Student Eye Award winning college magazine
In this issue..
Also inside: • Tall Ships 2008 • Plus Size Models • US Election • Credit Crunch
Autumn 08 Issue 18
Contents
Editor’s letter...
Black History Achievers Awards P3 Cutting out Knife Crime P4-6 A Sense of Achievement P7 The US Election P8 Credit Crunch Crisis P9 LGBT Month P10-11 Football Game Injury P12 Healthy Eating P13 Tall Ships P14-15 Plus Size Models P16 Learner Services P17
Welcome to the Autumn term issue of the Student Eye magazine! I’d like to say thanks to the writers for making this issue one of the most interesting and intriguing we’ve ever had. We have a great piece on the shocking culture of knife crime, plus a look at the credit crunch and some great reviews of books and bands. I’d like to thank Laura Roche for the endless effort she has put into the magazine; shifting the articles from emails in her inbox to the final magazine. Good luck Laura in your new job as a Learning Mentor! Finally good luck to everyone sitting their January exams! Emma Edwards. Student Editor
Biennial P18 Book Review P19 The Mystery Jets P20
The Student Eye Team Editor: Emma Edwards Senior Features Writer: Shaun Best Design & Production: L Roche, A Cottenham Writers: Jamaan Deng, Sophie Worrall, Leila Oueslati, Abby Caulfield, Adam Scovell, Trudy Collins.
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Black History Achievers Awards 2008 October marked the beginning of Black History Month celebrations which have been celebrated across the UK for over 30 years, particularly in Liverpool which has one of the oldest black communities. Due to Liverpool’s involvement in the Slave Trade, there has been a huge population of black people for over 250 years. On the 25th October, we celebrated the Black History Achievers Awards 2008. A time when we highlight and celebrate the achievements of Liverpool’s black community. Nomination categories such as education, business, creativity, community and many more were recognised for their hard work and for the improvements each made to the city.
Josh Terry, who won the Male Achiever Of The Year Award, is part of “L8-Create” an organisation which does a lot of commercial work, using the money they make and putting it back into the community. He stated that working and gaining recognition in the community you live in is a lot better than any other award! Some of the other winners included Maxine Brown, who won the Female Achiever Award and Louis Juineene who received the Lifetime Achievers Award. Each of these individuals have taken their time and effort and put it into the community. Everyone’s spirits were high and it is believed that the Black History Achievers Awards will be around in many years to come, sending strong and powerful messages to the youth of today.
Each one of these categories holds a strong message for each of the winners. Gregory Sheen won the Education Award for overcoming obstacles to achieve success. He quoted that he believes attending and taking part in this event shows that there are, “diamonds in the rough” around areas of Liverpool. He showed that stereotypes of Liverpool as a dead end city are not true and that the city is changing; growing in potential and talent. Karen Gallagher won the creative sector award including entertainment, media or art and Yaw Owusu triumphed in the
business sector awards.Siddi Majubah, who currently lives in Kensington is the founder of a sports tournament that has brought 20 different backgrounds and cultures together. Siddi who when he first moved to Kensington, called it a “predominantly white area” has influenced the diversity we have today.
To watch the full event, log on to:
www.itvlocal.com
where you can see what the winners have to say about each of the awards and find out about views of the event as a whole. 3
By Leila Oueslati
CUTTING OUT K By Senior Features Writer Shaun Best
More and more people are becoming victims of Britain's growing knife culture, as it slices through the country at an alarming rate. Misguided youths wrongly believe that carrying a knife makes them safer, when in actual fact it can be fatally used against you in conflict. Merseyside is currently one of the ten highspots which accounts for 70% of knife violence in the UK. (The other places being Lancashire, Greater Manchester, London, West Midlands, West Yorkshire, Essex, Thames Valley, South Wales and Nottinghamshire.) In July of this year, the Guardian released the 2007-08 figures for recorded knife offences, compiled by UK Police Regions. Merseyside had 757 recorded offences. The average for England and Wales was 515. Accident and Emergency services in Liverpool are currently dealing with an average of one stab victim a day.The Home Office have provided an undisclosed amount of funding to the Community Foundation for Merseyside. Through grants and police backing, youth groups across Merseyside will be educated in an effort to curb knife crime. The Liverpool Echo is also backing the Merseyside Young Transformers
programme which will run anti-knife poster campaigns and provide mentoring to wayward youths. Liverpool Train stations have also installed metal detection arches with random bag searches also being conducted. Cathy Elliott, assistant chief executive of the Community Foundation for Merseyside, said: "This new support from the Home Office is great news...We can work with young people and community groups and together look at solving the problem." It certainly is a problem that needs addressing. On Monday 20th October, teenage army cadet, Joseph Lappin, 16, became the latest victim of a senseless unprovoked attack. He was stabbed through the heart outside Shrewsbury House Youth Club in Langrove Street, Everton after being chased by a gang of 15 people. Joseph's friend, 17-year-old Callum Naden, was also knifed in the chest, but he survived, thanks to his ribs. On the same day, pop singer and recent host of the MTV Europe Music Awards, Katy Perry was exposed posing with a flick knife against her face, by the Sun newspaper, who labelled her an 'idiot'. Despite
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professing she's "against all violence" and re-doing the pose with a giant spoon, Katy has sent out the wrong message to impressionable young kids. Retailer TK Maxx have also been caught selling jackets with a concealed 2.5 inch blade on a chain, hidden in the hood. Following a barrage of complaints and media coverage, the jackets have now been withdrawn from sale. On the heels of these recent cases, tougher measures have now been implemented for knife offenders. In addition to offenders being brought face-to-face with the families of stab victims, a specialist dedicated knife court has been set up at Liverpool magistrates. In a stark warning to deter further attacks, a leading judge has warned that people caught carrying knives can expect to be locked up.
3 Page special
"The courts must do everything possible to send out a clear message that those who carry knives in public, unless the circumstances are truly exceptional, can expect to go to custody immediately," said Judge Mark Brown.
The Home Office echo this statement. A spokesperson added,
"No-one should be in any doubt of the consequences of carrying a knife. If you do so, you are now much more likely to get caught. When you're caught, you're more likely to be prosecuted. And if found guilty, you’re more likely to go to prison.�
Knife Crime Continued....
Know the law.... • It is illegal for anyone to carry a knife if they intend to use it as a weapon – even in self defence. • Police can search anyone they suspect of carrying a knife • Carrying a knife could mean being arrested, going to court and getting a criminal record, or even a prison sentence • By carrying a knife you have a false sense of security. You could be arming your attacker and you increase the risk of being stabbed or injured yourself. Not carrying a knife and walking away from confrontation is what the vast majority do. It’s the tougher option and means you’ll be safer from serious harm and won’t be breaking the law.
Your Views Richard Buxton, 21
“Come down heavy on
offenders. Adopt a three strike rule on possession. Two warnings then you’re charged.” Rachael Niklas, 22 “More of a focus needs to start from the streets. Kids need more drive and focus than they have now.” Dan Machin, 21 “Metal detectors should be put into all nightclubs.” Michael Kettiros, 23 “Police should set-up portable metal detectors by Concert Square, especially on a Saturday night.”
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A Sense Of Achievement Life treats us all differently, but the same if looked at closely. At a certain point, after a lot of despair and life experiences, each one of us gets something we can fall back on and acknowledge that it was worth a try.
It’s worth noting that goals cannot be achieved without people who have your best intentions at heart being there for you. Who has ever won an Oscar and didn’t thank their team on the podium?
Sometimes it can be as simple as someone you thought would never notice you, winking at you or even going the extra mile and smiling at you! Or getting accepted in a place or position you least expected to attain. To others, it’s about finding their parents or as a parent, finding their children after a long, uneventful search. For example, my fellow Sudanese, Simon Lok, had an emotional reunion when 10 years after founding wife’s body lying in the mud, riddled with bullets and thinking has sons were also dead from militia fighters attacking their village; he found his sons.
For me, I dedicate my GCSE grades to the likes of my Godmother, Marie, my ever present mentor, Lisa, my sweet girlfriend, big sister Mairead, my favorite teachers Ray Fitzsimmons, Jane White and Mohammed Shaafi and the rest of the crew. These are people who convinced me that I amounted to something when I thought I was destined for nothing. And now, even though I don’t have a “whole record” yet, at least I possess a small pile of happiness and a modest destiny.
Working hard for something is absolutely amazing and no-one reaches their aspirations without overcoming certain bumps along the path. They are often pursued by leaving behind things that mean dear to you at that time. Like spending time with friends or playing your new Nintendo DS games. When you have achieved that aspiration though you look back and can feel like the cheeky, smiling dog from the Churchill adverts “OOH YES”! Even those who never took you seriously begin to see you as a smart, cute and humble human 7 being.
By Jamaan Deng
The US Election
When talking to fellow students about the American election, I’ve been quite shocked at how uninteresting a topic it seems to be to them, when really, this is something that affects the whole world. Barack Obama being president rather than John McCain will most definitely affect our country.
winning the election is most definitely best for health of the environment. Maybe with this new environmentally friendly policy, America are also more likely to sign up to the Kyoto agreement, something that the current administration has neglected and failed to do.
One of Obama’s winning policies is to withdraw troops from Iraq as soon as possible. With our troops being there too, would this mean a full on withdrawal of all troops or would this leave us there to pick up the pieces? John McCain on the other hand fully supports the continuing use of troops in Iraq and as he is a Vietnam veteran, this is hardly surprising. With the Democrats being a more “left wing” party too, it is also not surprising that the environment is high up on Obama’s list of things to sort out. He has vowed to reduce greenhouse gases and invest in alternative fuels and renewable energy.
This is not to say that I think Obama is the going to make the perfect president. With quite a few of his moral decisions being based on his Christian up bringing; he is opposed to both abortion and same sex marriage. McCain also shares these beliefs and both are supporters of anti-abortion groups.
John McCain’s policy has been one of “dig, dig, dig”, with him promising oil companies a four billion dollar tax break if he got into power. With that in mind, it is safe to say that Obama
From January 09 the world will change. It may be gradual but it will happen. With the last eight years being rather chaotic thanks to the Bush administration. Quoting the Labour win in the U.K in 1997, “things can only get better”.
By Adam Scovell
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Credit Crunch Crisis!
The economic stability of the U.K, America and other countries is, at this moment, in a crisis that has been brought about by greed and self-interest. For the time being, the taxpayer is footing the bill for the mistakes of fat cat bankers taking on investments that were chancy to say the least. These investments have blown right up in their faces and in our pockets. Being young though, we as a whole have not been truly affected by this credit crunch because we are still students and do not have a mortgage or shares. We will feel this in the future though, when as first time buyers of property, it will be virtually impossible, with the debt we will eventually come out of university with, to get on the first rung of the property ladder.
Some of the biggest banks of the world have been hit by it and, in some cases, are the cause of it. Northern Rock was caught out of its deals when the money market clogged up. Before this, banks have been offering loans of a hundred and twenty per cent, and mortgages had been sold in very complicated and
difficult to understand packages which meant few people really knew their actual value. The U.K government then stepped in and bailed Northern Rock out, at a cost to the taxpayer. In America, Mac and Mae built up debts of one point six trillion dollars which the US government ‘under writ’ making it the biggest ever nationalisation. Lehman brothers then went bust in the biggest ever bankruptcy throwing the Stock Market into a frenzied panic. With this carelessness being shown in some of the world’s biggest banks, the economy is now in pieces with people finding blame in whatever they can. Rising oil prices being one and the Labour government being the other (if you’re conservation that is). With all this to consider for the future of our financial well being, it’s made me realise that I might be better off putting my money under the mattress!
By Adam Scovell
So What’s
LGBT History Month?
When I asked friends and family what they thought of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender History I was surprised to find that not many people had heard of it. After hours of research, I discovered the source for the lack of knowledge - Legislation (Section 28) passed in 1988; the legislation reinforcing the silencing of LGBT (even in a democratic society). In particular, restricting the debate of homosexuality in schools. However in 2003, the legislation was repealed, which directly links with what LGBT month is and why we celebrate it. It is designed to introduce the history, once veiled under secrecy, into schools across Britain and allow children to embrace and understand diversity within the nation. With the topic being overlooked by the education system and the National Curriculum it means that the majority of the nation deems members of the LGBT society to be different and to be rebelling against the ‘norms’ of society. It has left a whole nation unaware of the LGBT society and its surrounding events. Therefore it is the aim of ‘Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender’ History Month
celebrated in the UK and Northern Ireland to embrace the diversity and once hidden culture for the 5th year running. It aims to ‘celebrate the lives and achievements of the LGBT community’and to ‘encourage the recognition of diversity and cultural pluralism’ and to ‘endeavour to reflect this’ during the celebrations in February. Lesser known than the existence of LGBT month are the famous and inspirational LGBT people whom have been celebrated globally and nationally for their contribution to art, music, entertainment, politics, religion, science and sport. Due to the hostility shown towards this form of diversity however, we held no knowledge of their contributions to the society and some of the individuals themselves who are either lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Dusty Springfield is renowned not only for her music but for publically admitting her attraction to people of the same sex at a time when diversity within sexuality was met with hostility in the UK. Another inspirational contributor to the LGBT community is Alan Ball, creator of acclaimed TV series ‘Six 10
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www.lgbthistorymonth.org.uk
to read more on its history and events and to get ideas on how to celebrate the event yourself and to spread the word.
By Emma Edwards
Recognise these famous LGBT faces?
Football Game Injury FANS of Football Management simulations rejoiced when the much hyped 2009 edition of Football Manager was released in midNovember for PC, Mac and PSP. Developers ‘Sports Interactive’ have worked hard in collaboration with publishers SEGA to provide a host of new features and make the gameplay even more realistic. As well as updated competitions and broader interaction with staff and players, a more realistic finance model has been introduced for clubs at all levels. Another first sees the introduction of a Female Manager option. When this option is chosen, the game text is automatically transferred to represent the new gender.
Due to the sheer volume and size of the data required, the game has had to be released as a DVD. It needs to be registered online via a unique code before it can be played. This is a move to try and beat piracy. It’s this concept which has brought about a few teething problems in the early stages, which have caused headaches amongst the games staff and fans. In terms of registering the game, many buyers have found themselves locked out due to verification issues. From codes not being accepted to the users not being detected as being online, many disgruntled fans have spent hours downloading codes, patches and getting nowhere.
Angry outbursts have been published on social networking site Facebook, while SEGA and Sports Interactive have been flooded with complaints and phone calls. People have been returning games to get refunds or new copies of the game, in order to try new verification codes. Games retailer Gamestation is just one of the stores who have suffered from an influx of game return and swap requests from annoyed buyers. Stephen Hadwin, 22, from Liverpool is just one of the many disillusioned gamers, “I am disgusted by the lack of help from SEGA itself” he said. The longer gamers don’t get a solution, and with Pro Evolution Soccer and FIFA 2009 thriving on the market, fans will simply put in a transfer request and pit their soccer skills elsewhere.
By Shaun Best (Senior Features Writer)
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Bidding Farewell to 2008 Welcome to 2009! But have you already got with the January blues? Christmas has gone and so has all the money (what did I even spend it on?). I leave the house most mornings trying to juggle my umbrella, a growing pile of books and folders whilst getting strangled by my scarf, not to mention keeping my balance on the ice! I arrive at college to hear other people preaching the same thing in one way or another: ‘college life is boring and monotonous.’ There seems no light at the end of this tunnel full of exams, revision, stress and more exams; and I’m constantly wondering why I don’t join the growing cult of those just giving up completely and dropping out of all the stress and constant work. My mantra, however, has become ‘don’t lose sight of what I want.’ January can seem the least motivating, most stressful and boring time of year when it’s easy to lose sight of what you wanted back in September and give up on reaching your aspirations. The same routine everyday is completely soul destroying and the prospect of a full time job with money for the weekend becomes more and more appealing. Remember though College is what you make it, and it’s the job of the Enrichment Team to fill the gaps and help you to turn college life into more of an experience. Rather than sitting in the canteen during breaks or moping round town spending unnecessary money (that you don’t have anyway!) there are groups and activities you could take part in which cater for a wide range of interests and hobbies. You’ll be
pleasantly surprised with the effect they can have on your college life and overall college experience and they’ll provide the much needed break from all the work and stress which in the long run will help you keep sight of your aspirations. Throughout January and February for 2008, the Enrichment Team are running various projects and events in and around the numerous college sites. These include: • Stand-up comedy project • music studio project • photography project • cartoon illustration project • cookery project • college magazine • plus much, much more All to nurture, enhance and help us to develop new skills. Then to help keep us active and fit there is martial arts, bollywood dancing and aerobics. This all contributes towards your personal statement for university applications and your CV, as well as enhancing team work, social and organisation skills. So it’s more than worth it, either by yourself or with your friends. Whatever you do or don’t choose to get involved with just don’t lose sight of your goals and where you want to be in the future!
Email: giveitago@liv-coll.ac.uk
By Emma Edwards
Tall Ships 2008
Tall Ships. By the mere allusion of the two words, a whole flurry of myriad sensations fill the air; colossal masts and billowing sails are pictured adorning the cities skyline whilst the ships crews set themselves up for exciting adventures, new experiences and unforgettable memories. The event of the summer was certainly unforgettable for the one million people who headed to the cities Wellington and Albert Docks to see the vessels lining the quayside docks, but even more memorable for former LCC student Steven Brooks who spent 11 days of his summer, as a crew member.
Steven was asked by the college; the only requirements were dedication, determination and being able to raise money to support the journey. Steven raised £200 to be able to take part, however he advised that anyone desiring to get involved should visit the website www.tallships.com and read more about the opportunity before making any snap decisions. The journey which was described as the “best social experience of his life” commenced in London on the 9th July, after a short stop in Ireland. The Stavros S Niarchos headed homeward (for Steven) and arrived at Liverpool’s Wellington Dock on the
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The Stavros S Niarchos anchored at the Wellington Dock along with 8 other ships. One of which had been sailing for three years with a permanent crew.When asked about the Parade of Sails Steven described This was certainly no holiday though, it as “amazing and a fantastic event which showcased the city’s historical Steven told me that the gruelling hours of hard work lasted for around docks really well.” It gave people a 20 hours per day. Steven advised that real sense of imagination for anyone considering the opportunity of Liverpool’s docks in their golden days, with the luckiest of the a lifetime would need determination, spectators being given a personal a good attitude and above all social tour of the ships. skills as the Stavros consisted of around 59 members of crew including Overall Steven described the 6 permanent staff, the Captain and experience as being a lot of hard Second Mate. work for himself and the other crew members, but it most certainly paid Sleeping arrangements were 8 lads off leaving Steven with one of the to one dorm and the sleeping area most unforgettable experiences of his was simply a bed, cabinet and a life. His only regret was not small space sufficient to just about being able to get more time off work shuffle around in. I was surprised to to continue on the journey to Norway. discover that the chef was top class By Emma Edwards and his food was nothing less than 18th July staying for three days. When asked about the experience on a whole, Steven described it as “thoroughably enjoyable and a good laugh” .
top notch; serving a variety of amazing standard food daily.
The most exciting part of the Tall Ships for me as the spectator was the Parade of Sails (the ships were docked from the 18th – 20th July 2008) where the ships notoriously adorned Liverpool’s Docks.
Plus Size Models
By Trudy Collins Forget Twiggy I want to see curvy! “on the catwalk”. Size 16 is the average British weight. So why does the media make the majority of women feel bad about themselves? In terms of magazines, we should be looking at the fashion, but end up looking at the models. Promotion of larger women is more realistic, and could help people with body confidence issues. The fashion industry has made almost skeletal size zero models a brand. Slight changes have been put in place to end this unhealthy trend. Size zero has been banned in Madrid and Milan, while models that were too skinny were not hired for London fashion week.
In the year 2000, we saw Sophie Dahl step onto the scene, this was a controversial yet refreshing change. Curves were seen back on the catwalk though her six foot size 14 silhouette, Karl Lagerfeld and Jean-Paul Gaultier seized this opportunity to show a more natural size woman. As a child Sophie suffered with depression and anorexia, this could have led to her losing her curvaceous figure once immersed in the world of fashion. With stylists not being able to find clothes to fit her womanly figure, she was often pinned into clothes. Chloe Marshall was a finalist in Miss England 2008 and caused much controversy with her size 16 natural curvy figure. Her body did stand out next to the very slim competion for the crown, however this should not be portrayed as negative. People like Chloe show that stereotypes can be broken and you can be what you want to be. Being underweight is just as detrimental to our health as being over weight, so why are we promoting size zero? I think we should promote size 10/12 as the ideal weight. In my opinion there are good and bad points on this subject, but I do know we need to see more:
‘Realistic figures inflencing our fashion world’..... .....What’s your opinion?
16
E-mail with your comments to: giveitago@liv-coll.ac.uk
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Service with a Smile! LEARNER SERVICES are a
team of Career and Learning Advisers based at each of the five main sites offering impartial careers and education advice and guidance to current learners and external enquirers. Opening times are: 9:30 to 4:15 Mon to Thur 9:30 to 12 Fri
Q. How do you help learners who are unsure about a career? A. Enquirers can drop in and
obtain information and advice from any of the centres at any time. For more in depth guidance they can book a guidance interview which will last for about thirty minutes and help to focus their career aims. They will be given an action plan to help them plan their next steps.
Q. What if someone doesn't have the required grades for a course? A. Courses are offered from basic
to degree level within the college. We help learners identify a realistic course choice that is appropriate to their level and that could lead them on to the career path they want.
Q. Can you help with University applications? A. Yes we visit all level 3 learners
across college and supply them with guides on how to use the UCAS Application system. We help them register and encourage them to research their chosen universities and attend open days. We stock local university prospectuses and offer expert advice on personal statement writing. We ensure that all forms have been checked by a Career and Learning Adviser before they are sent to UCAS.
Q. What financial help can you offer students? A. We offer welfare
appointments which can be made in person or by telephone. An appointment lasts around twenty minutes and enables us to identify any support you may be entitled to. This may include Education Maintance Allowance, Adult Learning Grant, College Hardship Fund, Family Welfare Association or HE Finance. By Shaun Best
Biennial Liverpool Biennial is the UK’s largest international festival of contemporary visual art. This year’s exhibition ‘Made Up’ explored imagination. Almost half the exhibition took place in public spaces across the city. ‘F.A.C.T’ focused on the power of the mind to make up meaning; art that suspends disbelief. The Bluecoat explored imagined futures; individual and collective. Open Eye Gallery considered the ambiguous territory between the real and the unreal. Tate Liverpool presented the work of 10 artists. There was a wide range of art, via the medium of painting, drawing, photography, sculpture and video. Some personal favourites included the very unusual monochrome ‘Botanical Bugs and
Beetles’ by Pamela Cooke. She created her pictures using a technique which involves lots of dots called pointillism. The artist chose only to work in monochrome using pen and ink to represent the subjects in an unexpected manner; some may see it as taking away from the beauty of the subject. However, Cooke believes that this makes viewers look more closely and understand the make up of the subject as well as being able to see it in a way that it would not usually be shown. Another of my favourites was the very unusual self portraits by Helene Marie
Gilmour. These included a portrait of her in Victorian costume in white and very bold colours. “Creating these self portraits was like playing dress up with less mess” Gilmour said. My final favourite was the Fantasy Studio Project, which provided an insight into seven Korean contemporary artists. Yongbaek Lee presented a mirror sculpture, which was really interesting. By some advanced digital technique, the huge mirror looks as though it cracks as you stand in front of it! The Biennial was a major success for Liverpool in its Capital of Culture year. If you missed this years Biennial be sure to pay a visit next year!
By Sophie Worrall
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The Shack by William P.Young This book uses the fictional abduction and murder of a child to ask the question so many have asked before; if there is a God, why is there so much evil in the world? It is a delicate subject and it is unlike anything I have ever read before, it comes under a category which I am not very familiar with. However, it intrigued me and that’s the reason I picked it up and read it in two days. Admittedly it is only around 250 pages but it makes for an unconventional and almost bizarre read, which I liked. I have quite contradictory feelings on it however. The book starts with a foreword from the author, who tells us that this novel is about his friend Mack who asked him to ghost write his story. Mack’s youngest daughter Missy is abducted and killed while the family are on a camping trip in Oregon. It’s quite slow to start up until this point. Four years later Mack receives a letter apparently from God ( called Papa) inviting Mack back to the shack where his daughter was murdered, when Mack arrives he is met by God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit (known as Sarayu) whose
aim is to heal Mack’s pain. Basically he spends a rather out of the ordinary weekend with the trio walking on water, enjoying God’s cooking and gardening with the Holy Spirit. The story is thought provoking and poignant as well as being controversial. You will either love it or hate it. Some will point out the theological errors in the book or will not like it because it messes with their mental picture of what God might actually be like. Others will say that this novel is full of sickly sweet religious sentimentalism. Despite being a bit syrupy at times, this is a well written and brave first novel from the author and as I have previously mentioned, it is unlike anything I have ever read before. I have conflicting views on this book. Also, throughout the book the religious references are about as subtle as a sledgehammer. However, I actually enjoyed its unusual qualities and Mack’s journey is certainly an interesting one. 19
By Sophie Worrall
The Mystery Jets The Mystery Jets played a Halloween Horror Ball at Nation as part as Liverpool MTV music week on 31st October 2008. The concert, which was part of the Bestival Reunion tour and also boasted Kissy Sell Out, The Presets and The Cuban Brothers, saw gig goers invited to come in fancy dress, which many did. The joker from the latest Batman film ‘The Dark Knight’ being the most popular choice. In keeping with the theme of fancy dress for Halloween, the Mystery Jets arrived on the smoky stage dressed in sparkly tops, with drummer, Kapil Trivedi, sporting a storm trooper helmet. The Mystery Jets dropped band member, Henry Harrison, from their live line up and without Blaine’s dad overseeing things, certain members indulge in a little bit more rock posturing that has been witnessed at previous shows! Now a quartet, they parade through treats from the second album including the beautiful ‘Flakes’ which demonstrates they’ve not lost what makes them special. The band stuck largely to songs from their new album ‘21’ which has a more youthful, poppy, retro sound. ‘Diamonds in the dark’ was the only track played from debut album ‘Making dens’. The set opened with the obligatory WWII air raid sirens and spotlights before the boys launched into ‘Hideaway’, track one
of the new record. More songs followed including the single ‘Young Love’, with lead singer Blaine Harrison singing the part of Laura Marling, as well as crowd pleaser ‘Two doors down’ with its throwback to the retro sounds of 80s synth.‘Half In Love with Elizabeth’ really exhibited Blaine’s distinctive and haunting voice. Perched on his little stool, he’s the star of the show, behind his keyboard, he sings with his head up through his curls in a voice louder than he is large. They stormed through their 8 song set and although excellent, it leaves the crowd wanting more, as they anxiously wait for an encore; except there isn’t one! This disappointment is relatively short-lived as in true Mystery Jets fashion the set was so charming it’s difficult not to have a smile on your face. Even with the absence of Henry Harrison, and the emphasis on the second record, the Mystery Jets still provide a perfectly formed slice of their own folksy pop-punk. By Abby Caulfield