Chase & Status
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venue chats to the Drum’n’Bass titans ahead of their set at the opening night of Project nightclub.
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UEA’s independent student newspaper since 1992
Tuesday 1st March, 2011 • Issue 253 • Twitter: @Concrete_UEA
Union’s new Chief Executive quits after just two months Ed Leftwich
News Editor
The Union’s new Chief Executive has left after only two months in the job. Richard Powell, a former regional director for the RSPB, has been “headhunted” by the National Trust, and will leave the Union on Thursday 3rd March. When Concrete spoke to Mr Powell, he explained that his departure was not something that he took lightly, it was a surprise to be offered this position by the National Trust and that he regretted having to leave the Union after such a short tenure. Rumours have circulated that the National Trust have offered Mr Powell roughly £50,000 p.a. more than he was being paid by the Union. Mr Powell himself commented: “They made me an offer that would be very difficult to refuse”. Some concern has been raised as to why the new CEO is leaving so shortly after arriving, with many asking if his experience of the Union had contributed to his decision. Mr Powell says not: “[This Union] has the opportunity to be the best, I think you could walk Leeds, you could walk Hull, you just have to get the systems, the procedures into place. It’s a great place, with some great talent, in the six to eight weeks I’ve been here, you can really see some of that untapped potential.” The departing CEO also paints an interesting picture about the current state of the Union. Having run the eastern region of the RSPB,
he has 20 years’ experience of running a large charity, and had interesting insights into the changes the Union needs to make. “It’s a great place, with some great talent... my plan was to have the Union in a different place in a year’s time from where it is today…[the job is to set about] changing the culture of a beast, an organisation, the Union has gone through some turbulent times.” “[The Union] is secure financially, it has some good business acumen, but [it has] some bits that need to come up to the 21st century. [It needs] a HR strategy, some superstructure and infrastructure underneath that. You have got to be able to create that culture where you are working as a single organisation rather than four individual departments. It’s meshing everything together, so when you talk to the cleaner, the cleaner is saying: ‘I’m making this the best Union in the world’.” This task of bringing the Union into the 21st century will be undertaken in interim by Toby Cunningham, the current Membership Services Manager and Lesley Hanner, the Finance Manager. Mr Cunningham will take up the role of acting Chief Executive, assisted by Ms. Hanner as Deputy Chief Executive. The appointment process for the new Chief Executive will begin at the end of this term, after the new Student Officer Committee have been elected.
Porter will not stand for second NUS term Susanna Wood
News Reporter
Richard Powell is to leave the Union after just two months
Aaron Porter has announced his intention to step down as President of the National Union of Students. Porter has stated that he will not be standing for re-election at the NUS annual conference in April, having served as President for one year. This will be the first time a President of the NUS has not served for two years since 1969. This news comes after accusations that NUS have not been doing enough to continue the fight against education cuts. Porter himself has been personally attacked for being slow to condone student occupations and fast to criticise violence at the protests. Citing a need for a fresh start after what has been a challenging year for the NUS, Aaron Porter said: “This new Government brings with it a new landscape, and I believe NUS now needs reinvigorating into the next phase of this campaign.” Porter went on to say: “After considerable soul searching, I believe there needs to be a new President to lead the student movement into that next phase.” Continued on page 4
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In this fortnight’s Concrete... News
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9-11
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Porter can leave with head held high Love or hate Aaron Porter, one cannot deny that during his short tenure, the outgoing NUS President has pushed students’ grievances to the very forefront of thinking in Britain today. Students lost their apathy under Porter; and for this reason, Concrete believes that history will look kindly upon his tenure. Detractors were quick to attack his swift condemnation of the Millbank protests, and subsequent violent clashes headed by students. In doing so, he alienated many of those who believed that tuition fees could only be overturned through the use of force. What they were quick to forget, however, was that it was through the organisation and leadership of Porter that a platform to the media was provided. Two thousand protesters could achieve relatively little, and gain little media exposure; two thousand protesters hijacking the peaceful NUS march of
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50,000 put their cause on the front pages of every national newspaper. For this reason alone, they had much to be thankful to Porter for. The backlash he experienced after Millbank, including the antiSemitic abuse he received in Manchester last month, was entirely unjustified. As was demonstrated by his attendance at the Fees Debate at UEA in December, where he challenged Simon Wright to honour his tuition fees pledge, Porter worked tirelessly to fight the tuition fees bill. While his decision to be the first NUS President to not stand for reelection since 1969 will largely be viewed with surprise, it will also come as no great shock to many given the intensity of his first year. For while the NUS did not achieve their ultimate goal this year, they achieved something altogether unexpected: curing student apathy.
12-13
The Jasmin Revolution?
Greg Mann
Laura Smith Jean Wills
Rob Schatten
Contributors: Susanna Wood, Tim Bates, James Hughes, Rianne Ison, Rebecca Lancaster, Becky Hazlewood, Mark Shead, James Schofield, Catherine Martin, David Murphy, Ines Guita, Rachael Lum, Isabelle Carty, Bell Thomas, Miha Klement, Pia Langeheine, James Dixon, Nick Murrell, Joe Lack, Alex Ross, Lauren Razavi, Greg Lewry, Marc Farrant, William Jones, Christine O’Sullivan, Beth Wyatt, Henry Kilmister, Beth Robertson, Josh Rayman, Keiren Cordery, Freddie Magee, Oli Platt, Chris Teale, Sam Tomkinson, Simon O’Meara, Henry Croft, Tim Miller, Drew Senior
Alex Ross asks whether the revolutions are indicative of wider change.
Comment and Opinion
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Bell Thomas asks whether university really is the best place to find your future partner?
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NEWS
UEA comes third in Student Satisfaction Survey
Laura Smith
UEA has placed third in The 2010 Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey, matching its place in last year’s Survey. The news continues the University’s high standards, which have seen it place in the top five every year since the survey began in 2005. Vice-Chancellor Professor Edward Acton called the placing “a most pleasing result, and a resounding vote of confidence from our students”. High course satisfaction
The overall position comes alongside the news that the School of Pharmacy was the highest ranked in the country, with 99% of eligible students satisfied, while the Media Studies and Sociology courses both scored 100%. Other high achievers included the Drama and Psychology courses, which also were ranked as the best in the country, with 99% and 96% respectively. Room for improvement on Assessment and Feedback
While all of the components of the Survey placed UEA above the national average, it still revealed plenty of room for improvement. In particular, in the category of Assessment and Feedback, UEA only managed 68%, one point above the average of 67% across the country. Despite this, the statistics have shown a strongly consistent trend, and a high quality of education, which has left local students “proud”, and “happy to be here”. Professor Acton emphasised that the survey represents staff “commitment” to the quality of the educational services it provides. Loughborough topped the poll for the fifth year running, with the University of Sheffield at second, and Cambridge coming in fourth behind UEA. Tim Bates
Vice Chancellor leads report on Government plans for student visas
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Tuesday 1st March
• Vice-Chancellor of UEA says that visa cuts will have a “dire impact on universities”. • Edward Acton accuses Government visa controls of having “an ugly taste of apartheid” about them. James Hughes
News Reporter
UEA’s thriving international contingent could become a thing of the past due to the recent announcement of possible restrictions on student visas by the coalition Government. The analysis of UK migration and the subsequent proposal by the Government follows on from the Conservative’s pre-election pledge to cut net migration to the tens of thousands. The visa clampdown initially targeted workers in the 1st and 2nd tier of the visa grading system, however, plans are in place to impose restrictions on those in tier 4 i.e. students. Action is expected to commence in March or April. UEA Vice-Chancellor Edward Acton has publicly spoken out against the visa restrictions in a report published by the Higher Education Policy Institute. In the report, he highlights the
“devastating effect” on the finances of UK universities and that of the economy in general. His detailed report, amongst criticising the validity of the data used in the enquiry, suggests that the changes could “devastate pre-university pathway courses, costing universities circa £1bn in fee income alone”. The proposed action could have a significant impact on the maintenance and status of UEA’s international sector, INTO, as it could dissuade or prevent students from outside the EU from coming to the UK to study. The INTO centre has supported the stance of Edward Acton and that of Universities UK with regard to the visa restrictions. The hot topic of student visa restrictions has caused a large stir beyond the UEA campus, attracting MPs Simon Wright and Richard Bacon to meet with representatives of the INTO organisation “resulting in a very positive adjournment debate in the House of Commons”
Vice-Chancellor Edward Acton has been a leading voice in the fight against Government plans to slash visas for international students
according to Matthew Perry, correspondence director for INTO. Staff and students have also engaged with the UK Border Agency’s consultation process. The INTO project and its stateof-the-art building, which cost £38 million pounds and can host over 700 students, may suffer financially and integrally from
failing to fill all of the placements that it caters for. Matthew Perry has, too, reassured those concerned, adding: “INTO UEA is well placed to address the forthcoming changes across the education sector and we aim to continue to provide the very best support for International students at UEA”.
VIP bar, numerous Karaoke booths and another room called Project Live. Project Live is arguably one of the club’s strongest and more unique selling points, with the main dancefloor opening out to another room with a stage for entertainment and yet another bar. This is to be the newest hotspot for live gigs in Norwich and is sure to attract some big names in the future. One of the most exciting aspects of the club is that it offers Norwich club-goers something utterly different to any of its contemporaries. For one, the sheer scale of the venue causes it to be distinctive, but it somehow manages to have an intimate feel
about it at the same time due to the various different rooms inside. Avid clubber Holly Kite who attended the Monday night event said: “It was a great night out! The music was good as were the two for one cocktails”. It seems that Project will become extremely popular with students as it provides them with a different night out to what other establishments in the city offer. All in all, it is certain that the wishes of Stephen Lynn, head of the national brand Luminar Leisure under which Project is managed, have been fulfilled, saying: “when we came back (to Norwich) we wanted to do it properly. We have come back with everything we’ve got”.
Project nightclub opens to rave reviews Rianne Ison
News Reporter
Project, Norwich’s brand new ‘super club’, officially opened with a bang after inviting employees’ friends and family on Monday 21st March. Later in the week the club opened its doors to members of the public to celebrate the launch, topped with a special DJ set by Chase and Status. It was an action packed week for the Project team with big names performing at the opening events, including former UEA student and Radio One DJ, Greg James. The week commenced with the friends and family night and continued to be a popular destination with local residents for
the official launch party which took place on Thursday 24th February. This continued with the established Indie night Propaganda, headed by Greg James, who was accompanied by his girlfriend Ellie Goulding, on the 25th February. Project is located at the Riverside complex in the heart of the city and is certain to attract a considerable amount of attention, due to it being the only club of its kind in Norwich and the surrounding areas. The club itself is a huge space, with the main attraction being the large dance floor situated in the centre of the overwhelming venue. However, the club also plays home to various other small rooms and seating areas including the suave
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Bodies found in Norwich area The bodies of two women have been found in Norfolk. The two gruesome discoveries were made within hours of each other in the Norwich area on Thursday 17th February. The first body to be found was that of an unidentified woman, thought to be in her 50’s. The discovery was made just before 10am at a house in All Saints Way, in the usually quiet coastal village of Mundesley. The police have yet to confirm the identity of the woman, but a 67-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the incident and Norfolk Constabulary have now confirmed that they are treating the death as suspicious. The apprehended man remains in police custody and further investigation is to follow. The second discovery was that of a woman in her mid-20’s in Whitlingham Park, Norwich. The body was pulled out of the River Yare by Broads Authority workers at around 3.30pm on the 17th February. The woman has since been identified as that of local missing person, 26-year-old Lucy Woolrich. Lucy, who was also known as ‘Lucy Flowers’, had been missing since January 8th. Woolrich was from the Tuckswood area and was well known for playing in several local bands. Her family and friends have been appealing for information on her whereabouts since shortly after she went missing. Although police are still investigating the death, with a post-mortem and inquest to be carried out in the near future, they are not at this stage treating the incident as suspicious. Rebecca Lancaster
Example and Labrinth confirmed for Norfolk Spectacular Further acts have been confirmed for the Norfolk Spectacular, due to take place at the Norfolk Showground on the 3rd and 4th September. Example, who played to a sold-out LCR on 22nd February, is the first act to be confirmed for the Saturday of the festival, with Tinchy Stryder, Tinie Tempah and N-Dubz all set to play on Sunday. Labrinth, best known for collaborating with Tinie Tempah on the No. 1 hit Pass Out, will also appear on the Sunday.
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Skills Share takes place across campus • Skills Share sees events ranging from lectures on the archeology of rabbits to hula-hoop workshops. • Event designed to emphasise value of education Becky Hazlewood
News Reporter
Last week saw the launch of a two day ‘Skills Share’ event on campus that brought together students and lecturers for a series of free lectures, workshops and performances. Among the more unusual events were a hulahoop workshop, poi-spinning for beginners and a lecture on ‘The archaeology of rabbits.’ The event aimed to show that university isn’t just about enhancing one’s monetary worth for employability, but that there is value in education for the joy of learning. Anna Clayton, a final year ENV student was responsible for organising the event, emailed every lecturer and society on
campus to set up the interesting array of events. “I want students to enjoy the day, have fun, be inspired and realise how much people are capable of. It’s a great way of bringing lecturers into the student zone... really it’s about getting people thinking about how education should be and whether it’s being lead in a certain direction; with the Government cuts for humanities subjects, we’re moving towards a scientific, technical society.” The idea for the Skills Share originally arose from the Union campaign against fees. There was a feeling from students involved that much of the campaign focused on the London demonstrations, and that most direct action campaigns have involved a clique of activists. According to the organisers,
Louise Horner
The stage was set for Glee Club to share their skills on Friday night
students thought that campaigning should be opened up to more people and the idea of Skills Share was born. This being the first time an event of this nature has taken place, there were uncertainties about how the event would be received. However, the Skills Share was a great success, with all the lectures and activities being well attended and enjoyed by the students and lecturers involved. An interesting array of stalls filled the LCR on Friday, as part of an all-day Environmental Expo. Will Lacey, Environment Officer for the Union, was manning a stand of free coffee and cakes, and said: “The Expo plays an important part of the Skills Share event, it gives people the opportunity to come along and get a taste of environmental living,
the possibilities that are out there and how easy they are to grasp.” After attending an event, students were asked to fill out an evaluation form detailing their feelings about the values education should hold, tuition fees, and how UEA could move towards embodying these values. This feedback will be passed to the Vice-Chancellor. So, the question everyone is asking, is whether there will be more Skills Share events in the future. Anna won’t be organising another event before the end of her time at UEA, but “hope[s] this will spark other people to do similar events,” she said. “Lots of lecturers want to support this type of event and hopefully people will be inspired and remember to appreciate the worth of others.”
Continued from page 1
rally in Manchester, where he was escorted away from angry students by police. The Union of UEA Students has joined NUS in the recent National Demos against education cuts. The Communications Officer for the Union, Tom Dolton, told Concrete: “The Union saw some great changes in the student movement and NUS under Mr Porter; the increase in activism by students and Unions alike is something to celebrate”. When asked if Aaron Porter had made the right choice, the Union chose not to speculate, but urged students to stand for the NUS delegate position, which would allow them to have a say in the election of the new president. Current NUS Scotland President, Liam Burns and Shane Chowen, the current Vice-President of NUS are both set to run for the position when elections take place in April.
Porter will not stand for second term as NUS President
Leading a high-profile fight against the coalition Government plans to cut education funding and raise university fees, Porter also orchestrated the pledge against an increase in fees that most Liberal Democrats signed before last May’s election. He was active in pressurising Norwich MP Simon Wright to vote against the fee rise, and came to UEA to debate with Wright and students last December. Being in such a prominent position, his ability to lead at such a turbulent period in NUS’s history has been questioned many times. In an article in The Guardian, Michael Chessum, a campaigner for the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts, stated that Aaron Porter risked making NUS ‘irrelevant’ and said that for the campaign to move forward, NUS will have to ‘change radically’. Porter was also personally targeted by protesters at a recent
Susanna Wood
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UEA entrepreneurs compete for Caribbean internship A week-long internship in St Lucia is the top prize up for grabs in the Eureka Business Plan Competition. The competition, created in partnership between UEA and Hotel Chocolat, will grant this opportunity to whoever can come up with the most creative, yet practical, ideas for a business. Prizes of £100 each have already been awarded in the first round to Thomas Etherington (CMP), Ben Fairall (NBS), Patrick Harding (ECO), Simon Lloyd (BIO) and Mark Hilditch (NBS). They will all be competing in the final stage along with another five finalists: Clarissa Baerenfaenger (DEV), David Duncan (LAW), Emmi Hall (ENV), Ian Hobbs (NBS) and Lauren Razavi (PSI). The first prize is an all expensespaid opportunity to develop their ideas in Hotel Chocolat’s Rabot Estate in St Lucia. The winner, to be selected on the 31st March, will also receive a business start-up package worth £4,000 from Barclays Bank, Lovewell Blake Chartered Accountants, law firm Mills & Reeve and The Click Design Consultants. Opportunities for internships with Hotel Chocolat in the UK will also be available as prizes for those coming second and third. Mark Shead
Nominations open for Union elections Nominations for the Union elections have opened, and will remain open until 5pm on Friday 11th March. The elections themselves will run from 21st March until the 29th March, with campaigning taking place from 21st March. There are four fulltime positions available: Communications Officer, Finance Officer, Academic Officer and Community and Student Rights Officer. In addition to this, thirteen part-time positions are available, including four non-portfolio officers. Nominations forms are available from the Union House reception and School receptions. The forms can also be found online at www.ueastudent.com, along with further information about the positions available. Davina Kesby
Scottish students may face tuition fees • Education cuts hit Scottish and Welsh universities as they may set higher fees. • Universities Scotland says that a graduate contribution could be set at just over £3,000 per year. Catherine Martin
News Reporter
Universities in Scotland may introduce tuition fees, if the number of places available is to be sustained, it has been announced. Universities Scotland, an organisation representing university principals, has indicated that unless tuition fees of up to £13,000 are introduced, the number of student places that are currently available would not be sustainable. The £1 billion decrease in Scotland’s budget for 2011-12 will result in a reduction of £67 million from Scotland’s university sector. The organisation seems concerned about the Scottish university system in comparison to England’s system which, owing to rising tuition fees and increased loans to students, will be better resourced than Scotland’s. Owing to the budget cuts, Scottish universities are already preparing to lose hundreds of posts and cut courses. For 2011-12, the number of student places will not change, but teaching salaries will be reduced by 11%. According to Universities Scotland, this could continue for more than one year only at “a severe stretch”.
There have been attempts in the past to introduce tuition fees to Scotland, but each time these attempts have failed; fees were abolished in 2000 after the Blair Government tried to establish them two years before, and three years ago Scottish ministers did away with a graduate endowment fee of £2,000. Universities Scotland has proposed that a graduate contribution could be set to £3,290 a year, which is the current English level. The organisation says it is fair to expect graduates “who realise
substantial private benefit as a result of a university education” to pay this contribution. However, it would not be paid by graduates who earn a “relatively low” salary. In Wales, Education Minister Leighton Andrews has determined that Welsh students will pay a basic fee level of £4000, £2000 less than in England. Andrews explained that this decision was “based on the contribution he believed higher education should make to social
justice and feedback from the sector”. However, the upper fee limit will be £9,000, the same as in England, but universities must show a commitment to promoting higher education before being allowed to charge any more than the basic fee.
Below: St. Andrews University in Scotland, which could start charging
KAOS set for fashion show Mosley lecture announced Becky Hazlewood
News Reporter
Next month sees the fourth annual Kaos Fashion Show taking place: the biggest fundraising event of the year run by the KAOS society. The KAOS society (Kids Action Over Seas) aims to raise awareness of global injustices, with a particular focus on the health and education of children. The society fundraises for student-led projects, which are supported by local community initiatives. This summer KAOS have projects in Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, Zambia and Tanzania. Tickets for this year’s show are £4 in advance and all proceeds go towards the local communities where projects are being run. Proceeds will go towards things such as buying teaching materials for schools or laptops for IT education in children’s homes. Over 100 models (mostly UEA
students) will showcase the works of a range of fashion designers, including many local Norwich designers. A huge variety of designs will be displayed with outfits from Future Couture, Daisy & Lola’s, Poppy Valentine’s, Revolution, Gallyons and Shhhh expected to be modelled at the event. A range of students from all courses have been involved in this year’s event. Marina Vincent, one of the event’s organisers, said: “Although it takes months to organise and is a lot of hard work, it is so rewarding in the end. It makes you realise how important team work is. You also get to get involved with things you’ve never done before such as modelling and stage management”. Marina went on to say that “the Fashion Show is definitely the event of the year, and is a great success every time”. The show will take place on 20th March at 7pm in the LCR.
Max Mosley will be giving a lecture on Protection of Privacy on 2nd March
James Schofield
News Reporter
UEA Law Society has announced that Max Mosley will be lecturing on Protection of Privacy on Wednesday 2nd March, after the lecture was cancelled last term. Mr Mosley, former President of the governing body of Formula One and son of Sir Oswald Mosley, founder of the British Union of
Fascists, has been at the centre of a row with The News of the World since 2008. The newspaper published details of his involvement in a sex act with several prostitutes. It has since been ruled that practices such as these are not a matter of public interest and Mosley successfully sued for £60,000. The lecture will be held in the Thomas Paine Lecture Theatre, and will begin at 6:30pm.
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Derby Day posters come under fire David Murphy
News Reporter
The Union of UEA Students has kicked off its campaign for Derby Day 2011 with a set of posters that have been met with mixed reviews. The new posters depict students from many of UEA’s sports teams posing for the camera in their team’s uniform. While there is no doubt about the athletes’ sporting prowess, students on campus feel the images don’t send an intimidating message to Derby Day opponents, the University of Essex. Students have criticised the posters for looking “unprofessional” and say that the plain white background used for most of the images
is not exciting enough. They have also drawn comparisons to Essex’s Derby Day posters saying that our rivals have better captured the competitive spirit of the day. After speaking with students on campus, many have their own ideas on how the photos should have been done. One student told Concrete that “the Ziggurats would have made a better background for the pictures. They would have felt more individual for us then”. In their photos, Essex have used their distinctive tower block accommodation to create a menacing background for their athletes. When this reporter passed some of these criticisms on to the Union, the Communications Officer,
Tom Dolton, said he was “surprised” as “all the comments that we have received on the Derby Day posters have been positive”. He said that “the Union always welcomes feedback” and invited students to put forward their criticisms of the Derby Day campaign using comment cards which are available in Union outlets or by emailing Finance Officer Rob Bloomer directly. Derby Day kicks off on Wednesday 23rd March and this year sees the biggest event in the University’s sporting calendar take place in Norwich. After losing 3015 in Colchester last year, UEA will be looking for strong performances from all of its teams and a definitive win on home soil.
The UEA posters versus Essex’s...
Former polytechnics set to charge an “average of £7,500” A report into tuition fees carried out by The Times has revealed that some lowerranking universities are planning to charge an average of £7,500 in tuition fees. Several new universities and former polytechnics indicated their proposed fee level to The Times in a report published on Monday. Only Swansea Metropolitan said
that their fees would be below the £6,000 lower cap. According to the report, universities in the Russell and 1994 group, which includes UEA, are likely to charge £9,000, with universities that offer more specialised courses also demanding the top amount. These findings come despite the fact that David
Willetts, the Universities Minister, said this week that very few universities would be justified in charging the full amount. He said: “Unless universities can prove that there will be a commensurate and very significant improvement in the education on offer, it is difficult to see how such an increase could ever be justified”.
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INTERNATIONAL
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Visa and Immigration
This issue, Concrete International’s Rachael Lum, Isabelle Carty and Ines Guita examine the dilemmas and problems surrounding visas and international immigration
International Immigration Ines Guita International Writer
Everyone has heard about the current revolutions in Arabic countries such as Tunisia, Egypt and Bahrain. The difficulties of development after colonisation have led to brain drain (especially from India to the USA): the most educated students travel and work in developed countries, instead of benefiting their own nation with their skills. So, colonisation is one of the main causes of international immigration. That is why populations from poor countries (above all Africa, Latin America and Asia) migrate to rich countries. These massive flows of population are motivated by the European dream or the American dream. The number of migrants all over the world has been growing. These migrants hope for a better life than from their own country for reasons such as wars, dictatorships, low life levels, etc. International immigration is a really important issue worldwide because, whatever the population, people want to (or even have to) leave their original country. There are many reasons: study, work or, above all, a better life. In general, the motives match with the type of
country of departure: a student from the EU may go to the USA, a family from Morocco may go to France, etc. So, mobility is supposedly quite easy for a British student but you must take steps to carry out administration, such as visas or passports, months (and even years) before your departure. To avoid or limit illegal immigration, international immigration is regulated by several different organizations at local, national and international levels. Depending on the country you are from and the one you are going to, there are guidelines to follow for these immigrants. Within the European Union, there is a common immigration policy that considers family reunification, study and training, work, and illegal immigration. Asylum-seekers are also part of immigration issues. The EU tries to fight against both smugglers and traffickers to stop fuelling illegal immigration. Europe also intends to combine economic and demographic needs of a region with the influxes of immigrants. In the USA, there are laws regarding immigration and naturalization, especially since the 9/11 attacks. For example, the 1990 Immigration Act limits the annual number of
Visa proposal blow for international students Rachael Lum
International Writer
The new visa proposals would adversely affect the revenue of UK universities but international students are especially feeling the nasty pinch of the reforms. Immigration Minister Damian Green explains that the government plans will reduce the number of overseas students who can enter the UK as they must be “selective about who can come here [Britain] and how long they can stay”. According to the proposals, future overseas applicants would have to demonstrate a higher proficiency in English, a B2 grade as opposed to its previous B1 grade. This would restrict a large number of students from furthering their education in the UK. INTO would suffer the most from this change. The irony in this is that some students enter the UK with the purpose of improving their English. This is under the same principle that studying a language in its country of origin proves to be more beneficial. In UEA, for instance, there are language support programmes and courses to aid these students. The new reform would deter future
students. Current international students are more concerned by the amendments in the post-study work permits. At the moment graduates are allowed to remain in the UK to work for two years. The new cap would ensure that students will return to their home countries after their permitted stay in Britain. The government claims that this will reduce illegal work migrants from abusing the student visa system as some people enter the UK under the pretence of being a student. Unfortunately, this move would be damaging to legitimate international students. Many believe that the implementation would affect future job prospects. Regardless of their abilities, potential employers might be discouraged from hiring these students due to their time limit in the country. It is likely that UK would experience a higher influx of student and work-related visa applications this year with all the anxiety. Although the proposals have not yet been finalised, things are not looking too good. International students have much to fear for with the government’s reassessment of the student immigration system.
immigrants to 700,000: family reunification and employment-related immigration are the most important criterion. Anti-terrorism, death penalty, illegal immigration and immigrant responsibility are dealt with in other acts. On a global scale, the United Nations focuses on numerous initiatives to handle international migration. It interrogates development issues linked to immigration causes and studies how to improve cooperation between the UN and other international agencies, by creating groups or
assemblies. All these migratory policies have deviated to a rise in nationalisms and racism in Europe. For example, in France, the National Front, the most important far-right, nationalist political party, is dangerously growing in polls. International immigration must definitely be regulated and controlled to avoid illegal populations and demographic problems, but it doesn’t justify racism, nationalism or xenophobia. The institutions that deal with immigration issues have to strike a balance between these two elements.
The challenges of migration Isabelle Carty
International Writer
There are many reasons why people might migrate from one country to another. However, education is one of the most alluring factors. People might pick a country to move to for a whole host of reasons including its education system, job prospects, living standards and medical care. Ultimately, regardless of their reason for moving, migrants can be separated into two groups; temporary and permanent. Permanent implies that they intend to stay in the new country and possibly obtain citizenship, whereas temporary migrants only intend to stay for a limited amount of time. The majority of students who choose to study in another country fall into the ‘temporary’ migrant category. Gathering and completing all the application forms to apply for a student visa can be a long and complicated process yet once you have been accepted it undoubtedly comes as quite a relief. This is the first and most important step towards moving to another country to study. However, there are a number of things to think about once you are certain that you will be moving. To begin with, accommodation plans must be made. Students must also consider how they will get from the airport to their final destination.
Currency conversion is probably best done in the student’s home country as rates at the airport will tend not to be favourable. Learning the language of the country is also an important step and can be quite difficult for some – especially if they have never been exposed to it before. Most institutions have classes to help students with this, as well as assisting them with writing essays and sitting exams. Upon arrival in the new country some students may unfortunately experience ‘culture shock’ – a sensation that can be brought about by experiencing something unexpected. Leaving home and travelling to study in a new country can be a stressful experience and though students may find themselves surprised by the effects of the change, it might be helpful for them to realise that this experience is quite normal. Culture shock can be brought on by differences in social behaviour, climate, food, language, dress, rules of behaviour and moral values and though there are indeed many differences between cultures and countries there is also a general sense of curiosity and respect that goes hand in hand with that. Whether students choose to experience something new or to stick to their own customs, they are guaranteed to enjoy exploring their new environment at least until they are ready to return home.
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Tuesday 1st March
COMMENT AND OPINION 9
Big Fat Pre-university advice: sage or silly? My Gypsy Wedding: This weekend Prince William and Kate Middleton headed back to the place where their romance blossomed, the University of St. Andrews. With this in mind, Bell Thomas looks at the wellmeant advice family and friends probably gave you before university, including that age-old myth that university is where you will meet the love of your life.
Bell Thomas
Raise your hand if you were ever offered sage advice from your family and friends before you left for uni? Yes, I’m guessing that’s everyone in the room. So many people get lots of advice that range from the very cool like “Hugs not drugs” to the very kooky like “Always carry around the rape whistle your dad and I got you”. Yes, we always get advice from our loved ones, be it voluntary or flat-out forced. So what profound advice did my parents give to me? Well, that’s easy! My dad said to me: “Read your books, get a degree, get a job”. Rubbish, right? Sorry to disappoint you guys, but my dad
Illustration by Ellie Day
isn’t as cool as Randy Marsh from South Park. Even though I will forever have those snappy words of wisdom etched at the back of my brain, the advice that stuck with me the longest was from a friend’s mum. She said: “Uni is where most people find their life partners and get married, so keep an eye out”. Definitely sound advice coming from a lady that met her husband at university, right? I wasn’t going to doubt her; she was living proof things like that happened. And truth be told, I’ve always been a secret romantic, who isn’t? Anne Robinson got married twice didn’t she? I’m now in my final year of university and I think the closest to a life partner I’m ever going to get here is my electric kettle. I’ve had it for four years. That’s like dog years in celebrity marriages. At this point, you must be wondering: “Is there a point to
this?” Yes. I’m trying to clear the air and bust a few myths in the process. After four years, I have realised that university is an extension of High School.
“I’m now in my final year of university and I think the closest to a life partner I’m ever going to get here is my electric kettle.”
Nothing’s changed, except lectures are not compulsory! University is not bursting with eager eligible bachelors and the LCR is not where you’re going
to find your Prince Charming. If you’re a hopeless romantic and don’t believe me, see for yourself; dress your best and head on to the LCR on a Saturday night. I cannot promise that you’ll find your “soul mate” in there but I can, on good authority, confirm that the burger van will be awaiting your departure should you leave alone, drunk and hungry and feel the need to have a midnight snack. The point I’m trying to make here is: Do not take pre-university advice too literally. We are only young once; our parents went to university; they understand. Enjoy your student experience for as long as you can, (couples, singletons and people on the prowl) because one day you’re going to graduate and you probably don’t want to realise that the longest relationship you ever had was the one with your kettle.
A rebuttal Miha Klement
In the previous issue of Concrete it was argued that there is no way we can criticise values of other cultures, referring to Channel 4’s program My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. The article said that while women in Western cultures may not see a family unit controlled by a strong, patriarchal figure as a worthy aspiration, we should not judge such a family arrangement according to our standards. This view is rather common these days and goes by the name of cultural relativism – the idea that diversity of cultural values means that they are all equal. Demanding the proud denizens of an ancient gypsy culture to conform to our view of gender equality would be culturally imperialistic.
“We know enough about human well-being to condemn such blatant mistreatment of women regardless of its cultural origin”
This “tolerance” of moral differences enables abject failures of compassion evident in the article. The young age at which girls are married, the low literacy rates among them and subjugation to male dominance was deemed acceptable in the article as long as the women are ‘happy’ with their situation. Clearly these women value the wrong things in life. Is it not clear that their practices cause them unnecessary suffering? Their cultural practices perpetuate a view of women as being the property of men and keep women blind to the possibility of real equality and communication between the sexes. Are we therefore not in a position to say that the treatment of women in traditional gypsy societies is generally bad? Absolutely we are and we have a responsibility to state the obvious. We know enough about human well-being to condemn such blatant mistreatment of women regardless of its cultural origin.
The views in Comment and Opinion represent those of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect those of Concrete
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Belgium: A coalition scare story?
With British eyes firmly set on the future of our own coalition Government, discussion in national newspapers of the ever-growing tensions in Belgium has been scarce. Pia Langeheine looks at the situation facing a state on the edge of fracture and asks what issues it raises? Pia Langeheine
Belgium is a country with a population of nearly 11 million. Although the majority of the national citizens (about 6 million) are Flemish, it is estimated that approximately 77% of the households in Brussels, the capital, are French speaking. Up until WWII, Wallonia - the southern French speaking region - was the more prosperous region of Belgium, due to its extensive coal and iron industries. Today, however, productivity per inhabitant is said to be 20% higher in Flanders - the northern Flemish speaking region - than in Wallonia, where unemployment appears to be twice as high as in Flanders. Hence the Flemish people are discontent with having to pay for Francophone welfare benefits and not seeing the taxes invested in their own region. Such disparities are the causes for the current political dispute. Belgium is a highly complex country. It is a federal state comprising of Flemish and French
communities with a small German minority. Much like Britain is split into four principalities, Belgium is split into three regions - Flanders and Wallonia, which are Flemish, and French speaking respectively, while the capital region of Brussels is bilingual. Again, like Britain, regions have various political powers such as transportation or cultural matters. The Flemish parties generally favour much larger regional autonomy, while the Francophone parties tend to favour more state control, being aware that they benefit from national public expenditure. The political institutions are not purely ideological. Most political power is organised around the need to represent the political and linguistic interests of the communities. Subsequently, most political parties are exclusively Dutch or French speaking. The major conflict centres around a district called BrusselsHalle-Vilvoorde (BHV), which encompasses the bilingual Brussels and the monolingual Flanders region. The latter contains several municipalities where Frenchspeakers form a considerable part of the population. They are granted special privileges such as
“Currently Belgium has been without an official government for over 250 days thereby setting a world record for the lengthiest government formation process, having overtaken Iraq.”
‘extraterritorial’ voting rights which means that Francophones can vote in the Wallonia regional elections even though they reside in Flanders. The Flemish community insists on the monolingual nature of Flanders and wants to deny the Frenchspeakers these extra rights, while the French community is generally in favour of retaining the status quo. The political crisis broke out in the summer of 2007, following the electoral victory of the alliance of Flemish Christian Democrats and separatists who supported widespread state reform and the immediate split of the BHV region. Back then it took 149 days to form a new government. Currently Belgium has been without an official government for over 250 days - since summer 2010 - thereby setting a world record for the most lengthiest government formation process, having overtaken Iraq since 17th February. The June 2010 general elections saw a victory by the separatist New Flemish Alliance (NVA), but with only 27 out of 150 parliamentary seats. Therefore the NVA needed to form a coalition with a number of other parties in order to govern. However, due to
their radical ambitions and strong political opposition, it has been extremely problematic to form an alliance. Hence negotiations to form a new government have been deadlocked ever since and Belgium is being governed by the so called ‘lame duck’ Provisional Government under Flemish Christian Democrat leader Yves Leterme. The linguistic divisions were first sparked in the 1960s when Flemish students at the ‘University of Leuven’, located in Flanders, claimed that they were underprivileged compared to their fellow French students. Consequently the University was divided and the new exclusively French speaking ‘University of Louvain’ was founded in Wallonia. Now, fifty years on, students are at the forefront of mass demonstration in support of a united Belgium. The question is whether they will be heard by the petty-minded politicians, or whether Belgium is destined to split up eventually. So far, however, no one has come up with a reasonable solution to the most controversial issue – what happens to bilingual Brussels should the country separate?
Is it time for Trident to take a backseat?
In light of well-documented spending cuts in all sectors, should we still be spending billions on a nuclear defence programme? James Dixon considers the debate associated with Trident and the questions it forces us to ask.
James Dixon
The coalition Government have currently reached a fork in the road as to how they should replace the aging Trident nuclear weapon system. Trident has offered a continuous at-sea deterrent, which means having one nuclear submarine at sea for everyday of the year. This is an extremely costly measure to preserve Britain’s claim to being a nuclear power and is currently under review as Trident is replaced.
The current Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, has insisted that Trident is replaced with a ‘like for like’ system. Fox’s dismissal of any alternative course of action, such as land-based weapons, has caused controversy due to Fox’s Liberal Democrat deputy, Nick Harvey, speaking out in favour of considering alternatives. At a prime time for debate over Britain’s nuclear future, the coalition has been disappointingly close-minded and has barely broached the subject of nuclear arms reduction. Nuclear weapons are renowned for their terrifyingly destructive nature and have only been used aggressively twice in their existence.
To complicate matters, today’s nuclear weapons are much stronger than past incarnations. The horrifying images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki appear to be quickly cast aside by the coalition
who claims that nuclear weapons act as a defence system in the form of a deterrent. While this claim is dubious, the possession of nuclear weapons only serves to encourage other countries to develop their own arms to sit on a level plain. To continue to pursue a Trident style weapons system is to act hypocritically as Britain attempts to dissuade other countries from creating nuclear weapons. If ownership of nuclear arms is a deterrent against nuclear war then why did Blair feel the need to invade Iraq? The logic of nuclear weapons is confused. Aside from the morality of nuclear weapons, there is the
economic issue of investing heavily in a resource we will most likely never use. Official costs of replacing the Trident system are unclear, but Greenpeace have estimated the cost to be £75 billion. This is a phenomenal amount of money that could be used to support public services and lessen the economy’s deficit. If ten per cent of Trident’s costs were spent on school education in foreign languages perhaps people would fear their fellow man less. We look back on Poseidon and confine him to the realm of mythology. I would like the same to be said for Trident and nuclear weapons.
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COMMENT AND OPINION 11
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Tuesday 1st March
Cameron, convicts and European conventions The past couple of weeks have put pressure on the coalition Government to settle their differences on Europe and civil liberties. Last week MPs voted against the right of prisoners to have the vote. James Schofield and Nick Murrell look at the issues at stake here and question the role of Europe in modern Britain.
Prisoner’s rights or wrong? James Schofield British sovereignty, human rights and the principles of democracy are just three heavy political issues that are currently being debated since the decision of the European Court of Human Rights, which stressed that the Government must allow prisoners the right to vote. In 1979, John Hirst was convicted of manslaughter after killing his landlord, which was deemed not to be murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility. After serving a total
of thirty years in prison for various crimes, he was released and began his campaign championing the right of suffrage for those serving time at Her Majesty’s pleasure. In 2004, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the British Government was in breach of Mr Hirst’s and other prisoner’s rights, and has recently given the Government a deadline to implement changes satisfactory to the ruling. The Daily Mail and other likeminded publications have once again brought euro-scepticism to the forefront with an increased frustration over the loss of British sovereignty. This debate could in fact be one which has considerable implications for the issue of human
rights, and more crucially the legitimacy of the electoral process. Arguments against giving prisoners the right to vote include punishing offenders and enhancing civil responsibility and respect for the law. Although it is my view that rehabilitation should be emphasised much more in prisons than punishment, prisoners should still be remanded and made to feel remorse for their actions. It is through this that they can begin their path to becoming a reformed citizen. The issue revolves around a poignant question: is voting a human right? The act of voting gives each member of a society an equal say in how society is constructed and maintained, and
it allows a person to help dictate how institutions should be run and how the budget is spent. Society functions best when all within it work together to maintain order and aid its running. Crime disrupts this process. If one breaks the laws of the land, then they can hardly be trusted to help deliver a better society. Voting is a privilege, not a right. By causing harm and damage to the lives of others, a person displays the inability to work for a common good, and this privilege should be duly taken away. The Government must reject this notion in order to preserve the integrity of the British judicial system, for the sake of sovereignty and for an effective prisons system.
that membership is supposed to guarantee. Parliament has been told over such things as prisoners’ votes, a prospect that made David Cameron feel physically sick, that it must follow the court or face having to pay massive amounts of compensation. The question that must be asked, therefore, is, whether the ECHR, and our will to implement the courts decisions, benefits Britain? Breaches of civil liberties are hardly a problem in our free and democratic society, with the only people genuinely benefiting
being those with repatriation orders after committing crimes or prisoners who may now win the right to vote. With a British Bill of Rights and the scrapping of the Human Rights Act, British courts will be free from European jurisprudence, with the Government able to put more stringent limits on judicial power, limiting their interpretive scope and thus securing the supremacy of Parliament, a crucial aspect of democracy and, therefore, liberty. As per Lord Bingham, former Lord Chief Justice: “The British people have not repelled the extraneous power of the papacy in spiritual matters,
and the pretensions of Royal power in temporal, in order to subject themselves to unchallengeable rulings by unelected judges”. This has been exemplified in the recent decision by the High Court rejecting prisoners’ claims to compensation as they recognised Parliament’s supremacy in this area. The pressure, however, from the European court is still there, even after this substantial rejection. There should be the protection of rights in this country, but there is no reason why we need a European court, with the power to overrule our democratically elected Parliament, to do this. The Bill of Rights would probably take a very similar form to the ECHR, as all the rights it contains are needed in society, but it would be under our control, with whatever limits we wish to place on it.
Do we need a British Bill of Rights? Nick Murrell
The European Convention on Human Rights, created immediately after the Second World War was necessary to protect civil liberties from tyranny before and during World War Two. This challenge to restrictions on liberty is embodied by the section of the Berlin Wall in front of the court. The need for Britain to be a part of this has, however, diminished. The European Court of Human Rights has shown in recent months that it has no problem overriding the will of a democratically elected Parliament; a degradation of our democracy, without any of the gain for our civil freedoms
Muscular liberalism Joe Lack
Brace yourselves, because David Cameron’s “muscular liberalism” is coming to beat you up. Like a sinister speed dating host, it won’t allow you merely to put up with people you don’t like in a law-abiding way. It will force you to fall in love with them and decide to use the Big Society bank to set up a community minded - yet adequately profitable - luncheon club for the elderly. Perhaps this Government is so liberal that it will ban illiberal thoughts, or speech, or popular dissent in general?
“Mr Cameron sometimes forgets to feed his liberalism its greens”
The state too is getting liberally slippered, but this is fair, because it didn’t plan its work properly last term. You will gaze in adoration as the headmaster confiscates the money of local authorities, rescuing you from the bullying of public services, leaving you free to pay extra for alternatives you like better - where available. However, Mr Cameron sometimes forgets to feed his liberalism its greens. In his speech to the Munich Security Conference, he talked of protecting British borders and “collective identity”. Nationality is an exclusive concept, regardless of his argument that the national collective culture should be the active welcoming of different cultures. He also felt “physically ill” at the prospect of giving some prisoners the vote, which is surprising, since it is not only a liberal idea, but one which could have won him some loyal voters.
Read something here that’s got your blood boiling? Need to get it off your chest? Email concrete.opinion@uea.ac.uk and we will get your voice heard
12 FEATURES
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A very 21st century revolution As protests continue in the Middle East, Alex Ross examines the implications of the political unrest.
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Unprecedented” was the only word that Council of Foreign Relations professor Robert Danin could use to describe the unrest in the Middle East in late January. The rise of the demonstrations in the Arab World had by that point spread from Tunisia in mid-December through Egypt and Algeria to Yemen and Jordan. Today, a month on, the West looks on as the almost inevitable domino effect takes hold, igniting dissent from Bahrain to Iraq, covering the map of Arab territories in a blanket of discord. At the time of going to print more than 3000 have died (eight through self-immolation) and Tunisia, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, Iraq and, as has been covered extensively, Egypt have seen some form of regime change (or the promise of a change of government at forthcoming elections). Pictures from Egypt during the eighteen days of major protest against former President Mubarak enthralled Western audiences, glued to the BBC in a way never before seen and, while the optimist might claim this owes to a greater social conscience in the West in the 21st century, the realistic observer can point to a key factor in Western society’s interest – scale. With an estimated 750,000 taking to the streets of Alexandria on February 3rd alone, it became alarmingly clear that not since the fall of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s had public anger spilled over to this extent. Along with this, though, the interest in developments has been spurred on by a shift in the consensus on a region so often the victim of stereotype. Western perception of the Arab World has changed for good; not just because of new regimes or the sense that something has finally changed, but instead through the work of a new, intelligent and socially aware generation in the organisation and execution of large scale dissent. This, combined with the typically hard-working stubbornness of the working-classes, those living in abject poverty and feeling the full brunt of the regimes, has created a cocktail all too potent for the states left to sip them. One factor widely credited with being a catalyst for this new movement is the international rise of social networks. Twitter and Facebook in particular have provided a framework for organisation and a means of communication unavailable in previous decades; the impact that 21st Century technology has had
on protest has been profound. This is not just in its ability to allow thousands to organise and share, but also in its immense ability to baffle and panic governments. When this was coupled with the Al-Jazeera television network and its unrivalled ability to rile the ruling elite, the Egyptian Government in particular was left to fight a war on too many fronts, predominantly against an invisible enemy. Whilst China has proved how effective censorship can be when done brutally and unceremoniously, it is fair to say that Egypt, without the reliance on state television that once permeated the population, was helpless to the use of the internet, in spite of numerous attempts to disrupt mobile phone and Internet signals. Dissent was widespread, and no ringleader could be pinpointed. A new approach by a new generation giving us a new perception could well be vital not just in the continuing revolutionary movements in the region, but in the process of rebuilding and establishing new forms of government in the wake of the protests. The natural reaction of the right wing is of course to conjure up images of fundamental Islam taking the region by the throat while it is vulnerable. Indeed, the Muslim Brotherhood, the trans-national party promoting the conversion to non-secular Islamic states, had for a long time been considered as the primary opposition to Mubarak in Egypt and is immensely influential in a number of nations now in the throes of unrest, most notably Bahrain and Jordan. However, to expect such a move to the right in these countries would be naïve given the primary nature of the unrest. “Because we live under the spectre and the shadow of the Islamic revolution of 1979 [in which a power vacuum led to the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini and the establishment of a Muslim theocracy in the Iran], everybody seems to see Khomeini round the corner, as if in Egypt there’s a Khomeini waiting to pounce,” said Professor Ali Ansari of the University of St Andrews. To those on the right, a repeat is inevitable. However, according to Professor Ansari, “there’s no evidence of this at all.” Khomeni himself this week described the current movement across the Arab world as an ‘Islamic awakening’, much to the disapproval of many political leaders locally and worldwide, and
“Twitter and Facebook in particular have provided a framework for organisation and a means of communication unavailable in previous decades. This is not just in its ability to allow thousands to organise and share, but also in its immense ability to baf�le and panic governments.”
much to the surprise of those who witnessed the brutal crackdown on protesters in wholly similar anti-Government activity in Iran less than two years ago. But such attempts to twist the ideals of the movement are not just baffling, but plainly incorrect. Professor Ansari said: “If you look on the ground and you look at social discontent, the problems are very basic… people simply want accountability and they’re not interested in these ideologies.” That is not to say that lessons cannot be learned from the events in Tehran some thirty years ago – to leave a power vacuum so great in a nation so populous is playing with fire and the consequences, though often inevitable, can lead to a system more malevolent than that which it replaced. But it is here that this new generation have their opportunity to seize a new identity and establish a progressive democracy. Much has been made, quite rightly, of a new wave of pride in Egypt since the first sparks of unrest that has not defined itself by nationalism or religion. Placards in Tahrir Square bearing the slogan ‘Now I am proud of being Egyptian’ have been shown worldwide and paint a clear picture of an awakening not of a religious bent, but rather a social and community based nature. With the internet and liberal media, the population are able to expose themselves to a wider range of opinions than they may have been thirty years ago, breaking down the idea of an educated ruling class with a small number of controllable dissenters and instead bringing in an intelligent and opinionated majority. With censorship of the media going out with the Government, the hard work has largely been done on this issue and the chances of a rightwing Government filling the space in government has, one hopes, all but disappeared with it. But where does this leave us? Can the new generation of socially aware democrats in the Arab World change the perception of our own governments as well as our people, or will the West succumb to the same patronising paternalism that has dominated foreign policy since imperialism and has done little more than increase tensions? Tony Blair’s comment that Mubarak was a ‘force for good’ in the region shortly before his timely fall, demonstrates an attitude in the United Kingdom that still prides itself on the charade of
stability in the Middle East and North Africa at the expense of liberty, equality and democracy. Yet the widespread condemnation of the former Prime Minister’s comments, in many places falling in to the realm of plain ridicule, shows that the vast majority realise the flaws and hypocrisy of the ‘old guard’ and support development over despotism. Of course, David Cameron and William Hague’s vague public disapproval of the Mubarak regime was little more than a sound bite, but it demonstrates at the very least that they can judge the public mood better than Blair, whose role as Middle East Peace Envoy falls further into the absurd with each passing event. For us, at a time when students have arguably lost their voice in a de-politicised age and struggle to be recognised and represented on issues so relevant as the future of education itself, there may be a great deal to learn from both the stubbornness and organisation of the Middle Eastern and North African movement in which the student population played a large role. If and when the dust settles on these events, and there is little doubt that there is more to come, we may well be looking at a more progressive and democratic Middle East and North Africa. Small steps these may be, but the precedent has been set.
14 FEATURES
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BIG ISSUHoEmelessness
espite being one of the ten richest countries in the world, there are more than 500,000 homeless people in the UK today. It’s a shocking statistic; this figure is almost double the whole population of the Greater Norwich area. But who are these forgotten people, those often perceived merely as a government statistic? Many may think that homelessness is a far away issue that isn’t really that applicable to them. Beyond being approached in the streets by a Big Issue seller or a panhandler, students as a species feel quite separate from the world of the streets. It’s a huge surprise, therefore, to realise that 47% of homeless people across the UK have qualifications of some kind. 48% of them have GCSEs, 16% A-Levels, 15% degrees and 13% professional qualifications. Can you imagine a life on the streets after university? The reasons for a person becoming homeless are often very complex and diverse in nature. The charity Shelter identifies a set of personal causes and structural causes which contribute to a person becoming homeless, notably outlining drug and alcohol misuse and involvement with crime as important factors. Other causes, such as relationship breakdowns and debt, particularly payment of a mortgage or rent, however, are much closer to home and could affect most people in some way. Structural impacts include unemployment, poverty, lack of affordable housing and the structure or administration of housing benefit. Factors such as these are generally perceived to be beyond individual control, and the responsibility of the government to address. Where to lay the blame,
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however, is hardly the immediate concern of most homeless people; they’re just trying to survive, to get through another day. Shockingly, ‘rough sleepers’ – i.e. those sleeping on the streets at night – have an average life expectancy of just 42, with the national average for both men and women being upwards of age 74. It’s astounding to think that a relatively large section of society is suffering from such terrible conditions. Most homeless people do not visit a GP or receive any medical care, and a 2003 Crisis survey found that rough sleepers are three times more likely than the general public to suffer from chronic chest and breathing problems. Despite this, homeless people are entitled to a lot of help, including visits to the doctor. A homeless person will still be entitled to vote, to receive benefits, to obtain medical care, to pursue education (through Adult Education evening classes and through access to a library and its services, for example) and perhaps most importantly, they are entitled to help from the local council housing department. The latter service provider is legally obliged to provide advice, assistance and sometimes accommodation to a homeless person. Any homeless person is also entitled to free services from a Jobcentre if they are unemployed, though notably a lack of address and no money for bus or train fare can be an obstacle here. In addition, there are a variety of charities and religious organisations that operate in the UK, and indeed all over the world, with the aim of helping homeless people and providing care and safety to them. One of these charities, The Big Issue, does more
“Shockingly, those sleeping on the streets at night have an average life expectancy of just 42, with the national average for both men and women being upwards of 74.”
than provide shelter or food for the homeless; it provides them with a means of earning an honest living and a purpose, a reason to get up in the morning. The organisation’s tagline ‘a hand up not a hand out’ is a significant and positive one, and one that the British Government doesn’t seem to have grasped in attempting to tackle the problem of homelessness. Rather than simply providing a magazine to sell and reimbursing for any magazines that are unsold, The Big Issue provides 5 copies of the magazine free of charge to each seller and then offers further copies at £1 each. The seller is essentially selfemployed, having to figure out their finances and work as a salesperson until they’ve sold their magazines. The Big Issue says: “These skills, along with the confidence and selfesteem they build through selling the magazine, are crucial in helping homeless people reintegrate into mainstream society.” Beyond this, the charity also connects homeless people with state services in housing, benefit, education and more in order to make positive changes in each person’s life. Related Government policy since the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition came to power has been concerned with reducing homelessness through changes in the welfare system and making the repossession of homes a last resort. The real areas that seem to need attention, however, are education and unemployment – areas in which the current Government has been unclear in its plans. Perhaps a new national initiative and set of guiding policies specifically for local authorities is needed in order for the homeless issue to be effectively dealt with and the situation to be improved.
the in le op pe s es el m ho n io ill m a lf ha nd With arou d ce fa s m le ob pr e th es or pl ex vi za Ra UK, Lauren by people 'living rough'
THE INTERVIEW: MARTIN
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Laura Smith
I’ve got my dog, my van and The Big Issue. That’s all I care about. That’s all I need.” These are the words of Martin, 49, who works on the UEA campus selling copies of The Big Issue. Most students see Martin every day, perhaps have a chat with him and stroke his dog, but his life and his story are elements often bypassed. Concrete caught up with Martin to find out more about him. Sitting in Zest with a meal, Martin outlines the basics of how he got here. He moved to Norwich eleven years ago as a salesman for British Gas. He lived in a caravan on Norfolk Showground. When the work at British Gas stopped, he got a Banksman Ticket qualification allowing him back into the building trade. He worked all over the city as a subcontractor; he even helped to build Chapelfield back in 2004/2005. By 2008, he was making good money – in the region of £1,000-£2,000 per week – but was suffering alcohol problems during the breakdown of a relationship. Soon afterwards, the company he was subcontracting for went under. “I was left with nowhere to go and no job,” he explains. “I sold the caravan and I bought a van. I still live in it now.” As the Government instructs, Martin went to a Jobcentre Plus and looked for work with the ‘help’ of the unemployment professionals. The jobs they offered him were temporary or unsuitable. With no viable alternatives, he ended up
selling The Big Issue. “If a job came up tomorrow, me and The Big Issue would shake hands and wave goodbye,” he says. “But there are no construction jobs in Norwich at the moment. And I need a job with a three month contract minimum, otherwise I’d rather carry on selling The Big Issue.” Last year, Martin did some contract work at a chemical plant for an agency, but got ill from the chemicals and had to leave for health reasons. He went back to The Big Issue. Since, he has been offered work for a couple of weeks but feels there isn’t any point in losing his UEA spot for the sake of such temporary work. “We like it here. Nice people, friendly atmosphere. We’ve got friends here,” he says with a grin. “I get phone calls if I’m running late saying ‘Martin, where are you?’ I tell them, ‘I’ll be there soon, we’re on the bus!’” He’s also heard about welding work in Iraq, and after The Big Issue helped him pay for a 10-year passport, it’s a definite possibility. “But I have a dog, and I love her to bits. She wouldn’t be able to come to Iraq. The Big Issue has allowed me to be with my dog.” But selling The Big Issue is no free ride. Martin buys his issues every morning at the magazine office for £1 each. It’s his job to sell them all for £2 each – and there’s no returning them if they don’t sell. “This is my living,” Martin says. “I’m a self-employed salesman. That’s how I see it.”
It’s amazing and inspiring to hear that Martin approaches life with such a positive attitude in alternative and challenging circumstances. But what about his life before Norwich? “I’ve had the house, the wife, the family, the money – it all comes with a tariff of stress and problems,” he says. “I felt like I was just a meal ticket.” He pauses for a moment and then continues: “I still speak to my daughter. She came with me to Norwich, but she lives in London now. She’s got a good job and her own flat. She always says to me, ‘Dad, come and live with me’. I like being on my own. I just want a simple life.” Despite his positivity, he admits it’s sometimes a struggle to afford food, and the van gets very cold in the winter. “I tend to go in a pub every so often and have a meal for about £6. There’s an open fire, it’s warm. My dog loves it.” “But I don’t owe anybody anything. I live within my means,” he concludes. “I came into life with nothing, I’ll go out of life with nothing. Everything in between is loaned to me. I don’t need bricks and mortar – I’m happy with a van.” You’ll find Martin selling copies of The Big Issue outside the UEA’s Waterstones every day, accompanied by his gorgeous Labrador doggy named Issue. Track him down, buy a copy of the magazine and have a chat – he really is one of the friendliest faces on campus!
16 LIFESTYLE
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ISSUE 253
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The unusual purls of life in a modern city
Concrete explores the lastest graffiti craze spreading across cities around the world: Graffiti Knitting or ‘Yarnstorming’ as it has been termed. James Dixon
Lifestyle editor
Graffiti and knitting are two pursuits that usually fall in very different categories of interest. Graffiti inspires thoughts of sneaking around in the night, covered in spray paint, while knitting conjures thoughts of elderly women making gifts for their grandchildren. These stereotypes can be cast aside though in the flick of a knitting needle as a young new wave of knitters have revolutionised the hobby’s image through their unusual pursuit of graffiti knitting. This is the covering of objects with multi-coloured wool to improve upon its aesthetic image. A select group of women known as ‘Knit The City’ (KTC) have popularised the graffiti knitting movement with the their colourful exploits around London’s sprawling metropolis. The group refer to their hobby as ‘yarnstorming’ and have been active since February 2009. The popularity of the movement has grown slowly and it has only recently had to adopt a public face to its underground activities. Their ‘woolly war on the mundane’ has been received positively by the media who can’t help but be charmed by the warmth of this novel approach to graffiti. Their mainstream presence is felt through the group adopting
a website which can be found at www.knithecity.com. This creates a paradox in that their underground activities have become so mainstream and accessible. It seems that KTC have only remained underground due to the sheer practicality of maintaining a small network of members who can communicate and organise more easily than a large disjointed group of knitters. Past achievements of the group include covering a London telephone box in a patchwork of coloured wool, strategically positioning miniature farm animals around photo opportunities and giving a flamingo statue a bright yellow moustache. KTC’s novel approach to street art forces society to question their perceptions of street art. Inevitably, the fundamental question of what is art arises. This proves to be a rather subjective question though, as artists such
“KTC’s work will allow people to see cities in a different light...”
as Banksy and Shepard Fairey (the man behind the popular ‘Obey’ image) are publically lauded and praised; however stencilled street art remains an illegal and fringe activity. KTC, on the other hand,
Clive Cares
Dear Clive,
I’ve been working really hard on my dissertation lately but have realised that I’ve neglected my girlfriend because of it. I’m thinking of making one big romantic gesture to make it up to her. What would you suggest?
Clive says: It sounds like you both need to spend some quality time together. May I suggest a very romantic meal with candles, a nice bottle of wine and a nice bunch of flowers for the very special girl in your life? I hope I have been some help! Take care.
have only been stopped by the police once whilst tackling the aforementioned telephone box. After informing the police that they were performing a craft project they were allowed to continue. KTC’s popularity and mainstream acceptance may stem from the fact that their street art is semi-permanent rather than permanently painted onto the canvas that the street provides. It also could be said that there is a distinguishable divide between street art and the simple tagging of objects with a can of spray paint. KTC will continue on with their ‘nefarious knitting’ and may even inspire others to join them in their pursuit of a very woolly world. KTC, and their dedication to yarnstorming, force knitting to transcend its borders from the purely functional to the purely aesthetic. Their unique brand of urban artwork provides an interesting commentary on city life where inhabitants are preoccupied by the use value of urban objects. Through their knit work, they remind Londoners and fellow city inhabitants of the unappreciated beauty of simple urban objects. A city truly is an unfinished canvas, and that is where its beauty lies. Hopefully, KTC’s work will allow people to see cities in a different light that exudes warmth with and without a colourful woollen cover.
UEA’s favourite bus driver, Clive Ashcroft, answers your questions and worries Email Clive your concerns anonymously to clivecaresconcrete@ gmail.com, or follow us on Facebook: Clive Cares
Dear Clive,
Me and the lads are thinking of going on holiday this year, looking to enjoy a few beers and maybe meet some nice females, where would you suggest going?
Clive says: I hope you and the lads have your passports ready because my suggestion would be Ibiza! Sun, sand and beer combined with the nightlife makes this one of the most popular holiday resorts for young people. There are flights from Norwich too. Whatever you decide to do, I hope you and the lads have a fantastic holiday. Enjoy yourselves and take care.
ISSUE 253
LIFESTYLE 17
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Tuesday 1st March
Unity in religious diversity
Perfect Pancakes
William Jones Lifestyle writer
Recently, Westminster Cathedral, the church at the heart of English Catholicism, saw the ordination of three former Anglican bishops as Catholic priests. The men had gone over to the Catholic Church specifically over the Church of England’s plans to allow the appointment of female bishops; the Catholic priesthood is, by contrast, a female-free zone. The bishops, together with several more Anglican congregations, have joined the Catholic Church as part of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, a ring-fenced section of the Catholic Church created especially to accommodate Anglican dissenters. But what will the implication of these events be on smaller Christian communities throughout the country, such as that at UEA? Will they be a point of unity or dissent? Concrete spoke to Fr. Darren Thornton, UEA’s Anglican chaplain. Fr. Thornton was wholly without resentment; instead he
was quite graceful in identifying the most important consideration as the spiritual contentment, or otherwise, of those involved. If going over to the Catholic Church was what it took to achieve this contentment, then that was a good thing. UEA’s Chaplaincy offers spiritual services to students of many faiths and denominations – Anglican, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, Orthodox, Quaker, Roman Catholic – the list goes on. It seems the very model of emphasising points of commonality between those of different beliefs, rather than that which divides them. This small-scale religious cooperation is a microcosm of tolerance and
cooperation achievable on a larger scale. We might see those joining the Ordinariate as representing a particularly conservative, even borderline misogynistic, portion of the comparatively liberal Anglican Church. But if so, we must likewise recognise the existence of those many followers of the Catholic Church whose views are conspicuously modern and progressive by comparison to the controversial attitudes all too often expressed by the Vatican itself. The UEA Chaplaincy provides a positive lesson in how to avoid letting doctrine get in the way of cooperation through shared humanity.
Christine O’Sullivan Lifestyle writer
It’s that time of year again. Everyone get your hands on eggs, milk and flour and rustle up some scrumptious pancakes! Makes 12-14 pancakes. * 4oz (100g plain flour) * Half a pint (250ml) of milk. * 2 eggs. * Pinch of salt. * Fat or oil.
(An alternative method if you don’t have weighing scales and measuring jugs is two cups of flour,
two cups of milk and a cup of egg in those quantities.) 1. Heat the frying pan with oil covering the pan or a small piece of fat in the centre to spread over. 2. Wait until it begins to smoke slightly, then stir and pour in some batter, enough to thinly cover the bottom of the pan. 3. Cook until nicely golden brown on the bottom. 4. Toss/flip the pancake, depending on how adventurous you feel/how much you want to show off in front of your housemates! 5. Cook the other side until golden brown as well. 6. Serve and add your topping. Enjoy!
18 FOCSOC
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UEA Glee Show Choir celebrate success with ‘The Soul Within’. Beth Wyatt
UEA Glee Show Choir
On 25th February, the LCR played host to the UEA Glee Show Choir and their performance of The Soul Within. Developed by president Rachel Folley and the Glee committee, The Soul Within portrayed, through song, the struggles of five central characters. The show choir had previously performed at a UEA Music Society event, and sang a rendition of ‘I’m Yours’ in the Hive, but this was their first full-length show. However, they need not have worried – the 150 plus audience was entranced as soon Bon Jovi’s ‘Keep the Faith’ began. After each of the various numbers, the audience whistled and cheered loudly – even clapping along during the encore to the beats of ‘Live and Let Die’. The overwhelming success of the society’s first show is due to its committed members, who had rehearsed for months to perfect the thirty songs which featured. Now it is hoped that the club can continue to grow. What makes UEA Glee different is that it does not matter if you can sing or
not – the cliché of ‘it’s all about having fun’ is true here. There are also roles in the band and for budding choreographers too. Warmups include the pronunciation exercise ‘All I want is a Proper Cup of Coffee’ and the game ‘Whoosh!’, or the alternate ‘‘Ave it!’, which provides the laughs. Members can put forward song suggestions, and music from various genres has been incorporated – including Queen classics, musical numbers, and recent favourites such as Lady Gaga’s ‘Bad Romance’.
...it does not matter if you can sing or not – the cliché of ‘it’s all about having fun’ is true
All of these factors combine to create an amazing society. The committee are busy planning exciting events for the rest of the university year and it also remains to be said that you don’t need to watch Glee to join (but be prepared for dramatic gasps from current members!) For more information on UEA Glee, visit the facebook page: UEA Glee Show Choir.
Louise Horner
Interested in saving money and the environment? At Edenel Toners we sell a wide range of recycled printer ink cartridges suitable for all major printer brands. These are manufactured to the same quality standards (i.e. ISO 9001; ISO/IEC 24711) as original branded printer ink cartridges, but are up to 50 % cheaper. We also provide free UK delivery.
So if you are interested in saving money on your printer ink cartridges and reducing your carbon footprint, then why not visit us at
www.edeneltoners.com
UEA Music Society Big Band Presents.... On Friday 11th March, the UEA Music Society Big Band invites you to an evening of Jazz in the Hive!
Tickets are only £2 for Music Soc members, and £3 for general admission. If you would like to get your hands on a pair of free tickets to this event, just answer the question below: Michael Bublé re-released the single ‘Feelin’ Good’ in 2010, reaching no.69 in the UK charts and establishing it as a household song for many. But who originally brought the song to commercial success in 1965?
Email your answer, along with your name and contact details to concrete.editorial@uea. ac.uk.
ISSUE 253
TRAVEL 19
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Tuesday 1st March
Keeping it cool - Camping USA Atmospheric Amsterdam Greg Lewry heads to summer camp to get involved in a great American tradition, taking up the responsibilities of a camp counsellor, giving swimming lessons, reading stories and keeping control. The stereotypical American summer camp of movies such as American Pie and The Parent Trap, with idyllic forested surroundings, rebellious kids and randy counsellors, is familiar to most. While the majority of negative perceptions are untrue (forget Friday the Thirteenth), during my summer as a camp counsellor at Camp Sloane, Connecticut, it became clear that the reality of the great American tradition that is ‘Camp’ isn’t too far from its big-screen portrayal. You can find a job as a swimming instructor with the help of BUNAC, a British travel club that arranges summer camp placements. Starting in New York, you travel up from the Big Apple towards rural Connecticut and soon realise that there are many different types of summer camp in America ranging from private to under-privileged, Christian to Jewish and others in between. Placed at a large residential YMCA camp, famed for its long history of traditional canvas tents, which offered every activity from water-skiing to horse-riding, my job for the summer was teaching kids of all ages their daily compulsory swimming lessons, either in the camp’s swimming pool or its own lake each day. This included looking after a tent of 10-11-year-old boys who yearned for piggy-backs, loved being read Harry Potter every night and who never failed to surprise
with their crazy antics and bizarre questions - ‘Do you use anti-ageing cream?’ being particularly absurd. While the children may be entertaining in themselves, the other counsellors make sure that you have the time of your life. Working at a summer camp isn’t a job for the faint hearted. You’re a parent, a teacher, a climbing-frame, an entertainer, a mentor, a role model, but every counsellor works together, producing an environment where you’ll make friends for life. For days off, a road trip is always the best option and a night out on the town with a huge party in Manhattan comes when camp breaks up.
“You’re a parent, a teacher, a climbing-frame, an entertainer, a mentor, a role model...”
After nine weeks of early morning wake up calls, and memorising kids’ names, it was finally time to take to the open road and explore the other side of an American summer. Thus, this writer and three other counsellors decided to visit the historic city of Boston for a few days, strutting around Harvard University pretending we were students there before heading to Six Flags theme park and experiencing
some of the best rollercoasters in the world. From Massachusetts you can set off on your own self-crafted Greyhound bus tour of the Eastern States taking in the wonders of Richmond, Nashville, New Orleans, Atlanta, Savannah, Washington DC and Providence in seven gruelling yet fascinating days and nights. Greyhound offers a seven-day ‘Discovery’ pass for around £160 which allows you to travel on any bus to anywhere in America. It’s best to make the most of the night buses that transport ordinary Americans from state to state. Though it does mean waking up every morning on a rattling bus, sitting next to a complete stranger. At least you can watch the sunrise illuminate the looming city ahead, waiting to be explored. The last week in America was a little more stable, spent between friends in Rhode Island and Connecticut. In fact, of the entire eighty-five days that this writer spent in America, only one night was paid for in a hotel, proving that extended travel is possible for anyone wanting to see the world on the cheap. The final destination was a solemn one, being spent in New York on the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The eerie silence of one of the world’s great cities was a sombre end to a season of story-telling and swimming lessons, a drastic change from the innocence of summer camp.
Lauren Razavi Travel Writer
It’s midnight on a Friday, and after a couple of half-considered turns, you’re faced with a peculiar scene. Women of all race, age and shape writhe behind glass window panes facing out onto the street, ready for any of the international surplus gathered outside to become their next customer. The whole street, and indeed streets splitting off from it, are like this; surrounded by crowds of men gaping at their ladies of choice. Welcome to Amsterdam. The infamous Red Light District aside, the other acute feature of the city is a breed of havens labelled “coffee-shops”. Despite the name, you’re unlikely to find a doublemocha-soy-latte-with-whippedcream behind these doors. A far cry from the stereotypically sinister drug dens one may imagine, a variety of basic tea and coffee blends are available alongside a speciality menu of cakes and cigarettes with a “special” twist. Drugs are enjoyed candidly here and by a surprisingly diverse array of people. Amsterdam may have a reputation for sin and debauchery,
but below the surface is a city brimming with culture and history. Canal cruises serve as a great introduction, and showcase a selection of the some 2,500 houseboats currently serving as people’s homes here. Countless museums and galleries are dotted throughout the city, and again, there’s plenty of choice, from the Van Gogh Gallery to the Rijksmuseum to the world-famous Sex Museum. The Albert Cuypmarkt in the De Pijt area of the city is a great place to sample local produce - whether it be food, clothes, jewellery or fabrics that tickle your fancy, this wonderful market area has it all, and the prices are dirt cheap. Underneath the highly publicised cloud of smoke and sex, Amsterdam is a place full of remarkable history, architecture and culture – it’s just a matter of looking for it.
A Nice place to visit?
Marc Farrant
Travel writer
Nice (pronounced ‘niece’) might not be the first destination on your list of places to visit in France, let alone Europe. However, unlike other southern destinations like Saint Tropez with its glitzy image, Nice is a fairly large and crowded city. Even in midSeptember it feels busy and vibrant, and on arrival, with the sun out and shimmering on the Mediterranean, you soon feel impelled to head to the beach. Surprisingly, this looks more like Brighton seafront than the beautiful sandy shoreline you may expect. The characteristic pebbles here, that stretch the entire length of the Promenade de Anglais, are so named after English holiday makers as far back as the nineteenth century who used Nice as a winter resort. A short walk along the beach and you get to Nice’s old town: a beautiful collection of meandering streets, market stalls, restaurants, amazing ice cream parlours and drastically coloured town houses. One particular local delicacy, Pissaladière, a sort of onion and anchovy pizza, is definitely worth a
try.
If you do find yourself getting bored of sun-seeking and eating then a short bus ride away from the centre ville and up into the hills that surround the city will take you to the Matisse museum which is well worth a visit. If Matisse isn’t your style then Marc Chagall, who also resided in the city, has his own museum nearby. Nice’s artistic pedigree is also present in the modern portion of the city, with fantastic sculptures that rise up out of the seafront promenade. Overall then, Nice is a surprising and interestingly diverse city well worth a visit. Indeed, it’s even better than its name suggests.
20 TURF
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Early victory in the fight for the forests Concrete reports on the Governmental u-turn that has seen the proposed forest privatisation scheme scrapped
Tim Miller
Turf Reporter
David Cameron has condemned the coalition Government’s plans to sell off 637,000 acres of state-owned forest on February 16th, humiliating his Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman. The notion of selling off £250m of public heritage into the hands of those who would turn our forests into pulp, holiday parks and bio-fuel seems to have struck a nerve in the public consciousness, prompting hundreds of thousands to gather and oppose the plans, and giving the opposition a chance to score some brownie points. Groups that have mobilised around this issue already include Woodland Trust, Save Our Forests, Save Our Woods, Save Britain’s Forests, Greenpeace, WWF, National Trust, Ramblers and The British Horse Society. The power to make the decision still rests in the Government’s lap, but they dare not make the push for fear of destroying their already fragile public image on the matter. This turn-around says something about both the power of protest and the lack of constancy shown on the issue of our forest by the Government. All is not well, however, as campaigners in the Forest of Dean said they would still seek a guarantee that their woods would remain publicly owned and managed; and last month the Forestry Commission received a blow of
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400 announced job losses. Meanwhile, our natural heritage is still being threatened by monoculture forestry and damage to wildlife. It’s a sad re�lection on politics when the public have to physically �ight for things to just not get worse. One thing all political parties have in common is that they want to get re-elected – a close eye will need to be kept on Britain’s woods as the maelstrom of media attention and public outrage dies down over the most unpopular policy advanced by a British government in years. The plans were never well conceived, however, as the privatisation of the forests would only slowly bring in the £250m over ten years by selling forestry thought to be worth around three times that �igure. A thin veneer placed over the policy to appease a disillusioned public also wore thin – how could anyone believe that “big society” could step up and buy their own woodland at £2500-£3000 a hectare? It is interesting that such a dramatic response to this policy has been witnessed, yet job losses in the environmental department and inaction about climate change seem to continue unabated. The public clearly care about the environment, but perhaps a less abstract threat to that which we depend on is needed to incite such change. The successful resistance mounted against the threat to our woodland should show us that we’re capable of �ighting for the planet and winning.
Queensland’s recovery is make or break for Australian PM • The worst of the floods may be over, but the pressure on Australia’s minority Government is yet to reach its peak. as Drew Senior reports Drew Senior Turf Reporter
The newly-elected Labour minority Government, led by PM Julia Gillard, already faces the biggest challenge of its premiership: to rebuild Queensland while not breaking its election promise to bring the federal budget back into surplus by 2012/13. Preliminary estimates from the Australian Treasury indicate the �loods witnessed across Queensland, over New Year 2011, have amounted to A$5.6bn (£3.5bn), an unwelcome addition to the A$57.7bn budget de�icit. Gillard’s ‘Flood Reconstruction Programme’ is billed with winning this challenge. It is comprised of a ‘�lood tax’ and substantial environmental spending cuts that aim to ensure Australia does not borrow further, while pushing a discourse of fairness to give the programme a measure of political immunity. The tax will only impact on those earning above A$50,000. In an attempt to raise A$1.8bn, people earning between A$50,000 and A$100,000 will be charged an additional 0.5%, and those earning above A$100,000, 1%. Although it has been noted by political analysts in Australia that the sections of the population the tax targets are not typically Labour voters, the measures issued have been dubbed a ‘mate’s tax’, as donating between
A$1 and A$5 a week is seen as affordable and fair to help those in need. The remaining A$5.6bn bill will be funded through structural and environmental spending cuts, which considering Parliament has dismissed many bills proposed by the minority government, will require the support of every Independent to get it passed. The support of Green MP Adam Bandt may be hard to rely on due to the environment cuts and project snowballing, however. What is apparent between the countries affected by large �loods in 2010 and 2011, however, is that Australia’s recovery is, if anything, more political than humanitarian. 30 fatalities were recorded across Queensland from the beginning of the �loods, whereas in countries such as Brazil, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, calculating the �inal death toll is guess work. The recovery is far from over in Pakistan, despite the �loods occurring over half a year ago, and it is still in a state of emergency. The 25-year civil war in Sri Lanka left the displaced population vulnerable to natural hazards, and widespread mudslides in Brazil ripped away many impoverished rural settlements. The secondary impacts from the �loods include the prices of essential commodities rising: food, fuel and raw materials are just some examples, yet despite these concerns, the mood surrounding the Australian
economy remains optimistic. Matthew Circosta, an economist at Moody’s Analytics in Sydney, predicts the overall impact will be “negligible”. “We’re going to see a hit to exports and production in the �irst quarter… it is a shortterm headwind. The longer term prospects are favourable. We’re going to see strong export and production growth given the
robust outlook for China and emerging markets.” The situation could not be more of a contrast for Pakistan, whose primary state of emergency is still prominent. With little Government aid, and the threat of disease a real problem, the population in Pakistan face not a political battle, but a humanitarian crisis.
ISSUE 253
BUCS Results WEDNESDAY 23TH FEBRUARY 2011
Basketball UEA M1 Football UEA M1
Golf Nottingham 2 Rugby UEA M1 UEA M2 Tennis UEA M1
SPORT 21
www.concrete-online.co.uk
Tuesday 1st March
50-88
N’hampton M1
4-0
N’hampton M1
5.5-0.5 UEA 1 20-12 15-7
Nottingham M4 Leicester M3
10-2
Oxford Brookes M1 UEA W1
Birmingham W2 12-0
Coming up this week at UEA: The majority of our sporting teams are on their travels this week, but there is still plenty of action down at Colney Fields as Football M1, M2 and W1 play at home. All games start at 2pm.
THE INDEX
We’re running a comparative table of UEA’s sports teams as listed on the BUCS website, www.bucs.org. uk. The table compares the various teams UEA �ields in university sports. Win percentage (furthest-right column) is the primary means of sorting the teams.
Hockey have momentum broken Sam Tomkinson
Sports Correspondent
UEA Hockey Women’s I Warwick Women’s I
0 6
This game was always going to prove to be a dif�icult contest for UEA Hockey Women’s I. Table-topping Warwick have been in scintillating form this year in the BUCS League and UEA were a largely depleted side, due to injuries and prior commitments. The hosts duly saw their two-game home winning streak snuffed out in dramatic fashion. Warwick left the Sportspark with a deservedly resounding victory, having hardly been tested in defence all game – an outgunned UEA managing just one shot. From the outset it was Warwick who looked the more determined team, and despite an even opening period where both sides’ centre halves were breaking up the play with ease,
the visitors showed their clinical edge after 17 minutes when a break down the right saw a cross turned in from two yards out. This was a sign of what was to come for UEA as barely thirty seconds later Warwick almost doubled the lead, prevented only by a scrambled clearance. A routine short corner saw Warwick take a 2-0 lead into the break with UEA struggling to contain the pace, movement and tenacity of their opponents. The second half started as the �irst had �inished, with UEA unable to keep the ball for any real period of time and instead �inding themselves under a barrage of Warwick pressure. The goals started to pile in as a fading UEA began to fold at the back with Warwick able to control and move the ball as they pleased. UEA have taken three wins and three defeats from six games at the Sportspark so far, and will look to �inish on a high note in their last home game of the season when they entertain
Loughborough IV on March 16th.
Geraldine Morizet Physical: UEA struggled with Warwick’s pace
- Sheffield Summary -
Chris King documents UEA’s fortunes in the pool UEA travelled to Shef�ield to compete in the BUCS Long Course Swimming Championships, coming away with a number of impressive individual and team performances against strong competition, including twice Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington. UEA pair Charlotte Humphreys and Nicola Buchanan, highly impressive in their opening heats, competed in the �inal of the Women’s Open 50m Butter�ly, �inishing 6th and 8th respectively with excellent times of 29.37 and 30.44 seconds. Further plaudits were yet to come, as the UEA ladies recorded a competition-best fourth place in the 400m Medley B Final. UEA’s men’s team also performed well in the 400m medley, coming home in seventh.
Blues not just cannon fodder for the Gunners
Obafemi Martins scored “the easiest goal” of his career two minutes from time to steal Birmingham City a famous Carling Cup victory. A fatal miscommunication between Gunners centre back Laurent Koscielny and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny led to the ball bobbling to a wide-open Martins in the middle of the penalty area, who duly pounced to give City a 2-1 lead. Arsenal striker Robin van Persie scored the goal of the game - a beautifully-executed volley just before half-time - to cancel out Nikola Zigic’s opening goal. The Blues were on the back foot throughout the second half as Arsenal pressed for the winner, before Martins’s late strike. Arsenal have not won a trophy since 2005.
Simon O’Meara reports as UEA Athletics step up to stiff competition on the track at the BUCS Indoors Athletics descended upon the BUCS Indoor Athletics Championships in Shef�ield knowing that quali�ication for the �inals would be a challenge, given the presence of nationalstandard athletes, but also that there was a possibility for records to be broken amongst such high-quality competition. The women’s relay race was the pick of the weekend, Ruth McKellar and Eimear McGeehan joined by �irst years Moji Adegbile and EmmaLou Wagstaff in the 4x200m race. The quartet smashed UEA’s previous record best by 1.8 seconds, coming home in a surprisingly quick time of 1:53.21 seconds thanks to a combination of rapid sprinting and seamless baton passing. This was McGeehan’s and Wagstaff’s second broken record of the day, having clocked personal bests of 8.82 seconds and 8.69 seconds respectively in the individual 60m race. Emerging talent Mike Cannon, yet to �ind his preferred event, also doubled up on personal bests in both the 800m and 1500m runs, coming
home in 2:08 and 4:33 minutes respectively. Cannon’s visible physical commitment to both races was matched by club president Simon O’Meara, who achieved a magni�icent personal best of 9:09 minutes in the 3000m run. Amar Sangha and Charlie Roe tackled the notoriously gruelling 400m race, comprising two laps of the indoor track. The former’s imposing long stride saw him come close to qualifying for the semi-�inals with a time of 52.19 seconds whilst Roe clocked 55.14 seconds. All in all it was an extremely successful weekend for Athletics, with eight personal best times achieved and numerous records smashed. Although no UEA athlete quali�ied for their �inals, the performances showed a willingness amongst the squad to step up in the face of high class competition. Derby Day is now ideally placed to allow for further training, which will no doubt have been energised by this positive weekend.
On your marks: UEA athlete Mike Cannon begins the 800m race, his �irst personal best of the weekend
22 SPORT
ISSUE 253
www.concrete-online.co.uk
concrete.sport@uea.ac.uk
U:EA
Olympics and Derby Day: dates for your diary
Update: East Anglia Chris King
Sports Editor
Norwich City’s knack of coming up with crucial late goals has, in recent weeks, helped to keep them in the thick of the Championship promotion race. They needed no such fortune against Barnsley, however, easing to a comfortable 2-0 victory at Oakwell. A n d r e w Crofts scored twice – the first a header from Marc Tierney’s cross, and his second an excellent firsttime shot on the turn – to bring City up to
Chris Teale
fourth, eight points behind leaders QPR. The Canaries’ late goal record did continue against Doncaster Rovers at Carrow Road, yet unfortunately it was at the wrong end; Adam Drury (left) gifting the visitors an unlikely equaliser seven minutes from time after Grant Holt had opened the scoring. Prior to this City faced a Leeds United side still smarting from the Canaries extraordinary comeback last season, which saw them claim the League One title. Luciano Becchio put the hosts ahead early on before Henri Lansbury drew Norwich level in first half stoppage time. Wes Hoolahan’s deflected 69th minute effort gave City a precious lead but David Somma r e p l i e d i n s t a n t l y, volleying United level with his first touch. City manager Paul Lambert admitted that he faces an uphill battle to secure the permanent signing of
Lansbury, who has impressed on loan from Arsenal. Lambert has managed to bolster the Canaries’ defence, however, bringing in Blackpool defender Rob Edwards until the end of the season. Ipswich Town’s unbeaten run under Paul Jewell came to an abrupt end after two successive defeats in the space of a week. Portsmouth came away from Portman Road with a somewhat fortuitous 2-0 victory at the weekend. After dominating the first half, the hosts paid the price for their wastefulness when David Nugent converted a David Cotterill free-kick just prior to the hour mark, before the roles were reversed for Pompey’s second, Cotterill netting with 13 minutes to go. A few days previously the Tractor
Boys had faced a difficult trip to Loftus Road to take on league leaders QPR, and suffered a narrow 2-0 defeat after conceding twice in the last fifteen minutes. Strikers Jason Scotland and Conor Wickham were kept quiet by the QPR defence, whilst Clint Hill and Heidar Helguson scored the goals to inflict Town’s first defeat under Paul Jewell. This was a marked departure from the Tractor Boys’ 6-0 annihilation of Doncaster Rovers at the Keepmoat Stadium a week earlier. Wickham netted his first ever hat-trick, whilst Colin Healy, Gareth McCauley and an own-goal from Sam Hird secured Town’s biggest win of the season. Three days later, Town drew 1-1 at Portman Road against Hull City, Jay Simpson cancelling out Scotland’s opener late on. To compound the disappointment for Ipswich, midfielder Healy (left) could be out for some time after tearing a stomach muscle in the 2-0 defeat away at QPR.
which allowed Beki Fisk, Stubbings and Berndette McSharry to control proceedings in midfield and Shuaibu, Louise Chadwick and Ashley Johnston to interchange dangerously up front. Johnston was the next name on the scoresheet, converting from just inside the box after Stubbings’ halfvolley had been blocked. Shuaibu completed her hat-trick before half time, firstly tapping in after unselfish play from Stubbings, before finishing confidently from a tight angle to make it 5-0. Despite their substantial lead at the break, UEA kept up the pace in the second half, playing their best football of the game in spite of the muddy conditions. Stubbings pulled the strings in midfield, setting Shuaibu and Chadwick free, both of whom were denied by excellent saves from the visiting ‘keeper. The home side couldn’t be kept out for long however, Chadwick scrambling in McSharry’s cross from the right. Shuaibu bagged her fourth and UEA’s seventh goal, latching on
to a ball floated over the defence. Courlander, a spectator for most of the game, was finally called into action midway through the half, palming a lob wide of the post. By contrast, her Cambridge counterpart was continually called into action, saving at Johnston’s feet after good work by McSharry. Shuaibu added her fifth and final
goal to make it 8-0 before centreback Sophia Charalambous added her name to the scorers list, heading home from a corner. Despite the increasing downpour Fisk and Stubbings – creators of countless opportunities for their team-mates – each added a deserved goal to put UEA into double figures and round off an incredible performance.
UEA’s winning eleven cruise past Cambs Oli Platt
Sports Correspondent
UEA Football Women’s I 11 Cambridge Women’s I 0
UEA Football Women’s I thrashed Cambridge Women’s I in an astonishing 11-0 triumph at Colney Fields, thanks in no small part to a superb five-goal haul from striker Aisha Shuaibu. Cambridge began the game reasonably well with some neat passing in midfield, but home goalkeeper Axelle Courlander remained untroubled. It took less than ten minutes for UEA to take the lead – Shuaibu dinking the ball past the Cambridge goalkeeper – and after this the hosts never looked back. Leanne Stubbings quickly doubled the lead, converting right-back Wiweke Reymert’s cross. Cambridge struggled to cope with UEA’s adventurous 4-3-3 formation throughout the game,
Greg Mann
Dominant: Vania Alves moves the ball forward in yet another UEA onslaught
Sports Correspondent
The 2012 London Olympics countdown continues, with the release of the full day-by-day schedule of over 640 sessions of play in London and across the United Kingdom, due to take place between 25 July and 12 August. Women’s and Men’s Football kick off the competition on 25 and 26 July respectively before the Opening Ceremony, to be held on 27 July in the Stratford Olympic Stadium. British medal hopes, including Mark Cavendish, Rebecca Adlington and Tom Daley, will be put to the test early on. The potential showdown between Michael Phelps and Ian Thorpe in the Aquatics Centre is also worth looking out for. Athletics’ biggest event, the men’s 100m final, will take place on 5 August, concluding a frantic weekend in which Jessica Ennis will go for gold in the heptathlon. On 12 August is the Closing Ceremony, where London will hand over the Olympic flag to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Games.
“By the evening either UEA or Essex will have claimed bragging rights until Derby Day 2012”
Derby Day, the annual sporting competition between UEA and the University of Essex, has also seen its 2011 schedule released. Both universities will compete in 32 different sports across what promises to be a hectic day on 23 March. American football, boxing, taekwondo, tennis and golf kick off Derby Day in the morning. At lunchtime hockey, athletics and netball, as well as UEA’s highlysuccessful table tennis team, are all in action. The programme of football fixtures begins at 12:30pm, as does the cricket at Bats & Balls Indoor Activity Centre in Ipswich. The final matches to kick off are men’s rugby, scheduled to begin at 5pm and futsal forty minutes later. This exhausting schedule draws to a final conclusion at 19:00, by which point either UEA or Essex will have proved their sporting prowess, and claimed bragging rights until Derby Day 2012.
ISSUE 253
SPORT 23
www.concrete-online.co.uk
Tuesday 1st March
So You Think You Know Snetterton? Sports correspondent Josh Rayman previews the new season at Norfolk’s recently-renovated premier motor racing circuit Snetterton was once again �illed with the piercing sound of racing engines, returning to the Norfolk circuit following a major redevelopment. A selection of single seater formulae went testing last week and track day drivers hit the track over the course of the weekend. Extensive improvements to both the circuit’s layout and facilities were carried out during the ‘off-season’, and completed in under ten weeks. The track now stands at 2.99 miles long, with two new con�igurations; yet despite this the majority of the circuit remains unchanged. The multi-million pound investment by circuit owner Jonathan Palmer was
�irst announced in 2005 and �inally given the green light last September. Judging by the pictures of the new layout and onboard video taken from an F2 car, it seems that the circuit has a promising year ahead. Reports from drivers who have already sampled the revisions have been favourable and it appears that the motor racing community is eagerly anticipating to see what the reborn Snetterton has to offer. After completing the �irst motorcycle laps of the new layout last week, British Superbike champion Steve Brogan told Motor Cycle News that the track had been “transformed”.
Setting the pace: the revamped track now has more chances to overtake
“The new circuit has been transformed and it will de�initely produce more exciting racing,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting such a difference and this will be one of the top tracks in the country now.”
Snetterton’s 2011 calendar is gradually �illing up, with the main events already in place. British Touring Cars, British Super Bikes and British GT/F3 are booked in for August, July and May respectively,
crafted move by the England back line to power over the try line, to hand victory to the hosts.
proved similarly gripping, as the competition passed its halfway mark. Italy continued to impress in Rome taking Wales all the way in another closely fought game, although ongoing issues with leadership and concentration surely mean they will now be fighting it out with Scotland for the wooden spoon. The Scots themselves were also impressive in defeat but unable to stage a comeback at Murrayfield, Ronan O’Gara’s second half try allowing the Irish to capitalise on their one man advantage as the Highlanders were made to suffer for their ill-discipline.
England sticking to the Grand plan Keiren Cordery
Sports Correspondent
In the most anticipated tie of the 2011 Six Nations tournament so far, age-old rivalries were renewed at Twickenham as England came up against France, and triumphed 17-9. The match promised to be a tight and hard-fought affair and it certainly didn’t disappoint. The French – who were perhaps slight underdogs in light of their recent unconvincing displays – successfully managed to stifle England’s creativity in the first half. A game plan which revolved
around physical play in the forwards was evident by the way France imposed themselves upon the game in the first forty minutes. They were unable to make any such advantages count, however, as Toby Flood turned in another solid kicking performance which saw the teams go in level at the half. England came out stronger after the restart, appearing visibly renewed after presumably receiving a severe dressing down by manager Martin Johnson during the break. It took a moment of sheer physical determination by Ben Foden, capping off a well-
“The French perhaps slight underdogs after recent displays - successfully sti�led England’s creativity in the �irst half”
The rest of this highly anticipated round of fixtures
UEA bat Scots aside in playoff race Freddie Magee
Sports Correspondent
UEA Table Tennis I St Andrews I
Laura Smith
13 4
UEA Table Tennis Men’s I need only a win at Leeds next week to secure a place in the BUCS Premiership next year, after victory over St. Andrews set up a mouth-watering tie with the northern out�it. Johnny Bispham, Kit Lowe, Tony Zeqiri and President Matt Haynes made light work of their Scottish counterparts, who suffered a comprehensive 13-4 defeat. With 17 points up for grabs the hosts made a bright start, Bispham, Zeqiri and Haynes all securing victories in the singles. This alone would have been enough, but Lowe
Smash hit: UEA’s fantastic four made short work of St Andrews’ �inest
had set out to be unerringly ruthless, beating all his opponents - including St Andrews’ number one seed. The doubles match could have provided some consolation for the visitors, and one may have forgiven UEA taking their foot of the gas, but
instead they chose to complete a convincing rout. It has been a hard-fought journey to the play-offs for UEA, who fended off tough competition in the form of Birmingham, Oxford and Loughborough.
Success at Leeds next Wednesday would now see Table Tennis promoted to the Premiership, thus con�irming their position as the highest ranked BUCS team at the university – icing on the cake after a special season for the team. Should they seal promotion to the top division, UEA are expected to fare well, with the majority of the current team set to remain at the University over the next couple of years. Furthermore, the club itself continues to grow, having signed up around 30 new members this year, with all teams playing in local leagues. It seems the higher echelons of BUCS Table Tennis had better get used to the sight of the blue and yellow of UEA.
alongside a host of smaller car and bike club events. The circuit also has a large selection of track day operators, allowing anyone with a driving licence and a car the chance to drive the circuit. The opening event of the season - the ‘300’ Season Starter will be hosted by Motorsport Vision’s racing division on 19 and 20 March. The lineup for this race weekend includes several stock saloon series, the Lotus Cup and Elise Trophies, and the inaugural race for the newly formed MSV F3 Cup. More details about the circuit and the full race calendar are available at www. snetterton.co.uk.
Bah-humbug: F1 opener cancelled
Fans of Formula 1 are going to have to wait an extra fortnight for the opening race of the season. The Bahrain Grand Prix, which was scheduled to be held on March 13th, has been postponed due to the continuing violence plaguing the Middle Eastern nation. In addition, the planned weekend of testing at the Sakhir circuit on March 3-6 has been cancelled. Formula 1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone, perhaps mindful of the �inancial implications of the move, had delayed making any de�inite decision, but earlier this week the Crown Prince of Bahrain, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, announced that the �ixture was being postponed. He con�irmed that the Gulf kingdom would “focus on immediate issues of national interest and leave the hosting to a later date”, as reported by the BBC on 21 February. The �inal pre-season test will be rescheduled to Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, where Formula 1’s teams have been based for the past fortnight, but the race itself may prove more dif�icult to move. Red Bull Racing chief Christian Horner is among many in the paddock who don’t see where a re-scheduled Bahrain Grand Prix would �it. “It will certainly be a challenge to accommodate,” Horner told BBC Sport. “It’s a very busy calendar this year. Already now, at the end of November, we’ll have �inished 19 races.”
sport
Football Oli Platt watches UEA annihilate Cambridge 11-0 at Colney in a superb display of attacking prowess
Derby Day/Olympics Concrete presents a guide to the key events of Derby Day 2011 and the Olympics, following the release of dates and times for both events
Hockey thrash Notts to edge closer to title • Five different scorers for UEA, who easily dispatch Nottingham with BUCS league title victory in sight Henry Kilmister
Sports Correspondent
UEA Hockey Men’s I Nottingham Men’s V
Greg Mann
5 0
As struggling Nottingham V travelled to Norwich on Wednesday, a strong win was essential for UEA against the league’s bottom side. The hosts went into this match topping BUCS Division 3B with three games left in the season, and difficult matches to follow away at Nottingham Trent and at home to Bedford. The home side duly delivered and after the usual opening exchanges, they had the ball in the back of the net early on, Sam Johnson benefitting from woeful goalkeeping to open the scoring. The first half was not all plain sailing, however. At times UEA were far too casual in possession, allowing the visitors to counter, but Nottingham showed little creative ability of their own. The only problem for UEA was scoring, being lazy with the final killer pass or ignoring teammates’ calls for the ball. Even short corners, usually a particular strength for UEA, refused to be put away. After a bland first half performance, UEA came out and played the kind of hockey that showed why they are top of the league, slotting home two goals quickly from successive short corners, Tom Ross and Joseph Broadbent the scorers. These goals broke Nottingham’s confidence and suddenly UEA were on a different level, upping the tempo and intensity, and running the visitors ragged. With fresher Rob Turnbull adding the fourth goal, the game was over; yet there was still no respite for the visitors. As Nottingham went down to ten
Tricky: Sam Johnson (pictured) and UEA gave Notts the run-around after the break, and remain top of their BUCS division
men with a player yellow carded, UEA assumed complete control. With the pressure off, they played their best hockey of the afternoon, the fifth goal coming from James Fanger after good work through the centre of the pitch. After such a dominant performance, the whole hockey club will hope this form continues
until the end of the season, bringing the title to UEA with it. UEA Hockey Men’s I remain top of the BUCS Division 3B on 19 points, one clear of the University of Bedfordshire (Bedford) Men’s I. Men’s Club Captain Barns Abraham described his delight at Hockey’s season so far: “This has been a really great year for Men’s
Hockey, and our BUCS team in particular. They made it to the quarterfinals of the BUCS Cup, and are currently top of their BUCS league with only two games left. Promotion has been narrowly missed out on for several years, but it now looks like we’re finally going to make the well deserved step up.”
UEA ladies lead the way Beth Robertson
Sports Correspondent
Following several recent wins, UEA Women’s Rugby are set for promotion, currently sitting undefeated at the top of their league. Thanks to an influx of new players, hard work and excellent coaching, the team have rapidly climbed up the league, and are determined to continue their winning streak. UEA recently took on Bedfordshire (Luton) Women’s I one of the division’s most challenging sides - away from home. Having already beaten Luton this season, UEA were determined not to break their winning streak, and racked up an impressive 45-10 victory. The game saw UEA demonstrating some highly effective ‘pod’ work, and, despite Luton putting up a strong fight, a win was on the cards from early in the contest. Commendation went to hooker Laura Haddon and full-back Rebecca Hone. A week later, UEA were back at home to face Anglia Ruskin in the BUCS Cup quarter-finals. This encounter proved less challenging, however. UEA demonstrated their impressive defence skills, strong pack, and well-orchestrated back lines, cruising to a dominant 103-0 victory. UEA’s use of pods and combination of strength and speed in both their forwards and backs rendered Ruskin helpless as their defence repeatedly fell victim to UEA’s forward momentum. Flanker Lottie Vale and winger Stephanie Creasey both scored multiple tries, while several other members of the team were also praised by the visitors after the game. With BUCS Cup semi-finals and Derby Day also imminent, UEA are perfectly poised to take this year’s BUCS League campaign all the way, with the prospect of promotion on everyone’s minds. The squad’s biggest remaining challenge comes on Wednesday 2nd March, when they face Nottingham Women’s II. Demonstrating the team’s confidence, club president Kiki Oyemhen told Concrete: “I couldn’t be happier with the progress the team have made.”
ON THE PULSE
COMPETITION
THE KING OF LIMBS
gaming news
levi roots
track by track
win tickets!
honey or rainbows?
our new feature
p.24
p.12
p.18
venue ISSUE 253 01/3/2011
< FILM > summary THE OSCARS .16 < ARTS > interview THE CAST OF AVENUE Q .5 < MUSIC > interviews CHASE&STATUS / RICK WAKEMAN p
p
Greg Mann
venue ISSUE 253 01/3/2011
Editor-in-Chief>Danny Collins| concrete.editor@uea.ac.uk Venue Editor>Duncan Vicat-Brown| concrete.event@uea.ac.uk Deputy Venue Editor>Fiona Howard
concrete.fashion@uea.ac.uk| Fashion Editor>Kat Jones Deputy Fashion Editor>Hannah Britt Fashion Contributors>Cristophe Young, Kat Jones
And now, some uncensored and deeply self-indulgent words from the editor... We’ve all been going a little bit Twitter mad lately.
As you may be already be aware, VENUE now has not one, but TWO regularly updated Twitter accounts, one for Wired (Wired_UEA) and one official VENUE account run by me, for better or worse (venue_UEA). Check ‘em out for, respectively, bang up-to-date gaming and technology news, and fairly up-to-date entertainment and campus news as and when I remember to update the damn thing, which is actually pretty often. (Guess what? Clumsy segway coming up! ) One event that I couldn’t have got through without Twitter was the Oscars. As I watched the awards go to exactly who everyone knew they would (although did you see Kidman’s face? She REALLY thought she was getting one!!) while two non-comedians failed to keep things engaging, I’d have lost my mind without constantly attempting to be funnier than everyone else watching in 140 character chunks. Whether I succeeded is irrelevant. So, check out our Oscar coverage on p.16!
Have a week!
concrete.arts@uea.ac.uk| Arts Editor>Liz Jackson Arts Contributors>Riane Ison, Becky Hazlewood, Rachael Lum, Harriet Jones, Liz Jackson
n a c n Du
concrete.creativewriting@uea.ac.uk| Creative Writing Editor>Robert Van Egghen Creative Writing Contributors>James Foreman, Doneck Sewell, Natalie Brown, Sarah Morgan, Rory Gale
concrete.tvdigital@uea.ac.uk| Television Editor>Tasha Golley Television Contributors>Matt Tidby, Eleanor Brown, Natalie Fletcher, Amy Adams, Fiona Howard, Duncan Vicat-Brown
concrete.wired@uea.ac.uk| Wired Editor>Vaughn Highfield Wired Contributors>Tim Bates, DJ Turner, William Moran, Richard Joslin, Kate Allen, Faye Fullalove, Vaughn Highfield
concrete.music@uea.ac.uk| Music Editors>Alec Plowman & Alex Throssell Music Contributors>Jordan Bright, Hana Lockier, Jamie Lewis, Ant Firth-Clark, Vaughn Highfield, Alex Throssell, Alec Plowman, Duncan Vicat-Brown
concrete.film@uea.ac.uk| Film Editor>Paul Martin
Deputy Film Editor>Catherine Watts
Film Contributors>Sam Dordoy, Vimbai Mukwenha, James Collins, Tom Theedom, Andrew Wilkins, Helen Jones, Samantha Rogers, Tom Graves, Marc Farrant, Tom McInnes, Fiona Howard, Duncan Vicat-Brown
concrete.listings@uea.ac.uk| Listings Editor>Georgina Wade Listings Contributors>Georgina Wade
concrete.competitions@uea.ac.uk| Competitions Editor>Henry Croft
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fashion
ISSUE 253 4 01mar11 If Fashion be the Food of Love
Maybe not quite as Mr Shakespeare put it, but the two do frequently seem to go hand in hand. From designers using dresses sculpted out of chocolate on the catwalk to the over-induglent curves of model Crystal Renn, and not forgetting the decadent handbag and shoe haute-couture biscuits at The Berkley Hotel London. Speaking of afternoon tea, this issue looks at Best of British. We meet Norwich’s very own Lorraine Pascale, have a face off of two iconic British trends, acknowledge fashion-forward chefs and discuss British in labels.
The Hotlist
London Fashion Week Special
Smokin’
Hello Spring! Gorgeous floral prints for men by Liberty.*See Shirt of ‘English Rose’ shoot*
MUSIC WIRED tV CREATIVE WRITINg ARTS fASHION
From Fashion Rat-Pack to Homemade Flap-Jacks Former Topshop stylist Charlie Buchan opens a vintage tea room in the city inspired by the fashion of her favourite British era.
A ‘Very’ Good Look; Fearne Cotton’s debut collection hits the catwalks
FILM
COMEDY
LISTINGS
COMPS
concrete.fashion@uea.ac.uk
Erdem’s SS2011 line starts rumours that he’ll design Kate Middleton’s Wedding dress
Chokin’ Pyscho Serial Killer meets Circus Clown; KTZ designs are a just a tad OTT.
Topshop’s version of a Cruella Devil Coat - perfect for the Disney LCR but not everyday wear.
Designer Pam Hogg’s Bird Nest head wear. Stick to choccy eggs this Easter.
Lorraine Pascale first made the headlines as one of Britain’s most sought after model. Spotted at 16, she was the UK’s first black model to be on the front cover of American Vogue Magazine which rocketed her to success on the catwalk and glossy pages. Ten years later, with a daughter in tow, her passion shifted from stilettoes to sugar and in 2010 she opened Ella’s Bakehouse, named after her off-spring. On Lower Goat Lane, away from the hustle and bustle of city life, the sounds of nostalgic music pour from a gold gramophone and the sweet scent of strawberry jam sneaks out the windows of Biddy’s Tea Room. At the counter in a retro white pinny over her embellished, floral printed tea dress and heels is Charlie Buchan. She beams a smile from rouge red lips. Those who were regulars at Topshop last year might just recognise Miss Buchan. She was a Personal Stylist at the city store, and a brilliant one at that. Addressing clients as close friends and encouraging them out of their comfort zone (she even got this writer’s mum to become a lover of skinny jeans), Charlie certainly had the knowledge and a great love of fashion. Yet just like Lorraine Pascale, Charlie has pursued the trend of baking and created the wonderfully
charming English heritage world that is Biddy’s Tea Room. This is a place well worth a visit; in order to experience forgotten fashion, kitten heels, delicate tea cups and
saucers and the finest fairy cakes. Catch a glimpse of Biddy’s in the ‘English Rose’ fashion shoot. Kat Jones
What’s Cooking, Good-Looking? Kat Jones takes a look at the fashion of one the nation’s most loved TV Chefs. Chefs and cooks, whether they appear on TV, in magazines, spotted in the kitchen or snapped attending a glamorous event are not only scrutinised for what they do with food, but always on their fashion sense. We are neither speaking of the regulated and formal (and now probably moth-holed) attire of Fanny Craddock nor the stereotypical uniform of chef whites but of the statements these cooks make with clothes, rather than their dishes. Heston Blumenthal may get plenty of column inches for his scientific experiments with food- nitric acid strawberries, anyone? But on face value, is being a cross between Dexter from cartoon Dexter’s Laboratory and a Scandinavian surgeon really a good look? Jamie Oliver began his career as a chef on TV with his misleadingly titled series, The Naked Chef. Viewers tuning in to catch a glimpse of the Essex lad’s ‘meat and two veg’ were disappointed as Mr Oliver slid down the silver banister into the kitchen of his bachelor pad fully clothed.
However, his dress sense has led his style to be immortalised in the form of Britain’s most loved time-lord, Dr Who. After appearing on Michael Parkinson’s chat show in 2005, dressed dapperly in a dark, streamlined, navy suit finished off with a relaxed contrast of lace-up trainers, the bosses at the Beeb took a mental note and before we knew it, David Tennant graced our small screens brandishing the ‘suit and trainers’ look for the twenty-first century Doctor. Jamie’s love of eclectic British suits became even more glorified at his wedding to childhood sweetheart, Jules. Jamie wore a pale duck egg suit with a pink shirt, the quintessential little boy blue of a summer wedding. This is what we love about Jamie: he is not sculpted to a ideal, he does not flash it about – unlike Gordon Ramsay and the title credits of The F Word which sees the angry chef bare chested. Put it away, you middle aged man! Donning cosy checked shirts and jeans
for his ...At Home series, Jamie is the boyfriend we all want to find waiting in our kitchen. He mixes up dollops of smart suits, a dash of gentlemanly style and sprinkles in his own charm which makes a pukka recipe that leaves us licking our lips.
Jamie Oliver at his Wedding
01mar11 ISSUE 253
concrete.fashion@uea.ac.uk
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Models: Lucy Thorpe and Ed Moon-Little. Clothes: Lucy: Dress and Flower Hair Pin from Daisy and Lola. Ed: Chinos, Shirt and Tie from Philip Browne, Sweater and Blazer from Top Man. Stylist: Kat Jones.
Model: Carmela Grech. Clothes: From the new range at The Rock Collection www.rockcollection.co.uk. Stylist: Hannah Britt.
Jack Wills: Best of British? Christophe “the anti-toff” Young certainly doesn’t think so... I know it’s a bit late, but let’s welcome Jack Wills to Norwich! Pleased to meet you, Jack! Before we start shelling out staggering sums of money in this opulent harem of textile evil, I have to point out a few Wills related grievances of mine. My therapist recommends it. For starters, the slogan is ‘Fabulously British.’ Come on Mr Wills, don’t implicate all of us Brits in your evil, gurgling-toff conspiracy to prove every negative stereotype about Britain right with t-shirts that have slogans like ‘Oxbridge Applicant’, ‘Rowing First 8’ ,‘England Polo Team’, ‘England Elephant Polo Team’, ‘Give Us Back India’, and ‘RRP: £499.99.’ The next thing is the way it scoffingly revels in its own mucky exclusivity, like the snobbiest pig in the sty. The shop goes by its own self-
imposed tag: ‘University Outfitters’, which rules out any awful disgusting dirty plebiscites who can’t or don’t go to university. It also, bizarrely, rules out University students – no ordinary student could ever hope to afford their clothes, so why tailor it exactly to them? The answer to the question is this: Jack Wills is attempting to appeal to a conceptual marketing demographic of King’s Road shopping, Mayfair clubbing, legacy possessing, boat shoe wearing, yacht owning, horse owning, ski chalet owning, ‘messy’ blonde hair bleaching, Oxford/Cambridge/Durham/Bristol attending, private schooling, rugby worshipping, Ipod, Ipad, Iphone AND Blackberry possessing idiots. The unfortunate thing is that unlike most marketing demographics, people like this exist.
I realise that this might come across as a class argument, like I have some sort of reversesnobbery chip on my shoulder. But what I don’t like is the cynical in-your-face-ness of it all. The point of the whole style and ethos of Jack Wills is to send out a message of ‘Screw You, I’m Rich.’ I have other issues. The seasonal Jack Wills catalogues are essentially porn for people who think they jizz liquid gold. An age warning is now on the catalogues to prevent any kiddies from seeing any glimpses of posh chest and breast. It is a clothes shop, so why aren’t their models wearing clothes? Also, Jack Wills got in trouble for having their mannequins hold cigarettes. This is evidence of such an intense and doomed desire to seem edgy that it’s
actually embarrassing. But the all-time huge gripe of mine regarding Jack Wills is this: they don’t give a shit. They don’t give a shit that this is how they appear, and if they ever read this article would probably actually feel proud to have induced such a reaction. The whole Jack Wills monster is impossible to defeat, it feeds off its enemies. The more that people justifiably hate it, the more it feels as if its in the right and is simply picked upon by jealous, bitter people, because Screw You, I’m Rich. So there you go. I’m a sucker for writing this, and you are a sucker for having read it. Nobody wins. Our only hope is that all their dummies get lung cancer. Christophe Young
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Theatre Preview>Avenue Q
Rianne Ison finds out why Avenue Q is the hottest new musical in town...
A
venue Q kicks off this month at Norwich’s Theatre Royal with the cast having packed their bags (and of course their puppets!) to hit the road. London’s comedic musical is going on tour and bringing with it heaps of fun, political incorrectness, loveable characters and naturally what all British humour involves; some light hearted naughty innuendo combined with elements of in your face comedy. With The Sunday Times declaring it “The best musical of the decade”, Avenue Q has been wowing audiences in the West End for over five years and is now ready to tell its story all around the country. The show centres around some of life’s burning issues with a bunch of amusing characters who are residents of the fictional street in downtown Brooklyn pondering over their coming of age. Amongst other things the characters explore work, relationships and love, including the ever-important question of just how you can pay your bills with a BA in English(?!). The very talented Rachel Jerram who plays contrasting characters Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut spoke to Concrete to discuss how the tour is going so far and just why students and others alike should go along for a night of satirical, laugh out loud comedy wrapped in a heartwarming story and marked with hilarious musical numbers. If you could introduce yourself to the readers of ‘Concrete’ and also tell them a little about the characters that you play. My name is Rachel Jerram and I play Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut in the National Tour of Avenue Q, which commenced last week in Bath and is coming to Norwich on the 15th-19th March. My main character is ‘Kate Monster’ and she’s very cute and furry and she is a kindergarten teaching assistant. The show revolves around Princeton, the newest resident to the street, who Kate has a crush on and therefore it makes up a key part of the show. The other character that I play is a bit of a naughty character called Lucy; she’s a nightclub singer who all the men of New York fancy and a love triangle develops and shows the nasty aspect of the character. It’s so great to play two contrasting characters in the show. So, you have touched on what the story centres on, but if you could just give a brief synopsis of the show. Avenue Q is based on shows such as Muppets and Sesame Street, but it is definitely an adult show, so the students of Norwich will absolutely love it! It is set on the fictional street of Avenue Q in Brooklyn and the
narrative follows a group of friends who are the street’s residents. Each of the characters have a different story and a different problem to work through and the audience see this, but also are taught lessons as the audience recognise that we are still learning even as we get older. There are some really lovely characters and it also explores issues, such as love, break-ups, university, sexuality and so on. It is set like a kids television show, but it’s definitely for adults! The show already offers something different to other musicals as it merges human actors with puppets, which is an extremely interesting concept... It is the only one of its kind at the moment and the audience see both the actors and the puppets on stage at the same time, however there are also human characters that do not have puppets.
“...a night of satirical, laugh out loud comedy wrapped in a heartwarming story and marked with hilarious musical numbers” Why do you think it works having both the actors and puppets on the stage at the same time and what do you think this brings to the musical as a whole? The puppets can only do so much and because obviously all we can do as actors is move the puppet’s mouth with the rest of their facial expressions remaining the same, the puppets do not have that much expression. As an audience member you end up watching both the puppet’s, but also the actor’s face as the puppeteer has to give so much extra expression that the puppet’s cannot portray. It works really well as the actors are dressed in darker colours with the puppets being bright and vibrant, but we both blend in together and we are all meant to be watched as it is definitely not ventriloquism. Anyone interested in this exciting concept should come along and see the show for themselves as it brings something new to the theatre! How was the rehearsal process with the puppets? Did it make it hugely challenging? It was crazy and so unlike any other show that I have ever performed in, as not only did you sort yourself out, learn lines and pick up choreography, but you’ve also got to think about this little person on the end of your arm! The most difficult part was getting the focus of the puppets in the right direction as
if the puppet is not looking the same way as you it completely isolates it and makes the puppet look like a puppet. Our puppet coach was continuously shouting ‘focus, focus’ during rehearsals to make sure that we got it right and we are always practicing even when the show is up and running. What do you think the show offers a student audience? Well... it’s naughty! It’s very funny and just so different from anything else and will provide the audience with such a great night, so a fantastic opportunity to go out with your friends and to have a really good night out! Also, the students will love the humour and the mixture of innuendo, but also in your face humour with the textual and visual aspects of the comedy causing it to be hilarious. There are some good jokes and funny songs, but also it is not just funny, there’s heart to it as well. We want the audience to come away thinking ‘wow that was really funny’, but also ‘that was sweet and lovely’ due to it being moving at points. What is the best being part of Avenue Q?
part
I constantly find myself saying “Is this really my job?!” It’s just one of those shows that you come in and have a great laugh and having a great time doing the show. It is just so creative and fun and the cast that we have for the tour are just a great bunch of people that make my job so pleasurable
of
and I am so lucky to be part of the show. And finally, in one sentence, why exactly should people come and see Avenue Q? Because it’s only in Norwich for a week and it’s a fresh, fun and exciting show that is so different from anything else and if you are having a tough time at uni it will make everything disappear and is just a good craic for the night! Rianne Ison Avenue Q is showing at Theatre Royal from 15th-19th March. To book tickets, visit www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk or call the Box Office on 01603 630000
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Theatre>Theatre Royal> Comedy of Errors
FILM MUSIC
Becky Hazlewood
WIRED
The play tells the story of two sets of twins: Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant Dromio of Syracuse; and Antipholus of Ephesus and his servant Dromio of Ephesus. Both sets of twins were separated at birth, none are aware of the other’s existence, but by some coincidence they end up in the same city.
The Comedy of Errors was performed in conjunction with Richard III at the Theatre Royal Norwich. From here, Propeller will be staging their work in Edinburgh, Cheltenham, Salford, Newbury and Plymouth before heading to the States, Germany and Galway. They will end their tour in Verona.
Theatre>Theatre Royal> Richard III
If you didn’t manage to catch the recent production of Richard III at Theatre Royal then you missed out on a very interesting reimagination of arguably one of the most dramatic but under-appreciated of Shakespeare’s plays. With an inventive and emotive interpretation the Propeller production did not disappoint and had the audience engrossed in the distressing actions of a man hungry for power and prepared to decimate anything standing
in the way of his route to the throne. A partly modernised stage added to the sense of claustrophobia and dystopia as we are presented with elements of an old hospital courtesy of a wooden folding operating table (that disturbingly forms not only an area of torture and killing but Richard’s throne), murderous orderlies, curtained screens and tools hung as if they were decorative pieces from a serial killer’s workshop. The transformability of the
stage set added momentum to the course of the play and recreated the feeling that we were caught up in the frenzied paranoia of Richard’s tyrannical plans for political domination. The production was a dynamic modernisation of the original play and offered something for every audience member – thought it could be said perhaps too much for the weak stomached, since much of the play focused on graphic violence, seemingly in an attempt to shock modern audiences. Perhaps the effect could have been achieved just as emphatically with a skilful portrayal of the original style of executions. Whilst drilling through eyes, pulverising and dicing up corpses with chainsaws, and preserving the heads of the would-be child kings in a jar received superficial appreciation from the audience, it somewhat diminished the potential effect of the psychological aspect of the killings in Richard’s mind – an area that usually demonstrates Shakespeare’s skill with language. However the play did redeem itself to some extent in other ways in this area and the actors gave very convincing performances – the most unsettling parts of the performances consequently did not
rest on the violence but in the calm and calculated way in which Richard executes his plans with his own deceptively justifiable logic, brilliantly evoked by Richard Clothier. Another significant and affecting performance was given by Tony Bell, playing Queen Margaret – her curses struck a terrifying foreboding undertone to the otherwise more superficial action of the play and were cleverly accompanied with a fitting, dramatic musical score. Additionally the haunting choral music provided by the orderlies to mark the executions and curses added another uneasy, dark tone as events progress in the play, and was particularly effective at establishing discomfort amongst the audience through the mood of the play. The characters as a whole had such an impact that the audience were able to feel a similar sense of cathartic justice to the victims as they delivered their final curses in Richard’s dreams the night before the fateful battle. Overall the performance was an ambitious and imaginative reinvention of a tense, dramatic tragedy that largely proved successful; breathing new life and new terror into the words of the play. All in all, an unmissable night. Liz Jackson
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Impeccable timing and sound effects from the orchestra pit matched slapstick action on stage, sending the audience into fits of appreciative laughter...
From here a comical sequence of events unfolds as the pairs’ lives become increasingly intertwined, leading to confusion, infidelity and a whole host of other dilemmas. The director of Propeller, Edward Hall believes Shakespeare should be performed with “great clarity, speed and full of as much imagination in the staging as possible.” Comedy of Errors achieved just that. Shakespeare set in South America turned out to be an evening of creative genius which most definitely left the audience wanting more.
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language fascinating and entertaining to listen to, and highlighting Shakespeare’s skills with the spoken word. The Comedy of Errors is Shakespeare’s shortest play, but what it lacks in length it definitely makes up for in wit. The play is believed to have been written early on in Shakespeare’s career, during the London plague between 1592 and 1594.
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Bare bottoms, a bunny man, and a gospel singing preacher with an acute knowledge of Norwich. Perhaps not the first things that come to mind when one thinks of Shakespeare. Not even a school kid could accuse the famous playwright of being boring after watching the wild and wacky performance of The Comedy of Errors at the Theatre Royal last week. Performed by the Propeller Shakespeare Company, the all male cast reflected how the play would have been performed back in Elizabethan times, but raunchy humour and physical theatre provided a twenty first century twist. A full Mexican band delivered the entertainment as the audience took to their seats, promising an energetic and colourful performance to come. For the rest of the performance, however, traditional music played a minor role in creating atmosphere or entertainment; instead impeccable timing and sound effects from the orchestra pit matched slapstick action on stage, sending the audience into fits of appreciative laughter. The actors’ speech was itself musical in a sense, with many lines of rapid, quick-fire exchange and use of rhyme, making the
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Theatre>Maddermarket Theatre>Oleanna David Mamet’s cynicism and language play dominates his works, forming philosophical and political layers under the seemingly simple surface. Although Oleanna is not one of his more popular plays, it deserves recognition for the thought-provoking issues it raises. Director Stephen Picton from Maddermarket Theatre has added touches of modernization to the play, giving it a cinematic edge. By using slideshows to define terms such as ‘political correctness’, it set out the ideologies of Oleanna as would a movie. Oleanna presents the basic storyline of a professor, John, who is charged for sexual harassment by his student, Carol. Because of this, his tenure is to be withdrawn. The dramatic ‘prologue’ had the two main characters disputatiously walking around the table accompanied by upbeat music and feminist images on the slideshow to lay out its underlying theme – (there and then it was) the battle of the sexes. However, it was difficult to take sides with either of them. Carol is a timid and academically-challenged university student who is overwhelmed by John’s conceited and oppressive attitude, which
later results in the miscommunication. The set design was rather austere with it’s black chairs and table almost blending into the walls. That, fascinatingly, made the two-member cast more prominent. With good reason too. Noel Jones (as John) and Thea Stevenson (as Carol) were very convincing in the portrayal of their respective roles. Delivering Mamet’s signature style of short, interruptive dialogues, Jones and Stevenson brought out the conflict between the two opposing forces impressively. It was intense, with strong language, reaching a peak that can be rather shocking to the audience during the breakdown of the characters’ emotions in the final act. In dealing with the characters’ use (and misuse) of language, the line between right and wrong becomes blurred. Laced with dark humour, chuckles could be heard amidst the irony and later on during the role reversal. Though it may lean towards wordiness, Oleanna is one to spark heated debates and intellectual discourse. This is, all in all, worth the watch. Carol’s question stood out in the play: “To make me mad is your job?” Yes, if
Theatre>UEA>What Every Woman Knows With a title scarily similar to the romantic comedy What Women Want, What Every Woman Knows thankfully doesn’t include Mel Gibson, psychic powers, nor Christina Aguilera’s vocals as part of the soundtrack. Rather, this sophisticated play by J M Barrie (writer of Peter Pan) proves a little less clichéd and a bit more realistic, illustrating a woman’s invisible power and influence in the successes of the men in her life. The Scottish play, set between 19001908, when women began to pursue full equality through the women’s movement, follows the rise of John Shand, from scholar to MP. However, it is his wife Maggie’s impact that really sends his career flying and as explained in the play itself, it is often the case that behind every successful man there is a woman quietly steering, guiding and supporting - a fact that is seemingly unknown to John until the play’s conclusion. Leading the cast are Roberta Morris as Maggie Wylie and Sam Holland as John Shand, both portraying convincing accents and complementing each other perfectly. Their performances effectively portrayed the difficult but effective relationship between the two characters, despite our underestimations of Maggie as a character. Maggie describes herself as a ‘little brown hen’ with ‘no charm’ as she sits quietly in the
corner of the Wylie’s home knitting not only with her needles, but weaving together her thoughts, ideas and plans, discreetly and unassumingly.
...as the plot evolves, we realise Maggie has the most charm of any other character in this story; a charm that finally melts the egocentric and selfimportant Shand However as the plot evolves, we realise Maggie has the most charm of any other character in this story; a charm that finally melts the egocentric and self-important Shand. Overall, this was an interesting choice for a student play and it would be interesting to know how and why it was chosen. Although perhaps not traditionally inspiring, moving or uplifting like most more symbolic plays, everyone concerned should feel proud of a performance that was credible, wellperformed, polished and witty. Harriet Jones
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anything, Oleanna is meant to make the audience ‘mad’ by displaying its new albeit controversial perspectives, as John then
replies in agreement, “To force you to listen.” Rachael Lum
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Download> Keeping up with the Kardashians
With the likes of Twitter and the ever expanding blogosphere fuelling the rise of independent, public criticism, the traditional position of the critic has become increasingly uncertain. Nevertheless, some people were simply born to rip people’s hard work to shreds with nothing but eloquence and expletives, and one such hero is Charlie Brooker. Scriptwriter, columnist, presenter and broadcaster, Brooker rose to prominence through his BBC4 Series Screenwipe, and has since gone on to make various spin-offs, such as Newswipe and Gameswipe. Blending an unrepentant acerbic wit with a penchant for the surreal. His approach to criticism is both traditional, in that he incisively identifies where something has failed, and forcibly post-modern, is unafraid of blending comedy with a salient and often serious cultural, social or political point. In short, he’s a talented man at the top of his profession, married to Konnie Huq. Damn him. For his latest foray into ‘exposing the
Catapulting American Z-listers into the limelight has always been a dubious forte of the E! Entertainment channel. In the past, reality TV shows featuring the likes of Denise Richards and Anna Nicole Smith have proved to be short-lived. But in 2007, the station seemingly struck gold when it commissioned Keeping Up with the Kardashians, a show predominantly focusing upon the daughters of O. J. Simpson’s attorney as they adjust to life in the public eye. Kim, Kourtney and Khloe contend with problems that can be narrowed down into a twenty-minute time frame, such as relationship woes, Momager Kris’ bad habits and Kim’s sex tape scandal that will not go away, no matter how many scantilyclad photo shoots she does. Episodes including an appearance from FBI when racy pictures from Kourtney and Kim’s past emerge prove to be questionable, alongside the thought that the three fashion forward, self-obsessed sisters would help a homeless man who sleeps outside their LA
EASTENDERS: BABY SWAP CONTROVERSY Was the recent contentious storyline a step too far? If you were looking for something lighthearted and cheery to watch on New Year’s Day whilst drinking your eggnog and eating your leftover mince pies, I doubt that Eastenders would have been the first programme that popped into your head. The London- based soap has a justly-deserved reputation for being hopelessly depressing at the best of times, but each year it notoriously saves up its most traumatic and tragic storylines, especially for the festive season. This year was no exception, with Ronnie Mitchell (played by Samantha Womack) overcome with grief over her own baby’s cot-death, secretly swapping her dead child
with Kat and Alfie’s newborn. What was exceptional, however, was the public response. The BBC received record numbers of complaints over the storyline, from thousands of shocked viewers who presumably have never watched Eastenders over Christmas before. Past years’ festive delights have included death, revealed affairs, death, revealed paternity tests, death, divorce, and of course, more death. So quite what these thousands of annoyed viewers were expecting when they tuned in this year, is unclear. Everyone gathered around the piano swaying and singing Joy to the World, whilst looking misty-eyed into the camera? No, because that would
be boring. And no matter what you may think of Eastenders, it is never boring. It is its willingness to consistently feature grippingly controversial and unashamedly grim storylines that makes Eastenders better than its competitors. In the past the show has been praised for tackling some of life’s grittier issues. This particular storyline is due to come to an end over the next few weeks, earlier than planned as the producers have caved into the show’s critics and cut it short. But, as they say, all publicity is good publicity – Eastenders has never been more talked about. Natalie Fletcher
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Currently showing on E! Check TV GUIDE for full listings.
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boutique, Dash. Stepfather and Olympic Gold Medallist Bruce Jenner proves to be the show’s voice of reason, a frankly worrying concept considering he got both ears pierced at the age of sixty. What’s even more troubling is the fact that the Kardashian/Jenner clan earned $65 million last year alone and are currently filming a sixth season of the show following the production of two spin offs; one following Kourtney and Khloe in Miami and the other with Kourtney and Kim in New York. Keeping Up with the Kardashians is the epitome of ‘so bad, it’s funny’ TV. It is most definitely poorly scripted and acted, yet the hilarious, over the top scenarios is what makes the programme so watchable. Everybody enjoys a bit of good old fashioned sibling rivalry and Keeping Up with the Kardashians offers that by the truckload too. Eleanor Brown
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ghastly backside of television’, he has been promoted to BBC2. How TV Ruined Your Life picks up where Screenwipe left off, just with more of a budget and a weekly encompassing theme though which Brooker centres a fresh attack on the socio-cultural impact of television on our everyday lives. Public neuroses such as ‘Fear’, ‘Aspiration’ and ‘Love’ are mercilessly skewered, with television commonly portrayed as the naughty box in the corner spilling false images and narratives of the world onto the floor of mush-brained, knowledge-hungry Plebs. The series successfully manages to tread a fine line between becoming a borderline indulgent misanthropic lecture and a simple re-tread of previous Screenwipe rants. It is frequently funny and always intelligent, something that cannot be said of many programmes. I’m sure Mr Brooker would agree. Matt Tidby Currently on BBC 2, Tuesday 10 PM
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PrimeTime> Charlie Brooker’s How TV ruined your life
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AMERICA’S COMEDY GOLD VENUE presents a selection of American Comedy that you can’t afford to miss.
Party Down
You probably haven’t heard of the small US cable channel Starz. Bar the soft-porn drama Spartacus- Blood and Sand it hardly competes with its heavy weight counterparts HBO and Showtime; having said that, for a short time, it was home to America’s funniest TV show since Arrested Development. Party Down, sadly cancelled last summer, is a hilarious sitcom about six wannabe Hollywood types working as cater waiters. It could easily have wallowed in its desperation and bitterness but the colourful characters and unusual events make their absurd lives incredibly watchable without mocking. Then again, what more would you expect when one of the executive producers is Paul Rudd. Who knew self-loathing could be quite so funny? The infallible cast draws from the worlds of Judd Apatow and Christopher Guest.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Jane Lynch, who is undoubtedly one of the best things about Glee, also stars. If all the musical numbers get it in the way in Glee, then Party Down is the perfect stage for her pitch perfect cut-throat humour, without the auto-tune. Her departure prompted her replacement with the better Megan Mullally, if possible. Unfortunately it may have been Lynch jumping ship for Glee or Adam Scott, for the equally funny Parks and Recreation, which caused this TV show’s untimely end. The acerbic wit and comic timing of Lizzy Caplan (Janice of Mean Girls fame) will be sorely missed, until next time then. This smart, quirky comedy is just what TV needed to counterbalance the so-often vapid television shows we’ve come expect. Fiona Howard
How I Met Your Mother E4,Thursday, 9:30pm
When How I Met Your Mother first aired in 2005, many saw it as simply a new season of Friends. After all, it has many of the same features: most obviously a mixed group of twenty-somethings living in New York, spending much of their time, though not at a coffee house, but at a local bar. However, once you put Ross, Rachel and Chandler out of your mind, the characters of this new series soon begin to be held just as dear. While the narrative behind the show is the retrospective tale of Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) telling his kids how he (you guessed it!) met their mother, it is the interactions with his four close friends which makes the series so enjoyable. Most specifically, the show’s best
feature is without doubt the charming but shameless womaniser Barney Stinson (played by the legen-“and I hope you’re not lactose intolerant because the second half of this word is”-dary Neil Patrick Harris.) Is there anything he would not do to get laid? The format may be familiar, but there is no denying that How I Met Your Mother is not only one of America’s funniest sit-coms, but also one of the sweetest. All the relationships are based not on mockery and condescension towards each other, but on love, and that is what has kept it strong for up to seven series so far, and hopefully many more. After all, we’re still waiting to find out how Ted met his childrens’ mother! Amy Adams
‘The Gang Finds a Dumpster Baby.’ ‘Dennis Looks Like a Registered Sex Offender.’ ‘The Gang Solves the North Korea Situation.’ If any or all of those episode titles amused you, welcome to your new favourite show. Bringing some much needed anarchy to the long-stale sitcom format, IASIP is, at it’s core, another show about a group of friend’s trying to run a business; in this case, an Irish bar in Philly. Saying that, it’s got far more in common with the likes of South Park and Eastbound and Down than Cheers, because these guys might be friends, but they’re also complete assholes. For a show who’s pilot cost $85 to make, IASIP has come a long way; Danny Devito has been a regular cast member since the second series, and they’ve boasted guest stars as diverse as ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper and Smallville’s Michael Rosenbaum.
The best way to sell IASIP is with it’s own humour, so here’s an example; at the very beginning of one episode, Sweet Dee (the group’s token woman but, in refreshingly sexism-free fashion, no less of an asshole) complains that whenever Frank (Danny Devito) hangs out with the gang, someone gets hurt. He hit’s back with “I’m just palling around with the guys, how’s anyone going to get hurt?”. Immediately, the episode’s title pops up; ‘Frank Sets Sweet Dee on Fire’. It’s hardly a secret that American TV is currently enjoying a golden age on a par with American cinema in the 70’s. Drama might be where the best stuff can be found, but shows like this prove that comedy is having a revolution of it’s own. Duncan Vicat-Brown
ON THE PULSE: GAMING NEWS
Wednesday 16th February: -SEGA announce the launch of Megadrive Games on Playstation Network -Dead Island trailer is revealed, many are toting it to be the best trailer ever made. Thursday 17th February: -More Forza Motorsport 4 details revealed; stating that they want to make it even more realistic than the last outing. -New DLC announced for Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and Assassins Creed: Brotherhood. -Sony punish PS3 hackers by banning their consoles from PSN. Friday 18th February: -PS3 Hackers found a way to unblock themselves from PSN, and even block other users. -Bizarre Creations, who developed the PGR series and Geometry Wars, close their doors for good today. Monday 21st February: -Video Game BAFTA’s reveal Lionhead’s Peter Molyneux the recipient of BAFTA Fellowship for his contribution to Tim Bates Videogames.
Tuesday 22nd February: -Dragon Age 2 demo hits Gold Xbox Live users. -Assassins Creed: Brotherhood finally gets a PC release date of 22nd March. Wednesday 23rd February: -World of Warcraft theme park ‘World Joyland’ is confirmed as real. It is in Korea mind... -New Dead Space 2 DLC confirmed for March 1st. -Gears of War 3 gets a confirmed release date of September 20th Thursday 24th February: -Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim tantalising gameplay trailer released. -Police raid PS3 hackers home for evidence in PS3 Hacking case. Friday 25th February: -Fable 3 gets a PC release date of 20th May -Atlus (developer of Persona series) say that they have no plans to release their new title Catharine in the west. -Sony pull Motorstorm Apocalypse from New Zealand out of respect for earthquake victims
Fun links to pass the time between socialising and learning.
http://fatuglyorslutty.com/
Every February, the Mobile World Congress ( M W C ) tradeshow is held in Barcelona. This year, on the 14th-17th, a huge amount of consumer electronics companies formally announced their newest products, innovations, and ideas. Google’s Android thoroughly dominated this year’s itinerary. The biggest announcements were the formal reveal of Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play, dubbed by commentators as the ‘PlayStation Phone’, and Google revealing its newest innovative OS designed purely for tablet computing, Android Honeycomb, through the medium of Motorola’s iPad competitor; the Xoom tablet. The Xperia Play is the first proper phone/gaming console hybrid since the infamous failure of Nokia’s N-Gage almost a decade ago. It features a 4 inch LED screen with a respectable 480x854 resolution, and a slide out panel that has the essential D-Pad, touch pad joysticks and control buttons. It’s doubtful that the Xperia Play will share the same fate, being a capable Android 2.3 Gingerbread in its own right whilst also
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David Cameron Pretending to be Common Exactly what it claims to be. See PM David Cameron playing chameleon with the commoners. Its almost as if he were one of them. See him move rubbish and speak to the simple folk. An excellent tumblr page on a topic that really shows Cameron has no idea what is best. http://bit.ly/gdvUIb News Groper Top stories and opinions direct from celebrities mouths. Almost... Newsgroper isn’t what it seems on the surface, all these blogs are written in the style of the celebrity they claim to be. However each blog contains comedy gold and with so many fake celeb’s opinions flying around there is something here for everyone. Vladimir Putin and Christopher Walken both provide some immense laughs, and feel as if the men themselves wrote them. http://www.newsgroper.com/ Fat, Ugly or Slutty Girl gamers always suffer the brunt of online insults whether playing on PSN or Xbox live. Most insults revolve around their anatomy or the fact that they are just out of the kitchen, however all of them are hilariously stupid and completely out of order. Girl gamers have united to supply the world with these insult wonders in one of the best blogs for a long time. Not for the easily offended.
Some of the best, most interesting or just downright funny people tweeting right now! @50cent He likes to think he is hard and that he has a way with the ladies, but his Twitter suggests different. Watch him deal with inflammatory comments in possibly not the best way, and let him tell you his dreams from the night before, all ending with snapshots of his father eating breakfast and threatening to chuck him out. This man is wild... @Wired_UEA Follow your favourite games and technology section and keep up to date on the world of games and technology. You’ll see some witty banter between the concrete team and if your lucky a drunk update or two! @Venue_UEA Everybody has jumped aboard the Twitter wagon, this time its the arts section of the paper, Venue! On here you’ll get a digest of some of the best content from the upcoming issue, or 140 word snippets on breaking music, film, games and fashion news.
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CRITICAL RECEPTION: THE NEW WAVE OF PHONES
With Facebook users expanding everyday there are groups springing up for every occasion, here are some of the best! That one friend we all have who will get naked for no reason We all have that friend. They will be there in our photo albums, our nights outs and forever in our memories. Join this group to pay homage to that friend, however be careful about uploading photos celebrating your friends immodesty … Facebook don’t like that. “Dude, you’re singing the wrong words” “ No i’m not because I’m making a remix” You’re in the LCR, you’re having a great time, one of your favourite songs comes on and then horror of horrors, you’ve sang the wrong line. Really loudly. In front of everyone. If this has ever happened to you then at last you have a valid excuse and if nobody believes you then at least take solice in the fact that 738,865 other m e m o r y addled Facebook users have also suffered the same fate. Kate Allen
being the best smartphone for gaming. The Motorola Xoom tablet in Google’s flagship choice for Honeycomb Tablets, and is a very impressive piece of technology. With a 1280x800 widescreen display, a powerful dual core processor, and sleek, seamless Honeycomb OS designed purely for tablets, Apple’s iPad2 announcement is going to have to be spectacular to match the onslaught of Android tablets, since the Motorola Xoom wasn’t the only Android tablet being announced, as other companies released their own Honeycomb tablets such as the Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1, and LG’s Optimus Pad. All three tablets are fairly similar though, in looks (to be fair, there’s not much you can do with tablets) and internal specs. All three have NVIDIA’s 1GHz Tegra 2 dual-core processor, stock honeycomb OS and the same (width) resolution. In the smartphone sector, LG hopped on board the current 3D bandwagon and announced the Optimus 3D, the first 3D smartphone that doesn’t require glasses whilst also announcing the previously mentioned honeycomb tablet, the Optimus Pad, is also 3D and can record 3D images and videos, which they hope will mark it as different to its competitors. Samsung announced the Galaxy S II, a beast of a smartphone following the success of the original Galaxy S with 10 million sold worldwide, so the Galaxy S II for many will be the most important announcement at this year’s MWC. The screen size has become wider and taller while the
device itself thinner, with a colossal (for a smartphone) 4.3 inch SUPERAMOLED Plus screen, making this smartphone the current holder of the title for most vibrant, bright and clear screen on the market. This beast has a 1GHz dual core processor, and a quad core graphics processing unit (GPU), making it perhaps the biggest rival to the Xperia Play, especially since Samsung seem to have positioned themselves that way by including a “Games Hub” in their TouchWiz UI. HTC, the fading star of Android, announced their ‘Flyer’ tablet, and their new ChaCha and Salsa phones, which are notable solely for having their own Facebook physical buttons. In non-Android news, RIM showed off their BlackBerry Playbook, Nokia showed off their brand new Windows Phone 7 lineup of phones, following their controversial and surprising ‘Burning Platform’ announcement from their CEO, that they’re scrapping Symbian OS and will now making solely WP7 phones. Richard Joslin
CHEAP AND CHEERFUL
Remote
Kindle App
This is a very useful and app that allows you to control your computer’s iTunes, whether or not it’s a Mac, by your iPhone, iPod or iPad. Once you have connected the two devices (a one-off extremely simple task) you can then browse your handheld to choose what plays from your computer.
Although iBook is also available and has added advantages, such as syncing with your iTunes library, the Kindle is a better alternative, which is also free. Available on iPod or iPhone, it allows you to browse the Kindle library (far larger than iBooks’) and download any title you want. There are hundreds of free titles available, mainly classics, as well as new titles and old favourites. The reading experience is more pleasant than iBooks, as has a nice sepia effect and you can bookmark and annotate to your heart’s content. You can e v e n download f r e e samples of books before you buy!
Y o u c a n create, edit and adjust playlists, change the volume and more without having to lift more than one finger! Although there is an occasional problem with the app freezing, it is well worth the free download as it saves you having to buy a physical remote!
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a microphone too. Basically it will have everything the more recent DS models have, plus a second analogue for those whiney bastards that weren’t satisfied with one. Not wishing to alienate anyone, the processor is a 4 core ARM Cortex-A9 core processor, and will feature a POWERVR graphics processor; in simple terms, it will look and run like Sony’s PS3 console. Still curious? Look it up (this will give you an idea of its size too). Moving on to the slightly more interesting stuff, the NGP will offer a built-in GPS and a variety of three-axis applications (gyroscope, compass etc.) which will no doubt come in handy with touch and motion sensitivity, which as a modern gaming nation we cannot seem to get enough of. Another thing that’s sure to quench the thirst of the geeks and freaks of the gaming world is the addition of trophies to portable titles, which will not be download only this time (games will be offered on “flash based memory cards” alongside their digital counterparts), and online gaming will be so fun and easy with the broad range of connectivity options (3G, Wi-Fi etc.). Satisfied? You should be, it’s currently looking like the golden boy of the gaming world, and will be yours to own later on this year. DJ Turner
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January 27th 2011 was a date of significance for many followers of handheld gaming and a large number of self-professed Sony fanatics. The PSP2, clumsily codenamed as the NGP (Next Generation Portable… lets hope it’s a temporary name) was announced last month at Japan’s Playstation Meeting. After months of speculation on where Sony would be taking handheld gaming after the PSP Go!, and with Nintendo launching their latest – and arguably revolutionary – 3DS console next month, the news couldn’t have come at a better time. Various sources will tell you that the NGP’s specifications are “tasty”, “powerful” and “ridiculous”, which is all well and good for anyone bumming Sony (which far too many writers seem to be doing on the subject of the NGP), but what about the facts? Objectively the device has a lot of innovations to offer. Subjectively some of these are impressive, while others could be hit or miss. Where to start? The screen is a five inch OLED touchscreen, so no backlight and better contrast ratios; if this isn’t enough there is also a rear touch pad for all around touch sensitivity. The cameras, speakers and analogue sticks all come in pairs, and there’s
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Ever wondered who’d win in a fight: Dante from Devil May Cry, or Spider-man? Yes, after ten years and two console generations, the daddy of crazy crossover beat-em-ups is back with a whole new layout for fans and newbies alike to play around with. Obviously, the first thing people are going to ask when you talk about a game that pits the heroes of Marvel Comics against the characters from Capcom’s greatest franchises is ‘who’s in it?’ The answer is, just about everyone you’d want, and then some. There are thirty six characters in the initial roster, eighteen on each side, with plenty more promised in upcoming Downloadable Content. While at first this may seem like a step down from the fifty-odd fighters of Marvel vs Capcom 2, this just means there’s a lot more depth and weight to the characters that are here; in the hands of an expert, any of the characters are dangerous in their own way. No fan favourites have been left out, and some of the new additions, like the aforementioned Dante, Chris and Wesker of Resident Evil fame are so good you wonder why they weren’t always there. There’s bound to be some people complaining about certain omissions, or characters t h a t have been dropped, but it’s impossible to please everybody in games like this, and Marvel vs Capcom 3 is all the better for it. The roster isn’t the only thing that’s changed since Marvel vs Capcom 2; graphically its really stunning; the developers have gone for a 3-d cell shaded comic book effect, and really works. If you’ve been following all the developer videos and trailers online in the build-up to this game, the first time you see that intro cinematic on a decent television, your mouth will be hanging open. There have been a few technical c h a n g e s under the hood of this
game as well; the button layout has changed to a more intuitive version, with one face button for light attacks, one for medium, one for heavy, and one to launch your opponent into the air. The moves are all simple as well; none of the crazy 720 degree analogue spins of rivals like Street Fighter here, and it all means that the fights move at the series trademark, frenzied pace. A n o t h e r c h a n g e designed to bring in new players is the addition of ‘Simple Mode’, which reduces entire combos and special moves to single button presses, allowing total newcomers to pull off amazing combinations within minutes. It’s a solid addition, and you can even take on people playing with the normal layout with it; the only downside is, you’ll only be able to use about half of the moves they have. This isn’t to say it’s a perfect game; it lacks a lot of the features you’d expect from a fighting game these days; there’s your standard arcade, versus and practice modes, and missions, a mode that challenges you to pull off character-specific combos, online play… and that’s it. Even the online is a bit bare-bones; while you can set up eight man lobbies, there’s no way to save your fights, and others in the lobby can’t spectate; if you do something awesome online, there’s no way anyone except your opponent will ever see it. This doesn’t take anything away from the actual experience of these fights, but, given what beautiful spectacles these encounters can easily become, it really feels like a missed opportunity. Overall, this game is a worthy successor to Marvel vs Capcom 2; it’s fast, frantic, and entirely crazy, but also the most fun wireds had with a new game in quite a while. Whether you’re an old hand or a complete novice, this game will more than service your fighting needs, with everyone from Morrigan, to MODOK (and, if you know who either of these characters are, this is the kind of game you should have picked up already!)
GENERATION GAP: SONY’S NGP
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Format: PS3, 360 Release: Out Now RRP: £39.99
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Paul Director: Greg Mottola Release Date: 14/2/11 In almost every media mention of Paul, the latest offering from spoof-giants Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, one quote from the duo seems to reoccur: “love letter to Steven Spielberg”. Indeed, the film’s narrative bears more than a passing resemblance to the well-loved tale of E.T. Clive (Frost) and Graeme (Pegg) are two British enthusiasts of all things flying and unidentifiable, whose road trip is rudely interrupted by the arrival of Paul (Seth Rogen) — an actual alien, shipwrecked on earth and in desperate need to get home. Thus begins a romp
through the American Southwest in which the reluctant protagonists find themselves allied with Ruth (Kristen Wiig), a Christian Fundamentalist who has discovered a love of cursing, in their desperate flight from FBI agents, vengeful fathers and — oh yes — a couple of irritated hillbillies whose car they bumped with their rented RV. Featuring a beautifully atmospheric soundtrack in the style of John Williams and a helter-skelter tour through neon-lit bars and sweeping deserts of the Southern United States, Paul shows a gentler and, perhaps, a slightly more mature worldview than the duo’s previous films. There is no epic destruction
of villages or hordes of zombies, although fans should not despair—a good deal of brilliantly executed physical humour and foulmouthed japes can still be seen and heard. The dialogue, however, is just as entertaining with a great deal of the comedy arising from the acerbic
camp sarcasm of the little green chap himself. Rogen’s rather-less-thancute version of E.T., coupled with the superb straightfaced buffoonery and wit of Frost and Pegg, make the film a delight to watch throughout. Yet this is far more than just a silly spoof of Spielberg.
film There is something surprisingly subversive about the ways in which Paul interprets American culture. Alongside the ‘butt jokes’ and wordplay runs a penetrating tongue-incheek critique of right-wing religion and Conservative ideology. Atheism and homosexuality are thrown into the paths of hapless authority figures and religious locals with a searing glee; the conflict that drives the film is as much between liberalism and orthodoxy as it is between the RV’s passengers and the pursuers who want Paul back safely in Area 51. Less a “love letter to Spielberg”, perhaps, than a sharply-worded letter to Sarah Palin.
Combined with the movie’s topical and satirical undertones, there are moments of true character depth and poignancy that make the film accessible to anyone who has never even heard the words “phone home”: words which, incidentally, are neither heard nor parodied. Pegg and Frost veer away from obvious spoof throughout in favour of creating a distinct movie of their own. Although there are plenty of in-jokes for the true sci-fi boffins among us (Star Wars and comic-book jokes abound at some points), the pure energy and hilarity of the dialogue is enough to keep even the most firmly Earthbound viewer happy. Sam Dordoy
Gnomeo and Juilet I am Number Four No Strings Attached
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Director: Kelly Asbury Release Date:11/2/11 Great for kids with ADHD and Elton John fans alike, Gnomeo and Juliet proves enjoyably entertaining. Elton, as Executive Producer (not to mention sole source for the soundtrack) and David Furnish as Producer create a humorous take on a Shakespearian classic. Two groups of gnomes live in the gardens of the Montague and Capulet households. Divided simply into the Reds and Blues, Juliet (a Red) falls in love with Gnomeo (a Blue), and an age-old rivalry between the two camps ensues – or as Gnomeo’s father calls it a lot of “smashing”. Sticking loosely to the original, necessary liberties
are taken (presumably to avoid mentally scarring children); there are broken gnomes and drag-racing lawnmovers interspersed with Shakespearian references. Jokes span from the ‘Terrafirminator’ lawnmower advertisement to the bizarre inclusion of a David Hasselhoff screensaver. Much of the film’s appeal is in the animation. Bright colours, sharp 3D graphics and quick scenes that switch from one impressive detail to the next. Voiced by James McAvoy and Emily Blunt, other actors include Michael Caine and Jason Statham to name a few. It’s by no means a challenging tale, but the story and the team behind it had enough charm to pull in a stellar cast. Vimbai Mukwenha
Director: D.J. Caruso Release Date: 23/2/11 Amongst the Oscars season’s usual plethora of poor quality films is D.J. Caruso’s I am Number Four based on the best-selling teen novel of the same name. Although far from the worst of February’s offerings, I am Number Four unfortunately does little to rise above the stagnant stereotype. The film stars charismavoid Alex Pettyfer as the titular Number Four, one of nine super-powered aliens who have come to earth to escape murderous invaders. The film begins with the death of Number Three at the hands of evil colonists the Mogadorians, and with Numbers One and Two already dead, guess
who’s next? Despite the fairly actionoriented introduction, the film quickly descends into the ever-tired romance genre made infamous by the likes of Twilight; a comparison which is startlingly present throughout. Number Four is the super-powered, brooding male whilst Sarah (Dianna Agron) fills the role of the pretty, personalityfree love interest and unsurprisingly neither proves to be particularly likable. This undesirable comparison aside, I am Number Four is actually pretty solid, albeit brainless, entertainment, particularly when it picks up in the explosive latter half. If this does well it will undoubtedly spawn a series, if not, it’s no great loss. James Collins
Director: Ivan Reitman Release Date: 25/2/11 Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman star as Adam and Emma in this rom-com about a guy and girl who try and keep their relationship purely sexual. Adam breaks the vow not to get emotionally involved when he realises he has feelings for Emma, a workaholic doctor (surprise, surprise). After making an effort to form a serious relationship, he has his feelings smashed as she bluntly rejects his advances and severs all ties to him. The film is billed as a rom-com but is lacking severely in romance and is certainly devoid of any comedy. It follows all the trademarks but
with no success; each lead characters’ ‘funny friends’ are by no-means funny, neither character is particularly likable and their relationship seems unbelievable at best. Where Ashton Kutcher tries to play the sensitive guy with feelings, he just comes off as needy and immature, and Natalie Portman’s character ultimately follows her heart, spurred on only by loneliness and jealousy, not love. The script is sloppy in places, and we’ve seen the ‘sexually independent woman’ done before in more charming ways (see Love and Other Drugs, more comedic Going The Distance and certainly with more original 500 Days of Summer). Probably best avoided. Tom Theedom
Yogi Bear
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Drive Angry 3D
Director: Nick Moran Release Date: 21/2/11
Dir: Andrew Lancaster Release Date: 14/2/11
every person in his life. Due to the intensity of the film it is quite a struggle to watch. It is rather slow and the horrific scenes of his childhood could have been edited a bit more, as the relentless abuse and bullying becomes a bit too much to take, and are just slightly too depressing. The actors are all brilliant and Friend’s portrayal of Kevin seems very accurate after seeing Kevin Lewis’ interview on
This Morning. Natascha McElhone plays Kevin’s abusive mother, and plays it perfectly. All actors give the film a chilling sense of reality. From the beginning, the film leads you to believe that the ending will be far from happy, which is perhaps why it is so morbid; watchers don’t even bother to hope for a happy ending. Helen Jones
Accidents Happen follows the story of Billy Conway (Harrison Gilberston), a boy from New England in the 1980s. This film is essentially about a boy whose life falls apart one accident after another and his struggle to bring things back to normal. The Conways are a family who are dysfunctional from the outset so when tragedy strikes and splits the family apart, Billy is left wondering who to turn to. Struggling with the destruction of his family, he ends up befriending Doug Post, a boy known for behaving badly who henceforth leads him to
trouble. From the beginning of the film, it is known that Billy’s way of dealing with things is by not feeling .So, as accident after accident occurs, the viewer is as emotionally detached as Billy. However, one can see how these events are changing Billy’s life. By the end of the film when the last tragedy hits, the viewer is left feeling distraught and overwhelmed. All of this is achieved through
excellent cinematography and editing, which helps to pull the story along; but the highlight of the film is definitely Gilberston’s performance. Accidents Happen is not a feel good movie, but rather one to get the audience to think about the life they lead and how, essentially, lucky they may have it. It is a film that is good for one viewing, but that’s about it. Samantha Rogers
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The Kid Based on the true memoirs of Kevin Lewis’ The Kid is a shocking story of a young boy growing up in a London council estate. The film follows Kevin (Rupert Friend) through his horrific upbringing. After being abused by his parents and abandoned by the care system, Kevin is finally given a chance at a decent life when a teacher takes a special interest in him. Yet it doesn’t end there. Innocence and poor decisions mean Kevin is once again left to fend for himself, and is once again abandoned, abused and cheated by just about
Drive Angry sets out to be an exhilarating actionpacked rollercoaster of hyper-violence and cheesy dialogue in the finest grindhouse tradition. Shot entirely in glorious 3D the films narrative features hell-escapee John Milton (Nicolas Cage) hunting down a Satanic cult who have kidnapped his baby granddaughter and plan to sacrifice her in the next full moon. Along the way Milton picks up a feisty, foul-mouthed sidekick, Piper (Amber Heard), and engages in multiple gun/ car fights whilst attempting to evade the ominous ‘Accountant’ (William
Fichtner), easily the best part of the film. Sound exciting? Well its not. The film bores completely due to its ensemble of bland characters and lack of emotional engagement with the audience. There is never any urgency in Cage’s portrayal of Milton, and the frankly baffling sound design engenders an ill-paced and confused final product. Oh, and the less said about the films worryingly misogynistic portrayal of women the better. None of these complaints would really matter so long as the film was entertaining, as entertaining as the kind of trashy 70’s action film it aspires to. However, Drive Angry is anything but fun. Tom Graves
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Director: Patrick Lussier Release Date: 25/2/11
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Yogi Bear is one of those movies. The ones which get made not to present artistic flair or meaningful narratives, but with the simple aim of harvesting a franchise for all its economic worth. The franchise in question is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon series featuring the lovable picnic-snatching bear Yogi and his accomplice BooBoo in the peaceful forests of Jellystone Park. The 2011 film does little to stray from the original source material as it follows the escapades of Yogi (Dan Akroyd) and Boo Boo (Justin Timberlake) as they attempt to save their
beloved park from being shut down by tyrannical Mayor Brown (Andrew Daly). With such a formulaic plot, the film relies on tired slapstick humour and flatone liners just to maintain any sort of audience engagement. Audience is the film’s key issue here as the unfamiliarity of the TV show will leave newer audiences with little incentive to bother whilst fans of the original will grumble at Yogi Bear’s commercialised glamorization into the popular culture. Regardless, this is very much a kid’s movie and in this respect it does its job. Although it has many flaws, the humour will keep children entertained and amused throughout. Andrew Wilkins
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Director: Eric Brevig Release Date: 11/2/11
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“What did you expect, spinning heads and pea soup?” asks Father Trevant (Anthony Hopkins) in The Rite; an important question for any exorcism film. However, The Rite fails to answer it. So what is there to expect? The Rite hopes that its ‘based on true events’ aspect is going to be scarier than pure fiction. It is an interesting idea. These are real people, and any clever director has the scope here to explore themes of faith and psychic disorder. Nevertheless, after twenty minutes whatever tension generated from the ‘real’ story is dropped.
The devil is evidently there, screaming and yelping with a familiar devilish voice in the body of a sixteen year old girl. What is worth seeing, however, is Anthony Hopkins, who steals every scene as a portly Welshman stuck in the middle of Rome, living with hundreds of cats. The support from Colin O’Donoghue is, unfortunately, a little lacklustre. Exorcist fans looking for a fresh look should take a deep breath and prepare to be disappointed. This movie fails on two accounts: you don’t get a new take on the exorcism idea, and perhaps most importantly, you don’t get spinning heads and pea soup either. Marc Farrant
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Director: Mikael Håfstorm Release Date: 25/2/11
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THE 83RD ACADEMY AWARDS
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VENUE’s Official Review
Tom McInnes, Duncan Vicat-Brown and Fiona Howard sat up all night with mugs of coffee, many beers and piles of sandwiches to bring you this special report from the frontline of the most prestigious event on the Hollywood calendar...
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he King’s Speech is a rousing, uplifting tale, beautifully photographed and exquisitely performed. It also has plot points you can set your watch to and a final “huzzah” that guarantees everyone leaves the cinema smiling. It certainly deserves the Academy Award for Best Film. But it’s certainly not the best film of 2010. As a rule, if a flick truly deserves that moniker – if it’s, lets say, the first genuinely definitive film of its generation, flawlessly performed, gorgeously shot, and features dialogue so divine your jaw literally drops and if, God forbid, it teaches you something about both its subject and yourself – the smart money’s on it not winning. It’s films like The Social Network that help us recognise
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here were a few shocks in the smaller categories. Roger Deakins (for True Grit) was shamefully passed over for Cinematography once again, albeit by Wally Pfister for the damn fine lookin’ Inception, which cleaned up in the tech awards. Alice In Wonderland got two, and so now officially has more Oscars than positive reviews. Rick Baker and Randy Newman stepped up to collect their annual
awards for Best Makeup and Song. Inside Man picked up the most closely fought Documentary Feature gong for years, and Susanne Bier was awarded Best Foreign Language film for In A Better World, a fitting reward for a stunning career. Trent Reznor’s excellent score for The Social Network picked up Best Score, doubtless accompanied by screams of delight from bedrooms worldwide. Have it!
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Best Dressed / Worst Dressed
Hannah Britt gives us her lowdown on the two extremes of the red carpet Cate Blanchett’s Givenchy gown was stunning. Knowing that less is more, she stayed away from cheaplooking satin and didn’t pump her boobs up to her chin. She stuck her fashionable middle finger up to the young ‘uns left trailing in her wake. Her choice was a breath of fresh air. So high fashion. So well done.
Marisa Tomei’s vintage Charles James gown was repulsive. Ill fitting, it made her look short and boxy, like a limited edition toilet roll doll. It was like something an excited child would dig out of the bargain bin in a dark corner of TK Maxx. Her hair was a mess too. It must have been windy on the red carpet...
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ress after dress, Anne Hathaway became ditzier, annoying and vapid. James Franco’s deadpan humour almost made up for her hyper-girliness, but he wasn’t on stage anywhere near as much; getting high backstage, from the looks of things. They were chosen to target a younger demographic, and they made sure you knew it. Billy Crystal walked on to ‘It Had to be You’; why couldn’t it have been him? His spot was a welcome respite, sadly amplifying Hathaway and Franco’s lacklustre attempts. Colin Firth will be lauded for his speech, striking the balance between classic British reserve and comedy, proving once again that he is one of the best public
certain aspects of our own character. Like any great art, it strives to make sense of the human condition – it’s not always a fluffy place to be. Why reward an important film that makes us uncomfortable when we could reward a damn good one that makes us feel all gooey inside? And why stop at Best Film? Director, too? Yeah, sod Aronofsky! But this isn’t Gump winning over Pulp and Shawshank circa. ‘94. It’s no tragedy, just a shame. An irritating but predictable shame. Otherwise, this year’s selection was mostly solid. Colin Firth’s lovely variation of the stiff, awkward thing he’s been doing since 1995 was awarded accordingly. Some touching sentiments from deserving Best Supporting bloke Batman, who gave a shout-out to
speakers around. The night was full of wonderful speeches, full of emotion and gratitude but it was Randy Newman’s that truly made ‘good television’, despite his jabs. The Oscars are all about the bits. This year’s opened with an entertaining homage to the year’s best pictures with an Inception inspired dream sequence; more MTV Movie Awards than Academy Awards, it just about worked. Hathaway again proved that she’s got a pair of lungs on her, harking back to her fabulous duet with Hugh Jackman. Applying autotune to movie clips, including Twilight and Harry Potter, also brought some laughs. Hopefully, next year they’ll realize it’s better to have a comedian than a pair of hip actors.
his character’s real life counterpart, sat in the back looking suspiciously like a man recovering from crack addiction. Best Actress Nazza Portz gave an adorably shaky thanks to everyone she’s ever met while Best Supporting Lady Actor Melissa Leo cursed up a fucking storm and no-doubt upset ABC. Screenplay statuettes were on the money – The King’s Speech for Best Original, The Social Network for Best Adapted (EVER). Justice may not have been served exactly, but at least it wasn’t put in a wedding dress and thrown into the shower room. A fine, if predictable, evening of pretty frocks and warm-hearted stammersupport. Ain’t nothing wrong with that. Well.. not really.
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NME AWARDS TOUR The Vaccines/Everything Everything/Magnetic Man/Crystal Castles: UEA LCR: 11/02/2011
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violently thrust her way through the sensory bombardment which was the Crystal Castles set Alice Glass, the preacher for the antichrist, set about converting the masses during ‘Baptism’, getting the ravers who were the proverbial rabbits in the headlights left over from MM dancing again during ‘Black Panther’ and doing her best to emulate Robert Smith’s emphatic vocal work in ‘Not In Love’. It was a strobed out, brutal, yet beautifully executed 80 minutes of what dance music really should be like and left the idea of guitar driven pop a fading memory in the minds of many. Alex Throssell
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Kz Yr Bf’ and the indie anthem ‘Photoshop Handsome’ are the best received and top off the falsetto vocals, and more poignantly, the guitar work for the evening. Its about 9pm and the stage has been very differently set. No drum riser this time, no amp stacks or mic stands but instead a distinctly IT lab looking rack of Apple Mac’s, mixing decks and a few lights pointed at the now more ominous looking speaker rigs at side stage. Its unnecessarily cramped, the tension was palpable or maybe that was just the ridiculously humid air which came from the LCR being pushed to its capacity; even someone of this reviewer’s stature was finding it difficult to command jurisdiction over his personal space. Magnetic Man hit the stage to the wobble of ‘MAD’ and the crowd soon found some nonexistent space to throw some serious shapes as pulsating bass and the uncontainable energy of MM’s hype man washed through the crowd. Unfortunately, despite the broad appeal of ‘I Need Air’ and ‘Perfect Stanger’ it seemed too much like a DJ set, and the art of alternative dance music was left in the hands of Alice Glass and Ethan Kath. “Norwich, listen up. I regret to inform you that Alice Glass has broken her ankle, and her doctor has advised her to take six weeks off from touring. Alice has taken necessary precaution and says Fuck That!...Ladies and Gentlemen; Crystal Castles.” Burdened with crutches and a leg brace, but still able to
Photo by Simon Partridge
WIRED
Another NME Awards show, another frankly overadvertised gig and another gratuitously hyped bill, but as with most of the evenings of this ilk, another chance to see some cracking live bands. Whether or not the collection of acts were grouped by a genuine concern for the songs they will perform, or were simply picked out of a hat by the NME suits seems to undermine the night, especially with the sometimes baffling diversity on show this time around. Nevertheless, when surrounded by the excruciatingly enthusiastic babble of fifteenyear-old pseudo-groupies which huddle at the barrier, you can’t help but feel a bit excited. The Vaccines are the openers and do sterling work with their set, which acts as an expose for the relative tour minnows, as well as whipping those fans which did turn out for the 7.20pm “is-it-ok-to-be-this-hot-already?-ohgod-this-cardigan-was-a-mistake-and-thereis-so-much-more-to-go” start into a mini frenzy. The big three in their set draw the best reactions; ‘Post Break-Up Sex’, ‘If You Wanna’ and ‘Wreckin’ Bar’ are all great indications that their album, which is yet to drop on March 21st, will be full of unadulterated pop charm. Everything Everything have had a distinctly different rise to fame. Working very hard for many years they have a significantly larger franchise and play to it well. More pop sensibilities are exercised by the boilersuit clad Mancunians, but are made fresh by proggy tinges and unexpected breakdowns. ‘My
You have been negatively labelled as derivative, how does that make you feel? Pete: Have we!? Everything is derivative; you can levy the word derivative at literally everything because it all derives from fucking Bach! *Laughs* Arni: But no, it doesn’t bother me, I think all great music shares key elements which also show up in our music and have stood out through the ages, and come on, I mean it’s the nature of the beast really.
Have you made the “record of your dreams”? Pete: Yeah, we are all really, really proud of it. Arni: It captures the energy of the excitement of the time perfectly and its exactly how I envisaged it to be; we set out to make a record that represents our live show rather than the other way around so all of the ground work was done in ten days then we recorded all of the takes live, just four guys playing in a room ‘til there was a good one, which is a really classic way of doing it.
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So where do The Vaccines go from here, have you got a five year plan? Arni: Yes, we are the musical equivalent of the Soviet Union! *Laughs* I think we’ll be happy doing this for as long as possible; playing as many gigs in as many places as people will want to listen to The Vaccines. Pete: I guess in a year or so we’ll start giving the next album some thought but we haven’t really… Arni: I think we should probably release this one first! And then we’ll see if we can afford to do a second album! Famous last words; thinking about a second record… Pete: but yeah, onwards and upwards from here; more international touring, loads of festivals basically getting very sick of being in this bus and hopefully not sick of each other… we might need a bigger bus. Arni: Then we definitely won’t be able to afford to do another album!
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We may as well start from the start as you’ve had a busy year; how did you meet? Pete: We were all just friends really. Arni: I wish it was entertaining, some sort of, you know, like you (Pete) saved me from certain death and we agreed that we would play in a band together, at first weren’t that into it but after a near death experience we were both heavily indebted to one another so the band came about.
Is there anything more than the direct pop of Wreckin’ Bar? Pete: Yeah, I think it will surprise people that it is as varied as it is. Arni: As a band we champion the songs a bit and we let the songs be what they want to be, some are one and a half minutes and some are five, I mean can you imagine Wreckin’ bar being a lot longer, it’d be fucking boring!
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How is it getting such critical recognition; do you think being labelled as the next big thing is a poisoned chalice? Arni: To be honest, we never came out claiming that we were the next best thing, it was media that generated that talk and its only media that can kill it. Our focus is simply on the things that are in our control; we wanted to make the record of our dreams and we’ve got that, we wanted to put on the best live show we could possibly do and we are still working towards that, everything else is… Pete: Ultimately, people will walk into one of our gigs and say A. do I like this? Or B. do I not?, and that’s all they need to do, judging us against some perceived media attention is not a great way to enjoy music, but unfortunately there are a group of people who do that.
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Árni Hjörvar and Pete Robertson from The Vaccines talked to Alex Throssell before the show...
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concrete.music@uea.ac.uk
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REVIEWS The Go! Team: Rolling Blackouts
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Six years have passed since The Go! Team’s Mercury Prize nominated debut Thunder, Lightning, Strike received acclaim for its frenetic mashing of styles, unifying elements as diverse as hip-hop and playground-esque chants. At the time The Go! Team could be admired, if not adored, for a refreshing variation from the predictable indie of fellow nominees such as Hard-Fi and the Kaiser Chiefs. After an adequate follow up in Proof Of Youth, The Go! Team have released their third album, Rolling Blackouts, after a four year hiatus. The album is an eclectic collection that, despite highlights, simply fails to expand upon previous efforts. Ultimately Rolling Blackouts sees The Go! Team treading familiar, if not identical, ground: in the process exposing the bands chronic failure to escape the niche it created for itself. The Brighton sextet have always relied on creative lynchpin Ian Parton’s nonexhaustive supply of hook-laden samples to form the core of their music, and Rolling Blackouts is no different . The contrast is in fact found in the limited use of front woman Ninja’s freestyle vocals which were characteristic of much of their early work. Intro ‘T.O.R.N.A.D.O.’ indicates this is by no means a flaw, as Ninja’s persistent yells combine with a crescendo of horns and drums to produce a track that is best described as a form of audible assault rather than music: if a migraine could
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PJ Harvey: Let England Shake
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Though she may be one of British rock’s most enigmatic and consistent players, it’s still a bit much to expect Polly Jean Harvey to peak on her eighth album, almost twenty years into her career. Indeed, after 2007’s White Chalk, pretty much everyone had her written off as one of the old guard, settled into her niche and indulging her more avant-garde proclivities. And all power to her; with a back catalogue like her’s, she’d earned it. So, Let England Shake comes as something of a surprise. Lyrically, it’s possibly her darkest work to date, focussing on war in disturbingly graphic detail. She sings of seeing “soldiers fall like lumps of meat”, and ‘Written on
be captured in sound, this would be it. However, improvement is quickly found in ‘Ready To Go Steady’ and ‘Buy Nothing Day’ which are a clear homage to 60’s pop, with the latter benefiting from the lilting vocals of Best Coast’s Beth Consentino. However, this act rapidly wears thin ,leaving the album to stagnate into weak attempts at purely instrumental melodies and easy listening, with such tracks as ‘Super Triangle’ and ‘Lazy Poltergeist’. It appears that Parton has gone all out in an attempt to employ as many catchy samples and adopt as many styles as possible in the hope that one sticks enough to produce a hit; the end result is a disjointed album that despite highlights fails to impress. Instead of mastering a style, it is evident that The Go! Team have produced a pale imitation of various others. Whether attempting to replicate the work of Saint Etienne or The Avalanches, everything attempted has been done before, and better. A failure to build on past success has produced a predictable, uninspired attempt that sees The Go! Team’s perpetual optimism look tired and further reveals an inability to produce meaningful, or even coherent, lyrics. Life moves pretty fast and the music industry moves even faster: Rolling Blackouts suggests The Go! Team can’t keep up. Jordan Bright
The Naked and Famous: Young Blood
the Forehead’ features some of the most evocative impressionist lyrics ever written about the war in Iraq. ‘The west’s asleep’, as she declares in the first line of Let England Shake, before attempting a wakeup call. Bearing in mind Polly Jean’s reputation as a visceral, abrasive artist, you’d expect the music itself to be equally violent, but that’s Let England Shake’s biggest surprise; it’s gorgeous. She draws influence from sources as disparate as folk, reggae and dreampop yet still maintains a consistent sound, and her guitars are melodic and infectious. Album highlight ‘The Words that Maketh Murder’ is propelled by clattering drums that are almost tribal. ‘Written on the Foreheads’ is awash with warm synths and based around a sample from Niney the Observer’s reggae classic ‘Blood and Fire’. If it doesn’t leave you involuntarily muttering “Blud, blud, blud and fi-yah” to yourself at the bus stop, then you may well be dead inside. It’s incredibly heartwarming to see an artist who many had written off coming back so strong. This makes Let England Shake that rarest of albums; the stone cold classic that no-one saw coming. Duncan Vicat-Brown
spring and although the sunshine is trying to beat the clouds away, its got to be said that this song was tailor made for August, not February. This song is perfect for 1am swaying at the back of the dance tent at a festival, but it being the soundtrack to your blustery walk home? Not so much. Great song, bad timing. Hana Lockier
The Naked and Famous found themselves on many ‘Hot for 2011’ lists, but unlike the others they seem to be earning their own fan base and not jumping the queue. It seems more than fair to say that ‘Young Blood’, taken from their album Passive Me, Aggressive You is, well...awesome. The band seems to have hit the electroindie-synth gene-pool jackpot, with vocals shadowing that of Bat for Lashes and the crunchy pop beats of MGMT. They have definitely mastered the melancholic sound of summer; with the twinkling synth pops and steady crash of drums lining the song, and the angelic vocals swaying nicely overhead. But hold the phone, its merely
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surface, the shortest song on the album but easily the most surreal. ‘Lotus Flower’ seems a strange choice to follow Feral but its melodic and methodical beat are the perfect comedown. Thom’s
It was announced earlier this year that Dave Grohl would be the recipient of NME’s ‘GodLike Genius’ Award for 2011. To be perfectly honest, it’s a judgement that most people would find it hard to argue with. The Animalesque sticks-man cum front man has been a key player in rock and pop over the past twenty years. Thing is, Foo Fighters, the group that Dave is best known for, have often been the weak link in his otherwise faultless chain of musical endeavours. Foos aren’t a bad band, by no means; you can’t fault them for their 3-minute singles output. Under the surface, however, you always got the impression that they were capable of something a lot ballsier than what they were bringing to the table; that there was a bit more, well, fight in the Foo Fighters. And that’s where ‘White Limo’ comes in. Released on February 14th, the new video
Vaughn Highfield
from the Foos might have made for the best Valentine’s Day since this editor ended up submerged in a pile of his own guts, thanks to George Romero’s Trilogy of the Dead and a bottle of Sailor Jerry. A lo-fi, videotaped homage to the excesses of 80’s hard rock flicks, it’s a four minute slice of deep fried awesome, replete with an appearance from everybody’s favourite Motörhead man (Lemmy, if you didn’t know). As a song, ‘White Limo’ is a riff-o-rama bitch kicker. Grohl’s gruff voice, always the guiding light in the band’s earlier output, is here transformed into the scream of a motherfucker. There’s no point in trying to decipher what in god’s name he’s saying. You just close your eyes, accept that it rocks, and play it again, louder. Always in danger of turning off onto the AOR highway, Dave and co. have taken the high road, and in the process created what could be the best rock track of 2011. GodLike Genius? You’re goddamn right! Alec Plowman
then charges into a verse propelled along by a bouncing guitar line that’s easily one of the most danceable things the band have ever released. Throw in a catchy chorus, featuring backing vocals for the first time in a Strokes song, and a cool guitar solo/ breakdown section and you have an exciting return from the New Yorkers. The most pleasing thing is that the energy and enthusiasm of the band’s early days still shines through, which bodes well for forthcoming album Angles. Jamie Lewis It’s been a long wait for fans of The Strokes to hear a new song from their favourite band. Their last single was released in 2006, with the band spending the intervening five years releasing solo albums, getting married and generally abusing their position as the most important band of a generation by not playing any music together. Many lesser bands would see their fanbase dissolve over such a period; not so The Strokes, as anticipation for their new single ‘Under Cover of Darkness’ demonstrates. The track has a definite classic-Strokesy feel, but with some significant differences. The song begins with Albert Hammond Jr. and Nick Valensi’s own version of Thin Lizzy’s synchronised twin guitar attack,
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The Strokes: Under Cover Of Darkness
CREATIVE WRITINg
Foo Fighters: White Limo
voice switches from high melodies to low flat planes effortlessly and this all adds to the brooding undertone of the album. ‘Codex’ joins the list next and starts with a build and a sudden cut off of Thom’s voice,
almost suggesting something was removed from the track suddenly. It then plummets into a soft piano piece that feels so much like ‘Videotape’ and ‘4 Minute Warning’ have had a lovechild. Next comes a hauntingly beautiful acoustic number, ‘Giving Up The Ghost’, that sounds more like something you would find on a Grizzly Bear album. This time the backing vocals take centre stage flowing in and out of Thom’s dreary lyrics with the repetition of “don’t hurt me” creating another instrumental layer to the slow strumming. Out of all the tracks on offer the final track, ‘Separator’, feels the most like the Radiohead everybody knows and loves. A steady drumbeat and vocals that sound they were recorded down a telephone, it feels light and eerie at the same time. Continually wanting to build up and blossom into something more complex, especially around the middle, it remains restrained and sounds all the better for it. The King of Limbs isn’t an album for everybody. It’s not even an album for many new Radiohead fans. Here you wont find the thumping beats of ‘There There’, the crisp guitar from ‘Optimistic’ or even the levels of fuzz found in ‘Bodysnatchers’. This isn’t the greatest Radiohead album and never will be, but when one takes their time out to listen to it, there isn’t any other Radiohead album as powerful and as moving as this one.
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Radiohead: The King Of Limbs
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On February 14th Radiohead announced The King of Limbs, and four days later it was in listeners hands, or at least hard drives. Clocking in at 37 minutes in length this is the shortest Radiohead album but it is easily the most startling, moody and fantastic album by the band in years. The name alone gives a heavy clue to what is about to come, with each track feeling like a disembodied limb from a different source; they sit comfortably next to each other but don’t feel like natural partners. On top of this Thom’s voice sounds airy and distanced from the music, but always sounds distinctly Thom. ‘Bloom’ is the first track on offer, harking back to the days of Amnesiac and Kid A with skittish beats and repeating piano segments. It builds slowly into a blurring soundscape that feels like a frantic ‘Motion Picture Soundtrack’. This is followed by ‘Morning Mr. Magpie’, sounding significantly different from the acoustic demo, with added layers of frantic distorted picking and only a remnants of the originals twangy acoustic riff; in its new guise it manages to get your feet tapping and evokes a sense of mystical fun. A moody track ‘Little By Little’ follows, not to be confused with Oasis’ song of the same name, this is an eerie testament to the Radiohead of old, showing signs of similarity but again removed from what we previously knew. ‘Feral’ then rears its head playing a hypnotising synthed drum beat with Thom’s ghostly whispering voice drifting over the
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CHASING STATUS? Following Chase and Status’ recent performance at Project’s opening night on Thursday, Ant Firth-Clark got some words from Saul giving an insight into the band’s rise on the scene, through to their position at the cutting edge of dance production...
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concrete.music@uea.ac.uk
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hase and Status have been at the forefront of electronic music for the past five years. They have represented and contributed to drum ‘n’ bass, grime, dubstep and various other urban dance genres. This article aims to summarise their career and what events led to their new album No More Idols and its commercial breakthrough. Here at Venue, we were also able to get hold of Saul from the duo to get his perspective on their movements. Their emergence to the circuit was borne through the drum ‘n’ bass scene; quickly getting picked up by RAM records (Andy C’s seminal label) and gaining hype through their grimy, urban, melody drenched sets. 2007 hits, and C&S unleash their double A-side dance chart topper ‘Hurt You/Sell Me Your Soul’ to mass appraise. Following this up with further singles including collaborations with Plan B and Kano, their production abilities were becoming a solid presence within the dark, seedy depths of UK electronica. Grasping at a mastery in production and a dominance within drum ‘n’ bass; they decided it was time to come out of nowhere and shock the turbulent, accelerating dubstep scene of early 2008 with their Asian music influenced ‘Eastern Jam’. Not only did this introduce an intelligent, more experienced form of production to the scene, it also, with the help of Plastician, picked up serious interest from the US, with Snoop Dogg laying down vocals over the top and dubbing it ‘Snoopdog Millionaire’. About this, Saul said “It was very surreal and we had to pinch ourselves when they first contacted us, but it has been a great thing for our profile and it opened a lot of doors for us.” Later in 2008, C&S released their debut album More Than Alot on their own label of the same name. It essentially tied up their “best of” to date and thus is quite the disjointed album, although Saul strongly expressed that “we never saw More Than Alot as tying up loose ends - it was where we were at the time and
represented what we were into and what we were doing musically.” On the back of it they lined up full UK tours and packed out live festival appearances including an all star cast of British MC’s. Six months later and the duo once again took the dubstep underground by storm; this time with the dub [unreleased track] ‘Bits’. A full-on, technically aggressive number which sent raves across the country loopy. Unfortunately, in 2010, record spinners were devastated to hear that they would never own this song: C&S sold the rights of it to Rihanna. When asked about it, Saul said “we had no intention on putting it out as it was always intended to be a backing track - Rihanna wanted it for her LP and it was a no brainer to do something off the wall like that with her. Working on Rated R was huge for our profile and a learning experience that was invaluable to us.” DJ’s and radio stations nationwide commenced the big push of their new single ‘Blind Faith’ featuring Liam Bailey, a soul singer discovered by Amy Winehouse. The immaculately produced, emotion ridden, pop-step single fiddles in needlessly uplifting crescendos; M-
People big mama style vocals; the lot. When asked about the single, Saul exclaimed that it “really encapsulates our love for the old rave scene, nostalgia and the memories that made us want to sit in a studio and make beats for a living.” The single was swiftly followed by their second full-length, No More Idols which made #2 of the UK album chart. The album hosts an all-star line up of guests including Plan B, Dizzee Rascal, Tinie Tempah, White Lies, Ceelo Green and hotly tipped Mercury Prize hopeful Clare Maguire. It’s a far more consistent album which exhibits a host of diverse genres which get blended into the dubstep format along with a trickle of d’n’b. The blatant commercial intentions of the duo are at the forefront of this album, displaying many pop sensibilities, big chorus led anthems, and featuring almost every industry backed artist of the current. But don’t be too quick to shrug this album off if a pop focus isn’t your thing. It might not be where the roots of dubstep is at, but it’s still got an intriguing appeal. At one point they’ve gate-crashed a Kyuss jam session; next they attempt a Portishead style which
melancholically drifts dubstep into further territories; and then they’ve chucked a 140 beat and ‘White Lies’ into a time machine and sent them back to understudy Tears for Fears. The status of this group has grown exponentially over the past few years. But are their new styles at risk of alienating the scenes that nurtured them from their grass roots upwards? Saul responded that “If popularity is going to alienate ‘purists’ then it doesn’t bother us in the slightest - we’ve been making dubs etc for these scenes since 2003 and still are today. If you wish to ‘hate’ on artists for growing, progressing and not writing the same song for a decade then you can’t be a loyal fan and are clearly suffering from tunnel vision.” But where would they have gone? They were at the brim of the underground and got offered the chance to actually see a financial return from all their hard work and talent. So why do we, the original music lovers, really care? Shouldn’t we be happy for them? Or are we all just bitter that we probably won’t have the opportunity to make money whilst living the dream? “To be honest with you, our lives haven’t changed much, as we as people haven’t changed… we’re the same two friends who started making music about a decade ago.” Chase and Status have chased, and have earned status; but they’ve done it post-years of graft and love. Their product has become commercial, but as they say: “People talk of underground music going mainstream being the demise of it, but if there’s a strong underground following as well as commercial interest then you really have the best of both worlds.” Even to the “purist”, their breaching of the mainstream might mean the effervescent death of the duo, but for what they’ve contributed over the years, flowers will be forever left by their grave.
All Photos by Ella Chappell
concrete.creativewriting@uea.ac.uk
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RICK WAKEMAN
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is so much I want to do, it’s just a question of if I can get it television music culture, it is the lack of desire to learn all in... Spike Milligan had written on his tombstone ‘I told amongst the contestants that has Rick riled. you I was ill’. I think on mine, it’ll say ‘it’s not fair, I’m not “If I hear one more person say “I’m 19 and this is all I finished yet.’” want to do, I’ve worked all my life for this”... I mean, you’re In his teenage years, Rick achieved a distinction rat- 19! I’m 61, I’ve been working all my life and I’m still learning in all eight piano grades before studying at Royal Col- ing... It’s a lot of jumped up kids who think they’ve got tallege, with whom he is still associated. These days, on top ent... I’ve always argued that if you’ve got talent, you’ll get of everything else, his is also a professor at the London through. I do not believe that there are people out there College of Music. The classical approach clearly had an with great talent who do not get heard. It’s amazing the impact on both his playing and his outlook. number of people who go on the talent shows and do quite “My father was a pianist, and a very clever man. When well, who have failed in other areas and go on TV and get I was quite young, he was very keen that I did my classi- that instant stardom. People think these days that it’s the cal training, and got involved in as many different musical only way to be a star. They’ve got it the wrong way round. styles as possible. From the age of about 12 I played in trad I’d love to hear somebody go on one of those shows and say jazz bands, modern jazz bands, country and western bands, “I want to be the best I can at what I do”. If you’ve got that dance bands, blues bands... I played in everything, just to attitude, you’ve got a reasonable chance of getting some get an experience of different kinds of music. kind of success.” My dad had a great analogy, where he compared learnOn tour at the moment with his “intimate evening ing music to being an author; “you can be an author and with Rick Wakeman” production, Rick shows no signs of have the most fantastic imagination, but if you only know curtailing his output anytime soon. He’s taking to the 1000 words, then that imagination is going to be limited by road with his former Yes colleague Jon Anderson later in those 1000 words. If you know 10,000 words, you can do the year, while simultaneously writing his fourth volume so much more with your imagination”. It’s the same with of autobiographical anecdotes. He’s even grabbed a premusic. There is only one training that will give you all the senting slot on the BBC’s Watchdog programme. I’m not words in the dictionary that you need to know, and that is saying that Rick is the most prolific artist on the planet. going through your grades.” That’s what I did, and I’m for- It’s just that if you were to find someone to one-up his ever grateful to him for it... you’re embarking on the world’s endeavours, it might take a journey to the centre of the longest apprenticeship course. You’re learning all the time.” earth. It’s this love for learning that permeates all of Rick’s An Evening with Rick Wakeman comes to endeavours, be they musical, televisiual or otherwise. St Andrew’s Hall on March 12th. Tickets are available from Indeed, when I query him about his reaction to reality www.ueaticketbookings.com
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rolific is a term that gets bandied around a lot when you’re talking about music. Sometimes you’ve got to wonder if it’s appropriate. Many would consider Prince or Neil Young prolific artists for putting out an album a year. Hell, the Metallicas and U2s of the world are being prolific if they release more than three discs per decade. It’s fair to say though, that the accolades ascribed to the aforementioned groups are completely inconsequential when you consider the work rate of Rick Wakeman. In 2010 alone, the keyboard wizard put out three records and a DVD. By his typical albums per annum rate, it was a quiet year. Rick Wakeman is a man with a work ethic. He is as driven in 2011 as he was a keyboardist for hire in early 70s London. Back in the day, Rick would play, on average, 18 sessions a week. His dedication shows through in the repeated attempts to reschedule this interview, which has previously been scuppered by the woefully inadequate parking facilities at UEA. As Rick puts it, “you’re more likely to get parked in Buckingham Palace than you are the University”. Having finally managed to grab a half an hour with the legendary “grumpy old rock star” (who contrary to his title is actually an incredibly affable chap), I question how he has managed to maintain such an unrelentingly high level of output. “It’s because I enjoy it. I love what I do and I love the diversity. I won’t say that every day is completely different, but certainly every day has something to it. The major problem for me is getting older. You realise that as you’re getting older, you’re getting dangerously close to a period of time where you might not be able to do it anymore... there
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Fighting against the DVLA, Filming Commitments and UEA’s ridiculously inadequate parking facilities, keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman nonetheless managed to grab a few words with Venue’s Alec Plowman in anticipation of his Norwich show on March 12th
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concrete.creativewriting@uea.ac.uk
Creative writing
For this issue, we invited poetry on the theme ‘White Lies’...
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A Short Story of 1,500 words Any theme welcome Please email your submissions to concrete.creativewriting@uea.ac.uk
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by 9th March Bangkok
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Ruby trimmed pillars frame the temples, air swims with oils of jasmine and thyme.
Motorway
White Lies
Outside persistent neon signs flash in smog filled streets, expectant eyes fishing out the fattest wallets
‘Words are just the things you say’ was not the thing to say to her watching cars go under the bridge,
Poetry that lies about Meaning, theme and rhyme, An echo of a thought once felt From a distant chunk of time.
Lime green leaves sizzle in salt on an open frame, flickering like conscience, sticky with garlic and oil
Words that forget what Their role it was to be They jumble and together slot In masked obscurity.
Hanoi
and come out the other side. That boy from Preston had called and made her mascara run. ‘Sometimes I wish I was still little when stupid boys didn’t matter and the only thing that hurt was grazing your knee’, which may have only been words, but acting like a kid can be fun. I gave her a shove and she pushed me back. I walked off and turned round and laughed seeing her spit at the cars below the bridge. That night, the news showed police tape flapping lamely over flowers with handwritten notes. James Foreman
Their beauty fades with every touch Of a new readers eyes For they read into words too much And do not realise That words are held together fast By structure, form and tone, That before these holed nets were cast They held truth in being alone.
Damp with sweat and steam from the street stalls, selling sticky sweet rolls of crispy sesame prawn that sticks to your lips and melts in the heat
Doneck Sewell
The smog of a thousand motors
Haiku
Sarah Morgan
You tell a white lie, and I am drawn again to your silvery tongue
In the Outback
Natalie Brown
Tuesday 8th March - Alice Oswald at UEA Literary Festival Alice Oswald will be reading from her collections Dart, which won the T. S. Eliot prize in 2002, and Woods etc. Her recent work includes A Sleepwalk on the Severn and Weeds and Wild Flowers, a collaboration with artist Jessica Greenman. From 7pm in LT1. Tickets are £6.
Echo of horns, a drum behind the eye lingers like chatter on the streets and the breeze that hangs heavy in the heart.
Creative Writing Events Monday 14th March - UEA Creative Writing Society present Sweet Charity
Monday 14th March - Cafe Writers with Moniza Alvi and Anna Reckin
As part of UEA’s first Charity Week (a week jammed pack full of events to raise money for the uni’s 8 charity societies) , the UEA Creative Writing Society are hosting a Spoken Word Night for Charity. From 8.00 on the 14th of March in the UEA Grad Bar, upstairs from The Hive.
Cafe Writers presents poetry from Moniza Alvi and Anna Reckin in their brand new venue in the upstairs function room at Take 5, 17 Tombland. Starts at 7:30. A voluntary donation of £2 is welcome. There are also opportunities to read from the floor.
Tuesday 15th March Norwich Poetry Club with Elvis McGonagall and John Osborne The Norwich Poetry Club presents two distinctly entertaining poets in the charming surroundings of The Handle Bar in The Bicycle Shop on St Benedict’s Street. Tickets are £5. The event begins at 7:30pm and will finish around 9pm.
If the stars had swapped themselves for our ones back home, would we even have noticed? We slept inside our swags and sleeping bags round the fire. Woken up before the moon sets down, we have time before it is light to check our bags, check our water, check our minds, check our selves. The morning horizon is a rising rainbow, whipping away the cool stiff breeze and replacing it with what we please: sun and fun and bacon rolls as we are temporary kings and queens in this dry and arid land Rory Gale
* Pimps N Ho’s - LCR - 10pm (£3.50adv) * Darwin Deez - The Waterfront - SOLD OUT * Richard Alston Dance Company 2011 Theatre Royal (2 nights only) - 8pm (£5.50-
(Piano) - The Assemby House - 1pm (£4)
£18.50)
Saturday 12th
Wednesday 2nd
* Film - Buried - LT1 - 7:30pm (£2.80) * An Evening of Fashion and Beauty - A Charity Fashion Show - Jarrolds (£10) * Angelos Epithemiou and Friends - LCR 7pm (£16.50) * The Foam Party Is Back! - Mercy (free admission with flyer before 11:30pm)
Friday 4th
* Funked Up Warehouse Sessions : Sandy Rivera - LCR - 10pm (£10-£12) * Film - Burke and Hare - LT1 - 7:30pm
Saturday 5th
* Jethro 2011 - Theatre Royal - 7:30pm (£5.50-£18.50)
Sunday 6th
* The Storyteller - Theatre Royal 2:30pm/7pm (£5.50-£15)
Monday 7th
* KT Tunstall - LCR - 7:30pm (£20) * Sonic Arts 62 - Trio Scordatura: featuring Bob Gilmore - UEA School of Music 7:30pm (£4-£7) * DJ Fresh - Project - 10pm (£3.75adv)
Tuesday 8th
* Wild Wild West - LCR - 10:30pm (£3.50) * Alice Oswald: UEA Literary Festival - LT1 - 6:30pm (£6)
Wednesday 9th
Sunday 13th
* International Party - LCR - 7pm (£4.50) * Goodnight Mister Tom - Theatre Royal (runs until 12th) 7pm (£10-£16.50)
* The Wombats - LCR - SOLD OUT * That’ll be the Day 2011 - Theatre Royal 7:30pm (£5.50-£22) * Early Spring Walk - Fairhaven Woodland
Thursday 10th
and Water Garden
* Film - Samson & Delilah - LT1 - 7:30pm (£2.80) * Flor de Muerto - The Playhouse - 7pm (£8-£10)
Monday 14th
* Beoga - Norwich Arts Centre - 8pm (£9£11)
tV
Thursday 3rd
Benjamin Francis Leftwich, the up-and-coming British acoustic ace brings his UK tour to Norwich
* An Evening with Rick Wakeman - St Andrews Hall - 7:30pm (£26.50) * The Big Ballet - The Playhouse 2:30pm/7:30pm (£16.50-£19.50) * The A List + Harmony - LCR - 10pm (£4.50) * No Strings Boogaloo Burlesque - Norwich Arts Centre - 8pm (£10)
The eagerly anticipated opening night of Project nightclub was finally upon us, and with a lot of hype to live up to, Venue thought it should pop along and see what all the fuss was about. Situated on the Riverside complex, it is not the usual location for an aspiring club, most favouring Prince of Wales Road or more recently around the Tombland area. However, Luminar Leasure Ltd - who owns a large number of club franchises across the UK including Oceana and Liquid - wanted to remain where their history was, sticking with the original location of Lava Ignite. After a 2.5 million pound refurbishment plan and two and half years of construction the club opened its door to the VIP’s of Norwich on Thursday 24th of February. Arguably one of the largest club venues in the city and boasting three separately themed rooms, a lot was expected of this opening night. So as to not disappoint, the club was due to hire Professor Green to headline the event, but who had to drop out last minute due to prior engagements. Undeterred, Project hired DJ duo Chase & Status along with DJ EZ to set the atmosphere in the club,
which proved popular with the guests. General Manager Jon Jackson sought to not only make Project a successful nightclub, but also an “entertainment venue for anyone who loves music”. The main part of the club is entitled Project One, and is adorned with colour changing tables, an entirely mirrored DJ booth and contemporary design throughout it truly is a far cry from the usual Norwich club décor. The dance floor is accompanied by a private VIP room and The Chill Bar, so there really is an area to suit every taste and requirement within one room. The theme running throughout is that of contemporary modernism, with unique graffiti style artwork on the walls and floor to ceiling mirrors, it is aesthetically uniquely compared to many other clubs. As well as it being open as a nightclub venue, Project One will also be hosting Jongleurs Comedy, Britain’s largest comedy night, every Friday and Saturday; and Propaganda, the UK’s biggest Indie night with guest DJ’s such as Gregg James, Lily Allen and The Kaiser Chiefs, every Friday night. Along the corridor you will find Project Live, an arena perfectly suited and designed
CREATIVE WRITINg
FRIDAY NIGHT PROJECT
A sneak preview of the main dance floor at the all new, multi-million pound club Project as a venue for bands and gigs; complete with bar, dance floor and ample seating. Project Live will be hosting “Norwich Rocks”, a showcase of live bands and local talent, intermingled with interval DJ sets, every Saturday night. Finally, the Go Go Karaoke room is specially designed with touchscreen technology so you can be your
own DJ and choose which song to sing along to next! With an impressive drinks menu including real ales on tap, fishbowls and shot paddles, every taste bud should also be accommodated whatever you choose to do at Project.
Georgina Wade
ARTS
* Reel Big Fish - The Waterfront - 7:30pm (£14.50) * Tom Stade Live - The Playhouse - 8pm (£10-£12)
LISTINGS
* Film - Politist, Adj - LT1 - 7:30pm (£2.80) * Benjamin Francis Leftwich - The Marquee - 8pm (£6) * Soapbox Debut - Norwich Arts Centre 8pm (£5) * Katy Lower (Flute) and Briony Roper
Tuesday 1st
COMEDY
Friday 11th
FILM
March -
MUSIC
YOUR GUIDE TO WHAT’S GOING ON IN NORWICH
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01mar11 ISSUE 253
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1: Xbox game (4) 2: Too small to be detected (13) 3: Doubter (7) 4: A horse’s fast walk(5) 5: Magnificent (13) 6: Steadfast person (13) 12: Natural illumination (8) 14: Largest (7) 17: Lawful (5) 20: Tramps like us, baby we were ____ to run (5)
WIN Silver-tongued lothario Levi Roots will be coming to the LCR on Thursday 24th March. With a show that fuses live Reggae music, culinary demonstrations, inspirational speeches, not to mention a complimentary goody-bag for every ticket holder, you would have to be a fool to miss out on this experience. To be in with a chance of winning a pair of tickets, all you have to to is bring your completed crossword to the Concrete office by 3pm on Monday 21st March. Name:
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