. Clean Bandit 5. Professor Green 6. Taylor Swift 7. Sam Smith 8. Calvin Harris
brainTEASE
A7 B2 C10 D6 E4 F9 G5 H2 I8 J3
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December 2014
competitionCORNER
Your chance to win fantastic tickets, trips and treats
A night to remember WIN a
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Get your hands on an iPad
New Year party for you and a friend
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E’VE got your new year party all sewn up with a VIP expenses paid trip to Egg London. We are offering one lucky reader the chance to win two VIP tickets to Egg London on New Year’s Eve. The 18-hour event – yes 18, – boasts all the biggest names in house with DJ sets from Patrick Topping, Leftwing and Kody. Oh yes, and did we
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Party time: Egg London is hosting an 18-hour party It couldn’t be easier to enter; just email your name, university and year of study to win@unipaper.co.uk
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WE are offering one lucky reader the chance to win an iPad. As well as the iPad, the winner will receive £60 of Tactus accessories – a Buckuva iPad case and VitriFender iPad screen protector. Tactus has developed a range of products to ensure that your shiny new piece of kit is immune to spillages, scratches and shattering. Hell, you can even take it hammer to it if you really want to... To enter email your name, university and year of study to win@unipaper.co.uk
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DRAGON2 This Christmas we’re giving 5 lucky winners a chance to win a copy of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 Out now on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. To win the prize email win@unipaper.co.uk with your answer to the question
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December 2014
Help is at hand for the bullied
MOVING into university halls is a big change for many young people; it brings them into a bustling community with people from all backgrounds. However, not all students’ first taste of life away from home is a positive experience. Anyone subject to bullying at university may feel extremely isolated... but help is at hand. The University of Liverpool, for example, has bullying and harassment advisers who can suggest strategies for dealing with problems. Its counselling and student support services, as well as hall tutors, are also on hand. Diversity and equality officer for the University of Liverpool Darren Mooney says: ‘Students should seek to informally resolve any complaint or grievance with the alleged perpetrator. If an informal resolution cannot be found, a student can make a formal complaint.’ Chelsea Dytham
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Horoscope
What’s written in the stars for you this month
Aries: March 21-April 19 There will be many hurdles to overcome in the first two weeks of December, Aries. However, don’t give up as your luck will change come December 17. Your career and finances will begin to flourish as well as your relationships. Now is the time to travel and broaden your horizons but be aware those around you will need some convincing of your new direction Taurus: April 20May 20 Energy levels will be exceptionally high this month, Taurus; however there is no need to turn into a bull in a china shop. Be humble and down to earth and on December 17
you will enter a period of positivity and possibility. You will see marked changes in career in particular as new avenues arise
Gemini: May 21-June 20 Confrontation with relatives will be rife until December 17 but don’t let this get to you, Gemini. Be creative and find ways of spending time with those near and dear to you that will not end in conflict. It is not all doom and gloom. Your social circles will increase this month and your career will directly benefit as a result
Cancer: June 21-July 22 Have you be feeling a certain amount of haughtiness of late? Be
Go online to: www.unipaper.co.uk for more quizzes.
warned this will only create controversy Cancer. You are bound to be feeling a lot more in tune with those around you come December 17th, when you will gain support from your superiors through your dynamism and resourcefulness
Leo: July 23-August 22 There will be tension among your siblings this month, Leo, and you are more than likely to be at the centre of it. As long as you don’t let your ego take over, a little competition can do no harm. It may even give you that extra push to undertake a big project that will carry on into the new year
Virgo: August 23September 22 You could be plagued by health problems at the beginning of this month, Virgo, so make sure not to over do it. However come December 17 you will be fighting fit and back on form. Your energy levels will be high and despite a slow start to December new avenues that will arise will take you pleasantly into the new year Libra: September 23October 22 You need to keep your wits about you this month, Libra. Your personal and professional relationships will be tested to the max. However, the added stress and strain could give way to greater wisdom of how to deal with others. As long as you are flexible redeeming opportunities will come your way and not all will be lost
Scorpio: October 23November 21 You need to make yourself crystal clear this month, Scorpio, otherwise you will be left feeling exasperated. Your expectations are not too high, it is simply how you go about executing them. The beginning of the month will be a test of character but don’t lose faith. Stick to your guns and,
come December 17, your luck will be on the up
Sagittarius: November 22-December 21 Play your cards right and you will prosper this month, Sagittarius. A period of positivity means that your confidence will be at an all-time high and you are centre stage. Those around you will be instrumental in your growth so be careful to not to let the limelight go to straight to your head. Your hard work is beginning to pay off but you still have a long way to go Capricorn: December 22-January 19 A dip in confidence at the beginning of the month could leave your energy levels somewhat lacking, Capricorn. Don’t let this leave you down in the dumps; take the time to meet up with friends who you have not been that attentive to of late. You should soon be feeling back to your old self in no time and there may just be a surprise around the corner
Aquarius: January 20February 18 Nothing is stopping you this month, Aquarius, your diary is full and so is your bank account, it appears. Although it may seem like the perfect time to indulge, if you take this even a little too far you could be reaping the repercussions come December 17. Avoid speculating and undertaking major projects. You can still charge ahead but keep your cards close to your chest Pisces: February 19-March 20 This month is all about focus for you, Pisces. If you feel as though you have been drifting for some time, now is the time to grab hold of the reins. However, it is not all hard work and no play, as your focus will pay off financially as well as socially. But be aware this could lead to issues arising with those close to you
let’sTALK
Curse: The Tinder app
Why we can’t put out the Tinder flame
REBEKAH WILSON asks whether the universal craze for swiping left or right based on a possible six photos and 499 characters is really healthy for us WHEN we get lonely on a Tuesday night, watching Celebrity Juice and late re-runs of Family Guy accompanied by Ben and Jerry, we have a natural desire to be needed. Then our smartphone sneaks out of our jeans pocket egging us on. Go on to Tinder, you’ve only got 300 matches with five of them actually speaking to you, let’s get swiping. Without a moment’s thought there we are, using every thumb muscle we have, having a Tinder fit. Shockingly, two years after its release, our generation is starting to take Tinder seriously. Going into a restaurant we are guaranteed to find at least two Tinder dates awkwardly working out a ‘how we first met’ story. Are there just too many people so the only way to find someone and speak to them is via the most frivolous and fanciful dating app yet? What will become of our generation? A pack of wild, sex-driven vultures or could Tinder actually become the fastest and most efficient way to date? Either way, Tinder is here to stay…well, until a newer version with video chat and picture messaging. Then, God help us!
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December 2014
let’sTALK
Relationship trouble? Sex worries? Feeling low? We’ve got wise words to set you right
Alice ask
Worried about your weight?: Try going out for an early morning jog
O far in the first term of university I’ve gained plenty of friends, not to mention memories to last a lifetime, but I have also gained plenty of pounds. It has got to the point where I can’t face going home for Christmas but, with term ending in a matter of weeks, what can I do? Louise, Swansea Louise, I’m about to tell you something more horrific than any hangover. A bottle of wine is the equivalent to three Mars bars, a Big Mac with medium fries or six jam doughnuts. Even if you don’t drink you can fall foul of the lack of routine that comes with university and the cheap stodge on offer at the supermarket. Gym memberships can be expensive so head out to your local park. And, as for Christmas, everyone back home will be too excited to see you to care about a couple of pounds.
I
’M the centre of every party back home but that couldn’t be further from the truth on campus. I didn’t embrace freshers and I’ve been going home almost every weekend. First term is almost over and I don’t even know where the SU is. Tom, Bristol
’VE moved half way up the country to Edinburgh but my mum is still checking in on me daily. So much so, stalking my Facebook has become her new part-time job. To make matters
worse, I was tagged in a picture having a cheeky cigarette recently. She is now threatening to come stay with me in halls to keep a closer eye on me. Alice, Edinburgh
I don’t need a label to be me
I
Contact your mother more often, even if it is just a quick email. She will feel involved in your life and might be less inclined to go looking on social media. It might also be an idea to change your privacy
In our monthly look at LGBT issues, masters student FILIP BIGOS discusses why he dislikes being known by a label
even I have some labels but what is the point of them? There is a big discussion going on at the moment as to what the non-straight part of the population should be called and which umbrella term we should be using. Some people don’t like the good old LGBT (that’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans for the uninitiated) because it is not inclusive of queer people, intersex people, polysexuals, asexuals… The list goes on. To accommodate this we add +s and *s and Qs the end of the acronym. But why
settings on Facebook, What you and your friends find funny might not go down a storm with parents. And remember, believe it or not, your mother is only looking out for you.
I
S
identify as a non-binary, gay man. This implies, apart from being cocky and sassy pretty much the whole time, that, while I am a man, I don’t need to prove that I have a pair. So I wear heels and a snapback. Sometimes a wig, nail polish - depending on how I feel. I don’t fit within the ‘accepted’ binary of male. I go by ‘they’. This means I don’t want people to refer to me using male pronouns such as ‘he/him/his’ because I do not agree with the binary gender division within society. When it comes to selfidentification, people choose to call themselves many different things. And, yes,
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exactly do we feel the need to label everything? I am a non-binary gay man because I have to have a label. People expect me to have one. People who fit into the ‘standard’ expectations of society as far as sex, sexual and gender identities are concerned need labels to put on others to help them understand the concept of difference So I please them. To help the cause. But, ultimately, I want to live in a society where people are accepted and taken at face value and one where we won’t have to explain ourselves.
n Young people all too often suffer at the hands of bullies. This is particularly true for young lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people. NUS research found one fifth of LGBT students have experienced bullying or harassment on campus. For trans students, this figure was one in three. During Anti-Bullying Week this year many young people told us they felt isolated and alone when facing bullying. Stonewall’s NoBystanders campaign asks people to take a pledge and stand up for any time they witness any form of bullying. Learn more at nobystanders.org.uk
Submit your questions and get the answer in next months issue alice@unipaper.co.uk
There are no two ways about it, first year is hard. Some might cover it up better than others but you will all be feeling it. However, it is not all doom and gloom; there is life after freshers and societies are a great place to start. Try to cut down on going home, too, otherwise you’ll miss out and your friends back home will still be there when you go back at Christmas. Struggling with your studies, wrestling with a relationship or is your social life at a standstill? Contact our agony aunt on alice@unipaper.co.uk
At Specsavers, if you are an easycare direct debit customer you can get an even better deal, including a free pair of glasses, free delivery. Your eye test and aftercare are also included in the price.
Voted the UK’s most trusted optician Need an eye test? Visit specsavers.co.uk or call 0800 0680 241
Cannot be used with other offers or exchanged in part or whole for cash. Initial 3-month payment required from new easycare direct debit customers. One free pair of £45 range glasses with scratch-resistant PENTAX single vision lenses every two years. Current prescription required. Alternatively, an eye test will be required at our standard charge. easycare benefits are redeemable only by named scheme member. Source: YouGov Plc online survey, 2014. ©2013 Specsavers. All rights reserved.
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December 2014
moneyMATTERS
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We’re all on a budget... here are our ideas on how to make it stretch as far as possible
Labour for love... or cash Should you choose a subject just for the financial rewards?
C
AST your mind back to the carefree days of 2012 when graduates left university with a measly £26,100 of debt instead of the estimated £53,400 they rack up nowadays. In those days, fresh-faced university applicants pricked up their ears and listened when teachers and parents told them ‘study a subject you enjoy!’ Sadly, for many young people ‘enjoyment’ doesn’t always have a lot to do with their choice of degree. Since tuition fees have reached an all-time high, it makes sense to investigate the most rewarding subjects – so which degrees lead to the highest salaries? So, first a few important details: these numbers come from HESA, the Higher Education Statistics Agency, which we think should stand for Hardly Ever Simple Answer. HESA sends surveys to graduates six months and
three-and-a-half years after graduation, and this is the information collected in 2012 from 2009 graduates. Most subjects in the top ten probably won’t surprise you much; it’s well known that doctors, dentists and vets earn a comfortable salary. But the £25,000 a year paid to architects earn is surprising, especially as they have to train for a whopping seven years. Of course, the uni you choose can be a factor, too. The survey showed that graduates from Russell Group universities earn the highest salaries, with a mean of £27,500 compared with the next highest, the 1994 Group of unis, which has now disbanded but included Birkbeck and UEA, at £26,500. It can be hard enough to motivate yourself to work and, if you hate the subject your studying, it’s fair to say you’ll hate the job at the end of it, too. But, if you’re happy
superSCRIMPING FANCY moving in more glamorous circles? It takes just a few clicks… and it won’t set you back a penny
n Rub shoulders with the A listers: Get up close and personal with your favourite stars by being part of a TV audience. Head to the studio with sroaudiences.com and be metres away from Graham Norton’s A-listers, go behind the scenes with tvrecordings.com or take to the set as an extra with lostintv.com
n Get ahead of the crowd:
Sign up to showfilmfirst.com and it will tip you off about all the preview screenings. You can view some from the comfort of your own home using an online code and in return for filling out a survey
n Look the part: You’ll need to glam up, so check out salonguineapig. co.uk. The website offers hair and beauty treatments across Britain from trainees who need models just like you, meaning a makeover is no longer a forbidden luxury
to pursue a subject you dislike for lots of dosh, fair play to you. If not, revive that carefree spirit and study what you love. Bethany Miall, from Go Think Bigger, a digital hub giving young people career advice and work experience opportunities
Just flick that switch and watch the savings pile up THE definition of a student: finding any way possible to save money. When someone else paid who cared about leaving that bathroom light on in the middle of the night? Or turning the heating up during winter so you can stay in your shorts and T-shirt? I know students who refuse to turn lights on or wash their clothes because they live in constant fear of those numbers on that bit of paper at the end of the month. Perhaps it would be better to consider some less drastic measures than stinking clothes, to keep the bills down? First and foremost: shop around! nGet those deals. Some
Bright idea: Turn lights off electricity companies offer cheaper prices if you use your electricity at off peak times nSpeaking of washing machines, on average you can save around £9 a year if you wash your clothes at 30° instead of 40° nThe morning cuppas – don’t fill the kettle to the top just boil the amount you need nRemember to shut the fridge and freezer doors! Don’t put hot food in
the fridge – it ruins it but also requires more energy to cool the food nUnplug your chargers after use. To charge a phone for eight hours costs only a penny but when we disconnect our phones and leave the plug in it still uses energy nLaptops use 85 per cent less energy than the typical PC nUnplug the TV and other devices by the wall instead of leaving them on standby You will be surprised by the difference each of these things can make leaving you extra money for that new pairs of shoes or a cheeky night out in the week. Rebecca Kiff
Moody’s – 12 Month Graduate Placement In joining Moody’s 2015 Graduate Programme, you will have the opportunity to work with analysts on the rating process, including drafting credit documents, formulating ratios, preparing spreadsheets, comparative statistics, as well as exposure to special projects, at times on a global scale. Location London, Frankfurt, Madrid and Paris
To find out more and apply, please visit: http://bit.ly/milkround-jobs
Salary Competitive package Posted 03 Nov 2014 Closes 03 Jan 2015
The Berkeley Group - Graduate scheme, Construction & Property
REPL Group – Graduate Management Consultant
The Berkeley Group is looking for the brightest graduates with degrees in disciplines related directly to the skills and knowledge required in our operational departments. Berkeley Homes are currently recruiting for graduates in the following disciplines: Land and Planning, Technical, Commercial (Quantity Surveyors), Construction, Customer Service Location London (Greater)
REPL is a fast growing UK based technology group with offices in the USA, Canada, Australia and Singapore. We deliver sophisticated project management techniques to unlock commercial potential. Our team sits at the cutting edge of where the retail industry meets the next generation of mobile technology, where gamification overlaps with multichannel.
Salary £27,000
Salary £22,000pa + London Weighting, travel allowance, bonus and benefits
Closes 17 Nov 2014
Closes 17 Nov 2014
Hastings Direct - Graduate Scheme
Accenture- Industrial Placement
We have ambitious plans to attract 3 million customers by 2020 and we are looking for talented graduates to join us whilst we grow and help shape our business. As we are relatively small compared to the big names, you will truly get the opportunity and exposure with our management team to do this. Our Graduate Scheme is designed to help you develop as a future leader of our business, fast tracking your career within Hastings Direct. Roles available in Accounting & Finance, Insurance, Marketing & PR.
Bring your talent and passion to a global organisation at the forefront of business, technology and innovation. Collaborate with diverse, talented colleagues and leaders who support your success. Help transform organisations and communities around the world. Sharpen your skills with industry-leading training and development, as you build an extraordinary career.
Location Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex Salary Competitive Closes 04 Jan 2015
Avanti Communications Group plc – Graduate Engineer Are you expecting a 2:1 or higher in a computer related subject? Are you interested in working in a fast paced environment with the latest technologies in a truly global footprint? Yes? That’s a great start, but beyond that? Avanti seeks your inspiration, your energy and your enthusiasm.
Location London or Midlands
Location Nationwide Salary £Competitive Closes 28 Aug 2015
J.P. Morgan – Technology Graduate Programme There’s not a single part of our business that isn’t empowered and enhanced by the creative thinking of J.P. Morgan technologists. In an industry this competitive, being the best means deploying high-speed software and infrastructure alongside leading engineering and application development. Location London, Bournemouth, Glasgow
Location London (Central)
Salary Competitive + benefits
Salary £23,000 p a
Closes 30 Nov 2014
Closes 31 Mar 2015
Opus Energy – Graduate Analyst Opus Energy, a dynamic and fast growing organisation, is recruiting to expand its analytical support. Analysts with Opus Energy carry out a wide range of analytical tasks designed to help keep the company on track. Location Oxford, Oxfordshire Salary £23,000 - £25,000 DOE + £1,000 welcome bonus + £1,000 at end of year 1 & 2 Closes 03 Dec 2014
Rothschild – Private Equity Long Term Internship – Merchant Banking This London based 4-6 month internship is an exciting opportunity to intern with Rothschild’s flagship private equity fund, Five Arrows Principal Investments – a €600 million fund focused on mid-market companies in Western Europe. Location London Salary Competitive Closes 31 Dec 2015
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December 2014
beyondUNI
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Need a job? Considering a gap year? Graduating and struggling for inspiration? Then, read on...
Job in Tesco? Travelling? Lucy hits the catwalks of Paris instead
I put degree on hold to be a model
F
OR most 18-year-olds, the dream of roaming the runways of Paris Fashion Week, wearing exclusive Givenchy designs is exactly that – a dream. Lucy Zoe Evans decided to put her studies on hold and pursue that dream and has been rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous . Recently returned, fresh from Paris Fashion Week, Lucy took part in the Givenchy show, directed by critically acclaimed Riccardo Tisci. She shared the limelight with leading models such as Cara Delevigne and Kendall Jenner and appeared in front of celebrities including Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. She saud: ‘I’d have to say the highlight of my career so far is walking in my first ever runway show for Givenchy.’ Lucy, from Stoke-on-Trent follows in the footsteps of her older cousin, Sarah. ‘As a child, I remember talking to Sarah about her eight year modelling career and ever since it’s always been a dream of mine, so when I was spotted out shopping at The Clothes Show in 2009, I was more than happy to jump at the opportunity.’ Although she has only been a professional model for two
Think gap year and you think of backpacking adventures across the world or endless hours of tedious work experience; but for one teenager her gap year has become a world of couture and Kardashian. CHARLES WORRALL talks to model Lucy Zoe Evans months, Lucy kick-started her career with an ad campaign for Republic at the age of 13. She said: ‘During my school years, I was granted a licence allowing me to take time out of school but I kept castings and jobs to a minimum to enable me to concentrate on my compulsory education. My gap year has allowed me to model full time before heading back into education.’ But the path to a successful career in modelling is paved with disappointment and criticism. She said: ‘The reason for the excessive castings and meetings with clients are so they can judge if you’re the right model for them. Not being chosen for a job can at first seem offensive and disheartening but over time you come to realise that being told “no” is part of being a model.’ Sticking to a diet remains another major challenge but Lucy shrugs off criticism of the fashion industry over its use of stick-thin models. She said: ‘The utmost initial shock that came at the beginning of my career
was having to be as strict as possible when it comes down to my diet. I try my best to work out every day, even if it’s a quick ten minute run. ‘Just like being a ballerina or an athlete, you have to be a certain size and shape. ‘Part of my job is to be toned and healthy. ‘Since starting modelling full time, I’ve seen such a difference in my body, skin, energy and mood.’ She has deferred her degree in business and textiles at Brighton University until next autumn but it still seems borderline insanity to imagine balancing education alongside an international modelling schedule, especially when your average student struggles to attend a 9am lecture. ‘I’m intending on travelling, achieving almost all of my aspirations for my gap year and gain as much experience in the fashion industry as possible,’ said Lucy. ‘Working with Givenchy again and, just like every other girl my age, being a Victoria’s Secret model is something I dream of doing.’
In vogue: Lucy Zoe Evans says being a model requires the same dedication as being an athlete
LUCY ZOE EVANS IS REPRESENTED BY SELECT MODEL MANAGEMENT, INSTAGRAM: @LUCYZOEEVANS
Places you should visit before leaving for your gap year SO, you may not have a gap year as an international model lined up... but you may be thinking about taking a year out and travelling. Before you head off, you will want to sit and plan how and where you want to go. Here is a quick guide to some great websites to help you plan your adventure.
Rough Guides: If you are unsure of where to head for your gap year, these are the best place to start. Full of great information on all the best destinations including accommodation, when to go, itineraries, travel essentials and cultural etiquette so you won’t get yourself in to trouble while away. You can also book hostels through the site
and it has a great community you can interact with and get first hand information from. www.roughguides.com Gap Year: This site that is packed full of information to help you get the most out of your travels. From booking your accommodation to researching places to visit and stay, Gap Year has all this and much
more. It also includes sections on jobs and volunteering to help you develop skills that will be transferable to your chosen career and even has a place you can plan your whole trip. The perfect one stop site. www.gapyear.com Real Gap: If you are worried about the cost of your gap year, Real Gap has a great section on
how to travel for less and still get the most out of your travels. It also has many of the features the previous sites has, including information on destinations, jobs, volunteering and has some last minute deals available too. www.realgap.co.uk So, when you’ve read all this, the only question left is what’s stopping you? Kizzy Bass
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December 2014
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yourSPACE
Turn your room into your home
Y
ou’ve been at university for a few weeks now and if it doesn’t quite feel like home then here are some inexpensive quick-�ixes. Most importantly, you need a bedroom that re�lects your style. Find some cheap bedding in high street shops – cheap and cheerful is key. Then, why not spruce it up with funky blankets and throws. For this, turn into a true hipster and try the charity shops. You may have to have a bit of rummage but, if you’re lucky, you’ll �ind some really decent, well-
made stuff for a price that doesn’t bury you into your interest-free overdraft. Every living room or bedroom needs cushions … many, many cushions. If you’re feeling crafty and need to procrastinate from writing that essay you could even have a go at making your own! If you’re not the next Great British Sewing Bee just pimp up plain cushions by sewing brightly coloured buttons and ribbons to them. Nothing makes a room more homely than pictures and posters that mean
Invaders you need to repel
Finishing touches: A few cushions and fairy lights can make all the difference something to you. That way, when the inevitable homesickness threatens, you are always surrounded by friendly faces. Get creative with noticeboards and cover them in a collage of your favourite photos. Just remember to hide the many drunken ones from Granny when she comes to visit! If you’re looking for a bit of
ambience then mood lighting is your new best friend. From creating the princess room you’ve always wished for to dimming the lights for late-night guests, fairy lights and lamps will give your room the edge. Go green and buy some cheap plants for your humble abode. Flowers are always good for adding a bit of colour
PICTURE: JENNI NEED
and life to a room... just make sure you water them! Lastly, an easy way to guarantee that you feel at home is to be comfortable. You may have invested in all the cushions and plants in the world but that’s no good if you can’t relax in cosy pyjamas, slippers and a dressing gown. Jessica Bott
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IT’S the news we all dread. One of your housemates is having an old friend to stay. Here are the guests you don’t want... The Alien Thief: Spends the entire weekend communicating in in-jokes with your flatmate. Steals them for the weekend and shows how little you know them The Bodily Incompetent: Drops a nuclear bomb every time they use the communal facilities and projectile-vomits in the kitchen The Better Housemate: Painfully delightful. You connect in a way you have never before with another human being, only highlighting the inferiority of your current housemate Jack Meggitt-Phillips
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December 2014
yourSPACE The best time for house hunting is November, any later and you’re not left with much choice. Make sure that you question, question, question. Is the heating on a meter? Can you see mould growing anywhere? Is the roof about the cave in? Lucy Robinson
How to find the right place to live, the right people to live with and how to keep your place right
A significant issue M
OVING into a house can be stressful at the best of times. There are bills to sort out, new housemates with bad hygiene to deal with and an ever-pervasive knowledge that your hot water is likely to cut off at any moment. When these issues do rear their heads, is it better to have your significant other around or will it just make things far, far worse? This may depend on your type of relationship but there are certain unavoidable truths. If you have been together for just a month then maybe living in the same house is a little over-ambitious. Getting to know someone far quicker than expected can kick the honeymoon period out the window before you can even mutter ‘date night’. You don’t want to discover to soon that your partner has far more negative traits than
The infamous flat party is an obvious first step to consecrate your new pad. Make sure you invite a strong, largish friend. Anyone with a vaguely intimidating presence so that kid who got too drunk can be asked to leave without too much hassle Blythe Lewis
No matter where I go, the oven never works. A ten-minute pizza takes closer to 30. Our landlord sent someone to fix ours. When we came home, there was a new temperature dial but no numbers on it. Cooking for the rest of the year involved a lot of guesswork Bryony Plumb
Moving to Preston and living in England for the first time was a peculiar experience, to say the least. People would waltz around with multi-coloured hair and they call what I used to think was lunch, their dinner Mane Grigoryan
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The perils and pitfalls of your SO moving in
Cosy: His and her toothbrushes
PICTURE: ALEJANDRA CESPEDES
you first thought. There is also the chance of an awkward break-up. You need to be sure that this is unlikely. It is difficult enough being around someone you’ve got history with, let alone having to read the gas meter with them. If you are sure you know
Quality Student Accommodation Happy ever after? It can’t all be romantic
Gruesome gum stuck on your clothes? Put the garment in the freezer for a few hours. Once the gum is frozen scrape it off with a blunt knife. Squirt on a little washing up liquid and salt. Rub against the thread of the fabric and the rest should come off Eva Coutts
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PICTURE: SOPHIE SEAR
How to survive living together SO, you’ve decided to take the plunge and live with your partner during your university years? Here’s how you might make it work... Lead your own life: Since you’re probably both studying, a busy schedule is to be expected. Talk through your plans and that way miscommunication will be avoided. This will also allow you to plan that romantic weekly date night Pull your weight: Boys, don’t leave the dishes for the women. And girls, invest in a screwdriver so you can at least dabble in the handiwork Spread your wings: There’s nothing worse than a
couple who never spend time with their other friends. Friends you make at university are friends for life. So do not push them away! Accept it won’t be sexy and romantic all the time: You might think that living together is going to be similar to just being partners but this actually means you’ll see the best AND the worst of your significant other. Remember, no one is perfect, lower your expectations, take each day as it comes and breathe. You’re still young! If you’ve thought about all of this and still want to move in with the love of your life, then good luck. Fredrikke von Z Wongraven
• • • •
your partner well enough for it not to end unceremoniously over the cornflakes, then the answer to whether you should live together lies in your relationship type. If you’re that couple that loves to spend long afternoons staring intensely into each other’s eyes without speaking then go for it. If you have friends that you would like to spend time with independently of each other and other interests then perhaps find houses in the same area but with several streets’ separation. Alternatively, make the sane decision and move in after university. Alex Green
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December 2014
yourSPACE
35
How to find the right place to live, the right people to live with and how to keep your place right
Picking perfect flatmates Avoid the messy but embrace the mother
T
HE group of mates you met during freshers’ week, won’t be around for long. If they are you’ve been lucky! But for most, those friendships tend to fade away and you start to hang out with a different crowd. Soon, the dreaded period of choosing housing for next year creeps up. Before you start getting too excited and pick your new BFFs, here are a few tips on how to choose the best housemates. 1. Seek the studious: It is honestly good to have this person around to keep you on track. This housemate brings positive peer pressure which has amazing benefits: assignments finished before the deadline and still time to
party. Also, a perfect buddy to have study sessions with. 2. Avoid the messy: You will spot this person very quickly. They are always untidy and unkempt. It’s funny from a distance but do you really want to be cleaning up after them or be straining the friendship by asking them to stop leaving the dishes for a month in the basin? 3. Embrace the father/ mother figure: Everyone wants the sense of freedom that comes with moving away from home. The father/mother figure is going to take care of you when you fall sick and worry when you come home late. It is nice to know someone is looking out for you. 4. Think thrifty: Be on the
Making a stranger a friend
Crowded house: This bunch looks friendly... but would you want to live with them? same page about money matters. Money is such a sticky matter but if handled properly everyone can have a great year together. Get to know your
friends’ money habits. Stingy ones are difficult ones. 5. Choose happy: Everyone has his or her ups and downs but there’s bound to be that
one cheerful, chirpy person who will keep the spirits up no matter what. It will help to maintain the house’s sanity. Benazir Parween
STUDENTS all over the country are being forced to double up after universities ran out of rooms. Here’s our tips to help you get by No secret hobbies: Forget goofy dancing or weird singing to the mirror Buy some PJs: Not everyone wants to see you naked Learn to clean: You can’t litter the floor with all kinds of mess Talk to them: Sharing space is easier if you’re less of a stranger and more of a friend!
Aditi Verma
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December 2014
theC-WORD
We couldn’t ignore it as it’s less than a month away... but not all our students are in the Christmas spirit
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They’re killing the magic Too much, too soon at Christmas
theGRINCHES IT’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…but, wait, it’s just been Hallowe’en. Christmas is weeks and weeks away but it doesn’t look like that on the high street. Every store you dander by is jammed with everything from decorations, to loofas, to every shaped chocolate imaginable. But is this right? Is Christmas an overly commercialised holiday, bullying other holidays Rebekah Heath out of existence?
I
T’S Christmas! Or so some people seem to think judging by the amount of Christmas trees you see nicely lit up in living room windows and the festivethemed shop displays. Hallowe’en has only just passed by but the scary thingis the plague of sparkly lights and candy canes. I love Christmas decorations as much as the next guy, but you know… at Christmas. In Newcastle, for example, Fenwick on Northumberland Street their autumn display has gone up, which is fine of course - it is autumn. But then you go up the escalators on to the second floor and
A bad case of tinselitis?: Christmas decorations were up early Edinburgh PICTURE: ANGUS DUNCAN suddenly you’re confronted by Christmas lights and decorations and blinded by the festive colours of green and red. I find myself thinking: ‘Did I take the
time-travelling escalator and emerge two months later?’ Seriously, the clue is in the name: Christmas decorations. There should be a law against decorations before
mid-November. Christmas is good because you have to wait all year for it. If you just start whenever you feel like it, it defeats the magic of it. Edward Jones
THE idea of Christmas invades every spare surface like the looming ebola pandemic. The thought of Christmas is so far from my mind it’s unreal; the space up there is occupied by technology project ideas, dissertation research, photography projects, endless presentations to prepare for and Harvard Referencing; not whether my boyfriend would prefer Hugo Boss or Armani after shave Anna Landi
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December 2014
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wellFIT
Advice for a healthy lifestyle and staying in shape
Sitting pretty? Get off your bum and get walking HOW long do spend during the day sitting down? Think about it: at breakfast, then during lectures, then the library, before pulling up a stool at the pub. It’s been well documented that sitting all day at your desk or during lectures is detrimental to one’s health but many complain going to the gym is too costly. So if you’re watching the pennies, here are our top tips for keeping �it on the cheap. Cycling: Besides the intense workout, it’s also a moneysaver from the gym and from the one or multiple bus routes you would have to pay for Walking: No bike? No problem – get walking. Some specialists claim that walking is the most signi�icant cardio exercise,
DANCE YOUR CARES AND POUNDS AWAY
�ive tips KEEPING fit doesn’t need to cost a lot: 1: Take the stairs - simple but absolutely free 2: ‘Run Forrest, run’ – if you aren’t so keen on going solo, get together with a group of friends 3: Pedal power – if you don’t own a bike, day rentals start from £10. 4: Drop-in classes – all of the fun but none of the commitment. 5: YouTube – it’s full of good workout tutorials.
even more than running! Use the stairs: It burns an unbelievable amount of calories and works miracles on your backside. Theodora Gardouni
HAVE you ever reached the point when you need to free yourself and dance away all the stress and worries? Or maybe you just want to follow in the twinkle-toed footsteps of the celebs on Strictly? If so, the dance society at Swansea University could be for you. It offers dance sessions from ballet, jazz, contemporary, hip-hop, Latin and ballroom. No matter
if you are a complete beginner or an advanced dancer, you can always join the dancing club. The teachers are professionals, and the atmosphere is great. Classes take place on Mondays to Sundays and are usually in the evenings, perfect to work around your university timetable. And with membership starting at just £10 for the year, any pounds you loose
will just be from your waistline. This year, Swansea University dance club has organised a charity version of Strictly Come Dancing. The aim is to get those with very little dancing knowledge and teach them the basic skills they need to perform in front of fellow students... all while raising a little money for charity in the process. Antoniya Gerimpapazi
Technique and stretching key to keeping fit TOM CULLEN THERE’S nothing worse for an athlete than being injured. While getting injured in a reckless tackle or simply twisting your ankle are part and parcel of being an athlete, there are some measures you can introduce to reduce the risk of a ‘needless’ injury. Firstly, start with the mundane – stretching. Look up full-body stretching routines, and spend at least �ive minutes before every training session or game loosening up and preparing your body for its upcoming battle. Two of the most commonly damaged ligaments in any form of sport are the ACL and PCL. Simple stretches have been proven extremely effective in strengthening them. Add some plyometric exer-
avoiding injury HERE are some tips to try to prevent yourself from getting injured: 1: Don’t overdo it. Playing while in pain, or tired is one of the main causes of sports injuries 2: Rest when you can. Between matches, it is important that you get as much sleep or rest as possible 3: Stay hydrated. Water helps to regulate body
cises as well as dynamic stretching. When it comes to contact sports, technique is as important as stretching. Tackling drills may become boring, but incorrect technique and bad form in such
temperature, lubricate your joints and helps you to perform at your highest level 4: Use correct and safe equipment. Check that anything you wear, or anything you use is fit for the job 5: Finally, train well. Ensuring you practice before a match or a race, means you are more likely to do well
heavy impacts can result in serious back or neck injuries. Pay full attention when being taught how particular actions should be performed, and never participate in a drill or game if you feel it is above your current level.
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December 2014
39
sportNEWS
Get into jiu-jitsu and tap your inner Samurai ANTONIYA GERIMPAPAZI THERE’S always been something rather cool about Japanese martial arts. Ever since Bruce Lee, the most famous exponent of martial arts, burst on to the big screen in the 1970s, it’s been seen as ‘sexy’. The emergence of MMA and UFC in recent years has attracted a new generation of fans eager to learn self-defence. Now Swansea University’s jiu-jitsu club is cashing in on this new-found enthusiasm and is going from strength to strength. Jiu-jitsu uses the techniques of locks, strikes and throws. As violent as it sounds, jiujitsu is more of a spiritual art and is using an aggressor’s energy against them. ‘Jiu-jitsu is a very traditional Japanese martial art,’ says club member Michael Yeubrey. ‘It was the martial art that samurai actually practice on the battlefield and it was added to the martial arts, such as aikido and karate. ‘Jiu-jitsu is trying to keep the battlefield elements by constantly dealing with multiple opponents, weapons, in very stressful situations without going into contest, just aiming for a survival.’
Unlike karate and aikido, jiu-jitsu has not really developed into a ‘sport’ as such. ‘Aikido was invented in the 1910,’ says Michael. ‘Karate started on a small Japanese island where people started a fight and the lord took away all their weapons because he was worried about them hurting each other badly and so they invented karate, so they could fight without weapons. ‘And also, if you translate it, it means ‘’empty hand’’ and now it has kind of evolved to become less of a martial art but more of a sport,’ he says. ‘Whereas jiujitsu is more of a defensive martial art and that’s pretty much how we keep it. We respect ourselves and defend ourselves.’ Training is rigorous, with plenty of warm-ups, stretching and circuits but all shapes and sizes can take part in this martial art. Learning to respect each other and what you can do with your new found skills is a key part of the training
In action: Michael Yeubrey, Jack Healy and Thomas Grange, inset
Varsity clock ticking down THE training will be a little more focused, the pressure a little more intense as the Varsity clock ticks down to the first home clashes in five years. Swansea City’s Liberty Stadium is to host the rugby in the spring with Swansea University ultra-keen to repeat their victory of seven months ago against Cardiff. Sketty Lane Sports Centre and the River Tawe will provide the backdrop for the other sports that comprise the Varsity shield. Swansea will be out to improve on their overall performance after losing 22 of the other 27 sporting clashes.
regime. ‘It is applicable to everyone,’ said Thomas George. ‘No matter body size, body height. There’s one sensei, who was on TV last year and she was very tiny. ‘You can get very close to people with whom you train in jiu-jitsu. We are not just a team, we are a family!’ Michael adds: ‘We all do well; we all learn from each other and help each other grow.’
Unbeaten Titans focused THERE’S no way these Titans will fall. Swansea University’s American Football team are looking to round off an entire calendar year unbeaten when they face Gloucestershire Gladiators. Club secretary Adam Salter told The University Paper: ‘It’s a great achievement. ‘We currently hold the longest undefeated streak in BUCS but They may be giants: The unbeaten Titans it means nothing if national champions. This more than 12 months ago. we don’t achieve our success has continued In the 2013/14 season, goals this season.’ into the new season, with they reached the BUCS The Titans, who formed victories in their first two play-offs for the first time in 2009, have not tasted fixtures, scoring 85 points and beat the Royal defeat since going down and conceding zero. 33-35 to Bath’s Killer Bees Holloway Bears to become
PART OF A SPORTS TEAM? Get a write up in next months paper.
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