Issuu

VOL.57 ISSUE.1

14 SEPTEMBER 2026

STIRLING'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

In Conversation with BBC Radio 2's OJ Borg: How To Get Into Music, Radio, and Media Page 11

Vandalism at Cocksburn Reservoir Threatens Local Environment

Cocksburn Reservoir. Image Credit: Alice Pollard

By Kristina Wikensten News Editor

at any of our reservoirs to think about their actions and the impact they are having on the environment and local residents." She also implored that this behaviour cease immediately. Amongst the list is Cocksburn Reservoir, located near the Dumyat car park, often frequented by students due to its proximity to the University of Stirling campus. The publicly owned corporation Scottish Water has a team of patrol rangers who oversee Scotland's

Reclaim the Night 2025. Image Credit: Alice Pollard

reservoirs. Alongside reports from the public, they have discovered evidence of campfires being left alight dangerously near forests, trees and vegetation being cut down for fuel, and litter including food wrapping and camping equipment. There have also been reports of human waste found discarded near the shorelines. Georgina Berrecloth, student and president of the University's Wild Swimming Society, said: "The news of our weekly swim spot

being vandalised and not respected is heartbreaking to hear. It's not only us who swim up there, but it also has locals walking their dogs and the wildlife in their homes. We are already discussing a 'clean-up day' so our members have a beautiful place to swim in the heart of Scotland." David Cowan, a ranger working in partnership with Scottish Water

OJ Borg. Image Credit: BBC Radio 2

Rendezvous: Stirling's Underground Nightlife Scene Page 24

FULL STORY ON PAGE 5

RECLAIM THE NIGHT MARCH RETURNS TO STIRLING READ ON PAGE 4

Image Credit: @wylie.kyoti

NEWS NEWS

University of Stirling Finalists for Prestigious Sustainability Award By Alice Pollard Editor-in-Chief

EDITORIAL By Alice Pollard Editor-in-Chief

Brig has been through thick and thin in the last three months since I took over from the wonderful Alex Paterson. She, and the rest of last year’s team, left some mighty shoes to fill, and I can only hope that this edition does their hard work justice, because wow - this has not been a walk in the park. In this edition, we celebrate biodiversity on campus, whilst addressing the upsetting littering and vandalism situation at our neighbouring Cocksburn Reservoir. James, our politics editor, reveals why we really don’t want data centres polluting our landscapes, whilst our forever thriving culture sections highlight the best that Stirling has to offer. Also, we managed to wrangle our way into Radio 2 In The Park, so keep your eyes peeled for some exciting online coverage. It’s a tough time to be student journalists; there’s no doubt about that, but this little team tucked into our small corner of the Ochils has smashed it out of the park. There’s certainly not many of us this time around, so this edition finds you with aching eyes and sore backs from many, many hours in the office (if you find any typos - no, you didn’t). In a time when our roles are jeopardised by the ever-growing AI threat, environmental concern and reportage is more important than ever, and finding truth in the world around us becomes increasingly more challenging, Brig is still here for students at Stirling University, and will be for a very long time to come. By students, for students, always. Thank you to our amazing team of writers and editors, for being such a splendid team. Special shoutout to our Deputy Editor Kerry Lloyd for being the world's most reliable second pair of eyes and for making the process fun when sometimes, it really was not. We in the editorial team are certainly excited to see what comes next this year. Please do enjoy our paper.

www.brignews.com /brignewspaper @brig_newspaper @brignewspaper @brignewspaper

The University of Stirling are finalists in the prestigious 2026 UK & Ireland Green Gown Awards in the Nature Positive category, for outstanding campus biodiversity. The Green Gown Awards have celebrated outstanding sustainability work in universities and colleges across the UK since 2004 and represent one of the most prestigious recognitions for sustainability practice in education. The ‘Nature Positive’ category, in which The University of Stirling has been shortlisted, champions the institutions “taking action to promote nature on their campuses, in their operations and teaching and research as well as working in partnership with their local communities.” The University of Stirling is among ten finalists in the Nature Positive category, only three of which are based in Scotland. SRUC and Robert Gordon University have also been shortlisted. Stirling University has been recognised for their Campus Biodiversity Project, a key delivery programme within the University’s Sustainability Plan 2022-2028. The project has delivered biodiversity enhancement, community engagement and education, and habitat

Image Credit: Alice Pollard

creation activities. A key element of the project is the recent development of a new Campus Biodiversity Strategy, which sets out a long-term vision for enhancing and protecting biodiversity across the University campus. Biodiversity awareness events and consultation activities were held to engage students and staff in shaping the strategy and its objectives, which continue to be finalised.

The Green Gown shortlisting also recognises the Art of Nature trail, developed with the Art Collections Team, BES Department and Students' Union. The project involved the installations of signs, intended to inform people about surrounding artworks and biodiversity, connecting people to the landscape. The Green & Blue Space programme, run by Stirling Students’ Union, has played a key role in

The popular 10k run, known as the “Braveheart” race is a flat route running along the River Forth, past Stirling town centre and around Riverside. With the backdrop of Stirling's historic landscape, the “Braveheart” finishes on the north side of the Stirling Old Bridge. But for experienced runners, the “William Wallace Ultra” races offer the opportunity to run a 50km and 70km ultramarathon. Longer than an ordinary marathon at 42km, these races will take runners deep into Stirling and the surrounding countryside, so much so that runners will require a GPS monitor. Both races follow a similar route consisting of a loop around Stirling and Bridge of Allan, as well as the adjoining countryside. The 70k runners will also move around the Ochil Hills, near Dumyat. The races can be completed as part of a relay team, but there’s also the option to run the full distances solo. The William Wallace Running Festival is a unique running event bringing avid runners, history lovers, and the local community together to celebrate Stirling's rich

heritage. You can find more information on the festival’s website, with the day of entry on October 7. Its four distances provide a good range for both experienced and

sustainability efforts at the university, engaging hundreds of students in permaculture practices. Additionally, the Green & Blue Space has been involved in tree planting, citizen science, biodiversity awareness, Stirling Climate Festival, bird box construction, and a habitat creation initiative, alongside daily sustainability practices, workshops, and events. Gabi Brame works with the Union’s Green and Blue Space as Sustainability Development Coordinator. His role involves insuring the Union follows and develops environmental best practice, engaging students and staff with sustainability, and working alongside the University to achieve net zero. On the announcement, he said: "We're absolutely chuffed to see all our hard work to preserve and enhance our state of biodiversity on campus being recognised through prestigious Green Gown Awards. "Being named a finalist in the Nature Positive category energises us at the Green & Blue Space to keep progressing our efforts in this area and continue our partnership work with the University to scale our impact further" The winners of the 2026 UK & Ireland Green Gown Awards will be announced on 16 November.

Running Festival in Celebration of Stirling's Historic Heritage Returns By James Mcintyre Politics Editor

The William Wallace Running Festival returns this October for its second year, offering the choice of a one-mile and three long-distance races through Stirling's scenic countryside and historic landmarks. Taking place on October 10 2026, the charity fundraising event celebrates Stirling’s rich history while raising money for MND Scotland and Macmillan Cancer Support. It ran for the first time in 2025 and, after great success, has returned for a second year. The event features four races. With a shorter one-mile race, the festival also offers three longer-distance races: 10km, 50km and 70km. The route for each distance will begin at the Stirling County Cricket Club, near Stirling Albion's Forthbank Stadium. The one-mile race, also known as the “Wallace Warriors” event, is designed for children and spectators who want to take part in the day's events. It will run in a small loop around the local area, avoiding busy roads.

Image Credit: Kristina Wikensten

inexperienced runners and are a great opportunity to aid the charities involved.

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Burritos for Stirling: Taco Bell Coming to SpringKerse By Isla Baker

STAFFING SHORTAGE AFTER MCGILL’S DEPOT CLOSURE By Delaney Brooks

McGill’s Midland Bluebird bus service has experienced a mass-exodus of drivers after the announcement that their Bannockburn depot would close in August, leaving the remaining drivers to fill in the gap. The bus depot has been relocated solely to McGill’s Midland Bluebird main depot in Larbert to accommodate the new fleet of electric buses. A spokesperson from McGill’s Midland Bluebird told Brig that the move allows them “to manage service delivery more effectively and sustainably, while providing a strong platform for continued fleet investment, further decarbonisation and the potential development of Bus Rapid Transit corridors across the Forth Valley. “ Before the Bannockburn depot closed, Brig spoke to approximately 20 per cent of the remaining workforce in Bannockburn on deep

background and learned that, with about 20 open driving positions, the drivers who stayed were stretched thin through the summer. Sources told us that Initial resignations from the workforce took place due to an unwillingness to commute to Larbert each day. Meanwhile, concerned about their ability to drive the newer electric bus fleet, some of the older drivers left. Without enough drivers to properly staff the bus routes, sources said that management at the depot were calling people in on their days off. According to staff, management didn’t appear to be concerned about staffing at this stage, as McGill’s was hiring new drivers daily from the training centre in Larbert. However, it was said that these new drivers quit within a month. The experienced drivers suggested that this turnover attributed to the

with our members on how best to resolve these ongoing issues with the company." These claims come after University of Stirling students complained about Midland Bluebird’s UniLink service, as reported by The Courier in 2025, regarding the UniLink service’s reliability. higher-than-expected workload, A spokesperson for Midland and some blame what they consid- Bluebird said, “As previously announced, Midland Bluebird’s operer to be inadequate training. Sources suggested that McGill’s ations across the Forth Valley are were hiring new personnel just as now based at our main depot in fast as they were quitting, with ex- Larbert following a programme of perienced drivers also leaving the consolidation.” “As part of the consolidation, company at a consistent rate. In mid-July, as staffing dwindled Midland Bluebird has increased and the 31 August depot closure the number of drivers available date approached, management across its operations and continwere said to begin to “scramble”, ues to recruit additional staff. Any and started sending non-driving suggestion that the company is staff ( such as controllers) out on reducing its driver workforce is the road, and called in reinforce- incorrect. ments from other depots to pitch “The UniLink service remains important to Midland Bluebird, in. Unite industrial officer Pat Egan the University of Stirling and its said: “Unite is aware of high turn- students. We have dedicated perover of staff throughout the com- sonnel during term-time who are pany which is leading to increas- on hand to assist UniLink pasing pressures on existing and new sengers and we also hold regular staff. We believe this is partially working-group meetings with repdown to the fact there has been resentatives of the university and confusion over the working rotas the Students’ Union to discuss the at the bus depot. We are consulting service and its operation.”

Mexican fast food restaurant Taco Bell is coming to Stirling. Plans for the expansion were revealed over summer. The drive-thru is taking over the Tim Horton's location at Springkerse Retail Park. The opening date for Taco Bell has not been announced but the Tim Horton's restaurant closed its doors in July 2026. The nearest Tim Horton's locations are now in Larbert and Glasgow. On behalf of Live Más UK, Pritchett Planning Consultancy requested planning permission from Stirling Council for signage and a drive-thru so far, with more developments coming. Necessary planning stages are still in progress, and updates are likely to follow shortly. Taco Bell is known for its Crunchwrap Supreme, Baja Blast and Doritos Locos Tacos. There are ten Taco Bell locations in Scotland with locations Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh. Goodbye to Tim Hortons. Image Credit: Kristina Wikensten

Black Sheep Coffee Arriving in Stirling By Emma Forbes Walker

Image Credit: Emma Forbes Walker

Black Sheep Coffee are currently awaiting a building warrant for their newest expansion into Stirling. Current plans were presented to Stirling council a few months ago detailing the possession of the previous New Look building on Port Street which closed inn April. The new Stirling branch is designed to fit up to 160 customers featuring 138 indoor seats and 22 outdoor seats. Black Sheep Coffee is one of

the few franchises in Stirling to offer a 20 per cent discount to students with a valid physical student ID card. Many shops will accept a Unidays or a Student Beans account on your phone as long as an electronic photo is added. Black Sheep Coffee have evenmore expansion plans for the future totalling around 60 more branches. They are a prominent expanding business with over 100 branches in the UK. Black Sheep Coffee

is a fairly new coffee franchise in comparison to Costa and Starbucks who have been around the longest. London currently occupies over 50 coffee shops. This expansion provides additional opportunity for students who are looking for affordable caffeine boosts in-between classes.

NEWS NEWS

Stirling University Named Scottish University and UK Sports University of the Year By Kerry Lloyd Deputy Editor

RECLAIM THE NIGHT RETURNS TO STIRLING Reclaim The Night 2025. Image Credit: Alice Pollard

By Ali Rees The Reclaim the Night march will return to Stirling on Monday, September 28. The march will muster at Stirling Castle Esplanade at 7 pm before proceeding through town at 7.30, ending at Stirling County Rugby Football Club at 8.30 pm. The march is part of a global movement centring the safety of women and marginalised genders in public spaces at night. The event is organised by Stirling Students’ Union in conjunction with Forth Valley Rape Crisis Centre. As well as the march, there will be speakers, charity stalls, and a moment of silence at SCRFC. The movement shines a light on a crisis of women’s safety. Recorded crimes of rape and attempted rape in Scotland are at a record high since 1971, with a 72% increase over the ten-year period from 1,878 in 2016-2017 to 3,229 in 2025-2026. 95% of victims are female. The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey has found that a significant majority of sexual offences go unreported, making the actual number of rapes and attempted rapes much higher. A 2025 study by the Office for Students found that 25% of survey respondents had experienced sexual harassment at university, and 14% had experienced sexual violence or assault. Brig asked Ellie Hammond, Stirling Union President and organiser of both this year and last year’s march, about her

plans for the 2026 event. “While the event will follow widely the same format as last year, this year I hope to place particular emphasis on the sense of togetherness which

“It feels incredibly empowering to march for the right to safety after dark with like-minded and similarly impacted people, especially with a rise in violence

Image Credit: Sarah de Beer.

lies at the heart of Reclaim the Night. “Reflecting the National theme for 16 Days of Activism this year, togetherness embodies the collective action and societal change which is needed to tackle the rise of misogyny and gender-based violence. “Reclaim The Night is a place for everyone, as everybody holds a responsibility in making our society safer and free from hate and discrimination.” We also spoke to some of last year’s attendees. Alice Pollard, fourth-year student and Brig’s editor-in-chief, said: "The atmosphere at Reclaim the Night last year was vibrant thanks to the amazing turnout and passion behind the cause.

against gender minorities. “There has never been a more important time to advocate for our safety than right now, and I am really looking forward to joining the cause again this year. Stirling community member Matthew Addison said: “The march last year was really powerful. I wish we didn’t have to keep marching on this issue, but we’ll have to keep doing it until everyone is safe to walk home at night.” For more information, including a map to the muster point, check out the event on the Student Union’s website.

Daily Mail University Guide has named The University of Stirling as Scottish University of the Year and UK Sports University of the Year. Judges recognised Stirling’s “remarkable upwards trajectory”, as the University has continually risen in rankings from 2023 onwards and entered the top 50 this year. The University’s “strong academic performance, positive graduate outcomes, high quality facilities and international reach” were all highlighted factors that influenced the decision. Alastair McCall, Editor of the Daily Mail University Guide, said: “Few universities can match this upward mobility, which comes about because of a sustained, consistent focus on creating the best student experience. The University has built upon the natural advantages that come from having the most beautiful campus of any UK university and made Stirling part of the conversation for anyone considering higher education in Scotland and the wider UK. This award will only add to the University's appeal internationally, too, with a quarter of its students drawn from overseas.” Speaking on the University campus and facilities, he added: “When combined with some of the best sports facilities in the UK and unrivalled scenery in which to enjoy many of them, Stirling makes a compelling case to students and thoroughly deserves its success as the Daily Mail Scottish University of the Year 2027.” The University’s reputation as Scotland’s University of Sporting Excellence has been

cemented by the UK Sports University of the Year award. Stirling aims to nurture and support student athletes and help encourage staff, students, and the wider community to stay active and healthy. This award follows the return of 22 University of Stirling athletes from the Commonwealth Games, held in Glasgow. Stirling acted as Team Scotland’s Official University Partner for Glasgow 2026. The student athletes brought home a record breaking 24 medals from the Games. McCall said: “Stirling stands on the top step of the sports podium this year with few rivals anywhere in the UK. Three gold medals, nine silver and three bronze speak to the talent drawn to the University by the outstanding sports provision When it comes to sport, Stirling leads the field by a considerable distance.” Professor Sir Gerry McCormac, Principal and ViceChancellor of the University of Stirling, said: “These awards provide wonderful recognition of everyone and everything that makes Stirling such a special place to study, work and succeed. They reflect the dedication, talent and ambition of our staff, students and alumni, whose collective efforts continue to strengthen our reputation for excellence across teaching, research, student experience and sport. To be recognised as both Scottish University of the Year and UK Sports University of the Year is a tremendous achievement and a testament to the impact our people have every day, on campus, across our communities and around the world.” Image Credit: University of Stirling

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Vandalism at Cocksburn Reservoir Threatens Local Environment By Kristina Wikensten News Editor

Scottish Water has raised concerns for several reservoirs following reports of harmful anti-social behaviour, including littering, purposefully damaged vegetation and unattended fires at Cocksburn Reservior. Donna Mills, Scottish Water’s Land Strategy Team Leader, said: “We are urging those people who have behaved in an anti-social way at any of our reservoirs to think about their actions and the impact they are having on the environment and local residents..." She also implored that this behaviour cease immediately. Amongst the list is Cocksburn Reservoir, located near the Dumyat car park, often frequented by students due to its location to the University of Stirling campus. The publicly owned corporation Scottish Water has a team of patrol rangers who oversee Scotland's reservoirs. Alongside reports from the public, they have discovered evidence of campfires being left alight dangerously near forest as well as trees and vegetation being cut down for fuel. Aside from litter such as food wrapping and camping equipment, there have also been reports of human waste found discarded near the shorelines. Georgina Berrecloth, student and president of the University's

Wild Swimming Society, said: “... The news of our weekly swim spot being vandalised and not respected is heartbreaking to hear. It's not only us who swim up there, but it also has locals walking their dogs and the wildlife in their homes. We are already discussing a 'clean-up day' so our members have a beautiful place to swim in the heart of Scotland. .” David Cowan, a ranger working in partnership with Scottish Water and Forestry and Land Scotland offered advice on how students can help protect their local reservoir. He said: "With Cocksburn so close to the University of Stirling, it’s understandably a popular place for students to get away from campus, go for a walk and spend time outdoors. We absolutely want people to come along and enjoy it.” David went on to mention instances of found litter and cut down vegetation at Cocksburn Reservoir. “...these damages the environment and can spoil the area for wildlife and everyone else who comes to enjoy it.” David continues: "The best rule is a really simple one: leave no trace. Whatever you bring with you, take it home again. Please don’t cut or damage trees and, if you are having a fire, make sure you follow responsible fire guidance, keep it small and under control at all times, and leave no trace afterwards."

Stirling Post Office relocated to Dumbarton Road

He also mentions a separate occurrence at Cocksburn Reservoir which has raised safety concerns. "We’ve seen people jumping from the valve tower into the reservoir," David explains. "Jumping from structures into a reservoir can be extremely dangerous. Reservoir water can be very cold, with sudden changes in depth and hazards beneath the surface that you simply can’t see."

Freshers' Edition Crossword 1 2 3

times remain similar from 9am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday. Different hours operate on the Sundays from 10am to 1pm. Sundays will remain closed. A Post Office representative commented that their aims are to "service our customers in the local community."

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By Emma Forbes Walker

TG Jones (formally known as WHSmith) closed down several branches this July, including its branch in the Stirling Thistles Shopping Centre which contained a post office. Alternative post offices nearby are Drip Road Post Office and St. Ninians Post Office. Despite cocerns of the service leaving Stirlng's city centre entirely, On August 18 a new post office opened at Sara's Stationary and Gifts on Dumbarton Road in Stirling, replacing the old one above TG Jones. Opening

He concludes by encouraging people to "follow the water safety signage when you visit never jump from the valve tower". David concludes by expressing how "most people we meet at Cocksburn are there to enjoy the outdoors and treat the area with respect". “If everyone follows these few simple steps, it makes a massive difference.” Lastly, he also mentions the local community and

Across 3. Instrument for public use in the Macrobert Arts Centre 4. Best society to build a journalism portfolio with 6. Oldest pub in Stirling 9. Celebratory dancing in Scotland 10. The big hill overlooking campus 11. Scottish word for something good, and Brig Newspaper's sister publication 12. Slanj a Va's Thursday night event 13. The University of Stirling's animal mascot 14. Student accommodation on campus with laundry facilities

Down 1. Scottish slang for food 2. Essential post-Fubar purchase 5. Celtic language native to Scotland 7. Pub in Stirling with a rooftop beer garden 8. The monument's namesake's surname 11. Underground study spot

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Cocksburn Reservoir. Image Credit: Alice Pollard

volunteering events for those who want to help even more. “We regularly bring people together to help care for these places, and it’s a great way to spend some time outdoors, meet new people and give something back to the local environment. .”

Got a story, or want to join our team? Email editor@ brignews.com

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POLITICS

Critcism Over Handling of Cairngorms Wildfire The smokey aftermath. Image credit: Forestry and Land Scotland

By Emma Holmes Head of Social Media

Scotland’s Justice Secretary, Neil Gray, rejected an offer of UK military assistance to combat a major wildfire in the Cairngorms National Park. Following a request by Scotland’s Justice Secretary, the UK Government offered military support to tackle the Cairngorms wildfire. The UK Government said it would provide military helicopters for heavy lifting, along with support from stand-by armed forces. This offer was denied by Scotland’s First Minister and

Justice Secretary as it did not include specific waterbombing helicopters that they had requested. The fire broke out near the village of Glenmore on July 15, and some village residents were evacuated during this time as a precaution. The wildfire covered about twenty-five square kilometres with over 500 firefighters involved and burned for just over a month, raising questions about the Scottish government’s response to the fire. Chairman of Nethy Bridge Community Council, Sandy McCook, accused the Scottish

Government of “dithering” in its response to the wildfire. He said: “I’m very disappointed in the Scottish Government’s response in general”. However a great local effort stood in contrast as Committee Chair, Cllr Russell Jones said: "In particular, I want to put on record our thanks to the community of Nethy Bridge ... (their help) was an outstanding example of a community coming together in a time of crisis". The Scottish Chief Fire Officer believes Scotland must place greater emphasis on prevention and prepared-

ness, warning that wildfires are an increasing and evolving threat that cannot be addressed through emergency response alone. Chief Officer Stuart Stevens said: “If we are serious about protecting lives, livelihoods, infrastructure, our natural environment and the resilience of our nation, we must act now – together, with purpose, and with a long-term commitment to prevention, as well as response”. Chief Officer Stevens praised the firefighters who attended the Cairngorm wildfire, many of whom were from on-call

app over the autumn to enable people to access a range of services in one place As for other policies, it seems there’s quite a bit longer to wait. Consultations are beginning on a radical plan to introduce a food price cap for several essential food items. Such a plan is not unprecedented and has been used by a significant amount of Eastern European governments already. It’s not clear what items would be targeted yet or whether the measure would be allowed under devolution. Swinney also floated a voluntary food price limit, much like the one in France, by meeting with retailers and encouraging them to lower pric-

es on their own. With that being said, such a measure still appears to be a ways off. To assist parents, Swinney is encouraging the roll-out of primary school breakfast clubs to all schools by 2027 and an expansion of after-school care by 2029. For older pupils, he’s suggested there could be a national mobile phone ban in schools. In healthcare, another radical plan to cut the number of NHS health boards in mainland Scotland from 14 to just two has also been proposed as well as a plan to build a new university hospital in Monklands. Finally, a significant portion was devoted to women’s

rights through a new Misogyny bill targeting misogynistic harassment and abuse and the establishment of a new sexual offences court. Overall, it seems Swinney is using his fresh mandate to enact more wide-sweeping change. Though his government has been in charge for more than two years, they seem to want to revitalise their government through incredibly ambitious proposals. Time will tell whether any of this will come to pass.

stations and carried out their duties with ongoing support. He mentioned that he was “indebted” to their commitment and expressed his gratitude to the communities throughout the Cairngorms for the generous support they provided to emergency responders and partner agencies during the incident. It remains to be seen, though, what reforms will be made and what lessons will be learned in the wake of the wildfire.

John Swinney Sets Out His Plan By James Mcintyre Politics Editor

It’s been a fairly quiet start to the SNP’s new government; the timing of the May elections meant that parliament was immediately on summer recess and they had little time to get the ball rolling. Well, as of the 1st of September, the Scottish parliament is back and First Minister John Swinney is ready to show us what the future of his government looks like. In terms of immediate announcements, Swinney has announced the expansion of a £2 bus cap to the west of Scotland (Tragically, not including Stirling) from the 7th of September. There’s also plans to launch a ScotGov

John Swinney. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons (https:// commons.wikimedia.org/)

POLITICS

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SCOTLAND'S DATA CENTRE BOOM By Adara Kulug

At a Glance: 22 Data Centres proposed in Scotland 300 Megawatts of power consumed by an average centre: more than the entire city of Glasgow 70 acres is the average size of a new data centre Scotland is facing a datacentre boom. 22 new datacentres have been proposed, mostly in the central belt of Scotland. Nine of these have been proposed by the English company Apatura while the other nine are backed by other Scottish companies, alongside one American company and two real estate developers. The scale is huge. Scotland currently has about 11 datacentres. These data centres roughly have capacity of 10MW. The proposed centres all together will have the capacity of 7,765MW of electricity. That number does make it highly unlikely that all 22 datacentres will be approved. The interest of data centres in Scotland is understanda-

ble since Scotland is known as a renewable energy powerhouse. Since 2021 Scotland has been showing itself a potential datacentre hub, arguing that the enormous energy usage could benefit Scotland's ambitions of being greener and more sustainable. There are potential benefits to these data centres, as they could use the renewable energy that is not being used. This would reduce the payments made towards the Grids and make use of excess power. Others would argue that the extra energy left should be given to help the people of Scotland pay their bills with rising energy costs and winter approaching. These data centres use enormous amounts of electricity. Despite Scotland's significant energy network, the grid would also need to be upgraded. This could mean months, maybe even years of road closures, getting in the way of people's daily lives. The currently proposed Larbert development also shows contradictions already. It apparently plans to include 200 diesel generators as a backup. Even though having backup energy supplies is the norm for these kinds of places it does not sit well with Scotland's ambition of clean ener-

gy. There is also the rest of the UK. The National Energy System Operator (NESO) have stated that having the datacentres in Scotland is more beneficial than in London since it takes pressure off from the electricity networks there. This raises the question

whether Scotland would benefit from these datacentres. Scotland will be providing land, electricity, and water. But it could be England that gains the economic boom. John Swinnery has suggested these data centres should run according to Scotland's climate goals, and currently the decision on whether they

can open is being left to local councils. However, thousands of megawatts of energy should be a national decision. When it comes to data centres in Scotland, Scotland should not just attract them, it should also question what the country and people are getting from it.

The Blue Wave Looks Unstoppable By Bertie Summers

We are now just about two months away from Election Day in the American midterms cycle that will take place on the 3rd of November 2026. We are waiting in intense anticipation of what exactly may or may not happen now and into the future. The highly varied Senate battlefield is sprawling, scattered, and it is even stretching deep into areas that have traditionally been staunch Donald Trump territory. The reason why all this uncertainty matters is that in a normal year, Republicans wouldn't ever have to think Donald Trump. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons (Https:// commons.wikimedia.org/)

Protesting against data centre threats. Image Credit: Stewart Attwood, courtesy of APRS

twice about Alaska, Kansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, or Texas. But this is definitely not a normal year. Republicans expect all six states to revert to their MAGA mean, but they're not betting on it. The fact that they're still in play has turned the midterms into a game of chess. This has been giving Democrats more opportunities to attack — and it has been leaving Republicans with more pieces to defend. Democrats are within striking distance in Iowa, Alaska, and Texas. They're having to face significantly more unlikely victories in Mississippi and Kansas, while an independent candidate in Nebraska refuses to give up. The

Democrats' clearest path to 51 starts would be achieved by holding Michigan and picking up North Carolina and Ohio. Maine is probably the next one on their list. After that, they would then need to win just one more Senate seat to take back control of the Senate. Not too long ago, the Texas and Iowa Senate races were rated as being "tossups" by the Cook Political Report. They were "lean Republican" previously. That makes six GOP seats that are now toss-ups or lean Democratic. When he took over the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Senator Tim Scott (Republican, South Carolina) warned senators in safe seats

not to expect any bailouts. He was planning to put away red states early and use the party's money to go on offense. Instead, Republicans are spending the summer defending places that they typically don't ever have to worry about. At the start of this year’s election season, the Cook Political Report asserted that the Democrats' path to a Senate majority was "herculean." Very recently, though, it declared the battle for the Senate a toss-up. Now, then, it’s abundantly clear as to why the American people are only a matter of weeks away from a situation in which their political map has been drastically redrawn, with history being made repeatedly in the USA.

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COMMENT

Advice For All - Not Just Freshers By Amelia Fryer Interim Comment Editor

University is scary, and at times, so is life - I am aware of how comforting of an opening line that is, but bear with me and my point will become clear. I think it’s fairly common for most people (myself included) to be nothing but excited before moving to university, it’s a step in your life that shows you are transitioning from being a teenager to an adult, you get more freedom and opportunities, no rules about staying up late or coming home at a certain time or how much pasta you can eat in one sitting. However, it also comes with some loneliness, so many responsibilities you don’t know how to juggle them all, and the need to get great grades while maintaining a social life so the loneliness and homesickness doesn’t eat you alive, a fitness routine to benefit your overall health and so you don’t hide out in your room when it gets too much, and if you’re like a large percentage of the population, a job. But you

IWallace Monument. mage credit: Amelia Fryer

also want to volunteer for the CV, go and have a night out at Fubar or go to the pub, go on those club socials and somehow find time to go and visit family and friends in your hometown. So. What Now? People say that the key is learning to balance it all, so no one need or want is less focused on than another, however I’ve come to believe that this isn’t possible. Personally I have been on two different committees, held a part-time job, brought my grades up and seemingly maintained a social life and a partner while also finding time for going to see my parents who are two hours away – now this all sounds like I have it all together, but in reality most of the last two years since I came to university has felt like I’m drowning in responsibilities and stress that has nowhere to go. I had gone into this hoping for some more hopeful and solid advice, I think when people ask for advice it’s more likely that they just want the other to tell them what

to do so they don’t have to make the decision themselves. So, let’s change the title of this and say, here is my loose advice for all – just take life day by day, and compromise with yourself. Sometimes it’s not about having everything perfectly balanced, sometimes it's just about surviving the day and that’s okay. You might have to sacrifice your exercise for your assignment for example, but that doesn't mean not doing the exercise at all, that means prioritising the assignment and doing less of the exercise or doing it at a different time, if and when you have time. I think the biggest problem for students is pressure, whether it be from mentors, parents, friends, or employers; I think the biggest pressure we face is from ourselves. So, cut yourself some slack, and remember that you’re a human that might not know what they’re doing yet and that’s fine, no matter what age you are.

HOMESICK? YOU’RE NOT ALONE

Don't be a lone tree, connect with those around you.. Image credit: Adrian Martinez-Aidoo

By Adrian Martinez-Aidoo Head of Broadcast Being homesick is totally normal. According to the National Union of Students (NUS), 50 to 70 per cent of UK students got homesick during their first weeks at university. I can relate to that. Being Spanish and Ghanaian, travelling had never really been a big issue for me, nor was I excessively attached to my family. Yet this still felt like one really big step, and taking it on my own was unsettling – especially in a country

I did not know, without the reassurance that if I faltered, I could immediately turn to my family for support. I was also exposed to various cultural differences and – sorry everyone – but frankly most of the time I couldn’t actually understand what people were saying, so it was just the classic improv smile and nod. These are some of the reasons for homesickness the NUS identifies, apart from feeling isolated, and struggling with academic pressure and coursework. Accommodation provider, Yugo, found that 61 per cent of students aged 19 to 25 were worried about

homesickness even before going to university. I was never worried that I would be homesick, but I was. In fact, my homesickness lasted a good portion of my first year. I still occasionally get that subtle feeling each time I return to university after being home... and now I’m heading to my fourth year. I’ve found that staying connected with those I care about back home whilst making sure to stay engaged with those on campus has been a great formula. The NUS also advises students to establish a daily structure, keep moving, join a university club or

society, make a comfortable living space and embrace the new experiences. One really great thing about Stirling is the sense of community that the societies and clubs build. At some point they might even keep you so occupied that you don’t have time to overthink about being home. In terms of a daily wwroutine, I’m not the sort of person that keeps a constant structure, but I’ve found that certain ‘rituals’, like watching a series or doing an activity that reminds me of home, can help. And, most importantly, remember to talk.

You can talk to your family or friends about how you’re feeling, and if you connect with someone on campus, you can also open up to them. Chances are they’re new and are also feeling that sting of being homesick. Leaving home is a big step, and you should definitely be proud. Try to embrace everything new, because it’ll help expand your world.

COMMENT

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New Undergraduate Returning Undergraduate Hope on Campus. Image credit: Sarah de Beer

By Sarah de Beer BRAW Editor It is not a wild assumption to make that Freshers Week is completely different experience for New Undergraduate students compared to Returning Undergraduate students. New Undergraduates arrive with eyes and arms open to new experiences – many first-year students being 18 years old and this being their first year away from home.

Not a shock that they would approach Freshers differently to jaded students coming back for their second, third, or final year. When I was a first-year student, while I was not freshly 18 and jumping at the chance to make eye turning bad decisions only 18-year-olds can make when alcohol is involved, I was new to living away from home. It did not take long before I was crying my eyes out after losing my new flatmate (that I only met the day before) on a night out while we were both drunk out of our minds

– thankfully, she was found but that whole debacle was a learning experience of what I can handle. So, what will Freshers be for you? Freshers for me in first year was a roller-coaster of emotions and compared to stories I have heard from other people in my year, I had a tame Freshers (a bonus of having a quiet flat in accommodation). When I arrived for Freshers last year for second year, I had a much more relaxed and fun Freshers. This should be expected since I had established friendships from

the previous year and knew what worked (and what didn’t) when it came to going out in Stirling. However, looking back I am glad that I had a rough – or sometimes boring – start to my Freshers in first year. Not to sound like an old lady passing on wisdom, but better bad experiences than no experiences. Wading through the awkwardness of trying to become friends with random people in someone’s random flat in Alexander Court, going to pres with strangers, trying out new societies at Give-It-A-Go's,

and many more rite of passage events that make up Freshers is what kickstarts the year for first years. It can also be a restart for returning students that didn’t mesh well with anyone in their first year – a fresh start for anybody that needs it. Or a reunion of friends split apart during the summer and ready to debrief on their summer adventures, not to be sentimental but truly one of my favourite times of the year.

DOES DOCUMENTING AN EXPERIENCE COME AT THE COST OF EXPERIENCING IT? By Ali Rees Over the years I’ve come to hold the belief that the time and energy spent attempting to document any cool and interesting thing is in direct competition with actually experiencing it. Despite now being 16 years old, Instagram has not relinquished its stranglehold on society. The impulse to create a record is ingrained. I don't post very much on Instagram, but I still take photos constantly. There's usually a little voice in my head saying this would make a good photo. For people who post more often, I imagine that voice would be considerably louder. But documenting a moment is not free – it takes time (how much? How long is a piece of string?), energy, and the headspace of being on the lookout for a moment worth capturing. I am a sucker for a live event, live music especially. I’ve been a frequent gig-goer for more than 20 years, starting with a Sum 41

show when I was 13. From tiny local bands in pub backrooms to huge stadium gigs, I’ve been at them all. When you spend that long doing something, you start to notice how it changes. At gigs, one of the most notable changes has been the ubiquity of smartphones. Almost everyone has a smartphone – I’m not saying I don’t have one when I’m at a gig, or that I never take photos. But as someone who usually sticks to the back of the audience, I’ve watched the plague of glowing rectangles spreading. At a recent My Chemical Romance gig, I could see people spending time during iconic songs fiddling with their camera settings, staring at the giant stage through the bright, glowing screen of their phones. The front rows of a Bowling For Soup gig were full of people standing still to record rather than putting energy into dancing. I asked a handful of friends, and most of them have rarely or never looked back on the trove of videos and photos they’d taken at gigs and other performances, which makes

me wonder – what is it all even for? If the act of documenting is so automatic and unexamined, why take ourselves out of the experience to do it? Maybe we’re not even taking the photos for our own benefit:

perhaps we’re snapping in case they fit the curated aesthetic we’re cultivating online. We document things because we're afraid of losing them, but perhaps we're sacrificing some of the experience in our attempt to make sure we

remember it. Perhaps there’s a difference between documenting something so we can remember it, and documenting it so we can prove it happened. A brief snap in concert. Image credit: Ali Rees

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MUSIC

A TYPOLOGY OF BAND PATTER By Ali Rees

Let’s face it – some bands have better on-stage presence than others. Sure, going to a gig is mostly about the music, but it also offers a chance to indulge our worst parasocial impulses and feel like we’re getting to know the artists through what they say between the songs. After going to hundreds of gigs in my life, I’ve developed a sort of typography of band patter that most of them slot neatly into. Of course, there are some outliers that do their own thing and some that can slot into multiple categories depending on the gig. Where do your favourite bands land? So famous we don’t need to bother – These are mega-famous bands with huge cachet who will reliably sell out stadium tours. They might introduce themselves, thank the support acts, and call out the name of the city the gig is in a few times, but really, they just want to get on, play the songs, and get out. This style can be fine and inoffensive, but if they lean too

heavily into “come on Glasgow!” or, even worse, mispronounce the name of the city (anyone from Edin-burg in tonight?), it veers into cringe. Cheers lads, I know where we are actually. Prime example: Green Day So famous we can be super weird and you’ll still buy tickets – Some bands see the gig-going masses as a captive audience to be weird at. Their music is popular enough that people will go to shows regardless of how bizarre their stage presence is. Sometimes this might just be performing in character or doing little skits, and sometimes it might be letting the oddest member of the band get on the mic and go on what can only be assumed to be a drug-fuelled ramble in front of all Hampden Park. Prime examples: My Chemical Romance (skits), Red Hot Chilli Peppers (drugs) I get what you’re going for but please shut up and play the music – This subset comes in several different flavours, but the

My Chemical Romance performing at Wembley Stadium . mage Credit: Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/)

binding principle is you just wish the guy with the mic would shut up already. Sometimes they want to talk about every single song (which is fine in certain circumstances, like ‘An evening with…’ style shows) and tell the whole story of the band; sometimes they need to make a puerile fart joke between each tune. Whatever it is, you can see the crowd getting restless. Prime example: Blink-182 I am cringing myself inside out – Some bands mean well, but their particular brand of patter makes me want to hide behind my drink. There’s a fine line between genuine earnestness and beginning to feel a bit performative (setting aside the fact that musicians are, in fact, performers), and some just

leave the line in the dust. Calling a wall of death a wall of hugs will make me pull a face every time. Prime example – Frank Turner, Janelle Monáe (when they attempt to make an entire stadium be quiet) Genuine earnestness – The other side of the line. These bands have causes that they care about and messages they want to convey, and they’re going to do it in two-to-five-minute segments between songs. This typology can often be seen in combination with “I get what you’re going for” and/ or “Cringing myself inside out”. Prime examples – Grace Petrie, Sub-Radio We’re just happy to be here – These bands are doing what they

love and watching an audience absolutely lose their minds singing and jumping along to music that they made and are playing. The energy at gigs like this is usually of the charts and the band and audience both have grins plastered all over their faces. Prime examples – Good Charlotte, Bowling for Soup By the book – These bands will introduce themselves, thank the support, talk a little bit about a quarter of the songs, do a little bit of patter between about a quarter of the songs, tell the audience how much they mean to them, have a three-song encore planned, and finish exactly on time. Prime example – Idlewild, Sum 41

HOW TO GET INTO CLASSICAL MUSIC FOR STUDYING Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra performing Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 4. Image Credit: Derek Gleeson, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/)

By Isla Barker Classical music is not as stuffy as you might think. Yes the music can be hundreds of years old, but the genre has been proved to aid in relaxation and focus for studying. It's typical lack of lyrics minimises distractions, similar to Lo-Fi and covers a range of styles to suit listener's different preferences. Studies have shown that people listening to classical music focus better on tasks than those who

listen to other genres. A study from PubMed Central found that classical music can improve memory and concentration in listeners. With no lyrics, you can focus less on what you listen to and the music almost becomes part of the background, so you concentrate better. Listening to classical music also releases dopamine, which is linked to motivation. So, how do you actually get into the world of classical music? There are some excellent playlists on YouTube which are aptly titled

for whatever vibe you're looking for. There's "Main character in a Jane Austen novel", or "Classical music for when you're on a deadline", and for a a break from the piano, "you're studying like you're in Ancient Greece". BBC Radio 3 is dedicated to classical music and plays a variety of composers as well, which can take the pressure off of making the initial choice. Another way to blend classical music into your routine is my merging it with another genre.

The Bridgerton soundtrack is full of classical covers of famous pop songs such as "thank u, next", "Bad Guy" and "What about us?". The tune is familiar but the different instruments keep your study playlist fresh, and your mind focussed. As for specific musicians, Frédéric Chopin gentle music puts you in the right frame of mind for getting to work. No distractions, only focus. His series of nocturnes and waltzes are at the right tempo to slow your heart rate and keep you relaxed while you are seated

for a few hours. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is another excellent composer for calmer music. His score for the ballet Swan Lake contains peaceful strings and piano music, such as Dance of the Little Swans or No. 4 Pas de Trois. Lastly, Ludwig van Beethoven might be known for his more boisterous music, but he did compose some slower piano concertos as well. There's piano concertos No. 1, 2 and 3, or you could try his 6th symphony if you want a bit of a rush to get things going.

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IN CONVERSATION WITH BBC RADIO 2’S OJ BORG

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HOW TO GET INTO RADIO, MUSIC, AND MEDIA

"It's finding how you keep going and keep pushing and enduring when maybe not enough people are listening to you"

OJ Borg. Image Credit: BBC Radio 2

By Alice Pollard Editor-in-Chief

There is a certain nostalgia to listening to the radio. For many of us, childhood mornings were defined by the familiar voices of BBC Radio 2, forming the soundtrack of breakfast before school. Perhaps these memories have planted the seeds for our generation to dream of working alongside music, whether that’s radio presenting, music journalism, or something in between. OJ Borg has been presenting BBC Radio 2’s overnight show since 2018. From 12 pm to 3 am, his voice connects late-night workers and early risers across the UK. OJ kindly took the time to chat to Brig about how to start a career in radio, and why it is far from a forgotten medium. “You can play a record, and everyone listens to it at the same time,” OJ said, explaining his love for radio presenting. “It's the quickest, rawest form of broadcasting for me, because it's just you and it's a microphone and you're talking directly to a listener.” The world of music journalism and radio presenting can feel inaccessible to aspiring students, a distant dream of high-tech studios and high listener numbers.

However, the Radio 2 presenter provided us with an alternative outlook on the situation. “The one beautiful thing about radio is you can just go and do it. There are radio stations at every level nowadays,” OJ said. “In the olden days, you needed a broadcaster, you needed a studio, you needed all these things… which was impossible to do. But nowadays, the barrier to being a radio presenter, especially with podcasting, is so low. You could, by ordering a microphone off Amazon and setting up an account, be a radio presenter or a music journalist by the end of the day.” But the difficulty comes with building beyond that. As students, we may be happy with a microphone in the shed, but how do we progress into a professional career after graduation? OJ, pulling from his own university experiences, told us how the degree is not the be-all-and-end-all, saying: “university is a great thing, and everybody absolutely should go to it if they can make it work for themselves. But look for work in industry immediately… using your own time. This is what I did. “Go to the local papers, go to the local radio station, offer anybody

anywhere: “Can I come in? Can I sit in on it? Can I make a little bit of content for you? “It’s getting into the habit where, when you get an opportunity in music journalism, whether it's in front of a camera, behind a microphone, or writing something down, if somebody says, "Right, I need this, and I need it by this afternoon,” you've worked that muscle up inside of yourself that you can do it, and you're not worried about it.” The postgraduate world is a daunting prospect, especially those headed into the media industries. Horror stories of budget cuts and slashed staffing numbers circulate among us, so it is refreshing to hear OJ’s professional optimistic outlook on the situation. He said: “The positive side of the postgraduate music world is that you can do anything you want. “It’s a world in which you are creating video content at the same time as writing a piece that goes with it, and…hooking that into a podcast. And, the old gatekeepers don't exist anymore. The BBC is a brilliant, wonderful institution, which I hope continues for a billion years, but around the BBC, you've got so many ways that you

can create your own content and make your own thing: Podcasts and blogs, setting up YouTube channels… “In some ways, if you have the skills, the talents, and the drive… It's finding how you keep going and keep pushing and enduring when maybe not enough people are listening to you, or you don't get the starts that you want. So it is a scary world, but I believe it is there for the taking.” A scary world, indeed, but comforting to know that it still exists and the people in it are keen for us to get there one day. At the end of the day, OJ’s message was one of positivity, endurance, and the key: industry experience. “Just go and get as much industry experience as you can, wherever it is, however you do it,” OJ said. “Do blogs, podcasts, and just build up that portfolio of work around your course. Degrees are brilliant, and I recommend everyone getting to the highest level of education they can get to, but at the same time, industry experience is always going to be as important as possible.” OJ concluded: “It's all about inclusivity. It's about creating a world where people can join in.”

OJ’s Top Tips For Aspiring Music Journalists “Write for everyone rather than trying to impress other music journalists.” “Go to the local papers, go to the local radio station, offer anybody, anywhere, " Can I come in? Can I sit in on it? Can I make a little bit of content for you?” “Keep going and keep pushing and enduring” “Go and get as much industry experience as you can, wherever it is, however you do it. Do blogs, podcasts, just build up that portfolio of work around your course” “Make sure what you're writing represents you, as having a tone of voice in a world of AI becomes more important.” “Make your mistakes where no one's listening or reading or watching” “Don't try and be too cool!”

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FILM & TV

FIVE MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DATE NIGHTS By Isla Barker

From animation, to comedy, to adventure everyone's taste in films is different. So the recommendations in this list are either romantic, fun or light-hearted to match the mood of a date night. VPNs are recommended to bypass regional differences in streaming services, so you can access whatever you wish. Your Name (2016) Your Name tells the story of two teenagers, one in Tokyo and one in a rural village, they both swap bodies over three years and try to save a village from an incoming comet. The artstyle is stunning and the character development is memorable with the two leads growing closer and closer with time. And the themes of connection and trust match well with a romantic night in. You can watch Your Name on Disney+, or you could use a VPN to watch it on Netflix as it is not available on Netflix UK. The film also comes with an English dub. The Princess Bride (1987) A quirky and romantic fantasy film that has created timeless references is perfect for curling up on the sofa with a duvet and some popcorn. The Princess Bride takes a damsel-in-distress story and turns it into a daring tale with Monty

Python-esque comedy. The film is full of well-written fight scenes, witty dialogue and beautiful filming locations. All ideal for enjoying together with the occasional bursts of laughter. You can watch The Princess Bride on Prime Video or use a VPN to access Netflix via another country, as The Princess Bride is not available on Netflix UK. Hot Fuzz (2007) One of the members of the "Cornetto Trilogy" Simon Pegg and Nick Frost team up in a buddy cop comedy set in a remote village with some sinister secrets. It's a hilarious story with skillful film-making and unforgettable characters. Simon Pegg plays a hard-as-nails city cop, and Nick Frost plays a bumbling country constable. Their dynamic drives the plot forward as they learn from each other. Of course a cop film needs its action scenes, and Hot Fuzz pairs exciting action with its comedic style flawlessly. Hot Fuzz comes back on Netflix UK on and off, so using a VPN is a more reliable choice. The Mummy (1999) Set in Egypt in 1925, The Mummy brings a librarian and a treasure hunter together after they awaken

a powerful high priest from ancient Egypt. The plot features action with history, comedy and a bit of romance to make an entertaining date night film. It's also been dubbed every millennial's bisexual awakening with its leads Rachel Weisz and Brendan Fraser. The comedy isn't too invasive in the story and feels organic, even when its added to dramatic fight scenes. Although some of the CGI used is a little dated, the rest of the film's qualities make up for it. You can find The Mummy on PrimeVideo, but VPNs can also work for accessing it Disney+ for some Latin American countries and Canada. Lilo and Stitch (2002) Everyone loves a feel-good classic, and who could say no to a story about a family with a cute alien? If this is one of your first dates or you have been together for years, Lilo and Stitch's themes about belonging, friendship and family tug at your heartstrings every time. The film is not too heavy, even with some more emotional parts, so it makes for an easy watch. Even if you have watched Lilo and Stitch before, you can't go wrong with rewatching a familiar movie you enjoy. It's cute, emotional and

The Princess Bride. Image Credit: Twentieth Century Fox

has beautiful colours with a creative artstyle; it's memorable. Lilo and Stitch is available on Disney+ in almost all regions.

The Mummy. Image Credit: Universal Pictures

HOW RUSSELL T DAVIES HAS REGENERATED TV WRITING By Darcy Robson

Russell T Davies. Image Credit: Tony Hassall via Wikimedia Commons https://commons. wikimedia.org

Russell T Davies’ multi-decade TV writing career is acclaimed for its down-to-earth storytelling. His work has revolutionised queer representation on screen. In 1999, Channel 4 released the groundbreaking drama Queer as Folk. Featuring the lives of three gay men in Manchester, praise rained for its explicitly honest portrayal of gay life in the 1990s. Queer as Folk opened doors to further commissions for Davies’ writing including latest drama Tip Toe. Regenerating Doctor Who Davies pitched to reboot Doctor Who in 2003 modernising the show by taking inspiration from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Production moved to Cardiff and the series launched in 2005 with a 13 episode run featuring two-parters and overarching plots. Showrunning Doctor Who was a dream project for Davies whose earliest memories of TV were the classic series. His episodes were unique for domestic stories that were politically critical. Nine

episodes of the first run were earth-based and Billie Piper’s Rose was placed front-and-centre in the narratives. Davies’ customs would linger through his successors, Steven Moffat and Chris Chibnall, until his return in 2021. Davies launched multiple spinoffs including an adult-centred series, Torchwood, and, in a return to children’s TV, The Sarah Jane Adventures starring Elisabeth Sladen until her death in 2011. The Writer’s Tale memoir, documents the difficulties in showrunning and writing. The book is a truthful look at his challenges and an insightful look at his unorthodox working methods. Davies stepped away when the show went to tender earlier this year. He wrote 46 episodes in total. Regenerating Dramas Years and Years and It’s a Sin became some of Davies’ most celebrated works. The former looks at a dystopian future from the perspective of a family with themes

invoking human cost in societal collapse. It’s a Sin is another queer drama depicting an authentic view of the AIDS pandemic from the perspective of a few impacted characters. Critics and viewers celebrated the shows’ sympathetic characterisation that supported the sensitive narratives. Tip Toe, an inevitable successor to Davies’ work, illustrates a shameful look at the treatment of the LGBTQ+ community, this time in modern Britain, pulling no punches in challenging viewpoints. Davies’ autobiography Queerest of Folk releases this October with tales from his illustrious career. His success has come through uplifting the underrepresented and lambasting harmful ideologies that Davies denounces. Characterdriven narratives spotlighting harsh realities have regenerated the queer and political TV writing. A cause Russell T Davies has championed since Chucklevision.

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FILM & TV

MUST BE THE SEASON OF THE WITCH

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By Tess Bowen

Film and TV Editor As the night grows longer and the sun puts on its winter hat and gloves, the witches begin to appear. Once characterised by their pointy hats and large green noses, witches have now evolved into something so much more. Historically, labelling people as witches was a way of reinforcing patriarchal hegemony. Witches were persecuted for making pacts with the devil to gain supernatural abilities. They were blamed for illness, crop failures and other natural tragedies, such as death. Despite no evidence that those accused of witchcraft had any supernatural abilities, modern representations of witches often suggest that these abilities have cast them into the shadows, out of fear of persecution. Women were disproportionately accused of witchcraft, unjustly stereotyped as weak, making them vulnerable to the temptations of the devil. In modern media, the intelligent, outspoken, liberated woman, once burdened with the title of witch, is now a symbol of feminine empowerment. Naturally, autumn is the best time of year to get your pointed hats on and celebrate these modern witchy tales. Bewitched Released in the 60s, Bewitched is a TV show about a witch called Samantha who attempts to settle into the role of a suburban housewife, neglecting her abilities. Her magical family disapproves of her marriage to a mortal man and uses magic to interfere with their everyday life. Released during the second wave of feminism, Samantha’s powers are reflective of the social climate at the time of the release. As women were faced with restrictive gender roles and oppressive living conditions, Samantha’s character similarly must repress a key part of her identity to fit in with society. As society developed, its reflections in film and media also evolved. Fear Street Trilogy The Fear Street trilogy is unfortunately a recent discovery of mine. Over the course of three films, based on the novels by R. L. Stine, a

Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Image Credit: The Warner Bros Television Network

Hocus Pocus. Image Credit: Buena Vista Pictures

tale evolves of a witch called Sarah Fier, who put a curse on the town of Shadyside. Each set in a different era from the others, the trilogy offers three unique tales of friendship, love and, of course, fear. The Craft If you’re looking for more of a gothic turn, The Craft is your film. When Sarah, a young girl with supernatural abilities, moves to a new town and is recruited by a group of outcasts to complete their coven, and take revenge on those who have wronged them. As their powers intensify, so do the consequences of their magic, and events soon turn dark. Hocus Pocus Although the witches in Hocus Pocus are painted as the villains, it's hard to say you don't love them. Their quest to find children to eat is filled with humour and, of course, a very entertaining musical performance of 'I Put a Spell on you'. The witches do conform to TheWicked-Witch-of-the-West-esque depiction, with their funky haircuts and expresive makeup, save for Sarah Jessica Parker's character (also named Sarah) who does not bear the family resemblance. Nevertheless, it is a cult classic for a reason. These witches are iconic. They are fun and free and looking for a good time. Who can resist the charm of the Sanderson Sisters? Practical Magic One of my personal favourites, Practical Magic is a story of

sisterhood and love. Burdened with a family curse which condemns their loves to death, the Owens sisters rarely use their magic. When Gillian (Nicole Kidman) gets into trouble with a dangerous lover, she calls on her sister for help. The set design is particularly noteworthy in Practical Magic, as their large gothic house sits idly by the sea. This is further enriched by the whimsigothic costumes which can only be described as timeless. The film explores the legacy of the witch, and places the Owens family as outcast from the rest of society where they live. Ultimately, the women from their town band together and overcome the witch stigma to help exorcise Gillian, llearning the art of the craft in the process. The Love Witch Recognisable by its unique colour grading, The Love Witch is a story of a witch who uses her magic to make people fall in love with her. With an iconic 60s aesthetic, Elaine explores her sexuality using love potions and engages in rituals throughout the film. The Love Witch frames Elaine as a typical femme fatale and explores what this character archetype means from a feminist viewpoint. Elaine is depicted as an embodiement of men's fears and truly examines the role of female power through the lens of the witch.

Practical Magic. image Credit: Warner Bros Pictures

WHY GOOD SHOWS KEEP GETTING CANCELLED- YES I'M STILL MAD ABOUT THE BUFFY REBOOT By Emma Forbes Walker

There's no shortage of spooky cosy shows to watch at Autumn. Popular rewatches like Gilmore Girls, Charmed, The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars are all some of my favourites. But these shows all have one thing in common making them enjoyable for decades after their release. Long episodes and long series. Allowing for you to fully immerse yourself into their supernatural world or feel like a misunderstood teen in a small town or the big city. Most people grow up watching their comfort characters evolve over time creating a sense of nostalgia and emotional attachment. But modern TV shows lack continuity, colour and charm- you're not watching the same actors every day for years and growing up with them...and they also keep getting cancelled. Does the enjoyment of a show come from savouring it? From waiting ages for a new episode to be released weekly so you can debate who the Black Hood was after school with your friends (Riverdale was a fever dream show). Netflix series always get cancelled after six episodes. Not to mention that modern day scripts are dumbed down to cater to the simplified attention span of phone scrollers. Buffy The Vampire Slayer was one of the most popular and prominent TV series in the early 2000's. People still praise Sarah Michelle Gellar for the amount of energy and life she poured into Buffy Summers. She became a household name and will forever be associated with vampires that boosted her to fame. New merchandise for the franchise is still being designed and created. The Monster High Skull Collector Buffy and Angel dolls released this month are already listed on resellers sites for exorbitant amounts of over 100 pounds. Raising the question, if the hype and love for the characters and franchise is still here, why did the Buffy reboot get cancelled before

filming even began? Vampire rewatches in Autumn are still very high. In terms of monetary gain most cinemas are still paying homage to the Twilight franchise with re-releases of the saga throughout October. So if unironically terrible yet iconic vampires are still making money, why couldn't Spike bless our screens again? Why The Buffy Reboot Was Cancelled The Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale reboot was cancelled earlier this year due to a combination of reasons. The main reason shared by Sarah Michelle Gellar on social media was: “We had an executive on our show who was not only not a fan of the original, but was proud to constantly remind us that he had never seen the entirety of the series and how it wasn't for him.” So basically, a man at Hulu decided that if he didn't care about the show, nobody else would get the chance to enjoy it. Most fans are devasted at this final decision and hope that another streaming service may intervene (though things get complicated due to copy right). Other Autumnal Shows Dexter is about a blood splatter analysist who hunts down and murders other bad killers that manage to escape the law. Although its not a cosy or supernatural watch, its very entertaining and fast paced. There's the main series in the Dexter universe then the mini series Dexter: New Blood, the Dexter: Original Sin prequel and the current sequel Dexter: Resurrection. Pretty Little Liars also has special Halloween stand alone episodes in the series that only require 40 minutes of your time. (Episodes 13 of seasons 2, 3 and 4).

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BRIG 2026/27 EDITORIAL TEAM

Alice Pollard

Kerry Lloyd

Melissa Thomson

James McIntyre

Dylan Burt

Deaglán Murray

Tess Bown

SPORTS EDITOR

FILM & TV EDITOR

Emma Holmes

Adrian Martinez Aidoo

Erin Hamilton

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Kristina Wikensten NEWS EDITOR

Maddie Ward MUSIC EDITOR

POLITICS EDITOR & HEAD OF PODCASTING

Sarah De Beer BRAW EDITOR

DEPUTY EDITOR

SPORTS EDITOR

HEAD OF SOCIAL MEDIA

SECRETARY

HEAD OF BROADCASTING

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You Are Allowed To Change By Kristina Wikensten News Editor

Dear freshers, If there is anything I want you to know as you join that first-year friend group (and leave it), struggle with unnecessarily confusing assignments, and trek it home from Fubar at an ungodly hour, it is this: You are allowed to change and grow throughout these coming four years of your life. It would be unreasonable to assume that you won’t discover old and new parts of yourself in the social whirlpool that is university. As I sit in my second year, biggirl flat, packing up my life… yet again, I find an old perfume bottle. It is quite surreal: that whiff of the past that reminds you how much time has gone by and who you once were. The dainty red bottle holds the memories of this once silly little fresher. It is a distinct cherry fragrance that mixed everything I thought I knew about myself and everything I didn’t yet know. Once your first year is over, it may be easy to relax in the knowledge that you are older and wiser. You’ve survived your first year! But the truth is that this is only the beginning. Most of us are young, and

life is full of new people, relationships, mistakes and blessings. Many of these experiences are painful and involve other people's feelings. As much as we like to nod our heads and say, “people never change” when someone has hurt us, it can’t plausibly be true. The smarting reality is that one day they will change, but that is, by no means, within our control. People change people, but you can not choose how that happens for another person. You can barely choose it for yourself when university life demands you to immediately know yourself well enough to know ‘your people’. Already by the end of your first semester, many of you will be faced with a choice to make. The question often creeps up with an ominous wave of uncertainty: “Who will I live with going into second year?” As much as I hate to admit it, because I genuinely cherish the friendships that I’ve later grown apart from, this is where desperation often triumphs over discernment. Of course, this is also understandable when the time flies by amidst all the fun and coursework stress. So what is there left to do other than to simply let things happen? The answer is quite simply to do

exactly that, and to keep on doing it. That last part is crucial; let it happen. Let yourself grow, evolve and meet new people along the way. I hate to break it to you, but you are entirely responsible and free to change at any point in your life. Simply letting things happen to you sounds reckless, and the last thing I mean by it is to ignore your instincts and feelings. Quite the opposite: run towards what feels true and, most importantly, towards what facilitates your own growth. It may mean saying farewell to those you made those first-year memories with. But nothing, and no one, is more important than your right to change. And while some people can not face mourning the version of you that once was, let those who value your joy enter into the future with you. It is a beautiful thing to see your friend heal the hurt parts of themselves and become a happier person. But everyone will not be able to see it that way. And you know what? That is ok too. This is what I mean by simply letting things happen. For lack of a better metaphor, that skin will start to shed when you are ready. That is when you either let it fester for the sake of others, or you let it go. I am fully aware that this can be

daunting: to leave an environment, a group that felt safe when the uncertainty of first year loomed over your head. Yet in hindsight, I see now that losing myself was never worth my comfort. But more importantly, I have realised, as I have become more myself again, that it was never worth others' comfort either. It will never be your duty to stop evolving simply because someone can not mourn the loss of who you used to be. That has nothing to do with you anymore. In the same way, you may need to mourn your idea of who someone might one day become; they will have to accept that you are getting older, wiser, and hopefully also happier. I will say it again. People change people, but each individual’s change is not to be managed or determined by anyone other than themselves. As I take a second whiff of that bittersweet cherry-scented perfume, I smile. Some memories, lessons and all, sting more than others. But the growing pains were worth the person I am and continue to become. What ultimately assures me is that this scent is the reminder that, just like the fading quality of perfume, no version of myself will ever last forever.

How much control do we have over when we die? Image credit: Alice Pollard

WHAT IF I'M RUNNING OUT OF TIME? By Alice Pollard Editor-in-Chief

My shoelaces are too short for my boots. The shop had no label to tell me that some laces were different lengths from others, created for different shoes, styles, and people. No refunds, no exchanges. I spent my time figuring out how to weave the laces through each eye, clean and neat, overlapping each other in a complicated route unique to each boot. Twists and turns, aiming for the final goal of a lovely, tight bow. A job well done. Starting was the hardest part: A scent of the old me. Image credit: Kristina picking the direction and followWikensten ing it loyally, driving a car with no headlights to reach the next turn. Roads and routes became a hodgepodge of choices, decisions, destinations, each with unique prerequisites, and yet each leading to the same end goal of that big shiny bow. The bow of a soft, warm bed, a loving handhold. Surrounded by the dearest people, with a life of confidence and achievement completed. A neatly laced boot. My shoelaces are too short for my boots. What if I can’t tie that bow? What if my laces run out before I get there? What if I pick the wrong turn, crash the car, and it turns out that all along, my laces were just too short to reach the final destination? What if?

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YOUR GUIDE TO SEXUAL HEALTH IN STIRLING By Isla Barker

The Struggles of Being an Autistic Student By Sarah de Beer BRAW Editor When university stopped for the summer holidays, I got the great idea to do everything I never had the time to do while in university. I shouldn’t have been so shocked to have barely done any of the stuff I planned to do. I didn’t find a job – put zero effort into that endeavour really. I didn’t write a lot of Brig articles over the summer. And I absolutely didn’t get involved with the local newspaper in the new town my family moved to. It was as soon as I had no routine, no pressure like assignment deadlines to adhere to, and when I was far away from all my university friends that I completely “collapsed.” As someone with autism, this was something I feared would happen – another summer of wanting to do so many things and not getting

around to doing anything because I could barely leave my bed, and having no energy for day-to-day activities. Burnout is a pain to deal with and the shame that comes with is even worse. It is like I have a voice in my head shouting at me for being “lazy” the whole summer while I struggle to find the energy to do anything, leading to countless procrastinating: “I could do this tomorrow”, “There is still time to do this later”, and “Just one more day of resting” became common things I thought or said to myself while I spent another day in bed doing close to nothing. A part of myself can’t seem to shake the shame of this perceived laziness I give myself – despite the fact it is the summer holidays and relaxing is something I am allowed to do. It is not something unique to experience as someone with autism, especially someone that drags

themselves thin during university time and stacking my schedule so full that it shouldn’t be a shock that at the end of the semester I am drained to the point of burnout. This summer was spent convincing myself there was no shame in taking a time to pause, to breathe, and to take a step back from everything. Now that I have taken time to relax it would be easier to transition into the next university year, instead of going from one busy schedule to another busy schedule with no break. This is especially important to be well rested for the year I am going into – third year – since it is the year that marks start to count towards my degree (a scary concept to have to deal with). I hope that every other student that is coming back for another year is well rested and ready for another year – plus that first years are ready for the beginning of their university career!

Disclaimer: Contains mentions of senstive topics. Contraception You can get a hormonal and copper IUD at the Airthrey Park Medical Centre on campus. As well as implants and the pill. For the morning-after pill, you can get a prescription at Boots in the Thistles Shopping Centre. Free condoms can be found around Campus Central, especially around Welcome Week. Central Sexual Health can also provide condoms by post. The staff at APMC are majority female and offer full confidentiality, so you should be as comfortable as possible. For STDs and STIs, you can receive advice and a referral from the APMC, but the test itself would be done at an NHS sexual health clinic in the local area. Advice The Stirling Community Hospital offers a Sexual Health Clinic for advice and support for any sexual health queries. Your GP is also available for guidance on contraception, relationships and sex. Park Terrace and Bridge of Allan both have local GP surgeries. The Sexual Health Clinic also offers self-testing kits if you think you have contracted an STI. You can call the Sexual Health Clinic on 01324 673554 or access their website here for more information. The Student Services Hub on campus can direct you to university or local services and clinics, but does not directly offer advice. Abortion For an abortion, you will need to see the NHS Forth Valley Termination of Pregnancy Service. No referral is needed, and at-home

and in-hospital abortions are available. In Scotland, you can have an abortion up to the first 23 weeks and 6 days of pregnancy. However, abortions are not done if you are past 20 weeks along. If you are past that period, you can be directed to services in England. Costs would be covered for travel and accommodation. You can also call the service during the week for advice before an in-person appointment. The line is open from 9 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday. Sexual Assault If you have been sexually assaulted, you can go to the Forth Valley Rape Crisis Centre for confidential help. The staff can provide emotional support and information about the steps to take next. Such as, reporting to the police, but it is entirely your choice. The website also has information on misconceptions about sexual violence and recovering emotionally. The APMC also provides emergency contraception and some STD test, but only if booked in advance. The website also has a function to allow you to immediately leave the page and take you to a news website if you are in a complicated situation. HSTAR is a charity which helps female survivors recover from trauma with non-judgemental and comprehensive care. They offer one to one therapy, Advocacy Claims and more. Their office is at Viewfield Chambers on Viewfield Place, next to the Sheriff Court.

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What's On at Stirling Photography Festival?

An iconic photograph of Oasis taken in Paris in November 1995 is among the images from Jill Furmanovsky which will be exhibited at the Tolbooth during the 2026 Stirling Photography Festival. Image Credit: Jill Furmanovsky.

By Lucy Rossiter Stirling Photography Festival is bringing the work of two iconic photographers to Stirling with exhibitions and talks taking place across the city until the end of September. The festival will be headlined by Jill Furmanovsky, renowned music photographer responsible for many iconic portraits of rockstars across the decades, who recently photographed the Oasis 2025 reunion tour, and fashion photographer + filmmaker Fabrizio Gianni, who began his career as an assistant director on Sergio Leone’s 1966 classic The Good The Bad and The

Ugly, before shooting for various fashion magazines such as Vogue, Elle, and GQ. Furmanovsky’s exhibition Rebels and Renegades can be seen at the Tolbooth arts venue in Stirling city centre, until 27 September. Fabrizio’s exhibition Fab! A Life in Cinema and Fashion Photography runs until Wednesday September 30 at the Macrobert Arts Centre, on the University of Stirling campus. Development of the Festival Stirling photography Festival was founded by creative director Janie Meikle in 2018, with the aim of supporting local photographers, collaborating with new photographers, organising exhibitions and

talks, and partnering with a wide network of different venues across Scotland. The festival is entirely volunteer-run, supported by partnerships with venues like the Tolbooth and the Macrobert, and sponsorship from local business. Festivals have been running since 2022, each centred around a specific theme. The 2026 festival is centred around the theme of Journey. Aside from the two headliners, the festival encompasses a wide range of photographic genres and styles, ranging from documentary to portraiture. The festival will feature an exhibition celebrating the 45th anniversary of Strathcarron hospice, the Royal Photographic Society’s

documentary photography awards, a new multi-art project, combining poetry and photography in a ‘poetry path’ around Airthrey Loch, and many more. The lineup of free events and exhibitions will run through August to September, and details and tickets can be found on the festival website. Rebels and Renegades If you are interested in attending an exhibition, I would absolutely recommend Rebels and Renegades. I previously saw some of Furmanovsky’s work in Glasgow, displayed alongside another music photographer, Shelia Rock. I was more familiar with Furmanovsky’s shoots that capture the punk music scene of the 70s, but her exhibition

in the Tolbooth displays a wide range of her work, from live concert photography of the 70s, to her studio-based 80's portraiture. Furmanovsky captures all elements of music photography, from backstage dressing room candids of Joy Division, The Clash onstage, mid performance, and striking colour portraits of 80s icons Siouxsie Sioux and Boy George. The exhibition also features collage-posters of different material from Furmanovsky's archive, which give an impression of not just the individual musicians she was photographing, but the wider scene she was interacting with and documenting.

the point you no longer enjoy what you’re reading. At what point does reading become more about how much you have read instead of how much you enjoyed reading those books? Does the reading goal you set yourself at the start of the year truly matter? Reading apps such as Goodreads or Fable allow people to pick a number of books they want to have read within the year. Often, they tell you whether you’re on track or not.

This can sometimes make it feel like you’re “failing” at reading if you’re behind on your desired goal. Which is ridiculous because how can you fail at something that is meant to be an enjoyable and fun hobby? Reading should be fun for people. However, due to it’s increasing popularity, especially on social media platforms, such as TikTok's BookTok community, this has created an environment where people feel ashamed to have read

less books than the person on their screen. Everyone has different lives and different priorities throughout the day. The majority of people will have responsibilities and cannot afford to be sitting down reading a book for hours on end. Therefore, reading goals are tailored to each person as only they know how much time they actually have on their hands. Read as much or as little as you

want, when you want. Stop letting other people’s achievements belittle your own. Reading goals can be a fun idea to track your achievements throughout the year but they aren’t the be all and end all. You haven’t failed at reading because you read one book less this month compared to last. Reading is supposed to be a hobby, don’t let reading goals consume you.

READING GOALS DON'T MATTER By Brooke Duffy

The dreaded question: “How many books have you read this year?” evokes fear in many book lovers. Suddenly you feel the need to spout out some impressive number to avoid feeling embarrassed if they have read more than you. Chances are they feel the exact same way. So, you both feel the pressure to read as many books as you can, to

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WHAT’S THE OBSESSION WITH ICE HOCKEY ROMANCE?

By Kerry Lloyd Deputy Editor

If you've walked into any bookshop at all in the past year, you might have noticed a rise in a certain genre being displayed. The genre that likes to put cartoon-ish art of the two most generic characters you’ve ever seen on the cover, a background of an ice rink framing them. Hockey romances have swept the market this year, but what exactly is it about them that draws readers in? Icebreaker Due to BookTok and Bookstagram (online communities for readers to share their bookish passions) the hockey/figure skating romance IceBreaker blew up in 2023. Hannah Grace’s romcom drew a lot of controversy, critiques about ‘empty characters’ and ‘explicit smut’ both intriguing and repulsing readers. It is in no way the first hockey romance to have been written, but it made waves in a way that others had yet to achieve. Whether you liked the book or not, it paved a way for a specific market that was very quickly filled. Heated Rivalry Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you have probably heard of Heated Rivalry,

The curiosity got the better of me. Image Credit:Kerry Lloyd

a gay romance between two rival hockey stars. First published in 2019 by Rachel Reid, this book blew up as a result of Crave’s onscreen adaption that was released in the UK in January of this year. Paired with the Winter Olympics in February, the whole world was suddenly locked in on ice hockey. It was the perfect timing for the

series to blow up, as the entire world had access to watching real hockey for two weeks. The market expanded. According to Publishers Weekly, 206,000 copies of the Game Changers series, of which Heated Rivalry is from, were sold after the show first premiered in Canada. A second season of the show has been greenlit, and

the world went crazy for hockey romances. Off Campus Amazon Prime Video released Off Campus in May 2026, a romance between, you guessed it, a college hockey player and a musician who decide to fake-date. The show is based on Elle Kennedy’s book series Off Campus, written

between 2015 and 2021. According to Forbes, the show reached 36 million viewers worldwide, one of the biggest original series’ that Amazon has ever produced. The people love fictional hockey players and the statistics are there to prove it. With each adaptation that is made, the snowball just keeps on growing. Professional Hockey The professional hockey leagues would be stupid not to capitalise off of this surge in interest. NHL team the Nashville Predators hosted a Hockey Romance Night in March 2026 which featured authors and game tickets. The event pulled in around 600 attendees. The surge in hockey romances are lucrative for authors, booksellers, and professional teams, there is no doubt about that. However, the appeal of these books is the fictional men in them. I unfortunately fell for the propaganda and matched with a hockey player on Hinge many months ago. The conversation was drier than the Sahara desert and the fact that he played was the most interesting thing about him. These men are not like these protagonists at all. Save yourself, ladies. Indulge in the hockey romances, they are tailored to your wants, but do not mistake the characters for what a real hockey player is like.

International Crime Writing Festival Returns to Stirling All You Need to Know By Anne-Louise Fortune Bloody Scotland, Scotland’s International Crime Writing Festival, returns to Stirling city centre from Friday, September 18 to Sunday, September 20. The event is a must for all fans of crime novels, with a wide-range of sub-genres covered across the event’s packed schedule. There are two main types of event. One is a panel format, where authors who have written books with a thematic similarity are interviewed by a panel host. As an example, on the afternoon of Friday, September 18, Dangers on a Train unites three authors who have written books set on trains. Second is the ‘conversation’ event. These events attract some very big name authors, and this year’s top draws include: ITV political editor Robert Peston; TV producer turned

host turned writer Richard Osman; TV and radio personality Jeremy Vine, and; comedian and actor Ardal O’Hanlon. There’s also a wide-range of other events. These include an interactive murder mystery experience event, and a talk on how to clean a crime scene, both taking place on Friday, September 18. On Saturday, September 19 there’s a screening of classic film The Maltese Falcon and the fun quiz event Eight Out Of Ten Crime Writers Do Countdown. Sunday, September 20 sees the return of the ‘Pitch Perfect’ event, where budding authors introduce their finalised, but not yet published, crime novels to a panel of industry experts, who provide feedback. A lot of people who have gone on to secure publishing deals have appeared in this event, which is free to attend. One for any future crime writers. Events take place in venues across

the city centre. The central hub for the festival is The Golden Lion Hotel, where many of the panel events take place. New for this year is the ‘Made in Stirling’ venue, located on King Street, slightly uphill of The Golden Lion. The majority of the ‘big name’ conversation type events happen in the Albert Halls. Students are eligible to buy tickets at the concessionary price, as are the over 60s, under 16s and unemployed people. The full programme, together with links to buy tickets, and details of possible further discounts, can be found online on the Bloody Scotland website: bloodyscotland. com.

Image Credit:BloodyScotland.com

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SCOTLAND’S INDIE GAME COMMUNITY IS THRIVING

ByAli Rees

GAMING

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SCOTTISH GAMING THIS SEPTEMBER?

Meet Scotland's Indie Game community. Image credits: Team Junkfish (Left), Kyle Banks( right)

With the whole gaming world a-quiver with anticipation for Grand Theft Auto 6, Brig decided to look behind the giants to Scotland’s thriving and diverse indie video game scene. Scotland has long been a hub for video games, and its indie scene has been growing rapidly, with Glasgow Indie Games Fest 2026 receiving double the number of visitors as the 2025 event. “I've made some great friends through the Scottish games industry,” said Kyle Banks, developer of award-nominated Farewell North. “Everyone is quite keen to support one another, particularly in the indie space, and there are a number of events throughout the year that celebrate and shine a light on the incredible work done by the Scottish games community.” Farewell North is a game deeply rooted in Scotland, centring around a woman’s return to the Highlands with her mum’s sheepdog. “My wife and I moved to Scotland in December 2019. We had all these ambitions to travel and explore our new country, but that all had to be put on hold [due to COVID], so Farewell North really grew out of this desire to explore the country, only it ended up being through research for the game until we could travel physically again. From there, Farewell North really grew into a love letter to Scotland, with a full Scottish voice cast and everyone on the team rallying around a shared love of this country.” “There is a strong feeling of camaraderie in Scottish developers,” said Ellie Gibb, marketing manager for Team Junkfish. “Folks love to meet up and chat, especially at global events like Gamescom and Develop as it’s like bumping into someone from home! There is usually always a Scottish Game Dev meet-up.” Team Junkfish is a medium-sized indie studio started by a group of passionate university friends over ten years ago. They have several horror and strategy games under

their belt and are known in the indie games world for putting employees first, with a drive to make the games industry healthier. “Events like Glasgow Indie Games Fest are a lot of fun and a great help in getting the word out there, says Banks. “There are also a couple of Steam events focused on Scottish games which, again, are just a huge help in getting the word out there and shedding some light on the awesome indie scene here in Scotland. “We also have the SGDA events like Games Talks Live which are more industry focused, but still just a great opportunity to meet some fellow Scottish indies, make some friends and who knows, potentially work together down the line. “From the dev side, I just appreciate the effort that goes into running these events; I can only imagine the effort involved.” When talk turned to the troubles faced by the wider games industry, both Banks and Gibb were pragmatic but not pessimistic. “The industry is certainly at a difficult point in time, although the layoffs have slowed down, that doesn’t negate the broken trust that we’ve seen damage the lives of real people,” said Gibb. “We had that big boom with the pandemic, lots of new hires, more money spent, and now we're reaping the aftermath of it. Making video games comes at a cost, and unfortunately, it seems many companies have decided that shedding the cost of their human workers - whether that is replacing them with gen. AI or simply making roles redundant and passing the burden of workload onto the remaining employees - thankfully, Team Junkfish has managed to avoid redundancies entirely.” Banks agreed. “It's a challenging time to be making games for several reasons, and sadly I don't expect any of it is going to get any easier in the near future. There's more competition than ever for grants, publishers, players,

marketing features, you name it.” Banks was keen to highlight the positives too, such as Steam’s algorithms allowing indie devs to occupy space alongside AAA games. “[Steam] is shedding light on quality games with non-existent marketing budgets and allowing them to reach a near-infinite audience.” “There is also some good news out there; for instance, the UK Games Fund just announced a month ago that the largest number of indie studios ever would receive £100,000 in funding to produce their prototypes in their latest round. The competition is really high, but there are also opportunities, so it's just a matter of trying to find and make the most of them.” For any students keen to explore a future in game development, there were some words of wisdom offered. Gibb said her top tip would be “Not to get discouraged! It’s a common scenario where passion starts a project, but reality can dim the vision. Game dev can be hard work, but it’s absolutely worth it in the long run to see your vision come to life and be enjoyed by players. Also be sure to check in with your audience regularly! They’re the people playing the game after all, and will give you a good idea if you’re heading in the right direction; it’s just about knowing the difference between feedback and opinion!” Banks said, “I actually make YouTube videos trying to show the reality of being an indie developer. It's definitely an amazing job, but it is a job, and like any other, some days are less fun, some tasks that can be pretty draining. Still, I wouldn't trade it for anything.” Both Kyle Banks and Team Junkfish are working on their next games. Wilderdark, set for release on November 3rd, plays into Team Junkfish’s horror pedigree, whereas Banks’ next game, DONUT PANIC, “couldn’t be more different” from his last game.

Video Game Company Logo Image Credit:Scottish Games Network

By Dylan Burt Sport Editor When people think about Scotland and video games, Grand Theft Auto would be what comes to mind. But behind Rockstar North is an increasingly broad games industry stretching from Dundee to Edinburgh, Glasgow, and much further afield. The Scottish Games Industry directory currently lists 124 studios and organisations working across the country, alongside more than 500 games. It includes everything from major developers to tiny independent studios and solo developers. Dundee remains one of the country’s biggest gaming centres. Studios based in the city include 4J Studios, best known for bringing Minecraft to consoles, as well as Outplay Entertainment, Team Junkfish, Denki and Hyper Luminal Games. Edinburgh has its own collection of developers, including Rockstar North, Build A Rocket Boy, Climax Studios and a growing number of smaller independent teams. And it is not just traditional game development. Scotland’s games ecosystem includes companies working in areas such as artificial intelligence, animation, sound, virtual reality and other technology used by the industry. There is also a steady stream of new games coming out of Scottish studios. This year alone has seen releases

including Take That Hill from Fortrose-based HexWar, MASUKU from Dundee’s Lowtek Games and Tension Head from Glasgow’s Mono Division. Meanwhile, upcoming releases include Sniper Dan from Dundee’s Denki and Silent Hill: Townfall, being developed by Glasgow-based Screen Burn. For students interested in gaming, that means the industry is not necessarily something that requires moving to London or leaving Scotland. The Scottish Games Industry directory also lists 20 educational institutions connected to the sector, highlighting the link between universities, colleges and the games industry. That connection is becoming increasingly important as Scotland looks to expand its position in the industry. The Scottish Games Network has been pushing for greater recognition and support for games development, with its recent national action plan arguing for stronger links between education, government and the games sector. For Stirling students, the Scottish games scene is therefore closer than it might initially appear. Whether your interest is programming, design, writing, animation, audio or simply playing games, there is a sizeable industry developing within Scotland. You do not have to look across the Atlantic to find the next big gaming story. Some of it could be happening just down the road.

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LEVELLING UP YOUR STUDIES: PURSUING GAMES DEVELOPMENT IN SCOTLAND By Molly Sheilds Scotland has an ever-growing computer games development industry. With a variety of different pathways that students can take to pursue a career in an industry that generations before may not have had access to. There are six different universities in Scotland that offer games development courses. Abertay is the leading university in Scotland for games development with its strong connections to games development companies within Dundee. Pathways into studying games development Many High Schools in Scotland offer a National Progression Award in games development offering an early start for students. There are also college courses for games development, helping students develop their skills further.

Brig spoke to Ewan, a first year Abertay Student who went to college for games development after high school. Ewan commented, "I think college made the transition a bit easier as the application [for university and college] was quite similar." Brig spoke to James, a second year Abertay student, about his experience studying computer games applications development. James told Brig: "games have impacted how I view the world and myself. I want to make others feel as if their life has been changed due to something I've created." After his degree, James shared that he would love to go into games development full time or go into teaching. Regarding the support for games development within the university, James told Brig: "The lecturers I have personally interacted with are helpful, kind,

and they genuinely want you to succeed." Brig asked James if he felt as if work experience opportunities were accessible to students throughout their course. "Yes without a doubt. Abertay offers many pathways to get into the industry with competitions, internship training, as well as offering various other tools to help people actually get those positions within the industry." Brig interviewed Dr Hailey Austin, a lecturer in the department of games and arts at Abertay, for her insight into the industry. When asked about the benefits of studying games development in Scotland, Hailey told Brig: "Abertay University in Dundee was the first university in Europe to offer a degree in computer game development. Because of the proximity to the

Timex factory that was creating the ZX Spectrum computer, engineered by women, and the university providing training, Dundee became the silicone valley of game development with over 60 games companies in the relatively small city. Scotland is a key region in the history of UK games development and games like Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto have had a huge global impact as well." Brig asked Hailey if there is room for improvement to be made for young people studying games development in Scotland. Hailey told Brig: "I think what most students studying game development in Scotland want is a job. Unfortunately, in the current climate, we are unable to guarantee games jobs for every student. Instead, I believe there should be a focus on upskilling game developers into becoming business minded

and giving them the skills to create their own opportunities and games businesses. The writing skills and knowledge to apply for their own funding, and the support to publish their creative work. If there aren't entry-level jobs available, many people are able to make their own successful games businesses and apply for seed funding, government funding and/ or charity funding to get their projects off the ground." Navigating job markets after university can be worrisome for any student but that does not mean it is game over. Just like in video games, you can always restart the level and find a different pathway to achieve your goal and proceed to the next level.

SCOTTISH GAMING INDUSTRY IS BIGGER THAN YOU THINK

Screenshot of lighthouse and ocean Image Credit: Inkle

developers. Dundee remains one of the country’s biggest gaming centres. Studios based in the city includes 4J Studios, best known for bringing Minecraft to consoles, as well as Outplay Entertainment, Team Junkfish, Denki and Hyper Luminal Games. Edinburgh has its own collection of developers, including Rockstar North, Build A Rocket Boy, Climax Studios and a growing number of smaller independent teams. And it is not just traditional game development. Scotland’s games ecosystem includes companies working in areas such as

artificial intelligence, animation, sound, virtual reality and other technology used by the industry. There is also a steady stream of new games coming out of Scottish studios. This year alone has seen releases including Take That Hill from Fortrose-based HexWar, MASUKU from Dundee’s Lowtek Games and Tension Head from Glasgow’s Mono Division. Meanwhile, upcoming releases include Sniper Dan from Dundee’s Denki and Silent Hill: Townfall, being developed by Glasgow-based Screen Burn. For students interested in

gaming, that means the industry is not necessarily something that requires moving to London or leaving Scotland. The Scottish Games Industry directory also lists 20 educational institutions connected to the sector, highlighting the link between universities, colleges and the games industry. That connection is becoming increasingly important as Scotland looks to expand its position in the industry. The Scottish Games Network has been pushing for greater recognition and support for games development, with its recent national

action plan arguing for stronger links between education, government and the games sector. For Stirling students, the Scottish games scene is therefore closer than it might initially appear. Whether your interest is programming, design, writing, animation, audio or simply playing games, there is a sizeable industry developing within Scotland. You do not have to look across the Atlantic to find the next big gaming story, it is happening nearby.

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LIFESTYLE

A SEMESTER IN FRANCE

By Frank Baker I spent last semester in France as part of my degree in Journalism and French and, for better or for worse, what I experienced there felt more like the university my parents talk of than my two and a half years at Stirling. I was at the Université Catholique de l’Ouest in Angers, not far from Nantes, in the west of the country. I stayed in university-managed accommodation in the cheapest and most basic option. For 270 euros (approx. 230 pounds), I got a very small but sufficient room with a desk and a portaloo-sized ensuite. On each floor were 30 of these rooms, along with two kitchens.

An iconic French landmark that I need not name, although it is not near Angers, and for that I apologise. Image Credit: Alice Pollard/background removed via Canva

These kitchens were very basic and only had two hobs and a microwave each, meaning that often I would have to wait a while for one to become available. International students would attempt complex meals, but the French students stuck to microwave dishes, omelettes, and pasta. France is of course known for its culinary pride, but most students must wait until they return home to their parents at the weekend for a boeuf bourgignon if they don’t fancy the microwaved version. After a while, I, too, stuck to microwave meals, and they were

generally reasonably priced, if on the small side. The other university had a canteen with generous portions available for 3 euros. This was a great way to avoid having to make lunch and was also open in the evening for dinner. Because many French students go home for the weekend, I didn’t find that people knew each other nearly as well as they did in my first year on campus at Stirling. This meant that most of my friends were exchange students, to whom I spoke a mixture of French and English. I have heard a lot said about the supposed unfriendliness of the French. It is true that they are unlikely to initiate conversation, but this is out of timidity rather than rudeness. In fact, when I struck up conversation with classmates, that shyness would quickly fizzle away and they would usually demonstrate a genuine interest in me. Once you break the initial barriers down, they are very talkative and conversation is loud and bouncy. You often wouldn’t be able to hear yourself think, walking into a lecture theatre. Attendance was compulsory for all students. My weekly international relations lecture contained more than a hundred of us. I found I admired the ability of my lecturers to present with scarcely any notes. Every Monday I had an 8 am class on the history of journalism and my lecturer would walk in with his café allongée while giving us a

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recap on the previous week’s content, before delivering that week’s lesson with barely a pause. Lectures would often be three hours long with a half-hour break in the middle, and my wrist would be aching considerably by the end of them. The relationship with the lecturer is more distant in France, even in seminars, but I think the increased contact hours made up for that. 25-hours is a normal amount, although I had fewer of them as an exchange student. Seminars operated as they do in Stirling. For a couple of classes, we did group presentations. Speaking in French for five minutes about the chances of liberalism enduring was tough but I found it a great way to make friends while testing my knowledge and improving my confidence. I wish that we did more of them at Stirling. The other form of assessment I experienced was a three-hour written exam. For one class, that entailed responding to the question: “is the state still the most important player in international relations?” in as much detail as possible, without notes and handwritten. Compared to an essay, I appreciated how much this style of assessment demanded my memory. It reminded me of A levels and I think it is a shame that it is used less and

less at university level. I recognise the benefits of completing the extended reading that a 2000-word essay demands, but nothing beats a written knowledge check. I found the delivery of content to be more tense and demanding than in Stirling, even if the more contact hours meant that less self-driven work was required. In other ways, it wasn’t better or worse: only different. There weren’t sports clubs like there are in Stirling, but there was a competition between the optional societies for each subject, which involved me dressing up as a sailor and falling off a spinning blow-up cow, and sumo wrestling (which I wasn't much better at). I’d like to close on that: it’s the differences which made the exchange interesting, and I am glad that the university experience is not the same everywhere, for then the world would be a very boring place. Although I do think that Stirling should give more respect to the art of handwriting. A cheaper canteen would be excellent, too.

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LIFESTYLE

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Cosy Corner: Why You Should Camp In Autumn By Isla Barker Welcome back to Cosy Corner! When you think of camping, you might imagine sunny spots to pitch your tent or spring morning dew on the grass. But autumn has its own charms for camping, and it can be cheaper too. Why camp in autumn? Campsites will be quieter as the seasons change, and if there's an entry fee, it could be reduced during off-peak times. Autumn also means fewer midges (but still bring a repellent of some kind just in case). If you plan to hike during your trip, the cooler weather can make your outing more comfortable, and there's nothing better than a hot chocolate to warm up with afterwards. Wild camping can also be quieter in the autumn, and the changing weather creates a relaxing, spooky vibe. Nothing unpleasant, just the right amount of Halloween spirit, if that's what you're looking for.

We love autumn for its crisp air, mist and colourful leaves, and these landscapes make the perfect setting for a home away from home. Things to keep in mind Because of autumn's longer nights and shorter days, you should arrive at the campsite in plenty of time so you're all set up by nightfall. Also remember to wear layers and check the weather to ensure you are prepared. If wild camping, make sure you have the right to camp there, and you tell people where you will be. Scotland's Right to Responsible Access restricts camping on farmland and gardens, so if in doubt, check the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. No matter where you end up, ensure you leave no trace and respect the land. Lastly, do not use disposable barbecues. Even though autumn is outside Scotland's wildfire season, they remain dangerous and harmful for the environment. Whether

you're using a gas stove or a traditional fire, make sure everything is disposed of properly, and again, leave no trace. How to save money Ignore the influencers! You don't need a state-of-the-art tent and expensive specialist equipment for a brief getaway. There's nothing wrong with comfort, even in nature, but stop and think about what you will actually use. Outdoor shops like Mountain Warehouse run seasonal sales, so take advantage of those when you can. Borrowing or sharing equipment is not only more sustainable, but affordable too. Plus, you can keep your cupboards free of clutter. Bringing bedding and cooking equipment from home is as practical as it is economical. So, layer up and cosy up under the orange leaves!

Camping Under a Full Moon. mage Credit: Alice Pollard

Lonely Planet's Tools For Inspired Travel

Travel Tarot. mage Credit: Alice Pollard

By Alice Pollard

Editor-in-Chief

Lonely Planet are well regarded for releasing reliable travel guides, but what about something a little more…mystical? That’s where Travel Tarot comes in handy - or does it? Lonely Planet’s recent release of Travel Tarot certainly combines an element of missing mystique to the art of travel. Graced with undoubtedly beautiful artwork, the set, authored by Jeff Hinshaw, aims to provide the traveller with inspiration and enlightenment. The cards operate as your classic tarot deck, and come with a handy guide to help the traveller connect with the cars and the meanings behind them. However, don’t be fooled by the name - Travel Tarot does not equate to travel-sized tarot. Packing these in your bag would be equivalent to packing approximately four pairs of pants, a valuable emergency amount in my opinion. Although certainly a fantastic talking point on the train, or ideal for making fun travel chat with the strangers in your hostel dorm, putting these in your rucksack is certainly a commitment. Yet the beauty of the cards is most certainly striking, and they make a wonderful, rich addition to any traveller’s home collection, encouraging trips to some forgotten corners of the world. Inspirational, that’s for sure. Following this train of thought, Lonely Planet have also released

Don’t Hike Naked in Switzerland by Patrick Kinsella. Now, here’s a fun and useful gift for the regular traveller. This little book avoids the gimmicky listicle approach taken by some travel-esc publications, and instead provides an in-depth, well researched etiquette guide for the anxious traveller. The format is accessible and

Don't Hike Naked in Switzerland. mage Credit: Alice Pollard

appealing, the information genuinely insightful, and the writing rich with imagery. The size is probably equivalent to two pairs of emergency underwear, which I would be willing to sacrifice to take this little pocket of factoid goodies along with me. If I’ve gained anything from this reviewing experience, I truly value the insight into where I can and really can’t take off my clothes. Phew!

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FEATURES

Rendezvous: Stirling's Underground Nightlife Scene There's a party happening everywhere if you only look close enough. Image Credit: @wylie.kyoti

By Munenyasha Sigauke On Viewfield Place, just off the bustle of the city centre, Mediterranéa looks like any other long-standing Stirling restaurant by day. By night, a few times each semester, it quietly transforms. Tables are cleared, equipment is rolled in, and by the time the doors open, the downstairs space has become something else entirely: an underground house music scene known as Rendezvous. Founded in 2022 by DJ and promoter Brody, Rendezvous began as a student-led response to a lack of alternative club nights in Stirling. “Myself and my good friend Dylan Brown had been at university and had played together,” he says. “We wanted to start running our own nights to provide a platform for DJs like ourselves.” At the time, Stirling had only one or two other student promotions running regularly. Rendezvous was created to fill that gap whilst offering something different. From the beginning, the focus was not just partying. “We aim to provide a platform for both local DJs and DJs from around Scotland,” Brody explains. “We also put a big emphasis on including art and culture within our nights by merging the worlds of art, fashion and music.” It is this blend that slowly built Rendezvous into more than just another student night. Mediterranéa became the

natural home for the project. Brody had first played there during earlier underground nights before Rendezvous even existed. “As soon as we played there, we knew it was a unique venue,” he says. “Everyone just seemed to let loose in that space.” Even after moving to Glasgow, he continues to return to Stirling for the Med nights. “It has not lost any of its spark.” For the owners of Mediterranéa, opening their venue to events like Rendezvous has been part of their wider journey. The family-run restaurant opened in 2005 and began hosting events downstairs in 2012. “Every four years there’s a new group doing them,” owner John Nicoletis explains.

erate it.” Over more than a decade, he estimates there have only been two noise complaints and fewer than five people removed from events. The nights themselves are built around house music but not confined to one sound. “It’s very broad,” Brody says. “From house and techno to trance, hard groove, garage and bass.” Previous guests have included Celeste, SMIFF and Carmen Baia, alongside residents like Brody, Dylan, Tosher and Ryan Brannen, and Jay Gillespie. Sets are meticulously designed around the flow of the night. “We pick DJs based on who’s headlining and what they’ll play for peak time.” The crowd has changed over time. “At first, we mainly got people who wouldn’t usually

Rendezvous at Old Town Jail. Image Credit: @fivefivefiveoffcame

“Rendezvous is the latest.” John is selective about who he works with. “We say no to a lot of people,” he says. “It’s a residential area now, so we keep numbers under 100. As long as people behave, we tol-

go to Fubar, those already into electronic music,” Brody says. “But now we get a proper mix. Sports teams, societies, and non-students too. The aim is for everyone to come down, enjoy the music, and maybe

discover something new.” Behind the scenes, running the night is demanding. Brody describes the hardest part as the pressure of ticket sales. “The break-even point is so tight now, and advance ticket sales are declining. Even when we usually sell out, there’s still stress.” Promotion begins months in advance. Artwork, DJ bookings, transport of equipment from Glasgow, and coordination with collaborators all must fall into place. One of those collaborators is Stirling Snowsports, who support Rendezvous through promotion rather than organisation. For joint events, they agree on a date, book local venues, and help with reposting, flyering and sharing discount links. Equipment and line-ups remain Brody’s responsibility. It is a quiet but important part of how the night spreads through student networks. Rendezvous has now expanded beyond Stirling to run Saturday nights at Hillhead Bookclub in Glasgow. “Those nights are less demanding,” Brody admits. “There’s no ticket-selling pressure. But club nights like Med, La Cheetah and Buff Club need much more planning and promotion.” Despite that growth, the Stirling nights remain special. “We’ve built a really good relationship with John at Med,” Brody says. “It’s always nice to come back to where we started and play the music we love

while introducing new sounds to people.” Mediterranéa’s owners see the value too. The events bring in new customers who often return later for meals, sometimes years later for graduation dinners. “Some people do not even realise there’s a restaurant upstairs at first,” John laughs. The venue has also hosted live bands from across the UK and abroad, weddings, political dinners, comedy shows and society events. Rendezvous now sits within that wider cultural mix. In recent years, the UK’s club scene has struggled with rising costs, falling attendance and the loss of independent venues. For Brody, that has made the purpose of Rendezvous even clearer. “We do this because we love introducing people to new music, art and culture. Our nights are about having fun, and listening to good music.” Brody hints at larger Stirling events, new venues and even art installations. “We would love to bring bigger names to Stirling while still keeping the heart of what we do.” In May this year, Rendezvous hosted its first festival, ‘The Yard’ alongside GAFF Media, in Stirling’s Old Town Jail, bringing names like Hayley Zalassi and Illyus Barrientos to Stirling. In a city where nightlife often follows the same patterns, Rendezvous has created something unique and more personal. A scene built on sound, collaboration and consistency.

FEATURES

Would You Live Next To A Data Centre? By James McIntryre Politics Editor Scots are well-known as a welcoming people, but the potential arrival of roughly twenty-two data centres coming to Scotland has not gone down well. For those who live in Glasgow, Hamilton, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Larbert and many more areas, they may find a new and incredibly inconsiderate neighbour that will affect their daily lives in a myriad of ways. The data centre is often hailed as the next stage of economic progress and essential to the future of our country, yet very little attention is being paid to what it would actually be like to live with them. So, let’s imagine what could soon be the reality for many Scots: What would it be like to live next to a data centre? Little thought has been put into this by either the Scottish or British governments. They’re both eager to develop a domestic AI industry and have heavily encouraged data centre development. It is only really thanks to the work of the Action for the Protection of Rural Scotland (APRS) and local campaigners that we have a picture of what otherwise would have been quietly built under our noses. When a data centre is moving in down the street, you will know because they are

infrastructure projects being built on a scale never before seen in Scotland. The average size is around sixty acres, the same area as the SSE Hydro. However, projects in Drumshangie and Coldstream will be 370 acres, more than the entire area of Pollock County park. Construction will take around two years and would be very disruptive because of the sheer number of workers and resources required. Their cost will be in the billions, but the vast majority of that will come from buying expensive computing hardware from America and little of that investment will actually benefit the community or Scotland. Because of how big they are, no matter where they’re built, they’ll make a major impact on the local area. Those constructed in urban areas are taking up land originally intended for housing and will severely pollute those living nearby. Those constructed in the countryside will impact biodiversity and the natural landscape. Regardless of where they’re proposed, there just isn’t space for them. From the outside, it would simply look like a massive warehouse. Unlike most warehouses, however, it emits a 24/7 constant low hum because of the massive cooling system inside. The data centre will also require a massive amount of new energy infra-

structure to be built to power the thing. A singular data centre, on average, consumes 300 megawatts of electricity, more than the entire city of Glasgow. To get that much power to a singular location requires huge investment from our grid before the thing can even be turned on. Alternatively, as many data centres have been doing in Ireland, they’ll just use their own power instead of waiting for a grid connection. That power will come from hundreds of diesel generators, such as in Larbert, where its 200 ‘backup’ diesel generators will produce as much emissions as 100,000 diesel cars. Additionally, according to the APRS, that site alone will become one of the biggest producers of Nitrous Dioxide in the entire country and, if all generators were used at once, “The pollution would be visible as a reddish haze and could irritate or injure airways”. This will massively decrease air quality in areas close to data centres and set Scotland back years in its climate targets. It’s beyond shocking then that many of these data centres have been marketed as ‘Green’ even knowing this fact. The environmental impact of data centres is huge, not just because of their potential burning of diesel. Most of the data centre projects in Scotland are being built in the countryside where they risk

harming local wildlife and many have managed to skip environmental impact assessments during their planning permission, so we truly don’t know how much these projects could affect local wildlife. Even for those that are being made to do assessments, the task is being left to local councils to go up against these megaprojects on their own and there’s been little consideration of national environmental impact. If all data centres projects go ahead, they would more than double Scotland’s current energy use. Despite this, both the government and the data centres themselves are more than happy to make these environmental claims. The APRS reports that these projects are being considered ‘Green’ for reasons ranging from “They have solar panels on the roof to claiming the fact they use grid electricity in Scotland makes them green.” Because a data centre is so big, even if you don’t live directly next to one, you’ll almost certainly feel its impacts. Their energy consumption will push up the price of electricity massively, their infamous water consumption will make Scotland’s precarious water security even worse and they’ll require a massive amount of taxpayer money in order to build their infrastructure. In exchange, the Scottish people will get very little. Despite their gargantuan

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size and resource consumption, most will only provide as many jobs as a single Sainsbury’s and, even then, they’ll be highly specialised jobs largely out of reach for locals. The SNP’s plan appears to be to sell electricity to these projects, as part of their strategy to become an energy superpower. It’s a risky gamble, one that assumes that offshore wind construction will be able to overcome its recent hurdles and that data centres won't just do what they’ve done in Ireland, which is remain off-grid and burn fossil fuels instead. All of that is assuming that these data centres succeed, which in an era of rampant AI speculation seems unlikely. Because if they fail, we’ll be left with millions of pounds worth of useless energy infrastructure and the government will have to scramble for new buyers for its energy surplus. Ultimately the answer to “What would it be like to live next to a data centre?” is that it would negatively impact everyone. Whether that’s local wildlife, local residents or someone who lives miles away, a data centre will have an impact on your daily life and in no way will it be a positive one. For now, we await the Scottish government's decision on whether it will enact a moratorium but, regardless, it’s important that everyone is aware of just what a data centre is like to live with. Because if you don’t want to live alongside a data centre, it’s going to be a long battle. We stand to lose so much, and for what? mage Credit: Alice Pollard

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FOOD

GET WHIMSICAL AND CREATE AN HEIRLOOM

There's nothing better than a well-loved recipe book. Image Credit:Kerry Lloyd

By Kerry Lloyd Deputy Editor

Picture it: you’re hungry, you’re bored, there’s ingredients in the cupboard and endless possibilities. Do you search online and traverse through endless, pointless, childhood stories from random cooking blogs? Do you peruse the bookshelf for a dusty copy of Mary Berry’s Greatest Tricks? Or are you feeling creative; do you have the confidence to whip something up all by yourself?

What we make from our own skills can be disastrous or miraculous, and sometimes you just want to remember how you managed that, especially when it’s three months later and you’re craving something that has never been recorded. How much cinnamon? How many eggs? You don’t know and you’re about ready to tear your own hair out. There’s a simple solution, really. Last year, I got sick of having to search through six different recipe books to find one specific recipe - I never

knew which one held it, and I’m the type of person who gets gifted a new cookbook every birthday. Did I even follow the recipe to the letter or did I freestyle? Who’s to know, really? My own recipe book was born from this frustration - a notebook bought specifically for this, which now houses every cookie, every brownie, every loaf of bread that I’ve ever made. There’s something satisfactory about opening my cookbook cupboard and reaching for my notebook before all the

others. In a year it has grown from one failsafe cookie recipe to over twenty pages full of all the treats that make my family happy. Birthday cakes and Christmas cakes live in these pages and (unless I lose it) they’ll always be with me. Maybe one day, many years into the future, a niece or nephew will pick up baking. Maybe they’ll want to remake something just as I have. Maybe my little recipe book will get passed down generations, and it might even outlive me. It could become a treasured

family heirloom - or maybe it will get forgotten. Either way, it’s a way to whimsify my life right now. It’s a time-capsule of a hobby that I don’t think will ever leave me. The next time you’re hungry, bored, or tearing your hair out trying to remember what exactly you added to that one recipe, consider picking up a pen and starting your own little recipe book. It’s whimsical, if nothing else

Stirling's Student Discounts Explained By Kerry Lloyd Deputy Editor There’s a lot of great places to eat in Stirling, but let’s be honest, we’re all poor students waiting for the next student finance pay out, so we can’t always afford the nicest. Here’s a list of the best places to eat in Stirling that offer a student discount. White Dove Coffee Roasters Fancy a sweet treat and a

latte? Look no further than White Dove. Located at the very edge of Port Street, with a second location opposite the train station, this cafe is the one to go to. Ask for the student discount, show your student ID, and enjoy ten per cent off of your order. City Walls Feeling a pint coming on? City Walls, found on The Back Walk, offers a student discount card. You pay a pound to receive it, and then you can

scan it for every order you make afterwards. You receive twenty per cent off all food and drinks - a real lifesaver when your on pint number five and the rounds just keep on coming. The Burgh Coffeehouse If you want a quiet place to study off campus, The Burgh is your guy. Located just as you turn right onto King Street, this cosy two story cafe serves all the coffee and pastry you could want. Flash your stu-

dent ID and get ten per cent off. Nicky Tams Bar and Bothy If you want to be transported into an old-time tavern, then Nicky Tams is the place to be. Nestled in the middle of Baker Street, with low lighting, candle-lit tables, and the occasional live musician, Nicky Tams is a one of a kind pub experience in Stirling. They offer a fifteen per cent student discount to anyone with a valid ID, so go crazy!

Cafe AINA A place that serves the most delicious Greek cuisine, Cafe AINA offers a ten per cent student discount for takeaway and sit-in orders. To order takeaway, pay at the restaurant and verify your student ID. Or you can show your ID when you eat in to receive a discount from Monday to Thursday every week. Find Cafe AINA on King Street.

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FOOD

THE WORST STIRLING STRUGGLE MEALS

Being at university is a change, there’s no doubt about that. You go from (typically) home cooked meals created by loving parents to fighting with a microwave daily. Students have to learn how to keep themselves alive, and sometimes that means eating the first thing you can find. Brig put a poll up on our Instagram to find out what our fellow students suffered through eating in their four years. Here’s some of the most diabolical meals to ever grace the earth. Cold Baked Bean Wrap This is genuinely gag-inducing to think about. You poor soul. Could you not have even warmed up the beans? At least it’s protein dense - at least there’s that. One way to elevate this struggle meal is to add a bit of cheese into it, although every time I buy

cheese, it goes mouldy within days, so maybe double check the packet before committing to the garnish. Skinny Noodles With Only Soy Sauce You see, this could almost be nice! Who doesn’t appreciate a good noodle? However, you did mention that you ended up folded over the toilet all day, so maybe I’m being too optimistic. Perhaps add some chilli flakes and spring onions, and then you’ll be halfway to ramen. We can work with this.

Image Credit:Kerry Lloyd

Stale Wrap Dipped in Cold Tomato Soup Oh dear. I suppose when there’s no bread, you have to make do. Again, why cold? Is the microwave too advanced? Is it too far away? The real struggle here is the temperature of the soup. Soup is one of Earth’s greatest inventions, it can be enjoyed in so many ways, but typically people can

be bothered to heat it up. The wrap - why was it stale? How old was it? Was it a good substitute for bread? I can’t imagine it was. One Singular Packet of Microwave Rice Straight to the point. Nutritious. Easy to make. I reckon this is a pretty good struggle meal. Golden veg rice even has vegetables! You’re hitting at least two major food groups here, and it’s warm and filling. When you’re in a pinch, or when SAAS hasn’t hit yet, good old Uncle Ben will always be there for you. Although, maybe throw on a chicken nugget or two and elevate the experience. Now, resorting to a struggle meal is not something to be ashamed of. We’ve all been there. But at some point in these four years, you do eventually pick up some slither of culinary skills. There is light at

Image Credit:Kerry Lloyd

the end of the tunnel, I promise. Although lack of effort, money, and ingredients do somewhat complicate things. Sometimes a tin of soup or a pot noodle is all there is, and that’s something we must accept.

By Kerry Lloyd Deputy Editor

mage Credit:Alice Pollard

HOW TO NOT GET SCURVY AT UNIVERSITY

By James McIntryre Politics Editor There are many challenges people will experience when moving out for the first time this September, but one that almost everyone underestimates is feeding yourself. It’s easy to cook a meal and eat it but what’s more important is ensuring you’re actually getting all the nutrients you need. In my personal experience, I experienced a terrible bout of tiredness for around two weeks, where I genuinely

slept for hours on end and found it difficult to get out of bed. Then, I had a singular orange and was completely cured. Turns out I’d had a Vitamin C deficiency and it was completely solved by simply adding an orange to my diet. So, for any other students who will be feeding themselves for the first time this September, here is some advice from a fellow student who almost got scurvy on how to avoid making the same mistakes I did. Small simple changes can make all the difference here,

whether that’s eating a piece of fruit at lunch or adding a little bit of veg to your dinner. Having a nutritious diet does not mean you have to stop eating the food you want to nor do you have to eat a diet of exclusively kale. If time is an issue, frozen vegetables are just as nutritious as fresh ones and they can be made quickly. There’s also the Green and Blue space on campus which is regularly stocked with free fruit and veg that can help you maintain a balanced diet. Another good piece of advice

is to not be afraid of vitamin supplements. If you’re struggling to get them via your diet, they’re a quick and easy way to make up the difference. I’d recommend getting supplements for specific vitamins you know you need rather than general ‘wellbeing’ ones which often contain unnecessary extras and are expensive. Importantly, don’t panic if you suspect you have a deficiency! Your body will let you know early and simply introducing new food into your diet is often enough to reverse it. If that still doesn’t work,

speak to a GP and make sure it isn’t being caused by something else. It’s easy to think of making meals as one of the easiest parts of coming to university but it’s important to remember that it’s not just about eating enough but also getting enough essential nutrients. So, make sure you eat your veggies, even if your parents aren’t there to tell you to anymore, lest you end up a scurvy-ridden student like me.

NEWS 1-5

POLITICS COMMENT 6-7 8-9

MUSIC FILM & TV 10-11 12-13

BRAW 16-17

ARTS 18-19

GAMING LIFESTYLE FEATURES 20-21 22-23 24-25

FOOD 26-27

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STIRLING ATHLETES WIN SEVEN GOLD MEDALS AT EUROPEAN AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS By Isla Barker Curling Athlete. Image Credit: Ralf Roletschek via Wikimedia Commons

SO… WHAT ACTUALLY IS CURLING? By Deaglan Murray Sports Editor You’ve probably seen it. A group of people sliding giant stones across a sheet of ice while two others furiously sweep in front of them. But what actually is curling? Despite looking like someone combined bowls with an ice rink, curling is a surprisingly tactical sport, and once you understand the basics, it becomes a lot easier and a lot more fun to follow. A curling game is played between two teams, with each team usually consisting of four players. The aim is to slide your team’s stones down the ice towards a target at the other end, known as the house. The stones are those big, round granite things you see sliding across the ice. Each team has eight stones, and players take turns throwing them. A full round of throws is called an end, similar to an innings in cricket. The ultimate goal is to get your stones closer to the centre of the house than the other team’s stones. Simple, right? Well, this is where it

gets interesting. Sweeping in front of the stone reduces friction between the stone and the ice. This allows the stone to travel further and can slightly alter its path. The person throwing the stone gives it a rotation – or “curl” – get it? This causes it to gradually curve as it travels. The sweepers then try to control exactly where it ends up. This is why you can sometimes see players shouting things like “Hard!” or “Sweep!” at their teammates. They’re essentially communicating how much they want the sweepers to affect the stone. Once all 16 stones have been thrown in an end, the teams look at which stones are closest to the centre of the house, with only one team being able to score in each end. The scoring team gets one point for every stone that is closer to the centre than the opposing team’s closest stone. So, if you have three stones closer to the centre than your opponent’s nearest one, you score three points. Games are normally played over ten ends at senior international level, although the exact format can

vary depending on the competition. Curling isn’t always about getting your own stone as close to the centre as possible. Players can deliberately throw their stone into an opponent’s to knock it out of play, known as a takeout. Sometimes, the best move is to make life as difficult as possible for the other team. A player might place a stone directly in front of the house to block an opponent’s path, hide one behind another stone for protection, or knock out an opposing stone that is in a better position. This is where the strategy really comes into play. Every shot can change the position of several stones, meaning players have to think ahead and decide whether to attack, defend or take a risk. Curling might not have the obvious speed of football or the physicality of rugby, but that’s part of what makes it interesting. And now that you know the basics, the next time you see curling on television, you might find yourself watching it a little differently. Congratulations, you now understand curling. Mostly.

Athletes from the University of Stirling won seven of the eight gold medals for Team GB at the European Aquatics Championships in Paris. The team won eight gold, two silver and four bronze medals in total. Members of the team set new British records and broke previous championship records as well. Katie Shannahan won gold for the 200m backstroke and Angharad Evans won the 100m breastsroke. As well as silver for the 200m backstroke. Keanna MacInnes won the 200m butterfly and set a British record at 57.25 during the 100m butterfly. The team won medals for the women's 4x100m medley relay, the men's 4x200m freestyle, the mixed 4x200m freestyle medley and the women's 4x200m freestyle.

Angharad Evans set the record for fastest female split breaststroke for a relay in history at 1:03.75. After setting the record Evans said: “It’s pretty surreal. I just wanted to break that 1:04.90 barrier. That was the fire in my belly that I needed – I wasn’t too focused on the medal, just my own race and breaking my own record, and I knew that if I got that right the medal would come to me – and that’s just what I focused on." Director of Performance Sport at the University David Bond said: “A huge congratulations goes to our swimmers on their incredible achievements in recent weeks, and to their coaching team – Ben Higson, Brad Hay, Josh Williamson and Charlie Boldison – as well as their wider support network here at the University and beyond. Well done to all.”

HOW TO STAY ACTIVE WITHOUT JOINING A CLUB Running Athlete. Image Credit: Petar Milošević via Wikimedia Commons

By Deaglan Murray Sports Editor

Starting university can feel like there are a million things to sign up for. Societies, sports clubs, volunteering, events, before you know it, your timetable is overflowing. And while joining a sports club can be a great way to meet people and stay active, it definitely isn’t the only option. If the thought of committing to weekly training sessions and pub socials isn’t for you, here are some easy ways to keep moving without joining a club. It sounds simple, but walking is one of the easiest ways to keep active in everyday life.

With lectures, the library, shops and friends all spread across campus and the city, you can rack up a surprising number of steps without even thinking about it. Try getting off a stop early if you take the bus into university, or leave a little earlier and go for a scenic stroll after class if you live on campus. Even if walking isn’t your thing there are plenty of bikes available on campus, so take a short cycle next time you need to get somewhere. One of the best things about moving to university is getting to know somewhere new. Why not combine exploring with exercise? Stirling is a pretty town, and

there are plenty of different options to suit whatever you fancy. Whether it’s one of the many walks in the surrounding hills and forests, or simply an afternoon exploring the city centre, there’s lots to do. So grab a coffee, put on some music and go for a wander. You don’t have to become a gym regular to benefit from using one. The university has a gym, so try going occasionally and experimenting with different equipment whenever you get some free time on campus. Alternatively, there are plenty of workouts you can do from your room. Bodyweight exercises such as squats, lunges, press-ups and planks require no equipment and

can be done in as little as 10–20 minutes. There are also thousands of free workout videos online, so you can always find something that suits your fitness level and interests. But doing it alone isn’t always the most fun. If you have any friends, roommates or classmates, why not get them involved too? Organise a casual five-a-side game, go bowling, play badminton, head to the swimming pool or challenge your friends to a game of frisbee in the park. Even something as simple as going for a walk together can get you moving while giving you an excuse to catch up too. Perhaps the most important

thing to remember is that staying active doesn’t have to mean being incredibly fit or exercising every single day. It’s all about finding a routine that works for you. Some weeks you might go on long walks, play sport with friends and hit the gym. Other weeks, just getting out of bed and walking to your lecture might take it out of you. Find activities you actually enjoy, build movement into your everyday routine and, most importantly, don’t make staying active another source of stress. You don’t need a club, a team, or a six-day workout plan. Just getting up, getting moving, and having fun is more than enough.

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Raiffeisen Arena. Image Credit: Werner100359 via Wikimedia Commons

SCOTTISH EUROPEAN FOOTBALL ROUNDUP: CELTIC AND HEARTS THROUGH AS OTHERS CRASH OUT By Deaglan Murray Sports Editor

Celtic, Hearts, Hibs, Motherwell, and Rangers all travelled across Europe with their European futures on the line, and whilst there was heartbreak for three of the five, two managed to secure a place in the league phase. The Hoops travelled to Austria with one foot already in the Champions League after a convincing 3-0 victory over LASK in the first leg. They then looked to have put the tie beyond doubt when Callum McGregor’s deflected effort put them 4-0 ahead on aggregate early in the second half. However, what followed was one of the most dramatic collapses in the club’s European history. LASK pulled one back through Moses Usor after a mistake from Benjamin Nygren, before the Austrians continued to pile on the pressure. Celtic struggled to regain control and were eventually pegged back to 4-3 on aggregate after the break.

The home side completed the comeback late in normal time through a Florian Flecker strike, sending the game into extra time. Celtic were unable to recover, and Samuel Adeniran completed the remarkable turnaround as LASK scored again to win 5-1 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate. The defeat means Celtic miss out on the Champions League league phase for the second consecutive season, although they will drop into the Europa League instead. Hearts too travelled to Austria, arriving in Vienna knowing that they needed a result against Rapid Wien after a 2-2 draw at Tynecastle in the first leg. The Jambos fell behind in the first half when Ercan Kara turned home a deflected strike to give the hosts the lead, before their task became even harder when midfielder Tomas Magnússon was sent off in the second half. Despite being down to ten men, Hearts produced a remarkable response. Pierre Landry Kabore equalised

before Calvin Miller hobbled forward and fired home to put the visitors ahead in extra time, only for Rapid to level again with just minutes remaining. The 2-2 draw meant the tie finished 4-4 on aggregate and went to penalties. Beau Reus proved to be the hero, saving two penalties as Hearts won the shootout 4-3 and secured their place in the Conference League league phase. Edinburgh rivals Hibernian were also looking to secure their place in the Conference League as they welcomed Belgian side Gent to Easter Road. After a goalless draw and a strong outing in Belgium, the tie was finely balanced heading into the second leg. Despite falling behind, two second half goals from Jason Kerr and Felix Passlack meant that the Hibees looked to have done enough to progress. But as the game entered its closing stages, Gent struck late to turn the tie on its head.

A calamitous end followed, as a Miguel Chaiwa own goal and red card saw the Belgians leave the capital as 3-2 winners. It brought an unfortunate end to Hibs’ European campaign, despite a strong showing throughout the qualifying rounds. Motherwell undoubtedly faced the toughest task of the five Scottish clubs, travelling to Germany to try and overturn a 3-1 deficit against last season’s Europa League finalists Freiburg. The Steelmen needed a huge comeback but found themselves behind early on as Derry Scherhant gave Freiburg the lead. Motherwell did manage to respond after Enzo Longelo’s strike squeezed through the goalkeeper, but the hosts quickly regained control after the break. Goals from Igor Matanović, Cyriaque Irié and Keisuke Gotō eventually gave the German side a 4-1 victory on the night and a 7-2 aggregate win. Despite the heavy defeat, Motherwell can look back

positively on a European campaign that saw them reach the play-off round after beating HJK Helsinki and Havnar Bóltfelag. Derek McInnes’ Rangers also saw their European journey come to a sorry end as they travelled to Czechia to face Jablonec. The Gers held a 1-0 advantage from the first leg but were unable to protect it, with the hosts scoring the only goal of the game to level the tie on aggregate in the 73rd minute. In a game that lacked real quality, neither side could find a winner, forcing the tie to penalties. Unfortunately for Rangers, Jablonec prevailed 4-3 in the shootout, bringing their already underwhelming European campaign crashing down. With Hearts the only Scottish club left in the Conference League and Celtic dropping into the Europa League, it was ultimately a poor week for Scottish football on the continent.

off by making an appearance on the stage at one point. Lucky enough to experience two holidays this time around, he then set his sights on Athens and Kefalonia in Greece. Others opted to do the same include current championship leader Kimi Antonelli as well as Ollie Bearman, Lance Stroll, Sergio Perez and teammates Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz. Kimi spent his time in Sardinia, Italy, with Toto Wolff and his wife Susie. He also spent a brief amount of time in Greece on a jet ski. Ollie Bearman opted for a more close-to-home holiday in Sweden. Where he visited a local karting

track, trying to break a lap record, and did so successfully in 29 seconds. He took his girlfriend along for the journey, who has the photos to prove it. Some holidays were longer than others, as Alex Albon spent less than 24 hours in South Africa, where he met with the president and soaked up the local culture. Meanwhile, his teammate Carlos Sainz visited his parents in Mallorca, Spain, accompanied by his girlfriend, Rebecca Donaldson. For a few of the drivers, congratulations are in order. Those being George Russell and Charles Leclerc. An engagement and having a baby on the way are huge milestones in life.

For George and Carmen, it’s been a long time coming. They’ve been together since 2020, and on August 9th George finally proposed. A beachside proposal was the choice and it seemed to have gone down a treat, as they are now engaged. An Instagram post by George confirmed this. On the other hand, neither Charles nor Alexandra has confirmed that they have a baby on the way. Fans have speculated for a little while now however, recently both of their posts seem to feature Alexandra rocking a baby bump. Even though this hasn’t been announced by either of them, it appears that they’ll soon be welcoming a baby.

Valtteri Bottas also celebrated an achievement over the summer break as he competed in the UCI Cycling Gravel Series. For most of the drivers, training will certainly be a main focus even during the off-season. Oscar Piastri being one of them, taking it extra seriously. Oscar spent his summer break on the simulators in order to be as prepared as possible before Zandvoort. He finds them a beneficial part of racing and helpful in ways of preparation throughout the season.

SUN, SWEAT AND SIMULATORS: THE REAL F1 OFF-SEASON By Brooke Duffy 12 races down, 12 to go. It’s still anyone’s to win or lose. Coming straight back from summer break, it’s all eyes forward. So what do the drivers do during the off-season to relax while staying prepared for the second half of the season? A classic choice for ultimate relaxation during the summer break. Soaking up the sun in a foreign country would be enough to easily clear any driver's head before getting back to training. A choice many people opted for. One of these drivers being reigning World Champion Lando Norris. Lando made the most of his time

-Read the full article at Brignews.com-

NEWS 1-5

POLITICS COMMENT 6-7 8-9

MUSIC FILM & TV 10-11 12-13

BRAW 16-17

ARTS 18-19

GAMING LIFESTYLE FEATURES 20-21 22-23 24-25

STIRLING SNOWSPORTS ANNOUNCES 2027 SKI TRIP TO LA PLAGNE By Dylan Burt Sports Editor Stirling students will have the chance to head to the French Alps next January as Stirling Snowsports (SUSS) prepares for its annual university ski trip. The week-long trip will take place in La Plagne from January 2 to 9, 2027, with students from Stirling set to join groups from several other universities in the resort. SUSS says the combined trip is expected to bring almost 1,000 students to La Plagne, making it one of the biggest university trips on campus. The resort is part of Paradiski, one of the world’s largest ski areas, with 450km of slopes available to those taking part. The trip is open to both SUSS members and non-members, with no previous skiing or snowboarding experience required. A range of lessons will be available throughout the trip, meaning

beginners can learn the basics before progressing onto more of the mountain. More experienced skiers and snowboarders will also be able to make use of the extensive network of slopes. Alongside the skiing and snowboarding, the trip will feature events during both the day and evening. Students travelling will also have access to discounts at the resort and in Stirling, as well as pre-trip socials during the first semester. The socials will give students the opportunity to meet others going on the trip before they travel to France in January. SUSS will also provide students with guides and cheat sheets in the run-up to departure. These are intended to cover practical information and help students prepare for the trip while keeping costs down. Early bird booking is currently open, with SUSS warning that previous trips suggest places could be gone before Sports Bazaar.

Students looking to secure a place can do so with a £150 deposit. The remaining cost can then be paid in installments, with students able to choose extras and make changes to their booking until mid-November. To book, students need to access the SUSS booking page, log in or create a NUCO account, and enter the early bird code suss-early-release when prompted. The trip comes during the university’s winter break, with students travelling shortly after the New Year and spending a week in the Alps. For SUSS, the annual trip has become a major part of its calendar, combining a week of skiing and snowboarding with a program of social events. With almost 1,000 university students expected to descend on La Plagne, the 2027 trip is set to be another major event for Stirling Snowsports.

UK Sports University of the Year 2027

FOOD 26-27

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Get your skis on. Image Credit: Alice Pollard

Scottish University of the Year 2027

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A QUICK GUIDE TO STIRLING'S SPORTS TEAMS By Melissa Thomson Secretary With Freshers week and the Sports Bazaar well underway, here is some more information about our sports clubs and their training times. The Stirling Clansmen’s season will kick off on 1st November with a game against the University of Edinburgh at Peffermill Playing Fields. The Archery Club hosts training on Sundays from 9:30-12pm and on Mondays from 3-4pm, both in Sports Hall 1. All levels of experience are welcome at both sessions. Stirling Athletics Club has training sessions designed for all ranges of experience. If you are a beginner and looking to try it out, they have Social Sprint sessions on Mondays and Fridays at 6pm, and joint Competitive and Social Endurance sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5pm. If you are more experienced and looking to compete, the club hosts Performance Sprints and Field sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 6pm; as well as Performance Endurance sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays at 7pm and Saturdays at 10am. They also have Strength and Conditioning sessions on Sundays at 2-4pm and Tuesdays at 5-6pm. Badminton host social sessions on Mondays from 8-10pm and Tuesdays from 5:30-8pm. Their Development Squad sessions are on Thursdays from 9-11am and Sundays from 10-12pm. The club’s team sessions run on Wednesdays mornings at 8:30-10:30, Friday afternoons from 2-4, and Sunday evenings from 6-7:30. Stirling Storm, the university's baseball team, host their training at Airthrey Pitches. There are three sessions a week, Tuesdays from 1-3, Thursdays from 2-4, and Saturdays from 11-1. Stirling Basketball have five teams with various training times. The Women’s Firsts train on Monday mornings from 7-9, and Thursday evenings from 8-10. The Women’s Seconds train on Tuesday afternoons from 3-4:30, and Friday mornings from 7-9. Their Men’s Firsts train on Tuesdays from 1-3, and Friday mornings from 7-9. The Men’s Seconds train on Tuesday evenings from 8-10, and Fridays from 2-4. The Men’s Thirds train from on Monday mornings from 8:30-10:30, and on Thursdays from 2-4. As well as their five competitive teams, they have a designated social session on Friday evenings from 7:30-10. Cheerleading has six competitive teams, Cheer levels one and two, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Pom, Cheer Dance, and a non-competitive Varsity

team. The competition teams are chosen in October, so if you're interested get along to their Give It a Go, before their training kicks off on 5th October. All of their training times are all available on their Instagram page. Our Cricket team trains on Mondays 1-3, and on Thursdays 1-4. Both sessions are in Sports Hall 1, and new members are welcome regardless of experience. The Cycling Club is hosting three Give It A Go’s. Their road cycling GIAG is at 10am on 19th September. They have two mountain biking GIAGs, the advanced one at 2pm on 23rd September, and beginner on at 2pm on 24th September. Stirling’s Dance club has a range of different teams, including but not limited to, ballet, tap, and jazz. They compete three or four times each year, and competition auditions are taking place on the 30th September, however you can still join the club without competing. For more information check out their Instagram or Sports Union page. The Equestrian Club hosts weekly recreational riding lessons at Tannoch Stables in Cumbernauld, as well as competitive training at Netherton Equestrian in Perth. Fencing trains on Tuesday evenings from 8-10 and on Sunday evenings from 5-7:30. They welcome all levels of experience to Sports Hall 1 during these times. Flag Football is going into its second year as a club, and they welcome all abilities to training on Saturdays from 1-3. Men’s Football boasts seven competitive teams. Their 1st, 2nd, and 4th teams compete on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Their 5th, 6th, and 7th teams only play on Wednesdays. Their 3rd team, otherwise known as their under-20s, plays on Wednesday and Friday nights. They are introducing a new Sunday League team this season, which is open to players of all abilities. The team’s trial process takes place in September, and due to the widespread talent across the club, it goes through several rounds before teams are selected. Women’s Football has four competitive teams, one futsal team, and one social team. The 2s train on Monday evenings from 7:30-9 and Friday evenings from 6:30-8. The 2s train on Monday evenings from 5:30-7 and Fridays from 1-2:30. The 3s train on Tuesday and Friday mornings from 8:30-10. The 4s train on Tuesdays from 2-4 and Thursday evenings from 7:30-9. The Futsal team train on Friday evenings from 7-10. Futsal have a 1s, 2s, and a social team. They have training sessions every day of the week apart from Saturdays. Trials for their

competitive teams will take place in September. Ladies Gaelic Football train on Tuesday evenings from 5:30-7 at Pitch 3G, and on Thursdays from 2-4 at Airthrey Pitches. Players of all abilities are welcome to join at any point throughout the year. Men’s Gaelic Football have three training sessions a week. Tuesday evenings from 8:30-10 and Thursdays 2-4 are both on Pitch 3G. Saturdays from 12-2 takes place at Airthrey Pitches. Stirling’s Golf Club has five teams. They welcome players of all abilities, and train at the campus’ golf centre. The 2nd-5th teams play at Muckhart Golf Course, and the 1st team plays at Alyth Golf Club. Handball trains three times a week, on Mondays from 11-1, Wednesdays from 8-10pm, and Fridays from 11-1. Both Men’s and Women’s Hockey has three competitive teams, welcoming players of all abilities. Men’s Lacrosse trains on Fridays from 19:30-21:30 at the sand pitch. Women’s Lacrosse trains on Tuesday evenings from 6:30-8 and Fridays from 3-5. Both mens and women's accept players of all abilities. Men’s Rugby welcomes players of all abilities to two pitch sessions, two strength and conditioning sessions, one match day, and one video analysis session per week. Their first game is the inaugural Capitals Cup against Heriot-Watt on 18th September. Women’s Rugby’s first match of the season is also against HeriotWatt as part of the Capitals Cup. They train on Mondays from 4-5:30 and Thursdays from 4-6, as well as strength and conditioning on a Tuesday night. The Sailing club trains at Venachar on Wednesdays from 124, with weekly regattas on Sunday afternoons at the same time. Shinty trains on Mondays from 12-2, Tuesdays from 2-4, and Thursday evenings from 9-10. Squash runs training sessions on Monday evenings from 6:30-7:30 and Wednesday evenings from 5:30-6:30, as well as a social session on Friday evenings from 6-10. Stirling Swimming’s Give It A Go is on 18th September 8-10pm, and they request that you attend the GIAG and wait for confirmation before buying a membership to join the team. Tennis’ GIAGs are 8-10pm on 21st and 22nd September, and trials for the mens and women's teams will begin on the 23rd September. They offer training for players of all abilities. Trampolining and Tumbling train on Wednesdays from 10:30-1:30, and Sundays from 5-8. Gymnastic

UoS Men's 1s celebrating. Image Credit: George Vekic

UoS Basketball Club. Image Credit: University of Stirling

UoS Volleyball Club. Image Credit: University of Stirling

HOW TO STAY ACTIVE WITHOUT JOINING A CLUB By Deaglan Murray Sports Editor VOL.57 ISSUE.1

2026

NINE-GOAL ROUT SENDS STIRLING INTO NEXT ROUND

INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS FOR STIRLING HOCKEY

Rohan Marwaha, Lexie McMillan and Lewis McGuinness. Image Credit: University of Stirling/ Jim Payne

By Darcy Robson

Rohan Marwaha and Lewis McGuiness, 19, joined the Scotland men’s U21 hockey team in the EuroHockey U21 Championship II-A. The team beat Czechia in the final to secure a place in the PIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup. This was last achieved for the Scotland side over two decades ago in 2001. The squad sailed through the tournament winning all four of their games leading to a promotion to the top-tier EuroHockey U21 Championship. McGuiness, the team’s goalkeeper and University of Stirling athlete, said “it was a great experience…making history is always amazing, especially for the future generation of players.” 21-year-old Lexie McMillan, also a University of Stirling athlete, joined the Scotland Women’s U21 squad as they qualified for the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup.

This has only happened four times in the past. For the first time in 24 years the team have held onto their position in the A division. Lexie describes representing Scotland as a forward for the U21s as “a huge honour. “Competing against some of the best junior teams in the world and beating Ireland in the final match...made all our hard work pay off.” Both the men’s and women’s EuroHockey Championships are leading competitions in European hockey. The best national teams compete at senior and age-group levels to determine rankings and titles. These tournaments are used as opportunities to qualify for global events. Exampled by the U21 men’s Scotland team example this year. The university’s Director of Performance Sport, David Bond, celebrated the athletes achievements. He said “representing your country is always a tremendous

honour.” Bond emphasised Rohan, Lewis and Lexie’s “hard work, commitment and resilience” which got them to their current positions. “To help Scotland become European champions and qualify for the Junior World Cup for the first time in 25 years is a fantastic achievement. “Lexie has also played an important role in helping the women’s team secure only their second-ever appearance at the Junior World Cup. “We are incredibly proud of all three athletes. Their success reflects not only their individual talent and dedication, but also the strength of the performance environment we have at Stirling.” The University of Stirling’s sporting features have awarded it the accolade of Scotland’s University of Sporting Excellence and UK wwwwSports University of the Year in the Daily Mail University Guide 2027.

It was a bright afternoon for the Uni's 1s as they cruised to a 9-0 victory over West Calder United in the South Challenge Cup. Stirling started on the front foot and quickly began putting pressure on the hosts, with Koli making a strong run early on before his cross could not be converted. West Calder had an opportunity of their own in the opening stages, but Sutherland held the shot before Stirling countered, with Koli firing just wide. The Students continued tothreaten, with Vonk and Martin linking up, although Martin's effort went straight at the goalkeeper. Stirling finally broke the deadlock after when Koli did well on the left before a ball into the box was met by Vonk, who got his his head on it to put Stirling ahead. The Uni continued to dominate the game and doubled their advantage minutes later. Gibson expertly fed Martin, but his effort was defended for a corner before Koli was able to poke the ball away from the resulting set-piece. Stirling continued to apply pressure and were rewarded with a third on the half-hour mark. A great switch of play from Koli found Martin, after his first attempt was saved by the goalkeeper calmly found the net with the follow-up. Shortly after, Vonk nearly scored a fourth goal, but the West Calder goalkeeper managed to deflect his shot with a foot. Stirling went into half-time three goals ahead and continued dominate after the restart. Vonk saw another effort saved before he eventually got his second and Stirling's fourth, refusing to give up before producing a composed finish. The students then began to run away with the game. Doan controlled a lovely ball over the top before finishing well to make it 5-0, before Vila spun inside the box and fired home for the sixth. Burns quickly made his mark, scoring with a powerful shot to make it seven before adding another just two minutes later. Time for a ninth, with Doan finishing from close range to complete a convincing victory.

By Dylan Burt Sports Editor

Running Athlete. Image Credit: Petar Milošević via Wikimedia Commons

FULL STORY ON PAGE 28

A QUICK GUIDE TO STIRLING'S SPORTS TEAMS By Melissa Thomson Secretary

With Freshers week and the Sports Bazaar well underway, here is some more information about our sports clubs and their training times. The Stirling Clansmen’s season will kick off on 1 November with a game against the University of Edinburgh at Peffermill Playing Fields. The Archery Club hosts training on Sundays from 9:30-12pm and on Mondays from 3-4pm, both in Sports Hall 1. All levels of experience are welcome at both sessions. Stirling Athletics Club has training sessions designed for all ranges of experience. If you are a beginner and looking to try it out, they have Social Sprint sessions on Mondays and Fridays at 6pm, and joint Competitive and Social Endurance sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5pm. If you are more experienced and looking to compete, the club hosts Performance Sprints and Field sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 6pm...

FULL STORY ON PAGE 31