Volume 19, Issue 1 (Oct '17)

October 2017

Vol 19 Issue no 1 .

Heritage, History, and Hate

Stewart Black

A country unable to confront its racist history?

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Editorial

From the Editor’s desk

About intentions and other things....

Welcome to the SU’s new magazine, Bath Time!

This year brings with it a lot of change. From the shapes in the SU, a new magazine and the never ending additions on campus, there is a lot to take in and adjust to. As a returning placement student I have definitely missed the ease and security of student life in Bath.

Arriving back with a new year ahead have many of us determined to make the most of our time here. Sign up to everything, take advantage of all of the sessions, and and participate in as much as possible. Or at least that is what we think, till we purchase our tickets to Score, Bridge and are enjoying Happy Hour. Everything that was so carefully planned falls apart. But then again, isn’t that what it is to be a student? Correct intentions, questionable execution.

We at Bath Time, are excited to be putting together a publication that is a complete change of direction from what we have done in the past.

Crafted and directed by the content written by our writers, our publication is bound to change from over the course of the year. However, in every issue we hope to have an in depth investigation on a topic that is of concern to the student experience at Bath. We hope that you will find an aspect of this magazine that resonates, makes you smile, and has you looking forward to our next issue. That for us will be a job well done.

With a new year ahead and a new publication there is a lot to play for.

We have got our intentions of representing the student experience. The execution? We will let you decide that.

Have a wonderful year ahead.

I’ll see you around campus, most probably in the SU. Alisha Lobo Editor-in-Chief Bath Time 2017/2018

October 2017

Meet the Team

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Alisha Lobo, Editor in Chief

Alisha is a third culture kid who is always in need of coffee, wine, and Sainsbury’s cookies, all roughly in equal quantities. She will always be found working in the SU and joyfully attending Happy Hour. Often described by her friends as someone with ‘no political chill’, she can also be found arguing about SU politics, feminism, foreign policy, and the Middle East. impact-editor@bath.ac.uk

Tasha Jokic, Deputy Editor in Chief & Online Editor

Tasha is a wannabe hipster who secretly wishes that emo was still a thing. When she’s not banging out articles before a deadline, she can be found banging drums.

Her dedication to Moles is so strong she was once mistaken for a club Rep. In her impact-it@bath. spare time, she has been rumoured to be persuing a degree. ac.uk

Naomi Chhatwal, Bite Editor

Naomi is an ‘American’ sounding European studying Sociology. Whilst she believes that she has adapted a British alter ego due to her constant use of words such as “banter” or “peak”, she remains loyal to her international roots. You will probably find her laughing at her own captions, reiterating great quotations or ordering a Starbucks grande soya latte (with an extra shot, of course). impact-bite@bath.ac.uk

Olly Bailey, Design Editor

Olly is a Biochem student who can frequently been seen in Indie rock bands playing sweet, sweet guitar. He is happy to give training on InDesign and answer any and all questions about how the magazine is put together. impact-design@bath.ac.uk

Emilia Pilss, Features Editor

Emilia is a European studying Politics with Economics. A true European soul, she will forever strive to educate her British colleagues about her beloved culture, be it Viennese coffee, Baroque architecture or Beethoven. Despite this loyalty, she has come to truly appreciate English culture having taken particularly well to day drinking, grime music and G&T’s. impact-features@bath.ac.uk

Tito Mogaji-Williams, Publicity and Distribution

Tito is an aspiring dictator but is usually just unforgiving to those who defy him. Constantly wearing earphones, he has been spotted on more than one occasion screaming the lyrics to Get Away by The Internet. He actually dabbles in spoken word and poetry, some of which his Politics lecturers would probably disapprove. impact-publicity@bath.ac.uk

Victoria Duley, News & Comment Editor

Victoria is a French kid who talks a lot (including politics) and to anyone she ever encounters. She still rides the trolleys in the supermarket and tries to fit in the indie music scene by regularly shaking a leg with aforementioned passersby in clubs. Her endless curiosity usually brings embarrassment of all sorts but also a solid commitment to discoveries. She enjoys a bit of economics and politics on the side. impact-news@bath.ac.uk

October 2017

What’s In this Issue?

Cover Story - Publicity officer Tito Mogaji Williams discusses the prevalence and history of the golliwog in modern British society, its significance, and why there needs to be a concerted effort to work and acknowledge Britain’s colonial past. Page 11

What else ?

Hi from the SU President! - pg 7 Why does the Left keep losing? pg 9-10

In the lifestyle section, Sian Morgan writes a review about one of the hottest new restaurants in town, Tapas Revolution. What should be ordered, the ambience and what she wold most recommend? Page 32-33

Investigation - Deputy Editor Tahsa Jokic writes on the controversial casting in the new BUSMS musical, In The Heights. What are the steps taken to ensure that it retains authenticity with its performance and what is being done to can be done to ensure cultural sensitivity. The main issue still arises though, is it enough? Page 12-13

What is going on the Gulf? - pg 15 Photo Essay- A summer in Italy pg 21-23 Erotica for the mdoern day student - pg 40

October 2017

News & Comment

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What’s on in October?

09/10/17 – Freshers Cricket Trial, 1-3pm, Founders Hall 09/10/17 – Land Training Taster Session, 6-7pm, Founders Hall 09/10/17 – BUGS Time Capsules, 6.159.05pm, CB 3.16 10/10/17 – Bath Time Meet & Greet, 6-8pm, The Plug 10/10/17 – The Perks of Being a Wallflower Student Minds Film Screening, 6.15-8.15pm, 8W2.5 10/10/17 – Company of Wolves Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Anime Society Film Screening, 7.15-10pm, 8W1.1 10/10/17 – The Plug Quiz, 7.30-10pm, The Plug 10/10/17 – First BAPS Social, 8pm-2am, The Nest 10/10/17 – Old Boys Cricket Trial, 8-10pm, Founders Hall 10/10/17 – SPSociety Welcome Social, 9.30pm-3am, The Nest 11/10/17 – Bouldering Taster Session 2, 12.15-6.30pm 11/10/17 – BUGS Roman Baths Trip, 1.15-4pm, Meet by Library 11/10/17 – Water Polo Welcome Social, 7-11.59pm, The Plug & Tub 11/10/17 – Logan Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Anime Society Film Screening, 7.15-10pm, 8W1.1 11/10/17 – Score, 10pm-2am, The Tub 12/10/17 – Vintage Fair, 11am-5pm, Student Centre 12/10/17 – ACE BBQ, 5-7pm, 4ES 12/10/17 – BUMS Boardgames Bonanza, 6-9pm, CB3.1 12/10/17 – CWIPS Workshop, 7-9pm 12/10/17 - 14/10/17 – BUSMS In The Heights, 7.30pm, The Edge 12/10/17 – Cocktail Night, 8pm-12am, The Plug 13/10/17 - 14/10/17, ChemSoc Pub Tour, SU & Town 13/10/17 - 15/10/17, Mountaineering Freshers’ Trip to Snowdonia 13/10/17 - 15/10/17, BUGS Freshers’ Camp, Cleeve Hill Campsite 13/10/17 – Weekend Warm Up, 4-8pm, The Plug 13/10/17 – Saga of Tanya and Kobayashi’s Dragan Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Anime Society October 2017

TV Screening, 7.15-11pm, 8W1.1 14/10/17 – UBMC Cheddar Gorge RideOut, 12-4pm, Chedar Gorge 14/10/17 – Photosoc Photography 101 Workshop: Back to Basics, 2.15-3.05pm, 8W2.1 14/10/17 – Klass, 10pm-3am, The Tub 15/10/17 – Free Windsurfing Taster Session, 9am-4pm, Bowmoor Lake 17/10/17 – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar CHildren Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Anime Society Film Screening, 7.15-10pm, 8W1.1 17/10/17 – The Plug Quiz, 7.30-10pm, The Plug 18/10/17 – BUCS Super Rugby 6.30-9pm, The Recreation Ground 18/10/17 – Score, 10pm-2am, The Tub 18/10/17 – BUASS Diwali Dinner, 5.30pm12am 19/10/17 – BUGS Pizza & Games Night, 6.15-10.05pm 19/10/17 – CWIPS Workshop, 7-9pm 19/10/17 – Cocktail Night, 8-12pm, The Plug 20/10/17 – Weekend Warm Up, 4-8pm, The Plug 20/10/17 – BUGS Pub Tour with a Twist, 7pm-12am, The Plug 21/10/17-22/10/17 – Big Weekend of Volunteering, Central Bath 21/10/17 – Klass, 10pm-3am, The Tub 24/10/17 – The Plug Quiz, 7.30-10pm, The Plug 25/10/17 – Learn to Belay Session, 12.156.30pm 25/10/17 – Score, 10pm-2am, The Tub 26/10/17 – CWIPS Workshop, 7-9pm 26/10/17 – Cocktail Night, 8-12pm, The Plug 27/10/17 – Weekend Warm Up, 4-8pm, The Plug 27/10/17 – Zombie Apocalypse: Escape from Chancellors, 6pm-1am, Chancellors Building & The Tub 27/10/17 – LGBT+ Halloween Bristol Trip, 8pm-2.30am 28/10/17 – Halls Committees Trip to Oxford, 8.45am-5pm 28/10/17 – BUGS Mystery Day, 1-5pm 28/10/17 – Klass, 10pm-3am, The Tub 31/10/17 – BUGS Ready Steady Cook, 7-9pm

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News & Comment

Inside the SU:

Ben Davies, SU President

Hellos & Welcome Backs

I

t’s been a summer of change here in The Students’ Union.

No doubt you’ve noticed the brand new shiny walls, or the shapes that have been thrown upon them. There’s been some confusion as to what the shapes mean with some witty memes being sent into Memeversity of Bath. Sorry to break it to you, they are just shapes. They don’t actually spell out anything.

Our new rebrand is all about The SU helping you to shape your student experience. The way in which we have streamlined our services into five key areas: Experiences, Development, Groups, Voice and Support will hopefully make it easier for students to get involved and get the help they need. The new website is certainly a blessing, it’s now so much easier to find anything and everything SU related.

One of the big stories of the summer was the bombshell about Wessex bus pulling the plug on their services to campus.

This is not ideal especially considering Wessex services were cheaper and they provided some of the less mainstream routes people could travel. However, luckily First have taken over pretty much all of the services Wessex provided. In total there will be an extra 7 buses per hour into University, which equates to an extra 800 seats per hour.

Naturally in the first few weeks there will be some teething problems that we are going to monitor and feedback to First, any feedback anyone has about their service please do get in touch. However, the point First are stressing is that they are a commercial service and if there are routes that are not financially viable then they won’t be putting services on there.

This is where we will be holding the University to account to ensure that all students can get to campus.

The other big news story of the summer was the media coverage surrounding Vice-Chancellor’s pay with specific interest taken in our own Vice-Chancellor. Much of the current concern revolves around a meeting of University Court in February where a motion to express concern at the decisions and transparency of the remuneration committee was lost by a margin of 33-30. The University is currently being investigated by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) around its governance structures and decision making. With a review of the University governance being conducted later this year, it’s the perfect opportunity to try and get student representation on remuneration committee.

I’m absolutely buzzing for the start of the year. We’ve just had a hugely successful Freshers’ Week organised by the stars that are our Freshers’ Week Event Managers. The Students’ Union Top Ten has just been launched after successful presentations to the University and the Senior Management Team who have said they are really on board with the changes we are hoping to make this year. I’m really excited to see as many of you getting involved in all kinds of ways this year. To quote Moana “There’s just no telling how far [you’ll] go.”

October 2017

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9

News & Comment

Why Does the Left Keep on Losing?

Brad Baines You’d be excused with Brexit and the renewed threat of nuclear war, but if you weren’t aware: in elections across the West the Left has been consistently losing. It’s time for a major rethink.

Wikimedia commons, Olaf Kosinsky

Martin Schulz, the German SPD’s candidate for Chancellor prepares for his conciliation speech.

T

hose that know me, know I’m not a big fan of political generalisations across borders, especially those involving the United States. They aren’t often that useful.

However, this is something we need to talk about.

This year there have been elections in Germany, New Zealand and Norway, as well as here at home in the UK. In all of these the Left has failed to uproot the prevailing conservative governments and challenge the increasingly skewed state of political discourse, both of which depend on turning us against each other: rich against poor, immigrants versus natives.

Successive parties across the West have failed to build successful coalitions around renewed arguments for a strong, supportive state, the idea of collective risk bearing, solidarity and mutual respect. The scale of the Left’s problems does vary, nonetheless.

In the UK, Jeremy Corbyn came close to toppling Theresa May in June, but the General Election still marked Labour’s second consecutive defeat. Sadly, this domestic example is an outlier. In most of the West, the Left lies stagnant or in a state of perpetual decline – growing increasingly out of touch and cut out of political debate.

This wasn’t always the case. Twenty years ago, politics across Europe was dominated by the ideas of the Third Way. In the UK, this was epitomised by Tony Blair, at the time Britain’s most popular politician, and his landslide election victory in 1997, which saw the Conservatives relegated to their worst result since 1834. This was the era of Gerhard Schröder of Germany, Wim Kok of the

Netherlands, Wim Kok of the Netherlands, António Guterres of Portugal, Helen Clark of New Zealand and of course Bill Clinton in the White House.

Today, only 7 out of 28 or 21% European Union states have social democratic governments. This is significantly down from the domineering 12 out of 15 or 80% in 2000. Those Leftwing parties lucky enough to be in government today are in steep decline and face massive hurdles when their mandates come up for renewal.

“Those Left-wing parties lucky enough to be in government today are in steep decline and face massive hurdles when their mandates come up for renewal’’

What made the Third Way so successful? Politics is all about having the right message and policies at the right time, and the Left of the 1990s and early 2000s epitomised this – drawing on the feelings of modernity, prosperity and cultural liberation of the time.

In hindsight, we often undervalue the achieve-

17thOctober September 20172017

News & Comment

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ments of centre-ground and ‘spin’ obsessed Third Way politics but it was truly transformative – not economically but socially. Despite their faults in entrenching the growing Neoliberal consensus, Blair and his contemporaries were responsible for massive shifts in social attitudes - the engendering of progressive, socially liberal attitudes that raised public consciousness of the poor and disadvantaged. Without such, achievements such as LGBT rights and equal marriage; proper female participation in the labour market or the cancelling of Third-World debt wouldn’t have happened.

It is this transformative politics that the Left need to rediscover. Whereby the harnessing of the feelings and energy of a period allows for significant radical political change – shifting the mainstream through changing public perception.

What exactly is going wrong for the Left now that wasn’t before? To do this we have to indulge in a bit more specifics.

“Obsession with tradition or taking such a privilidged position for granted has often led to the left appearing to lose sense of its mission .”

In most countries the centre-lefts forms a key or in some cases dominant pillar in countries’ political traditions.

Obsession with tradition or taking such a priviledged position for granted has often led to the Left apearing to lose its sense of mission – making its tax and spend policies seem unecessary and the parties and their leaders tenocratic and out of touch.

This was eptomised by the recent elections in Norway, where the passionless technocratic leadership of Jonas Gahr Støre saw the Labour Party’s programe of progressive tax rises become absolutely divorced from the boosted public services and renewed safety net they would pay for. The SPD in the recent elections in Germany, has faced similar problems. Clever positioning and manouvering by Merkel, after two terms of a Grand Coalition with the SPD, has seen the SPD lose meaning in elections, especially after not really changing for the last two decades. Ultimately, even the candidature of the mighty Martin Schulz was not enough to renew interest in the party.

In other cases, they indulge in political infighting splintering the Left’s traditional base, often accompanied by an obsession with past conflicts which creates a culture of nastiness that alienates and scares voters. Such is increasingly the case in Spain, between PSOE and Podemos, and is a growing problem within Corbyn’s Labour.

Even the supposed success stories are disappointing. Both Jacidamania in New Zealand and Corbyn’s late surge ended in disappointment. Both suffered from too narrow a coalition, ones which were too often seen to prioritise the urban over the rural and the young over the old. Their radicalism, although powerful, failed to inspire many swing October 2017

Europe in 2000 (centre-Left governments marked in red)

voters with their proposals being seen as excessive and lacking in credibility. However, despite their failures, both offer a guideline for the Left’s future success – it simply needs refining.

Both correctly identified that, unlike the social nature of the Third Way’s time-dependent transformative politics, the next front is the economic realm.Neoliberalism has resulted in a dangerous all-consuming predatory capitalism, putting profit above everything, which now threatens to destroy itself, as well as any idea of a social contract for younger generations. It’s by-products of environmental degradation; unaffordable housing; burgeoning private debt; an unwillingness for firms to train their staff; spiralling health care costs and an ineffective safety net – all threaten our collective prosperity. All can be challenged by a bold progressive government – they just need to win.

Transformative politics of the Left draws support across social boundaries, drawing on our common values, inspiring with a message of hope and a vision for the future in which all are included and better off. Arden and Corbyn were unable to mobilise a coalition for radical change – largely due to lacking an appeal to older, wealthier and rural voters. Such groups and their families face the same threats as those already supporting change but they were sceptical and felt threatened. They are not the Left’s enemies; our enemies are social structures and ideas. They too stand to benefit from progressive politics. Only by reaching out to such groups and analytically justifying our policies, rather than just boldly asserting our values can the Left win again, change the mainstream and be truly transformative.

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Cover Story

Heritage, History and Hate Tito Mogaji-Williams

R

acism does not always appear as blatant as a skinhead or as archaic as Jacob Rees-Mogg. On occasion, it manifests itself in a quaint souvenir shop in the middle of Bath. It’s hard to see Bath as a modern city when it appears as a town that has never aged. Perhaps that is the explanation for the Golliwog on blatant display.

Diversity, and particularly Black people, can seem rare if not alien here with 94.6% of the population of the city identifying as White British. The presence of people of colour enrolled at University of Bath is better, with around a quarter of the 17,000 students from a BAME (Black and Minority Ethnic) background.

Although, whatever percentage of colour is present around these parts, it seems I was perhaps the first black person to enter this store. Or at least the first to care.

The history of Golliwog seems innocuous without the consideration of the connotations or context. Instead of even attempting to portray the figure of a black person, in the way that the average doll would, we are met with a fantastical, exaggerated version of the black individual, created for nothing more than the entertainment of white Europeans. The golliwog has skin blacker than I, or that of my mother, or indeed any black person. A wide gaping smile, bright red rouged lips, a fanciful little jester suit and wild woolly hair. Even in the autumn years of the British Empire in the 1950s and 1960s this caricature was considered questionable, but it has been racist since its origin.

The golliwog, also called a golly, is a fictional character envisioned by the American children’s book author Florence Kate Upton as a form of doll or in her own words, “a horrid sight, the blackest gnome”. Her illustrations in the 1895 work entitled The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls and a Golliwogg created the Golliwog as a frightening creature, but later attained a “kind face” during the book. This more palatable and childfriendly “toy” became fervently popular in the U.K as a mascot gracing everything from Robertsons’ Jam Jars, Blackjack Chews to literature by Enid Blyton. It rose in prominence as a toy becoming as coveted by children almost as much as the teddy bear. Their popularity in the early 20th century and relative rarity now, makes them a still highly sought-after collectible, with sales of Steiff golliwog dolls produced in 1908 reaching £10,000 in recent sales.

It is easy to imagine the happiness and love that these toys aroused from a generation of young impressionable white children throughout the 1900s.

It is also easy to imagine the pleasure and laughter at blackface and minstrels which were commonplace in the 1800s. Or the human zoos that exhibited exotic “peoples” as an attraction. In Paris, for the 1931 world fair, up to 34 million people passed through a colonial exhibition of which a ‘negro’ village was a core attraction.

21st century racism?

Tito Mogaji-Williams

There is a tendency for criticisms of history and traditions of the UK to be seen as political correctness gone too far as many in the press, some politicians and some tourist stores in Bath would have you believe.

Today, Britain is a modern, cosmopolitan, and diverse nation of people from every background, and such history must be addressed before the dehumanisation and racial oppression of the past can be allowed to hold back our future.

It is not so much the golliwog itself that attracts the ire of people of colour and the non-far right political spectrum, it is what they stand for. These relics of an older Britain are not criminal, it was not illegal for me to buy the golliwog I saw on display nor for this particular store owner, or the many across Britain, to sell this item.

However, whether something is permitted by law or not should not be the deciding factor in action, there are hurtful actions that take place in society that cannot be prosecuted in a court of law.

Moving beyond the injustices of the past is complex and nuanced process. What is seen for some, as symbolic of a childhood fraught with laughter and humour, also serves as warning sign to others that this home is not theirs and their welcome is overstayed. In becoming the tolerant country that we all seek, we must confront bitter racial divisions and legacies that make us a not-so-United Kingdom. Bath remains a beautiful town, overflowing with history, heritage, and a small, black, unfortunate reminder of hate.

October 2017

Investigation

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Can Bath Portray a Hispanic Community?

Tasha Jokic

Show publicity flyer

O

n October 12th, Bath University Student Musicals Society (BUSMS) will take to The Edge to perform Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights.

Written by the same man behind Hamilton and some of the hits in Moana, In The Heights follows the lives of a predominantly Hispanic-American neighbourhood in New York City’s Washington Heights. Last month, an Australian production of the show was cancelled amidst accusations of whitewashing and cultural insensitivity. With a predominantly White British cast and production team, do Bath students have what it takes to successfully perform In The Heights?

“We go through pretty much every show that exists,” commented BUSMS Chair Hannah Steiner, outlining the process behind choosing a show for the October production slot. Within musicals that had eligible rights, the decision ultimately came between two shows: In The Heights or Green Day musical American Idiot. However, the committee found the latter to have a disproportionate number of male leads when compared to the gender makeup of the society; as well as too narrow a musical theme. The rights to In The Heights were bought, and the show was announced in May. “We did have a mixed response”, continued Steiner, alluding to a mixture of cheer and concern that the announcement initially evoked from members. “A lot of people were happy about it and recognised that it’s a great musical, but people were aware that it is a sensitive subject.”

Shortly after the announcement, a few members were quick to raise concerns with the committee and the SU. “The choice of In the Heights is

culturally insensitive and is a premier example of white-washing other people’s culture and history,” read one complaint from Zeid Truscott, NUS Black Students Committee. Outlining issues surrounding the lack of Latin members behind the decision to choose the show, the now ex-member continued, “does it not seem bitterly ironic that a play that deals, in part, with the difficulties working class, non-white immigrants face in gaining access to and being successful in university, is being performed by primarily white, middle-class society at an elite university?”

In forming their responses, the BUSMS committee appeared to have frequently referenced a 2015 interview with Lin-Manuel Miranda where he remarks, “when I see a school production with not a lot of Latino students doing it, I know they’re learning things about Latino culture that go beyond what they’re fed in the media every day.” For committee and many members, this has been used to suggest that the show can be appropriately used as a teaching opportunity for a White British cast that may not have experienced the culture beforehand.

For others, this has been insufficient to prove that the show should have been selected with so many White British members behind it.

This is not the first time that concerns over BUSMS handling of cultural issues have been raised, with members having been criticised for an Encore 2016 musical number with a largely white cast depicting imagery of black chain gangs in its recent history. However, the new production team for In The Heights aim to settle any concerns that may remain. A few days after the announcement

17thOctober September 20172017

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Investigation

Cast in rehearsal

of the production team, where Director and Producers were named, a new production team position was announced: Cultural Advisor. This went to Maria Eduarda Fisher, one of BUSMS few Latin members. After her application for the initial production team was rejected, Maria was contacted to, in the words of the announcement of her role, “be responsible for ensuring the show remains high quality whilst also staying true to its cultural basis.

Maria will be the first point of call for any concerns or issues members have relating to In the Heights.”

“They asked me because, obviously, In The Heights is a show about a Latin American community in New York and I’m a Latin American person,” commented Fisher, reflecting on the moment she was selected for the show. “I really liked it… they could have easily just been like ‘yeah, let’s just do the show, who cares about the cultural background.’” A self-professed fan of the show, she has taken the production as an opportunity to share parts of her Brazilian background that she does not typically get to showcase.

As Cultural Advisor, Fisher’s role has primarily been to teach cast members the region’s cultural history and to assist with Spanish pronunciation for the show’s many accented characters and Spanish lines. “By appointing Maria we have bridged the gap between cultures and made a conscious effort to ‘do it right’,” commented one cast member. This theme of ‘doing it right’ has echoed across cast and production team alike. For Director Kate Light, this has meant acknowledging that, “there are obviously cultural differences that we have compared to who the show was originally written for, so we have to make sure we do those respectfully and we don’t stereotype.”

This declared dedication to avoiding stereotypes was tested when in one improvisation exercise, a misunderstanding occurred where one cast member appeared to suggest that a Puerto Rican restaurant would sell Mexican tacos. “At the workshop, it felt like a lot of you had not paid enough attention to the culture of your characters,” began the Facebook post published by Fisher after the incident, “to help you I’ve gathered some videos on being Latin that might help you understand our ways a little better.” Below, a range of YouTube links were posted. Other digital aids included links to documentaries and voice recordings of some of the lines said in Spanish.

“I am proud of the work we are doing. I know that the final product will be representative; a celebration of Latinx culture and everything that makes In The Heights the brilliant show that it is,” concluded one cast member, anticipating the show’s imminent premier. However, with some fears still persisting, perhaps the verdict will only be truly apparent once the curtain falls.

Jack Harris

SU Bath Instagram

Jack Harris

Scrren grab of the lead before before performance

17thOctober September 20172017

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News & Comment

News & Comment

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Will the Qatar crisis see a “Qatharsis”?

Nidhi Arun

I

made my way to Heathrow, earlier this season, in a frantic attempt to flee to my parents’ house, situated in a city that overpowers Bath’s “Summer” by epic proportions: Dubai. I was looking forward to unlimited falafels, until I found out that my flight with Qatar Airways had been cancelled. Like a rather vengeful partner, the United Arab Emirates, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt had severed all contact with Qatar the very same day in June. Thirteen implausibly ambitious demands were revealed for the blockade to be revoked. I thought it might be worth asking: How did Qatar get into this mess and what does it mean for the rest of us?

The stunningly aggressive diplomatic war was waged due to the peninsular state’s alleged funding of religious extremists aimed at destabilizing the region. But this support is hardly unique. Ideologies of the Muslim Brotherhood run in Jordan’s political system and even hold seats in Kuwait’s parliament. Why then, is Qatar singled out? Is there more to this Arabian tale than meets the eye?

Qatar has been in a broth all summer. Drying Supermarket shelves, sky-rocketing prices and expatriate claustrophobia have rocked the desert state.

Tensions between Qatar and her neighbours have been simmering for ages. Doha has long had an unconventional foreign policy that does not fit with the rigid orthodoxy of the region and is seen as a threat to the Sunni solidarity. The coalition has also been bitter about Al Jazeera, a rare forum for diverse debate and advocacy in the Arab World, since its inception. But, the hostility is perhaps founded on the Qatari Emir’s attempt to improve ties with Shia-Muslim Iran – Saudi’s arch-nemesis.

In June this year the situation was brought to the boil at the dainty, surprisingly pale hand of the US preseident. The tangerine-hued leader’s trip to Riyadh empowered the king to move from silent treatment to a more confrontational approach. In his trademark candour, the twitter enthusiast announced that there no longer can be funding of Radical Ideology in the Middle East, and apparently “Leaders pointed to Qatar –look!”, thereby setting off his own little bushfire.

Embarrassingly, Qatar hosts America’s largest military base, Al-Udeid. Pentagon officials acted quickly October 2017

to subdue any damage caused, with flattery. A large part of the problem thus transpires because America’s policy toward the crisis is ambiguous. Mixed signals from Washington allow Arab regimes to mobilize different allies within the Trump administration as they continue to pursue their own agendas.

The story of Qatar is one that must be told. The Emir has cleverly adjusted international spotlight and gripped the stakes of the West, making the threat of hot water splashing outside the Middle East very real. Fault lines in the gulf may also be deepening as Arab nations, in their pursuit for regional allies, routinely support unsavory ideologies. The nations clearly overestimated Qatar’s fear of isolation. An unforeseen climax however came with the fact that Saudi Arabia failed to even reverberate its superiority in the Gulf. Most rulers have not wholeheartedly supported the campaign, but instead, like most of us dealing with a neighbour barking at his own dog, prefer to wait it out.

Forest felines in their battle for meat, pride and territory, hold an untold law that demands that cannot be reasonably met will never be met. There are only two ways by which quarrels in the Gulf can come to an end. The coalition must either quietly back down, settle for less than it has publicly demanded and passively retreat in the hope that Qatar will trim its sails. Or, it could aggressively drive the dispute beyond a point of no return. Eyes are on Qatar as its saga may be hinting at a trilogy.

Nidhi is a pure-bred desi, synthesized largely outside of India. Her delusional aspiration to make the world a 'better place' has led her to rant in a student column every month.

She is currently on a placement in London and spends most of her free time appreciating puns, binge watching rom coms and hoping that day dreaming will get her through adultPhoto credit: White House hood.

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News & Comment

International Feature

Les fainéants en marche

« Les fainéants sont en marche », « la loi Macron, c’est pour les patrons », tels sont les pancartes qui envahissent les rues de Paris, Marseille, Nîmes ou Caen le jeudi 21 Septembre.

Sur le parcours, des acteurs caricaturent « Macron 1er » devant une allégorie du chômage à genoux. Ce n’est pas pour décourager Emmanuel Macron, qui se met en scène signant en direct les ordonnances réformant le droit du travail ce vendredi 22 septembre. Le président s’est félicité de cette réforme qu’il estime d’une ampleur sans précédent. Si selon lui, cette loi apporte «de nouveaux droits et de nouvelles protections pour les salariés et leurs représentants», elle est pourtant loin d’avoir fait l’unanimité chez les syndicats et les travailleurs. En effet, l’ordonnance peut être vue comme anti-démocratique, autorisant le gouvernement « pendant un délai limité » à prendre des mesures sans passer par l’Assemblée nationale puis le Sénat. Le Parlement et la représentation nationale ne peuvent donc ni discuter ni modifier le texte. La mesure la plus saillante de ces ordonnances est la constitution d’un plafond en cas de licenciement abusif, ainsi qu’un plancher minimal d’indemnités.

Les règles de licenciement sont allégées, limitant les risques pour l’entreprise en cas d’erreur. Certains économistes assurent que ces mesures vont augmenter les licenciements et que les salariés seront les grands perdants, quand d’autres affirment que la flexibilité du marché du travail s’en trouvera augmentée, encourageant ainsi les entreprises à embaucher. La réforme compte également favoriser les accords d’en-

Strikes and unpopularity do not derail Macron’s reform «The idlers are on the move”, “Macron’s law, is for the CEOs”.

These are the slogans that invaded the street of Paris, Marseilles, Nîmes and Caen on Thursday 21th September. On the road, some actors are caricaturing “Macron the 1st” in front of an allegory of unemployment kneeling down. Yet, it is not enough to discourage Emmanuel Macron, who staged himself on live TV signing the executive orders reforming the labour laws on Friday 22th September.

T h e president congratulated himself on the reform that he thinks will have an immeasurable impact. If according to him, this law brings “new rights and new protections for employees and their representatives”, it is far from the opinion of the trade unions and the workers. Indeed, the use of executive orders can be interpreted as antidemocratic as it authorises the French government “for a limited time period” to pass reforms without going through the Assembly and Senate. Thus, the Parliament and the national representatives can neither discuss nor modify the text. The prominent measure of these orders is the creation of an upper limit and a minimal level of compensation in case of abusive dismissal. More leniant dismissal regulations limit risk for the companies in case of a wrong hire. Some economists assert that these measures will increase the amount of dismissals and that the workers will be disadvantaged, when others maintain that it will give better flexibility to the labour market, encouraging the employers to hire. The reform will also allow companies with more than 50 employees to negotiate directly with their employees

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treprise de moins de 50 salariés, qui pourront négocier directement avec le personnel sans passer par les syndicats.

En somme, à part quelques droits fondamentaux des salariés, les entreprises semblent être les principales gagnantes de cette réforme. Elles seront effectivement régulées d’une part par des conventions de branche, d’autre part par des accords d’entreprise qui auront le pouvoir de décision sur les rémunérations, les horaires et l’organisation.

Manifestation, blocage de route et ralentissement de la circulation sont les conséquences que le président semble prêt à encaisser. Les syndicats parlent de « plusieurs centaines de milliers » de manifestants. Si certains affirment que les réformes entreprises par Macron sont empreintes de trop de brutalité et d’un manque d’humanisme, d’autres soutiennent et louent un président prêt à affronter une impopularité croissante pour le bien de son pays. Le président, ancien membre du parti socialiste semble avoir brouillé les pistes avec cette dernière réforme par ordonnances. Le clivage gauche-droite serait donc enterré par ce président soucieux de casser les codes et de s’émanciper des règles établies.

Photo credit: Jeanne Menjoulet

without resorting to the trade unions. Apart from some fundamental worker rights, companies seem to be the principal winners. They will indeed be regulated by branch convention and corporates agreements who will have the power of decision on the wages, schedules and organisation. Protests, road blockades and traffic slowing down are the consequences, which Macron seems ready to face.

According to the Minister of the Interior, 132.000 people had marched in France, the trade unions mentioned roughly “several hundred thousand” protesters. While some claim that Macron’s reforms are marked by too much “brutality” and lack of humanity, others support and praise a president ready to face an increasing unpopularity for the sake of his country. Is Macron Left-wing or Right-wing? The president, former member of the socialist party seems to confuse everyone with these last executives’ orders. The division between the right and the left has been buried by a president eager to break the codes and to cut loose with the established rules.

Its readiness to face increasing unpopularity for the sake of his country. The president, former member of the socialist party seems to confuse everyone with these last executives’ orders. The division between the right and the left has been buried by a president eager to break the codes and to cut loose with the established rules.

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Feature

Features

New climate study: is there still hope for our planet?

Emily Meads

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recent study by a team of 10 researchers in the journal Nature Geoscience, recalculates the carbon budget for limiting the Earth’s warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above temperatures seen at the end of the 19th century. The study suggests there is more time to combat global warming than was initially thought, and maybe even a chance to stay below the stringent targets first calculated after the Paris Agreement. The publication has caused turmoil in the scientific community and the general public, the most contentious question being; is their research correct?

How do climate scientists establish their prediction models? Previous studies have defined pre-industrial temperature measurements by using the period of 1861 to 1890, when the first accurate data was recorded. In 1870, there had already been about 0.2 degrees Celsius of warming, leaving us with only 0.4 degrees Celsius left to go.

Further analysis also indicated that this target required carbon emission to fall to zero within seven years, which was widely seen as impossible.

The new study however relies on improved climate models and more recent data. It claims we can actually emit 200 gigatonnes of carbon (GtC) after 2015, which is almost three times more than the initially calculated 70 GtC. To obtain these numbers, the team of researchers took into account that even the most complex earth model systems tend to overestimate historical warming, but at the same time underestimate historical CO¬2 emissions. It was found that these two main discrepancies accumulate over time, and thus led to an underestimation of the carbon budget we are thought to have available. By resetting uncertainties, and starting from where we are today, a new, more optimistic perspective was achieved.

Naturally, the research is turning a lot of heads and climate scientists are trying to figure out why exactly there is such a discrepancy between these numbers and previous ones. It is important to re-

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member that even the best models leave out slower feedback mechanisms, such as methane emissions from a melting Arctic, and that models will most likely continue to be modified over the next few decades. Because of this, keeping close tabs on publications by climate experts will become increasingly important.

The conclusions from the recent study can easily be misinterpreted as suggesting that there is now less urgency to put in place environmental measures. In fact, whether the findings are correct or not should not influence our course of action. We are already on track to exceed the 200 GtC limit despite coal use mitigation, because rising oil and gas use mean we are still emitting record levels of carbon dioxide. Rather suggesting that we can slow down environmental efforts, the team of researchers hope that their findings will inspire people to be ever more motivated in pursuing the goals set out in the Paris Agreement.

Not all hope is lost though, and there are still reasons to keep an optimistic outlook about the future of our planet. Two years ago, China passed the peak increase rate of their CO2 emissions, indicating its total carbon emissions will start falling before 2025, which is ahead of its official target date of 2030. Furthermore, recent drops in renewable energy costs are facilitating the move towards a global energy transition. Governments and individuals taking action to limit emissions is spurring progress in governance and technology.

Renewable energy is becoming cheaper and more common

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News & Comment Features

Feature

Rocket man (it’s been a long long time)

Sonny Loughran - Contributor

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orth Korea is well versed when it comes to international crises, and the hermitic state has dabbled in nuclear science since its conception. In more contemporary history, the totalitarian state has become infamous for its provocative threats, indoctrinating propaganda and exuberant pursuit of a nuclear arsenal.

materialise, seismic data has indicated the detonation of an underground explosive devise yielding around 100 kilotons, claimed by the North to be its first successful testing of a hydrogen bomb. This spurred the implementation of further sanctions, banning textile exports and limiting crude oil imports to the disgruntled state, which were met with more missile tests over Japan.

The potency of these sanctions is questionable at the least. North Korea has warned that aggressive injunctions will only hasten their nuclear program, and Vladimir Putin recently remarked that the North Koreans would sooner “eat grass” than surrender their nuclear program.

Momentarily ignoring Putin’s own autocratic nature, this is an apt observation. During the 1990’s North Korea experienced a catastrophic famine, partly because of floods and draughts, but also because the nightmarish government’s militant policies contributing to, by some estimates, the deaths of up to three million North Koreans. If the darkest era in North Korean history failed to compel the leadership to surrender its tyrannical program, it seems unlikely that further sanctions will.

“...North Koreans would sooner “eat grass” than surrender their nuclear program.”

Photo credit: Reuters

Kim Jong-un is commonly dubbed as ‘Dear Leader’

The most recent addition to this turbulent chapter of world history has been brewing for years, but really manifested in July of this year, when the Kim regime showcased its latest range of ballistic missiles, revealing their capacity to strike mainland US cities. This show of force prompted the UN Security Council to pass Resolution 2371, imposing a complete ban on the export of coal, iron, and lead on the North Koreans. Shortly after, leaked intelligence unveiled North Korea’s successful production of miniaturized nuclear warheads, compatible with their newest missiles. Reciprocating Donald Trump’s threat that North Korea would be met with “fire and fury” should provocations continue, Kim Jong-Un revealed plans to fire four intermediate range ballistic missiles over Japan and into waters about 30km from Guam. Although this has yet to

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So what does North Korea want? This is a difficult question, but only really has two answers.

Firstly, North Korea does not really want anything.

Instead, North Korea is a society organized for war.

The state runs on “Songun” or the “military first” policy, is essentially preserved by slave labor and is built upon an extreme xenophobic race theory.

This repugnant combination testifies to the futility of any peace and disarmament negotiations; the pursuit of nuclear weapons and spouting of monotonous provocations is innate to this paranoid republic.

The second, slightly less worrisome answer, is that the Kim regime sees nuclear weapons as the only real way to insulate itself from outside pressures. North Korea has watched its dictatorial counterparts, Iraq and Libya – the latter of which surrendered its nuclear program in 2003 – collapse under international

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Features

Photo credits: stephan

Sanctions have so far not achieved their goal of discouraging North Korea from developing a nuclear arsenal

intervention, concluding that the only guarantee of national survival lies in the possession of messianic weaponry. Observing Kim Jong-un’s stout determination to pursue nuclear weapons in the face of crippling sanctions, one could easily conclude that he must, in some way, be mad. Whilst the despot is undoubtedly cruel and sadistic, he is no irrational actor. His defiance of sanctions and relentless quest for WMDs has so far succeeded in calling the US’ bluff. This is a longstanding characteristic of the Kim dynasty, subduing 25 million people, and resisting the world’s superpowers for almost 70 years.

North Korea is seemingly a situation without solution. Even if the US was able to denuclearise the North, North Korea has a stockpile of biological and chemical weapons, easily capable of inflicting 3-5 million casualties. Also, South Korea’s capital lies well within reach of North Korea’s conventional artillery, providing around 25 million people as hostages to the Kim regime.

itation” option - a plot to liquidate Kim Jong-Un and his fellow fanatics - is little more than a stab in the dark, risking an equally dangerous response from the North for entirely hypothetical gains.

“...the international community should provide North Koreans with a foundation for their own effort at emancipation...”

The North Korean tragedy has gone on far too long.

Given the failure of denuclearisation negotiations so far, perhaps it is time for a new goal. North Korea’s commitment to nuclear weapons is unparalleled in world politics, now more than ever. Regime change is the only hope for peace with North Korea, yet outside implementation seems futile, and an internal revolution unlikely in a society as coerced as North Korea.

In their failure to resolve the situation, the international community should provide North Koreans with a foundation for their own effort at emancipation by shifting the focus of future negotiations from the nuclear question to the issue of censorship These chilling facts unequivocally rule out both a and surveillance. This morose, and enslaved society full-scale intervention as well as more limited at- has sat hopelessly in the dark for decades, maybe tempts to denuclearise the state, which could easily it is time for a new approach to help them see the see casualties rise into the millions. Even the “decap- light.

“Whilst the despot is undoubtedly cruel and sadistic, he is no irrational actor.”

October 2017

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Photo Essay

Summer In Italy Francesca Petryszak

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ith its ancient cities, beautiful beaches and blue skies, Italy is the perfect destination for summer.

Travel to and around Italy is simple: with cheap flights avaliable from the UK and trains connecting its major cities it is ideal for students, especially when every street is lined creamy gelato and fresh pizza.

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Socs and Activities

Supporting Bath students from day one: Diversity and Support Groups Zeid Truscott - Publicity Officer for D&S

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s the academic year begins, the University of Bath Diversity and Support groups are hitting the ground running. Diversity and Support either run services that support students such as Nightline and Student Minds, or groups that promote diversity and equality on campus including: LGBT+, Race Equality, Enable (Disabled Students Group), Mature Students’ Group, Bath Erasmus & Exchange Network (BEN) and the Gender Equality group.

Photo Credit: Zeid Truscott

of events throughout the month including a lecture from Robin Walker (5th October CB1.12), a Black Role Models campaign (20th October on Parade), Natural Hair Day (27th October in the 4W Foyer) and a Poetry Slam with both Bath Spa and Bristol University (31st October).

The Gender Equality Group is an intersection feminist group that campaigns for women’s representation and gender equality on our campus. The group will be running bi-weekly meetings including a ‘What is Feminism’ event and is open to people of any gender.

The LGBT+ group exist to represent and support Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and other Queer identities to the SU and the University. This year the group has already run a welcome BBQ for Freshers, which was well attended with over 100 burgers sold. They have also run an event for Black History Month, with Phyll Opoku-Gyima, the co-founder of UK Black Pride, as a guest speaker, talking about the intersection between LGBT+ and Black identities.

In the coming weeks the LGBT+ group will also be running events on intersex awareness, sexual health, coming out and being out in a sports environment.

LGBT+ meetings are usually only open to LGBT+ Photo Credit: Zeid Truscott

LGBT+ promoting their activities to incoming students

Over the coming weeks, Student Minds, a national charity group that works to help students with mental health problems, will be running a series of mental wellbeing courses. The drop-in sessions to introduce students to the wellbeing courses will be running on: Friday 6th October at 12:15 - 14:15 in CB5.5, Monday 9th October at 17:15 - 19:30 in CB3.7 and Wednesday 11th October at 14:15 - 16:15 in CB 5.5. Student Minds are also running a film screening of ‘Perks of Being a Wallflower’ at 18:15 on 10th October in 8W 2.5.

The Race Equality group is there to represent the views of Black and Minority Ethnicity students at the University and campaign for race equality on campus. October is a very busy time for the Race Equality Group as it focuses on Black History Month, a time to celebrate African and Caribbean culture and history. Race Equality will be running a series

The Race Equality Gorup’s stand at the Fresher’s fair

people and their friends to protect students from being outed and to provide them a safe space.

All of the Diversity & Support groups have been busy promoting their causes and events during Freshers’ Week Activities D+ay and Activities Fair. To find out more about the groups, go to the SU website or contact the SU Community Officer Ben Palmer.

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MusicSoc is tuning in for the new year

Tom Dolton - Chair of MusicSoc

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usicSoc started the year with a bang on the Wednesday night of Freshers Week putting on an open mic night in Claverton Rooms. More than sixteen student acts performed across the evening, including several freshers who signed up on the night to perform. Highlights included debut performances from new MusicSoc bands Anarchists’ Book Fair and Crescent Sons, and an impromptu karaoke rendition of Mr Brightside.

Next up is the MusicSoc Presents event on Tuesday, the 24th of October. MusicSoc Presents is a new monthly night run by MusicSoc at the Nest, designed to showcase the talent at the University of Bath and provide a platform for students to perform at a professional music venue. Along with it comes free entry to the club night afterwards, which should be a big hit with student music fans.

Photo credit: Ashish Nagpal

Headline act Anarchists’ Book Fair is the brainchild of former MusicSoc chair Sam Lewis. After handpicking a group of talented musicians from the MusicSoc membership, Sam spent the summer writing and recording his own indie-rock songs to perform with the new band. The preparation has paid off as the fourpiece, featuring Ryan Wheeler, Calum Thompson and Peter Hawes, have hit the ground running with a full set of original songs. They will be bringing their rock vibes to their debut headline show at MusicSoc presents.

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Co-headliners E41 made their Bath debut at the Nest back in 2014, and have been honing their unique blend of acoustic, hip-hop and rap ever since. Their 2015 debut EP was hugely popular with MusicSoc members along with their electric live shows, and after a year away they are back in Bath to headline the Piano Lounge.

MusicSoc are the live music society at Bath organising gigs, jam nights, open mics and socials across the year.

Our live music nights in town are hugely popular with student music fans, and often offer free entry for students. These nights also give our members the chance to perform at professional music venues including The Nest and Moles, thanks to a landmark sponsorship agreement with both venues arranged by MusicSoc for 2017-18.

We also provide rehearsal space and music equipment to members, allowing them to form new bands and take their performances to the next level. Finally, we have a buzzing social calendar with jam nights, club nights and more with something in it for everyone, whether you are a budding musician or simply a fan of live music.

You can join us at thesubath.com/musicsoc, and we hope to see you at the Nest for MusicSoc Presents on Tuesday October 24th!

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Bitcoin is booming, but when will it bust?

Business & Economics

circulation amount (just under 21 million), Bitcoin is based on an innovative technology called Block-

Thomas Knight he Conservatives are in profound disarray. Their problems are twofold. Firstly, a woeful election has obliterated any authority or control Theresa May had over her cabinet, leaving the most senior members of her cabinet in a battle to establish control over the direction and course of Brexit megotiations. Secondly, the Conservative party is headed towards a wider and more serious crisis with regards to the schism, which will open up between pro-business and populist wings of the party.

Until now, the party centrists, largely comprised of big business, remain voters and one-nation conservatives, have been keeping a low profile, hoping that the self-evident potential for catastrophic economic damage will deter even the most confident Brexiteers from a hard Brexit. However, as negotiations reach critical stages, expect to see greater involvement from remain-supporters and big business, eager to secure single market access and transition deals.

Recent issues give a glimpse of the confrontations likely to occur over negotiations, possibly for years to come; the latest drastic fall in immigration for instance, which was bemoaned by big business due to the loss of badly needed skills in contrast to the right-wing tabloids who celebrated the desired drop which they have long campaigned for.

In the short-to-medium term, the two problems are most likely to become intertwined in a leadership contest to replace May. In a damaging struggle for power, prospective candidates will harness the power of party factions to tighten the grip on the exit strategy. As time for the UK to negotiate a favourable Brexit outcome is slipping away, the possibility of the above scenario should concern both Remainers and Brexiteers alike as further instability within the Conservative party will badly affect the outcome for the UK from our EU exit.

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Thomas Knight - Columnist

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The curious task of economics” von Hayek observed, “is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design”.

Bitcoin, the poster child for the brave, new world of decentralised cryptocurrencies, is in a curious position of being possibly the first widely-traded security in living memory where investors, traders and regulators appear to indeed be aware of exactly ‘how little they really know’. Ever since its price started climbing to astronomical figures little over a year ago, concerns and anxieties about nearly every aspect of the cryptocurrency market have developed into outright consternation and distress. For the majority it is now a case of when, rather than if Bitcoin will crash, and market participants are scrambling to understand the implications of such an event. However for those that have bravely ridden the rise there is a palpable sense of excitement that Bitcoin could be a once-in-a-lifetime gamble, providing incredible returns by circumnavigating the traditional rules and assumptions of financial markets.

For institutional players, including banks, regulators and governments, Bitcoin represents one of the purest examples of outright speculation in financial history. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, recently labelled Bitcoin a “fraud” concluding that “The currency isn’t going to work” (Guardian).

Constrained only by the eventual

Conservative party chaos biggest threat to Brexit

Photo credit: pixabay

chain, which revolves around a single ledger that records all transactions. Unlike traditional forms of transactions no single party can control the ledger, which allows Bitcoin owners to transact and trade without the assistance of the mainstream financial infrastructure. Initially adopted by those seeking to maintain privacy over their transactions, Bitcon’s rapidly rising value has attracted more and more buyers into the market, fuelling ever-faster price rises. From a market perspective, it is clear that Bitcoin is well ahead of many previous bubbles such as the tech and housing booms, inevitably raising the question of how overvalued it truly is and when the crest will arrive.

Tom is a semi-professional farmer turned Politics student whose main interests include an unhealthy obsession in centre-left politics and financial markets infrastructure. When not chasing after his cows, sheep or acquaintances who show the slightest interest in the economic policies of New Labour; Tom gets his kicks listening to orthodox drum and bass and awkwardly featuring in nightclub photos.

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UK economy in jeopardy as immigration falls Immigration remains contentious and perhaps unfairly stigmatised by aspects of the British press and political class, given there are indeed economic advantages to the free movement of labour. Despite this, the main political parties in post-referendum Britain have united to reduce immigration either through hard Brexit, embodied through a major severance from the European labour market.

Photo credit: dannyman

Immigration numbers have dropped significantly since the Brexit referendum. The effects of this are still uncertain.

Tito Mogaji-Williams - Publicity Officer

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mmigration to the UK has dropped significantly.

Though other factors such as a devaluing pound, rapidly rising inflation, stagnant wages and perceived British ‘racism’ have played a role in discouraging migration from Europe. The true reason for the drastic drop in net migration can probably be attributed to some combination of all of these factors as well as the unpredictability unleashed by Brexit. Prospects of migrants who have arrived under a future post-Brexit visa regime, at least according to a leaked Home Office document.

It is not only migrant workers who face an uncertain economic future, the seismic decision to withdraw from the European Union has sent jitters through financial markets and credit agencies such as Moody’s which has taken the unprecedented decision to downgrade Britain’s formerly gold standard AAA to AA1 last year after the referendum, and yet again on the 23rd September to AA2 after the Prime Minister’s Florence speech.

On a macroeconomic level, it is hard to assess wherein immigration lies within the economy of future Britain especially considering how strict proposed standards for income, welfare, and skill level will affect the willingness of migrant workers to work on farms 17th September 2017

and seasonal labour. The Bank of England governor, Mark Carney stated that stricter controls could create “labour shortages” with the immediate effect of raising wages in short term, yet further accelerate inflation. He noted that “Brexit could therefore ultimately have only a modest impact on prices.”

Numbers from the Office for National Statistics earlier this year highlight the nature of the fall in EU migration, with a 1.1% drop in workers from central-eastern European EU member-states to 997,000 in the three months prior to June compared with the same period in 2016. The nature of arrivals has changed accordingly, with Romanian and Bulgarian numbers supplanting the decreasing central Europeans and accounting for 28 per cent of all immigrants to the UK from the EU. Some industries, particularly agriculture and fruit-picking agencies, fear that the uncertain conditions for unskilled labour pose a threat to the sustainability of their business as fewer recruits mean higher wages and improved worker conditions could or already have been implemented.

British jobs are less attractive than they used to be. Despite record tourism in July and retail sales being above expectations, the long-term economic outlook under proposed Brexit rules could very well create a scarcity of unskilled labour.

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Science & Technology

Could AI Detectives and Robot Security Guards be the future of Policing?

Henry de Libero - Columnist

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Photo credit: Alex Knight

he battlefield of the urban sprawl is changing, and innovative techniques in forensic science and computation are revolutionising police work.

Police in the West Midlands are trial-running artificial intelligence technology funded by the EU and built by Middlesex University London called VALCRI, or “Visual Analytics for sense-making in Criminal Intelligence analysis”. It works by pouring through police records (interviews, crime scene photos, forensics) and spotting Robots and AI are more efficient than people but can they replace a human mind? connections between cases.

Currently, it is only being tested with where one such robot “Steve” failed to pick up on a data from three years of past cases, the suspects an- fountain in its path and fell into it back in July, robot onymised, with a human analyst working alongside security guards seem a promising technology. It could it assessing the relevance of the spotted connections. make busy areas safer by deterring criminals, despite Instead of painstakingly searching through a variety the robots currently lacking the tools to “neutralize” a of evidence to find connections, VALCRI can collate threat (which is probably a good thing for now; EDand organise data to provide insights much faster than 209 from Robocop is an extreme possibility of mala single human analyst. Developments in machine function leading to unfortunate accidents). Another learning could help to include the subtleties of cases, benefit of robot guards is that they won’t tire from which would have caused problems for computers of the long and potentially dull hours of patrolling. As the past. While the technology is promising, there are Travis Deyle of Cobalt Robotics says, “security guard complications in the legal department. Professor Ifan work is challenging because, mentally, very little is Shepherd of Middlesex University London says “the happening until it happens” (phys.org). The robots data in a crime case is simply not good enough… A also can’t sleep on the job, and for an average of $7 human analyst has to call the shots” (New Scientist). an hour, they’re affordable too.

Police techniques can also be challenged in court, With all its benefits, there is still the question meaning a problems identified with a single VALCRI of how comfortable we are with handing over agency case could cause many other cases to be invalidated. to technology that is still in development. Personally, VALCRI is not the only new crime-fighting I’d rather not be tasered to the ground because a robot machine to recently go through a trial-run. In the profiled me as a “potential threat”. On the other hand, U.S. capital, security robots are patrolling Washing- bias exists with any human police officer, the differton Harbour centre, equipped with 360-degree cam- ence being a robot’s programming can be corrected eras, thermal imaging, number plate recognition, and much more easily than a human’s preconceptions. It is software designed to detect suspicious behaviour. inevitable that we will start to see more robot technolAnything that is spotted is then reported to a human ogy in our day-to-day lives in the future but there is guard, who will take appropriate action. Despite a re- room for development before we start to rely heavily cent incident on it.

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Columnist

Introducing Our Columnist

(RE)FRESHERS’ WEEK: MY TAKE ON FRESHERS’ WEEK AND HOW I HATE EVERYTHING

By Mallory Fanton

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f you’re reading this, then congratulations! You’ve survived Fresher’s Week, the seven days that every single Facebook group and event you’ve encountered since receiving that UCAS letter has wrongly referred to as the best week of your life.

Although this isn’t an Agony Aunt column, as a cynical and experienced final year who has done it all, I feel compelled to impart some sage and slightly patronising council following Fresher’s Week, as I cast my mind back to my first year and reflect on my own induction into university life. September 2014, it was a simpler time: Ellen broke Twitter with her Oscar selfie, Flappy Bird came and went, oh, and do you remember Ebola? No, neither do I. Looking back, I see Fresher’s Week like the Hogwarts Sorting Hat from Harry Potter: a six-day party-binge that discerns the new pupils into two houses; the Can’t-Be-Arsed-PartyPoopers and the Trying-Too-Hard-Keen-Beans.

My advice for #FW is the same for any social situation (and especially family functions): drink fast and hard, and hope to black out

next three to four years. 2 out of the 6 nights of Fresher’s Week are actually enjoyable, culminating in the perfect balance of alcohol-intake, good company and tunes for days, with the obligatory kebab stop on your way to bed.

I put a doughnut in the microwave the other day and found that significantly more enjoyable than Toga night This is also true for any night-out you will embark on as a student: a third of them will be amazing and memorable, the rest you will look back on and cringe, asking yourself whether or not it was worth paying entry to a subpar club to listen to MajorLazer on a Monday night in the pissing rain. And if you think staying-in for a house party is the ticket, please look forward to hours of feigning interest in playing Ring of Fire in a bleak and poorly heated terraced house while sipping Tesco’s value cider.

Despite my unforgiving portrayal of Fresher’s Week, you might have genuinely enjoyed it.

Personally, I put a doughnut in the microwave the other day and found that significantly more enjoyable than Toga Night in Founders’ Hall.

But perhaps my recollection of the week is inaccurate (I wonder if the fact that I hate going places and doing things with people has anything to do with it?)- Remember that the glass is always half full, especially during Fresher’s Week.

During the week-long bender, you force yourself to socialise with your fellow students, asking one another “what’s your name-where do you live-what do you study” until one of you dies, motivated by the unwavering promise that university is where you will make life-long friendships, which I guarantee Mallory is a final year Politics and International Relations you will continue to have until you’re 24. Yes, you student, and to make things worse, she’s also half French. She may be sick in your gran’s ham and pea soup, but there’s a 1 out of 4 chance you won’t remember it and I’ll take those odds any day. Mostly, Fresher’s Week is an accurate introduction and representation of a typical university night out. The week serves as a Petri dish, which mirrors all social binging gatherings you will attend over the

has a strong dislike of doing things and going places with people. Single by choice (not her choice), she is the hot single in the area because all the other singles immediately left. Favourite hobbies include being right, sitting down, and drinking.

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Review

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Revolutionized by Tapas Revolution

By Sian Maria Morgan

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amie and I were invited to review Tapas Revolution, a new Spanish tapas restaurant located in Southgate and guys, it was INCREDIBLE. Being half Argentinian and having spent 3 months working in Madrid, I had very high expectations of the food. So many restaurants try to recreate the authentic flavours of tapas and many times, don’t get it right. Tapas Revolution, on the other hand, hit the nail on the head. From the moment we walked through the door, the service was impeccable, with the host and waiters being so helpful and friendly. But, let’s get straight down to the food: first off, I want to say that I was pleased to see the variety of vegan and vegetarian dishes available, and that these were so delicious.

October 2017

We ordered the following dishes: Berenjenas fritas con miel - Crispy fried aubergine with a spiced honey and thyme dressing.

Patatas bravas - Roasted potatoes with spicy tomato sauce and alioli.

Pimientos de Padrón - Fried sweet green peppers.

Pan de la casa - Toasted bread, tomato topped with garlic sauce and serrano ham.

Morcilla de Burgos a la plancha - Grilled Spanish rice black pudding, apple purée and piquillo peppers.

Torreznos con mojo dulce - Crispy pork belly with sweet and spicy sauce.

Churros con chocolate - Spanish crispy doughnuts tossed in cinnamon sugar and served with hot dipping chocolate.

33

Review

As for drinks, we got a jug of white wine sangria that was the most delicious sangria I’ve ever tasted. I loved the twist on traditional sangria and as a lover of sweet alcohol I was over the moon.

I will review the non meat items because I basically demolished them, which I think, shows how good they were. I was impressed with how the chefs managed to perfectly balance the saltiness of the aubergine and the sweetness of the honey so that it was never too sweet and sickly. They were beautifully fried and crispy and it was like heaven in a bite. (I was a big fan,

in case that isn’t obvious!) I was particularly excited about the Patatas bravas because they are so traditional and so great in Spain and I was not disappointed. The spicy tomato sauce gave off great heat without being too spicy or overpowering the potatoes. The potatoes themselves were crisp and despite the sauce did not go soft. Now I love, and I mean loooooove Pimientos de Padrón; I ate way too many of them in Spain and had very high expectations and I can say, hand on heart, they were exactly like I had previously tasted and envisioned.

Jamie is a man of very few words and yet, walking home after the meal, he did not stop talking about the food.

He felt that the morcilla was the most delicious thing he had ever eaten. They were succulent and flavourful and the apple puree in which they sat gave a wonderful sweetness to the saltiness of the morcilla.

The pork belly, in his words, was ‘heavenly’ and ‘melt in the mouth amazing’, perfectly balancing the sweet and spicy flavours. Their portion sizes were also great, enough if you wanted to share, but not too much if you want to eat it all. The pan de la casa, was a great, simple starter that hit the mark on flavours; the tomato garlic sauce was creamy and the Serrano ham was perfectly cured.

Finally, the Churros were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, exactly how they should be. Once again, truly authentic to Spain and Argentina, with the right amount of sugared cinnamon on top.

All in all, I don’t know if you can tell but we were big big big fans of the food at Tapas Revolution – the food was amazing, the service was great and the setting was beautiful. Their prices are reasonable and they do a great lunch menu where you can get big portions (like their chorizo bun or a large salad) for only £7.50. And they do half price Sangria jugs and 2 for 1 cocktails from 4-7pm! Definitely worth giving a try and you will not be disappointed!

Seriously Suavamente Student Offer: Tapas Revolution are offering 25% off the whole bill to students.

T’s&C’s: Discount available on whole bill only when a valid student card is presented for parties of up to 4 people.

The discount cannot be used in conjunction with other offers such as £7.50 Lunch Offers, Set Menus, Sangria Time, Vouchercloud and others. One redemption per visit, per party.

October 2017

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35

Review

Last Action Hero lacks the action and probably needs a hero...

Bath Time Contributor Antoine Latran explores this 90s cult film production story

I

n a recent interview, Last Action Hero’s director, John McTiernan declared that shooting the movie was the worst experience in his directing career, because the story of its production is better than the actual movie itself.

The movie takes place in the 90s, with Schwarzenegger acting as himself. He simultaneously portrays the character Jack Slater, who is the star of the Jack Slater franchise, of which Danny, a fourteen year old, is a fan. Using a magical cinema ticket, he is transported into Jack Slater’s world, while the movie’s antagonist is moved into the ‘real’ world.

Schwarzenegger mocks the action movie genre by playing two different roles (himself and Jack Slater).

Schwarzenegger initially disliked the script, causing Columbia (who bought the script for 350,000 dollar) to hire Shane Black to re-write the script for one million dollars. John McTiernan joined the project with Black, adding more changes, leading Columbia to hire William Goldman (Marathon Man) and Carrie Fisher for another million to write the female characters.

While the budget allocated to the writing process was generous, Marc Canton replaced the initial producer, Steve Roth, after he was suspected of using the money to hire prostitutes. Marc Canton had a great vision for the movie, which he hoped was the beginning of a new franchise. Deals with Burger King and Mattel were made to advertise the movie and to create toys, and a deal with Sony was made to produce a music album and a video game. This same Marc Canton, without consulting anyone, declared that the movie would be released on the 18th of June 1993, giving only 10 months to McTiernan to finish the movie, although the script was not fully written!

The budget started exploding: from the initially planned 90 million dollars (15 dedicated to Schwarzenegger’s salary), the marketing team spent an additional 27 million; the trailer alone is rumored to have cost about 700.000 dollars! They also installed a gigantic inflatable Schwarzenegger balloon at Times Square, only three days after the 1993 terrorist attack of the World Trade Center. Unhappy with his hair and the dynamite sticks on the movie posters, the actor made them re-print thousands of them. Marc Canton also claimed that Last Action Hero would be the first movie to be advertised in space, thanks to a poster on the Columbia shuttle (billed half a million dollars) which would leave Earth a month after the movie’s release, due to some technical issues.

Finally, on the 11th of June, despite some scenes being re-shot only 3 weeks before and included into the movie without any editing due to

Wikipedia

the lack of time, the premiere screening started in Los Angeles-A few hours after Jurassic Park’s.

After the premiere, the audience was baffled. No one knew exactly how to react to the movie and Jurassic Park was on everyone’s mind. It revolutionized the way movies have been made for years to come: Last Action Heroes was not even released yet, but already belonged to the past.

At that point, the dinosaurs were to become the biggest success in cinema history, crushing every competitor, and a week later, Sleepless in Seattle was going to ruin any hope of a late success for Last Action Hero.

This movie is still worth watching.

Schwarznegger mocks himself, the action is well shot, the bad guy could be from the best Die Hard, and it is a great parody of the Action movies of the 1980’s/90’s. Last Action Hero is a must see to understand the code of an entire genre which defined an era in Hollywood’s history.

17thOctober September 20172017

Creative

Mr.

Ridley’s Last

36

Regret

By Niall Kennedy

B

A short story

lue lights still flickered in the wreck. The car had come off the highway at eighty-five and hadn’t lost much of its speed as it careened through a ditch and spun out of control into the Badlands.

in endless, expanding circles. In the winter, there were slices of frost across the green playing fields, where the trees had laid in delicate lace the tracks of their afternoon shadows over the hard ground.

Dirt was balled up around the left two wheels, clogged with earth and brought to a dead halt.

The windscreen, weakened by gunshots, had shattered immediately into a sparkling halo of bluish squares.

Stretching cold fingers across the incomprehensible keys, he could not take his eyes off her face. She spoke to him in bitter tones, of things he had heard adults stop talking of when they saw he was listening. As she turned the pages with thin, pale fingers, she told him there was no hope.

A red stain was leaking from the passenger’s side, running down the crumpled metalwork to feed the exposed roots of the desert scrub. The windscreen wipers rasped and rattled like snakes in the low, soft desert wind.

He had paced for a little bit. Then he had stopped and leaned against his car and tried to look nonchalant, a toothpick rolling from one side of his mouth to the other. But in the end he just sat down at the edge of the highway, where the tarmac fell suddenly away to scrub and wasteland and the scratches and trails of paint led like lines of fire to the smoking wreck.

He asked himself, as he had always thought he might, if he had any unfinished business.

He had not come from this land – like the settlers whose ghosts his years on the highway had left him familiar with, he had drifted in from far overseas.

A land of green villages nestled in the gentle sentinel-arms of forest-covered hills and valleys.

At first, he tried to provoke her. He told here about the medication he took and searched her eyes for the sympathy he was used to. She told him he wasn’t special while her eyes played over his face and her mouth twisted with unfamiliar sarcasm and disgust. He told her his dreams – the band, the private jet. She laughed and told him it would never come true.

Then he tried to use her. He told her of his broken home, his mother’s listless despair, his father’s tired infidelity, all the things he could not speak of to anyone for fear of their pity and their sympathy.

He told her how he felt every Wednesday from four until half-five, while the ground outside grew harder and the sky blackened with the onset of the witching hours of evening. There was silence then, but for the turning of the pages and the strained, pathetic chords that he drew from the piano.

He had been sent to learn the piano. He remembered wandering the village streets after school, where even though he had known the place ten years or more, he could still be surprised to turn down some alleyway in the freezing cold and see a fox running for cover, or a pair of ghost-children looking up from some ancient game of cards and marbles.

He realised only later, in another land with a gun at his side and a name on his lips, that he had loved her. She was all the pretty girls that had ignored him in school, all the opportunities that had passed him by, all the love that had come and gone.

He missed her now, with the tired nihilism of her smile as she told him he’d never understand, that he could never be normal. Her waiting for him even through the cold of winter, her silhouette – so fragile now – framed under the false warmth of a flickering streetlight.

His teacher lived far from the centre of town, past the plastic and glass covered school buildings, the drab greyness of the yard where children ran

He felt the old ache in his fingers now, as the warm wind picked up and the fractured sound of sirens pierced the evening air.

October 2017

37

Lifestyle

Fashion fades, Style pervades

L

By Gemma Barnett

ondon Fashion Week is upon us and with it, ushering in its plethora of colours, the array of shapes and textures that we will see filtering into magazines and shop windows these upcoming months. According to reports, ‘floral dresses’, primary colours, ruffles and ‘inyour-face’ slogans are just some of the trends we can expect to see amongst the line-up of AW17’s ‘must-haves’.

Whilst students spend the least on clothing, a survey by Glamour found that fashion purchasing makes up the highest percentage of their annual income. Thus, as another season is settling in, I wanted to get to the roots of why students will readily offer up whatever remnants have survived of their student loan to satisfy a trend that will soon become yesterday’s news.

To pinpoint the root of this commonplace, yet financially nonsensical compulsion amongst the majority of 18-24 year olds, I thought it would be interesting to examine what fashion really is, as it seems to be inextricably linked to a continuous cycle of purchasing.

The common desire to ascribe to 15-minute trends is in continuous conflict with the reality of perpetually being in some form of debt. Why does fashion externally herald as a form of art, self-expression and individuality yet at its core demand a constant stream of purchasing and discarding, at a speed which any other profit-seeking industry would find impossible to rival?

‘Fashion’ is not a particular top, or a certain pair of shoes. It exists as a separate entity from tangible items. The Oxford English Dictionary defines fashion as ‘the latest style of clothing, hair,

By Lily Roberts Ingredients A butternut squash ½ bag of spinach Handful of frozen peas 500g of pasta 4 cloves of garlic 450ml Milk 50g butter 2 generous heaped tablespoons of plain flour 200g grated cheddar cheese A heaped teaspoon of Dijon mustard Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.

decoration, or behaviour’. Equally, the underlying implication of ‘fashion’ is also a sentiment of transience. It is an achievement within the world of style for something to remain fashionable for even a year, so consequently fashion necessitates a state of incessantly purchasing, throwing out in around 4- 6 month intervals, if one hopes to remotely stay within the realms of what is considered ‘fashionable’.

There is an irony in the official LFW website proffering the show’s desire for ‘a safer and greener future’ as a key narrative for this year’s show, whilst the concept of LFW itself perpetuates an incessant and vast amount of waste as last season’s trends become abandoned for the latest ‘in’ thing. Whilst being a student on a tight budget and having a high appreciation for fashion should not be mutually exclusive, it would perhaps be refreshing for a show like LFW to put a greater emphasis on style, rather promote excessive consumerism.

Being considered ‘fashionable’ should not have to necessitate continuous purchasing, to keep up with trends that have a shorter shelf life than some of the food in my cupboard. An emphasis on style would encourage those of us passionate about what we wear to trust our own stylistic instincts rather than seeking constant consensus from catwalks or magazines.

Especially for the majority, who financially cannot afford to throw out a pair of jeans they bought 6 months ago, fashion should not come with a price tag, but rather be appreciated for the individualism and creativity it was originally designed to embody.

Feed 4 for £5 Put a large pot of salted water onto boil.

Whilst the butternut squash is in the oven, start on the sauce: on a low heat, melt the butter into a saucepan, then add the flour, to form a roux. Slowly add the milk, and carefully make sure to get rid of any lumps. Add the grated cheese and leave on the heat to allow the sauce to thicken. Attention: If the heat is too high, the sauce will curdle, which isn’t good! Leave a generous handful of cheese to add to the top of the dish before baking. Add the mustard and season to taste.

Heat a frying pan with garlic and oil, add the spinach and cook until it has wilted (roughly two minutes).

Cut the butternut squash into 1cm cubes; mix with the Strain the pasta and peas, pour into a large ovenproof garlic cloves, drizzle with olive oil and season. Place on a dish and carefully add the squash and spinach. Pour over baking tray and put in the oven for about 30 minutes. the cheese sauce and mix. Sprinkle the remainder of the cheddar on top of the dish. Put in the oven till the cheese Remember to check on it around every 10 minutes and has melted and begun to brown. give it a toss-around so each piece is evenly cooked.

Remove from the oven and enjoy!

October 2017

Travel

38

A Brit Abroad: Facing Small Talk

By Greg Chapman

A

s an Englishman in America, you are seen as an object of fascination in the same way a four leaf clover or a chunk of entirely undigested food in a pool of vomit might also be seen as objects of fascination. You are a Harry-Pottering, Oliver-Twisting, Prince-Charlesing celebrity. Some view you as a pantomime character, others see you as a sarcastic Butler, but one thing they have in common is that they all want to talk to you.

If there is one thing that our well-meaning stateside friends are good at, it’s small talk. Yes, it might come as a surprise - whilst their cars and their portion sizes are disarmingly large, their favourite type of talk is almost microscopic in comparison.

After a month in America, it has made me realise how unfriendly us Brits are. In all seriousness, my favourite aspect of America is the friendliness. It is both a refreshing and consistently jarring shock to find myself chatting to people in any situation. At the supermarket, in the doctor’s waiting room or underneath the gap between bathroom stalls; it doesn’t matter. The American entrepreneur is an adept conversational hunter-gatherer, finding opportunities to chat about the mundane in situations that an Englishmen would see as an irritating inconvenience. Sharks can smell blood 3 miles away the same distance that Americans can sense opportunities for small talk. They truly are fearsome creatures.

In contrast, for two Englishmen to engage in conversation, there needs to be pre-approved conversation topics, a dress code and thorough background checks conducted two weeks prior to the first word being spoken. After a month here, I’ve already spoken to the cashier at the corner shop as much as October 2017

I have to my grandfather throughout my entire life.

And the friendliness is a welcome change. For no other reason than you the fact you sound like you attend Hogwarts, people will open doors and buy drinks for you.

Wouldn’t you milk it for all its worth? Back in England, I don’t say the word ‘blimey’, I don’t refer my friends as ‘chaps’ or ‘chums’, and I probably say ‘Bob’s your uncle’ once every 5 years, and only when I’m talking to my amnesiac friend about his upcoming family reunion.

However, since arriving in America, it’s all changed. I’m talking about the Royal family, lifts, lorries, pavements, traffic lights and trousers as much as I possibly can.

As far as they know, I’m enjoying a light luncheon with the Queen on a daily basis. And when Liz is busy, I’m visiting a few lads from the neighbouring village, Thrumpington-on-Thames, and knocking a croquet ball around the green, mallet in one hand, warm pint of lager in the other.

I know what you’re thinking, and yes, you’re right. I am being somewhat of a hypocrite. In one breath, I damn the ignorant Americans for seeing us as posh Victorian chimney-sweeps wearing waistcoats, and in the next, I am doing everything in my power to make sure that they view me as a posh Victorian chimney sweep.

Being a Brit abroad reminds me of how I imagine pandas must feel. Everyone loves you and all you’ve done is just exist. Except as a Brit, people thrust scalding mugs of Earl Grey at you rather than armfuls of bamboo.

Am I embarrassed to admit this? Sure.

But not enough to stop doing it.

39

Travel

October 1st: International Vegetarian Day: A Guide to Puglia

By Connie Hogg

A

s October 1st marks International Vegetarian Day, it is a timely occasion to give a shout out to those meat-free or meat-limiting among you, in the form of a veggie travel guide to Puglia – the ‘heel’ of the Italian boot for those of you who had doubts!

Italy is globally renowned for its cuisine and culture of good food and social eating. But is this exclusive of vegetarian dining? Despite not making the Guardian’s suggested vegetarian-friendly destinations, I am convinced that you can visit Puglia and leave with satisfied taste buds without compromising on your dietary principles. Although less cosmopolitan than, say, Florence and Milan (where you’ll be spoilt for choice with vegetarian, vegan, and even ‘raw’ eateries) with a little determination (and persistent reminding that no, I still do not want a steak) I was able to discover some local delRoland Tanglao icacies, hidden restaurants and prepare my own amazing and meat-free meals in Puglia. So, for the veggie lovers Classic Cuisine with a delicious vegetarian twist . among you, here are my Top Tips: In general, pizzerias can be a great choice, offering variety and interest in the vegetarian topping selections.

Try the classic Margheritas, Ottolanas, Normas… You can often select a certain pizza and ask for the meat to be left off, or request a combination of veggie-friendly toppings. I’m sure it’s acceptable to eat pizza every night if you mix up the toppings a little each time, right?

Local markets! Most Pugliese towns have a local fresh produce market. This is a must for getting the best quality fruit, vegetables and cheeses at very attractive prices. Just be sure to stay aware, as bustling market scenes do bring with them the chance of pickpocketing/minor thefts. Keep your money out of sight until you’ve settled a price with your chosen vendor, and don’t be afraid to barter if you’re lucky enough to be confident in the language!

Verdure grigliate – whilst this is essentially, yes, a plate of grilled vegetables, it’s definitely not one to rule out immediately. Stay with me here. If you’re in the right place, the vegetables will be gorgeously glazed in the simplest of garnishes: a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar, some fresh basil or mint.

This simplicity is testament to the quality of fresh produce. If you fear this may leave you with a stomach that rumbles minutes later, ask for their bread bowls (that is, if they haven’t already offered!). Sometimes there is nothing better than some warm, crusty bread, drowned in the juice of Puglia’s famous olives.

L:a Puccia – this is a renowned delicacy in Puglia and though traditionally filled with cured meat of some sort, most places allow you to opt for the veggie fillings in-

stead. Think sun-dried tomatoes, mushroom, pesto, grilled vegetables… all in a warm crispy exterior. Never has a meat-free sandwich been such a challenge to finish – this one earns definite points for its substantiality.

Plan ahead and take some supplies. When hunger strikes and you don’t have the time to be scouring shelves for a quick bite to grab-and-go, take your own travel-friendly snacks. It can even be worth taking some vitamins and supplements if you’re going for a long time – a couple of small precautions could save you big time – don’t underestimate the importance of looking after your health abroad. Most foods will be perfectly fine to take in your cabin bag so you can save money and time by just thinking ahead a little.

Brush up on your food vocabulary – this can save you when wanting to sample the most locally sourced and authentic eateries, which often don’t provide English menus. By knowing what you’re looking out for, you can order with confidence and banish the fear of unknowingly ordering a sprinkling of pancetta on your dish!

So, provided you take a little extra thought and are prepared to experience the odd mishap, Puglia can be just as delicious a trip without the meat!

Michele Ursino October 2017

Lifestyle

40

Sudoku

2

7 8 4

1

8

5 7 2

9 3

8 5

2

9

3 9 8 7

4 1

4

6 2 9 1 7

7

4

9

8 4 2

Credit: Luke Marrai

Erotica, for the modern day student

By Vajay Jayson

C

hastity was gasping for breath. She was already late for her first Chemistry induction, so had resorted to running across the Parade in intermittent sprints. As sweat trickled down her brow, she couldn’t help but think that this wasn’t the way she had intended to first get hot and sweaty at university.

Her head was pounding like it never had done before.

Was it the residual taste of VKs in the back of her mouth?

Or was it…him?

She had spotted him across the hall whilst pretending to know the lyrics to the 70s portion of the Decades night.

He was tall, muscular, with a slightly misshapen nose that implied that he had played more than his fair share of rugby. He was quick to notice Chastity’s bashful gaze, approaching her with a smile, the kind where eyelids are weighed down by alcohol. Unsure of how to approach flirting in a sweaty sports hall, she yelled a simple “Hi, my name is Chastity!”

“Chastity? I certainly hope not.” Behind Chastity’s glittered makeup, her cheeks burned as she cursed her traditional parents once again. They had not worried about October 2017

their youngest going to university, trusting that she would live up to her name. Perhaps they should not have been so sure.

“My name’s Dixon Cider” he replied, putting his hands on her hips. Despite getting an A*, Chasity knew she had never experienced chemistry like this before. He drew her closer to him, hips pressed up against him, and began to lean in for a kiss“Chastity!” her flatmate, Betty, yanked her arm, her eyes glinting with jealousy as she dragged Chastity away from her Founders Hall fling.

“Well hello there Chastity.” She couldn’t believe her eyes.

“It seems we’ve both had the same timetabling error.”

Dixon smiled coyly, looking even better than she had remembered.

“You mean this isn’t the chemistry induction?” Chastity stammered, suddenly shy in this empty room.

“Well,” said Dixon, pausing for effect, “I don’t see why we can’t make a little chemistry of our own.”....

TO BE CONTINUED

41

HOROSCOPES

Lifestyle

Aries Mar 20 – Apr 20 Aries, this month you have realised who really means a lot to you, but you can’t be with them.

It’s time to focus on making the best of the situation. This week, an unexpected stroke of good fortune will give you the chance to make things right. Be brave enough to take the chance.

Taurus Apr 20 – May 21 After a difficult month, Taurus, all of your hard work will pay off. It’s been hard feeling underappreciated, with those around you either unaware of your efforts or choosing not to acknowledge them.

Keep putting in the hours, and you will meet with your reward soon enough.

Gemini May 21 – Jun 21 In the coming weeks, your past will come back to haunt you.

When this situation arises, you must use all your patience to ensure you don’t make things worse by overreacting. Keep your friends close, and look for any opportunities to bring closer those who are now distant from you.

Cancer Jun 21 – Jul 23 Cancer, it is vital that you do not make the change you have been considering. It might seem that all signs are pointing in one direction, but be wary - what might seem like a simple decision will in fact be unexpectedly challenging.

There will come a time to commit to this decision, but now is not that time.

Leo Jul 23 – Aug 23 Leo, the last month has not been easy for you. The excitement in life that you were hoping for has been absent, and the reality of your circumstances have not been encouraging. Therefore, it is important for you to be patient and keep putting in the hours. Remember - nothing lasts forever.

Virgo Aug 23 – Sep 23 Virgo, the recent changes in your life have been turbulent, and although it has been difficult, it’s important for you to continue making efforts to improve your situation. It feels like you are completely alone, but be sure to look close to you and you will find comfort from an unpredictable source.

Libra Sep 23 – Oct 23 Libra, it is crucial that you relax.

Recall that the decisions you made brought you to this situation, so be grateful for the opportunities that arrive at your doorstep. As long as you keep the bigger picture in mind, you will make prudent decisions. Remember: smooth seas don’t make good sailors.

Scorpio Oct 23 – Nov 22 Scorpio, your frustrations are getting in the way of what is important to you. Whilst it does seem intimidating, it’s important to throw yourself into the situation that you are dreading. Make sure you surround yourself with those you feel closest to.

Sagittarius Nov 22 – Dec 22 Sagittarius, although life is running at a fast pace, consider taking a breath. Although excitement in life is important, there is also a time for careful consolidation and relaxation. The task you’ve been putting off for some time is now more important than ever.

Capricorn Dec 23 – Jan 20 Capricorn, don’t give yourself such a hard time for being true to yourself. Sometimes you’ll be in the limelight and sometimes you’ll bask in someone else’s glow, and that is fine. Try to think less about how you are viewed by others and try and be true to your personality.

Aquarius Jan 20 – Feb 18 Aquarius, you’ve been missing someone very special in your life.

Whilst I would love to tell you that you’ll be reunited with them very soon, unfortunately, deep down, you know that isn’t true. Whilst this might be disappointing, take it as a sign to look forward - you never know what might land in your lap if you hope for the best.

Pisces Feb 18 – Mar 20 Pisces, the important decision looming in your future is becoming increasingly urgent. There are times of consideration, and there are times of action. Now is a time of action. The only way to be sure to avoid regret is to be bold.

October 2017

Marc Nozell

This time in history...

H

illary Clinton was born on the 26th October 1947. She is one of the most accomplished candidates to ever have run for President of the United States. She has served as Secretary of State, Senator from New York, first lady of United States, first lady of Arkansas. In addition she is a also a practicing lawyer and law professor.

Born in a middle-class family in a Chicago suburb, she gre up in a very middle- class home.

After graduating Wellesley College and becoming one of the first ever student speakers at the Wellesley commencement ceremony, Clinton went on to graduate from Yale Law school. She was one of only 27 people in her graduating class.

Upon graduating, she worked for the Children’s Defense Fund and fought for the provision of quality education for young people with disabilities.

She went on to fight for Children’s healthcare as First lady of Arkansas co-founding the Arkansas Advocates for Children and families.

Later on as First Lady, she would also work with Democrats and Republicans to create the Children’s Health Insurance program that pro-

vides coverage to young children and helped cut the number of uninsured children by half.

She was in office at the time of 9/11 and worked on behalf of the first responders and their families to secure multi- billion dollar funding from the Bush government and help rebuild the damaged areas of New York.

In 2008, she ran a failed campaign against Barack Obama for the Presidency, but remained a member of his core decision-making team throughout him time in office as Secretary of State.

Although a controversial figure with her conduct of hard foreign policy, relationships with Wall Street, Clinton launched her second unsuccessful bid to be President, she won 66 million of the votes and was the first woman to earn her party’s nomination.

She is often cast an example of a new standard of what can be achieved for women in the United States but also the levels of sexism experienced by women in the workforce. Clinton is often cited as the example of the glass ceiling experienced even by the most accomplished women when running for positions of leadership.

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