Concrete - Issue 180 by Concrete - the official student newspaper of UEA.

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA

Issue 180 October 12th 2005 www.concrete-online.com Free: Please Recycle

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-IXED REACTIONS TO GRAVEYARD PATH

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2EVEREND PRAISES IMPROVEMENTS TO DERELICT CHURCHYARD AS FOOTPATH CONTROVERSY CONTINUES IN .ORWICH CITY CENTRE

It is not often that a visit to the local shopping centre brings with it a reminder of one’s own mortality. However, a walk down the graveyard pathway near St Stevens St. might ﬁnd you contemplating just that. The construction of Nor- wich’s new shopping centre has brought the development of a pathway through the graveyard of St. Stephen’s church, provoking mixed reactions from residents. While the bright green signs that overlook the tombstone-lined pathway seem eager to point out that no bodies have been moved and only two headstones replant- ed, the controversial pathway is certainly a great talking point in the city. Many older shoppers raised few objections, describing the graveyard makeover as “interesting” or “nicely done” while younger shoppers and a number of Norwich’s student community expressed their distaste. Local girl Emily Butcher, 19, commented “It’s absolutely disgusting” and student Emma Redgewell, SWK 3, remarked “They must know they’re doing something wrong otherwise they wouldn’t try so hard to convince people that it’s alright.” The most controversial aspect of the development in St. Stephen’s Churchyard is the collection of tombstones that deco- ratively line the footpath. Many passers-by considered it disrespectful to use headstones of graves as part of a design fea-

ture. However, Canon Hereward Cooke of St. Stephen’s Church suggested that those who oppose the redevelopment do so because they are “opposed to change or consider the churchyard to be a part of old Norwich and feel this must be preserved.” The Reverend hastened to point out that St. Stephen’s Church has benefited greatly during the past two years from the joint project of the Chaplefield construction. With the support of the church council, Hereward Cooke has been driving the project to turn what used to be a “derelict haven for addicts into a well-located and popular church that residents of Norwich can be proud of.” Needles were often reported to have been found in the grounds of the church and people used to sleep rough in amongst the grave- stones. With the help of a £163,000 donation from Chapelfield Mall, Canon Cooke hopes to continue the redevelopment of the churchyard with the sowing of grass seeds as the next plan on the agenda. “One of the major concerns undertaking the project has been the task of bringing the church back onto the market.” The controversy over the graveyard path can be seen as either a triumph of materialism over community values or an example of corporatism working to benefit the community. Either way, it has certainly put St. Stephens Church back on the map. As the saying goes, if all publicity is good publicity then Canon Cooke should look forward to a prosperous year.

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!CCOMMODATION PRICES ON THE UP .EW RESIDENCES MEAN LESS CHOICE FOR STUDENTS

4HE NEW RESIDENCES ON CAMPUS "Y )3!"%, $93/. .%73 %$)4/2 As UEA’s brand new residences replace the primeval blocks of by- gone years it appears that prices are following suit. UEA now lacks any choice of accommodation that falls under the price range of ﬁfty pounds, making it one of the most expensive UK universities to live at. Despite the series of revolu- tionary new buildings the choice for standard single rooms without en-suite facilities is declining and with top-up fees pending, less wealthy students will struggle to afford to live at university. In two years fees for en-suite rooms have risen by more than ﬁve pounds a week to a cost of over eighty pounds. Although the new buildings

are a long overdue renovation at UEA, they have resulted in a decline of a cheaper choice for resident students with eight of the newest blocks offering solely en-suite accommodation and only the oldest residences offering cheaper, standard room options. UEA’s accommodation prices are comparable to larger sized city halls. Liverpool University charges ninety-one pounds per week for catered accommodation and an average of sixty-four pounds for self-catering. Cardiff University’s cheapest en-suite accommodation starts at a mere forty-seven pounds per week and central Lon- don accommodation for King’s College can be found at merely one pound more than UEA’s en- suite rooms at eighty-two pounds per week. With extensive refurbish- ments to old residences as well as

the new constructions at UEA, students experience some of the best university residences in Britain. This does not apply to the rest of the country, however as recently the National Union of Students UK has expressed concerns about proposed codes of standards for university-owned accommodation. The Government has plans to ensure every university and college in England and Wales with student halls will comply with a code of standards by Autumn 2005. The code would set national guidelines on matters such as de- posit return, repairs, complaints and health and safety. NUS has expressed concerns that under the proposed UUK Code, universities will be able to set their own benchmarks for standards and will also measure their own performance. UUK have not put forward any sanctions to

be imposed if institutions do not comply with the code sparking issues as to the true accountability of universities. NUS Vice President of welfare Veronica King said: “All Codes should offer solid, consistent and simple standards to adhere to and clear lines of accountability. In all aspects, the ANUK Codes follow these guiding principles. The UUK Code should be revised to offer students the same advantages”. Although UEA students may not need to worry as much as other university residents, the issue of cost and decreasing choice may hinder making the very most of top quality living standards at university. A ﬁrst year HIST student explained: “Cost is always a problem when you go to university and I really don’t envy next year’s students here with fees and living costing a bomb.”

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4HE 3UNDAY 4IMES SHORTLISTS 5%! FOR 5NIVERSITY OF THE 9EAR "Y )3!"%, $93/. .%73 %$)4/2 UEA has been shortlisted as Uni- veristy of the Year by The Times newspaper. Following its recent ranking as one of the top five universities for student satisfaction in the first ever Student Satisfaction Survey, UEA’s glory looks set to reach new heights. The Editor of The Sunday Times Good University Guide, Alastair McCall, said only five universities had made the short-list for this year’s University of the Year award. Other contenders included Loughborough, Bath, Hull and overall winner, Durham. UEA was also categorised as one of the top 200 universities in the world in an annual survey conducted by Shanghai Jiao Tong

University. Vice-Chancellor David East- wood stated: “Our substantial in- vestment in high-quality staff and student facilities is taking UEA rapidly into the top ﬂight of UK universities.” UEA has developed an international reputation in many areas, including climate research, development studies, creative writing, medicine and ﬁlm studies. Alastair McCall explained: “UEA has gradually risen up through the table and comes 16th in the country this year – its high- est ever position. The university also scores really well on research and on teaching quality, with almost three quarters of subjects rated excellent.” With its ever-improving facilities and standards of teaching UEA can only hope to achieve greater heights in the years to come.

5%! S CAMPUS IS CELEBRATED IN NEW POLL

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4HE $AY !FTER 4OMORROW TODAY 3CIENTIST BELIEVES .ORWICH MAY NEVER SEE A WHITE #HRISTMAS AGAIN "Y 2/3)% #(!.#% 3#)%.#% %$)4/2

As the floodwaters slowly drain from New Orleans, scientists warn that devastatingly strong hurricanes like Katrina are becoming more common. The most intense hurricanes, classified as category 4 or 5, have almost doubled in number since 1970, according to research published in the prestigious journal Science last month. The increase is suspected to be due to global warming. The sea’s warmth fuels hurricanes, and the surface temperature of the tropical ocean has risen half a degree Centigrade over the past 35 years. For a hurricane to form, sea surface temperatures must exceed 27 degrees Centigrade. Warm air and water vapour from the ocean surface rise until the water vapour condenses again, releasing heat that feeds the storm. A warmer sea surface means more water evaporates, providing energy for stronger, more destructive winds. One of the authors of the study, Dr Judy Curry of the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA, said they were confident the trends in hurricane intensity and sea temperature were connected to climate change. The report is the third this year to highlight the increasing threat from tropical storms. Ear- lier research shows that North

Atlantic storms are getting wetter and have more than doubled in destructive power over the past 30 years. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita are seen by many as proof that dangerous climate change is happening now, as a result of humans releasing greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Establishing a conclusive link is not so easy, because historical records are limited and there are natural variations in climate to account for, but the vast majority of scientists agree that climate change is real, and caused by human activity. Speaking to the Norwich Evening News, UEA Climate Change lecturer Dr Nathan Gillett said it was possible that Norwich would “never see a white Christ- mas again” as a result of global warming. This September the Arctic sea ice fell to the lowest levels ever recorded, while in Antarctica a survey of 244 glaciers found nearly 90% to have retreated over the past ﬁfty years. The vast perma- frost wastes of Siberia are melting and the ﬁrst ever South Atlantic hurricane, called Catarina, hit Bra- zil in 2004. As world leaders deliberate over how to address the problem of global warming, the evidence that climate is changing certainly seems to be mounting. Whether politics can keep up with the rate of change remains to be seen.

4HE 3QUARE IN THE SNOW #OULD THIS BE AN UNKNOWN SIGHT IN THE FUTURE

5#!3 REPORTS DECREASE IN INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS 3TUDENTS CHOOSE 53 OVER 5+ "Y *5,)! "2!$3(!7 !.$ *!#+ 2/934/. A report published by UCAS early in September has revealed that the number of Chinese students applying to British universities has decreased by 21.3% from 4,401 to 3,604. With Chinese students bringing in a large majority of foreign fees to British universities, these figures will make disappointing reading for university financial departments up and down the country. The declining number of Chi- nese students portrays merely a small percentage of the general decline in overseas fee-paying students choosing to study in the UK. At UEA the future looks a little brighter. In contrast to the national average, UEA’s financial records show that income from full time overseas fee-paying students has increased steadily since 2001. This source of revenue peaked at £10.8 million in the 2003-2004 academic year, increasing by £2 million since the previous year. The figures suggest that UEA has avoided the drop in overseas student numbers affecting one third of Britain’s universities. However, if this trend continues UEA will eventually experience a

decline in foreign students and consequently a deterioration in the heavily relied-upon revenue that these students bring to UEA. The interest in British higher education is dwindling as a result of various factors. The principal cause is the competition with American universities. Accord- ing to recent global rankings by China’s Shanghai Jiao Tong Uni- versity, America boasts 17 of the world’s top 20 universities. American universities account for 30% of the world’s output of articles on science and engineer- ing and currently employ 70% of the world’s Nobel Prize winners. While Cambridge University comes third in the world ranking of universities, Oxford’s long stand- ing tradition has failed to prevent its slide to eighth place. Sir Derek Roberts of Univer- sity College London (UCL) suggests that ‘prestige universities’ in the UK, such as UCL, have not only lost academic staff and PhD students to America but are also running a deﬁcit. He argues that reduced salaries and lack of funding means that these universities are “living on borrowed time”. The obvious difference between the British and American approach to higher education is funding. America spends twice as much of its GDP on higher education as Europe does, though most

of America’s funding is derived from private contributions. In ad- dition, the nation’s share of higher-level research is decreasing. In the 1960s Britain boasted 11 Nobel prizes in chemistry, physiol- ogy, medicine and physics. In the 1990s this number fell to two. American exchange student Zoë Stopak-Behr, AMS 3, says that UEA’s library “is under par” and that it is a “bad working environment” by comparison to her American university Dickinson College. “More funding would allow for a greater range of books as well as more copies of the ones already on the shelves” she said. Some international students believe that if British universities were to reassess the way their systems are managed then they might gain the competitive edge against their rivals. Although, whether this should be in the form of a financial re-evaluation or insti- tutional restructuring is not easily determined. What is certain is that there are indications that if the UK and other European countries do not address these issues, the consequences of fewer international students will continue. A reduction of international students would not simply be a financial loss but would also affect the culture and the diversity that defines the student body at UEA.

4HE EARLY DAYS OF 5%! CAMPUS IN

5%! TO GET SISTER CAMPUS .EW UNIVERSITY PLANNED FOR 3UFFOLK "Y )3!"%, $93/. .%73 %$)4/2 News of £12.5m of funding from the East of England De- velopment Agency (EEDA) towards the proposed University in Suffolk has been announced. The EEDA’s decision for funding towards the £150m project is subject to Government authori- zation, though Carol Macaskill, project manager for University Campus Suffolk (UCS), said: “We are delighted to receive continued, signiﬁcant support from EEDA for this unique col- laboration between the universities of Essex and East Anglia.”

The UCS project expects to be complete and welcome new students by September 2007. The base of the University will be Ipswich Waterfront. The University of East Anglia, University of Essex and Suffolk College will build on their established reputations in teaching and research and collaborate to offer a professionally and vocation- ally relevant curriculum. More than 300,000 people live within 12 miles of the proposed main Waterfront campus in Ips- wich and over 650,000 residents live in Suffolk. The new project will ﬁll the gap for the lack of any higher education facilities in Suffolk - one of only four such-sized coun-

ties in Britain that lacks a sufﬁcient establishment for further learning. Institutions like UEA and Essex are worth around £60 - 80 million per year to their local communities. They enable economies to compete with others as wekk as bringing the best of culture, entertainment, retail and catering to their region. It is hoped UCS will also beneﬁt the area as well as its students. UEA Vice-Chancellor and chairman of the board for UCS, David Eastwood said: “It’s a great pleasure to receive such powerful and enthusiastic back- ing for this project. EEDA’s decision is a further boost for higher education in the east of England.”

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&EARS OF NEW RAGE PHENOMENON 3PORT CENTRES ISSUE SWIM ETIQUETTE GUIDLINES AS FRUSTRATION RISES IN THE LANES "Y )3!"%, $93/. .%73 %$)4/2 Swimming bosses at Riverside swimming pool have issued guidelines to combat the rising tide of the new phenomenon “swim rage”. Both Riverside and UEA’s Sportspark denied any situations of the new rage, which is similar to road rage and causes swimmers to shout or ﬁght with each other because someone is swimming too slowly in front of them. Bosses have issued guidelines as precautions to prevent swimmers from losing their tempers in the water and to ensure there are no violent incidents in the future. Penny Pugh, who manages Leisure Connection at Riverside on behalf of Norwich City Coun- cil said: “We do mark out speciﬁc lanes for people who want to swim and encourage people to swim in the lane suited to their ability. It is important that we show respect for other swimmers.” Leisure Connection offers advice on swimming pool etiquette using posters around the pool. The pool manager at the Uni- versity of East Anglia Sportspark, Lynne Jones, said that there had been no reported incidents of swim rage but admitted that it

was possible if facilities are not managed properly or there are not enough lanes. “Our swimmers are fairly friendly towards each other because a lot of them are used to lane swimming so they adhere to the general etiquette of lane swimming.” An ENV student claimed that during busy periods “the pool at UEA can get crowded with over ﬁve people swimming in one lane and I do sometimes need to bite my tongue. If you get there at the right time most swimmers are at work.”

Swimming pool advice issued by Sportspark: * Check the directional sign before entering the lane * Check the speed and stroke of swimmers before entering * Be aware of swimmers doing tumble-turns (keep to either side of the lane) * When overtaking slower swimmers, be aware of oncom- ers * Try to use an empty lane when swimming butterﬂy

4HE OLYMPIC SIZE SWIMMING POOL AT 5%! S 3PORTSPARK

$RINK AND A mIGHT

3TUDENT WINS PLANE TICKETS TO -ILAN

!MY &INNEMORE WINNER OF THE 5NION 4RAVEL 3HOP COMPETITION "Y !..! 34%7!2$ .%73 #/22%30/.$%.4 Amy Finnemore is the ﬁrst UEA student to win ﬂights to any of ten destinations in Eu- rope as part of the Union Trav- el Shop’s new competition. The delighted winner said, “I didn’t expect to win. It’s very sur- prising, I didn’t think that buying a drink could take my boyfriend and

I on a romantic break to Milan.” The competition is running weekly as part of the ‘Around the World in 24 Drinks’ competition run by the Union, and is exclusive to UEA students. One winner will be picked at random every week from 8pm in the Union Pub with the chance to win two European ﬂights. At the end of the year one student has the opportunity to

win two round the world tickets if they have twenty of the twenty- four stamps in the passports used during the competition. Each week students can sample a different drink from around the world or a non-alcoholic Red Bull alternative. Wednesday 19th Octo- ber is the ﬁnal chance to be entered into the draw for the round the world tickets. Ask any of the staff in the Union Pub for more details.

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2UNNERS SET OFF AROUND THE LAKE FOR THE lRST :IGGURAT CHALLENGE OF THE ACCADEMIC YEAR

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Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays open 2.30pm until midnight.

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2AMADAN BEGINS -EMBERS OF 5%! )SLAMIC 3OCIETY TAKE PART IN BREAKING OF THE FAST "Y #,!2% "5,, .%73 #/22%30/.$%.4 For Muslims across the world Ra- madan is of great importance. It is a time for reﬂection and looking forward, as well as a time for for- giveness and salvation. During Ramadan, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, sexual activity and smoking during daylight hours. Fasting or Sawm is not compulsory for everybody;; those who are ill, travelling, preg- nant or elderly are excluded from the fast. This is a testing time but also one when all Muslims come together creating a wonderful sense of community. Fasting is one of the ﬁve pil- lars of Islam. The other are Salat (prayer), Shahadah, (confession of faith), Zakaah (almsgiving), Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca). The Muslim festival falls on the ninth month according to the Islamic calendar. The calendar is based on lunar months so each year it moves back about 10 days. This year Ramadan began on 4th

October and will last thirty days until 6th November. It is during the ninth month that Muslims believe Allah revealed the ﬁrst verses of the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam, to the Prophet Muhammad while he was in the dessert near Mecca contemplating his religion. At UEA, the Islamic society organise and provide a daily Iftar, ‘breaking the fast’. This is especially important to many students as they are away from their homes for the ﬁrst time and need the support of fellow Muslims to help them through this month. While living away from home it is easy for students to feel very alone during this time and so the society becomes particularly important in helping people feel more at ease. Mansour Almazroui, president of the society says that he is extremely grateful to the university for enabling the society to provide this invaluable service for members of the UEA community. The Islamic society welcomes Muslims from all countries. A wide variety of students from Malaysia, India, Nigeria, and Gambia are al-

ready active members in the society. Members profess that there is a very strong sense of community within the society and it serves as a fantastic example of religious convergence. Thanks to the support of the university, the society are able to provide this meal – the breaking of the fast. The evening consists of eating dates and drinking milk to break the fast which is then followed by sunset prayers. Members then enjoy a meal together which is usually composed of Asian and Middle Eastern food. At the end of Ramadan, on 6th November, there will be a cel- ebration called Id-al-Fitr to mark the breaking of the fast and lasts three days. This is one of the most important celebrations in the Muslim calendar. People visit their families, give gifts to children and decorate their homes with lights and other decorations. The society will be celebrating the end of Ramadan on campus and welcomes students of all na- tionalities to join them at any time throughout Ramadan.

.EW ADVISORY BOARD SEEKS STUDENT VOLUNTEERS 4HE 2USSELL #OMMISION AIMS TO CHANGE THE DIVERSITY OF YOUTH VOLUNTEERING IN 5+

9OUNG PEOPLE AT THE 2USSELL #OMMISSION LAUNCH IN "Y )3!"%, $93/. .%73 %$)4/2 The Russell Commission is an organisation that was established in May 2004 by the Home Secretary, David Blunkett and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, to develop a new national frame- work for youth action and engage- ment. The closing date for applicants to the Russell Commission is this month. The Russell Com- mission has launched a campaign to ﬁnd twenty outstanding young people from the age of 16-24 to

join the charity’s new Youth Advi- sory Board. The aim of the Commission is to deliver a step change in the diversity, quality and quantity of youth volunteering in the UK. In a recent report, the Rus- sell Commission responds to the desires of young people to ﬁnd meaningful ways of contributing to their communities. It also ad- dresses current inconsistencies and weaknesses in provisions that are restraining the full potential of youth volunteering opportunities and recommends measures to signiﬁcantly improve the range and quality of activities that young

people can choose from to volunteer. The twenty successful applicants will have the opportunity to apply for four trustee positions on the Main Board in order to ensure that young people have a key role in the governance of the new charity. To apply for a position on the Youth Advisory Board applicants from the age of 16-24 should visit the Russell Commission recruit- ment website. Closing date for applications is Thursday 27th Oc- tober 2005. WWW STUDENTVOLUNTEERING ORG UK

"REAKING THE FAST BEGINS AS THE SUN GOES DOWN DURING 2AMADAN

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5NIVERSITIES CONTINUE CLAMPDOWN ON EXTREMISTS -IDDLESEX 5NIVERSITY LIFTS SUSPENSION GIVEN TO THE 0RESIDENT OF ITS 3TUDENTS 5NION FOR ALLOW ING A CONTROVERSIAL GROUP TO HOLD A DEBATE ON CAMPUS "Y )3!"%, $93/. .%73 %$)4/2 Middlesex University has lifted a suspension on the president of its Students’ Union, who had ignored a University ban by inviting a controversial Islamic group to speak on campus. The lift came after Keith Shil- son apologised to the Vice-Chan- cellor and admitted he was wrong to allow a debate with Hizb ut- Tahrir to continue. Mr Shilson was supported by about forty students who believed the university was violating the right to freedom of speech, including the leader of the National Un- ion of Students, when he arrived for a disciplinary hearing at Trent Park campus on last week. Keith Shilson was reported to have stated: “Although I disagreed with the instruction, I regret refus- ing to comply with it and wish to apologise to the university. I now accept the university was perfectly within its rights to issue that instruction which was motivated by concerns for the university’s reputation and concerns for the health, safety and welfare of its staff and students.” Keith Shilson had argued that it was important to listen to extremist groups rather than drive them underground. After apolo- gizing to the university he was permitted to return to his role as president at Middlesex University.

! DEMO AT 5%! #OULD FREEDOM OF SPEECH BE CURBED BY THE NEW MEASURES As the clampdown on extremist groups in universities continues, Special Branch ofﬁcers are now involved and are targeting Scottish universities and colleges in attempts to prevent possible terrorist organisations. Scotland’s forces are working on initiatives to improve links with communities and police in charge of policing the G8 summit this year, to pilot a scheme in order to

gather information on potential extremism and curb growing ap- prehension about impressionable young people who may be target- ed as home-grown terrorists. Universities, colleges and community groups are expected to be involved in similar moves to improve counter-terrorism in- telligence. Extremist groups have admitted they are still trying to recruit students at Scotland’s uni-

versities despite attempts to ban them. Earlier this year the National Union of Students (NUS) in Scot- land said it was concerned that extremist organisations were trying to operate on campuses, although several had been banned some had evaded these measures by changing their names. British universities are being advised to be aware of extremist

groups that are targeting students and criminal activities on campuses. Following the recent ten- sions around the UK, research has suggested that organisations with extremist ideologies are targeting students. Groups including the BNP, Islamic extremists and Ani- mal Rights activists are increasingly targeting universities. According to recent research, all these organistaions have a his-

2!' 3OCIETY BEGINS A NEW YEAR OF FUNDRAISING WITH A LIMBO CONTEST IN THE 5NION "AR "Y 0(), "!.+3 .%73 #/22%30/.$%.4

It may not exactly be rare to see people falling on the ﬂoor in the Union bar, but this time it had a purpose. On Thursday night the revital- ised RAG Society hosted its ﬁrst event of the year - a limbo competition in the Blue Bar to raise money for Action Aid. Action Aid is a large charity that works with local partners to promote women’s rights, fair trade, education for all and HIV relief amongst a number of other causes. A few willing RAG volunteers and a bamboo-and-clothes-peg rig (kindly provided by the bar management) was all it took to start the evening off. With a healthy amount of encour- agement from the crowd, over 70 kind hearted and perhaps slightly

drunk people rose to the limbo challenge. Competitors included repre- sentatives from the night’s society socials including Tai Chi, Frisby, Deviant and Karate, who introduced some healthy competition as they fought for their reputations. Some of them didn’t even have to be persuaded with the promise of a pint. As the night went on there were inevitably losers, but also winners who took home a treas- ure trove of goodies including champagne, wine, a pair of cuddly Koala bears and tickets for the UCI cinema and the LCR. The giving did not stop there, however, and after the prizes were awarded a bucket for change was brought out and was promptly ﬁlled by the crowd. Students may be milked dry by fees and the cost of alcohol, but tonight they proved that they don’t mind digging deep – especially if foolishness is involved.

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tory of campaigning at campus universities in hopes of capitalis- ing on political apathy and raising a new generation of supporters. In a letter to Times Higher, NUS National President Kat Fletcher & NUS Black Students’ Ofﬁcer Pav Akhtarto have criti- cized a report by Anthony Glees & Chris Pope of Brunel University on extremist groups operating on university campuses: “NUS fears that the reports unsubstantiated claims have the potential to endan- ger Muslim students by inﬂaming a climate of racism, fear & hostil- ity. NUS is calling on its members to work together to engage all students & defend the rights of faith groups & cultural groups to self- organise as societies.” The Higher Education Secre- tary, Bill Rammell has said: “We’ve got a real challenge in higher education. The whole thrust has been about the importance of free speech on campus. But we also have a responsibility to tackle extremism on campus. “ Mr Rammel told Vice-Chan- cellors: “People do need to be able to put their views across, but some views - particularly if they are justifying terrorism - need to be questioned.” The British Education Secre- tary, Ruth Kelly has advised Vice- Chancellors: “Universities need to be ‘unafraid to set their own boundaries’ about what is acceptable using the law as support.”

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!NOTHER NO SHOW FOR 0ETE "ABYSHAMBLES GIG IS CANCELLED YET AGAIN AFTER 0ETE $OHERTY IS ARRESTED "Y 3!2!( %$7!2$%3 %$)4/2 Singer Pete Doherty cancelled a scheduled appearance at the LCR on October 2nd after he was arrested following a gig in Shrewsbury. The Babyshambles frontman, who has been a staple of the tabloids since he became involved in a relationship with supermodel Kate Moss, was arrested as part of an operation by drug squad officers in which Class A drugs were uncovered. Shrewsbury Music Hall was raided by officers with sniffer dogs the day after Doherty and his band had played at the venue. Two people were arrested and 17 others searched. Members of Babyshambles support band, Littl’ans, are also believed to have been detained during the raid. Doherty was released on bail from Telford police station before Sunday’s gig but was unable to travel to Norwich in time for the show. Many of the 1,500 ticket holders for the sell-out Norwich show were left disappointed for the second time as the LCR gig had already been postponed from earlier this year. A number of fans registered their disappointment on the singer’s website, with one won- dering if “we will be waiting for Pete for ever”. The singer has a troubled history, and has been arrested on a number of previous occasions. In 2003 he spent time in prison for the burglary of a flat be- longing to his former Libertines band-mate Carl Barat. The Libertines, a turbulent band who were famous for their impromptu gigs, split up soon after. Doherty went on to form Babyshambles and Barat is currently recording with a new band. It is expected that Babyshambles’ LCR show will take place at a later date.

"ABYSHAMBLES .OTORIOUS FOR GIG CANCELLATIONS AND INEBRIATION

.%$! OFFERS SUPPORT AT 5%!

(ELP IS IT HAND 3TUDENT CHARITY SET UP TO HELP STUDENTS COPE WITH lNANCIAL DEMANDS OF EDUCATION

.ORFOLK %ATING $ISORDERS !SSCOIATION TO HOLD A DROP IN CENTRE ON CAMPUS The Norfolk Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) is holding a drop-in centre at UEA on the 22nd of November and 13th December. Students will have an opportunity to speak informally to members of the association about eating disorders. The organisation is a Health Service funded charity based in Norwich that offers advice and support to sufferers of eating disorders in Norfolk. Over 7,000 people are estimated to suffer from an eating disorder across the county. Those affected

suffer from conditions including anorexia, bulimia nervosa and compulsive eating. NEDA aims to help sufferers overcome their problems through talking and offering advice at the drop-in. .%$! WILL BE ON CAMPUS ON 4UESDAY ND .O VEMBER FROM AM TO PM IN 2OOM IN 5NION (OUSE AND 4UESDAY TH $ECEMBER BETWEEN AM AND PM ALSO IN 2OOM UPSTAIRS IN 5NION (OUSE

Come and relax at the Slug and Lettuce bar in the heart of Tombland, Norwich, a great place to come for a lazy afternoon or a relaxing evening drink with friends. Come to the bar and ask for your student discount vouchers whilst stocks last.

UNIAID is a new charity set up to help young people who struggle to pay further education expenses. UNIAID is backed by a collective of private sector sponsors and philanthropists to help young people overcome growing financial hurdles. After over two years of consultation, UNIAID was launched last January to coincide with the ‘top-up fee’ vote. Its aim is to identify and deliver solutions to the problems faced by students and with support from UNITE Group plc, Slough Estates plc, HSBC Bank plc, and Learning & Skills Council it is planning several initiatives including: • Accommodation Bursaries: practical support to help transform the lives of students suffering real hardship • All About U: internet, interactive simulation of the financial challenges a prospective student will need to master finances Geoffrey Maddrell of UNIAID, said: “Helping people who may have the ability, but lack the cultural and financial support, into higher education, can open the door to a lifetime of intellectual and material enrichment that they may otherwise never experience. The problems it was set up to address have become increasingly important: namely, to help open doors to higher education, especially for those facing financial hardship, and to help those students who are facing financial hardship.” UNIAID aims to open doors to higher education by removing such financial barriers through material support, advice and information. Professor Deian Hopkin, Vice-Chancellor of London South Bank University is keen to promote UNIAID to students who may not be aware of its pur-

pose or even existence. The average annual cost in the private rental market is £1,674. In London this is higher with an average of £2,014, with half paying over GBP2,500. Often selection decisions about course and institution are made on the basis of ability to afford to study away from home. The pilot scheme has allowed 21 students from 14 different universities across the UK to take up free accommodation places. Accommodation is the single greatest cost for students and decisions are increasingly made on the basis of ability to afford to study away from home. UNIAID was set up in response to alarming levels of student hardship. According to research by Nat West Bank, the average debt of graduates in England, Scotland and Wales has risen by 33% between 2003 and 2004. This year’s graduates owe £12,180 on average, an increase of £4,055 from 2003 according to the UNITE-MORI Student Living Report 2004. Students graduating in 2003 were two and half times more in debt than those who graduated in 1998. Student debt has risen by 43% in just over 4 years. 92% of them anticipated leaving university with debts Their average debt on leaving university was £8,666 Students from poorest backgrounds amassed average debts of £10,205 Accommodation is the single greatest cost for students.

/&84

$PODSFUF Wednesday October 12 2005

! NEW KIND OF BEAT FOR BOBBIES .ORWICH POLICEMEN TAKE TO CYCLING IN THE CITY AS THEY ARE ISSUED WITH BIKES "Y )3!"%, $93/. .%73 %$)4/2 Police officers in the city centre have joined the cycling culture of Norwich and are now using pedal power to combat crime after they were issued with mountain bikes. Community officers PC Matt Spillman and PC Pat Thompson were assigned with the bikes recently following mountain bike use in other community teams including Mile Cross and the Bowthorpe and Costessey areas over the last year. Having access to a pedal cycle has proved to be an extremely useful tool with officers gaining access to areas where police cars are too big. Inspector Brian Pincher is responsible for policing Norwich city centre and said: “Policing the beat on a pedal cycle has proved to be very effective in other areas of Norwich. They are quite distinctive and much more visible than foot patrols, hopefully this will offer the public another way of making contact with us. I have already received very supportive com- ments to these patrols.” Using bikes enables the police to respond swiftly to incidents. There have already been examples where officers have been first on scene for urgent calls and have arrived before colleagues in cars. The cycling officers are able to access difficult areas of the city

centre and manoeuvre through slow moving traffic quickly. Police have taken to bikes in London aswell, giving them access to the nooks and crannies of Brit- ain’s cities where police vehicles have never been before. The ability to get anywhere and everywhere fast makes them highly visible and gives re-assurance to the public. Police on bikes have more advantage in pre- empting street crime and anti-social behaviour as some criminals use cycles to move around the city and occasionally escape easily. Now officers have the ability to pursue offenders more effectively. The Transport Operational Command Unit (TOCU) cycling teams can also police the traffic, though in Norwich the scheme of cycling is in very early stages. The advantages are dealing quickly and effectively with congestion incidents, crime and anti- social behaviour on the buses and illegal parking in bus lanes, box junctions and loading bays to ensure the efficient movement of buses, other road traffic and other road users. Norwich is seen as a miniature Holland in terms of its flat terrain making it ideal for cycling. Ten percent of residents cycle to work compared to the national average of three percent. Norwich County Council aims to build on this figure with plans for improving the quality of its network of cycle routes in and around Norwich.

0OLICEMEN TAKE TO THE ROADS ON BIKES IN .ORWICH

3PORT %NGLAND SUPPORTS STUDENT MEDIA 3PORT %NGLAND TO SPONSOR THIS YEAR S .53 $AILY -IRROR 3TUDENT 3PORT *OURNALISM !WARDS "Y )3!"%, $93/. .%73 %$)4/2 The NUS has announced Sport England as a sponsor in this year’s NUS/Daily Mirror National Student Journalism Awards. The awards recognise the very best in writing, design and web publishing in student media. Sport England is sponsoring Best Student Sports Journal- ist and will be offering the winner the opportunity to see their work in print as well as a cash prize. A record number of entries have applied for the award this year portraying the extent of sport taking place already at campuses across the country. The winner will be announced on November 12th at a ceremony in central London. Prizes include £500 cash and an assignment to write an article for the Sport England annual report that is sent to more than ﬁve hundred Chief Executives within the sports industry. Roger Draper, Chief Executive of Sport England

said: “Sport England is delighted to be sponsoring the NUS/Daily Mirror National Student Journalism Awards. Sports journalists have a key role to play in helping to encourage people to lead healthier and more active lifestyles. “Sport England is committed to increasing levels of participation in sport and physical activity. The more we can promote the beneﬁts associated with sport through the media the better.” NUS National Secretary Gemma Tumelty said: “Student media is the breeding ground for the journalists of the future. It’s great to see organisations such as Sport England recognising this.” The Sportspark at UEA was funded by Sport England lottery with a £14.5 million grant. A single web-based database that holds information on sports facilities throughout England launched as Activeplac- es.com Sport England will be encouraging students moving to new universities to use Activeplaces.com to ﬁnd out more about sports facilities in their area.

4HE 5%! 3PORTSPARK WAS FUNDED BY 3PORT %NGLAND LOTTERY FUNDS

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-AKING 5%! MORE USER FRIENDLY ! NEW CAMPAIGN DEDICATED TO MAKING OUR CAMPUS MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR STUDENTS WITH ACCESS NEEDS HAS BEEN SET UP BY THE ,IBERATIONS /FlCER

EA is a concrete jungle of inaccessibility: it always has been and you may never have thought about it. The campus was designed to be modern, innovative and imaginative, but it was never designed to be fully accessible;; they just didn’t think like that in the 1960s. Accessibility, of course, means far more than just entering a building in a wheelchair. It covers hearing and visual impair- ments, mental health provision, parking, note-takers, information on coloured paper, large fonts, Braille, the list goes on. Individual students have been strug- gling to make the University more accessible for decades, with varying degrees of success. UEA has slowly changed to make itself more accessible to students, staff and visitors, with new ramps and lifts installed, portable hearing loops, better floor markings, more Braille books in the Library, computer terminals with large screens, more dyslexia support and a full-time Disability Coordinator in the Dean of Students. However, we still lack key areas of accessibility. We have been silently paying the price for having a jungle of steps, hard-to-read written for- mats and badly marked paths, with students either turning away before applying, or being let down during their studies. Now the University may have to change because of the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act, a law that has made (admittedly rather vague) provisions of duty for universities to make “reason- able adjustments” for those with disabilities. We have also lacked a strong collective, progressive campaign from the Students’ Union. Together we’re stronger, to quote another famous union in Norwich, and together we can push for change. Our Union accepts that society will, intentionally or not, discriminate against people who have so-called “disabilities”. Our Union wants to fight the lack of access, understanding and opportunity that students with disabilities will face in the wider world. Thus, our Un- ion created a position on the Executive – the team that executes policy to run the Union – to support students with disabilities. Unfortunately, for years the position of “Students With Disabilities” Officer was woefully unfilled, and the Union decided to amalga- mate several other equal opportunities roles into one. Cue the creation of the Liberations Officer, a confus- ingly-titled officer on the Exec, who is there to liaise with students with disabilities;; lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) students and students from ethnic minorities. Fast forward five years and there still isn’t a students with disabilities group within the Students’ Un- ion. If students have a problem they generally go to the Dean of Students, where they face a binary reception of either “yes, we can help” or a polite “no, we can’t”. It must be said that they offer fantastic one-to- one professional support for the whole spectrum of disabilities and access needs, and will try to help as much as they can. It must also be pointed out that the Dean of Students lacks any kind of campaign wing, a progressive movement for change, to eradicate discrimination and to push the Government for stronger legislation. Cue the Liberations Officer again: it is their job to create such a group, and the current officer, Steve Williams, just has. The group is called ‘Access For All’ because we believe that people have access needs, not disabilities. This follows from what social scientists called the Social Model of Disability, which states that your disability comes from the discrimination you face from society, not your medical condition. As with any large institution, it can be hard for students to make their individual voices heard, and the group will be there to amplify your message by several decibels. It will offer practical advice on who to see for short-term

necessity of wheelchair-accessible toilets, we are now campaigning for condom and sanitary machines at suitable heights for wheelchair users. Activate: A sports day for students with disabilities on 7th November. Don’t Diss My Ability: To raise awareness of the many different disabilities, and to break down the stigma that is attached to so many of them.

4OP 4HE CAMPAIGN HOPES TO MAKE THE PATHS AROUND THE LAKE SUITABLE FOR WEEL CHAIR USERS "ELOW -ANY VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS WERE NOT INFORMED OF BUILDING WORKS WHICH WOULD AFFECT THEIR ACCESS ROUTES practical solutions, how to campaign for longer-term change within the University and the UK Govern- ment, and will enable students to network amongst themselves when similar problems reoccur. The Union of UEA Students, you may know, is linked to every other Union up and down the country by the National Union of Students (NUS) and they have four Liberations Campaigns to augment the main campaign for free education and better student services. These Liberations Campaigns are the Stu- dents With Disabilities, LGBT, Black Students and Women’s Campaigns. They are run on the basis that these groups of people have always faced discrimination and been denied their equal rights for decades – if not centuries – and strive to create a just, equal British society.

They also run on the basis of autonomy, which means that only people who self-deﬁne as one of these categories can go to the annual Conference to elect a national Committee and choose policy for the next year. Access For All will link with the NUS Students With Disabilities Campaign, which often ab- breviated to NUS SWD – as if we needed anymore acronyms at UEA. The Campaign has a full-time convenor called Sian Davies, who works at NUS Headquarters in Lon- don, and liaises with a whole Committee to produce campaign material for Unions, give links to national charities and organisations and visit Unions to make presentations. The focuses for this year are: Sexual RevoLOOtion: Following on from the very successful ‘Free to Pee’ campaign highlighting the

ack to some recent successes at UEA, we have just secured a sum of money from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to do something which should have been done a long time ago. Imagine if you were on the fifth floor of the Teaching Block and the fire alarm went off: you would think you were fine because you can just walk down the stairs. Now imagine if you were in a wheelchair and your only hope of escape is a lift. But all the lifts at UEA, every single one of them, will shut off in a fire, because they are on the same electricity source as everything else. Students in wheelchairs face an uneasy wait until the Fire Brigade are ready to go in and haul them down the stairs. It’s a disaster waiting to happen. The money will be used to “fire proof” several lifts in the teaching block, putting them onto a separate electrical supply, thus making them usable in a fire. And about time too! We have also seen a number of automatic doors popping up on campus. These help students in wheelchairs if they can’t open heavy doors by themselves. It gives them independence, mobility, freedom and access that everyone else takes for granted. Access For All has already had its first meeting, and we have already been discussing some of the various access problems that students face. Here are some examples: bikes being locked to handrails down slopes or stairs, so that students cannot use the handrails to go down or up them. A student being denied the right to use a dictaphone to record lectures, even when they have an access need. There are still too many heavy doors on campus, especially in the Street. Wheelchair Stairlifts cannot take heavy wheelchairs, making them inaccessible to many. There is no de- cent path around the lake, accessible for wheelchairs. There is little in the way of practical floor markings around campus to aid visually impaired students. We want a fully standardised policy on how to better include students with dyslexia, because some Schools of Study and some academic tutors are better than others. Finally, we want the Estates Department to explicitly warn students of the exact extent of building work that is going on about campus, so that students with all sorts of access needs are aware if they have to change their route. The present system for passing on information is wholly inadequate. Make your voice heard, get in touch. !CCESS &OR !LL IS HAVING ITS SECOND MEETING ON 4UESDAY TH /CTOBER BETWEEN PM IN THE "ILL 7ILSON 2OOM NEXT TO THE "OX /FlCE IN 5N ION (OUSE !LL ARE WELCOME AND ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND 9OU CAN CONTACT THE ,IBERATIONS /FlCER 3TEVE 7ILLIAMS ON SU LIBERATIONS UEA AC UK OR POP IN TO THE 0ART 4IME %XEC OFlCE ON THE TOP mOOR OF 5NION (OUSE 9OU CAN CONTACT THE $ISABILITY #OORDINATOR *AMES $EXTER ON JAMES DEXTER UEA AC UK OR POP IN TO HIS OFlCE IN THE $EAN OF 3TUDENTS 5PPER 3TREET ,EVEL 9OU CAN CONTACT !CCESS &OR !LL BY EMAILING ACCESSFORALL ANOTHER COM AND VISITING THE WEBSITE AT WWW STU UEA AC UK LIBERATIONS

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%GGSISTENTIALISM )T IS GENERALLY ASSUMED THAT CHICKEN IS A HEALTHY RELATIVELY RISK FREE FOOD BUT THIS IS NOT NECESSARILY THE CASE 3IMON 3HERIDAN EXPLAINS WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE NATION S FAVOURITE MEAT

he actual answers are all a). Unfor- tunately, the vast majority of our chicken is produced in a way that would repulse most people. Any idealists out there may well have said c) for some of the questions, these being the best-case scenarios, but only a small minority of chickens are lucky enough to be raised in this way. Below are the facts surrounding the production of our favourite meat. Question 1: Most chicken consumed in the United Kingdom is shipped from overseas, especially from the far-east where it is raised in battery farms that literally cram as many birds as chickenly possible into mini-cages, piled high in a kind of sick shelving system. Here their only job is to eat the food that is presented on the conveyor belt in front of their faces. Even chicken produced in the UK is raised in massive battery farms, or at best in free-range establishments. This is a misunderstood concept however, as free- range really only means that the chickens are able to walk about. Generally, they walk about in a barn with thousands of other chickens, unable to move without bumping into another chicken or the masses of feeding tubes that litter the place. Question 2: Practically all chicken raised for human consumption is fed on a high protein diet to boost growth. Some chickens cannot walk because their bodies develop faster than their legs, meaning it is too much weight for their limbs to bear. Don’t worry though, they still make it to the supermarket shelves. The best diet for chickens, and indeed most farmyard animals, is grass. A chicken fed on grass will have very low levels of fat, will be rich in protein and will contain heightened levels of omega-3 oils, which signiﬁcantly aid cerebral development. Question 3: Chickens raised in a battery environment are subject to many diseases. Physically, they develop burns and rashes due to the ammonia con-

tent of their faeces. Alarmingly, you can see evidence of this when buying chicken from the supermarkets – any brown blemishes on the legs indicate a hock- mark, which is simply the technical description of an ammonia burn. They also suffer broken legs due to the crushing of other chickens and the weight of their own bodies. They do however, remain relatively free from chicken diseases such a dactylariosis because of the antibiotics in their feed. Question 4: Chickens live in barns, factories, or warehouses with thousands upon thousands of other chickens. It is a very rare and lucky chicken that can call its home a farmyard. Although more costly to produce, truly free-range chicken is superior in practically every way. The freedom to run means muscles develop properly, resulting in better taste and texture. Question 5: Although hardly nice whichever method is used, it is surely more humane to slaughter any animal-produced-for-food cleanly in an abattoir rather than removing its head in a medieval fashion. While most of us probably don’t consider what hap- pened to the unfortunate bird that is now our tikka masala, it must be remembered that most chickens die in considerable pain and suffering. At least proper free range farms can slaughter humanely, which is why we should all choose chicken from them. Question 6: It has been assumed for decades now that chicken is the healthiest meat you can buy. The stereotypes tell us it is full of protein, low in fat, and is a rather tasty meal too. The facts however, suggest otherwise. For a start, the food chickens are forced to consume on their route from egg to our plates is designed for two purposes: 1) to fatten the chicken in the quickest time possible and 2) to prevent any diseases the chicken might develop, as this would lead to loss of revenue. There is very little room for considering taste or the impact on the people who will eat the chicken. The antibiotics a chicken consumes do not simply disappear – they remain in its system and are eventually eaten by us. This means that we will develop an immunity to antibiotics faster

3O OWN UP WHICH OF YOU WISHFUL THINKERS ANSWERED C than we would ordinarily. MRSA, for example, is a super-bug that is apparently immune to treatment by conventional methods. This can be indirectly blamed on the amounts of antibiotics we consume. The rise in the levels of hayfever, and other respiratory allergies is also a result of eating medicine which we do not need, or even know about. In actual fact, it is a lot healthier to eat beef, which does not have so many unnatural products forced into it. So is it OK to eat chicken? Well probably about as OK as it is to eat anything that our supermarkets call ‘food’. Everything nowadays is mass-produced, aesthetically pleasing food that has very little in the way of true nutritional value in it. The growing rates of obesity in this country is testament to the ridiculous levels of salt, sugar and fat in much of our food. Even

5BLF UIF 2VJ[ 8IFSF IBT UIJT DIJDLFO DPNF GSPN a) A Battery farm in Thailand b) Running wild in the Andean plains c) A free-range farm in Dorset 8IBU IBT UIJT DIJDLFO FBUFO UISPVHIPVU JUT MJGF a) a mixture of protein and antibiotics similar to the “runny snot” they eat in The Matrix? b) Caviar c) Grass and seeds 8IBU JOKVSJFT IBT UIJT DIJDLFO TVTUBJOFE PO JUT KPVSOFZ UISPVHI MJGF a) sores and burns from sitting in its own faeces for hours on end b) broken legs due to overeating c) a slight graze over the left eye from being chased around a ﬁeld by an over-indulgent cockerel 8IFSF EPFT UIJT DIJDLFO MJWF a) in a warehouse with several thousand other chickens b) in a cage on top of a shelf c) in a chicken-run in the yard of a Lancashire farmer )PX XJMM UIJT DIJDLFO EJF a) by being mass-slaughtered along with thousands of its brethren b) by contracting septicaemia from the ammonia it is forced to sit in c) by being humanely stunned and killed in a traditional abattoir 8IBU BSF UIF OVUSJUJPOBM CFOFmUT UP CF IBE GSPN UIJT DIJDLFO a) zero - this chicken is high in fat (but low in omega-3 fatty acids, which aid mental development);; it is pumped full of antibiotics which means humans also consume these leading to respiratory problems such as allergies;; and it contains, contrary to popular belief, very little protein b) well its doesn’t have BSE like beef! c) high protein and low fat, as well as other antioxidant properties make this chicken one of the healthiest meats around

chicken breasts have water and sodium pumped into them, apparently for the purposes of succulence. However, this should be seen as a method the supermarkets use for making their chicken look more appealing, not for adding any discernible taste or tex- tural characteristics to it. So is there a way around this? Probably not, but the ﬁrst step towards one is drawing attention to the problem. This is the point of ‘The Good Life’ issue;; attempting to highlight the problems caused by our consumer society. In the case of chickens, it is in neither their nor our interest to have them raised in battery farms pumped full of unnatural substances. It makes them suffer, and it makes us suffer. Only by choosing to not condone this sort of behaviour can any remedy to the problem be found.

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4AKING A DRIVE THROUGH THE VALLEY OF DEATH

7ITH CONCERN AND AWARENESS OF GLOBAL WARMING GROWING ALL THE TIME 3IMON 3HERIDAN AND 3ARAH 3WALHEIM TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF OUR OBSESSION WITH BURNING FOSSIL FUELS

3WITCHING OFF THE MACHINES

! 0RIOR 7ARNING !S !MERICA RECOVERS FROM THE EFFECTS OF (URRICANE +ATRINA COULD THE NATURAL DISAS TERS OF TODAY ALERT US TO THE WORLDWIDE PROBLEMS OF TOMORROW

n the past decade the number of natural disasters affecting the world has risen dramatically. The In- ternational Federation of the Red Cross publishes a World Disasters Report annually, and it calculated that from 1994 to 1998 natural disasters averaged 428 per year. From 1999 to 2003, this ﬁgure rose by two- thirds to an average of 707 disasters per year. Tragically the biggest increase, of 142 percent, occurred in developing countries. As Peter Walker, director of the Interna- tional Famine Centre at Tufts University, states, “Econo- mies are not changing as fast as climate”, and therefore the developing world is continuously rebuilt after natural disasters strike. The number of people affected by natural disasters has also risen, tripling to two billion over the last ten years. Global warming is when the average suface temperature of the world increases as a result of an increase in the greenhouse effect, which is caused by air pollution. According to an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change held by the UN in 2001, the world’s average surface temperature will increase 1.4oC to 5.8oC by 2100. Sci- entists have predicted that such an increase would cause catastrophic change across the globe, including the melting of polar ice caps and the raising of water levels, which could have a signiﬁcant effect on food production.

ﬂooding in many South Sea islands, and put U.S. states Florida and Louisiana at risk. Low lying Norfolk itself is an area at risk.

Hurricanes Hurricanes Katrina and Rita recently caused unbelievable death and destruction in Louisiana, Mississippi, Ala- bama and other surrounding US states, as cities such as New Orleans were almost completely ﬂooded. However, they were merely the largest and latest in a series of hurri-

Rising Sea Levels Artic Ice serves as a kind of “air conditioner” for the world, and therefore its disappearance could have serious rami- fications. Not only will this affect the air we breathe, but sea levels will rise too. The IPCC’s 2001 report projects that it could rise between 4 and 35 inches (10 to 89cm) by the end of the century. Global warming in the Artic is causing the Artic Ice to melt at an alarming rate. Since 1978, the Arctic sea ice area has shrunk by some 9 percent per decade, and at this rate will be gone by the end of the century. Sea- levels have already risen by 4 to 8 inches over the past century (according to the IPCC) and are expected to rise even more. A rise in sea levels causes flooding, and as 100 million people worldwide live within 3 feet (1 meter) of mean sea level, flooding could reach extreme levels in the near future. The national geographic predicts that rises of just 4 inches (10 centimeters) could promote

canes to devastate the East Coast of the United States. In fact, since 1995 the Atlantic has produced twice as many powerful hurricanes than previously. The naming of such storms does little to illustrate just how dangerous they are, as Hurricanes such as Stan and Frances have swept the Gulf coast in the last couple of years. The hurricane surplus is happening at the same time as the sea rises and gets warmer, due to global warming. Hurricanes gain their strength and ferocity from the sea, and quite simply, the warmer the seas get, the more powerful a hurricane can potentially be. A study in the Na- tional Geographic predicts that warming of the tropical sea surface will strengthen hurricane winds and rainfall by the end of the 21st century. Hurricane Katrina was the ﬁrst category ﬁve storm (the most powerful) to hit land, but more will surely follow.

)N THE MOUNTAIN BELOW HAD A SIZEABLE GLACIER AT ITS SUMMIT

1985

Monsoon/Drought Earlier this year India, particularly the area of Mumbai, was flooded by monsoon rain, and more than five hundred people died. Although this part of the world has a monsoon season, the rainfall this year far surpassed that of any previously recorded. Global warming can be blamed for this, as warmer temperatures have resulted in increased rainfall for some areas, and less for others. Extreme rainfall adds to the risk of flooding, as well as causing landslides, avalanches and soil erosion. The costs to society, especially in developing countries, can be devastating. Low agricultural productivity and loss of crops can lead to poverty and starvation. Droughts such as the 1930s Dust Bowl produce similar effects, causing erosion that can last for years. This is already being seen in Spain and Portu- gal, two countries not usually associated with drought. Global warming has meant much of Southern Europe has had considerably less rainfall than usual. The ramifi- cations are already being felt in this country, as much of our fruit and vegetables come from Spain.

ome scientists remain adamant that many global warming predictions are overstated, and that human-caused climate change will not have such a dramatic affect. However, there is no doubt that carbon emissions made by humans are causing global warming, and this should stop. Global warming, and its impact on climate change, has only become a political topic of debate in the last ten years, and only limited attempts have been made to combat it. The Kyoto Protocol, introduced in 1997 and revised in 2001, seeks to force industrialised countries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. However, it is yet to have much success as the largest polluter in the world, the USA, is yet to sign it and has shown no inclination to even consider ratifying the protocol. Ironically, the US is the latest to suffer from a massive natural disaster, and perhaps this will cause a change of heart. After the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, Peter Walker said, “The tsunami has come at a time when the world is ready for a new look and a new focus for disaster reduction. We can no longer do business as usual.” He is right, it is time for us to re-think how we live before it is too late.

)F WE REALLY WANT TO REDUCE GLOBAL WARMING WE NEED TO CHANGE THE WAY WE LIVE 4HIS MEANS MOVING AWAY FROM OUR COMPULSIVE RELIANCE ON TECHNOLOGY

urricane Katrina was warning enough of the potential impact global warming could have for humankind. We are spiral- ling into an almost inevitable nightmare which will be wrought with further natural disasters, from more hurricanes to famine and drought in much of the world. The fact that the developing world will be hit harder than the developed does not seem to matter to most people in the West. As long as our lives run smoothly, then what is the problem? The exodus from New Orleans prior to Katrina striking was a ﬁtting metaphor for the wider global situation. The relatively wealthy, middle class (and generally white) citizens were able to drive away in their cars, leaving the poor, disadvantaged (and mainly black) citizens behind. It did not seem to occur to anyone that by using cars to escape the city, they are in fact adding to the problem. The inevitable sprint to the safety of one’s SUV or station-wagon is a parallel to what the United States and others do on a global scale.? New Orleans is a microcosm for the situation overwhelming the planet. While this may depress some people, or simply disinterest others, there are remedies that can at least help the situation, if only to allay one’s con- scious. Plenty of simple – and unfortunately clichéd – methods exist that will at least slow the decline in the world’s climate problem. Using cars less is an obvious example of this, but the fact it has been repeated endlessly since climate change became an issue does not seem to stop many people from using their motor vehicles. Anyone who uses the university car park will know that after 10am, it is virtually impossible to get a space – in a university that prides itself on being environmentally friendly this is a shocking state of affairs and must be al- layed in the future. People must be encouraged not to use their cars, and the Union is in a prime position to improve the situation by charging more for a space, or simply decreasing the spaces available. The whole car issue throws into light the main reason we humans are in a position of peril. We are obsessed with, and addicted to, machines. The only walking some people do in a day is from their front door to their garage – after that the wonders of the combustion engine will take over. Taking an overseas ﬂight will add extraordinary amounts of carbon to the atmosphere, yet people are now using operators such as Ryanair and Easyjet more

than at any time previously. It is not only transport that adds to global warming however – while automobiles and aeroplanes burn fossil fuels directly, what of the myriad of electronic gadgetry that exists in any one home. Electric- ity is made using gas or oil, and therefore using less of it

will help in the fight against climate change. The first, and yet another clichéd way of doing this is to turn lights off. It is a shame people still have to re- minded to do what should be something trivial but unfortunately this is the case. Turning off computers and stereo equipment, and using the On/Off button on the TV instead of using the standby button on the remote, are all small ways in which energy can be saved. It is beyond comprehension that a typical human being is now such a lazy creature that such simple tasks cannot be achieved without extreme effort, but the way machines are allowed to rule our lives makes it very easy for us to forget that once upon a time, life used to be difficult. How many of us would risk injury trying to find the remote down the back of the sofa rather than actually use the but- tons on the television to change the channel?

$O WE REALLY NEED SO MUCH TECHNOLOGY

hile The Matrix ﬁlms made a lot of salient points about life, the uni- verse and everything, one sticks out for the purposes of this issue. While it is clear machines are not super-intelligent beings set on the destruction of the human race, they do have a supreme bearing on the way we live. We are at the whims of various machines: many now use an organiser to tell them where to be and at what time;; others go into ana- phylactic shock if they notice their mobile phone is missing. Even the humble electric toothbrush, a machine that has only one purpose tells us, through a series of whirs and buzzes, when to stop brush- ing or change sides. How is it that we cannot even brush our teeth without the help of a machine? It seems the answer to this is that we like the easy life. Anything that enables us to use less energy is good, whether it is an unhealthy packaged microwave meal or the ability to travel without the hassle of walking or coping with the weather. Our over-indulgent lifestyle is wreaking havoc with our entire ecosystem, and the consequences have been seen across the world – people reduced to animals in a desperate search for food and safety. It is only to be expected that more of the same will follow, un- less we seriously reconsider the way we live. This is why this issue is themed ‘The Good Life’. It offers ideas and alternatives to the way we live now, all of which can lead to not only a healthier lifestyle, but also reduce the pollution we cause.

ONLY YEARS LATER AND THAT GLACIER IS ALMOST GONE AN EXAMPLE OF NATURAL BEAUTY THAT CAN NEVER BE RECOVERED

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$PODSFUF Wednesday October 12 2005

$OWN ON THE ALLOTMENT

7HY BUY MASS PRODUCED FRUIT AND VEG WHEN YOU CAN GROW YOUR OWN *AMES #ONWAY MEETS THE 5%! STUDENTS WHO ARE GETTING BACK TO NATURE

t’s a lifestyle that most of us have fondly considered at some point in our lives, albeit just for a brief moment. Sometimes it’s brought on by the sudden realization half way through a frozen pizza that you have no idea what you are eating. Sometimes it’s the desire to drop all of society’s burdens and complications and replace them with a vegetable patch. Often, of course, it simply evolves from a long-time crush on Felicity Kendal. Whatever the motivation might be, giving it all up to become self-sufﬁcient and live off the fat of the land conjures up so many satisfying images.

Obviously in reality there are too many practical problems. Besides which, most of us aren’t brave enough. But self sufﬁciency isn’t an all or nothing thing. More and more of us are growing herbs or peas in our gardens and dozens of UEA students now keep chickens. The demand for allotments has increased in recent years, as has the range of people who rent them. During the post war era nearly a quarter of households supplemented their living with a private allotment, but as the economic and social situation changed, the vegetable patch became the preserve of the retired old gentleman as the rest of us went mad

for the supermarkets. But times have changed again, and now 250,000 allotments are being worked upon all over the country. The driving force behind this change is a revolt against the very thing that took us

!T lRST GLANCE THE SITE LOOKS A LITTLE HAPHAZARD WITH A LOT OF SPACE SEEM INGLY GOING TO WASTE BUT NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH off the allotments in the ﬁrst place. People are growing weary of cheap, mass produced and over packaged food, as well as all the environmental issues that come with it. While the corporate world continues to promise that cheap food makes us happy, we are slowly rediscovering the deeper satisfaction of dining on a potato created by our very own hands. What’s more, it’s easy to do, and for students of this university it has recently become even easier. Last year saw the foundation of the Permaculture Society at UEA. The idea is simple, and thanks to a few dedicated students anyone at the university can now see what the good life has to offer. As with any society, members pay the three quid, and for the rest of the year they can enjoy any level of participation they feel capable of. The funds have enabled the pur- chase of three whole plots as well as all the tools and resources required, and an astounding amount was achieved in the ﬁrst year. But, as explained by one of

the founding members, last year was more of an experiment as no one had much experience. This year promises some truly enticing projects for experts and amateurs alike. Concrete went along for a tour with all the newly joined students, and society member Chris took us down to the site located off the Avenues. At first glance the site looks a little haphazard, with a lot of space seemingly going to waste, but nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that this project has gone all out on self sufficiency, not just producing its own food, but creating it’s own fertilizers and pesticides, as well as encouraging wild life. “We get a lot of funny looks from some of the other allotment owners down here”, Chris explains. “People come by and ask: ‘Are you sure you don’t want some weed killer on that?’ They just don’t get the whole idea of sustainable production.” When looking around at the variety of plots about, you soon understand that even within the world of allotments there are different ideals. Most of them seem im- maculately kept, with rows of perfect beds from edge to edge. “Very few actually work organically”, Chris continues, and although most of the advantages of homegrown food remain, no matter how you produce it, it is clear that our guys take the concept of self sufficient agriculture seriously. “If you remove the weeds with herbicides you remove all the nutrients too”, says Chris. “So then you have to use artificial fertilisers, and then pesticides and so on.” Instead of pulling out the weeds the Permaculture society simply lays cardboard and old sacks over them and blocks out the sunlight in a process known as mulching. This method, though taking slightly longer than conventional weed kill- ing, is more thorough and as the weeds rot back into the soil all the nutrients are returned. A homemade compost heap sits in the corner of the plot and consists of hundreds of past dinners. On top there is

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a rather ugly looking pile of spaghetti surrounded by rotten fruit, but underneath we discover some lush and potent compost. This has produced the perfect organic fertiliser that is mixed up with the soil before the planting begins. It doesn’t stop there. What looks like a patch of weed itself is actually a purposefully maintained comfry crop. These comfry leaves, when ripened and grinded down, are one of nature’s ﬁnest fertilisers. Before the growing season, mustard seed and leg- umes such as peas are grown all over the plot. These plants are known for their nitrogen ﬁxing properties, meaning that as the grow they take nitrogen from the atmosphere and put it into the earth, producing a fer- tile bed for the next crop. It is not just fertilisers that have a natural alternative. A small patch of brambles next door is shortly to become a woodpile, and this again is part of a grander plan. The rotten wood and brambles make the perfect habitat for Slowworm. And for those who don’t know, a slowworm’s main diet happens to be slugs. So instead of buying a chemical pesticide this allotment is growing its own living version. Biodiversity and species interaction is big part of the ethos here. When another bunch of brambles and weeds gets noticed accused of being an unused section of the allotment, Chris is there to point out the correction. “Actually that’s there to encourage the local wildlife, it’s full of seeds and food for insects and

birds”. The patch is also used as a kind of test bed, where excess seeds are thrown to ﬁnd out the more dominant species and to see how the plants interact.

he tour of the vegetable patch is interrupt- ed by the arrival of Patrick, who was about to show us one of the most exciting features of the allotment. Patrick is the local beekeeper who looks after an ever growing number of hives on various allotments around the site. The newest members of the society watch in fascination as he takes one of the two hives apart in order to feed the bees some sugared water. When it is noticed that he is bare shanded someone asks “Are you not being stung?”, to which Patrick replies “Actu- ally no, not today, but I don’t feel it much anymore.” The excitement grows as it is revealed that the society is looking for one of its own members to learn the art of beekeeping. Society funds will pay for someone to take the necessary classes in the nearby bee school, and then the job is theirs. The honey harvest this year holds big promises. Last season the hive was split in two when a new queen was born. Whenever this occurs the bees form a large swarm and the old queen is forced out, taking half the hive with her. Unfortunately this means there can be no honey, but the nest has now settled down and with a second hive next door the summer looks set to be sweet. “Each hive should produce around 60

to 80 lbs of honey” says Patrick.” The deal between the students and Patrick is still to be finalised, but the assumption is that the beekeeper gets paid for the work and this group will be eating free homemade honey for a long time. Back to the plants, and Chris demonstrates the varying success rates of the crops. “Our tomatoes didn’t really work out and, as you can see” says Chris pointing to a very modest looking pumkin, “the pump- kins didn’t turn out as well as we hoped”. Apparently this was due to the choice of seeds. Non-organic va- rieties were bought in the first year and they can only grow with a heap of chemical fertilizer. “We’re getting organic seeds for the next season and as everything else in the poly-tunnel grew so well, next year we should have better success with the tomatoes”. The poly-tunnel, which is basically a homemade green house, really is impressive. There are still suc- culent looking peppers and cucumbers hanging from thick green stems, even though this area has already filled the whole group’s baskets. Artichokes seem to be the greatest success story. They have grown so prolifically that they have become almost as tedious as weeds. All over the allotment another couple of artichokes are found still growing, even when nothing else seems to have been survived at all. After a brief tour what appeared at first to be a haphazard mix of horticulture is revealed as a highly effective project, where every level of self-sufficiency has been adhered to. A pile of tires adorn the edge of the site. Collected from nearby farms that somehow always have excess tires, they have a new role in life as potato pots. They are stacked up, filled with earth and seeded with sprouting tubers. This saves a lot of space and hard digging that is otherwise needed for a potato crop. As with the tires, everything from the wood to the metal grating that holds in the compost heap is scavenged from skips or collected from a friendly farmer. Food production isn’t the end of the story here. The most ambitious project undertaken so far has been the construction of a straw bale shed. The work so far hints at some real carpenters within the society.

Once again, all the wood has been collected for free, yet it has been expertly nailed together and sits in a four feet deep foundation hole. The floor is a tight fitting jigsaw and looks like a collage with its boards of different colours, sizes and shapes. The remaining step is to finish the roof before the walls are filled in with all the straw bails that are to be seen scat- tered over the allotment. The whole building, when finished, will have been made almost entirely from recycled materials. But this has been a proper job, consuming a lot of the summer for some enthusiastic members, and the final structure will be a proud sight. The plan is to turn it into a library, stocking it full of all the relevant books that cover the wide spectrum of organic farming methods. Everyone seems to be incredibly clued in, though most of the students here have been learning as they go along. The system wouldn’t work without some dedicated personalities, but as the society grows it is encouraging potential members to join in at any level. So tasting the good life does not entail all the sacrifices of cutting lose from the world at large. A few hours with a spade once a week and we could all be tasting a freshly grown tomato, saving on those grocery bills and reducing the waste inherent in a shop bought diet. Most of the action is going on upon the two ad- joined allotments, but another rented plot further up the lane is so far undeveloped and offers a whole new space for some self-sufficient practices. After the ex- periments in the first year the society is now looking at the wider picture. They are hoping to send a couple of members on a professional course to bring back the art of allotment design. A more complete concept is being sought, whereby the various mini projects going on will come together in one great self-sufficient enterprise. It all takes careful planning and hard work, but the rewards will be priceless. This is food production as it should be, fundamental to anyone seeking a good life. &OR MORE INFORMATION ON ALLOTMENTS AND 0ER MACULTURE CONTACT FOUNDING SOCIETY MEMBER !NDREW AT ANDREW TAYLOR UEA AC UK

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%XPLORING THE RAINBOW NATION .ATALIE %VANS (ARDING ENLIGHT ENS US ON THE DELIGHTS OF *OHANNES BURG AS SHE SPENDS HER SUMMER AS A TEACHING VOLUNTEER

t was strange how meeting a man of 75 on my flight gave me so much comfort. We got talking about South Africa - Mar- tin was going to stay with his brother. His wife had died 6 months previously and he had decided he needed to live his life to the fullest. South Africa is the most vibrant place to do it. The concept of a republic is relatively new and South Africa is still very much discovering its own identity after the apartheid regime. Johannesburg, one of South Africa’s largest cities, is heavily built up with hotels and skyscrapers. Some of the shiny, glittering windows contain local gold dust. Its busy with street sellers and the general hustle of shoppers and is completely crime ridden. All the buildings are derelict or occupied by squat- ters. It is cheaper to rebuild than to repair so everything is scheduled for demolition. After the sun goes down, Johannesburg becomes a ghost town. People are too fearful to risk what might be happening in the world’s “crime capital.” Drug trafficking is the answer and weekly gang related shootings are common. Despite South Africa’s initial appearance as a developed, independent country, poverty is still wide- spread. Shantytowns grow due to the high unem- ployment rates. Health facilities are abysmal. Hus- bands abandon their wives to find work in the city. The wives are promised money will arrive soon and wait anxiously while their children go unschooled and hungry until the husband comes back home. South Africa’s rural landscape is what you en- visage when you think of Africa as a continent - dry, red coloured earth, huge hills and rock faces, and a striking sunset. The experience is something else. The moon is the other way up. It actually looks like a smile, her happiness depending on what time of the month it is. We were a group of university volunteers, under the organisation of Tenteleni;; a charity that hopes students can bring enthusiasm and knowledge of their own learning experiences to various countries across Africa. Our project was based in Mpumalan- ga. We were a group of 11 volunteers working in 5 different schools. Being the only student from UEA on my project was daunting at first. The usual doubts and appre- hensions crept up on me before I arrived, but pre- dictably I was worried about nothing. We faced chal-

lenges, and when the going got tough (this meant a car crash for me) my friends were right by my side. The experience provided a common bond between us. Teaching had high and low points for all of us. Many of us had trouble witnessing some nasty corporal punishment. People got frustrated by the language barriers and no one predicted how much effort and hard work it would take. However, there was nothing more rewarding than teaching a good lesson. When the children were absorbing the information and having fun it made all the preparation worthwhile. It was such a rewarding experience. We made some genuine friends in South Africa. Getting to know the pupils meant that we could talk to them on their level and create a rapport between children and teachers that never existed previously. Getting to know the teachers was so much fun! No matter how much of an open mind you go with it is always shocking to ﬁnd out that people who have led a completely different life can have so much in common with you. All the staff loved our poor (but appreciated) attempts at speaking Siswati (the language of Mpumalanga) and made it their mission to improve us before we left. We organised regular trips to Wimpy, the place to be apparently, to celebrate birthdays and paydays where we gossiped over wafﬂes. The teacher-student netball match was one of the funniest experiences of my life. As a sign of our appreciation of all this we learnt the traditional Tonga dance, the Xibalane, to perform to them before we left. This involved a lot of hip shaking whilst wearing a multi coloured woollen skirt. It went down a storm. Spending the summer on this project has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life and it is actually hard adjusting to being back. We arrived into a completely different culture and environment into wich we were welcomed by the community from the start. Progress at the schools was slow, it was frustrating not to see immediate results, but being there made a difference. No matter how little we achieved, we achieved something and this can be built on by next year’s volunteers. This perhaps sounds like one big cliché. Nothing I write can convey this experience to you properly. All I can say is that there is the opportunity for you to discover this culture for yourself. I can honestly say that there is nothing I would recommend more.

"ACKPACKER 4IP /F 4HE &ORTNIGHT .O

$ON T BUY WEED FROM A 2USSIAN BLOKE CALLED 3ERGEI (E WON T BE COMING BACK

0RIYA 3HAH EXPLORES THE POPULAR TOURIST DESTINATION OF #APE 4OWN AND GIVES HER HIGHLIGHTS FOR PROSPECTIVE TRAVELLERS

ape Town is a stunning gem that gleams against the backdrop of the cliffs of Twelve Apostles which provide a spec- tacular view of the beautiful, cosmopoli- tan city. Cape Town is often compared to other coastal cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Sydney or San Francisco but in actual fact none of these cities can compare to the thousands of years of history and drama contained within this city. Whatever your expectations of this city, it is bound to surprise you. It is fringed with sandy white beaches, ﬁne wining and dining, all backed by stunning mountain scenery and full of houses you’d love to own. There is also plenty to see and do, from catching the cable car up Table Mountain or taking a boat ride to Robben Island, where Mandela was incarcerated. You can also go driving along the coast to Cape Point, the very tip of Africa, or take a picnic on one of the city’s fabulous white beaches (I would recommend Clifton or Noordhoek for long walks, people watching and beautiful scenery) Also, it would be worthwhile to take a walk to the beautiful and world-renowned gar-

dens of Kirstenbosch which are located on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. The entrance fee is just 20 Rand per person. There are many sweet smelling and scented gardens which await the budding travel- ler. Also, The Green Dolphin is a fantastic resturant/ club for funky jazz. Long Street is ‘the place to be’ for trendy nightlife and traditional South African ﬂavour. Cape Town was initially just a stop for traders from the Dutch East India Company heading for Asia. Despite its Africanness and its distinct Europe- an cultural heritage, Cape Town doesn’t really belong in either continent. It is a volatile mixture of the Third and First worlds oozing with an acute sense of historical culture. Cape Town is always described as one of the most laid back and open societies but make no mistake about it;; the scars of the apartheid run deep. District Six, just to the east of the city centre, is the suburb that gave Cape Town such a vivacious mul- ticultural atmosphere. Primarily, it was a coloured ghetto, which was densely populated but full of life and soul. One thing is for certain – you will always want to spend longer in Cape Town although it will

never be enough. With only an 11 hour ﬂight from London and the South African Summer looming in November, this is clearly the best time to go. For breathtaking scenery , watersports, snorkelling and the relaxing time of your life - Cape Town is the hottest destination at this time of year. The currency is the Southern African Rand, which currently stands at: 1 British Pound =11.2 Rand. Some Tips For Travellers – My Top 5: 1. If possible you should try and get to see the At- lantic Coast of the Cape Peninsula. Swimming here is such an exhilarating and refreshing experience. The water itself comes straight from the Antarctic (which is courtesy of the Benguela current). The mix of beaches, scenery and mountains is nothing short of breathtaking. 2. Wildlife appeals to many travelers when coming to South Africa. Try to visit game reserves and national parks for a promised highlight. However, the weather can be pretty unpredictable so wear layers. Never

carry valuables, as you will be a target for muggers. 3. Marijuana is illegal but highly attainable. There are strict penalties for use, but obviously users are not idiotic enough to smoke in public places. 4. The view from the top of Table Mountain is extraordinary. For the long walks alone it is worth making the trip for the phenomenal trail to the summit. The cable car is very popular but you should call before you go as it depends on the weather conditions. 5. A tour of a wine vineyard is unbeatable. The Cape has become synonymous with the art of wine-making. In particular, the wine tasting in the Stellen- bosch region would be an activity I would personally recommend. The Paarl Wine Route is also called the ‘Red Route’ for its legendary red wines. Cabernet Sauvignon, Port and Shiraz wines have established Paarl’s place on the global wine map and the region has repeatedly received international awards for these wines. The wine lands are a sight for sore eyes and undoubtedly an experience not to be missed.

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$PODSFUF Wednesday October 12 2005

&INDING A NATURAL CURE &OR THE DRUGS COMPANIES KEEPING US HEALTHY IS A LUCRATIVE BUSINESS %MMA *OHNSTON SEEKS OUT AN ALTERNATIVE REMEDY FOR THE COMMON COLD

ays are getting shorter, the leaves are turning and the piles of tissues are building – it’s that time of year again. But as the summer season’s hayfever tablets go out, should we be falling back on such winter classics as the multivitamin, two paracetamol four times a day and the ever-popular throat lozenge? Enter any lec- ture theatre this side of Christmas and you will find the distinct aroma of medicated cherry, the best personal-space inducer known to man. It’s also true of the number 25 bus;; all it takes are a few well-placed sneezes and hey presto, space galore: “Back off, I’m ill!” Is this really the solution though? How do we know that the drugs we buy are the best thing for our body? How do we know what’s in them? Why does one pack of 16 anti-flu tablets cost £4 more than the slightly less well packaged one, and do those shiny embossed letters really make the first packet better? What about the alternatives? Eastern medical practices and herbal remedies are becoming ever more popular in competition with increasingly discredited large pharmaceutical companies. But can they pro-

-ORE THAN MILLION WORK DAYS ARE LOST EACH YEAR THROUGH mU RELATED ILLNESSES vide a real, fast-working and affordable choice for the average student? Thermos in hand, hot water bottle at the ready, it was time for Concrete to find out. Herbal medicines have been used as both pre- vention and cure for thousands of years. In Ancient Egypt pharaohs were entombed with aids for the after-life, including collections of medicinal plants. The Greeks and Romans extensively developed one of the first medical systems, charting the effect and usage of various herbs, and many familiar packaged drugs today originated from more natural sources. Digoxin, for example, was first used as the plant Digitalis, while Aspirin was first isolated from the bark of the willow. And it seems our ancestors knew a thing or

two about their medicine. Echinacea is one of the best-known herbal alternatives to over-the-counter products used to combat the common cold. First recognised by the Native Americans, this plant was originally used to heal wounds and snakebites. Readily available in all main health stores, it is now considered one of the prime remedies for the immune system. Clinical trials have shown that it can substantially improve the symptoms of both colds and ﬂu, shortening the course of the illness in 78% of people. Still not convinced? Then how about an essential ingredient in every student’s kitchen: garlic. It is an aphrodisiac, it tastes delicious and it can actually improve your health too. Scientiﬁc research has shown that people taking garlic can suffer less from colds than control groups, and there is also plentiful evidence that taking large amounts of garlic at the onset of a cold can reduce the time taken to recover. And yes, of course you’ll smell lovely.

ut if natural solutions really are the answer, why does the Western medical world rely so heavily on manufactured drugs? In recent years numerous scandals involving large drug companies have brought this issue to the forefront of medical debate, with pa- tients questioning the quality of healthcare they are receiving. “Ghost writing”, where scientists accept large sums of money from drugs companies to put their names to articles endorsing new medicines, is a growing problem. Doctors can also receive substantial sums of money – up to £1500 at a time – to give talks based on such papers to an audience of doctors at a drug company-sponsored symposium. Further- more, high profile medical staff are headhunted for such positions, and for opportunities with drug companies which often offer them free holidays, transport and accommodation. These figures, combined with the fact that more than 150 million working days are lost each year through flu-related illnesses at a cost of £6.75 billion to the UK economy, make the cold remedy industry big business. However, the emphasis on the treatment or “masking” of symptoms, rather than addressing the route cause of a medical complaint, can have far-reaching implications. Many anti-depressant drugs, such as SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake

4RADITIONAL 2EMEDIES (OT #HICKEN 3OUP

If the mere mention of this doesn’t make you feel ill, nothing will. But there have been serious studies to suggest that maybe, just maybe, there is something to its healing reputation. The tradition of feeding chicken soup to people suffering from a cold dates back to the thirteenth century, when it was believed to revive the body and cure all ills. When suffering from colds and flu symptoms, you need to have lots of fluid to keep hydrated so it’s feasible that in this sense it could help. Chicken soup is nutritious, easy to drink with a sore throat and the steam from the soup helps to alleviate a blocked nose. There is also some research indicating that chicken soup contains a natural antibiotic, which could help to fight bacterial infection. You will need:

1 pint chicken stock 1 cooked chicken breast 1 small onion salt and pepper chopped vegetables (e.g. carrot, parsnip)

Gently fry the onion and add the stock. Add the vegetables and cook until soft. Cut the cooked chicken into small strips and add to the stock. Simmer until heated through then serve with crusty bread.

(OT 4ODDIES

A boozy favourite, this blend of whisky, honey, lemon juice and hot water is thought to alleviate the symptoms of colds. No, whisky won’t ﬁght off the germs, but one measure of alcohol in a hot toddy may make sufferers feel better as it makes them feel sleepy and lessens their perception of their symptoms. New research on honey suggests that it may have natural healing qualities, but no proof yet exists that it will help a cold. You will need:

50ml whisky 1-2 tsp honey 10ml lemon juice 100ml hot water

Put the ingredients in a mug or heatproof glass and stir gently. You can also add a slice of lemon or a pinch of cinnamon for ﬂavour.

inhibitors) – the class of drug to which Prozac and Seroxat belong – have been proven to cause higher rates of suicide, aggression and schizophrenic ten- dencies. Alternative health experts suggest that this is due to the strength of drug being introduced to the body, creating an unnecessary pressure on an already vulnerable system. Looking at the possible side-effects lists of most over-the-counter drugs it is easy to see where this notion comes from. This leads on the question of whether brand names are better. Do the big household names produce better quality medicine than cheaper brand sub- stitutes? Studies would suggest not. In fact, if the ingredients are the same, gener- ic brands have been shown to be equally effective (or as ineffec- tive) at r e m o v i n g the symptoms of c o l d s . If drugs can’t provide a cure to the common cold, perhaps it’s worth considering the more natural tried and tested solutions listed below, which won’t break the bank and might just work.

Of course, a balanced diet, regular exercise, drinking plenty of water, getting plenty of sleep and washing your hands frequently to prevent the spread of viruses are all crucial to remaining in good health. But no-one can do all of these things all of the time, especially in times of stress when the head starts to feel woolly and the snifﬂes begin. The health industry is a business like any other, and so the same caution in where to put your money applies. Yet with something so important as your own health, it’s worth bearing in mind that there will be a natural solution to your problem, it just may not come blister-packed.

4HE %CHINACEA PLANT

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$PODSFUF Wednesday October 12 2005

%ATING FOR THE ENVIRONMENT &OR THE CONSCIENTIOUS SHOPPER BUYING FOOD CAN BE AN ETHICAL NIGHTMARE #LAIRE !ITCHISON ASKS IF ORGANIC PRODUCE LIVES UP TO ITS FEEL GOOD REPUTATION

n the last 10 years sales of organic foods have increased by over 10%, with the ben- efi ts claimed ranging from better tasting food to actual improvements in health. But do we actually know what organic food is, and is there any difference between the organic and inorganic versions? What does “organic” mean? The dic- tionary defi nition is: “Of, relating to, or derived from living organisms”. Well, in that case all our food is organic;; most things we eat or drink are derived from living organisms by their very nature (except perhaps Sunny Delight). But in the supermarket sense of the word, “organic” means food that is produced according to a set of guidelines regarding the use of pesticides, fertilisers, genetically modifi ed products, and animal welfare. Since there is no legal defi nition of the word, any product can claim to be “organic”, but there are various organisations which monitor its production, the strictest being the Soil Association – therefore any item with the Soil Association logo can be safely treated as truly organic. But is organic food actually any better? Well it does usually taste better. When food is forced to grow too fast in unnatural conditions, a lot of the taste is lost. Farmers are encouraged to produce uniform, colourful products that last as long as possible on the supermarket shelves, but this often occurs at the ex- pense of fl avour. For instance, meat is often injected with water to make it appear fatter and heavier. How- ever, as soon as you come to cook the meat, all the water evaporates so you end up with a small amount of tough meat, and the “value” chicken can suddenly seem a lot less value. So most people will agree that food grown at a natural rate in natural conditions tastes far better than forced crops, but is it actually any better for your health? Some people claim that organic food is higher in vitamins and antioxidants such as vitamin C than non-organic food, because of the use of natural fertilisers rather than chemicals. Vitamins are essential for building the proteins that make up your body, and antioxidants have been shown to have cancer-fi ghting properties. However, there is debate as to whether these vitamins are any less present in food which is not grown to organic standards.

Plants generally take up the nutrients they need, re- gardless of the source, and it is these nutrients that are passed on to us when we eat them. Some intensive farmers actually claim that their high-tech methods produce a crop richer in vitamins and minerals and better for our health. Often in intensive meat farming, drugs such as growth hormones, steroids and antibiotics are used to increase the size and muscle mass of an animal, and there are worries that these drugs could be getting into our systems when we eat the meat. These are accused of having an adverse effect on our health, causing problems such as osteoporosis, early puberty, migraines and hyperactivity in children. These drugs are banned by the Soil Association, as are products such as hydrogenated fat and monosodium glutama- te, which are linked with heart disease. This doesn’t mean that eating large quantities of organic beef is going to prevent you from having a heart attack, but it is probably marginally better for you than if that beef were intensively farmed. Also, organic cattle certiﬁ ed

3INCE THERE IS NO LEGAL DElNITION OF THE WORD ANY PRODUCT CAN CLAIM TO BE ORGANIC by the Soil Association are fed on an all straw/grass diet, and are far less likely to be contaminated with BSE. Therefore people who only eat organic beef are going to be less at risk of contracting the disease.

ne of the main arguments for eating organic food is that it is better for the environment. In- tensive farming methods reduce diversity. The pressure put on farmers by the big chain supermarkets to produce large quantities of

cheap food, means that they cannot afford to have any unproductive land, meaning that fi elds are fi lled to the brim with a single type of crop. The need for large, colourful fruit and veg necessitates the need for fertilisers, and pesticides are essential if much of the crop is not to be spoiled. Unfortunately these artifi cial pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers can leach into

!RTIlCIAL PESTICIDES HER BICIDES AND FERTILISERS CAN LEACH INTO THE WATER SUPPLY OR GET SPRAYED INTO THE AIR THAT WE BREATHE the water supply or get sprayed into the air that we breathe, and in recent times these have been linked to diseases such as asthma and childhood cancers. Organic farmers accredited by the Soil Associa- tion have to work with the environment around them. They are encouraged to maintain hedgerows, and allow trees to grow in the middle of their fi elds. They leave wide fi eld margins unfarmed. These untouched areas encourage birds, insects and animals which act as natural predators to pests, and this means that certain breeds which would otherwise be extinct are enjoying a renaissance. Organic farms do not use artifi cial herbicides and pesticides, and as their fertiliser is made of natural composted material, there is less waste produced, and less carbon dioxide released into the air by burning the fi elds. Another process which may be used in intensive farming is genetic modifi cation. This is a process where genes for characteristics such as pest resist- ance or larger size are artifi cially introduced into an animal or plant, causing every generation that follows to also have these characteristics. O n e school of thought feels that g e n e t i c m o d i f i -

cation could be the answer to the world’s food short- age problems and more. If a crop could be designed that did not need water to grow, there would be no more drought-related famine. If a gene for antibiotic production could be spliced into cows’ milk, then common diseases could be cured just by drinking a cup of tea. However, other people are extremely uneasy about the way we are meddling with nature and evolution. Genetic modifi cation is a relatively new process, and its far-reaching effects are yet to be revealed. There is a worry that not enough is known about the implications of eating genetically modifi ed meat and vegetables, and that in the future it may be implicated in all sorts of environmental and health problems. By eating only organic food, some people are hoping to protect themselves from this possibility. However, one serious problem is that farms are not sealed en- vironments, and there is nothing stopping cross-con- tamination of organic crops with genetically modifi ed pollen, thereby infl icting genetically modifi ed foods on an unsuspecting population. Organic food is usually more expensive than your bog-standard variety, and this has to be the case as organic farming methods are by defi nition not as ef- fi cient as intensive methods. It may be better for your health to eat organic – the evidence is not clear, and is unlikely to ever progress much beyond the anecdotal. It probably is better for the environment to encourage the methods of farming that lead to increased diversity and a cleaner water supply. Having said that, is it better to buy organic apples that have been fl own in from halfway around the world, with all the pollution that that implies? Or is it better to buy pesticide- ridden local food that has only come from down the road? And that’s before we have even considered the Fair-Trade option! With all this choice, it can be pretty confusing, and with the costs often being prohibitive, buying organic is not always something that students can realistically consider. But it is worth taking a moment to consider what has gone into the production of your food. With everything we want so readily available at our fi ngertips;; with the competition of supermarkets forcing prices down so much that they no longer re- fl ect the effort that has gone in to the production of the food;; whatever choice you decide to make – surely it’s best if it’s an informed one? &OR MORE INFORMATION ON ORGANIC FOODS VISIT WWW SOILASSOCIATION ORG

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he University of East Anglia has never been financially comfortable, but it came as a surprise to everyone when the institution was finally bought out by an international fast food chain. McUEA, as the campus will now be known, will see many changes under the contract of its new owner. The food outlets will bare the most immediate developments as all the menus are to be refined by the start of next week. It is expected that not long after that, both the Union Post Office and the Wa- terstones will in turn replace their stock with the standard selection of fries and burgers. Until then, students purchasing any two course books will receive a free plastic toy.

The large-scale transformations at McUEA will not occur until the next academic year, when students who apply before April will have the chance to buy a medium diet Pepsi for the price of a small. The school system will receive a slight restructure, with enrollments in McLitature being offered with a side order of either crispy Philosophy or salad. The Enquirer tracked down the new Dean of Students, Ronald McDonald, to find out the sort of reception his plans had received so far. “Sure, there was some animosity at first,” the clown admitted, “but when I explained that graduating students would have the chance to Super Size their degrees, I think all doubts were put to rest”. Along with this new benefit, graduate employment rates look set to sky rocket as the fast-food franchise has promised janitorial posts in all of its restaurants to everyone with McUEA degree. The medical school is the only department to raise serious objections so far. In a press conference on Friday, Doctor Jones spoke on behalf of rest of faculty. “We have been informed that clinical obesity is to be taken of the syllabus”, the doctor announced. “Likewise the effect of clogged arteries, heart disease and the symptoms of BSE are all being removed from the course!” the doctor screamed in outrage. A spokesman for the new board at McUEA claimed in a later rebuttal that all these terms are out of date and have no place in a modern medical educational. Assuming that these matters are resolved the University is predicted to excel under its new management. For now, eyes turn to the current bidding war between KFC and Burger King over the Sports Centre.

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Ê Ê - ,Ê ",Ê 7Ê-/1 /UEA has tried to make life a little less compli- cated for Freshers and returning students after the confusion in re-organizing the schools. All rooms have now been moved one floor up and one room across with the top floor obviously becoming the bottom floor. The vice-chancellor said: “I am very pleased with the move everything is now in exactly the place you would expect to find it.” So far only the library and the Arts building have been changed, but phase two of the move will begin next summer. Plans, however, to move the chap- laincy into the LCR have been objected to by many students who “just want things to stay the way they are.” One upset third year said: “they’ve knocked down Waveney, renamed every eating place, what will be next?” The vice-chancellor remains happy with his decisions though and has told us of further plans to

Blindfolded guided tours were offered throughout Freshers week and seem to have been successful. The idea was that it would help students improve their spatial awareness in a new environment especially when under the influence of alcohol. One 1st year History student said: It’s a great idea! It helped me to find my way home from the LCR all through Freshers week.” A choice, however, is being offered to students who prefer their eyes to their ears. A fetching pair of earmuffs, emblazoned with the UEA logo, was also distributed to all first years. The ear muff tours were intended to make students open their eyes to the new look UEA and the muffs themselves are said to be multi-functional;; they can be used for those bit- terly cold Norwich winter months and they can be used if an unruly housemate plays music too loud. Not wanting to leave out returning students,

scrap the decimal numbering of rooms and replace it with an alphabetical system. He admits that some problems may arise because “we only have 26 letters to play with.” Other fresher friendly measures have been taken to help new students ﬁnd their way around.

UEA has ordered in extra pairs of muffs, which will be available to buy in the Union post ofﬁce along with the other items of UEA clothing. The Vice chancellor continuing his support, The new magistrate - said: “Its reasons like this that UEA is getting to the in his full caucasian splender top of those league tables.”

$PODSFUF Wednesday October 12 2005

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)CE CREAM VS GLOBAL WARMING

s the environmental and development section of Concrete, Turf has the role to report on

every green or ethical issue that faces the UEA. But our role does not stop at simply raising awareness. Neither should the role of a student be one that involves reading without acting. We therefore offer this col- umn as a fortnightly guide to better environmental practice. We hope that regular readers of Turf will be encouraged to join some of the many campaigns and organisation we report on. But failing that, we should all be following these tips, whether active environmentalists or not.

@4AKE IT FROM TWO ICE CREAM GUYS ONCE IT S MELTED IT S RUINED

s the issues of climate change gain an ever higher media pro- ﬁle, such as recent references to Global Warming being resposi- ble for the New Orleans crisis, it is increasingly becoming the interest of businesses to appear to be giving their bit back to the environment. Companies and corporations are lining up their ‘green’ campaigns. The most recent company to jump on the band-wagon is ice cream

maker Ben and Jerry’s. Ben and Jerry’s are starting a three year initiative called the Climate Change College, which will see six young people aged 18-25 become climate change am- bassadors. They have teamed up with WWF to support their international PowerSwitch campaign “For a cleaner power sector”, also known as Stop Climate Chaos. The campaign is concerned with getting governments to make signiﬁcant cuts to CO pollution from coal power stations and forcing a switch to clean efﬁcient power. It is set up in Europe, Asia-Pa-

cific, USA and Russia, and pushes governments to pass strong laws that affect the power sector and trigger the required switch to renewable energy and a much more intelligent use of our energy. The Ben and Jerry’s project has also recruited arctic explorer Mark Cornelissen of Pole Track, an international North Pole expedition setting out to support climate change research, hoping to play an integral part in the running of scientific programs conducted by scientists and institutes around the world. The selected six will be trained through intern- ships, workshops and a visit to the Arctic to witness the effects and experience the forefront of climate research, a wholesome opportunity for a budding en- vironmentalist with an active mind. Part-and-parcel of the project is the company’s responsibility to the issue. Ben and Jerry’s have set targets for themselves in their climate management plan to continuously improve plant efficiencies with new technology options. The ice-cream maker now uses non-polluting energy sources (i.e. CO2-neutral renewable energy sourced from wind, sun, water or biomass) to power its manufacturing operations. The company is also taking an active interest in promising research developments in thermocoustic refrigeration, a cooling technology that uses sound waves instead of greenhouse gas emitting refriger- ants. The intention is to give “young people the skills to return to their countries to inspire businesses and citizens to start addressing the issue of climate change”, explained co-founder Jerry Greenfield. The project certainly seems an interesting one, with the comprehensive target to involve the younger generation and supply them with the knowledge needed to protect and preserve our future.

To ﬁll in an entry form for the Ben and Jer-

-EETING NATURE HALFWAY

ry’s Climate Change College go to: www.climatechangecollege.org

Improve your knowledge on current campaigning at the WWF website for global climate change: http://www.panda.org/powerswitch/

Or their Stop Climate Chaos site: http://www.wwf.org.uk/climatechange- campaign/

If you’re interested in making a local and international difference through the Cli- mate Prediction.net programme:

http://www.climateprediction.net – Go here to download the model. You get a really cool screensaver!

http://cpdn.blogspot.com/ - Contains in- structions on how to download the model, and has links to UEA speciﬁc sites.

4WO OF .ORFOLK S MOST WELL KNOWN AND POPULAR FRESHWATER MARSHES COULD BE UNDER THREAT BECAUSE OF A NEW APPROACH TO COASTAL MANAGEMENT IN THE REGION -ARK (IRONS REPORTS

ley and Salthouse Marshes provide varied habitats for birds such as the Bittern and March Harrier. As a result the marshes are very popular with bird watchers and conservationists. Both Marshes are protected from the sea by a 20 mile long shingle bank, the constant preservation of which is now considered to be unsustainable. Major stakeholders in the area are the Norfolk Wildlife Trust (NWT), who manage the marshes and the Environment Agency, responsible for coastal management. The problem facing them is how to manage valuable habitats in a way which allows the coastline to develop naturally. If this is impossible then what takes priority;; sustainable natural coast- lines or expensive conservation of rare and scientifi- cally important habitats? The Environment Agency proposed that a new wall of defence should be built behind the present shingle ridge as a second line of protection. This will mean that the original bank will reposition and re-profile resulting in an increased risk of sea water inundation to the Marshes. The project, costing just under £2.5m, is funded jointly by Government Office Eastern Region and East of England Development Agency, with all the match funding provided by the Environment Agency, Nor- folk Wildlife Trust and National Trust. The project will include: • Flood alleviation and coastline management works at NWT Cley Marshes, Salthouse Marshes and Blak- eney Freshes. • The building of a new visitor and education centre at NWT Cley Marshes. • The delivery of an integrated programme of awareness, education and information with the project

Salthouse Marshes area focused on visitor reception points at NWT Cley Marshes, Blakeney Point and Morston Quay. The proposed work has been the subject of consultation with those who live and work locally. Work is planned to finish by 2008. The construction of the new sluices at Cley Marshes should enable rapid evacuation of floodwa- ter. It is expected that, whilst flooding will continue to occur at Cley and Salthouse Marshes (as it has done over several previous decades) rapid evacuation will significantly reduce the damage caused by saline water on freshwater habitats. Re-directing the flow of the River Glaven on Blak- eney Freshes is being undertaken to improve evacuation of flood water and ensure the river does not become blocked. The shingle ridge at Cley and Salthouse Marshes is a natural flood defence feature that has been arti- ficially managed since the 1940s. The reprofilling of the ridge is intended to create a more natural profile, hopefully resulting in a more sustainable and robust sea barrier. The barrier will continue to be periodi- cally overtopped but will absorb more wave energy, thus offering more protection to the coastal marshes and local properties. Reduced management interven- tion will also enable the re-establishment of flora and

fauna on the shingle ridge. It is anticipated that, in spite of improved ﬂood alleviation, gradual increases in salinity will eventually compromise the sustainability of existing habitat at Cley Marshes for breeding bitterns and therefore, under the European Habitats Directive, an alternative habitat will have to be created within the same ‘eco- geographical’ area. Environment Agency Eastern Area Manager Bill Forbes said: “We are extremely pleased to be involved in such a worthwhile collaborative project and look forward to working in partnership with Norfolk Wild- life Trust and National Trust.” In principle the NWT support the plans. How- ever, despite assurances that freshwater will remain a priority for policy makers for years, they are worried about the future of the freshwater habitats. Man- agement of these habitats requires maintenance of drainage and visitor interest alike. The Cley project is a good demonstration of how organisations with competing interests can reach agreement. To ensure that the challenge is met, the partnership, support and understanding of involved groups is essential. The continuing and long-term evaluation that the NWT is hoping for will show whether such projects can indeed be successful.

$PODSFUF Wednesday October 12 2005

5%! 4OP COMPUTER CRUNCHERS !S MORE ACCURATE CLIMATE CHANGE MODELS ARE DEMANDED THE COMPUTERS REQUIRE MORE AND MORE POWER ! NEW SYSTEM THAT USES IDLE 0# POWER IS TAKING THE LEAD AND 5%! lNDS ITSELF AT THE FOREFRONT ONCE AGAIN -ICHAEL #ROUCH REPORTS

he world’s fastest computer isn’t a supercomputer, but is in fact a rapidly expanding network of or- dinary computer owners who give up their spare processing power in the name of science. Welcome to distributed computing. Last November UEA’s Cli- mateprediction.net (CPDN) team formed. From humble beginnings, UEA is now 7th out of all the Universities and academic institutions taking part in the World, and is the leading team in the UK. CPDN was founded by Dr Myles Allen, an Oxford statistician and computer scientist David Stainforth. Over the past two years their vision has seen the system grow to be almost twice as powerful as the Earth Simulator in Yokohama, Japan, which is one of the world’s fastest supercomputers. CPDN is a General Circulation Model (GCM) that runs a simulation of Earth from 1810 to the year 2065 in order to predict the patterns of climate change. It is based on the Hadley Centre GCM, a well respected, and highly complex computer model which simulates oceanic and atmospheric processes. The experiment consists of three stages:

The project has completed over 100,000 simulations of the Earth’s climate. MACs, and Linux PCs. Both laptops and desktops are suitable. The project has completed over 100,000 simulations of the Earth’s climate, thanks to members of the public donating spare processing time on their computers. CPDN has already been used to predict the likeli- hood and simulate the effects of a shutdown in the Atlantic Conveyor (the scenario depicted in the film The Day After Tomorrow), helping climate scientists, the Environment Agency and the Government take the decisions necessary to prevent a similar scenario from becoming reality. The film alone has been the cause of an increase in the project’s participants. Science magazine has described the CPDN phenomenon as the “selfless interest of millions of people.” The latest model aims to predict the effect of sul- phate particles in the atmosphere – an effect known as ‘Global Dimming’ (which was the subject of a BBC ‘Horizon’ programme, back in the Spring). UEA’s team comprises a healthy mix of under- grad’s and postgrad’s. Not everybody running the model is in an Environmental Sciences student! CPDN and similar programs have created a new phenomenon known as ‘Competitive Crunching’. ‘Crunchers’, according to a recent Science magazine special on distributed computing, are people who

35--%$ 50 The length of time that Charles Clark would like to keep suspects locked up with out charge = The length of time it takes to witness the destruction of 20 million acres of rainforest = The average length of time between each 1000 reported Iraqi civilian deaths since the invasion =

MONTHS The number of University students in the UK = !BOVE &IRST STAGE OF THE COMPUTER MODELLING PROCESS "ELOW 3OME OF THE RESULTS BEING PRODUCED

4UBHF - A calibration stage with fixed ocean temperatures to determine what heat flux is necessary at the ocean surface to maintain a stable atmosphere with pre-industrial greenhouse forcing. 4UBHF - A control stage to examine whether the perturbed atmosphere can remain stable when cou- pled to a thermodynamic ocean and pre-industrial greenhouse gas levels 4UBHF - A double carbon dioxide run to determine the model response to a known greenhouse gas forcing The model uses a program named BOINC (Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Comput- ing). It was developed at Berkeley University in the United States, and was first used for the SETI@home project, which scans a multitude of signals from ra- dio telescopes for possible extra-terrestrial communi- cation. Unfortunately, since SETI’s launch in 1999, a signal of extra-terrestrial origin is yet to be identified. BOINC sends in its results daily to the CPDN server in Oxford. If you are permanently connected (e.g. in halls) the results will be sent in instantane- ously. If you are on a dialup connection, BOINC will wait until you next connect before uploading the results. The model runs on all types of Windows PCs,

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The number of workers in the tour- ism industry in the UK = The number of Zimbabwean people that have been promised food aid by the government (even though the UN has calculated that the same number again will still need feeding) =

MILLION

“get kicks from trying to churn through more data than anyone else”. Crunchers treat computer mod- eling as a competitive sport, and this is really good all round as it can drive scienctiﬁc advances, and there’s a bit of fun to be had at the same time. Teams add a competitive dimension to the project, UEA can feel deservedly proud that we are the leading UK university in this area of research both through CPDN and published papers. Research groups now effectively comprise several million people, all of whom will be directly affected by the issues under study. The problem facing all climate models is the degree of accuracy in the prediction. Some models over- estimate the speed and scale of climate change, leading to problems of investing huge amounts of money into trying to avert a problem which transpires to be less serious than the model suggests. However, it is sharp on both sides, because if the models underes- timate little action is taken due to the belief that any changes will be small and occur gradually. The approach CPDN is taking to tackle these problems is by improving the parameters of the experiment, which is a continual process of gathering more satellite data for a wide range of atmospheric variables including wind speed, cloud cover and temperature. As yet CPDN has stood up to the test of peer review - “No one has found fault with the way our simulations were done” according to Stainforth. Un- fortunately, the initial predictions (reported in Nature in January) have shocked climate scientists. Some simulations predict an 11ºC increase when CO2 in the atmosphere is doubled, which would be catastrophic. Stainforth therefore surmises that “we can’t say what level of atmospheric carbon dioxide is safe.” In a press release timed to coincide with the G8 summit, Myles and Stainforth warned delegates that “a delay in the earth’s climate system means that the full effects of the carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere have not yet been seen.” CPDN is a highly worthwhile program using tried and tested software. As long as you meet the system

requirements it shouldn’t slow your computer down, or cause any other problems. The option to switch the model off at any time is available to all participants at any time. The CPDN website has forums staffed by technicians should you have any difﬁcul- ties, and should you chose to download the program, you will be making a real contribution to climate science… and you will help UEA reach the top of the league table (where we deserve to be!). You also get a really cool screensaver! So what’s next for CPDN? More results are needed in order to determine probabilities to different climate change scenarios. Currently, less than 1% of the roughly 300 million idle PCs connected to the Inter- net have been tapped for distributed computing, we have only scraped the surface of available capacity.

Percent of UK agricultural land that is organic = The size of the UK as a proportion of the Amazonian rain forest = The value of the UK’s communica- tions market as a proportion of our GDP =

24 $0..&/5

$PODSFUF Wednesday October 12 2005

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4HE RUBBISH LIFE

)T SEEMS ETHICAL LIVING IS NOW AS @FASHIONABLE AS THE CATWALKS OF 0ARIS AND -ILAN BUT HOW CAN STU DENTS BE EXPECTED TO JOIN IN THE FUN OF WHAT IS A VERY EXPENSIVE LIFESTYLE ASKS -ATT 3HOESMITH Isn’t it nice to dream of living in a time when the Gov- ernment will insist on Fair Trade? An age in which students are provided with a hefty grant towards the cost of buying ethical living produce, free-range eggs, organic vegetables, and clear consciences all around the dinner table? Oui Madame, it most certainly is nice to dream of such a time. It’s also nice to dream about Stockport winning the FA Cup, but that doesn’t mean it’s likely to happen. We’d all love to be able to push only organic food past our smug, ethically living faces, but there is a certain amount of cost attached to it that is, put simply, too high. In one supermarket, a loaf of own brand sliced white will cost just twenty-ﬁve pence. Grinning back angelically from across the shelf is the ethically sound organic produce, with a starting price of eighty-four pence per loaf. As our American cousins say, “you do the math.” It works out, roughly, to be loads more expensive. So what can the conscientious student do to live ethically within the bounds of reason? Give up drinking, wearing clothes, using electricity and anything else which currently eats, or more accurately, devours the average student loan? Well perhaps, but there’s no point in living ethically if you don’t leave the house often enough to be smarmy about it to anyone who’ll listen. Arguably a more practical application of one’s moral stance on consumer goods is to create pressure on retailers to lower the price of ethically sound produce to a level whereby it can realistically compete with its evil competitors. However, a strongly worded letter is about as likely to be taken seriously as Peter and Jordan’s wedding vows, and picketing outside with your mates could be equally embarrassing. And

to be honest, it defeats the point of arguing for Fair Trade if you then campaign for it to be cheaper. It would be similarly unrealistic to expect students to campaign for an increase in the price of unethical goods, in the hope of creating a level play- ing field. Or would it? The echo of an old economics teacher brings forth something about wages increasing in reaction to inflation of consumer goods, albeit with a slight time lag. Therefore, increasing the price of unethically produced goods may well be plausible. Plausible, yes, but if you’re taking bets on getting a significant number of debt-burdened students to campaign for higher prices, I’ll take Stockport for the Cup every time. So what’s the answer? There’s only one person who knows that, and he’s usually busy sitting on a cloud, probably reading Concrete. Chances are that students cannot live completely ethically without a significant cheque arriving from the Royal Bank of Old Dears on a regular basis. It is not possible. What is possible is a gradual change of attitudes towards ethical produce, which may be achievable through the frequent exercise of one’s high horse and/or soapbox to those who call into question the importance of ethical living. Furthermore, it is worth remembering that today’s duffle coat wearing, freshers’ flu spreading tax dodger is tomorrow’s company executive, manager, journalist or even Stockport centre forward. The future of the ethical dream lies in the hands of those who have sufficient means to give it a louder voice. In the meantime, it befalls all those who truly care about ethical issues to keep fighting the good fight, without being forced into making their own trousers from Fair Trade banana skins.

The football season is over! This at least is the opin- ion of Paddypower.com, the Irish online betting firm that has already paid out to anyone who backed Chel- sea to win the title. Admittedly, the odds were hardly wonderful, but the fact that a company whose sole purpose is to extract money from the public is giving it away should alarm football fans up and down the country. This is not an indictment of the betting establishment. Although it may seem a tad stupid to pay out money when the season is only a month old, it draws attention to the ridiculous state of the English game (and is also a nice little publicity stunt). Although we have had only two real title contenders for over ten years now - Man Utd and Arsenal perpetually bat- tling for the Premiership crown - the emergence of Chelsea under Jose Mourinho (or much more im- portantly, Roman Abramovich) is not what it should have been. When the Russian tycoon first took over the club, it was hoped that it might add to the competition, making the Arsenal/Man Utd duopoly a thing of the past. Sadly, Chelsea have simply claimed their own monopoly. An almost flawless season last year, the club have yet to lose in the 2005 Premiership, and show no signs of doing so. Some may argue, perhaps rightly, that it is enough to have another club taking the spoils from Ferguson and Wenger. This may be correct, but only if that club does so in a way that is superior. When Ar- senal went unbeaten for an entire season, you could only sit back and admire the way in which they relent- lessly pummelled the opposition with attack after attack of sublime football. The flow and movement of the Arsenal team was simply too good for any other club in the league. If your team lost to them, there was no shame in it as you could hold your hands up, with pride, and admit defeat to a superior team. Chel- sea, on the other hand, cannot have the same praise heaped upon them. While Mourinho must be given credit for assembling a winning team, you would think a manager with infinite transfer funds could produce a team that plays with a bit of flair. Instead, his Chelsea side are a footballing machine, a team of robots who sacrifice everything to win. Some of you may ask why this is a problem. After all, surely football is all about winning, and whichever method is best for that is the right one. However, I would have to disagree. Football, at its basest level, is about competition, and the entertainment derived from it. If you look at the Italian Serie A, a league which has been effectively devoid of competition for years now, the stadiums are very rarely filled to capacity. In a recent survey, The Football Championship was found to have more people watching it than Serie A. This, quite frankly, is difficult to believe, but highlights the point rather nicely. In a league with minimal competition, attendances will fall. The Premiership could be going the same way if Chelsea continue

their battering-ram approach to football. This is not something that is desirable. Without wanting to sound too much like a conservative, it has always been part of a typical Saturday to go to watch the match, and then watch Match of the Day in the evening. This bastion of English culture is under threat because it no longer throws up any surprises. Last season the most interesting aspect of the Pre- miership was the relegation battle, which came down to the very last day of the season with West Brom- wich Albion eventually retaining their place in the top flight. While this was immense entertainment, the battle to see who goes down should be a sideshow to the main event – who has won the title? Last season Chelsea had won with three weeks to spare, and lets face it, had only been denied this long because of the technical issues like maths. This season promises to be the same, with Mourinho possibly trying to secure it even earlier. Perhaps Paddy Power should be taking bets on how many weeks will be left of the season when Chelsea actually win the title. So what is to be done? Well it must be hoped that another team comes to challenge the Blues. Man Utd and Arsenal are still there or thereabouts, but neither has the quality nor the strength in depth to match the team from Stamford Bridge. In Man Utd’s case, they are a team in decline, and perhaps it is to Arse- nal that we must look to challenge Chelsea. Wenger’s side are in a period of rebuilding after selling Patrick Vieira to Juventus and trying to replace the 36 year old Dennis Bergkamp. However, their French manager has shown himself more than capable of finding players who can produce the goods. Other teams who may be able to step up a gear are Liverpool, who are still a massive disappointment in the league. Ra- fael Benitez has certainly figured out how to win in Europe, but many Reds fans will be despondent that he has shown no signs of conquering the league as he did with Valencia in 2004. Newcastle are another team who have the resources and fanbase to mount a challenge, but their record of not winning anything for over 50 years is hardly encouraging and suggests that the EUFA cup is the summit for them. There is no-one else, and to be perfectly honest, it is highly dubious whether any of these teams will be able to match Chelsea, particularly over the course of a season. Mourinho’s team resemble something from the Championship Manager computer games;; a team of superstars who each has a superstar to cover their position. In this era of high-impact football, where teams play at least twice a week, the size of Chelsea’s squad will always be a huge factor in decid- ing who wins the league. The money Roman Abramovich has ploughed into the club is the most pervasive factor in English football, and until something rectifies this fact, we are in for an awful lot more boring seasons, just like this one.

Perhaps this is just like the Chapelﬁeld phenom- ena and I’m missing the point. Maybe there really are so few shops in Norwich that a money-making

scheme is wholly necessary in a place where people just meet for drinks or work at raising awareness about, ooh, I don’t know consumerism, ethical trade, all those relevant things? Call me old-fashioned but I can’t help but think back fondly to the days a friend of mine created an entire suit of armour for a theme night using only one roll of tin foil and a marker pen. Bin-liners were perfectly adequate for Halloween. No-one likes the idiot who shows up to fancy dress in a £100 hired monkey suit. Where’s the fun in that? Turning up to a party in the same outﬁt as someone else – disaster. Doesn’t this take it all to a whole new level? Norwich boasts an incredible collection of charity shops, full to the brim of quirky, original and (surely this is vital) cheap alternatives to this latest retail venture. So go on, hotfoot it to Anglia Square and dare to be different. It’ll be much more fun;; it’s inﬁnitely more imaginative;; you’ll be giving your money to a worthy cause and it’ll be a lot easier on your pocket too. Hen- ry David Thoreau once said – “Distrust any enterprise that requires new clothes” and I think there’s a lot to be said for that school of thought. The Hive is where we relax, where we study, where we put the world to rights. Lets not dress it up as anything else.

4HE (IVE SELLS OUT 4HE (IVE AND ,#2 HAVE BECOME MONEY MAKING OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESSES ARGUES %MMA *OHNSTON The LCR has become something of a shambles. The days of unrestricted and low-maintenance drinking have been taken over by a fashion parade, which is simply further evidence of the Union’s ambivalent attitude towards the students it is supposed to look after. But wait;; before those eggs (and snakebites) start ﬂying, I do have a serious and somewhat ethical point to make. Surely I cannot be the only one about to choke on my new-fangled mocha-chocca-cuppa- delight upon witnessing the slow but inevitable corporate inﬁltration of our Hive? “What’s this?!” I gurgled, at the newly placed stall of spangly Stetsons (James Dean wouldn’t have been seen dead in), “Indian” feathers (don’t get me started) and perchance if I had looked closer, an ar- ray of sparkly whips and reins (that’s right – cheap, single-use plastic has just got sexy). And yes, it seems that every week all our LCR needs will be met by that one little table. The con-

venience! And what with “trailer trash” coming up, the “social prejudice dream-masters of ready-made costume” must really be working overtime.

-&55&34 &%*503*"-

$PODSFUF Wednesday October 12 2005

,%44%23 ,)6).' 4(% '//$ ,)&%

0LEASE SEND LETTERS FOR THE ATTENTION OF THE %DITOR 3ARAH %DWARDES TO #ONCRETE 0/ "/8 .ORWICH ./2&/,+ .2 4* OR SEND AN EMAIL TO CONCRETE EDITORIAL UEA C UK

WWW CONCRETE ONLINE COM %DITOR CONCRETE EDITOR UEA AC UK 3ARAH %DWARDES

$EPUTY %DITOR CONCRETE EDITORIAL UEA AC UK *AMES #ONWAY

In the immortal words of Kermit the Frog, it’s not easy bein’ green. The hemp clothing itches for a start. And sandals are entirely inappropriate footwear for the dark days of a British winter. Then there are the beards - a complete non-starter if you happen to be of the fairer sex. Yet perhaps an environmentally-friendly lifestyle doesn’t have to evoke the smell of compost or Tom and Barbara in The Good Life, smug in their Surbiton semi with a weaving loom in the kitchen and a garden full of chickens. Green living is something we all do on a daily basis, often without even thinking about it. If you turned the lights off the last time you left an empty room, that was a green decision. Indeed, being green is all about making decisions. We are bombarded on a daily basis with invitations to change our lifestyle, each one promising that a new diet or a new outfit will reveal a new us. Amongst these exhortations to personal change, ethical living has become an exten- sion of consumer choice - another brand to add to our already bursting shopping bags. Do you buy organic or local, fairtrade or sustainable, hand-made or second-hand? And does it matter, so long as you take an interest in the origins of the produce you buy? The simple answer is that it does not: living the good life is a matter of personal conscience. But as we come to rely more and more on worldwide connections for the things we take for granted, the distinction between personal and social, local and global, become ever more difficult to define. We all appreciate that our actions have an immediate effect on the people around us, but are often unwilling to accept that this principle also extends to the wider world. If there is more to ethical awareness than what brand of chocolate you choose to boycott or how many beer cans you can recycle in a week, it is also as easy as taking an interest in the choices you make. Below are ten simple and environmentally-friendly things to do this week. Going green does not have to mean a radical shift in lifestyle - just a minor change in thinking.

Dear Concrete, #HIEF #OPY %DITOR

I just wanted to comment on the recent article about students who choose to stay at home rather than live on campus. Thank you so much for this article. I was beginning to feel like I was the only fresher in the world who was still living at home, and getting quite upset at feeling so left out and at all the rude looks I’d get when I told people I still live at home. Your article made me feel so much better and realise it’s not just me who feels this way and that it will get better. I think this article, if it’s not done so already, should be reprinted at the beginning of every year, it’s a real comfort. Thank you very much and I love this paper!

3ARAH -ABLEY

.EWS %DITOR CONCRETE NEWS UEA AC UK )SOBEL $YSON

2EPORTERS *ULIA "RADSHAW *ACK 2OYSTON #LARE "ULL 0HIL "ANKS 2OSIE #HANCE 3CIENCE %DITOR

&EATURES %DITOR CONCRETE FEATURES UEA AC UK 3IMON 3HERIDAN

7RITERS %MMA *OHNSTON .ATALIE %VANS (ARDING #LAIRE !ITCHISON (EALTH %DITOR

Jenny Taylor

-ATT 3HOESMITH 3TEVE 7ILLIAMS

4URF %DITOR CONCRETE TURF UEA AC UK

1) Fill the kettle with only the exact amount of water you need 2) Buy your fruit and vegetables from a local green grocers 3) Take your own plastic bags to the shops 4) For a product you often buy, choose its fairly-traded alternative 5) Keep lids on your saucepans to save gas or electricity 6) Put on an extra layer of clothing and turn the central heating down by 1o 7) If you usually drive to campus, walk or take the bus instead 8) Turn the TV off rather than leaving it on standby 9) Let your hair dry on its own rather than using a hairdryer 10) Check where your food has come from and if possible buy local produce

.%34,³ '/%3 &!)242!$% Nestlé has this week announced that it plans to extend its coffee range to include beans that have been fairly traded according to world market standards. While Fairtrade representa- tives have called the move a small step in the right direction, campaigners have accused the company of trying to buy into increased customer demand for ethically-minded products. For some, the awarding of a Fairtrade logo to Nestlé has undermined the principles of a foundation that had previously stood against the self-interested activities of big business. Yet to welcome Nestlé’s decision as a potentially positive one is not to condone the practices that have led to the Union of UEA Students implementing a ban on the sale of its products at their outlets. The ban will remain as long as the problems that caused it continue to exist. The question for us as consumers is will our Fairtrade campus one day have to stock Nestlé?

(ANNAH .EWTON

Dear Concrete, -ARK (IRONS

I would like to respond to your article on the bus strikes held in the city last week.

-ICHAEL #ROUCH

4RAVEL %DITOR ONCRETE FASHIONLIFESTYLE UEA AC UK

Given that students are supposed to be a) poor and b) relatively environmentally-minded I am surprised that there should be so much fuss about a few buses not running.

0RIYA 3HAH

3PORT %DITOR CONCRETE SPORT UEA AC UK ,OUIS (OLDING 0ARSONS

*OHNNY $OWNER

With the exception of those who need to travel long distances onto campus, we could all ben- eﬁt from a bit of walking. It only takes just over half an hour to get from town to the university, and it would also save us a lot of money in gym fees!

+ATIE 'REEN (ANNAH -AXEY

0ROOFREADING !DRIAN +ASSISSIA ,UCY 0URCELL "ECKY %LLERY

0RODUCTION

Paul Stevens

!DVERTISING CONCRETE ADVERTISING UEA AC UK !NNA 3TEWARD

$ISTRIBUTION .ICHOLAS +ENT

#ONCRETE

0/ "/8 ./27)#( ./2&/,+ .2 4" #ONCRETE IS PUBLISHED BY 55%!3 #ONCRETE 3OCIETY © #ONCRETE )33. ,ETTERS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED FOR THE ATTENTION OF THE %DITOR 3ARAH %DWARDES ,ETTERS MUST INCLUDE CONTACT DETAILS BUT WE WILL CONSIDER ANONYMOUS PUBLICATION 7E RESERVE THE RIGHT TO EDIT FOR LENGTH AND CLARITY AS NECCESSARY /PINIONS EXPRESSED ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE 0UBLISHER OR %DITOR 5SE OF THE NAME 4HE %VENT IS BY ARRANGEMENT WITH THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS 0LANET :OG ,TD .O PART OF THIS NEWSPAPER MAY BE REPRODUCED THROUGH ANY MEANS WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF THE %DITOR 0RINTED BY !RCHANT

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/ iÊ"« Ê - Õ `ÊÜ i ÊLiÊ> Üi`ÊÌ ÊL Ý¶ "Y *%--! 4(!+% 30/243 #/22%30/.$%.4 It was announced this week that women’s boxing is likely to be included in the London 2012 Olympic Games. The move to accommodate female boxers is likely to be met with strong opposition. Women’s boxing is already a controversial issue, but the elimi- nation of a number of the male weight categories to make room for the ladies will only rub salt in the wounds of many male boxing fans. Should women really be allowed to box in the Olympics? I believe that this news can only be a good thing for women’s sport. The 30,000 plus women who currently take part in competitive boxing around the world deserve the chance to compete at the most important sporting event in the world. Boxing is cur-

rently the only Olympic sport not to be contested by the fairer sex, which in this age of supposed equality cannot be accepted. Any sport that men take part in should be open to women also. To deny someone the right to take part in a legally acceptable activity on the basis of gender is to infringe on their liberty. However, I personally cannot see why anyone, man or woman, would want to step into the ring and take part in such a brutal and dangerous sport, but if that is their wish they should be free to do so. Women have long been able to compete in other full contact sports such as rugby, so why should boxing be any different? Instead of asking ‘should women be allowed to box?’ perhaps we need to consider if either sex should be taking part in such a barbaric sport. It’s not hard to ﬁnd examples of how boxing can lead to serious and fatal injuries. Just look at Mohammed Ali, a man now riddled by Alzheimer’s disease, robbed of his physi-

cal coordination and speech. Even with safety regu- lations in place the numbers of injuries and deaths remain high. According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons over 90% of boxers sustain a brain injury. A sport where the principal aim is to knock out your opponent seems rather primitive, and surely belongs to a period of history long passed. A total ban on boxing isn’t on the horizon so perhaps we should be grateful that boxing has evolved from the time when athletes used gloves spiked or weight- ed with lead and fought until the death. Boxing may well be an extremely dangerous sport to be involved in, but the dangers are the same whether the athlete is male or female. To ban women from boxing whilst men continue to do so is ridiculous and is just another example of how men are still the dominant sex in our society. If women want to box, let them.

ÕÀÀ>ÞÊV Ì ÕiÃÊ iÌi À VÊÀ ÃiÊÕ«Ê /*ÊÀ> }Ã "Y 345!24 (!22)3/. 30/243 #/22%30/.$%.4 Just over a year ago, Andrew Murray announced his arrival on tennis’s world stage by winning the US Open Boy’s Final. Nine months later his exuberance and aggression took Wimbledon by storm. Now Mur- ray ﬁnds himself ranked number 72 in the world, having recently reached his ﬁrst ATP Final in the Thai- land Open. Not bad for an eighteen year old who was ranked 479 in the world only twelve months ago. Unfortunately for Murray, his impressive progress

to the Thailand Open final met its match in Roger Fe- derer’s astonishing run of 31 games without defeat. The imperious Swiss simply had too much in the locker for Murray, coming away with a 6-3 7-5 victory. However, this was certainly not the most comfortable of Federer’s thirty-three final victories, as he often had to call upon some of his best tennis in order to defeat the young Scot. Murray got off to the worst possible start, being broken in his first service game. But a potent combi- nation of power and deft variety kept Murray in the set. In the seventh game a tight line call denied Mur- ray a break point, giving Federer a 5-2 advantage. The manner in which Murray responded highlighted just

why so much is expected of him. He replied to what he considered a controversial umpiring decision with a commanding service game, making Federer then work hard to serve out the set. Murray was again broken in the ﬁrst game of the second set. But his response was exemplary;; not only staying in the set but raising his game to break back in the sixth and take leads at both 3-4 and 4-5. At this point Federer noticeably upped his performance and took the next three games to take the title in straight sets. But after such a display of skill and determina- tion from Murray, there is no reason for British tennis fans to be downhearted. Andrew Murray undoubtedly has the raw talent to

become a genuine contender for future Grand Slam titles. His ﬁtness remains a concern but, in much the same way as Pietersen and Flintoff have re-ignited a nation’s long-forgotten love affair with cricket, Mur- ray has both the talent and the personality to carry the hopes of the ever-suffering British tennis fans upon his shoulders and put tennis back on the map.

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Over 30 Snooker tables Pool tables American style tables £250 jackpot machines Hot & cold food available Open 24 hours a day 7 days a week Licensed bar at low prices with usual opening hours

"Y 7),,)!- !,&/2$ 30/243 #/22%30/.$%.4 After a slow and sluggish start to season, Norwich have started to find their feet in the Championship. It is traditionally difficult for relegated teams to adjust to this extremely competitive league and it seems that Norwich are no exception to this trend. The club opened the season with three draws and three defeats and quickly found themselves at the wrong end of the table. In fact their solitary win in the opening month came against the not so mighty MK Dons in the Carling Cup. However, following the international break in early September things have started to look a lot brighter for Norwich. Perhaps the turning point was a vital win against bitter rivals Ipswich at Portman Road. While the match was not what can be considered a classic, Nor- wich managed to grind out a 1-0 victory with a goal from Darren Huckerby. Since then the club have won three of the last four games and have comfortably consolidated themselves in mid-table. This, however, has not been without controversy. Following a disappointing home defeat against high-flying Reading a couple of weeks ago, a section of the fans decided too boo Nigel Worthington. While it was an extremely frustrating performance this did seem unnecessary and over the top. Worthington has

done great work for this club in recent years and most of it has been on a shoe-string budget. After the Reading defeat, City have enjoyed their first back-to-back wins of the season. They managed to recover from a shock early goal to beat Hull 2-1. Goals from Safri and Doherty eased the pressure on Worthington’s men. The quality of football from Norwich in the first half of this game was fantastic. I think some people at Carrow Road thought they were watching Brazil;; well, they wear the same colour at least. Then came an excellent away victory on the south coast. City rushed into a two goal lead in the first half and looked comfortable. This was until Brighton clawed a goal back in the 67th minute to make things interesting. Fortunately, Henderson - substituted on for the injured Safri - confirmed the three points with a fantastic individual goal. The youngster cut in from the right and managed to curl a superb shot into the far corner of the net. It capped off an energetic performance from Henderson, although he was lucky not to get a second yellow for over celebrating. It now looks like Norwich have started to adjust to life in the Championship and following recent per- formances maybe they can start pushing towards the play-off positions. Worthington has managed to keep the majority of his squad from last year together and, with no runaway leaders in the division, there is hope yet for the Canaries.

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$PODSFUF Wednesday October 12 2005

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"Y ,/5)3 (/,$).' 0!23/.3 3PORT %DITOR The UEA swimming team has teamed up with City of Norwich swimming club (formerly Norwich Pen- guins) to form the UEA City of Norwich SC. This is the ﬁrst move of its kind in the country and should produce mutually beneﬁcial results. The partnership

will give UEA students access to high quality coaching within a proven successful club, whose structure as well as opportunities will allow UEA swimmers to compete with full coach support. Beneﬁts for City of Norwich Swimming Club will include additional pool time, more senior swimmers for competitions and greater access to University sports science facilities. This in turn will help extend its ASA Swim 21 accreditation to include the perform-

/ Ê 8/1, -Ê -/Ê £ÓÌ Ê"VÌ LiÀÊÌ ÊÓxÌ Ê"VÌ LiÀ %BUF

4QPSU

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Wed 12/10

Badminton

Mens 2

7.40pm

Home

Tasburgh

Squash

Mens 1

TBC

Home

Lakenham

Squash

Womens

TBC

Home

Oasis

Thurs 13/10

Table Tennis UEA A

7.15pm

Home

Gothic C

Sat 15/10

Football

Mens 1

TBC

Home

Cup Game

Football

Mens 2

TBC

Home

Cup Game

Football

Mens 3

TBC

Home

Cup Game

Hockey

Mens 1

1pm

Home

Ely City 1

Hockey

Mens 2

1pm

Away

Pelicans 2

Hockey

Mens 3

4pm

Home

Holt Harlequins

Hockey

Womens 1

TBC

Away

Bury St Edmunds

Hockey

Womens 2

2.30pm

Home

Old Bucken- ham 2

Hockey

Womens 3

TBC

Away

Harriers

Lacross

Men

2.30pm

Away

Buckhurst Hill

Football

Womens

2.15pm

Away

Kirkley Ladies

Tennis

UEA A

10.15am

Away

Cringleford A

Tennis

UEA B

10.15am

Home

Pinebanks B

Sun 16/10

ance level. The combined club will cater for a full range of abilities, from beginner to age group competition and international standard. The facilities include swim benches, gym, sports science testing and a long-course (50m) pool, which will also be used in short-course mode (25m), through the use of a mobile boom, for some sessions. This will give opportunities for UEA swimmers to reap the beneﬁts from

being able to train on both distances, which can be very different. Few competitive swimmers have the luxury of being able to train on both distances on a weekly basis. The combined size, infrastructure and coaching expertise makes this venture a truly formi- dable one, which should lead to more swimmers who have previously been lost to the international class programmes at Loughborough and Bath choosing UEA for their studies and competitive aims.

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UEA III v Broadland II

UEA I v Colchester 0

UEA started well, with plenty of opportunities but were unlucky to concede two goals early on. The new players quickly adjusted to being in the team and played well, notably Sarah Ashdown and Lindsay Hyde in midﬁeld. After half time UEA began a ﬁghtback with 2 goals gained through short corner strikes from Sarah McCarthy and Rosie Kermode. Spurred on by level- ling the score, UEA were quick to gain a 3rd goal, also from Sarah McCarthy. Final Score 3-2 to UEA.

The ﬁrst game of the season showed a lot of promise for the UEA side, with several new players UEA played an excellent game of hockey. UEA opened the scoring early on in the game with a powerful strike by Hayley Payne which narrowly missed the backboard, hit the post and was then followed up by Hannah Maxey. UEA continued to battle hard throughout the game and saw off several goal-scoring attempts by Colches- ter. The hard work paid off and UEA were triumphant. Final score 1-0.

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"Y ,/5)3 (/,$).' 0!23/.3 3PORT %DITOR

The UEA women’s Lacrosse team is excited to an- nounce that it has been able to enter a team in to the BUSA Lacrosse league this year, after missing out last season. UEA has boasted strong mixed and men’s teams over the past few seasons but has suffered a lack of women players in recent years. The women’s team last won the BUSA Midlands Conference league in 2001 and with a vast number of high standard teams such as Warwick and Oxford, BUSA creates tough competition for UEA. However, after a promising start to the season from both a large number of capable beginners and a range of experienced players from America and many schools all over the country, it looks to be a hopeful season for women’s and mixed Lacrosse at UEA. Our ﬁrst match is on Wednesday 19th October against Warwick.

A former UEA rower, who learnt to row at the university, competed in the recent world rowing champi- onships held in Gifu, Japan. Natasha Horward, who graduated in 2002, competed for Great Britain in the women’s eights, coming 5th in the ﬁnal out of eight boat crews. David Tanner, the team manager for Great Britain, said that never before had a GB women’s eight ﬁn- ished so close to the gold. Indeed, Natasha had not competed in a world championship before this performance, which makes her achievement all the more impressive. Her success only goes to show what hard work and perseverance can produce - although having been a former Sportswomen of the Year while at UEA, it seems that Natasha Horward was always set for greater things.

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4HE -EN S ST 8) AND 5%! /LD "OYS AT THE -IKE #OVELL TROPHY MATCH "Y */((.9 $/7.%2 The ﬁfth annual Mike Covell Men- ingitis Match took place at UEA on a bright and blustery Sunday 25 September 2005. The Old Boys and Girls from Mike’s fresher year, 1997, assembled for battle in the Sportspark at an obscenely early time. At 11am, an Old Girls XI, the ‘Buttercups’, managed by Andrea Allen (Ted), played in a parallel ﬁxture against the current UEA Ladies’ 1st XI. The opening half was one sided, with wave after wave of UEA attacks, but the re- silience of Buttercups goalkeeper, Carol Tupper, and sweeper, Nicky Tuff, frustrated UEA, who failed to convert. Amidst the onslaught the

Buttercups did manage a few attacks of note, with Emma Bolland, Laura Smith, and Caroline Molony breaking away and shooting on target. The Buttercups looked buoy- ant in the second half. They con- structed numerous attacks, cul- minating in a classic goal, struck cleanly by Anna Barsby. UEA were shell-shocked and Barsby soon added a second to the score sheet. 2-0. The Buttercups retained the Old Girls’ Trophy. The main event saw the current Men’s 1st XI take on the UEA Old Boys, all members of the same teams that Mike played in at UEA. The match started at 1pm with a minute’s silence. Mike’s parents, John and Diane Covell, watched on as Mike’s brother David Cov-

ell joined the UEA Old Boys in the starting line up. Paul Vines, Mike’s Captain in 1997, managed the side. The game started with UEA taking control for the ﬁrst ten minutes, but also strong and as- sured defending from Robby Kay, Stugo Sewell, Glen Richardson and Simon Harrington. It took a while for the Old Boys to settle and eventually they began to put the heat back on UEA, with Rex Wright, Adrian Tuff and Rupert Snelling linking up well, and getting the ﬁrst short corner. A slick injection from Johnny Downer was dispatched by Simon Harrington who shot low and hard, rattling the back-board. 1-0. Within minutes a second short corner was awarded to the

Concrete Prize Crossword #69 ACROSS

DOWN

1. Lead actress in The Good Life (8,6) 7. Uncooked food (3) 8. To carve a quick outline (4) 10. A concept in evolution, small hideaway (5) 11. A pea’s casing (3) 12. Wet soil (3) 16. A rented plot of land for growing crops (9) 17. A tuber, or a Scandinavian (5) 18. A piece of clothing for one’s neck (3) 19. When iron is exposed to the atmosphere (4) 21. Food produced without artificial chemicals (7) 23. A small patch of water, for fish? (4) 25. To live by one’s own means (4,10)

1. A product added to crops to increase their yeild (10) 2. An area of well kept grass (4) 3. A shape with no corners (6) 4. A species well hugged by hippies (4) 5. Moist (4) 6. The surname of Good’s Neighbours in The Good Life (10) 9. Organic matter decomposing (7) 13. To bloom, a romantic gift? (6) 14. Sprayed on crops to prevent bugs consuming the harvest (9) 15. A crop dependant on the time of the year (8) 20. An insect renowned for its minute- ness (3) 21. A farm yard animal historically used to pull ploughs (2) 22. A ball game involving birdies and eagles (4) 24. When food turns overripe (3)

Old Boys. This time Simon Har- rington came inside the oncom- ing runner and drag-flicked for the second goal. 2-0. UEA could not respond to these first two goals, despite a nice flowing and passing game. Dale Cave came on for the Old Boys to strengthen the midfield. Johnny fired to the left-hand side of the goal with Jamie ‘Tiger’ Older and Rex Wright loitering to poach a goal, and that they did, with Tiger slotting in the ball at the far post. The fourth goal was a swift flowing move from the Old Boys up the right wing, with a clinical shot to the left hand corner of the goal. 4-0. UEA responded, but Martin MacBlain, the Old Boys’ keeper

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continued to keep the ball out with some lightening quick reaction saves. However, he could not have foreseen the award of a penalty flick to UEA. The flick was poor, with the lack of speed catching out MacBlain. 4-1. The Old Boys responded posi- tively with Johnny Downer imme- diately breaking away on the right. Although he was tracked by the UEA defender, Downer turned him inside, creating a couple of feet of room, he shot quickly off his back foot leaving the goal keeper stranded, finding the right corner of the goal. 5-1. The Old Boys began to look weary and UEA capitalised, attack- ing persistently, eventually scoring a well-deserved consolation goal. 5-2. There was, nevertheless, a

little more energy left in the Old Boys’ locker. The sixth and ﬁnal goal from the Old Boys could not have been scripted better. During a frenzied attack from the Old Boys, an opening was carved and David Covell managed to pull out a reverse stick shot that went under the keeper. 6-2. So the Old Boys retained the Mike Covell Trophy for the third year running, which was presented by John and Diane Covell, and a Meningitis Trust representative received the £1,261.32 in donations collected the night before. The Old Boys will be back next year to repeat the match and to raise awareness of the deadly meningitis virus and to raise money for the Meningitis Trust, so look out for them.

Set by Franky Frankenson Sponsored by the "WFOVF #PPLTIPQ

21 Avenue Road, Norwich 01603 768720 Open 9-5 Monday to Saturday Solution to Crossword #68: Across: 1. Rampant Horse, 6. Earn, 7. Yarmouth, 9. Waveney, 10. Apple, 11. England, 15. Fatcat, 16. Library, 18. Unthank Shops Down: 1. River Wensum, 2. Prince Of, 3. Hour, 4. Rolo, 5. The Canaries, 8. Mega 12. Loft, 13. Stuck, 14. Match, 17. Run

There’s a £10 book voucher, courtesy of the Avenue Bookshop, up for grabs. To be in with a chance of winning, bring this voucher and your completed crossword to the Concrete office by Friday 7th October. Name: ........................................................................... Contact: ...........................................................................