Issue 142

YORK VISION

GUARDIAN STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

TUESDAY DECEMBER 3RD 2002

WWW.YORKVISION.CO.UK

ISSUE 142

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

York girl’s sexy romp with TV hunk

THE STORY THE TABLOIDS WANTED: CENTRE PAGES

I’M SORRY Lecturer’s apology to students as he’s cleared

A YORK lecturer, cleared of illicit blackmail last week, has revealed his pain at letting-down his students during his eight-month ordeal.

History professor, Rod Hills, speaking exclusively to Vision said: “I’d like to apologise to my students. I’m sorry I’ve had to put them out.”

Hills, 56, was acquitted of demanding money and the return of a car by threatening to send sexually explicit photographs of him and a former lover to her parents and others.

Even his university office was placed under scrutiny by the police during their investigation.

Hills particularly thanked those on campus for their backing: “The university institutions have been very kind and immensely supportive to me. I owe them an immense debt.”

But he is still facing charges of wasting police time, careless driving and soliciting.

“I am relieved to be cleared of blackmail. I said from the start that I was going to clear my name from these malicious allegations and that is what I intend to do,” he said “I have other charges yet to face. I will face those like I have faced this one. I have always said I was innocent, and this has proved that I am. I will continue to say that.”

Mr Hills, a former leader of York City council, had been charged with making unwarranted demands for the woman, known as Miss X, to

EXCLUSIVE

BY ROB HARRIS

return a car and pay him £2,325, by threatening to show explicit photographs of themselves to her parents.

But the charge was sensationally dropped last week when the prosecution offered no evidence, following a claim by the defence that the charge was the result of a police witch hunt — a claim the force denied.

Although the Crown Prosecution Service believed they had enough evidence to bring a charge of blackmail against Hills, they thought it wasn’t in the public interest to do so.

Because, Mr Hills was “genuinely upset” at the breakdown of the couple’s relationship and the belief that he had never carried out any threat and that Miss X had not suffered any real harm, the case was dropped.

When police first contacted Miss X in April 2001 she refused to make a statement, but one year later, after several denials, she made the claims against Mr Hills.

According to Miss X, after the relationship ended, Mr Hills, said a number of things that he clearly should not have said — but the alleged threats were never carried out.

The case was re-opened after the police discovered sexually explicit pictures of Miss X with Mr

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

York History lecturer Rod Hills, who has been cleared of blackmail, but faces 3 further charges

2 NEWS

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

YORK VISION 3/12/02

TOP-UP FEES? IN YOUR DREAMS

NO

HILLARY LAYTON

University Spokeswoman

NO

JOHN HUTTON Head of Economics

NO

HALEH AFSHAR Politics lecturer

NO

BY TOM HAZELDINE HIGH-RANKING academics have urged Vice Chancellor Brian Cantor to get stuck into the fight against top-up fees.

Cantor has so far dodged taking a clear public stance on Labour’s controversial review of the fees system – in stark contrast to other university chiefs.

Now the bosses of several major departments at York have told him to get a grip.

Their demands were echoed by Labour MP John Grogan who represents campus.

Grogan said: “The university shouldn’t under-estimate the effect of its coming out would have in the battle for opinion.

“Cambridge has done that already.

York could have quite an impact.”

Four intellectual heavyweights are spearheading opposition to the Vice Chancellor’s ‘wait and see’ approach.

They are: l Peter Lee, Wentworth Provost l John Hutton, head of Economics l Steve Harlow, head of Language and Linguistic Science l Haleh Afshar, lecturer in Politics Each acadmic said Cantor should make his position clear and claimed a

Vice Chancellor Cantor blind to damning opposition on campus graduate tax would be a fairer way of solving the current funding crisis.

Haleh Afshar added: “Top-up fees are an abominable idea. It’s essential we convince government they shouldn’t do it.

“But I know the Vice Chancellor won’t. He feels there is no point until it actually becomes clear that this is the road we’re going down.”

“He’s very new and this is very difficult for someone who’s just arrived.”

Cantor made a short statement in Week 6 to the Senate and Council, the ruling bodies of the university, arguing York should not get involved in a public debate.

He would only comment last week that he believed in “fair and equitable access” to higher education, adding: “I

prefer universities and students to be funded out of general taxation wherever possible.”

It was left to the university’s official spokesperson to stick her head above the parapet and confirm York IS privately opposed to top-up fees.

Hilary Layton said: “We’re not in favour of them. I don’t know anyone who is.

“You shouldn’t be left with the impression that York is at the vanguard pushing for top-up fees because we’re not.”

“We are committed to access for all. No one should feel they can’t apply to York for financial reasons.”

She admitted the Vice Chancellor was being “more cautious” than others but said Cantor feels he has “done

Higher fees not the answer: page 8

YORK VISION Editors: Rob Harris and Isobel Todd Deputy: Louise Burns and Anna Mayall editor@vision.york.ac.uk Managing Editor: Neil Brown Advertising Manager: Chiara Pollo advertising@vision.york.ac.uk Web Editor: Stephanie Small System Administrator: Nick Lay web@vision.york.ac.uk News Editor: Jon Bentham

enough” on the issue.

Other key universities in the North East, including Newcastle and Durham, have agreed to campaign against the likely introduction of top-up fees.

Union President Tom Connor, who will lead 150 students at a rally against fees in London tomorrow (Wednesday), called on York to join them.

He said: “I’d like to see the Vice Chancellor come out and make a statement, irrespective of whether the university will have to introduce fees if they come in, that the whole principle of top-up fees is wrong” Campus Tory chair Richard Price joined the attack.

“Top-up fees are going to put more people off education,” he claimed.

“They are distinctly unfair. I hope Brian Cantor recognises this. It would be unwise for him not to.”

STEVE HARLOW Head of Language

NO

PETER LEE

Wentworth Provost

THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF YORK STUDENTS Deputy: Claire Coady & Sophie Whitehead Politics Editor: Gavin Aitchison Deputy: Alex Jackman Media Editor: Kelly Nobay Deputy: Sam Walton Features Editors: Rebecca Bull & Mags Parker Deputy: Simon Taghioff Lifestyle Editor: Laura Starkey Deputy: Louise Cohen Food and Drink Editor: Ed Fotheringham

Deputy: Roxy Warrick Music Editor: James Kelly Deputy: Robin Howells & Ewan Tant Films Editor: Jonathan Beaufort-Jones Deputy: Jess Shiddell & Steph Taylor Arts Editor: Alison Neighbour Deputy: Rob Leigh & Nancy Walker Books Editor: Cathy Baldwin Deputy: Victoria Lyle Games Editor: Alex Rimmer

Games Deputy:Mark Stockton Sports Editors: John Hyde & Johnny Morgan Deputy: Jamie Coggans Photo Editor: Ellena Valizadeh Cartoonist: Timo

Opinions expressed in Vision are not necessarily those of the Editors, Senior Editorial Team, membership or advertisers. Every effort is made to ensure all articles are as factually correct as possible at the time of going to press, given the information available.

Copyright Vision Newspapers, 2002

3/12/02 YORK VISION

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

NEWS 3

JCR CHAIR LAUNCHES ATTACK ON SERVICES OFFICER MAN WHO

It’s time to give Byron a kicking

MADE CAMPUS FARE

STAFF and students at York have paid tribute to Bar Manager Kevin Nicholson, who died last week, writes ADRIAN BUTLER..

Nicholson, 51, collapsed suddenly last Monday in the gym. He was exercising with his wife Carol Appleton, a facilities manager at the university.

Jane Wyman, who worked as Nicholson’s deputy while he was Bursar for Vanbrugh, Langwith and Derwent, stressed how the death has taken everyone by surprise. “It has been a great shock for all of us,” she said.

“I must say that I still find it difficult to believe he is no longer with us.”

Director of Facilities Andy MacDonald said: “In his 24 years at the University, he met and helped a huge number of students and staff.”

Last year, Nicholson was put in charge of the University’s Food and Drink. According to

l Guest:

He’s weak, easy to manipulate l James: I need to put in more effort COCKSURE JCR chair Rick Guest has got embroiled in a furious spat with SU Services Officer James Byron after claiming he wasn’t up to the job.

In an astonishing attack, Guest called Byron “weak”, “easily manipulated” and “a bit wet”.

Byron responded by accusing Guest of starting his campaign early for next year’s Union elections.

The blistering personal remarks come as rumours grow that Byron could soon face a humiliating vote of censure.

Outspoken Derwent chair Guest said the Services Officer was “a bit wet and not very convincing”.

He added: “Byron is weak. He lacks balls. He hasn’t got very strong opinions or convictions and this may be his downfall.”

Rick, who has masterminded the shamelessly tacky Club D, even attacked Byron for staging campus events that “in many ways lack inspiration”.

Mutterings of discontent about Byron’s laid-back approach have been rife in Union circles for some weeks.

One insider complained that laidback Byron rarely turned up for work

BY TOM HAZELDINE before eleven, despite occupying the most demanding of all SU posts.

The phrase “to do a Bryon” has allegedly become a popular way of blasting someone for not getting their job done.

Another well-placed source revealed that the patience of fellow officers is ready to snap – with a formal motion of censure on the cards.

Belligerent Guest said he was not surprised, adding: “He’s never around in the SU building. He gets paid to do a job he’s simply not doing.”

Ents Officer Adina Watt said Byron’s involvement in the disastrous Freshers Derwent Chair Rick Guest: Launched astonishing attack on James Byron

Bash – when organisers were forced to give away hundreds of tickets due to lack of demand – was “less than it could have been”.

She admitted hearing “a lot of dissatisfaction” about his work-rate, but added Byron had “done a hell of a lot of work on the administration side” since taking over.

Byron won a closely fought battle to become Services Officer in March.

On election night the former Campaigns Officer and Halifax JCR chair jubilantly told an expectant crowd: “You’re going to have to kick my arse if I’m not doing my job”.

Guest retorted this week: “It’s time to give him a kicking”.

A candid Byron gave his side of the story last night.

He admitted: “I haven’t been trying as hard as I can. I know I need to put more effort into the job.

“At least some of the accusations are partially true. I’m not at all a confrontational person.

“I try to achieve compromise rather than asserting myself. It’s meant to be a non-hierarchal Union.”

He added there needed to be “some

give and take” about the hours he was expected to work, pointing out he often worked late into the night sorting out campus events.

But he fiercely denied being easily manipulated, claiming: “That’s been an accusation laid at Rick’s door before now.”

He dismissed Club D as “one of the least inspired events on campus” and remained calm about the threatened vote of censure.

“If enough people think it’s justified, then I’ll accept it,” he said.

SU President Tom Connor admitted that Byron was having problems with the job. “James himself admits that there are areas of his work that need tweaking,” he told Vision.

“If he thinks there’s a problem I’m sure he will do everything to ensure that he is focussed and motivated.”

“James is hard-working in his own individual style.”

Connor re-assured students that he gets on with Bryon, but stated: “It’s unfortunate that the only things we talk about relate to SU politics. I guess that’s just par for the course.”

Official: We’re the dullest students in Britain

BY JAMES MELLOR

YORK are the most boring in the country — and that’s official.

The university, riding high in the academic league tables, came last in a survey of 40 universities compiled

by Siemens Mobile phones that aimed to seek out the country’s most ‘up for it’ students.

Students across the country took part in the study, which involved a series of tasks including drinking competitions, having various parts of the body shaved and persuading strangers to part with their underwear.

However, the participants from York could only be talked into going as far as the karaoke microphone.

Simon Robinson, one of the competition judges, was

“disappointed” by the response in York and said of the students: “I don’t know if it’s something in the water, but it seems that here they prefer cups of tea and an early night rather than living up to the traditional student image and going a bit crazy”.

SU President Tom Connor has hit back: “We’ve got 120 various clubs and societies at this university with students taking part in a number of hugely diverse activities. Their definition of boring seems bizarre.”

He was also to quick to blame the city’s licensing laws, arguing that “there is hardly anywhere to drink after 11pm. I didn’t realize how backward York was going to be until I arrived here,” he added.

However “backward” York’s nightlife may be, it is the students who have been labelled dull and this accusation has been met with mixed responses across campus.

Whilst many have greeted the news with a grudging acceptance, others like Jamie Smith, have vowed to demonstrate to the country just how ‘up for it’ the students of York can be.

Jamie, a student representative during the Siemens events admitted: “The response from the students here was really poor”. But he believes that this was not typical behaviour.

“I’m convinced we’re not the dullest students in the country,” he said. “I know this university doesn’t have the image being portrayed here, we’re crazier than people think and we’re determined to prove you wrong”.

With Vision having so far failed to track down the infamous ‘Daily Sport Three’, Jamie may well be finding himself alone in his attempts to ditch our ‘University of Dork’ tag for good.

Kevin Nicholson Macdonald, his programme to modernise and upgrade catering “was already showing impressive results with new café bars, chef appointments and staff training.”

He added: “Kevin showed an incredible commitment to everything he did. He was thoroughly concientious, always helpful and very much liked.”

Students too were keen to stress Nicholson’s willingness to help them out.

SU President Tom Connor said “over the course of many years we worked very closely with Kevin, and he was very supportive of everything we did. It’s a great loss to the University.”

Vanbrugh Provost Allan Warren, who worked with Nicholson for 18 years, praised his “quiet professionalism, his ability to think through imaginative solutions to difficult problems and his concern for the domestic staff for whom he was responsible.”

Nicholson also served as a magistrate and on learning of his death, colleagues at the York courts stood in silence as a tribute.

The funeral was held on Saturday at York Crematorium.

As well as his wife Carol, Nicholson is survived by his two sons Tom, 12,

4 NEWS

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

YORK VISION 3/12/02

LATE FOR YOUR LECTURE? IT’S TIME TO CATCH . .

BY ANNA MAYALL PRO-GAY play Bent nearly faced cancellation a day before opening night after a flurry of complaints from homosexual students.

In an extraordinary gaffe, the play’s publicity caused outrage by being mistaken for fascist propaganda. The play, which includes full male nudity and a simulated sex scene depicts the persecution of gays in Nazi death camps.

The pink posters featuring a swastika and the word “Bent” with no mention of the play it advertised, sparked panic across campus at a time when concern over the BNP’s growing popularity is rife.

Adam Hadley, SU LGB officer, instantly fired off an email to Bent director, David Milne and demanded that all posters be taken down.

Hadley then called an urgent SU meeting in response to the offended students who were calling for the play’s cancellation. Milne expressed his bewilderment at the misunderstanding and his deepest apologies for any offence inadvertently caused.

Bent has been at the centre of controversy already this term when anonymous homophobic emails were sent to the production team threatening to storm the performance in protest. Security was called in on opening night when a group was spotted acting suspiciously outside the drama barn.

BY TOM HAZELDINE WINE Soc has warned freshers to stay off the bottle after another boisterous meeting got out of hand.

One new recruit had to be escorted home by Security when he started hurling abuse at staff after refusing to leave.

The 100-strong society has now ordered its members not to drink elsewhere before gettogethers.

A senior Wine Soc figure last week denied encouraging loutish behaviour, adding that many first years simply don’t know their limits.

“They can’t handle the mixing of alcohol, especially if it’s grape and grain. One of the reasons why Wine Soc was set up was to appreciate how to drink wine. We’re not just there to piss it up.”

The Vanbrugh fresher behind this recent fracas escaped formal punishment with a rap on the knuckles from Provost Allen Warren.

This latest disturbance had looked set to sour the group’s already fraught relations with backroom staff in Derwent college.

Meanwhile, Christine Hamilton is set to become patron of Wine Soc after telling students it seemed a “jolly good idea”. The former Goodricke student was last in York in July when she was joined by hubby Neil as guests of honour at the Grad Ball.

THE 9.10

Could a train like this soon be speeding through campus?

Halifax’s only policy: a monorail to campus

BY JON BENTHAM WHAT started as a Halifax College prank campaigning for the construction of a monorail to save residents the ten-minute walk to campus, has snowballed into a movement threatening to leave the credibility of the Students’ Union in tatters.

Vision can reveal that a Monorail Emergency General Meeting is imminent – “We’re calling it within the week,” say the masterminds behind the operation.

A positive result at the EGM will leave SU President Tom Connor with the humiliating prospect of having to stand before the heads of the university, while lobbying for a central venue and a return to 24-hour portering, and plead on the students’ behalf for a £17million monorail system.

“We’d be a laughing stock,” says outgoing Halifax chair Tim Fassam.

The campaign has already gathered astonishing levels of support in its native college. “It’s united the whole of Halifax,” believes Fassam’s successor Verity Radley, “everyone just loves it.”

In scenes described by one JCRC member as “the funniest thing I’ve ever seen,” a week 5 committee open meeting was overrun with almost a hundred Monorail campaigners. The motion was passed with an overwhelming majority, the raucous crowd then proceeding to gather a “deafening” chant of “Monorail!

Monorail! Monorail!” before Tom Connor has dismissed claims that the celebrations spilled out onto the Union is ineffectual: “We’ve had a the streets. number of successes this year already, and With the college having this is blatantly the year where somefailed to pass even its own con- thing’s going to happen on the bar and stitution to date, the monorail venue front.” lobby stands alone as the only Services Officer James Byron has official policy of Halifax college. slammed the monorail initiative: “If it The campaign is the brain- gets passed we’d all look like dicks,” he child of third years Mike Berrill and Jen said, “it’s already gone too far.”

Burns, and despite Fassam saying that he However Berrill and Burns are both would be “very, very surprised” if they keen to emphasis the real benefits at stake were to gather enough students to make for the suffering Halifaxer: the EGM quorate, they seem remarkably “This college simply has to have a confident of their level of support. monorail,” Berrill insists, “we get really “It’s going to be so easy,” said Berrill. wet walking back from campus – and “Too easy. We managed to get a hundred most of us haven’t got en-suite showers signatures for our petition in less than an so we deserve something nice. hour when we first started all this. With “We could extend it right across camthe quoracy having just been lowered, it’s pus, and we could solve the Central Venue going to be no effort at all getting the problem too by having it on the monorail. rest.”

MIKE BERRILL & JEN BURNS: Monorail Masterminds Burns is determined that people take them seriously: “When women first asked for the vote, people laughed, and when the students of York first asked for a monorail, people laughed, but you have to dream – it’s time to let the dream become a reality.

“The only thing that stands in our way is the defeatist attitude of society at large,” she added.

For many the Monorail EGM will be seen as a referendum on the state of the Students’ Union.

“I think quite a few people are supporting us as a protest against the SU,” Berrill revealed. “People are fed up – we’ve been asking for a central bar and venue for thirty years and have got nothing, so why not ask for a monorail? We’re just as likely to get it.”

We’ll call it the Central Moving Venue.

“And think of all the media attention we’d get – we’d become a national land mark.” The York monorail campaign has already been hotly debated on Student Broadcast Network, while Berrill and Burns have also had offers to join up with a group campaigning for a similar initiative in California.

University Admin have also refused to simply laugh off the matter, their spokeswoman Hilary Layton told Vision: “All discussions over the monorail would have to be in the context of planning regulations for the new campus.

“We are looking at an integrated transport system for the developments, and no concrete plans have yet been made.

“Any suggestion would however have to indicate how you intend to pay for it,” she added soberly.

As support for the movement begins to

swell across campus, a nervous Students’

Union awaits the verdict of the impending

EGM with increasing trepidation.

Wayne, you’ve used every excuse in the book STUDENTS have reacted angrily to news that the ground floor refurbishment of the JB Morrell library, originally due to be completed over the past summer, may now drag on well into next term.

Head of User Services Wayne Connolly had promised Vision a brand new library entrance and issue desk by “the end of October,” after students were stunned to return from their holidays to find building work still on-going.

However with the refurbishment having “slipped through the term” as a result of conCONNOLLY: Broken promises tractors failing to keep to their

BY SOPHIE WHITEHEAD agreed dates, Connolly has refused to rule out for certain the prospect of students returning from their vacations to once again find their studies affected by the disturbance of continued building works.

Although he does “firmly believe” that the bulk of the work will be finished by then, this still leaves the creation of a new PC and audio-visual room, scheduled to be built throughout the spring term.

Students are furious at the thought of further building chaos, second year English stu-

dent Rob Thomas telling Vision: “I can’t believe they’re taking so long about it – it’s stressful enough trying to get through a degree without having to put up with mile-long check-out queues and builders pissing around with drills.”

SU Educational Campaigns Officer Ange Cheyne has compiled a report in response to the huge number of complaints made by students in regard to the level of disruption.

Claiming that the major renovation of the ground floor, including the long-awaited key texts room, was always expected to take a full year, the find-

ings have left many feeling misled over the length of time they believed the disruptions would last.

Cheyne highlights building disruptions as merely one area in a long list of complaints regarding the library and the manner in which it is run; including problems with the computer systems, self-service machines, the key text system and a chronic shortage of photocopiers.

There seems little hope at present that the new term will bring with it the long overdue resumption of normal services at the JB Morrell library.

3/12/02 YORK VISION

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

NEWS 5

Admin make me live above a supermarket supermarBY SOPHIE WHITEHEAD AND JON BENTHAM A GROUP of Vanbrugh college freshers are furious at the shocking quality of off-campus accommodation provided for them by the university — above a Fulford supermarket.

Admin struggled to accommodate a larger-thananticipated student intake this year.

But while a number of Derwent freshers were forced to temporarily room share, eleven Vanbrugh first years were placed in cramped rooms above Jackson’s Supermarket in Fulford — a 20-minute walk from campus.

First year Philosophy student Dave Ellis has revealed to Vision:  He has to climb across a roof via the building’s fire exit every time he wants to reach his room.  One student’s room vibrates so much with the noise of the deliveries below that it once caused him to fall out of bed.  The assistance bell in the supermarket below rings in his room as loud as a doorbell – every 10-15 minutes from 7am to 11pm each day.

“It’s really annoying,” he explained, “we’ve got the noise from the main road on one side, we’ve got sirens going off from the police station across the street, and three of us are living right above the delivery bay round the back. They come twice every morning it’s like they’re dragging the trolleys across cattle grids.”

Ellis originally applied for en-suite accommodation in either James or Alcuin with a 30-week let. Living

Dyke: I didn’t pen Nouse obscenities

BBC director-general Greg Dyke has revealed he once sued the York Evening Press over claims he had written “obscene articles” for campus rag Nouse.

Dyke was a student at York in the early 1970s and regularly wrote for Nouse during its more daring days – years before its rival Vision was even founded.

Speaking in York recently, he said: “They published a story about me writing obscene articles for the student newspaper.

“I did not write any and I had nothing to do with the obscene cartoon about a nun. So I asked for an apology.” The paper refused, so Dyke decided to sue.

“I got my apology,” he said.

“And I got £250. When you think my student grant for a year was £450, you can imagine that was an awful lot of money. My girlfriend and I had a fantastic

ROD HILLS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE Mr Hills, along with a G-string and leather items, in his home on April 11. They believed the bondage items related to the images and persuaded Miss X to give a statement against him.

It was also revealed in court that Mr Hills handed over £1,300 to a former boyfriend of Miss X allegedly so that he could leave Britain and start a job in the Canary Islands.

But now, Rod Hills, councillor and York University lecturer is looking to put the past few months behind him.

“Right now I want to get my life back,” he told Vision.

“This started in April, and it is now December. Myself, my family and friends have been under enormous strain and I want to get back to normal.”

Call Vision on 01904 433 720.

Vision is printed by Westcountry Design and Print, Exeter.

above Jackson’s is automatically a 38-week let and so will cost him an extra £200 over the year.

He and his housemates also face extra expense through the huge cost of taxis to and from campus, as many feel it too unsafe to make the long walk via Fulford barracks. It is poorly lit and has been the site of a number of student attacks over the past few years.

Many of those forced to live in Fulford feel cut off from the rest of their college.

Their sense of isolation was not eased when they discovered that Vanbrugh provost Alan Warren had no idea they even existed. When one of the students attempted to introduce himself to his college provost, he was met with genuine surprise that Vanbrugh had any first years living off campus at all.

Vision approached University Accommodation Officer David Maughan with the details of the students’ complaints, however he claims they do not live far enough away from campus to receive priority transfer status.

“Campus accommodation is not guaranteed,” he said, going on to reveal that the university owns two properties above shops and are yet to receive a single complaint regarding either.

Despite the problems, Ellis is no longer seeking a transfer from his present accommodation.

“I’ve become too attached to all my friends here,” he said, “we’re like a family now, I wouldn’t change things now, but I would definitely have asked to live somewhere else if I knew when I was applying what I do now.”

CAMPUS T0 GET A HOTEL

BY ROB HARRIS

A HIGH-CLASS hotel is to be built on the University’s new campus — but the Vice Chancellor has declared it won’t be a place for “Japanese tourists”.

Brian Cantor starkly told Vision: “It’s not an arrangement whereby we will be putting up Japanese tourists.”

The facility will facilitate year-round conferences on Campus Three, but the SU have raised concerns that the university isn’t getting its priorities right.

Union President Tom Connor, has warned: “Are we here as conference facility or a university? What comes first conference guests or students?”

He added: “Whenever we have had conferences on campus in term time in past it has led to strong provisions being ignored. A year-round facility will make this circumstance worse.”

Short residential courses will be a key use of the hotel, but it is the year-round conference trade that makes the proposition so attractive to Admin. A posh level of facilities is promised.

The hotel is the latest detail to emerge from the Campus Three development plan being drawn up. And, the most senior figures in Admin have been speaking to Vision about the £100m project.

The biggest concern emerging is where the funding for the 20-year project will come from. The university wants the first college on the site within five years.

But it’s not for Japanese tourists, says VC Cantor

Cantor: gibe at Japanese But, Cantor admitted there are financial problems: “We haven’t got the money right now. If we had the money in the bank we would spend it. We need careful thought about the potential funding stream.”

And, Pro-Vice Chancellor Felicity Ridy went further. “Goodness knows where we will get the money from,” she admitted.

It’s the progress of talks on a central venue that most interests students — but

Connor is preparing to deliver a shocking proposal.

Although Admin appear closer to agreeing in practise to the bar, Tom Connor is set to incur the wrath of JCRCs after calling for an end to colleges running their own large-scale events — when the 1,000-capacity venue is built.

VC Brian Cantor revealed: “If the view collectively is that there has to be a central facility then that’s what we will do. Now is the time for students to think really hard about what they want to do.”

But he concluded with a cautious note: “We musn’t run before we can walk.”

But, in doing a deal with Admin, Connor intends to consign popular events such as Club D to the history books.

Making the case for a Central Bar and Venue on campus 3, he has told the Vice Chancellor that he is in favour of an end to these profitable events that are the backbone of college life.

Connor believes that JCRCs should stick to small-scale activities such as bar quizzes and leave large club-style events to the new 1000-capacity central venue.

He told Vision: “It is not just Derwent students that go to Club D anyway.

Students go wherever there are events on campus anyway.

“It would mean that students would have a better venue that isn’t just a dining room with a few lights in to go to.

“We hope that the Union venue would be constructed in order to successfully compete with city centre clubs.”

However he did have a reassuring message to college committees: “We are not proposing any money being taken away from the JCRCs, we will redistribute equally money between colleges.”

But, the masterplanning process being undertaken by York City Council is ongoing. The University is yet to have the 65-hectare site approved for building on.

The major stumbling block are the Heslington residents, who will see a further 5,000 students descend on their village.

Accepting the growing concerns of residents MacDonald warned: “The university is in danger of swamping the village.”

However, Cantor seems determined to ignore concerns of the locals, insisting that the villagers need to move on. The days when cows inhabited Main Street, Heslington was a long time ago and residents need to look to the future, Cantor insisted.

He just reeled off the his latest soundbite when defending the project: “We’re excellence driven and do growth for

Central Venue: Connor wants end to Club D-style college events

6 POLITICS

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

YORK VISION 03/12/02

As the prospect of war with Iraq looms ever closer, Vision tackles the big debate.

Stop Saddam now

BY DAVE SAMMELS

Is it time to end Saddam Hussein’s brutal reign?

DAY BY day, war on Iraq seems increasingly imminent. Reservists are being called up by the American army, and British Armed Forces have been deployed in the surrounding countries on exercise.

In response to this, a vocal body of students, both at York and other universities, has been beginning the campaign to prevent a war.

But how far is mistrust of the American and British governments justified in this issue? The simple fact is, war on Iraq is not the act of evil that the well-meaning members of Students Against the War pretend it is.

A more careful analysis of the risks and advantages must be made.

Saddam Hussein consistently mistreats the Iraqi people, particularly the minorities.

The chemical weapons which he used upon the Kurdish people during the attack on Halabja in 1998 resulted in the death or disfiguration of over 45,000 people.

One million Shi'te Moslems have been driven out of their homes in southern Iraq, and 200,000 members of the country's various democratic opposition movements have been executed since 1984.

Countless more are dragged away in the night to be tortured, common forms includ-

ing electric shocks, knife cuts and lashings.

Fair trials and humane punishments are hardly the hallmark of Iraqi justice.

Mr Hussein has already developed Al-Hussein missiles, with an effective range of over 750km.

Coupled with his attempts to obtain weapons-grade uranium over the black market, and the number of military scientists he has at his disposal with the necessary knowledge, it can only be concluded that Saddam Hussein intends to construct a nuclear bomb.

And a man who places so little value on the lives of his own people is unlikely to much restraint when it comes to perpetrating such acts against his enemies.

In 1991, Iraq was found to be in possession of numerous biological and chemical weapons, including VX, 10mg of which, on unexposed skin, is enough to cause an unpleasant death.

Hans Blix, leader of the UN Weapon Inspections Team, has stated that Iraq is still capable of producing such weapons, and believes that they still have them stockpiled.

The apprehension over war is understandable. Nobody relishes the prospect, even those who advocate it in this case.

After all, the lives of Allied Servicemen and innocent Iraqis will be put

a

t

FOR!

risk. Every time the BBC reported a tragedy during the war in Afghanistan it was impossible not to mourn for at least a few moments.

But the war on Afghanistan was a success. The Taleban's brutal regime, mirrored in many ways by that of Iraq, was toppled.

Justice and a respect for human and civil rights is developing, as is democracy.

Many of the horror scenarios, which SAW and other protestors claim will happen in Iraq, did not happen there.

There is no American exploitation of resources, as many believed would happen.

The Iraqi people deserve democracy as much as any other people. They should have the right to participation and representation in government.

The slogan, "Not in My Name is one with which it is hard to disagree. But perhaps it should be used in a different way.

'Not in my name' shall we rest until all are afforded the right to life, justice, civil and human rights, democracy and freedom.

Let us keep our eyes on the greater good.

Iraq is the wrong target AGAINST!

ON HIS most recent mission, in Die Another Day, James Bond discovered how inhospitable the North Koreans could be. Using his intelligence, guile, courage and experience he ultimately prevented the secret communist state from causing mass destruction across the world. It remains to be seen whether the US can do the same.

Over the past month, the signs have not been promising. Tensions first began last October, when North Korea admitted it was pursuing a nuclear arms programme, in clear violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968.

That was followed by the expulsion of UN weapon inspectors and the recent announcement that they are to reopen a nuclear reactor and plutonium reprocessing plant.

As if this was not worrying enough, there is now the very real possibility of missile tests restarting again in the Pacific.

BY DAVID PEPPER

The US believes that North Korea may have already created a nuclear bomb, and that it has ballistic missiles capable of reaching Japan. It is also said to be working on ballistic missiles capable of reaching Hawaii and Alaska.

However, the most immediate threat is to the region surrounding North Korea. The most obvious target is south of the peninsula, where 30,000 US troops are currently positioned.

Any attack on Seoul would almost certainly bring a reaction from Washington with devastating consequences.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was designed to prevent global nuclear meltdown. If Pyongyang is allowed to so blatantly disregard it, other countries may follow, restarting their own nuclear arms programmes, for purposes of self defence against states such as North Korea.

President Bush's response to all of this activity has been somewhat confusing.

He initially adopted a harsh and forthright approach, however following encouragement from the international

community he has now decided upon a more diplomatic strategy.

It seems that, having spoken of a 'zero tolerance' policy on rogue states, Bush is in fact tolerating them, in this case at least.

One million anti-American demonstrators recently paraded along Pyongyang's streets in a gesture no doubt made by the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, to remind Washington that the ball is very much in its court.

The West, however, seems far more concerned with Iraq, with troops and vessels being moved to the region.

Every day, we are seeing the usual war rhetoric being bounded about in the press, in a bid to maintain the pressure on Baghdad.

However, the evidence against Iraq can hardly be described as damning.

Indeed, the case in Iraq is the opposite of that in North Korea.

There is a denial of any nuclear weapons programme, as opposed to Pyongyang's admission of one; there are UN weapons-inspectors in the country, whereas Pyongyang has expelled them from North Korea, and most importantly the inspectors in Baghdad have not yet

Western forces are being deployed to the Gulf, but should they be heading to North Korea instead?

found anything of importance.

Even if there were a programme involving weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, it seems unlikely that it would be as advanced as that of North Korea's.

This being the case, war against Iraq is both unjustified and unfair.

If the US is set on pursuing the diplomatic option with North Korea, even though it is violating treaties and posing a huge threat to the surrounding region, then there can be little argument for war in the Gulf. Such inconsistency in poli-

6 POLITICS

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

YORK VISION 03/12/02

TOM HAZELDINE reports from the York picket line

IN THE LINE OF FIRE IT WAS already getting bloody cold by the time the first green goddess slowly trundled past.

The striking firefighters listened intently to the approaching siren, waiting to catch a glimpse of their temporary replacements.

Finally the troops arrived, smiling as they drove by under police escort. One even waved.

But the men outside York's Clifford Street Fire Station just looked plain uncomfortable.

None of them enjoyed seeing others being forced to do their work.

"Playing with my conscience all the time," one muttered to himself.

Leading firefighter Kevin Caulfield, 37, said his crew would break their picket "without a doubt" if they got a call-out where life was at risk, but was adamant they had been left no choice but to begin this latest action.

Green watch has five veterans from the last firefighters' strike of 1977-8, including Pete Clark.

He told me the whole outfit is determined to fight to the bitter end.

"Public support is far greater now," he said.

"Then you felt on your own. There's a massive difference."

I spent a chilly night on the picket line with the York firefighters as they began the recent 8-day strike.

Scores of well-wishers stopped to pledge their support while I w a s

there, and hundreds more hooted their horns as they drove by. A man from Efe's arrived to hand out free pizza, and later a limousine driver pulled up to say hello.

Then a hen party from Widnes, Cheshire, burst on to the scene, demanding to have Fire Brigades Union stickers fixed to their chests, and photos taken with the crew. The keenest got a firemen's lift.

On first impression it could all look like a harmless bit of fun. But the firefighters know it's deadly serious.

They're convinced the government is out to get them, forcing this confrontation to crush the firefighters like Thatcher did the miners.

FIRM: Pete Clark and Jim Bowes of York Fire Brigade

Deadly serious "Blair needs his Scargill", one of the men told me. "We're going to be his union."

It's going to be a harsh winter out on the pickets, but the York brigade are better off than some.

Steve Higgins and Paul Hillaby work at Bridlington Fire Station but live in York, and have joined the Clifford Street picket because they've been locked out of their own headquarters.

Fire bases across Humberside have been closed to stop firefighters using their facilities while on strike.

Security guards have been hired to patrol the buildings. "Unnecessary and unjustified" said Steve, but perhaps a sign of things to come.

Green watch started to pack up at eleven, having decided not to stay out front all night.

Kevin Caulfield said it had got "a little bit rowdy" during the last strike.

"We've got to be sensible about our location in the city centre, where alcohol plays a main part. Obviously we're happy to talk to people, but we don't want confrontation."

Asked how many more nights he expected to be out on the pickets, he replied: "Hopefully as few as possible.

"But as members of Fire Brigades Service, we will see this through until we get fair pay for firefighters." He reckons most would settle for a 16 per cent rise – but not if it means introducing major cuts.

The government wants to reduce the number of firefighters working at night as part of its modernisation agenda, and green watch is worried they would be left dangerously understaffed.

Pete Clark said that was unacceptable.

"Modernisation has always meant cutbacks.

We've said that all along.”

"What the employers and the government want is to reduce the workforce.

"That's bad for the fire service and extremely bad for the public. It's the public that will be put at risk."

I went back to the picket last Wednesday, when green watch was again on duty.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott had admitted the day before that jobs would have to go to fund any pay rise above 4 per cent.

It confirmed what these firefighters have been saying all along. As I arrived, they were just

Let bigots have their say

BY GREG HARRIS THE BNP by-election victory in Blackburn, during the heart of YUSU's annual Liberation Week, brought home the reality that the need for such events is still strong in British society.

Since the race riots of summer 2001, there has been a steady rise in the profile of far right political parties that culminated in the election of three BNP councillors in Burnley last May. The recent election of Robin Evans as councillor for the Mill Hill ward of Blackburn, the Parliamentary constituency of Jack Straw, illustrates that this trend has not subsided in the wake of the media outrage following the Burnley wins.

Ateeq Siddique, of the AntiNazi league, addressed York students as part of Liberation Week.

He claims that in the last few years the BNP has attempted to change its image in order to gain political legitimacy.

No longer portraying an image of force and violence the BNP now present themselves as the voice of the silent, white majority.

They claim that their core values are "decency, respect, civic pride, love of one's family and neighbours". Despite the change in

rhetoric however, the racist thuggery at the heart of the BNP has not, and never will, change.

In typical fascist tradition, the BNP plays on economic and social insecurities to push its agenda of hatred.

They offer base "solutions" that, though they lack the ability to solve the problems of deprivation, are accompanied by enough scare stories to attain populist appeal amongst the most disenfranchised.

In truth, the BNP has no validity and cannot stand up to rigorous criticism, its policies and claims based on lies and misrepresentations.

They have nothing to offer the North-west other than a bad reputation, ineffectual representation and the break down of race relations.

This leads us on to the question of how such an organisation should best be confronted. The Anti-Nazi League advocates a ‘No Platform’ policy towards racist organisations, while motions calling to ban the BNP from campus have been proposed at several UGMs. Though such an approach is understandable, it does not tackle the problem that the BNP present.

Based as their success is on misinformation, and groundless and racist claims, it is important

Despite the difference in rhetoric, the racist thuggery at the heart of the BNP has not, and never will, change. that the BNP's arguments can be heard, and their glaring flaws publicised - and who is better placed to voice these absurd arguments than the BNP themselves.

As the recent Channel 4 documentary on former young BNP leader, Mark Collett shows, when given a platform, the BNP's arguments disintegrate on their own accord. Their advocates are then left unmasked as the bigots that they are.

However, free speech rarely works as beautifully as did in Collett's case. While the arguments of the far-right have no credence, the scare-mongering tactics of centre-right media organs such as the Daily Mail, on issues such as asylum seekers and crime, often play straight into the hands of the BNP. It is important, therefore, that well-reasoned and truthful attacks are made on the BNP at every turn, in order to stop them capitalising on the press-induced fears which

influence many of the British public.

This is something many mainstream politicians and newspaper editors seem incapable of doing, perhaps due to an unwillingness to undermine the tabloid scare-stories from which they profit.

“Students”, as Mr Siddique says, "raise the level of debate" on issues such as this. Through education and argument, they can undermine the far-right where politicians will not.

However, by virtue of living in a democracy, the BNP already has many platforms on which it can tout its lies. There is no need for us to give them any more, by having them speak on campus.

This would only serve to further legitimise them in the eyes of those who did not hear their arguments torn apart.

Though ‘No Platform’ is not the way to deal with racist organisations, the BNP already has, and should have, multiple platforms.

We should fight the BNP on the platforms which they already occupy, but we should not give them a foothold where they don't already have one. They already have enough opportunity to spread their lies and deceit.

Conflicting election posters in Blackburn, where the BNP recently won a council by-election

8 POLITICS

FRESHERS YORK VISION

Calling time on last orders

BY MARI LEWIS

Campus bars could benefit from the new legislation STUDENTS ACROSS the country will be raising their glasses to the government's new proposal to revamp pub licensing laws - despite warnings that the price of their drinks could rise.

Pubs in England and Wales could

soon be staying open as long as their Scottish counterparts, where licensing laws have been more liberal since 1976. The new bill, expected to come into force next year, plans to scrap the current fixed drinking hours, allowing landlords to decide when they

Closing in on the Tories Keith Aspden assesses recent polls, and sees grounds for optimism for the Lib Dems.

IAIN DUNCAN Smith, the quiet man of politics, and leader of the Conservative Party, recently stated that his party needs to "unite or die".

This followed a silly, and somewhat prejudiced, three line whip on the gay adoption issue, over which John Bercow, a Shadow Cabinet Minister, even resigned.

Times are certainly not good for the Conservative Party. They have been spilt on policy for the last few years, and have had to deal with the negative effects of personal animosity and feuding.

And things are only getting worse. Recent polls show that the Liberal Democrats are closing the gap on the Conservative Party, with only seven points now separating the two. The last time the Liberal Democrats attracted this level of support was in 1994.

The polls also give a boost to Charles Kennedy, with voters seemingly split on who is providing the best opposition to the Government.

People are gradually seeing the Liberal Democrats as the effective opposition, and theparty has a huge opportunity to change the political landscape in Britain.

The Liberal Democrats are now targeting all Conservative seats with majorities of 7,000 or fewer. The list of MPs in targeted sears includes David Davis, Theresa May and Oliver Letwin.

As if things were not bad enough for the Conservatives, the party’s members now appear to be like rats deserting a sinking ship.

Dr. Harold Elletson, the former Conservative MP for Blackpool North has just defect-

ed to the Liberal Democrats, arguing that, "The Conservative Party is in a state of permanent crisis.

Meanwhile at regional level, Edinburgh Councillor Tom Ponton has just defected, having been a Conservative Party member for twenty-five years. He left because "They don't have any direction."

The Liberal Democrats are well placed to step into the void left by the ailing Conservatives, for a variety of reasons.

The issue of human rights, for instance, is now a peripheral matter to the Conservatives.

Anybody who feels uncomfortable with the Conservative Party - a narrowly focused, uncaring, self-obsessed boil on the face of domestic politics - should follow their conscience.

Britain needs a new vision for the twenty-first century.

People want a sense of idealism restored to politics.

The Liberal Democrats are aiming to deliver this by putting freedom first and delivering new opportunities to every citizen in a liberal society.

Labour appear reluctant to be honest about the investment necessary to promote the freedom that public services provide, while the core of Iain Duncan Smith's Conservative Party is likely to remain too intolerant of diversity, to be truly committed to freedom.

The Liberal Democrats; aim must now be to drive the Conservatives into third place, and drive New Labour out of power. Only then can we secure and stabilise Britain's new, twenty-first century identity.

would like to open.

This could see some pubs staying open 24 hours, and an end to 11pm last orders - a quintessentially British institution which has since 1915 given us late-night curries, post-pub TV and endless queues outside the Gallery at 11:30pm.

In an effort to combat the peaks of alcohol-related crime after closing time, police are also being given new powers to close licensed premises for up to 24 hours where disorder is occurring.

Landlords will also be able to apply for a public entertainment licence at no extra cost. The government predicts that this change, along with others in the bill, will save the UK's 180,000 licensed premises almost £2bn in the first 10 years.

However Stuart Neame, ViceChairman of brewing company Shepherd Neame, warns that the changes would increase the cost of running the country's 70,000 pubs by more than £210 m a year.

"To cover the cost, the price of drinks would have to rise. Six pubs a week are closing and this would make the situation far worse."

Nonetheless, Saturday night drinkers in Vanbrugh bar were enthusiastic: "It should be coming in sooner. It's a free country, but at the moment the laws are like a curfew on our society," said one.

Another denied that longer drinking hours would encourage students to part with their loan, saying "It's a personal choice. By this age we're in control of what we choose."

Several were keen to point out the benefits of increased opening hours.

One said: "There would be a lot less trouble if closing times were staggered.

People would go out socially and drink more slowly, spreading out the drinking."

Improving York's nightlife, reducing binge-drinking and bringing the UK in line with the rest of Europe were other arguments in favour of the new legislation.

However, the new bill is not universally popular. One Vanbrugh drinker said: "Things are just about right the way they are - they should keep it 11 pm during the week and make it later at the weekend."

He added, "It would put pressure on family-run pubs. It doesn't matter to big pubs like the Lowther, but it would be

hard for the smaller ones who can't get the staff."

Many in the hospitality industry are unsure about the benefits of such a change. "An entertainment licence and a late licence are good ideas, but I think 24-hour opening would kill us," says Ella Harvey, assistant manager of Varsity in York.

"It's probably a good thing on the business side, but it would really affect the lives of everyone who works here.

At weekends, 2am would be a good closing time, but it would depend on what other bars are doing."

Staff in one campus bar were more accepting of the proposals however. "I'd feel OK about working ’til late, because when I'm on the other side of the bar, I want to get served," said one.

It is generally accepted that the current laws are in need of reform, and on the whole, the bill has been praised for its common sense.

However it could still have a tough ride ahead before being passed through Parliament, particularly if drinks prices are to go up to cover increased costs and wages.

Higher fees are not the answer

BY DAVID SLATER

I CAN’T HELP wondering whether our Prime Minister is bored of his job. The way that his ministers are going around 'softening up the public' for an increase in tuition fees, you would certainly think so.

After the last election, Mr Blair ordered a review of higher education funding, primarily because opinion polls were showing that the biggest vote loser for Labour was the introduction of tuition fees.

Now it appears all but certain that the review will report back in January with the advice that universities should be able to charge considerably higher tuition fees.

For a government supposedly expert in the art of winning popular support, this doesn't seem like a bright move.

However the public opinion offensive has started. University should be an 'investment' we are told. Graduates earn more than non-graduates, and therefore should be prepared to pay for the benefit.

Yet what the government fails to realise, is that average graduate earnings are pulled up by the high fliers.

The average starting graduate salary in London may be approaching £20,000 but outside London it is £13,000.

Moreover, the jobs that the government would most like us to go into when we graduate public service jobs for example - tend to fall bellow the average.

Tony Blair: Has started the public opinion offensive on tuition fees If the government seriously wants us to treat university as an 'investment' then it should be prepared for a massive shortage of teachers, doctors and legal aid solicitors, but a glut of applications to highly paid city jobs, as students need more money to pay off larger debts.

Furthermore, is it really surprising that graduates earn more than non-graduates given that university students tend to have done better in pre-university education than non-graduates?

And can the government really have failed to consider that higher earnings mean higher income

tax, and thus more money to the treasury?

It is widely recognised that more money needs to be put into higher education.

Universities UK has estimated that some £9.4 billion investment is needed to cope with ever rising student numbers.

This fact illustrates the most spectacular flaw in the government's higher education policies.

On the one hand, we have a government target to get 50% of 18-30 year olds to enter higher education. On the other hand, we have a university system which simply cannot cope with

the ever growing number of students, either financially or in terms of infrastructure.

The government seems utterly unwilling to finance the achievement of its own targets.

While this mess needs to be resolved, charging students more money, in order to be able to teach more and more students does not make sense.

Should the implementation of higher fees take place simply by removing the £1,100 limit, then we would have the even more bizarre situation where those universities charging the highest fees (i.e. the best universities) would be those in least need of the extra money.

A final bizarre twist is provided by the fact that higher tuition fees would involve a higher burden on the tax payer - even though the strongest argument in favour of them is that non-graduate taxpayers would not have to subsidise graduates.

Since the most popular argument against higher tuition fees is that they would prevent poorer students from going to university, means tested support is inevitable.

With higher fees, the amount the government has to pay to universities will increase as well. In short higher tuition fees will put the burden on both student and tax payer.

If the government wants - as it should - to fund higher education properly, then it should do so through ordinary taxation on higher earners, the majority of whom will be graduates.

03/12/02 YORK VISION

Student Press OXFORD Student reports the resignation of Union Returning officer Nicola da Costa following a string of allegations, including that her and her sister Alex “smelled.” The University’s Senior Disciplinary Committee has rejected her complaints, although admitted that comments on her personal hygiene had been of a “crude and juvenile” nature.

The paper also brings bad news for unlucky-in-love Oxbridge romantics. According to the Education Guardian Online, Oxbridge graduates make up a quarter of an online dating service aimed at undergraduates and alumni.

And for those sucessful at the dating game, they report that Condomi are offering 100 lucky students the chance to be paid for “rigorous pleasure tests” on their product.

Meanwhile at the Warwick Boar, student Mr Wu has been arrested after allegedly performing “Kung fu” moves on security officials at a martial arts society social. Mr Wu apparently became aggravated after bar staff refused to accept the £1.50 he offerred to cover a £4.50 round of drinks. He has been charged with common assault.

Over at Manchester’s Student

Direct, students are warned to be on their alert after a man was caught putting what were suspected to be “date rape” pills into another customer’’s drink at a popular student pub.

Elsewhere, Bradford University has come under attack for its decision to run a new course in Drink and Society. The House of Lords has branded the course “a study of beer drinking in Yorkshire” while Tory Peer Lord Trefgarne accused the course of being an “absurd” waste of public money.

Finally, Bristol’s Epigram announces the appointment of Great Britain’s youngest professor.

Dr Kathy Sykes aged 35 has the daunting new job of “making science sexy”; and they exclusively reveal that purchases of roasting joints at Tesco have soured in student communities, making the old fashioned roast dinner the trendiest way to keep your mum happy and

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

MEDIA 9

WALL STREET’S WONDER B Y CHRIS CERMACK "THE BEAUTY of this profession is, high points just keep happening." says Frederick Kempe.

Kempe has experienced far more than the average journalist - from his beginnings as a feature writer at the Salt Lake City Tribune in Utah, to a two year spell as a foreign correspondent in Bonn with Newsweek, to his current stretch as editor and associate publisher of the Wall Street Journal Europe.

Celebrating its twentieth anniversary in February next year, the Wall Street Journal Europe remains a relatively young newspaper, battling for supremacy in an older, more established European market.

But according to Kempe, the paper is finally starting to come of age. He says: "The last five years have been sort of a quantum leap in how fully established we are.

"We are quoted, more quoted, we have more reporters in Europe…we just have more influence in Europe than we used to."

With the resources and reputation of a best-selling U.S. newspaper franchise behind it (average daily circulation of the U.S. Wall Street Journal is currently over 1.8 million), the WSJE hardly had to start from scratch when it first entered the European market.

But proving to its readers that it is more than just an American paper sold in Europe has been a long and difficult process.

Frederick Kempe flicking through the the morning papers "It helps and it hurts," says Kempe devoting one of two politics pages in the of the paper's American origins. "It paper solely to European news. helps in the sense that, if you're British, This, and the mere passing of time or German, or French, the economy has helped improve the Journal's image you care about most outside of your in Europe. own is probably the American econo"We used to be considered an my…On the other hand, you don't want American newspaper printed in Europe people not to read your newspaper and now I think we're considered much because 'it’s just about America.'" more a global business and financial A strong focus on European news newspaper, with a European edition," can be seen in Kempe's continued insist- says Kempe. ence that at the very least, one story on However, being the only European the front page each day is European, as newspaper without a national market in well as the relatively recent move of Europe to fall back on can have its

drawbacks. The Wall Street Journal Europe depends on the internationally minded reader and businessman.

But closer European integration has meant, as Kempe says, that "the population of our target readers is growing".

And as the European Union prepares to take on a new wave of members, Kempe sees the "trends going in our direction".

Aside from a four year stint as chief diplomatic correspondent in Washington in 1986, Kempe has remained in Europe since joining the Rome Daily American Newspaper in 1977, and has been part of the Wall Street Journal since 1981.

Kempe has covered such wide ranging events as the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the American invasion of Panama and the reunification of Germany.

Given his current position, it is hardly surprising that he is fascinated by the political scene surrounding Europe at the moment. "Europe is defining itself, Europe is changing, and in one way or another I want to be attached to those changes," he says.

So what got him interested in journalism in the first place? He leans back and ponders, "That's interesting - my sister was a '68 radical, working for an underground newspaper in Utah…I saw how exciting her life was and so I wanted a piece of that."

With such a wide array of memories to conjure up - it is no wonder that Kempe has trouble focusing on any one highpoint.

Making waves at R3 Traditionally the black sheep of the BBC family, Radio 3 is trying to raise its profile. Sam Walton tunes in BBC Radio is one of the great things that unites students. For a start, it's free, and whether you're from Skegness or Inverness, the chances are that you'll have been woken up by Sara Cox, heard overexcited commentary from Alan Green or been in the car when your dad's been listening to Desert Island Discs.

With Radios 1, 2, 4 and 5, you're safe - all have a pretty clearly marked listenership, and when you tune in you know what to expect.

With Radio 3 on the other hand, there's more of a risk; wilfully obscure documentaries about Gregorian chant nestle next to fantastically dull literary reviews with impunity, the station's output and target audience are seemingly a mystery.

If it were a drink, Radio 3 would be Dr Pepper - everybody knows what it is, but nobody really knows what it tastes like.

But if you're brave enough to find 91.5FM (what's the worst that can happen?) and pick through the smokescreen of the high-brow pretension and the entirely unlistenable, you'll discover an Aladdin's cave of new music, presented with a passion by normal people.

Thankfully, it seems that more people are venturing to the low end of their FM dial to sample the delights that Radio 3 put out, as more of a buzz surrounds the station than ever.

Radio 3 prides itself on its broad audience, but for the student listener Late Junction’s Verity Sharp the time to tune in is, without doubt, the classic graveyard shift. During the week, "Late Junction" plays just about anything the presenters can lay their hands on, and Friday night sees the Andy Kershaw world music programme, which is not dissimilar to his old Radio 1 slot.

On a Sunday, "Mixing It" is the best of the bunch, playing a broad church of unorthodox sounds from indie right through to modern classical pieces and electronica.

Mark Russell, co-presenter of the superb Sunday evening show, occasional presenter of Late Junction and former York Student, suggests why more students are listening to Radio 3: "With bands like Radiohead making more diverse music, there are suddenly lots of people who want to hear their influences. We accept that someone's record collection does not consist of entirely one genre, and wanted to reflect that".

The arrival of Roger Wright, current controller of Radio 3, four years ago, also signalled something of a renaissance at the station.

Late Junction was his baby, Wright being keen to promote the eclectic nature of the station. With Mixing It already installed as a mainstay for new music and Andy Kershaw arriving.

Wright was assembling a roster which could compete with the likes of John Peel and Mary-Anne Hobbs' Breezeblock show for listeners.

"John Peel has always been someone to look up to", continues Mark Russell, "Because he's never afraid to try something new".

Indeed, many comparisons can be made between the current Radio 3 evening output and legendary broadcaster Peel; there's always a thirst for real diversity, encyclopaedic knowledge of music at the presenters' fingertips, and an approachable style of presentation.

And this is the real beauty of these evening shows: the music is always interesting, but the DJs are what make you listen again and again.

There is interesting discussion, but it's never pretentious; there is useful information, but it's

Andy Kershaw: catch him on Friday nights never self-aggrandising.

Both Late Junction and Mixing It are co-presented, and Mark Russell maintains that having two people in the studio keeps their feet on the ground: "Having somebody else there really de-mystifies the process. It makes the programme far less elitist. We try to make the programme appeal to all types of people".

With that aim of total inclusion, coupled with its musical output, Radio 3 have hit on a rare thing intelligent programming that doesn't discriminate, doesn't alienate and which genuinely has mass appeal.

So when you next see an advert on the telly for Radio 3, don't ignore it.

Give it a listen, if only for 15 minutes. You never know - you might like it.

BLUFFER’S GUIDE TO THE CHANGES MIXING IT

When: Sunday, 2300 Who: Mark Russell (ex-York Student) and Robert Sandall What: Bjork, Woody Guthrie, Aphex Twin Apparently: "the bastion of experimental music radio, covering a wide range of styles including leftfield areas of modern classical, dance, rock and world music"

LATE JUNCTION

When: Monday-Thursday, 2015 Who: Verity Sharp (also an ex York student) and Fiona Talkington What: Radiohead, Philip Glass, Eliza Carthy Apparently: "a laid-back, eclectic mix of music from across the globe, ranging from Mali to Bali to 21st-century electronica"

ANDY KERSHAW

When: Friday, 2015 Who: Former Radio 1 legend Andy Kershaw, duh.

What: Johnny Cash,Yorkshire soon-to-be legend Kate Rusby, Bob Dylan Apparently: "a unique mix of world music, rock, country, blues and the unexpected"

10 COMMENT

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

YORK VISION

Tom CONNOR

WINNER OF 3 GUARDIAN MEDIA AWARDS

Time for a servicing, James

THEY say that it’s always the nice guys who end up in the worst situations. Well, tough.

The SU sabbatical officers have enjoyed a term in their posts without any criticism from Vision. Each time we’ve come out, they’ve nervously crowded round a copy and breathed a sigh of relief. But now it’s time to make them spill their coffee.

Sabbs, consider your honeymoon period officially over.

Of course, we’re not about to lay into them for an easy story.

But it’s our job to hold them accountable for their actions — or inactions.

And students are getting fed up with the way that James Byron has been conducting himself in the Services hot seat in recent weeks.

You see, the hot seat’s empty. And James is in bed.

Byron is effectively the CEO of the SU, and, traditionally the boss gets into work late. But at the moment, the SU’s hardly the toast of Wall Street. It’s time to put in some extra hours.

Vision isn’t interested in attacks on Byron as a person.

Compared to his predecessor Dan Simon, he is seen by most people as a pleasant person to deal with.

Simon was one of the most obnoxious people to walk on campus — even those working next to him in the Union Office couldn’t stand him.

But we’re worried about attacks on the way he handles the job, which entails a budget of £500,000, and can make a massive difference to student life.

It’s a huge responsibility – but he seems to be struggling with the enormity of the challenge he faces looking after the services for 10,000 students.

Dan Simon’s legacy is partly to blame for Byron’s first highprofile cock-up — the Freshers’ Bash that lost the Union thousands of pounds.

But now James is on his own with no one to blame when the shit hits. His big challenge is the Grad Ball, and as we did last year, Vision will be monitoring its progress very closely.

We are not trying to ruin the event with our investigations (as Simon claimed last year) but to expose problems earlier on to ensure graduates get the send-off from York they deserve.

In fact, many believe that if we hadn’t put the frighteners on Simon early on, the event wouldn’t have been half as good as it eventually was.

Byron’s honesty is to be applauded. He is now realising that the Services brief needs a big commitment, and it’s refreshing for him to admit: “I need to put more effort into the job.” But you get the sense he’s happy just to keep apologising — it’s easier than getting out of bed on time.

People who don’t do anything don’t leave paper trials. It’s hard to prove when a sabb isn’t pulling their weight — but we’re on the look-out.

Monorail! Monorail!

“BETTER than a bus, faster than a tram, the students of Halifax have finally spoken: we want a monorail!” chants Mike Berrill, the genius behind the campaign that’s got the SU running for cover.

To the less keen observer, it seems nothing short of monorail madness, but did Berrill and Burns really expect anyone to take their campaign seriously?

There was egg on Admin’s face at the beginning of term when they failed to come up with the pitiful sum of £160,000 to end the 30-year wait for a Central Bar and Venue. Compare that figure to the fruits of Burns’ assiduous research - she’s been ringing round for estimates and it will apparently cost “somewhere between four and seventeen million pounds” to save soggy Halifaxers the ten-minute walk to campus.

It doesn’t take much to work out that the pair may just have another agenda. But what exactly are they trying to achieve? The more rebellious elements of the college have jumped on the bandwagon and claimed it as a protest against a supposedly incompetent Students’ Union riddled with bureaucracy.

No-one cares about UGMs they say, the Union’s failed spectacularly in their attempts to regularly attract just 4% of the student body into Goodricke Dining Hall once every few weeks, and so they have lowered the bar accordingly.

But to dismiss the SU as a group of self-serving careerists deserving nothing but our contempt is to completely ignore all the hard work behind the scenes. Sports clubs, societies, welfare — everyone leans on them now and again.

Students generally avoid UGMs because they’re awesomely dull — something no-one can claim of the unforgettable night at the packed Halifax JCRC open meeting.

And there-in lies the truth: for most this isn’t an almighty protest, it’s simply that York students are BORED. We’re stuck for three years on what’s now officially the dullest campus in Britain — is it any wonder we’d rather act out an episode of The Simpsons than vote on equal opportunites?

Finding a Services Officer who’ll be out of bed by lunch time seems the next step in our search for a yawn-free uni.

“No-one sensible can be arsed to stop us” says Berrill. For the time being, he may well be right.

after all I don’t want to get my

Survey probably done by crowd of drunken loons

I

T WAS to my surprise two weeks ago when listening to the radio that I heard a local news article proclaiming that York students were the most boring in the country, according to Siemans.

Obviously nobody from the electronics company could be bothered to investigate York properly and instead decided to base their judgement on who could down a pint of piss quickest while standing in a bucket of congealed custard with their pants down having their eyebrow shaved.

I guess that it depends on your definition of “boring” –

head or eyebrows shaved yet I don’t regard myself as boring.

And I don’t believe that all the people involved in the diverse range of clubs and societies on campus are boring either.

York (and indeed our campus) is relatively quiet compared to other cities, but perhaps that is why people choose to study here in the first place. We are all primarily here to get a degree after all.

Perhaps what this survey really tells us is a little more about the mentality of those running Siemans. I would guess that most of those associated with this survey are former stu-

Letters

YORK VISION 03/12/02 dents themselves and will therefore be a crowd of shaven-headed drunken loons. This may explain why they make such crap phones.

P

robably the most significant thing to happen recently was the quorate UGM in week 7.

Not only was the budget passed — at great relief to all those present — but the quoracy figure (the number of people needed to be in attendance for the meeting to take place) itself was lowered from 4% to 2.25% of the total student population.

The main reason for doing this was obvious: In the last three years only 4 UGMs have been quorate out of a possible 38. There is obviously something wrong when the only UGM to be quorate in a single year is the one where the budget gets passed.

Furthermore, the number of students required to be at these meetings was beginning to spiral out of control as the university expands and would not have taken long to reach the 400 mark. The task of achieving these numbers on anything like a regular basis would become impossible.

We can now represent our students better than ever. Policy

VISION editor Isobel Todd replies: At Vision we’ve always been open about any financial difficulties. In fact it appears to have been from our published editorials and society emails that Nouse gleaned the sparse information for their current issue’s article, ‘Total lack Of Vision.’

This was a response to Vision’s recent expose of Nouse — a well researched piece aimed at highlighting the discrepencies in the distribution of funding to all societies — an issue which has repurcussions for all students.

Unable to refute our findings, Nouse’s article is merely a rehash of the above letter, with added factual innacuricies.

Bear with us while we put a few things straight.

It was in one of our society emails that we mentioned our printers involvement in our immediate difficulties — justly so, since they had informed us that issues must now be pre-paid with only 24 hours notice. It was, therefore, our printer's lack of communication which forced us to take up the '11th hour loan'.

Regarding the rather more important accusation that Vision is misusing funds, we were given a short term loan to cover costs incurred last term, while we await

the Award money and advertising revenue, which we've been forced to persue through legal action.

As for the grant, we asked for this term's grant in order to cover this term's expenditure- not previous costs, as Nouse allege. It was, anyway, standard procedure to ask for this, since the media budget for this term doesn't actually get passed until Christmas.

To clear the confusion Dan Jones is clearly experiencing, our gripe last issue was that Nouse got the same amount of grant money as Vision, yet produced fewer issues.

Ironically, Vision has been meeting with the SU this term in the hope of achieving just such an agreement as Dan Jones proposes above. All the media societies might, by now, have arrived at a solution to our collective financial difficulties, if it weren't for Nouse's unwillingness to cooperate in these talks.

As for the claim that Vision was ‘unavailable for comment’, if Nouse were really interested in speaking to us they should’ve popped across the corridor.

This might've saved Nouse's readers the boredom of witnessing their exercise in petty in-fighting, and Vision the wearisome task of printing this response.

And by the way: Note to Ken

n Batten… We are not happy

with security and portering provision on campus, but thank you for bringing this issue to our attention in the last issue of Vision. I’m sure you will be hearing much more about this soon.

The writer is President of the Students’ Union.

GROGAN

Setting the record straight £1800 in order to afford to print the last issue.

It is only the fact that Vision won the National Student Media Awards that has prevented massive financial problems for them too.

The continuing debt problems, with both Vision and Nouse, only serve to reduce the credibility of the Union, not the societies.

I firmly believe that it is necessary to look at the issue of returning to the old system of York Student Press, financially one society but with two entirely separate editing teams, Vision and Nouse. Only then will they have the financial stability to prevent any further agreements being necesary.

Dan Jones, SU Treasurer

T

he next week is a vital one in the continued battle against the introduction of top-up fees in British universities.

On Wednesday we will be sending a delegation of more than 250 students from York and York St Johns to demonstrate to the government our opposition to student fees and student debt.

With recent media coverage highlighting an ever increasing opposition to top-up fees from those in all walks of life, this is definitely a battle we can win.

So if you haven’t got your ticket yet then make sure you come to the SU in Goodricke to pick one up.

John

(We welcome all contributions. Letters, which should not exceed 250 words, may be edited for clarity or space.)

I feel it is necessary to write and mention some of the glaring inaccuracies in Vision's article on Nouse's financial state and the actions of its chair.

In the last edition of Vision, it was claimed thatthe last editor, Andy Ploughman, was '...accused of slashing the numberof issues it produces by a third.' This was an effort to reduce costsand maintain a stable budget, as requested by the previous UnionTreasurer.

Vision also mentions that 'half the cash was to be paid back.The rest was written off.' This simply isn't true. The agreement betweenYUSU and Nouse at no time mentions money being written off, and indeedat no time mentions that it is a loan. Ironically, the agreement that has just been written up between YUSU and YorkVision is also an advancement on the grant next year, of roughly

will be easier to discuss throughout the year and the Union will be unable to stagnate as has been seen in the recent past.

York grad Greg Dyke is my Great Briton

O

ne of the similarities between Parliament and the House of Commons is that a good way of having a little influence and of getting things done is to join a group or society. I am lucky enough to chair the All Party Parliamentary Group on the BBC, which has brought me into contact with one of York's most famous old boys - Greg Dyke, Director General of the Corporation.

Greg has his critics who like to characterise him as someone who is dumbing down the BBC. They claim the highlight of his previous career was bringing Roland Rat to breakfast television at about the same time as most of York's current undergraduates were barely in nursery school.

I must say I am a fan. I think Greg has helped bring public service broadcasting alive for a new generation. In a multi-channel world the BBC has to be distinctive, but also provide something for every licence fee payer. Its key job is to make sure that we do not go the way of the States where hundreds of channels play to the lowest common denominator with only the occasional gem like The West Wing.

Greg has been right to experiment with new "big event" types of programming such as "The Greatest Britain" which brought history alive for many who had previously been disinterested. "Rolf on Art" is not a substitute for in depth arts programmes, but it has attracted audiences of seven million people to contemplate the work of our greatest painters. For me, this is all in the BBC tradition of making the good popular and the popular good.

Moreover, I think Greg Dyke himself personifies the more meritrocratic and egalitarian age in which the new BBC now operates. If you are good enough, it no longer matters whether you speak the Queen's English perfectly or went to the right school. Equally, mass audiences can now be attracted to programmes of the highest quality.

Greg's big challenge is to persuade Parliament to renew the BBC's charter when it expires in 2006. Some commercial rivals and politicians want to limit the BBC's role to providing programmes of minority interest.

For me, watching the World Cup uninterrupted or listening to Radio 5 or Radio 1 (some years ago in my case!) with no breaks for adverts is a glorious thing. Surely the market does not have to dictate everything?

Finally, BBC Online is a public service par excellence and reveals a continuing ability to adapt and survive. Ask any overseas student at York about the reputation of the BBC in their home country. Nine times out of ten you will receive a positive answer. It should be a matter of pride at York University that Greg Dyke is currently the guardian of what, for me, represents the best of British.

John Grogan is the MP for Selby and the University

14 COMMENT

18/06/02 YORK VISION

Join the Front! email jamesrevfront@hotmail.com

Organ of the Central Committee of the JRF

UNIVERSITY PUSHES FOR NEW SETTLEMENTS IN EAST HESLINGTON RESIDENTS IN the occupied territories of Heslington face an uncertain future following the announcement that the University intends to press ahead with its plan for further student settlements on the disputed 'East Bank'.

The announcement seems set to further inflame the conflict between the University and Heslington residents which escalated last week when the YUSU minibus was blown up by a bomb attached to a Suicide Farmer.

Incredibly the minibus’s only occupant, YSCA officer Helena Grief, survived the attack without as much as a scratch, despite the fact that the minibus went 500ft up in the air.

The farmer was less fortunate, going into thousands of tiny pieces and redistributing himself across the York area.

The ongoing tension, described by Heslington residents as a Cantorfada, represents the longest period of heightened tension since 1967's "6 Hour Tiff", when University plans to turn Heslington Parish Church into a kebab house saw irate locals take up pitchforks in open warfare outside Heslington Hall.

Village Council leader Chairman Aeroflot told the Sketch, "It is the University Administration which is responsible for this situation.

“They simply will not accept the divine right of Heslington locals to occupy land that has been theirs for thousands of

Photo News

"IS THIS PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE?" ASKS DAILY MAIL

The return of YSTV's sitcom about a failed campus media personality in which we follow Andy's progress as he bounces back after hitting rock bottom.

Episode one, Handy Andy: This week Andy's prospects are looking up as he gets a job presenting a corporate video for Watersports Bathrooms Co. Butthings take a turn for the worst when Andy faces protests from enraged Doorsafe employees after calling them "gaylords" on his early morning URY show

8:30 Have I Got Festive Nouse for You

Seasonal edition of the popular campus news quiz, hosted by Oily Palmer. We can look forward to more of the same cutting satire and insight with rounds such as 'Duck Tales', 'Union Arse Licking' and the ever-popular 'Missing Words' round in which the teams have to guess whether the blanked out word in a Tom Conman quote could be "bummer", "piss-flaps" or possibly even "titties". This week's guests: Danny La Rue, Feargal Sharkey and, inevitably, Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy

9:00 Star Lords of the Ring Wars: Attack of the Twin Fellowship of the Phantom Clone Towers-Reloaded Jarvis security forces oversee construction of the Peace Wall around Heslington Church

years. Until they renounce their claim to the land of East Heslington our brothers and sisters will continue to martyr themselves at the feet of the infidel."

University forces were quick to respond to last week's bombing, sending in bulldozers to raise the Charles pub to the ground.

Discussing his new plan VC Brian Cant was bullish, saying, "All great leaders need to provide living space for their flock.

Napoleon had Prussia, Hitler had Poland and I shall have Heslington.

Admittedly they both

ended up dead, but you get the jist".

In an attempt to maintain order a peace wall has been constructed by Jarvis between University of York campus and the demilitarised zone around Heslington Church.

However, the wall seems set to inflame the situation further having separated villagers from their precious agricultural equipment.

A Heslington Parish Council spokesperson told The Sketch, "We are now facing an impending humanitarian crisis. If we

-ionFollowing the news that the campus Conservative Association was seeking to change it's name, in order to disassociate it from peoples view of the "nasty party", we asked you which of the new names on their shortlist you preferred.

And you said….

CONCEIT REACHING TOXIC LEVELS CLAIMS EXPERIMENTER

ystv

8:00 I’m Andy Ploughmans

5% The Jim Davidson Appreciation Society 13% Conservative and Asbestos Party 15% The White Knights of Heslington 22% Anthrax and Unionist Association 45% The Klu Klux Klan Have your say on the issues of the moment. This week: What should Michael Jackson bounce his children on? a) His knee b) His lap c) The pavement five stories below Register your vote by e-mail: jamesrevfront@hotmail.com

are to maintain the lifestyle to which we are accustomed we shall have to win this battle with the insurgent infidel.

Otherwise we shall be ruined, our farmers shall have to start another BSE crisis just to make ends meet and our landowners will have to sell off yet more of their servants."

University admin, however, were unrepentant and demolished the village hall for good measure, leaving the parish council trapped inside a stationary cupboard. Sadly the circle of violence seems set to

continue with the council threatening a 'Beer access and Browns sandwich embargo' to undermine student support for the new plans.

In an attempt to broker the peace US President George W Bush sent special envoy Walter Mondale to the area.

Unfortunately the former Senator was captured by Heslington locals before he could reach the peace talks.

As we go to press there are unconfirmed reports that he may have been burnt as a witch.

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Cinematography Society’s latest effort which, despite the promising title, features three uninterrupted hours of Dan Ford strutting round the Quiet Place with a self important look on his face

News in Brief UNION UGM Quoracy reduced to Oily Palmer’s friends. It is hoped that they will be a better gauge of student opinion than people who have never met Oily Palmer.

LANGWITH Shock as inept bunch of

drinking buddies take control in JCRC election.

TOTTY Student Stunners com-

petition to moves to Vanbrugh as riots intensify. Concerned President Thom Conman begs mob to "think of the Norks."

ALCUIN Shock as inept bunch of

drinking buddies take control in JCRC election.

PROTEST Grants not Fees March

in London heralded as a "triumph of collectivism" with straight face.

DERWENT Shock as inept bunch of

drinking buddies take control in JCRC election.

8 POLITICS

FRESHERS YORK VISION

Erosion of the state John Prescott: Strong supporter of regional devolution.

The government recently unveiled plans for the second phase of their devolution programme.

Gavin Aitchison considers how the changes will shape the future of UK politics.

THE ISSUE of Constitutional Reform was brought to the forefront of political debate once more last month, with the launch of proposals for devolution to the English regions.

The Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Bill, included in this year's Queen's Speech, calls for referenda to be held in nine English regions, on the issue of establishing elected regional assemblies, to deliberate on various issues, including transport and health care provision.

The Bill has been welcomed by various pro-devolution groups across England, and is heavily backed by Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, who is keen to complete the reform programme which New Labour began in 1997.

Devolution to Scotland and Wales has greatly improved the state of democracy in the UK, however inequality still exists.

Whilst English MPs can no longer vote on Scottish and Welsh matters, the opposite does not yet apply.

Furthermore, English residents have far less opportunity to use

their voice than those in Scotland and Wales.

Living in England has essentially become a disadvantage in terms of democracy, and this has fuelled justified anger in much of England.

Devolution to the regions would help to rectify this imbalance, and allow for more decisions to be taken at a sub-national level in all areas of Britain. This can only benefit democracy in this country.

The centralisation of the British state, coupled with the first-pastthe-post electoral system, have long been a source of resentment for those dissatisfied with the unequal and unjust democracy which existed in Britain prior to 1997.

Labour's decentralisation of power, and the acceptance of proportional representation for extraparliamentary elections has been a massive step in the right direction, and such embracing of subsidiarisation should be applauded.

Decisions on local issues should be made on a local level, a principle which devolution supports.

The motives behind devolution to the regions are primarily practi-

cal, rather than ideological, ones.

Speaking exclusively to Vision, Jane Thomas, director of the campaign for Yorkshire said, "There are many aspects of politics which patently can't be done on a national level," citing local planning and public transport as two such policy areas.

Recent polls within the region also show that support is largely based on a belief that a devolved body would be more capable of bringing about social and economic regeneration.

However there is also an ideological motive behind the campaign. Ms. Thomas stresses the need for "democratic renewal", and relishes the chance to "do politics in a different way, departing from the traditional Westminster model."

Praising the Scottish and Welsh institutions for their large number of women members, Ms. Thomas claims that the issue of representation must be paramount in establishing an assembly for Yorkshire.

Thomas is wary of placing the issue of regional devolution within the debate on national identity, however one must not overlook the

impact which the establishment of new institutions would have.

In Scotland, devolution has rapidly accelerated the erosion of the British identity, to the point that just 4% of Scots now see themselves as predominantly British.

It is highly conceivable that something similar may occur in the English regions, should groups such as Campaign for Yorkshire succeed.

The calls for regional devolution offer a genuine challenge to the role, and legitimacy, of the onceinvincible European nation state, particularly when coupled with the simultaneous increase in the power and prominence of the European Union.

Regional devolution shall improve UK democracy significantly, and should certainly be supported.

The new assemblies will relocate yet more power away from Westminster, and into the hands of the people, further eroding the British state.

The significance of such democratisation for politics in the twenty-first century should not be underestimated.

{ Living in England has become a disadvantage in terms of democracy|

Freedom in sight for Saudi prisoners

BY JAMES KNIGHT SEVEN WESTERNERS caught up in the Saudi Justice system may finally have their cases coming to an end.

The group are accused of being involved in lillegal alcohol smuggling, and of carrying out attacks against other Westerners in Saudi Arabia two years ago, in which two peoplewere killed.

Three of those arrested were shown on television confessing to two car-bombings. They are Briton Alexander Mitchell, Canadian William Sampson, and Belgian Ralph Skevins.

In the confessions Mitchell stated, "I confirm and confess that I was ordered to carry out an explosion here in Riyadh." All three proceeded to give details as to how the operations were carried out.

Apart from the confessions however, no evidence linking the three to the explosions in question has ever been given.

Furthermore, it has also been reported that the confessions were taken under duress. A British doctor who examined Sampson in May 2001 said that he suffered from a crushed vertebrae, trauma to his feet, and scratches to his wrists.

The prisoners have been kept for long periods in solitary confinement. Briton James Cottle, implicated in a separate bombing, was held for almost two years in such conditions.

After the three men were allowed to see lawyers, their confessions were retracted. However Skevins eventually gave a statement accusing the others, in return for deportation.

It is now believed that this state-

ment was taken under torture.

Events took a drastic turn earlier this year, when it was revealed that all of the accused had been convicted in secret trials. Sampson, was sentenced to death by beheading, while the others received eighteen year prison terms.

The case has caused tension between Saudi Arabia and the countries of the accused.

Crown Prince Abdullah was forced to cancel a visit to Canada in May 2001 after facing criticism for the treatment of the prisoners.

The Saudi government has also been criticised for using Westerners as scapegoats for attacks perpetrated by its own citizens.

The Royal Family will not admit there are groups in the country hostile to the government, and denies that there are Islamic militants present who want to attack Westerners.

As the ordeal reaches it second year, there are reports that the Crown Prince will lift Sampson’s sentence, as Canada and Saudi Arabia try to reach a diplomatic solution, which may include a prison sentence within Canada for Sampson.

A death penalty conviction under Saudi law can be lifted if the victim's family forgive the accused or accept "blood money" in compensation.

The family of British car-bombing victim Christopher Rodway have said they will waive their right to have the convicted executed.

The diplomatic proceedings are grounds for optimism for the the accused, and a ray of hope that their long-awaited release may now be in sight.

Fighting a losing battle

CND has threatened to take the government to court, should they go to war with Iraq.

But their motives are dubious, and their attempts destined to fail, claims Peter Edwards.

Another war with Iraq could prompt CND to take the government to court.

THE CAMPAIGN for Nuclear Disarmament has threatened to take legal action against the government, should they go to war with Iraq.

The pressure group has demanded a written guarantee that the UK will not invade Iraq without explicit United Nations backing.

Their fears have been fuelled by the Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon, who said earlier this year that the UK would be prepared to use nuclear weapons in retaliation to a chemical or biological attack.

The majority of the public appear to be opposed to a war without UN backing, and the organisation appear to believe they can make a real difference.

They are fighting against what they see as the Prime Minister's gung-ho support for America, and believe that they can present a united front to stop the UK from being dragged into a long, bloody and

“The government can be sure that we will go to court unless they give us the assurances we seek” Carol Naughton, CND Chair immoral war that could end in nuclear conflict.

There is a somewhat more cynical view however as to whay CND have done what they have. In 1983, Michael Foot included in the Labour election manifesto, a commitment to nuclear disarmament.

Labour were murdered at the polls, the manifesto became known as the "longest suicide note in history", and CND have rarely had such a profile since.

After nearly twenty years of semi-

obscurity, which has seen nuclear testing carried out by both Western and Eastern states, CND have declined in prestige and influence, and have been paid scant attention by the British media.

Now the chance has come for them to get their views into the media once again.

The support of Rabinder Singh, QC, a member of Matrix Chambers and thus a working colleague of Cherie Booth, has added attention to CND's complaints.

Mr. Singh wrote to Tony Blair and other cabinet ministers, arguing that the UK would be in breach of international law, were it to attack Iraq without a further UN resolution.

CND chairwoman Carol Naughton said, "The government can be sure that we will go to court unless they give us the written assurance we seek.

"We know quite clearly that the United States will do anything to try and manufacture some sort of reason to go to war," she added.

Mr Blair has refused to rule out joining in with unilateral US military action, should Iraq breach the terms of the latest agreement on weapons inspection.

Phil Shiner, of Public Interest Lawyers, said, "Even if, eventually, the Security Council issues a clearly worded authorisation, using armed force to bring about a 'regime change' would be unlawful."

The key question to arise from this situation is whether CND can actually stop the government intervening in Iraq.

Any legal action by CND would lengthen an already protracted decision making process on the war. However, it is difficult to imagine any British court placing a firm restriction upon a government which has decided to support the US. If the Cabinet votes to accompany the US in a unilateral attack on Iraq, there is, in reality, very little that CND can do about it.

03/12/02 YORK VISION

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

FEATURES 14

SANTA’S LITTLE HELPERS

Rat infested cell, Goodricke C Block, York University Conferences R Us, Heslington, York.

Dear Santa, For Christmas this year I would like a new campus. On this campus I would like nice things that everybody can enjoy, like lots of happy porters and a big central venue.

Yours Sincerely, Joe Fresher ps. I’m not leaving you any sherry this year, seeing as you always deliver your presents to conference guests first.

What do York students want from santa this Christmas?

E

arly Christmas presents always prove to be a good way to kick-start the festive period. Yet, often, not getting what you want is perhaps even worse than getting nothing at all.

No one anticipates that University admin will excel themselves this year and provide students with answers to any of the demands and needs which they express.

Instead, the drinking of copious amounts of sherry and hearty self-congratulations are no doubt in order around the University Admin dinner table this Christmas.

The opening of presents will see them glorying in recent awards presented for conference provision, and the sound of crackers will bear witness to the benefits of yet another good position in Newspaper League Tables.

Outside the frosted window, the bitter north wind will befriend the students freezing in the snow without proper halls of residence accommodation, and the empty stockings will once more hang upon the Baby Belling in the hope that it might be fixed for the New Year.

However, the new set of plans for the development of a new addition to campus,‘Campus 3’, in Heslington, seem to be well advanced and promise genuine hope for the ghost of Christmas future. But, like ducks across the lake, the ideas generated by the University come and go when the mood takes them.

In an attempt to prompt the inclusion of students in University decision makeing processes, Vision spoke to interested, wide-eyed children around campus in order to discover what children really really wanted on their new campus this Christmas.

V

ision consulted students in colleges across campus in an attempt to gather views regarding the new proposed campus and the state of the old one.

Many students expressed concerns over the new plans, suggesting that the present campus needed vast improvements before a new campus can even start to be considered.

Throughout the survey, the largest amount of comments directed at the present campus were focused on the propensity of the

University to prioritise conferences to the detriment of the student population.

Students voiced a need for the University to pay more attention to their concerns and to create spaces dedicated to students as their main priority. Many cited 24 hour portering as one such issue.

Concerns were raised over the inequality of facilities across campus which excluded certain sectors of the population.

Comments were made about the lack of disabled access around campus, even in areas supposedly catering to these needs, and James students expressed a need for greater equality between the colleges and their facilities if the collegiate system is to be retained as a central bastion of theUniversity.

The quality of accommodation and eating establishments across campus also needs to be brought into line to ensure that all student's basic needs are met.

.An ice rink - with regular skating discos.

1 A cleaner lake with added 2 pedaloes

The removal of the fountain that 3 sprays toxic liquids in your face on windy days as

you walk unsuspectingly over Vanbrugh bridge.

An adventure playground - like the 4 one near Halifax, only bigger and more exciting - with a roundabout,

and no mean looking five year olds.

A ski lift to Alcuin - so that, once in 5 a while, someone might actually decide to visit it. (the top five wants of students around campus.)

Vision quizzed the SU executive officers about the campus improvements they would like to see Tom Connor SU president: Christmas Wish: better facilities for JCRCs, including a bar, eating venue, JCR, and office in every college, thus helping to preserve the collegiate system. For Christmas, Thomas wants a bigger and better SU building housing open plan offices for all staff, as well as improved sports facilities, including an all-weather floodlit running track and pitches.

Brendan O'Donovan AU President: Chrsitmas Wish: An indoor sports arena, an indoor swimming pool, and a full size ize rowing lake, which will ro improve sports wi ng facilities to a standlak ard which means that e the university can compete at the level at which it is capable.

Fu

ll s

Roly Humphreys RAG President: Christmas Wish: After asking for a Charlie Chalk Fun Factory, Im he decided he would like compro puters to cater for everyve one across campus, a dh pharmacy and ea lth improved health care ca facilities on c a m p u s re which would enable students to book and receive an appointment during the same week.

James Byron, Services Officer:

3 Christmas Wish: us Would like some p m evidence from ca Santa and his little o t in helpers that presents t u w i l l this year receive Inp some forward planning, which currently seems to be lacking in the University's attempts at develop- ment. He would also like the University to consult with students before any planning of presents takes place.

Gary Loke, Education Welfare Officer:

and

Christmas Wish: A centralised welfare service all in one SU building. He had a similar present last year, but it was hidden in obscure places in different colleges around campus. He g has also asked for llin e more counselling servns ices and welfare u co officers who are not e r funded by the University Mo a n d who are therefore impartial.

Other Officers, Ents, Campaigns & Educational Campaigns: Christmas Wish: Would like the holy grail of presents that is a central bar and venue. This present would later mean lots of other presents by way of great entertainment, lower costs, visiting bands, and a much increased revenue for the Union allowing greater service provision.

12 FEATURES

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

YORK VISION 03/12/02

‘With Die Another Day’ now packing the cinemas, Sam Dawson takes a look at everyone’s favourite secret agent as he explores 40 Martini-fuelled years of life in the fast lane.

LICENCE TO THRILL

U

nless you've had a bag over your head for the past month or so, you've probably noticed that a new Bond film - ‘Die Another Day’ - has been released.

The inevitable mixture of reviews has begun. On one side, there's the lavish praise from popular, mainstream magazines who heap virtue on production values, and stunts. Then, there’s the growing tide of reviews from the film buffs who saw ‘Goldfinger’ back in 1964, and don't like the fact that it hasn't been remade scene-for-scene seventeen times in the last 38 years.

Every Christmas ITV shows a raft of 007 films featuring just about all five Bond actors. There is still a market for Bond movies, but what, exactly, makes a good Bond film?

Girls? Cars? Villains? Stunts?

Locations? Actually, it's all of them, plus a script as sharp as a Saville Row suit, a credible lead actor, and a certain predictability pulled off with 40-yearestablished panache and understated style.

It is when these ingredients are left out - or overdone - that people notice the holes and the inconsistencies. They

end up with a disappointment, or Moonraker, as it is otherwise known.

So, was a grouping of Sean Connery, Honor Blackman (Pussy Galore) and Gert Frobe (Auric Goldfinger) a balance of perfection?

Many would argue so, but viewing ‘Goldfinger’, ‘Dr. No’ or ‘From Russia With Love’ in 40-year retrospect puts them in a different light.

The scripts are ludicrously sexist, with such lines as "Your lips are the right size…for me, that is" which would get Pierce Brosnan slapped. And although they were loosely based on the original Ian Fleming novels, the acting seems hammy and unconvincing in many parts, and plots pale in comparison to later, more intricate affairs such as ‘For Your Eyes Only’ and ‘The Living Daylights’.

Ironically, the film in the series which is closest to Fleming's novel is the controversial ‘On Her Majesty's Secret Service’, which effectively duplicates the plot of the novel and makes it watchable in a ChristmasCake-and-glass-of-sherry sort of a way.

A script as sharp as a Saville Row suit, a credi ble lead actor, and a cer tain predictability pulled off with a 40-year established panache.

The sets, like all films of the era, make you yearn to be part of the swinging sixties in an almost unhealthy way.

The film’s main problem, of course, is George Lazenby, who, at times, comes across more like Alan Partridge. The real star of the show for was Diana Rigg. She is one of the first of the more intelligent, active '60s girls - not one who just says "Oh, James" in a suggestive European accent, but instead attacks orange-suited guards with broken bottles.

Connery's 1971 return was swiftly supplanted by Roger Moore, who is usually accused of turning a series of adult-aimed '60s spy thrillers into Austin Powers. Despite many Moorestarring clunkers such as ‘Moonraker’ and ‘The Man With The Golden Gun’, there were the odd gems - the submersible Lotus Esprit (The Spy Who Loved Me), or the truly psychotic Baron Samedi (Live And Let Die).

However, the scripts increasingly relied on Moore's sense of humour, and the female roles were as cringe-worthy as the average episode of ‘The Office’.

By 1983, Roger Moore had brought the Bond films to their nadir with ‘Octopussy’, a film where Bond has to steal an egg. It received such a bad

press that Sean Connery, together with producer Kevin McClory, re-made ‘Thunderball’ as ‘Never Say Never Again’.

The balance seen in the Connery films showed Moore in a bad light - one more film, and time to go. By 1985, Moore was worse than Lazenby. He was in his fifties, Tanya Roberts came across as vacuous and sassy, and Chrisopher Walken looked considerably cooler as Max Zorin.

The 'modern' Bond era was heralded by Timothy Dalton, surely the darkest, nastiest, most convincing person to play James Bond.

However, he was not hailed by the cinema-going public, who really hankered after the era of the sixties.

Despite some excellent performances in ‘The Living Daylights’ and ‘Licence To Kill’, decent plots and respectable female roles to boot, Dalton gave in to Pierce Brosnan after a six-year gap.

Ironically, despite it's relative youth, Brosnan's debut effort, ‘Goldeneye’, is a worthy contender for Best Bond Film Of All Time.

Brosnan manages to

blend Dalton's viciousness with Connery's charisma. Sean Bean is brutal as the villain, Alec Trevalyan.

Izabella Scorupco is a more realistic kind of Bond girl; not just set dressing, more like centre stage; and the film stands up to repeated viewing.

Despite the ensuing three Brosnan outings, ‘Goldeneye’ feels like it learnt from the mistakes made by it's ancestors. And it features Famke Janssen in leather trousers.

So is ‘Die Another Day’ worth watching? Just go and see it. Only time will tell.

STUDENT STUNNERS 2 0 0 2 - 2 0 0 3

To enter you or your friend in Vision’s Student Stunners competition, email a picture (or we can take it for you) and a short blurb, including specs, to editor@vision.york.ac.uk

Entrant: Rob Winter D.O.B.: 28-06-1982 Hair: Brown Eyes: Brown Vital Statistics: 6’4”, 14st, 10” handspan Occupation: Student and loverman College: James Course: 2nd year Music Tech Likes: Italian “arthouse” cinema, White Russians and Jennifer Aniston.

Dislikes: Cats, censorship and RAG Week.

R

ob "Shabba" Winter is the dream of every bored house-wife. His simmering good looks are combined with a serious lack of standards, making him something of a certainity for every undersexed lady.

Shabba is a native Scouser, with a full head of a hair and a moustache at will. His fondness for mischief is renowned among his friends, his house containing countless For Sale signs and stolen pint glasses.

For a big man, this Tang Hall treat's fingers are dextrous and supple. As a pianist and drummer, his digits are never without exercise, although his recent move to a small room has left him with only one instrument to amuse himself.

The big man's talents are many and diverse. As a qualified ski instructor, he is never more at home than when drilling a bunch of nubile sixth-formers on how to move their hips.

The "Loverman" moniker hasn't always done him favours, though. Only the bravest women dare scale Shabba's dizzy heights, and many have fallen along the way.

If you're lucky enough to be caught by the gaze of this dazzling Music Tech student, count yourself as very lucky. In the Amazon they have the anaconda.

In York, there's Shabba.

(Rob was nominated by Jasmine Appleby)

03/12/02 YORK VISION

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

FEATURES 13

HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry, and you cry alone. No where is this maxim more true than in the world of show-biz. Simon Taghioff takes a look at the celebrity fall from grace.

Anne Robinson’s stand-in for Angus was excruciatingly poor.

For the first time in my life I actually felt like writing into points of view.

I

am currently mourning the death of one of the only sources of consistently funny political satire on television.

With the unceremonious termination of Angus Deayton's contract on Have I Got News For You, the show has lost the wonderfully caustic relationship with the two regulars which was its very essence.

Much has been alleged regarding the troubled former presenter in recent months. After revelations regarding his cocaine usage and relationship with a call girl, he was initially allowed to stay on as presenter.

Further claims in the national media, however, sealed his fate. Yet despite the

many criticisms levelled at him, the unshakeable truth remains: the man is good at his job.

For proof of this, you only have to have watched the one-off stopgap hosted by Anne Robinson of Weakest Link fame. For reasons which are beyond me, this unashamedly macabre woman decided to transfer her confrontational, somewhat arrogant presenting style to Have I Got News For You. The next half hour was excruciatingly poor in comparison to the show's former output. For the first time in my life I actually felt like writing in to Points of View.

He is not the only presenter in the news at the moment.

Michael Barrymore was

publicly flayed after a man died in his swimming pool after an impromptu party.

John Leslie parted company from the This Morning show, following allegations in Ulrika Jonsson's autobiography and subsequent coverage of this in the national media.

The issue of the degree of privacy which figures in the public eye has consequently gained importance.

Many would argue that the public has a right to know.

As consumers of the product being offered, whether it is sport, music, or a television show, the public are their raison d'être, their ultimate source of income. If we were to stop buying the albums or going to the movies, today's movie stars would be tomorrow's video

store assistants.

It's not as if a single set of standards tends to suffice either. When it comes to the promotion of a new film or single, the celebrity in question is often more than accommodating towards media coverage.

However, if the details in question have not been carefully selected and released to the media, the justifiably enraged personality sees fit to hit out at an intrusive and voyeuristic media for invasion into their private lives.

Surely this is a case of accepting the occupational hazards of the job in question?

People who enter career paths which will place them under public scrutiny must expect to give up certain rights to their privacy.

Although the Press Complaints Commission does have a code of conduct relating to what can and cannot be reported in the print media, public figures must realise that, by becoming idols and role models, they have a moral responsibility, and must therefore expect to be challenged when they are in breach of these principles.

Unfortunately, standards are subjective, and decisions must therefore be taken on a case-bycase basis. There can be no absolute rules, only the judgement of those involved.

But perhaps the general balance needs to be redressed.

Gallery of Shame (from top to bottom: John Leslie sacked from This Morning for an alleged incident with Ulrika Johnson; Michael Barrymore - TV career crashed after allegations of murder; Sven Goran Erikson - lost face after an affair with Ulrika; Richard Bacon the disgraced Blue Peter presenter who turned his brush with the law into a new career on the Big Breakfast; Jamie Theakston - the tabloids made him TV’s new naughty boy.

CONFESSIONS OF A TV JUNKIE

From Doctors to Neighbours, from Diagnosis Murder to lunchtime Ally McBeal, no student need ever be without a suitably innocuous daytime programme. But Laura Dawkins wonders whether this innocent past-time could have more sinister undertones.

M

any who saw the sad scenes last week as a nation of losers mourned Drew from Neighbours would have despaired at the omnipresence of television in today's society.

As always, students lead the way in voicing concerns over sliding standards and unfortunate habits, and campus interest in Drew and Celebrity

Big Brother would have provided them with ample ammunition.

Endless theories as to why we watch television have been put forward by lazy journalists and pub philosophers alike, but few have considered the actual effects of television addiction .

Anyone who has been disappointed by their flatmates or read Vision's Campus Stunners feature can observe the primary effect of excessive viewing on York's population.

It is thought that students have become, on average, three times uglier than their counterparts 20 years ago. Jaws are becoming slacker, waistlines are getting flabbier and eyes are glazing over.

There are also social implications for the addicted, as they often are only fully comprehensible to other addicts, narrowing their social sphere and chances of escape. If hardcore junkies are engaged in conversation they will become distracted from their viewing, experience withdrawal and probably vomit on your shoes.

It is clear that something must be done, and there are several approaches to giving up a habit. Some do not give great hope for the reintegration of the recovered addict into mainstream society, calling

for extreme measures such as eye removal.

Yet, like many addictions, the most effective treatment involves using chemical assistance to alleviate withdrawal symptoms. Heroin is most effective, although still illegal. It has been used successfully on extreme cases of television addiction in the United States.

The fact that one addiction is replaced by another is beneficial, because patients are too busy trying to scab their next hit, or actually appearing on Trisha themselves, to even think about tuning into chat-shows.

The 'Smack' treatment, as it is called by satisfied ex-telly addicts could prove successful here. Many of the unsightly aspects of addiction are negated during treatment, when the weight of the patient plummets. The number of televisions in any area where recovered addicts are living also plummets, as they are stolen and sold.

However, daytime television provides a tried and tested means of escape from the everyday perils of student existence. It can replace annoying

housemates, or your degree, and provides a reality with no responsibility; a reality often more real than that in which we exist.

Perhaps even more importantly, it now fulfills a pivotal position in the social psyche, having replaced weather as the new topic of conversation. The recent trailors for Eastenders quipped ‘everyone’s talking about it’, which did indeed seem to be true.

It does seem a little sad that, as intelligent students, we feel the need to escape our reality for another. Perhaps television mirrors disatisfaction in society. Perhaps we, as students, use it as a learning aid. Or perhaps it is an addictive substance and can be used as an excuse for failing to complete coursework.

Eitherway, as long as David Dickinson continues to search for the best bargains, daytime TV will never be conducive to obtaining a good degree.

The many faces of addiction (from left to right): Trisha, Libby and Drew from Neighbours, Diagnosis Murder star Dick Van Dyke and Bargain Hunt’s David Dickinson.

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16 YORK VISION FEATURES

‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS.....

THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Christmas is billed as a time for family celebration. Not so, says Kate Edwards; Christmas is for the kids.

Get a bit of culture in your lives and take your loved one to the theatre. You get to snuggle up close in the dark and get educated at the same time, they will love you for it.

I have always been envious of Peter Pan and his desirable status as the child who never had to grow up. I have come to realise however that it is at this festive time of the year, that I am able to indulge in my fantasy and regress to my childhood.

It could be negatively argued that the annual family reunion immediately puts you in your place in the relative hierarchy, by ensuring that you are still sitting on the 'kiddies table' despite your eighteenth birthday having long passed into the cobwebbed recess of time. However, the fact that your parents want to remind themselves that you are their babies should be revelled in.

Alternatively if culture is not your bag take them to the pantomine for a bit of thigh cracking 'he's behind you' fun. York's Pantomine offerings this season include Babes in the Wood at the Theatre Royal and Aladdin at the Grand Opera House.

The Theatre Royal - 01904 623568

Indeed, I am nowhere near ready to relinquish my Christmas stocking, despite realising that a white-bearded, fat man has never found his way into my bedroom or for that matter, is ever likely to. Nevertheless, I have ensured that this tradition will be eternally preserved, by organising stockings for my parents to enjoy as well.

Ultimately, finding some young children, still untainted by the commercialisation of the season and full of belief in flying reindeer, to spend the holidays with, will always revive the magic of Christmas. They also get given brilliant presents! Forget the socks and 'How To...' cookbooks (useful for university apparently), trying to get a marble through a maze just by tilting the platform it's on, has been known to keep students entertained for hours.

Thus I implore you to try experiencing the 'Peter Pan syndrome', in whatever way you can this Christmas; whether it be enjoying a snowball fight or just eating too many chocolates before dinner. Just don't go asking for any green tights.

Going a little further a field, attractions include Flamingo Land, great for those of you who have not grown up; or for those who have, the James Herriot museum offers the chance to explore the original set of the classic television programme!

For romantic(ish) days out, York has lots to offer. Why not treat your loved one to a trip around the sights of York? York Dungeons are an excellent start and it allows men to show their masculine side and women to do a damsul in distress act! Whilst the Jorvik centre may not make you go weak at the knees and the smell can be a little off-putting it is a fun way to spend a few hours together.

...and the Vision team were panicing about what to buy for their nearest and dearest. They bemoaned the loss of innocence and tried in vain to remember the names of all seven reindeer. Gone was the warm feeling in the pit of the stomach brought on by childhood anticipation, to be replaced, instead, with a vague feeling of sickness after too many VK Ices at Ziggy’s the night before.

In the hope of resurrecting the joy of Christmas and stretching that overdraft just a little bit further, Anne-Marie Baker shares her top present ideas for York this Christmas.

Everyone loves to be taken out for a slap up meal. So for the perfect Christmas Gift take your partner along to one of York's wide selection of fine resturants.

The Blue Bicycle on Walmgate is one of the most expensive (obviously the most important factor when trying to impress) and it's intimate atmosphere makes it a excellent choice.

Fancy whipping your lover into shape then get them gym membership for Christmas (perfect for shifting that post Christmas podge!)

Obviously a little tact is needed with this, but it can be an excellent present if you want to save them some pennies. Better still, you could join up as well and you can go and work up a sweat as a couple.

York Barbican offers discount to AU Members and is centrally located.

For a bit of luxury this Christmas, take your partner along to Harrogate Turkish Baths. Set in a beautiful Victorian building, you can indulge in the pleasures of the steam room and plunge pools all for £10, or really push the boat out and take advantage of the beauty treatments on offer.

If Harrogate is too far why not check out some of the beauty saloons in York. Treatments are so varied now they are perfect gifts for men and women.

Absolute Body Care, Blake Street 01904 625500

What better way to impress your partner than buying him or her their personalised number plate. Obviously it helps if they have a car for this one (by all means throw one in if your budget allows!) But it is an original gift that will last for years…and if they don't own a car you could always hang it on your wall.

Okay so perhaps this one is not totally original but at least it spices up the tradiationally boring festive season. The sex toy market has literally exploded in the last few years so there is something to cater for nearly everyones needs and desires!

Get yourself down to Ann Summers on High Ousegate and get yourself and your partner aquated with the now infamous Rampant Rabbit, or for the less adventurous perhaps some furry handcuffs?

Admittedly cute furry animals are a more romantic christmas present but seeing as we are students and not wishing to face the wrath of the RSPCA, Vision recommends a fish as a more suitable present. Easy to look after (and cheap) it is the ideal addition to a student house. And if you’re thinking long term as a couple then it’s the perfect starting place for joint nurturing efforts!

Hargreaves Pet Shop, Goodramgate 01904 628576

How about a tattoo or a little bit of body piercing? Okay so this isn't for the squeamish/conservative lover but at least it is a present they can never forget. An eternal memory of you (this is supposed to be a good point), it can be a very romantic gesture so long as you don't faint at the sight of needles!

York has a small collection of tattoo and body piercing parlours most of whom will provide gift vouchers, ideal for Christmas presents.

York Body Piercing, Micklegate - 01904

17 YORK VISION FEATURES

18 LIFESTYLE

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

YORK VISION 03/12/02

Laura Starkey argues that the Festive Season is no excuse for cruelty to clothes

Leave your baubles alone

O

ver the last couple of weeks, something alarming has begun to happen in York.

Walking through town at the moment it's impossible not to notice that the streets have been decked with twinkly lights and holly wreaths.

If you listen closely enough, the voice of Bing Crosby crooning 'White Christmas' can be heard floating on the cold York air.

Inexplicably, clothes shops have been infested overnight with garments festooned with glitter and sequins. In response to the question posed every Yuletide by a bunch of do-gooder pop stars - yes, we do know it's frigging Christmas!

Aside from the obvious notenough-overdraft-left-to-buypresents trauma, the traditional festive season sees the rise of other problems.

No, I don't mean worrying over who is going to baste the turkey or how to avoid being forced to eat brussels sprouts. Instead, it’s deciding which parties to go to… and how to avoid looking like a Christmas tree at them.

We all know people who are guilty of this - thinking that the fast approach of December 25 necessitates wearing "Christmassy" outfits, which is basically code for anything gold and sparkly.

What is it about this time of year that makes ordinarily sane people (including most of our mums) walk around in outfits that even Mr Claus himself wouldn't be seen dead in? In mid-May you'd never see anyone wearing that awful deep red/forest green colour combination which becomes so popular about this time of year.

And it's not only women who suffer these seasonal lapses of reason. If you keep your eyes peeled you will see a surprising number of blokes wearing such ridiculous items as novelty Christmas ties and cufflinks, even with their formal work clothes. Let's not forget that even Bridget Jones's Mark Darcy wore that reindeer jumper.

Now, I am the first person to admit to loving Christmas. I get all warm and squishy inside as soon as I start thinking about it.

But I detest Christmas fashion. This is because it isn't fashion, it's just silliness.

Trust me, when you see the photos in a few months time, you will regret buying those gold metallic shoes and wearing that tinsel in your hair.

But it isn't difficult to retain a sense of style this festive season if you keep your wits about you. Do not buy anything you wouldn't normally wear, or won't wear again.

Aside from being a waste of money, such purchases are unlikely to be things you will either feel comfortable or look good in.

Be aware of what suits you and keep abreast of what is fashionable now - for example the current trend for juxtaposing military styles and dainty heels, or the recent vogue for all things oriental.

Once your party ensemble is complete, by all means add a little something extra to put you in the mood for festivities a subtle bit of shimmer never did anyone any harm.

Half Advent Calendars

Mark Darcy...

Gorgeous bloke, heinous jumper

Cohen comes to ing makeup, and Louise ar we n me of d en tr g in es the grow croft Lyndsey Carter investigat oubled James Ravens tr y ll ca li fo e th the rescue of

MR MASCARA I

t's 8.55pm on a Friday. Your taxi to the pub is arriving in 5 minutes. You're rushing around your room, desperately trying to complete your transformation into a perfect goddess.

Unfortunately this delicate process is being hampered by one thing: the man in your life. Sprawled on your bed, in the same clothes he's been wearing for the past week, this cosmetically unenlightened individual plagues your valuable night-out preparation time with whining complaints that it can't take that long to put a bit of makeup on.

Well, stress no more, because due to a new trend slowly spreading its way across the nation this kind of situation could soon be a distant memory. I refer of course, to men's newfound love of makeup.

Now, before your mind starts conjuring up visions of white-faced goths, eye-lined indie kids and transvestites with the makeup application skills of Barbara Cartland, allow me to clarify.

The trend I refer to has nothing to do with standing out, causing a stir or looking a state, and everything to do with looking and feeling good.

Before we start making assumptions, remember that society’s attitude towards women wearing makeup has changed. In the Victorian and early Edwardian periods, women who wore makeup were perceived as sexually promiscuous and were shunned by polite society.

These attitudes are mirrored today in the variety of assumptions surrounding men's use of makeup that they must be gay, want to become a woman, or are trying to make some kind of statement.

The idea of rebellion has always been closely linked with the use of makeup. As part of the Women’s Lib movement in the 1920s and 30s, women began to wear makeup as a subversive gesture. Whether goths, grungers or glam-rockers, men have also traditionally worn makeup which says, 'Go on, react, I dare you'.

However, as the impact of this starts to fade, the male relationship with cosmetics is inevitably changing.The men of our generation are slowly coming to realise the potential of makeup to do what it was originally intended to do: make you look less grotty.

Hair Today...

James on James...

I

had a lovely head of hair, or so I thought. It was only once people knew I was getting it cut that I learnt their real feelings towards it in forms ranging from amusing jibes to harsh, searing criticisms.

Something had to be done, but whatever was done was going to involve having a sense of style. So that excluded me. Luckily on hand were the Lifestyle crew; their offer to turn me into every woman's dream was exciting enough that it outweighed the fear of losing my golden (in a brown way) locks.

The first important thing was to

BEFORE get it cut in a decent salon, Samurai, above Brown's in Heslington. We needed an appointment — strange, but good for avoiding the queues — especially since this particular haircut took longer than the usual five minutes.

Samurai turned out to be a surprisingly large and plush space complete with sofas and a crèche.

We waited for our appointed time with a stack of women’s magazines and - get this - our drinks provided by the salon!

The haircut was not like my usual. It included a hair wash (a first for me), and the attention lavished on my hair would make my old - and now redundant - barber blush.

It's not for me to say how fantastic my hair looks, but just for the record it looks pretty fantastic.

Gone Tomorrow

Clearly a girl's best friend. What better excuse to eat chocolate every day before breakfast.

Evidently one of the finer ways to fulfill Christian duty and uphold tradition. What's more, the advent calendar benefits the moral character by teaching the evils of temptation and gluttony - yes, if you eat the entire month of December in one go, you will be ill.

DocuSoaps The perfect opportunity to forget our personal faults/foibles and enjoy a bout of - completely guilt free - morally neutral bitching. Adopt the persona of the most influential authority on singing, dancing and aesthetic merit. And completely ignore your own more embarrassing vocal exploits in the shower, physical exhibitions on Ziggy's dancefloor and dog-rough bad hair days on campus.

Louise on James...

L

ook at the photo. The problem is obvious. Add some flies and you'd have a highland cow. In some backward societies, 'the sweep' (as it has come to be known) may be an acceptable hairstyle. However, here we have hairdressers.

This is a plea to all similarly troubled males — make the change and chop the mop. If your concern is the stripping of your masculinity, remember your name is not Samson. Your hair is not the sole source of your power. Plus, believe it or not, a bit of pride in your

AFTER appearance is not necessarily a bad thing.

We girls spend hours and vital funds trying to make ourselves aesthetically acceptable to you - is it too much to ask for a little effort in return? James needed help, and who were we to disappoint. We headed down to Samurai to sort him out.

Stylist Haley came to the rescue with a new cut and some new colours. We like the styled-yet-tousled look; it shows you're trying, but not too hard. It calls out for an affectionate ruffle, and let’s face it, most of you aren't going to be turning down such offers.

If your hair looks remarkably similar to James's pre-makeover, take the plunge. I am here to tell you that this is what women want!

Hair courtesy of Samurai

Half Pot Noodle How harmful can they be?

Very, once you discover that the price of transforming their contents into something approaching edible means tripling the fat content. It seems that in today's society nothing remains sacred - even boiling water is a health hazard.

Card Electricity Meters They share all the evils of the bank account and more. You take them for granted, then when they're full you find yourself gripped by an unconscious desire to splash out (turn the T.V up a notch etc.) Just as with bank accounts you never do anything to remedy a desperate situation until it's too late cue arbitrary entry into dark, ice-age conditions, enforced hunger strikes and the possible loss of very important work when your computer crashes.

03/12/02 YORK VISION

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

FOOD AND DRINK 19

‘Beer, Women, Rugby’ Stereotypes or facts? The Food and Drink Team go undercover to discover what that quick drink in Vanbrugh really says about you.

W

hen you head to Ziggy’s on a Wednesday, there’s always a group of men with yellow and possibly brown ties hanging around the ‘red room’.

We sent an undercover reporter to join them on one of their ‘typical’ nights out, in order to find out why they roll naked down Clifford’s tower, amongst other things. He returned safely, although extremely hungover, with his trousers round his ankles and some explaining to be done. Here’s his story...

game of 21's. Only twice do I find myself having to down two finger's worth. No time for another, sadly, taxis into town are here.

First stop 'Varsity'. I purchase myself another drink, beer obviously. Also buy a bottle of Reef to pour into the 'Man of the Match's' tankard, where it mixes wonderfully with the bitter and cider combination he already has. Talk to him as we both drink.

Purchase another drink, beer obviously.

Continual drinking while a philosophical discussion of life and the afternoon's game ensues through both Lendal and Flares.

With most of us now into double figures for the pint-count, and the 'Man of the Match' looking particularly green, there's just time for something sweet before Ziggy's.

The Nags Head beckons and, after pushing through the crowd, a couple of triple vodka and oranges are needed.

After necking both of these it's straight out of the pub. A tactical vomit just to freshen myself up, and we attempt to inconspicuously push thirty big men in suits into the

A

rriving at the Derry for 7pm I immediately get myself a drink, beer obviously. Most of the others are already in, and some haven't gone home since the game ended. I decide I need a rest, having already been the victim of a 'Kangaroo Court', which condemned me to necking a can of 'Super T' on the coach back from the game.

We've commandeered a large table at the back of the pub and are playing a drinking game while continually supping. I join them, but within five minutes have been caught drinking with my right hand and told

Continual drinking ensures a philosophical discussion of life, and a tactical vomit freshens me up

to down the pint and get myself another drink, beer obviously.

Clutching the new pint I decide not to chat to the boys rather than joining in with the game. However, mid conversation I hear the ominous plop of a 2p hitting my still ¾s full pint. This one too will have to go down in one.

A little breathlessly I immediately return to the bar for another drink, beer obviously.

This time I am allowed to drink it at a more humane speed as I stumble through a

Finally we either disperse to the room of a delicious fresher or go for a not so delicious kebab

DRINK OF THE WEEK

The Grandma’s favourite, Gin and tonic

GIN AND TONIC, known proverbially as the grandma’s drink, has been voted one of the most popular drinks in the country. But by whom?

We surveyed the inhabitants of Goodricke bar, asking ‘Who drinks G&Ts?’. The replies were very random.

‘Women’ was probably the most common answer amongst guys drinking Martini and Lemonade instead. How manly.

Others included ‘two bit whores’ and ‘farmers’. This last reply

had the whole team stumped.

So why has this combination of Juniper berries and quinine attracted so many followers? Because it’s a classic.

Gin and tonic ranks with Aston Martin, the Ritz and Veuve Cliquot as things to take to your desert island when asked by Sue Lawley. Any sane person will take a bottle Not just a girl’s along with their bible and drink, but sophisticat complete works of Shakespeare.

So if you’re a true alcoholic, ed and refined enough Gin and Tonic rocks.

And when combined with lime for both sexes. and other random accompaniments, nothing can beat it.

queue.

Another drink or three, beer obviously, and we're down onto the dance floor.

Taking over most of it and irresistible in our suits, it's a good night from then on. A few more pints, obviously, are needed to keep the body temperature down.

Finally we disperse, either to the room of a delicious fresher or to Skeldergate for a not quite so delicious kebab.

20 MUSIC

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

VISION REVIEWS

YORK VISION 03/12/02

p25 Bond The true Great Britain

p28

p26 Eccleston’s Hamlet Another royal ruck-up?

Books beat socks Gift ideas this Christmas

A New Mourning On the eve of their new tour, Isobel Todd catches up with arch pop poseurs

“W

hen was the last time you saw an arse slapped at a Suede concert?…except in the audience?"

This was the stern rebuff Vision received from new boy Alex Lee when, earlier this evening, we enquired after the whereabouts of Brett Anderson's infamous dance routine. Throughout the last two tours we witnessed it deteriorate into nothing more than enthusiastic foot-tapping: about as poptastic a spectacle as lilo inflation.

But now, we're happy to say, Brett is back up on the amps, wiggling and pouting, and generally putting it about like a particularly virulent piece of trade. Alright, there might not be any direct contact between hand and buttock, but tonight in Leeds, at least, Suede seem to have found a new lease of life.

Perhaps it has something to do with the removal of Neil Codling's rather soporific influence. Having spent his four years in Suede sitting crosslegged behind a keyboard, smouldering at the audience through his cigarette smoke

and occasionally exerting a finger to press a note, Neil was forced to leave the band mid way through their last tour after being diagnosed with ME. Alex, who met Suede through support slots with his former band Strangelove, was drafted in as a replacement: "I don't think they actually had any other option except to say, 'bugger it, we'd better give Alex a ring.'"

Alex may be happy being a "spare pair of hands" but, speaking to him before the gig, we're concerned that he should look the part. He hasn't got a black leather jacket, and he doesn't smoke B+H. "Actually, I don't smoke at all", he apologises, "but if I did, it'd definitely be B+H- they're the hardest hitting fag of all."

We reassure him that his hair, at least, does seem to be sufficiently foppish. Perhaps he could have a word with Brett, who appears to have taken his new found liking for Oxide+Neutrino a little too far in going peroxide blonde.

"I always thought that Oxide+Neutrino must be spotty adolescents, 'cos it sounds like a zit cream doesn't it? Actually

Brett's black again now- he had to lose the blonde because someone accused him of going grey."

Shallow observations, you might think, but there does seem to be something in the myth that the quality of Suede's music is directly proportionate to the quality of their haircuts.

The first two albums are stunners, as were the band's mops, packed with songs that took you down dark alleyways and ravaged you for three minutes, all the while cracking a whip at your hips.

But as Brett’s fringe receded, so did this wonderfully dark edge, with Coming Up and Head Music offering little variation on throw-away, bare faced pop.

And now we have 'A New Morning', Suede’s fifth album proper, made by a bleached blonde Brett. Whilst tonight's career spanning set still has the power to enthral, the new stuff won’t be ruffling anyone’s feather boa, passing us by in smoothly contoured waves of bland fluorescence. In haircuts and in music, Suede have truly deserted the fringe for the mainstream.

“If people want Suede to be cryogenically frozen in time, they’ll just have to arrange for us to die horribly in a plane crash.”

Back in the days of Brit Pop, when you could hang a career from a good pair of cheekbones, Suede had the image and the tunes to put their debut album straight in at number 1. They’ve continued to chart highly until now- with ‘A New Morning’ crashing at 25. You can't help feeling that this might not've been the optimum time for Alex to join: "That's a really thinly veiled insult that is! Basically, I think there's several reasons for the album charting so low, and one of them, undoubtedly, is that it got leaked on the internet in June. But it wasn't really the record it should've been."

The process certainly seems to have been far from straightforward. Having initially approached Tony Hoffer (a Los Angeles producer who's worked with Air and Beck) in the hope that "an interesting culture clash" would emerge, they ended up binning all the mate-

rial from those sessions.

At one stage, there was even talk of Suede making an 'electric-folk' record ("Matt started that one: he's got a severely fucked up definition of folk") before the band eventually settled down with one time Blur producer, Stephen Street, and made 'A New Morning', "very quickly indeed...and in very monastic conditions."

This, in fact, is the first album Brett has made without chemical assistance. Previously wont to keep his personal habits mysterious, he's recently admitted to heroin and crack addiction.

Oddly enough, Brett's also taken a step towards ending his feud with ex-guitarist Bernard Butler by confessing that- news flash- his departure from Suede at the height of their success was "regrettable."

Alex makes an effort to be objective: " Well it's been a long time,

and it would come across as petty if they were still at each other's throats going 'I don't like the production on Dog Man Star', 'Well I don't like your shirt', or whatever it was they kept sniping about.

“I actually think Brett's kept a fairly dignified silence given some of the vitriol Bernard's thrown at him in the press. And it's 'nice', I think, that finally they're beginning to acknowledge that they did some great work together. But Brett said the other day that he was glad the line-up did split, because if Bernard was still around Suede would be unbelievably wordy and dull by now."

Some change in focus was always inevitable. Emerging in the early nineties as a soundof-the-suburbs band, Suede faced the same problem as Pulp in hitting the big time- how can you continue to sing about council housing when you've taken up residence in Notting Hill?

So Suede made the inevitable move towards

-continues p.23

22 MUSIC

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

MUSIC SPECIAL

Worst Compilation: The Best of Space - Space.

Surely the most blatant oxymoron ever, the cheeky Scouse scallies deserve their moment of shame for not retiring.

Scallie Renaissance: The Coral Often spotted wearing old style ‘jogging pants’. Most likely to have your hub-caps.

Worst Mullet-’tache Combo: Nickelback They always said they were the spawn of the devil but there was no need to look like his bum fluff as well.

Worst Lyrics: Future Sound of London “Creaming on a dodo/Slow fellatio/Mellow disco hippo show.”

Self explanatory.

Most Inbred: The White Stripes Brother and sis? Man and wife?

Who knows just how close these two are.

Worst Karoke: Blazin’ Squad A band of pubescent gippos ‘free-styling’ over St. Winnifred’s School choir.

The Faint

Amorphous Androgymous- Mello Hippo LP (9th December)

T

B TheGet Up Kids

T

On A Wire (13th January)

he Get Up Kids last album ‘Something to Write Home About’ was one hell of an intense record, buzzing with heartfelt sentiment and pop tunes. Their hearts were worn on their sleeves and they sounded like Minor Threat minus the politics.

However, this was back in 1999, and a lot has changed in three years. They’ve seen far bigger venues touring with both Weezer and Green Day. And with Jimmy Eat World bringing emo to the mainstream, they have made major alterations to their sound, taking them away from their punkier roots.

But they have not lost their penchant for heartfelt lyrics (“I’d rather die than be alone” on Grunge Pig) or their ear for a good tune. ‘Stay Gone’ and ‘Wish You Were Here’ both bring to mind Bob Mould’s best work with Husker Du or Sugar.

The album’s bookends are two acoustic-based songs, ‘Overdue’ and ‘Hannah Hold On’. The former is a highlight, bringing to mind the ragged brilliance of Elliot Smith. The latter conversely leans far too close to the dreary MOR of American soft rock.

‘Campfire Kansas’ is the weakest song, a happy-clappy sing-along with the cringe-worthy line, “lets take the moon and make it shine for everyone”.

It’s a well-crafted record, but you feel that in forsaking their heavier side, they’ve lost some of their much-needed edge. It won’t please hardcore-emo fans, but for anyone

ack in ‘97, The Future Sound Of London fed Everyone’s Gone To The Moon into a sample of Charles Bukowski saying, “this is what happens when a man doesn’t get married- the semen backs up into his brain.”

Strangely, Jonathon King wouldn’t allow the result to be broadcast, but the pair had made their mark.

Any aspirations to being the musical Chris Morrises, however, were undercut by Gary Cobain’s sudden mysterious illness. Believing it to be in some way related to the positive ions in computers, Cobain fled from electronic music and bought a ticket to India.

By the time the illness had been accurately traced to his mercury fillings, it was too late- Cobain had fallen for the sitar, big time.

The result of this obsession with ‘ethnic textures’ was this year’s The Isness, and Amorphous Androgynous is a reworking of one of its tracks.

For an exotic-ambient cross-over mini-album, it’s fairly comprehensive stuff. Anjali Saga’s guest vocals are both majestic (check) and vulnerable (check), and even the recurrent flute motif is oddly affecting.

The only problem is that the lyrics to the original track were ‘Slow-mo on a dildo/ Creaming on a dodo/ Mumbo jumbo slow fellatio/ Mello disco hippo show’, and you don’t want to be hearing that spliced and segued

Alex Lee in action

that the music became more universal."

Which is fair enough except that, as any 6th form poet knows, you can best touch upon something truly universal by focussing on the specificbanally commenting that it's nice when it rains (‘When The Rain Falls’) isn't likely to connect with anyone.

More than that, it compromises the essence of Suede's appeal, which was precisely this provocative ambiguity.

Where tonight lyrics are projected onto the back of the stage so that we can "all join in", Suede shows used to be accompanied by silent films in which

“If Bernard was still around Suede would be unbelievably dull by now.”

A New Mourning -Suede interview continued from p.??

cosmopolitanism. But there has been another, more inexplicable change. Once arrogant poseurs in a scene dominated by affable shoe-gazers, Suede are no longer holding their heads up high.

For some reason their records, from being self-consciously pretentious, have developed a deliberate naivety. Alex thinks that this too is down to the band's

ALBUMS

The Future Sound Of London

You’ve had the Brit awards, you’ve had the Baftas, you’ve had the Grimsby Animals Saving Dying Children From Fires Jubilee 2002, but now, your very own award-winning Vision critics are proud to present...

The Vision Music Awards 2002

YORK VISION 03/12/02

success: "The more international you become, the more straightforward your language has to be.

You don't want to speak in code anymore. If a song requires a dictionary of slang to go with it then automatically you're excluding some people. So I know that Brett deliberately simplified what he was doing to ensure

men pranced about in false lashes and net curtains, and androgynous ballerinas lifted their tu-tus to rim each other in silhouette.

And now, what you never thought possible in Suede world has happened: in the video to current single, Positivity, tweety birds and tree blossom descend on the band's heads. That's one hell of a shift in ethos: "It is", Alex admits, "although I don't think anyone's going to defend that Positivity video! But

Ladytron Light and Magic (out now)

‘L

ight and Magic’ is a strong follow up to Ladytron’s first ‘pioneering’ Album ‘604’. If you like a bit of 80’s mixed with your fashionister electro pop then this is the album for you.

With fifteen tracks, the album is a little corker. Opening with ‘True Mathematics’, meaning geeks have songs written about them, is sung in a foreign language What more could you ask for?

‘Cracked LCD’ is quite a funky little number, and has a lovely little bell sound in the background. Probably quite a crisis for them if their LCD cracked too.

I found the lyrics to their recent single, ‘Seventeen’, quite disturbing.

For example, “They only want you when you’re 17, when you’re 21 you’re no fun”. I was excited about my birthday until now.

‘Blue Jeans’ has a little sample on it, which is the foundation of the song. It’s definitely stolen from some little unknown German band of the ‘eighties who wore leder-hosen, slapped each others’ backsides and hung about eating salami.

Therefore, they could probably do with the royalties to get them out of working in a sausage factory. Anyway, back to the bat cave. Definitely one of my favourite tracks on the album.

So if you can remember slap bands, leg warmers and shell suits, or are just a Face reader, buy this.

(Ruth Parrott)

Suede actually really wanted to get away from that flouncy, gauche image. When they look back on it now they're quite embarrassed.

“People look for a voice to express themselves and often it's in a very camp, over the top manner- which I think Suede did. But I certainly don't want to be in a pantomime band anymore. If people want Suede to be cryogenically frozen in time then they'll just have to arrange for us to die horribly in a plane crash."

O

f course, you can understand it all. You can understand why someone might wish not to be caught slapping their arse, writing like J.G.Ballard and posing as a sexual omnivore when its 2002, they're pushing on 40, and amyl nitrate is widely available for sale in club toilets.

People move on, as a certain man named Bernard once sung, and Alex is adamant that the band still have life in them yeteven when we remind him of Brett's early intention to "make five great albums, then split up the band": "Well I've seen the schedule and it runs into next year. It doesn't say 'January: tour.

February: write new songs.

March: split."

But the fact remains that the band who ten years ago took vows against conventionality have allowed themselves to grow afraid of being pretentious.

Suede are fine, they're just no longer dandy, and pop (at the risk of sounding pretentious)

Danse Macabre (20th January)

he Faint are probably fashionable; bands that pair definite articles with inappropriate sounding words are usually fashionable. Or bands that studiously avoid applying them to words that look like they should have one.

On the other hand, I’m probably wrong again, and I’ll get another email from New Zealand to tell me that they’re just antipodean country folk who sometimes help out the Datsuns when it’s shearing season and all the farm hands are busy rehearsing in the machinery barn. (No, not the mullets. Shearing season for the sheep.)

But anyway, guess what decade The Faint are inventively combing for washed-up ideas? That’s right, the 70s! It’s kind of a Bachman Turner Overdrive/Wings mash-up! Or maybe not. Maybe it’s the 80s, and they’re a disco punk band. You know, perhaps they sound a bit like Joy Division, but happier, because even though their lead singer’s died, they’ve got a really good drum machine. And groovier, because they’ve been taking pills. Or New Order. Whatever.

I don’t know what many of the song titles are, because they’re printed in such a breathtakingly avant-garde typeface, but there’s one really good one, three good ones, four quite good ones, and one that’s not good at all. For this unfortunate number The Faint have greedily scraped the fetid crust from the very rim of the electro-pop barrel, i.e. the Duran Duran influence. Horrible.

Better than Bachman, Turner and

This issue Vision is launching a brand-new

VIDEO GAMES

section exclusively online l Alex Rimmer holsters his gun and prepares to take over in Grand Theft Auto Vice City. Vice City has been described as the most hotly-anticipated game of the year, but does it live up to the hype? l The games industry makes more money today than the film industry, yet it costs 10 times as much to buy a game as it does to see a film. Mark Stockton reports on the Fairplay Campaign, an attempt to get the video game industry to lower its prices. l The WWF may have changed their name, but the wrestling industry is still as over the top and as ever. Alex Rimmer grapples WWE Smackdown!

Shut Your Mouth to find out if the latest instalment in THQ's series can finally put right some of the mistakes made in previous games.

plus more on...

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03/12/02 YORK VISION

GIGS

Isobel

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

Todd

5th Dec: Shed 7 Manc Uni Doctors who've been in the medical business long enough to have compiled their own death-wish-list will tell you that it's better to opt for a heart attack than a terminal disease, and the music industry has its equivalent hierarchy of exits. For instance, it's probably preferable to go out fast on a 3 minute Sporty-Spice duet than to follow Shed 7's route, and endure a decade long downward trajectory into the Our Price bargain bin. It's easier on the fans.

6th Dec: Murderdolls Sheffield Leadmill Slipknot side project in which Joey Jordison removes his mask and promptly reaches for the Rimmel. As the name suggests, they sound, rather entertainingly, like The New York Dolls reading P D James.

But they've really got to work on their punishability: lyrics about wanting to fuck your friend's mother were never going to shock, even before those microwaveable-meal ads.

7th +8th Dec: Doves Manc Apollo Who'd have thought the Madchester come-down would sound like this? Doves produce a warm, tripped out pop drone, which you'll only feel like incorporating into your life whilst huddled up to the radiator on a Sunday afternoon. When Irvine Welsh eventually buckles and scripts a film about LemSip Max Strength addiction, Doves will most definitely be on the soundtrack.

Hero worship James Kelly risks his eardrums and asks Hell Is For Heroes about being both the great rock hopes and the smouldering remains of Symposium.

E

veryone who was sixteen between 1996-1998 remembers Symposium with affection. I remember them punching-in the ceiling of the Chelmsford YMCA and being banned for life. I remember them proudly holding up bottles of urine that landed on the stage during their sets.

But most of all, I remember them having a fight with the security at Reading, who

took offence at Symposium trashing the instruments. Ah, heady days, when I was happy with a popsicle in one hand and a copy of Melody Maker in the other.

So, Will, you were formerly Symposium’s guitarist and now you’re in Hell Is For Heroes. It must be a great help to constantly be billed as the band that rose from the twitching corpse of Symposium.

rank Zappa said that “rock journalism is people who cannot write, interviewing people who cannot talk for people who cannot read.” However, I quickly realise that this interview is going to be an exception as the band definitely possess the gift of the gab.

Along with their growing reputation for being an exciting live act, Eighties 13th Dec: Radio 4 (+The Matchbox are nothing if not Faint) Leeds Cockpit quotable. As a result they have Punk rockers Radio 4 combat enjoyed considerable coverage the tide of stylised electroclash by putting the grit and “Political music is polemic back into the New York scene, and playing so bloody negamusic you can actually dance to. That's if you haven't tive...why fucking already been thrown into an epileptic fit by one of The nit-pick?”

Faint's DIY light shows.

But the band needs not only to participate in the race, but also lose it.

“We realised that we actually had to ‘lose to win’. We had to come last so we bought a Humber Pullman 48, the only car that Winston Churchill would be driven around in. That only does 55mph, so we are damn well going to lose that race. The actual rock and roll concert (at the finish of the race) will be like live aid but ten times bigger.”

At this juncture, I try to draw the band away from their utopian vision and bring them back down to earth with a new line of questioning. Smirking to myself after drawing a picture in mind of Guy McKnight as the new Bob Geldof, I ask the band whether they would ever consider linking politics and music in their songs.

Guy puts his opinion forward: “we do overtly let people know in passing what we do and don’t agree with politically.

I’m sure that in the future we will play for a number of just causes that we believe in. But I don’t think that we’ll ever write about it in our music.” “’Cos we’re not the Manic Street Preachers,” bassist Sym Gharial remarks.

My question has obviously touched a raw nerve in guitarist Andy Huxley, who feels obliged to defend his band’s music.

“Political music is so bloody negative, you know what I mean? We’re a triumphant band- the music we’re playing might be dark, but it’s positive.

It’s a celebration of all things good, so why fucking nit-pick?”

Guy is at pains to stress that the band are serious about their music: “we’re definitely not joking. In our music, and in our performance, there’s defi-

9th Dec: The (International) Noise Conspiracy Manc Uni Following on from songwriting legend Phil Ochs' declaration that "the perfect rock outfit would be a combination of Elvis and Che Guevara", this Swedish band got themselves a competent lead vocalist and came up with a moniker involving the words 'international' and 'conspiracy'.

Inspired.

14th Dec: Oasis Sheffield Arena The Gallagher brothers are way past caring and so should you be. Where once they did a marvellous job of ripping off the Beatles, Oasis today possess about as much stage presence as Paul McCartney's wife's missing leg.

F

in the NME and Q, which has in turn enabled the band to get established on the British music scene.

Having boarded the tour bus, I ask the question on everybody’s lips, ‘How did you come up with your name?’ The vocalist Guy McKnight seizes this opportunity to give me a well recited but completely ran14th Dec: Auto Festival Templeborough Steel Works, dom response about how watching TV after scoring acid Rotherham on his nineteenth birthday led Lemon Jelly offer an alternative to Four Tet's programmed to the idea of some kind of “race to the rock and roll conelectronica by categorically refusing to hide behind their cert.” equipment, James Yorkston “On the TV there was a race compensates for Will on one channel with this bloke, Oldham's absence, Warp DJs sniffing coke all the time in are on hand for added kudos, order to win…” and Pulp crown it all off with Marc Norris, rhythm guitarwhat could well be their last ist, continues the story: “and ever live performance. All of on the other channel there was which promises to make this a gig. We thought they were the one day festival something of a Camber Sands without the same programme, and we figpaddling- unless you want to ured out that these people were actually racing to a rock come over all twee in a tank and roll concert.” of industrial waste.

“Personally, I think it’s a hindrance,” replies the soon to be extremely famous Will. “I understand why people do it but I wish they wouldn’t. We don’t sound anything like Symposium. Everyone else in the band has been in countless other bands but no one goes on about that. If I’d had a job in Marks & Spencer, no one would have gone, ‘it’s ex-baker Will’ ‘cos it’s just not relevant.

MUSIC 22 So it’s just pointless really.”

Right…um, let’s just pretend my introduction didn’t happen. Anyway, Will is now Hell Is For Heroes’ guitarist, and was formerly in Symposium, as was drummer Joe. And HIFH are going to be rather large. They are the best rock/ metal act of the moment. Do you feel that you’ll do what Hundred Reasons did last year and break through in a big way?

“It’s hard to be objective really ,” states Tom, the band’s other guitarist.

“If you get caught up in the bigger picture then you don’t concentrate so much on the important things,” agrees Will.

“It would be wicked if everybody picked up the album, but if we’d been thinking like that for all of this year then we wouldn’t have made a good album. We’d have been too preoccupied with the future.

All we do is think about tonight’s show and leave tomorrow ‘till tomorrow. Being in a band, you can’t really plan that far ahead or else it’ll all catch up with you and you’ll just turn shit.”

There is little wonder that they don’t want to think too far ahead when they have a live show like tonight’s to deliver.

However, it must have been daunting opening for the likes of Papa Roach across Europe.

“We’ve done it loads,” claims a confident Will. “There are times when the kids have gone completely mental, loving it, but we come off going ‘That was shit’ and it’s just ‘cos we thought we played rubbish.

Other times it’s vica-versa so I suppose the most important thing is that we do this to make ourselves happy. Hopefully the kids will pick up on that and feed off how we’re feeling.

Sometimes I’m almost agitated if they like a show that I hate

“Sometimes I think ‘why the fuck did you like that? We sucked’.”

and I think, ‘Why the fuck did you like that? We sucked.’ But whenever we’re totally banging and the kids are too, it’s the best feeling in the world.”

And with the album out 3rd February and a reworked version of ‘You Drove Me To It’ out before that, the kids really could be ‘banging’ a lot more.

Why was the album recorded in America though?

“It didn’t cost much more to record in LA than in Camden,” answers Tom. “If you have a choice of recording your record in Camden or LA then where are you going to go?”

Will continues: “In hindsight, it was probably the best thing for us. Our friends in London distract us. Whenever we’re in the studio, we’ll say, ‘we’ve got this place till two in the morning so why don’t you all come down’. And we’ll get a few crates of beer and not get anything done. Whilst in LA we didn’t know that many people so just worked really hard on the album.”

At that point, Blazin’ Squad appear on the telly and the band try to figure out exactly who this bunch of pre-pubescents are. Not very rock but then they are turning nature on its head by making Hell a place for heroes. And once you’ve succumbed to the growing juggernaut, you may want to make a pact with the horned one too.

Eighties revival

Mark Newton meets the bizarrely monikered Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster to discover why they’re not the new Manics. nitely sarcasm and humour, but at the same time we’re deadly serious about what we’re doing.”

The sense of seriousness seems to evade tonight’s audience however, and with song content not transcending ideas about wanting to have sex with someone else’s mother, Eighties Matchbox may find

that getting people to take them seriously will become a recurring problem. When Guy uses his microphone stand to strike a provocative crucifix pose and shouts, “ I am the Son of God,” it seems that few are convinced.

In all fairness, he never really claimed to be, as he admitted to me earlier that the

song is not about him, but about “tramps who hang about in Brighton and try to persuade you that they’re the Son of God.” The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster might not be able to start a new religion, but they are certainly an exciting band worth watching.

23 MUSIC

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR Badly Drawn Boy Leeds University (25th November 2002)

T

he first rule of showbiz, surely, is not to let your celebrity chums upstage you. If you’re going to invite a guest on tour with you, you’d better make sure you’re better than him, otherwise things start getting embarrassing.

So when comedian Peter Kay bounces onstage, unannounced, after 45 minutes of Badly Drawn Boy cheerlessly going through the motions, playing lack-lustre, off-key album tracks and complaining about the sound, you wonder if this is going to be the night’s highlight.

In an excited bustle of confusion and laughter, Peter Kay performs about 15 minutes of stand-up about mp3 players, crap songs and worse jokes. The crowd love it, and Kay gets by far the biggest cheer of the night so far.

As Kay introduces Damon Gough and pals back onto the stage you brace yourself for more of the same earnest singer-songwriter bollocks, charmless and tuneless, a million miles away from the laughs of Kay and of old Badly Drawn Boy gigs.

Doves Leeds University (24th November 2002)

A

fter the almost tragic event of getting on the train to Darlington, which incidentally is the opposite direction to Leeds, we finally made it to the Refectory having only missed the first few songs of the Doves.

Unfortunately two of these were the recent hits ‘There Goes the Fear’ and ‘Pounding’. I know from past experience that these are two of the best songs that the Doves can really add something exciting to live.

The songs we managed to catch did make it worth the 3-hour train journey to get there. ‘The Man Who Told Everything’ was the first song we saw, and it was performed brilliantly in front of the star clothed backdrop.

Following most live performances at the moment they included visuals in their set. Many of these seemed slightly inappropriate and seemed at times to distract the audience from the band.

The Doves are a very genuine band and shouldn’t need any gimmicks.

Playing the majority of songs from their latest LP ‘The Last Broadcast’, what impressed me most is the

enthusiasm that they have on stage.

It becomes obvious from the moment you see them that this is part of the reason why they have become well known recently. To see a band who do put a huge amount of effort into their performance is always a positive, and can make a massive difference.

‘New York’, one of the stand out songs on the latest LP, was particularly impressive tonight, proving the recent songs to have an added element that was possibly lacking in the older ones. Although ‘The Cedar Room’ and such like will never lose their power, even when you have a set of drunken Mancunians chanting next to you.

This might not have been an Oasis gig, but it did seem as though many people were there in order to show how dedicated they are to Manchester, and felt that ‘foreigners’ just didn’t belong.

This did not ruin the atmosphere, however, and the perfect ending came with ‘Firesuite’ and ‘Catch the Sun’. Then the moment I was really waiting for: the ultimate reflection of 90’s baggy dance in the form of the Doves original band, Sub Sub. The crowd inevitably loved this, and it finished off an evening that was not particularly innovative, but consistently enjoyable.

(Beth

Judging by the amount of flak currently being shot at any sign of a passing Ashcroft by certain publications, you’d be forgiven for thinking that he’d been churning out speed funkmetal. Things would appear gloomy.

However, judging by the crowd tonight, Ashcroft is anything but at the gates of ‘90s indie heaven. Until you see the crowd, you forget just how huge and important Ashcroft is.

The set itself is awesome. Old Verve favourites such as ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’ are greeted rapturously whilst Ashcroft has lost none of his mighty stage presence. However, it is the reaction to the new material that exposes the lie currently doing the rounds that no one listens to Dickey anymore. The crowd’s reaction to what must be a future release, ‘Buy It In Bottles’, demonstrates just how much the new Ashcroft is loved.

Furthermore, the songs take on a whole new life live. Walls of sound and huge crescendos create the storm in heaven for which early Verve releases were so loved. That part of Ashcroft remains, combined with a man spiritually at peace. There is no better summary of the night than Ashcroft finishing ‘Nature Is The law’ with the claim ‘They say I’m lost but really I’m found’.

(James Kelly)

SINGLES

But Gough duly rises to the challenge laid down by Kay, and the second set is triumphant. The crowd are more responsive, BDB is actually having fun now, and with the dreary half-songs from ‘About A Boy’ out of the way, out come the stunning new tracks and classics from ‘…

Bewilderbeast’.

Clearly drunker, and playing better songs, he slips right back into top gear, delivering beautiful acoustic versions of ‘Once Around The Block’ and ‘The Shining’.

In between he resorts to taking the piss out of the hecklers, serenading a hand-picked member of the crowd with ‘I Was Wrong/You Were Right’ and making every song, including a handful from the EPs to keep obscurists happy, sound perfect.

The night closes with the anthemic sing-along of ‘Pissing In The Wind’, and the crowd go away with a smile on their face. Despite the dodgy start, Badly Drawn Boy obviously still knows how to play to a crowd, and they got to see Peter Kay, too.

But it’s all about the music, really, and a songsmith as talented as Damon Gough can never really fail to impress.

‘How can I give you the answers you need/When all I possess is a melody?’ he laments during ‘How’.

James Kelly Robbie Williams -Feel (9th December) As per usual for the most overrated man since Judas Iscariot won Best Disciple prize AD31, you can hear a thousand songs that he's ripped off in just one song. According to the prince twat, "It's just a beautiful song. I pour my heart out".

Competently, absolutely, but most of Death In Vegas - Scorpio Rising (16th December) Rather psychedelic offering with Liam Gallagher on vocal duties. In fact, it sounds very like Oasis but the press release dubbing it the 'best single Oasis never made' is possibly going a bit far. The days of an appearance by the Gallaghers meaning instant stardom (see Chemical Brothers) may have passed but this deserves to make a sizeable indentation on the Mew - She Came Home For Christmas (18th November) Absolutely brilliant second single from the newest Scandinavians on the block. It's little wonder that eyebrows are starting to rise. Sounds like Doves when they used to be epic crossed with Sigur Ros and the Flaming Lips on valium.

Come on, it's even got 'Christmas' in Ms Dynamite Put Him Out (out now) Unfortunately, there's an overwhelming stench of 'girl power' about this record from the Mercury award-winner. It's those good for nothing men again - when will they stop picking on pop stars out there. Pleasant enough but perilously close to average and not as good as the previous releases.

Alabama 3

Leeds Cockpit (15th November 2002)

Sheffield Arena (26th November 2002)

Leeds University (23rd November 2002)

LIVE

Alice Cooper + Thunder

Richard Ashcroft

YORK VISION 03/12/02

Any of you Goths out there who think that dressing up with black eyeliner and leather trousers is cutting edge can well and truly think again. This man’s been doing it for nearly thirty years.

As the opening bars of ‘Hey Stoopid’ ring out across the arena, there is a rising cheer, and after a couple of hard-core thrashes from the band, the big man Mr Cooper appeared in all his glory.

Kitted up to the nines with swords, blood, guillotines, straight-jackets, erotic nurses and two-headed babies, this was a show not to be missed by any rocker, especially those with a mullet...and they were there in their thousands.

Thunder and the other bands had warmed the crowd up nicely, but it was classic hits like ‘Poison’, ‘Schools Out’, ‘Billion Dollar Babies’ and ‘Feed My Frankenstein’ that really got those perms a-rockin’, not to mention a touching tribute to Britney Spears.

Not a sell-out, but with ten dates in almost as many days, Alice Cooper showed he can still cut the mustard in the Monsters of Rock stakes. Marilyn Manson...Nowhere! (Matt Collinsinko)

The Levellers York Barbican (16th November 2002) The Levellers have never been the epitome of coolness. Their pop/rock/ punk/folk with a fiddle approach never really caught the imagination of the Indie nation.

Yet their fanbase has remained loyal for fifteen years now, and tonight it is easy to see why.

Singer Mark Chadwick is approaching forty, yet his voice still packs a punch. Early acoustic numbers “Is this Art?” and “The Boatman” suggest this is not a tour designed to plug the new album , but to showcase their exhaustive back catalogue.

However, it isn’t until Jon Sevink enters with his fiddle and Jeremy Cunningham flings his dreadlocks around stage that the crowd literally explodes.

Despite this they never seem particularly interested in communicating with the audience – the between song banter is non existent all night, and as a result the impact of the show is tempered somewhat.

Similar to their political namesakes in the 17th century, the Levellers will never take over the hearts and minds of the entire country. They’re just happy with the small piece they already have. (Thom Wood)

Alabama 3 have found the place where Christianity, Communism and drug culture meet, and called it home.

One is the son of a preacher man, one was raised on Marxist-Leninism, and all seven (or so) have indulged in a little chemical experimentation.

This is a band that stays ‘in character’– evangelism with a Deep South twang, music peppered with ‘oh lord’ and ‘hallelujah’, and we are reminded that we are not an audience: tonight, brothers and sisters, we are a congregation. A seven-man band from Brixton shouldn’t be able to get away with this kind of pastiche – but they do, because from the third song in the congregation are dancing, and they don’t stop.

A little guitar, some harmonica perhaps, keyboards, and then the drums and drum machines come alive and we have the fusion that is ‘country acid house’. It can get a little repetitive – tonight there aren’t quite enough of the more stripped-down acoustic songs – but nobody cares because they’re all dancing.

Finally, after a mix of old and new songs, gospel choirs, protest anthems and electronica, the last song fades and the brothers and sisters begin to leave. The band have been transcendent.

(David Bowles)

Burning Brides Glass Slipper EP (16th December) About to be championed by the NME, Burning Brides are quite concerning. 'Glass Slipper' is fine enough but the nagging doubt that this is another Nirvana wannabe band like The Vines is confirmed by the B-sides.

Eminem Lose Yourself (out now) Eminem drops the comedy for the theme to his semiautobiographical film '8 Mile', and instead gives us a song of which any self-motivation speaker would be proud. This is Eminem bang on form, with a grinding rhythm and an atmosphere of danger. AND there is only one instance of someone doing something incestuous to their mother that they really shouldn't.

Melaton - Still Water EP (out now) Battling with Mew for single of the issue, JJ72 and Seafood supports Melaton are truly special. They sound very much like Irish band The Frames, who are huge everywhere except Britain.

However, this isn't a bad thing and with a pinch of Starsailor, Melaton deserve to be huge. They'll just have to make sure The Frames' lawyers aren't listening too closely.

24 FILMS

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

The Town That Stole Xmas It’s Christmas- a time for spoilt kids, drunken feuds, and companies selling their souls to capitalism. James Rose casts his eye over the festive films on offer this year, and investigates Hollywood’s exploitation of Jesus’ birth-date

S

o Christmas has come round once again. Richard E. Grant is prostituting his talent to Argos, Coca Cola is sponsoring Santa and there has never been a better time to buy a three-piece suite.

The festival invented by the Victorians and hijacked by capitalism is back, and Hollywood is well positioned on the bandwagon.

The ‘Irritating Kid With The Broomstick 2’ and Ian Fleming's ‘Martini Drinker 20’ are already packing them into the multiplex and Christmas is coming early for the hobbit fanatics (18th December, to be exact).

Then again, for the more discerning punter, Michael Caine is sparking off all sorts of Oscarrelated chat with his performance in the Graham Greene adaptation The Quiet American.

And Stephen Frears' latest, Dirty Pretty Things, is all set to make an English-language star of Audrey "Amelie" Tautou.

Some bright spark in a suit at Buena Vista has spotted a cash cow

The Grinch fails to impress even its canine star

YORK VISION 03/12/02

FEATURE in the recently revived musical Chicago, so step forward Renee Zellweger and Catherine ZetaJones. And, God help us, Adam Sandler has moved into animation with 8 Crazy Nights.

As usual, Jesus' birthday will mean big business at the box office.

The Western world has decided that Christmas needs celebrating, but isn't terribly interested in the Christ part any more.

The studio moguls have seen their opportunity. Alongside the

“The ‘Irritating Kid With The Broomstick 2’ is packing them into the multiplex and Christmas is coming early for the Hobbit fanatics” food and the drink and the threepiece suites, we now have the blockbusters, the small intelligent films and the animated ones with Adam Sandler in.

All tastes are catered for: the important thing is that we get ourselves into the cinema and celebrate the silver screen.

And who's resisting? Dad wants the kids to belt up for 5 minutes, Mum wants a break from the Mother-in-Law, Grandpa wants to sit next to the Swedish au pair, the student types want somewhere dark where they can rest, and no-one wants to have to talk to the weird cousins from the Isle of Man. A few hours in the dark is just what everyone is looking for in this season of family fun. So it really doesn't matter if you end up seeing cinematic gold or 8 Crazy Nights: this isn't a time for highbrow cynicism.

Which is probably just as well.

Anyone who suffered through the Arnold "they should have known better" Schwarzenegger comedy Jingle all the Way back in '96 (though perhaps this one fits more neatly into the 'Horror' section) will know just how unscrupulous Hollywood can be in taking advantage of this temporary lowering of the public's tosh threshold.

However, it's wise not to rush to judgement on Yuletide flics. Jim Carrey's The Grinch seemed to have all the hallmarks of execrable Xmas offerings- cutesy children, pantomime villainy and The Search For The True Meaning Of Christmas.

Yet it somehow emerged triumphant as an entertaining and even moving bit of celluloid, mostly due to the charisma of Carrey's performance.

Who knows, perhaps Adam Sandler's cartoon alter ego will be this year's surprise success? One thing's for sure: far too many of us

BOND REVIEW

LOTR 2 PREVIEW

Two-Towering Above The Rest...

The Fellowship is now broken. Neil Barnes resides in the safety of the Shire to preview the planet’s most eagerly-awaited Blockbuster...

W

ere you one of those who cried, "Is that it?!" at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring?

Well fear not. There are two more epics to come, the first of which, The Two Towers, arrives on the 18th of December. Is your mouth watering? It’d better be.

In the 2nd film, the story gets darker and grander to a scale that will surely match existing epics. The trailers give glimpses of huge battle scenes that will leave eyes wide open with wonder. And if you just want to enjoy the scenery, New Zealand will again be standing in for Middle-Earth.

At the end of Fellowship, Gandalf had disappeared into the depths of Moria, whilst Boromir died in the battle at Amon Hen. Merry and Pippin were captured by Orks, with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli

heading off to rescue them.

Meanwhile, Frodo has gone towards Mordor with his faithful servant Sam in tow. The second film will follow their continuing journeys and, without revealing too much of the plot, will see an escalation in tension, setting us up for a huge bloodthirsty showdown in the final film.

We are introduced to the Riders of Rohan, horsemen who love a bit of a scrap.

And more shall be seen of Gollum, whose role becomes more important.

Having been filmed at the same time as its predecessor, Peter Jackson’s directing should be similarly ground breaking, and the high quality effects and camera work are due to continue.

The book is a rollicking good story and, based on the evidence, the film should be the same.

Die Another Day (12A) (Lee Tamahori, 2002, US) Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Judi Dench, Toby Stevens. 132 mins.

W

inston Churchill? A great war leader but one of the worst politicians ever.

Princess Diana? She is to Britain's greatest people what Peter Stringfellow would be to a convention on respecting women and not sleeping with old mulleted men: out of place and rather irritating.

No, the greatest Britain ever, my friends, is undoubtedly James Bond. Who else has repeatedly saved the world and got the best cars/suits/gadgets/chat-up lines/ most attractive girls?

None of our incest ridden Royal Family can claim even one of these feats- especially the latter, considering Charles and Camilla's dalliance.

Anyway, the film. Bond has to save the world from some satanic North Koreans, who have decided its time to get the evil West with their supersonic sun reflecting beam machine that burns all

insight.

Oh, you don't need to know much about the plot. We've all seen a Bond film and we all know the basics. What we want to know is how does the film measure up against its predecessors.

Answer: effortlessly.

The action sequences are amazing with explosions to die for- literally if you're a bad-guy Korean.

Moreover, the opening sequence is as surprising as has been made out. To tell you about it would ruin the shock value, but it's exciting enough to make Madonna's iffy soundtrack sound vaguely appropriate.

Oh, she also makes a cameo appearance, but thankfully only a short one.

No, the acting honours go to Mr. Brosnan, who, although many Bond's have said it before, truly brings a human element to the character. Not only does the character now have mixed emotions,

he also feels pain.

However, no pain is felt by the character on delivery of some of the best Bond lines yet. A case in point being when, replying to Jinx's (Halle Berry) question of whether he's in Cuba for the wildlife, Bond answers, "Just the birds" in a manner that fulfils every adolescent dream of attracting women.

However, the film is not perfect, with the special effects jarring at one point when Bond is windsurfing with a parachute on a tidal wave.

The likelihood of this is immaterial, but the effects look more akin to a computer game.

And before I forget, the Bond girls are stunning, particularly Halle Berry, who will no doubt be the subject of much teenage fantasising by the scallies who arrived 'en masse' at the cinema.

If it wasn't for space, I could tell you about the gadgets or the new camera techniques but that isn't really the point of Bond.

You're not interested in facts, just pure entertainment and this film delivers in spectacular fashion.

(James Kelly)

03/12/02 YORK VISION

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

NORTON IN PROFILE

Keeping The Score ing calibre has very few lim-

ed by Courtney Love whom

After only six years in the movie industry, Edward Norton has received two Oscar nominations and, with Fight Club, starred in one of the most influential contemporary films. Jonathan Beaufort-Jones profiles his career so far

Q

uite rarely has an actor had the innate ability to make 'geeky' look absurdly cool in a matter of minutes.

Whether playing the chronic insomniac Jack in Fight Club (1999), or an innocent altar boy in Primal Fear (1996), Edward Norton has incisively incurred respect amongst Hollywood's meanest and cleanest alike.

Speaking about his pristine image he maintains, "I don't smoke and I don't want to smoke. I am not a fan of gratuitous smoking in films." Although initially forging a career out of his clean-cut persona, Norton is far from being a one-dimensional actor. His brutish, enraged white supremacist, Derek Vinyard in American History X (1998), was so harrowingly believable that it gained him his second Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

For the role as Derek he gained 30 pounds of muscle, proving that his act-

its: "I'm trying to convince the audience that I'm this character. Every little thing that people know about you as a person impedes your ability to achieve that kind of terrific suspension of disbelief".

33 year-old Norton's talents are not wholly confined to the glitz of Hollywood either. He is a Yale graduate, fluent in

“Life, like poker, has an element of risk. It shouldn’t be avoided. it should be faced”

Japanese.

Norton is also a keen guitarist, and has played gigs with Hole, the band front-

FILMS 25

he dated between 1996 and 1998. 1999 saw Norton shed several pounds for his now legendary role as Jack / Tyler Durden, to star alongside Brad Pitt in Kevin Fincher's genre-bending Fight Club.

So extraordinarily realistic was his depiction of the unremitting effects of insomnia that he received tremendous critical acclaim, and, even better, learnt how to kick the shit out of annoying Hollywood producers.

Oh and another fact - during the filming of Fight Club, he and Pitt actually took soap-making classes.

It was in Keeping The Faith (2000) that Norton achieved his directorial debut, which was a more light-hearted affair than his past few 'money-earners'.

And on the subject of salary, his first film Primal Fear (1996) earned him $50,000, whilst in The Score (2001), (incidentally co-

directed by Robert De Niro), he received 6.5 million for his role as the wily gambler Jack Teller.

Probably his most notable recent outing was in the spine-tingler Red Dragon (2002), in which he played an FBI agent lured out of retirement to catch a crafty serial killer known as 'The Tooth Fairy'.

The prequel to Silence of The Lambs pitted him with the prestigious acting talents of Anthony Hopkins, Harvey Keitel, and

Ralph Fiennes - and many say that he came out on top.

And so to the future.

Norton is soon to star in a shocking Spike Lee thriller 25th Hour (2002) - which he co-produces - and in an ambitious re-make of the cult Michael Caine flick, The Italian Job (2003).

As for Edward Norton’s philosophy, the secret of human existence apparently lies in a game of cards: "Life, like poker, has an element of risk. It shouldn't be avoided. It should be faced".

(U) (Michael Lembeck, 2002, US) Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, David Krumholtz. 105 mins.

(18) (Francois Ozon, 2001, France) Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Virginie Ledoyen. 103 mins.

B

e honest. Gosford Park was a rather hackneyed murder-mystery farce that only gained such success through its auspicious ensemble of Britain's most cherished actors.

If you replaced them with ‘middle-of-the-range’ performers, cut its budget in half and set the whole film in Bradford, you'd have a lacklustre flick that would make Scooby-Doo seem like the works of Confucius.

8 Women follows the same route as Gosford Park in that it is set in a country house, involves a murder, and brings the best of (this time) French talent to the screen.

This, however, is where the comparisons stop.

François Ozon's 'murder-mystery' is in fact a mild parody of the inane, Agatha Christie-led genre, as it ambitiously merges OTT storylines with trivial but engaging musical interludes. And, like the concept, the plot is also not the most complex affair.

It is set in a secluded, femaledominated country-house where the only male member of the

house-hold is found fatally stabbed by the eight female residents. From this sudden tragedy the gormless women attempt to glue pieces together in order to discover who the murderer could be.

However, since the weather outside is too extreme for an unknown intruder to enter, the only conceivable murderer must be lurking in those very four walls.

At points this film verges on the ridiculous, but concealed behind its outlandishness is probably a very profound message about women and their inherent weaknesses.

In this sense it may be paradoxical, as whilst it is a female-led film, it also has translucent antifeminist undertones that consciously reiterate the significance of a consistent balance between both male and female in society.

The two notable cast performances come from Isabelle Huppert's useless hypochondriac caricature, Augustine, and Catherine Deneuve's absurdly levelheaded mother Gaby.

o ho ho is that Christmas cheer that I can feel in the air? You know that Christmas has well and truly arrived when the Disney Corporation releases a new Yuletide movie.

Having waited (well, not waited with bated breath or anything) eight years for this sequel to The Santa Clause you have to wonder if Disney has lost touch with its audience, this film holds little of the charm of the original. Santa Clause II seems to be little more than a formulaic romance film that just happens to be about the jolly, fat guy.

The basic premise is this, Santa and his elves are merrily going about their Christmas work when two disasters befall the happy group. Firstly Santa's son is going through a rebellious stage and shock horror makes it onto Santa's naughty list. And as if that wasn't bad enough a second Clause is found.

This one stipulates that Santa must be married by Christmas Eve. "The Mrs. Clause" (see

at Clifton Moor www.warnervillage.co.uk; or 08702 406020 for booking and info Die Another Day Lee Tamahori (UK/ USA, 2002) 135 mins Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry Latest James Bond Adventure

Enough Michael Apted (USA 2002) 115 mins Jennifer Lopez, Bill Campell Hard hitting tale of physical abuse and a wife's revenge.

The Santa Clause 2

8 Women (8 Femmes)

Warner Village

28 Days Later Danny Boyle (UK 2002) 113 mins C h r i s t o p h e r Ecclestone, Naomi Harris Post-apocalyptic horror film

NEW RELEASES

Details of every film screened in town and on campus for the next fortnight by Jess Shiddell

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Chris Columbus (UK/ USA, 2002) 160 mins Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson Eagerly awaited second instalment of the Harry Potter series

H

LISTINGS

how much comedy can be milked from the Claus/Clause thing!) throws a definite spanner in the toy works. How can Santa find a wife, save his son from delinquency and run the North Pole to ensure a successful Christmas?

Easy! Just make a giant toy version to run things back at Santa Land while the real Santa goes to America, by reindeer of course, to deal with his son. Rather predictably things soon go wrong and the toy turns into a Hitleresque Santa and much hilarity ensues - or not.

There are laughs in this film but they were mostly buried under a load of schmaltz. I wondered if maybe I was just too bitter and cynical for this film but it's not that, I love a Christmas movie as much as the next guy. This movie relied on excessive sentimentality rather than a good script and felt disappointingly flat for it.

The Santa Clause II is strictly for the very young or the extremely drunk during a boring, post Christmas lunch afternoon.

classic film.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding Joel Zwick (USA 2002) Nia Vardalous, John Corbett Unexpected, smallbudget, comic smash hit.

The Santa Clause Two See review Anita and Me Metin Huseyin (UK 2002) 92 mins Chandeep Uppal, Anna Brewster British, Asian comedy about a young, Asian girl growing up in the North.

Lilo and Stitch Dean Deblois (USA 2002) 85 mins Daveigh Chase, Chris Sanders Disney's latest animated adventure.

Mr Deeds Steven Brill (USA 2002) 96 mins Adam Sandler, Winona Ryder Comic remake of the

City Screen Coney Street, city centre info 01904 541155, booking 01904 541144 8 Women Francois Ozon (France, 2002) 110 mins Catherine Devenue, Isabelle Huppert Vibrant musical murder mystery 13.30, 16.00, 18.30, 21.00

Bertrand Tavernier (France, 2002) 170 mins Jacques Gamblin, Denis Podalydes Sub-titled film about survival and resistance in war-time Paris.

12.30, 18.00

Donnie Darko Richard Kelly (USA, 2001) 113 mins Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze Film set in small-town America about a troubled teen.

21.15

Possession Neil La Bute (USA, 2002) Gwyneth Paltrow, Aaron Eckhart Film adaptation of A S Byatt's Booker Prize winning novel of the same name.

15.45.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 13.30, 16.45, 20.00 Laissez - Passer

The Odeon Blossom Street, city centre Phone 08705 050007 for info & booking Die Another Day 11.05, 13.30, 14.00, 16.35, 17.00, 19.45, 20.00

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 12.30, 16.00, 19.30

On Campus

York Student Cinema - P/X001 Week Nine

Week Ten

Men In Black Two Thursday 19.30

Club le Monde Sunday 19.30

Star Wars Episode Two Friday 19.30

The Family Man Monday 19.30

Times are subject to change...

26 ARTS

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

YORK VISION 03/12/02

REVIEW

REVIEW

To see or not to see?

Saturday Night Fever

Adrian Butler casts his critical eye over Christopher Eccleston’s Hamlet at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, and wonders whether the Danish royal family has been proved even madder than the British.

A

servant witnesses events that rock the royal family.

Revelations of past crimes threaten to tear apart a palace already damaged by duplicity and plotting.

Sound familiar?

Perhaps last month's royal drama doesn't really compete with Hamlet in the far-fetched stakes.

But it's becoming harder and harder to decide which set of royals - British or Danish - is the more unbelievable, let alone screwed up.

It would take a top-notch dramatist to make us believe Prince Phillip could exist. And, although Hamlet does have its ghost, wasn't it the Queen who spookily referred to "forces in this country of which we have no knowledge"?

The expectations were high for director Ian Brown's production: despite the baggage that comes with this most idolised of plays, it's the first thing he's put on since being appointed Artistic Director of the flagship West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds.

Not only that, but he's got a major star playing the Prince of Denmark. Christopher Eccleston has appeared in Shallow Grave, Our Friends in the North and 28 Days Later, as well as a recent cameo in Royston Vasey.

Eccleston dominates the stage from his first entrance: his gangly physique stands him apart and his cropped hair bringing out his boxer's nose and big ears. His Hamlet is no sick-looking poet type, and plays on his physicality by trying to snog almost everyone else on stage when he's not busy hanging around like a teenager shooting out poisonous sarcasm.

Also impressive is Maxine Peake's Ophelia, who is transformed from an awkward wallflower in an illfitting dress to a PVC-clad, shavenheaded Goth for her final scene (which must have made her easier to

dry off after they found her). Kevin McMonagle's Polonius cannily gets the audience on his side along with the court, making sure we don't just cheer when Hamlet kills him.

However, further down the cast list, Brown's creativity dries up.

For a director without a clear vision, staging Shakespeare's most performed play must boil down to which stock characterisations to rehash, and Brown has fallen into this trap.

Patrick Bridgman's Guildenstern and Paul Panting's Rosencrantz offer a familiar interpretation for the umpteenth time: Hamlet's old school friends are given two interchangeable personalities and mistaken for each other. Once again, they're played as Bertie Wooster at Oxbridge.

The two actors also double up as the gravediggers but only to swap one stock characterisation for another. Yes, another pair of plainspeaking northern monkeys wryly digging away.

Foreign literature students who have pieced together an idea of Britain from nothing but Shakespeare productions must be surprised when they visit Yorkshire - and discover that it isn't just a massive cemetery.

All this cautiousness is a shame, because when Brown has taken risks they have paid off. Turning the play-within-a-play into a Nosferatu-like piece of silent film works perfectly. And the production is perfectly paced, with no scene seeming too drawn-out or rushed. Yet the Forties police state in which the production is set doesn't really work: the characters all seem to be from Edwardian England, wondering around Angela Davies's bleak, furniture-less set as if they're at a cocktail party.

Humanising Hitler

Grand Opera House, York 18 - 23 November

A

Slice of Saturday night is an energetic and colourful musical that takes you on a nostalgic trip back to 1964.

The performance takes place in 'Club A-Go-Go,' a basement dive with four Beatles style musicians, who supply the sixties sounds.

The music is an inventive and vibrant collection, featuring songs with subtle references to Rolling Stones and Beatles tunes.

Changes to the songs, and only slight references to the originals, create an inventive and animated impression.

The story is a simple, uncomplicated piece of entertainment about teenage romance, centreing on a group of seven confused teens.

The four girls are Dusty Springfield and Twiggy look-a-likes in skimpy dresses and platform shoes, with dreams of love and romance.

Saturday Night Fever shows the hilarious relationships and disasters between these idealistic girls and three eager boys in would-be Beatles outfits.

The musical's light- hearted atmosphere is emphasised by interaction between the actors and audience. This energy and spontaneity is shown, especially before the interval, when audience members are taken to dance on stage with the enthusiastic stars.

The role of 'Eric,' the tough club owner, has previously been undertaken by stars including Gary Glitter and Alvin Stardust.

This time round, Norman Pace gave a hilarious and vibrant performance as the hard club owner, narrator and consoler to the confused teens.

He slipped easily into the role as owner and general boss, his impressive singing voice and lively dancing adding greatly to his comic character.

I’d recommend Saturday Night Fever for a vibrant and fun filled evening next time it’s in town.

(Yasmina

INTERVIEW

Playwright David Edgar talks about his controversial play Albert Speer to Rob Leigh and Nancy Walker

"T

here is a chip of ice in every artist's heart: it is a bit of a Faustian pact where sometimes one must exploit other people's pain and suffering..."

This was just one insight gained during playwright David Edgar’s address to listeners in the Dixon Drama Studio.

He came to speak about his latest play Albert Speer, who was one of Hitler’s right hand men.

It raises questions about the nature and extent of his involvement in the Nazi death camps.

The play’s portrayal of The Fuhrer as a cruel human rather than a hideous monster stirred up controversy amongst squeamish critics.

Initially inspired by John Osborne's Look Back In Anger, Edgar belonged, along with David Hare and Howard Brenton, to the new wave of post-war, post-censorship dramatists looking to inspire their audiences: "We wanted to outrage and appal. I feel really lucky. My first performed play premiered

in 1970 at lunchtimes in a basement theatre in Soho."

Edgar spoke keenly of the changes that have occurred in British theatre during his career, especially when questioned about the development of the new wave of theatre practice.

Including performances in comedy clubs and fringe venues, he spoke of the relative ease with which he and his contemporaries were able to get their plays performed.

This is an aspect of theatre which the younger writers of today may not find so forthcoming, due to the gradual demise of provincial repertory theatre, and to financial pressures, heightened by problematic arts funding.

These problems of access and resources lead many of today's young writers to set up their own companies, writing and producing their own work: a movement Edgar referred to as a "baptism of fire".

Whilst it allowed them to learn their craft, it also showed an "element of arrogance."

He stated that this approach,

although not universal, worked for a "certain type of entrepreneurial writer."

Edgar's own 'entrepreneurial' skills are temporarily shelved as he works on two 'safe' American-based projects looking at the electoral process of the midwest, which are scheduled to be performed in March 2003.

Despite the highly successful Albert Speer in 2000, Edgar spoke of the compositional difficulties he experienced previously.

Edgar was, however, cagey about his new writing as he described, how he felt the bulk of the twentieth century was concerned with "myths of self-transformation and the myths of conservatism", whilst the tail-end had seen fundamental changes in British theatre.

With the Nasty Nineties were preoccupied with a "crisis of masculinity", what did he think the Naughty Noughties would hold?

"How we construct ourselves and how we take advantage of these immense opportunities to re-invent ourselves," he enigmati-

A scene between Speer and Hitler in Edgar’s Albert Speer

03/12/02 YORK VISION

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

REVIEWS Apollo & The Rite of Spring Week 8 Drama barn

S

taging a ballet in the drama barn is rather like trying to eat a three-course meal in one mouthful. An ambitious venture. But imagine the gastronomic delight if it were possible.

Peter Rogers and Frances Whittaker's choreography, and Stewart Melton's creative direction, seem to have achieved what Willy Wonker was aiming at in his magic 5-flavour gum.

The result is an exquisite cocktail of comedy, tragedy, music and dance. This was a production crammed with flavour, texture and delicacy.

The drama barn was transformed into a Christmas wonderland with white cloths draping the walls and fairy lights sparking behind. Any ballet-virgins like myself who had arrived outside the doors with some trepidation - Will I be bored? Will I a love story.

Stark and unapologetic, the script is challenging Week 7 stuff for even a profesDrama barn sional theatre company to tackle, but director David Milne's student cast umours circulated equipped themselves well. that three groups on Complex issues were campus tried to ban Drama Soc's production of dealt with using remarkable levels of maturity and Martin Sherman's Bent. professionalism.

We were warned of its Each cast member full male nudity and turned in a stunning persexually explicit lanformance, from the disguage.

But even though its run had to turbingly menacing Nazi guards (Thomas Ellen and be extended by an extra Jonathan Cooper) to the night, did Bent really live delightfully camp Rudy up to the surrounding (Jonathan Bray) and Greta hype?

(Steven Scott).

Set in Hitler’s

Particularly outstandGermany, Bent is a powering were Max (James ful portrayal of the Nazi's Cunningham) and Horst treatment of 'pink trian(Jo Godsal) whose han gles' (homosexuals), of a man struggling to define himself and, at base level, dling of the verbally explic-

Bent

R

The Glass Menagerie

"B

Week 5 Drama Barn

ut I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives you illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion."

Indeed, the truth displayed in this semi-autobiographical play made it one of the more poignant examples of theatre this term.

Its naturalistic style was certainly refreshing, following the previous experimental pieces of Bounce and Faustus. The actors, and director Becky Prestwich, competently handled a familiar play in a traditional, and yet individual, manner.

EXHIBITION SQUARE, YORK BOX OFFICE: 623568

Babbies in the Wood

11 December - 1 February 7.30pm A new take on traditional panto ‘Babes in the Wood’, directed by Berwick Kayler.

WEST YORKSHIRE PLAYHOUSE

PLAYHOUSE SQUARE, QUARRY HILL, LEEDS. BOX OFFICE: 0113 2137700

Little Shop of Horrors

7th December - 8th February

RIDING LIGHTS THEATRE COMPANY

FRIARGATE THEATRE, LOWER FRIARGATE, YORK. BOX OFFICE: 01904 655317

Science Friction 10 -13 December

7.30pm Exploring the balance between scientific discovery, faith, and moral responsibility

THE ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE ST ANN’S SQUARE MANCHESTER BOX OFFICE: 0161 833 9833 box.office@royalexchange.co.uk

Yerma

22 January - 27 February One of Lorca’s most famous plays, featuring love, passion, sexuality and marriage.

DRAMA BARN

TICKETS FROM VANBRUGH STALLS WED-FRI 12-2PM

Into The Woods Cabaret

Fri, Sat, Sun Week 2 7.30pm Cabaret presented by the team behind Central Hall Musical.

7.30pm “Feed me Seymour, feed me!”

Everyone’s favourite black comic musical comes to Leeds.

GRAND OPERA HOUSE CLIFFORD STREET, YORK BOX OFFICE: 671818

Under Milk Wood Fri, Sat, Sun Week 3 7.30pm Dylan Thomas’ famous play, directed by Judith Kronenberg

James Ballands talks to the York students involved with Theatre In Education and the Music Education Group

O

ifteen minutes is a long time to keep an audience captivated single-handedly, but these 5 women did it, aided by director Madi Pennell.

Presenting varied stories through history and across cultural divides, A Woman Alone was not a case of violent ranting feminists, but a cast of highly talented women exposing the inescapable oppression of their gender.

Beginning with a comic, yet tragic portrayal of a woman struggling to be housewife, mother and full-time worker, the strength of the production was immediately obvious.

Bryony Holland's engaging and hilarious performance had the audience laughing one minute and sympathising the next.

In stark contrast, Jennifer Burraston's present tense account of being gang raped held the audience in a shocked

THEATRE ROYAL

ARTS FOCUS

Week 6 Drama barn

Full Arts listings can be found on our website at www.yorkvision.co.uk

9- 11 January Chisinau National Ballet present the original Moscow production of this traditional Christmas ballet.

A Woman Alone

F

LISTINGS

The Nutcracker

it love scene was surprisingly passionate and honest.

Special mention should be made of Wolf (Edward Lewis) whose confident approach towards a more visually explicit scene was especially refreshing.

Strong acting and direction ensured the graphic language and nudity didn't overwhelm the actions and sentiment surrounding Max and Horst's internment at Dachau concentration camp.

Bent was both moving and in places, uncomfortably funny, making it striking in a manner beyond the hype. A remarkable piece of theatre.

(Sarah Corke)

Hannah Sellars (Amanda) gave an accurate portrayal of a woman at the end of her tether, who has an overwhelming desire to return to the lost age of gentility in the Old South. This was juxtaposed with Tom (Simon Watt), desperate to travel and live out his dreams. His frustration with his mother and concern displayed for his sister were admirably performed.

However, the scene that stole the show was between Laura (Helen Blatchford) and Jim (Matt Lambert). An intimate interlude, which created the illusion that you were spying on a couple, not watching a play about them. It was highly emotional, with the fragile Laura having her first kiss and first heartbreak in the short space of five minutes.

understand? - were immediately put at ease.

Pearlescent streamers, spangly hats, jazz hands and a grand finale to Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal helped to banish ballet's poe-faced stereotype and gave it an edgy modern feel.

The production was in two halves, Stravinsky’s Apollo and then, after the interval, The Rite Of Spring.

Apollo was the tighter of the two, owing perhaps to its small cast of four dancers and its fidelity to classical ballet style.

Rogers' big-eyed grace as the young wing-footed god made his a captivating performance, while his three maroon-draped muses exuded a lithe sexiness, and danced impressively on pointe around him.

Eight dancers clad in trackie bums filled the stage for The Rite of Spring and made it a raucous romp of a show. Frances Whittaker’s raw energy was breathtaking and Sarah Pringle's superb acting skills as the doomed maiden made her impossible not to watch.

(Anna Mayall)

ARTS 27

silence. A silence which lasted after they’d left the barn.

A highly difficult and subject to approach, it was handled sensitively with just the right level of emotion. Alone, on a bare stage, and lit only by a single spotlight obscuring her features, the effect was disturbing.

Natalie Thomas also moved us with her joint portrayal of 'Medea', a woman spurned by her husband, and a woman of the village who tries to persuade Medea, " It is a woman's destiny to be traded".

Striking contrasts in vocal intonation, facial expression and stance created an impressive solo duologue.

The monologues also managed to incapsulate international politics and its relation to women’s emancipation.

Alex Wood and Helen Osbourne gave credible performances here.

Video projections of women from all cultures and walks of life were accompanied by an emotive soundtrack, and provided an effective link between the monologues.

kay luvvies, the time has come to strut your stuff and give those acting and musical muscles a good flexing!

Two new independent groups are in the process of being set up to help children with their creative skills, in areas of music and education.

The TIE (Theatre-inEducation) project aims to give students of all ages, from infant school to college, the chance to act and learn about theatre. They will play games, experiment with improvisation, and take part in a play.

TIE plans to help students, including those agonising over GCSEs and A levels, learn more about the dramatic texts they are studying at school. By allowing them to perform extracts from their set texts, it should help students uncover the nuances and hidden depths of classic plays, with a production of Richard III (director Jonathan Statham) currently in the pipeline.

The teachers are also able to request short dramas which concentrate on important current and social issues like drug abuse, bullying, racism, and even the global threats of war and nuclear disaster.

Meg! (Music Education Group) works with children between the ages of four and eighteen, helping them to participate in new musical experiences. For many chil-

dren, active interest in music can have significant and far-reaching consequences.

Michelle Middleton, one of the group organisers who works in schools and community centres believes that music is vital to children's education and development: "Recent studies have shown that when younger children take an interest in music, it can benefit them in many ways. For example, working in an ensemble can help develop social skills. And the ability to read sheet music can also aid language skills, sometimes more so for those who suffer from poor literacy."

They are not searching for child prodigies, but want to create inclusive working atmospheres to benefit all, whatever their ability and interest.

Meg!'s scope is broad, with project influences including Will Young and Atomic Kitten. Their future projects also include Tom Haigh's work with local sixth form students about Mahler's 1st symphony and Paul Driscoll's samba workshops which will illustrate different approaches to

To help with the Samba Workshop contact Paul on pgd103@york.ac.uk.

To join or find out more about TIE e-mail socs54@ york.ac.uk or go to the Student Union's office.

28 BOOKS

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

YORK VISION 03/12/02

Don’t judge a book

BLUFFERS GUIDE

At a loss for gift ideas this Christmas? The Vision Books Team has some suggestions, and they’re certainly more interesting than a pair of socks. r

he fatl e th til For o is sat whung yo art he The

Complete Molesworth by Geoffrey Willans, illustrated by Ronald Searle

T

o allow Molesworth, the inimitable schoolboy anti-hero of this classic compilation, to guide you competently through life at St. Custard's is an experience not easily forgotten. Ronald Searle's unique scribblings and Willan's wicked sense of humour are a perfect double act, creating a vision of life at a down-at-heel boarding school through the eyes of its grammatically challenged prisoners with a hilariously knowing wink.

Try it on a father with a sense of humour- it might even bring back memories...

(Becky Palmer)

er ng u o s i y the who r g o F lin r sib k of Potte c i y s rr Ha The

Story of Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson, illustrated by Nick Sharratt aunted by photos of children in care in local newspapers, Wilson created Tracy Beaker, a

H

tough, sparky, difficult little 10 year old with behavioral problems.

When she's not quarrelling with the other children in her care home, she’s writing her life story.

Tracy dreams that her film star mother will come and get her until Cam, a writer, visits the home and Tracy tries to get her to adopt her instead.

Its candid wit prevents this book from becoming overly sentimental, making it the perfect gift for a 8-12 year old sibling who wants a change from wizarding fantasies. (Mukti Lakhi) nd

frie e h t ly a For o on nce o h w ads re ar ye

A

Boy by Nick Hornby

just been released on video.

(Cathy Baldwin)

..

The elf.at s r you l th u Forter al g yo af oppin a sh serve de

Thorn Birds

by Colleen McCullough.

most literary of books.

Set in Australia, it is the poignant tale of Meggie Cleary and Father Ralph de Bricassart, and their battle between true love and the Catholic Church. If you see yourself as a bit of a romantic, then indulge in this winter.

(Louise Burns)

I

f you're looking for something to wile away the hours waiting for Santa to arrive, opt for The Thorn

About a

Some key phrases to drop into conversations: 'With her controversial subject matters, Waters' work could be trashy, but this is prevented by her excellent research.'

'Waters’ next novel moves away from the Victorian era to war time London- do you think she will be as successful writing about this period?'

Don't mention: Waters' obsession with the erotic and the fact that she clearly likes writing about Victorian England because of the prevalence of whipping clubs and corsets. It is, she admits, ‘quite kinky’.

UNIVERSITY BOOKSHOP

Get yourself

Toking with Tolkein

With the second film installment on its way, Neil Barnes delves into the realms of mythology to investigate the phenomenon of The Lord of the Rings. s The Sunday Times once said: "The Englishspeaking world is divided into those who have read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and those who are going to read them."

But when J.R.R. Tolkien published The Hobbit in 1937 little did he realise that, 65 years later, the world he had created would be familiar to millions.

As Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, Tolkien had the perfect resource for creating a wealth of myths which he hoped would compensate for England's lack of mythology.

The world of Middle-Earth was conceived whilst Tolkien was serving in the trenches of World War One. The Hobbit is the tale of Bilbo Baggins who is swept away on an unwelcome adventure, and it became an instant success.

Tolkien then began work on the sequel, The Lord of the Rings. It took him 12 years to

tures include making a living as a rent boy, becoming a sex slave to a rich mistress and joining the socialist and suffrage movements.

BLACKWELLS

written to be classified as a trashy novel, but with its content of illicit romance with the local priest, it's hardly the

A

Why you should know about her: Waters' novels are constantly in the public eye.

Her most recent work, Fingersmith, was short listed for the Man Booker Prize and the Orange Prize for fiction. Her first novel Tipping the Velvet was also highly acclaimed and was adapted into a series shown on BBC2 in October of this year. Waters takes Victorian England as the setting for all three of her novels and explores England's hidden sexual history.

A brief summary of plots: Fingersmith- a young female thief plans to attempt to defraud an heiress out of her inheritance, but everything becomes complicated when she falls in love with her.

Tipping the Velvet- We follow the life of teenager, Nancy Astley, as she falls in love with Kitty Butler and is enticed to follow her to London. There her adven-

Birds.

It's too well

bout a Boy is ideal for the people to whom reading a book can seem too much like hard work.

Hornby's book follows the life of thirty six year old Will, a man on a mission to go out with as many attractive women as possible.

It is witty, fast paced and easy to read. Even the laziest of people I have lent it to have devoured it instantly and begrudgingly admitted their enjoyment.

But if your friend still can’t be convinced, the film has

Sarah Waters

complete, and was finally published in 1954. It tells the story of Bilbo's nephew, Frodo, who is entrusted with the quest to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom.

It is a grand epic that has never been equalled in depth and detail. Once past the slow beginning, you become swept away by the sheer momentum of events, becoming thoroughly detached from reality.

Tolkien created entire languages, mythologies, and cultures as a background to the stories. He created a world that had only just begun to be expressed in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Whilst the books have sold 50 million copies worldwide, Peter Jackson’s award winning film of The Fellowship of the Ring, and upcoming sequel The Two Towers, look set to ensure that future generations will continue to be enthralled by Tolkein’s Middle earth.

SORTED Blackwells has everything you need to kick-start your degree, from secondhand textbooks to the latest bestseller.

And if we haven’t got the book you need, we’ll order it for free.

FIND US IN MARKET SQUARE (ABOVE COSTCUTTER) 01904 432 715 york@@@blackwell.co.uk

03/12/02 YORK VISION

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

The Cutting Room

Louise Welsh Canongate (£10.99)

A

s a rule, mystery novels are comfortably predictable. You read them for the pace, for the shiver and for the satisfaction of clues coming neatly together in a quirky, clever conclusion.

And when you finish The Cutting Room, you feel like you got exactly what it says on the packet. It only dawns later that something is different - the most central mysteries never get solved. The book is only masquerading as your typical pageturner.

Of course the plot twists and turns, revealing intrigues and dark dealings. Villains are unmasked and loose ends tied up neatly. And even the traditional 'surprise' is dutifully included.

But Welsh, it seems, enjoys playing on her readers' expectations.

Hidden behind the conventional genre piece, you’ll find a careful and sympathetic study of the nature of private mystery.

The protagonist is Rilke, a sombre antiques-dealer, whose introspective nature at times conflicts with his consuming homosexual passions and cynical worldliness.

The plot revolves around Rilke's irrational attempts to discover the identity of a murdered girl in an ancient set of snuff photographs.

By refusing to provide an easy solution either to Rilke's search or to the buried traumas that make it so important to him, Welsh weaves the inexplicable complexities of life into a book otherwise easily mistaken for pure popular fiction. (Becky Palmer)

Wilde’s secret love becomes jaded sex in this modern re-write Dorian

L

Will Self Viking (£16.99)

ike Marilyn Manson's cover of Tainted Love, Will Self rewriting Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Grey is so perfect a concept that it’s almost pointless to realise it.

Self achieves a similarly fin de secle mood by setting his novel, a century after Wilde's, against the Aids epidemic of the 1980s.

Whilst his partners in decadence lie dying on hospital wards, forced to endure the visits of Princess Diana, 'her Royal Regurgitation', Dorian remains as healthy, youthful and beautiful as ever.

The portrait has been updated to a video installation, and its sensitive creator, Basil, reincarnated as the camp Warholian Baz. But Self neglects to provide a modern take on Wilde’s central trope- that the art work takes on the external signifiers of Dorian's sins.

Consequently, as Dorian’s onscreen alter-ego withers, goes blind and crawls with Kaposi’s, Self draws dangerously close to the idea that Aids is a Divine punishment for gays. He excuses such homophobic undertones by making Henry Wotton- Dorian’s mentor in carnal excess, restyled here as a self-hating homosexual- our interpreter of events. Yet the transformation of Wilde’s secret love into jaded sex is clearly the author’s prerogative.

Whilst Wilde merely hinted at the scenes of debauchery (and a carriage journey to the back streets was a real scene-setter in those days), Self relishes the opportunity to fill in the gaps, making a ‘veritable conga line of buggery’ the crux of his novel.

Instead, it’s the nature of Dorian's exquisite beauty which Self leaves to our fancy. We know that he’s youthful and slender and looks great in tight jeans, but there’s none of that breathless detail which made the original such a subtle study of voyeurism and narcissism.

It would be tempting to conclude that Self's shameless imagination has finally met its limit- that the man responsible for writing some of the most explicit and twisted sex scenes in literature has blushed at contemplating the male-on- male gaze.

But more likely it’s an indication of the limits of Self's descriptive powers- the man is simply incapable of writing about anything that isn't ugly.

A complex pyschological mystery posing as a conventional thriller

An expert’s guide to making it as a professional spanker banned', it is a surprisingly tame read. The actual accounts of some of her 'dom' duties could in themselves be grotesque or erotic, depending on what floats your boat. But her obsession with trying to analyse the men whom she has only met for an hour makes this feel rather like an extended episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show.

The book is not completely without merit, however. Whilst its consistently untaxing style makes it a good holiday read, some of the scenes described are also graphically amusing enough to brighten any drunken reading.

As a beginners guide- with its tips on how to keep safe when going out on calls, and how to set up your own dominatrix business- it could prove essential. Although you’ll need some advice on how to fight your way through all those trench coated men in order to buy the book in the first place.

(Sarah Corke) The Hundred and Ninety-Nine Steps

Michel Faber

W

I Was A Teenage Dominatrix

Shawna Kenney

Corgi (£5.99)

F

or many the title alone will be enough to either attract or repel, as it conjures up images of nervous men in overcoats in the 'adult books' section of Borders. Aiming to give advice to every poor student, Shawna Kenney's autobiography recounts her progression from tomboyish college girl to $1000 a week dominatrix.

Considering the connotations suggested by the title and the fact that I Was a Teenage Dominatrix was nominated by Independent Publishers in the US as the book 'Most likely to be

Canongate (6.99)

ith an eye for detail and vivid descriptions, Faber managed to bring the town of Whitby alive and revive my hunger to visit Dracula's birthplace.

The Hundred and Ninety Nine Steps combines the genres of a detective murder mystery, a romance, a ghost story and a historical novel to tell an unusual tale which will keep you interested until the very last sentence.

Faber tells the story of Sian, an archeologist on a dig at Whitby Abbey. During her work, Sian uncovers a murder mystery that has remained concealed for over a century and attempts to solve it. Along the way she meets an attractive Doctor who owns (in her eyes) an even more attractive dog. And in their own unique ways both declare their love for her.

Her life is not altogether perfect though, as she suffers from terrible, harrowing nightmares in which she is killed every time. Faber allows us to witness her terrors, which are not for the faint hearted: "In this version, she had just a few precious seconds to see where her severed head had rolled…"

Somehow, Faber manages to link the various elements of Sian's life in his tale to create a bizarrely realistic narrative. For a male author, he is also peculiarly successful at

rendering a female consciousnessalthough her tendency to drink numerous bottles of wine and consume four bars of chocolate at once was perhaps a tad stereotypical.

As if Whitby's history wasn't complicated enough to comprehend, Faber is not satisfied to stop there. Showing that he is not too scared to take risks, Sian not only has Whitby's past to unravel but also has to come to terms with her own past adventures in Bosnia.

But this certainly isn’t a run of the mill fable about ultimate ‘girl power’.

When the charming and athletic Mack challenges Sian to a race up the hundred and ninety-nine steps, Sian, instead of fulfilling the role of the clichéd heroine by beating him, simply replies, "I'm an amputee!”

The Hundred and Ninety-Nine Steps is a short novel which you can really caper through. Perfect if you are not afraid of some gore and ghosts and enjoy endless, clever twists in a plot.

(Cathy Baldwin)

Gore, ghosts and fiesty girls gallore in this murder mystery

BOOKS 29

REVIEWS A secondary-school approach to historic Bohemian intrigue

A Father’s Affair

Karl Van Loom Canongate (£6.99)

L

ove, grief and faith are massive concepts that Karel Van Loom addresses in a fresh and compassionate way. They are also concepts that protagonist, Armin Minderhout, is continually forced to confront during A Father's Affair.

Whilst trying for a child with his second partner, Ellen, Armin discovers that he has been infertile all his life. Consequently, he has to accept that the thirteen year old boy his dead lover Monica bore, cannot have be his son.

The novel follows his attempts to deal with this news and discover who the real father is, whilst exploring various relationships, both past and present.

Van Loom depicts the beauty of two passionate yet intimate lovers, and the magic and mystery of the gift of a child.

However, Loom effectively contrasts this with scenes of tortuous jealousy and irrational and cruel behaviour. At one point, Armin convinces himself that the doctor is the father!

Alongside the exploration of these abstract issues is the real desire to discover 'whodunnit.' The conclusion is surprising and satisfying, and puts a different spin on the rest of book.

(Toria Lyle)

Rembrandt’s Whore Sylvie Matton Canongate (£6.99)

R

embrandt is an artist remembered for his vivacious depictions of Amsterdam life, his luxuriant figure paintings of his wife, Saskia van Uylenburgh, and his unique use of colour and light to provide an intimate glimpse at someone captured on canvas.

This novel sets out to provide a literary portrayal of Rembrandt's life in the same way that he used artwork to portray how he felt about a person or scene.

The novel is told from the view point of Hendrickje Stoffels, who begins her relationship with Rembrandt as a servant, and later becomes his lover. It is set in the tumultuous age of the late 1650s, when prostitutes were given painful and public deaths.

Sylvie Matton tries to evoke an atmosphere of seventeenth century Amsterdam through lists of detailed descriptions about everyday life and the popular beliefs of the time.

However, the end effect is that it detracts from the story and begins to sound like the answer to a secondary school comprehension question.

Having said this, the novel does offer a valuable insight into certain areas: the glimpse that is offered into the intrigues of Rembrandt and the bohemian world of artists is one that could not necessarily be conveyed by a history book.

(Louise Burns)

Figure out who the baby’s real father is in this modern whodunnit

30 SPORT

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

YORK VISION 03/12/02

As O’Sullivan arrives in York, we fire at the Rocket

RONNIE: I WAS BETTER AT 15

Puffing on a cigarette, sitting in the corner of a room at the Barbican, JOHN HYDE and JOHNNY MORGAN meet a tired, but relaxed looking Ronnie O’Sullivan. Today he will attend a press conference, pose for pictures at the Railway Museum, play pool at the University and turn on the Christmas lights in the evening. All in a day’s work for one of the greatest snooker players the world has ever seen. He speaks exclusively to Vision about his lifestyle, popular perception and future ambitions . . .

AS A venue how did you react to York?

I think its one of the best venues that we play at.

Tournaments can grow in stature and it becomes, you know, a tradition that the UK championships is gonna be played in York now for the next 20 years, that’s what I hope.

WHAT’S so special about it?

I just think it’s one of them cities that you go to, you go to London, Dublin or Manchester, it’s one of them cities that is nice; it's got good restaurants, it’s got a nice ambience about the place. The facilities here for the players are first class, where we play the matches the atmosphere is good, you feel comfortable out there and you wanna play.

WHAT will you do to unwind in York?

I go for walks, I go to the pictures, I go to restaurants, play a bit of table tennis, go and have a laugh and try and win a few snooker matches. Have plenty of fun really.

HOW are you temperamentally at the moment?

You seemed pretty down after Telford?

I’m always down when I get beat. I hate losing, somebody else taking my tournament and every player looks at it like that.

I hate losing, I don’t speak for days

I don't speak for a day or two afterwards. I don't want to talk to anyone until the tournaments over and that's just the way it is.

Somebody else is out there, chasing what I wanted to be mine and you get angry and you get frustrated, it's just all natural feelings. If I didn't feel like that then I would be in trouble.

HAVE you been concentrating on any particular aspect of your game in practise?

No, not really. I’ve just been doing the minimal amount I feel I can get away with, an hour, two hours, every other day.

I'm not one of these mechanical players that feels they have to groove something. A lot of my game is based on feel. And I've found that I can rely on that, not play someone for two months then pick my cue up and it can be there, it don't take me long to find it.

And I've played enough matches this year and done enough solid practice at the beginning of the season, all I need now is basically to get my eye in, go to the table.

HOW good do you think you are? How much better can you be?

I can be a lot better. I can be a lot more consistent. I can make a lot less unforced errors. I'm a worse player than I was when I was 15 or 16, technically

IT IS difficult to imagine a greater contrast in fortunes than those experienced in recent weeks by England's sportsmen.

In rugby union, Clive Woodward's men have brushed aside the best the game has to offer with an exhilarating string of performances.

However, on the other side of the world our cricket team has been a shambles and have tamely surrendered the Ashes to Australia, the series over before it had even begun.

A crippling list of injuries to key figures such as Gough, Flintoff and Giles as well as the unfortunate withdrawal of Graham Thorpe have severely hampered England's preparations and placed young untried players under enormous pressure.

Furthermore, it is easy to forget that we find ourselves up against arguably the finest team

wise and potting wise yeh definitely — and I have video evidence to prove it as well.

I used to score big breaks, I used to be a harder player to beat when I was younger. But something went wrong somewhere along the line which I can't seem to put my finger on and now I just have to accept it for the way it is and try to work with it rather than against it.

WHAT went wrong?

I don't know really. If I knew what it was I'd be putting it right. I sometimes go in there and I don't know which end of the cue to hold — I confuse myself that much. But that's life.

YOU'VE been a professional for 10 years. Have you achieved everything you wanted to achieve?

Looking at it I’ve won three UK Championships, won a World title, won a Bensons, I’ve won 28 tournaments. As a kid, if someone said I was gonna do that I'd have taken it.

But having lived it and done it I do believe that I could have done more. It's not being hard on myself, but I just believe that I'm not as good a player as I was years ago.

The sparkle’s sort of gone. But it’s not the end of the world, life's been good to me, I've had a lot of good stuff and maybe that's how it's meant to be.

But I was meant to have to struggle in life, you know, someone looking in from the outside would go, ‘He doesn't know what struggling is’, for them it looks like I've got a nice car, nice this nice that and that I've got an easy life.

But for me it has been a struggle, it hasn't been how I wanted it to be. I've made the most of it, I keep trying to get the positives out of something even if I don't think it's right.

Are snooker’s politics a distraction?

They were. But I now believe that they've been put to one side and that the right people are in charge of the game. They’ve brought in a sponsor already for this tournament which is great news.

Sponsors are lucky to be involved with snooker as well. It’s a fantastic sport, it's a combat sport, one against one, that's where the pressure is and that's why I think people sitting down watching it will say 'yeh, I take my hat off to anyone that goes into it - it's a one on one game, there's no hiding place and it really is.

You can really get someone's weaknesses out, you can see the vulnerability in them. So I think snooker's on an upward turn now.

DO you agree that players are too mechanical nowadays?

It is but that's the level it’s at these days. You have to be mechanically sound to achieve that consistency, which then consistency turns into wins, wins turn into confidence, confidence is belief, belief that you can do whatever you want to do.

Without sound foundations there's nothing to

support it. You need to be strong and aware of the game.

That’s concentration, that's focus, that's mind, that's just the nature of the sport, it's just got so competitive now that even the wince of a face or if you look like you're frustrated that gives your opponent a gee, a lot of players are stone-faced.

I'm sometimes a little more animated than other players but that's the way I like to release my tension sometimes. There are times when I want to snap my cue out there, but I don't. I've ripped a few cloths but I try to keep my cue in one piece.

DO you sometimes think you ask too much of yourself?

No, I think any sportsman that I've spoken to or any real successful sportsman who goes to his work, thinks ‘I'll turn up, do this, hit a few shots, I’ll have a cup of tea and go home’. For me it's about pushing myself, whether it's off the table, on the table.

WHAT do you think of the media and the stories about yourself?

They don't bother me. The media is there, people like to read about certain things. They’ve written a lot of bad stuff, which has been accurate to be fair.

You can either be on the front page of Hello magazine or you don’t, and I choose not to, not to let people in my house or sell my story to the papers. I don't need the money, I don't need the exposure. I don't like being famous. I like to be normal and do normal things — that’s the way I like to live my life.

YOU claimed after winning the World Championships that “the game is making me miserable.” Do you still feel like that?

A lot of the time, yes. If I'm playing well I'll be happy, if I'm playing shit, I'm pissed off whether I've won the world title or not, that is irrelevant.

At times I want to just snap my cue Winning is nice, it is sweet, it makes you want to go back and do it again. As soon as I really get no enjoyment out of it that will be the time to knock it on the head, but I still get days when I like it, when it gives me quite a buzz.

It varies from day-to-day. I can go for a month, then I can be really shitty for three or four weeks. I've been shitty for years before, one two, three years so that doesn’t faze me anymore.

I know there’s a good possibility that it could happen again, but if it does happen I know that it’s going to pass.

HAVE you made a conscious effort to mellow out in recent years? It wasn’t long ago you were

Voice in the crowd

JOHN HYDE

ever assembled.

Steve Waugh, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath will go down in history as all-time greats, whilst the team as a whole demonstrate an incredible mental strength and will to win.

Nevertheless, the debacle forces us to address some serious issues which continue to give the Australians a massive advantage over the `Poms'.

The English game contains too many average players and fails to produce cricketers with the required tenacity and resolve for the test

Our cricket team has been a shambles and have tamely surrendered the Ashes arena.

The number of counties playing professionally simply has to be reduced and the standards in the domestic game dramatically raised if England are to ever stand a chance of beating the Aussies again.

And furthermore, contrary to the opinion of many in the media, we must retain Nasser Hussain as captain.

Despite some poor performances with the bat and questions over some of his judgements during the tour, no-one will have been more hurt

thought of as the wild child of snooker.

I don't know where I got this ‘wild’ tag from. I really don't know — I'm not wild at all. I just like to, at least I used to like to, have a bit of fun. Now I just like to relax and unwind and maybe have fun now and again.

I think they [the media] just wanted someone to fit in that little kitchen hole and I suited the bill at the time.

You can't win against the papers, they're going to write ‘O’Sullivan’s been up to this and that’ and everyone buys it.

People that don't know me assume what they read is right. It's not always right, but I can handle that. I’m happy, you’re happy, who gives a monkeys? I just let them get on with it.

A lot of people round me get frustrated, they say ‘that's not true' but I go 'bothered? Don't give a shit.’

HOW would you like to be remembered?

As someone that's played the game for enjoyment.

Someone who has a love for the game, who said a lot of things that he didn't mean at the time in the heat of the moment. That's me — I regret a lot of it afterwards but you can't turn the clock back. What I've done I've done and now I'm just trying to make amends really. I just want to win tournaments and my heart is in the game.

A lot of my frustration is not because of that, it's about some other things in my life and I just take it out on people. Everyone can have a bad day. I've had a lot of things that I haven't handled well but I'm handling better today.

by England's poor show so far and there is nobody better equipped to turn things around.

It has been a different story altogether in rugby union.

Clive Woodward's men have set Twickenham alight by routing New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, scoring 13 tries in the process.

In Jonny Wilkinson, Matt Dawson and Ben Cohen we have players that can genuinely be described as world class.

The style and attacking fair of the recent games has belied the belief that England cannot match the big guns of the Southern Hemisphere.

In both cricket and rugby union England will compete in World Cups next year.

While we stand no chance in South Africa and Zimbabwe in the cricket, don't be surprised to see Martin Johnson and his 15 finest return home triumphant.

03/12/02 YORK VISION

NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

JAMES TOP How they stand JAMES

65.5

GOODRICKE

52

HALIFAX

52

VANBRUGH

51

LANGWITH

35

ALCUIN

29.5

DERWENT

23

Derwent seconds in action against Alcuin last week PHOTO: ROB HARRIS

JAMES college have taken a commanding lead in the run-up to the last week of the college sport term.

They top the overall table by 13.5 points from Goodricke and Halifax who are in joint second place.

James have built their success on a wide range of sports, they are currently leading the way in football (1sts), badminton, squash, and hockey, whilst they are joint top in the darts, netball, and basketball tables.

The college, who finished fourth last year, have over-come their traditional lack of consistency in football and the racquet sports, whilst maintaining their proud record in hockey, and volleyball.

At present however, James are enjoying their success modestly. Sports rep Lorraine Burlinson told Vision: "We would just like to thank all our captains and players for making this term so easy for us."

Winners for the past six years, Goodricke have turned around a disappointing start to the season and are slowly staring to get back into shape.

Their position is due to solid all-round performances and an excellent pool team.

Meanwhile Halifax have relied on 2nds football, and the Friday afternoon

sports of volleyball and table tennis to provide the majority of their points.

At the other end of the table Derwent are comfortably behind the mid-table obscurity of Langwith and Alcuin.

Whether the new sports reps in these colleges will be able to turn things around remains to be seen.

For the moment however, the minus ten points that the Derwent squash team have racked up is unique in college sport history.

This weekend sees the introduction of a new college sport in the shape of snooker. An innovative one-day tournament is to be played on Saturday, with teams of three from each college battling it out. On Sunday, the tag-rugby tournament gets its third outing, and there is the traditional women's football tournament on the JLD. All of theses carry large numbers of points and the overall table may look very different come the end of term.

Fighting it out THE UNIVERSITY karate club attended the student nationals in Chesterfield last month to have it out with other universities from around the country.

The competition was split into the two disciplines of Kata and Kumite and York had varying success in both.

Kata is a performance of predefined positions involving around 30-40 moves, blocks, attacks and kicks, whereas kumite is the fighting discipline.

The kumite was divided into basic, (Yellow to Purple-White), intermediate(Brown to Brown-WhiteWhite) and advanced (Black). The kata was dividend into basic (Yellow to Brown-White-White) and advanced (Black).

Captain Tom Berry was sidelined due to illness , but the team fought on with Sensei Rob McCartney giving last minute coaching and encouragement on the side of the mats.

Team fights are just one level, with the women having 3 competitors each side and the men having 5 on each side. The teams face each other one person at a time and the team with the highest number of wins in the individual fights wins.

Fights are first to 1 point, a normal technique, with decent power scores 1/2 a point (i.e. punch to the stomach) and a very good technique (i.e. perfect kick to the head with brilliant style) scores a whole point.

York’s men’s team was down to 4 men out of 5 because of the absence of Berry. In the first round they

got a by as none of their opponents turned up.

The second round saw inevitably stiffer competition against Manchester, a far more experienced side, who had 4 black belts compared to York’s 1.

As the North Western team had 5 fighters the York automatically conceded a point. It didn’t get much better as Andreas Schaad, Neil Mitchell and Brian Yarr all lost their fights.

Pete Craig held out for a draw but this had little effect as Manchester romped to victory 4.5 to 0.5.

The females fared much better, each winning individual medals and equalling the men with a third place performance in the team fighting.

Alex Imrie won through all the heats of the women’s basic Kata (also called "Kyu Kata") and reached the final where she performed the Kata "Heian Godan" only to lose in a closely fought battle.

But it was Adwoa Hughes-Morely who stole the show for York winning through all of her fighting events confidently to win the overall title of intermediate female fighting champion.

Top tips — back of the net

SUNSET SAM

HELLO and welcome back, this week I have a series of bets that will help pay for your Christmas presents and a few New Year drinks.

But before I get stuck into my tips, I’m going to introduce you to the concept of betting-exchanges. This may seem a bit technical but stick with me, because it will be worth it.

The internet has provided an exciting new medium for betting and gambling, no doubt you have noticed the proliferation of on-line casino’s and bookmakers, however you may not have come across a company called betfair.com.

Betfair provide a forum where customers can bet or lay (that is offer odds) on a huge number of markets. In effect the bookmakers have been bypassed as you are staking money directly against other punters.

The system is very easy to use once you get the hang of the numeric odds and can through up a range of interesting bets.

You bet as normal, stating the amount you want to wager and knowing the amount you will possibly win.

When you lay a team, you state your liability in pounds (for example £100) and the odds you are offering, say 3 (the equivalent of 2/1 in traditional odds).

This means that other customers

can bet up to £50 against you as the bookmaker. If they win you have to pay out £100, however if they lose you get their £50. Those who lay prices deposit their maximum liability on-line before the event, to make sure that they cannot get away without paying.

The advantages of the betfair system are that you very often get better prices than at the bookmakers. For example a fanatical Arsenal fan may “I recommend a few pounds on Martin Pipe’s ‘Cyfor Malta’... this horse has a lot of potential” Sunset Sam, 22nd Jan 2002 Results of the Thomas Pink Gold Cup, Cheltenham 2002 1. Cyfor Malta (16-1) 2. Poliantas (25-1) 3. Wave Rock (16-1)

think there is no way his side can lose to Man Utd and lay unreasonably high odds against United.

If you think United will win then place as much as possible on them, and clear up at a better price than any bookie would offer you.

I hope this is clear, if not have a look at the website, which explains everything in detail. Now the tips that you have been waiting for: We will quickly gloss over the optimistic predictions I made last month about the Ashes. There is no money or

SPORT 31

pride to be salvaged from England's debacle down under.

On a more positive note for British sport, I think we can assume that the winner of the UK Snooker Championships, held here in York, will be a home-grown talent.

Without reading too much into his form in Derwent, Ronnie O'Sullivan can be had as 5/2 favourite, whilst Paul Hunter at 16/1 could be an interesting each way bet.

Rugby is much in the mind at the moment and the recent southern hemisphere internationals should have reminded you to investigate the prices for October's World Cup in Australia.

The bookies can't see a blade of grass between Australia and New Zealand with the two antipodeans joint favourites for the Webb Ellis Trophy.

Prices for England vary between 4/1 and 5/1 (intertops.com) but it is definitely worth shopping around.

Whilst France look a very attractive at 13/2 with Hills.

Meanwhile back on the football pitches of Europe the second stage of the Champions League is well under way with a handy accumulator on Juventus, AC Milan, Arsenal, and Inter Milan, all to win their groups, bringing in odds of 20/1.

Finally for all those romantics among you, you can still get 5/1 on it being a white Christmas, just like the ones you used to know.

PLAYING FOR FREE

BY JOHN HYDE

IT WAS all change this month at Bootham Crescent as York experienced one of the most eventful periods in their

history.

Chairman John Batchelor has given away

his share in the club to the Supporter's Trust, a group set up and run entirely by City fans.

And, as the extent of the financial crisis started to sink in, it was announced last week that the York players would not be paid for last month.

Two players, Lee Cook and John McCarthy, have been forced to leave to balance the books and there are plans for several more cost-cutting exercises.

PFA representative for the club, full-back Darren Edmondson, was understandably shocked to hear of the latest developments.

Reacting last week to the news that the players would not be paid, he said: "We are not only distraught that we are not getting our wages for Christmas, but also because the financial situation at the club has now come to the forefront. It might not just be Christmas that we not get paid for."

The problems for City go much further back than this season, however. With the club losing thousands of pounds a week at the turn of the year, former Chairman Douglas Craig announced that the club would be closed down in April if a suitable buyer was not found.

An astounded Bootham Crescent faithful reacted positively with the formation of a York City Supporters Trust.

The Trust gained thousands of members and set about trying to raise the funds that would keep the club afloat.

Further good news came with the information that wealthy motor racing boss Batchelor was to become Chairman and was keen to involve the Trust at boardroom level.

However, huge problems still existed beneath the surface. City continued to operate at a massive financial loss - players' wages alone consisting of 160 per cent of the club's budget.

Even more seriously, the ground was still owned by the despised Craig and a group of former directors under the banner of Bootham Crescent Holdings plc.

They announced in January that Bootham Crescent was available to buy for the sum of £4.5 million and in August a planning application was submitted to replace Bootham Crescent

City snippets PLAYERS FIGHT BACK

IN the face of the financial crisis, the n players have responded with more fight and determination. Wins against

Rochdale and Carlisle United have lifted the Minstermen to one place from the play-offs. Against the Cumbrians, Peter Duffield’s fourth goal in three games stole the points, after Michael Reddy, on loan from Sunderland, had scored his first for the club.

BEES NEXT IN TOWN CITY look set for more cup exploits n this season after narrowly defeating Swansea City to book a home tie with

second division high-fliers Brentford. In a dull match in which neither team really gained control two Duffield strikes — the second a header from Graham Potter's cross in the last minute — gave York a 2-1 win. They host the Bees this Saturday.

TOAST TO CITY

On a lighter note, City n fans do at least have the chance to forget their

troubles with the launch of York City Vodka and Gin. So, they will look great as you stock up for Christmas and make attractive presents for any City fan.

City vodka and gin come in 70cl bottles and are expected to have a retail price of

by a housing application.

Persimmon Homes plan to build 93 new homes on the site - and without any immediate alternative site that would almost certainly spell the end of York City.

The Supporters Trust - now of course in boardroom control after Batchelor's rather ignominious departure - in conjunction with a group called Friends of Bootham Crescent - now face a massive task if they are to prevent the loss of both the ground and the club they hold so dear.

Petitions have been submitted to the council, fans encouraged to stand up in protest at Bootham Crescent Holdings and several thousands of pounds have already been raised in

Ronnie opens up

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW PAGE 30

VISION SPORT

ROCKET LAUNCH

BY JONNY MORGAN

THE best snooker players in the world descend on York this week for the second biggest event in the snooker calendar, the UK Championships.

And York Students received their own special preview of the tournament when Ronnie O’Sullivan popped into Derwent Bar for a few racks of pool.

The former world champion took on the might of York students in front of a 300-strong crowd and impressed with a display of some impeccable positional shots and the Rocket’s famous ambidextrous talents.

The publicity event, arranged by World Snooker, was aimed at raising interest before the championships, which began on Sunday.

The competition is being held in York for the second year following

O’SULLIVAN CUES UP IN DERWENT

last year’s success and is running until 15th December.

The total prize fund is £746,000 making it York’s richest single event with £100,000 awaiting the winner.

Reigning champion O’Sullivan has will be aiming to retain his title but after an uninspiring season so far the pressure will be on.

World Champion Peter Ebdon will be snapping at his heels as will any of a number of players. Ebdon is ranked number three in the world after his victory in May and will want to continue his success in this competition.

Last year’s UK Championships losing finalist Ken Doherty, will be looking for revenge after going down so spectacularly.

“It’s a bit embarrassing to lose 10-1, but on that form I don’t think

anyone could have beaten Ronnie,” claimed Docherty who has since slipped to fifth in the world rankings, following a poor end to last season when he failed to reach the semi-final of any of the last four ranking events.

Semi-finalists of the 2001 championships, Mark Williams and Stephen Lee are both coming into the contest off the back of fruitful seasons.

Williams won an Asian double earlier this year, claiming victories in the China Open in Shanghai in March and the Thailand Masters in Bangkok.

This ended a 17-month spell without winning a major title.

Williams stated afterwards: “I had almost forgotten how it feels to win a tournament but I have put that right in the last couple of weeks”.

Lee won the LG cup in October

Olympic-sized pool for campus PLANS to build a 50m swimming pool for the university are being closely considered by a working panel, writes JONNY MORGAN. AU President Brendan O’Donovan is piling pressure on Admin to push the plans forward.

“One of the pledges from my election campaign was to try and get better facilities for students on campus and being on the panel allows me to do this,” says O’Donovan who has direct contacts with the Vice-Chancellor on the subject.

“I’ve been given the chance to make proposals and get my point across.

“One of the ideas is to have a prestige venue for the university and this would include an Olympic sized swimming pool.

It will form part of the university’s plans for the new Heslington East campus, which Vision been revealing the details of.

O’Donovan added: “I’m also continually trying to get things done which will benefit current students. At the moment, one of the things we’re trying to get is a floodlit sports area on part of the field.

“We drew up a ten-page document showing comparisons between the sporting facilities at York and the facilities at other universities and we are a long way behind.”

O’Donovan has also seen success in other areas of his job during his short time as President.

“I had aimed to introduce and organise a lot more coaching for various sports and this has been even better than I could’ve imagined.

There are about ten people currently taking coaching courses in cricket plus others doing courses in hockey, tennis and men’s and women’s rugby.

last year and the Regal Scottish in April. He also reached the quarter finals of the British Open, European Open, China Open and Embassy World Championship last season and made the final of the Thailand masters losing 9-4 to Williams. His consistency will be a big asset as he takes on the competition.

The ever present threat of world number four John Higgins is still apparent despite him being at his lowest ranking position in six years.

Higgins still managed however, to be the highest earner last season amassing total prize money of £486,850.

His main distraction has been the arrival of his first child, with wife Denise, a son Pierce.

“Having a baby has taken the edge off my dedication,” admits Higgins,

“A lot of the older players say that you don’t enjoy practice as much as you get older.”

Higgins will be hoping to rediscover the form which led him to the UK title in 1998 and cause his rivals problems on the way.

With Stephen Hendry and Welshman Mathew Stevens also looking to do well, this year promises to be a great competition.

The AU’s scoop of having O'Sullivan appearing at the University has given a lift to their charity of the year, The Lord’s Taverners.

Donations collected raised more than £230 for the charity which helps young people, particularly those with special needs, get into sport.

The AU will be holding a charity raffle at the start of next term for a snooker cue signed by O’Sullivan, Mark Williams, Paul Hunter, Jimmy White and a host of other top players.

The eight lane 50m competition pool at the Manchester Aquatics Centre “I wanted to introduce more referees into college sport and this has happened now too.

We have referees for football, hockey, volleyball and basketball.

“The campaigns officers and all of the AU Exec have been very helpful, I’ve really enjoyed the job so far and it seems like everything I’ve tried to do has gone well. It’s good but it’s a lot of hard work.

“Each new president who comes in tries to put his own personal stamp on things and I think I’ve achieved a lot of what I wanted to do this term. My team’s been vital, especially Janice.”

Next term will see the introduction of futsal and snooker into college sport and these are not the only new additions O’Donovan has overseen this term.

There are two new BUSA League teams

this year with men’s seconds tennis and a new men’s lacrosse team.

“As far as overall BUSA results are going it's very mixed,” he added. “Some teams are finding it difficult as they have perhaps been promoted last season so the competition is going to be harder for them.

“I’d specifically like to mention the women’s rugby team, they’ve done really well so far and they deserve some praise.”

Plans for next year’s Roses competition, the biggest sporting event of the year, are also already underway but there is pressure to perform following last year’s victory.

“We have already had meetings concerning Roses and we want to make it as big a participation event as possible. There is pressure, especially as it’s at York but I’m confident we can win again.”