www.thecourieronline.co.uk Monday 9 February 2015 Issue 1305 Free
6TheMUSIC FESTIVAL only preview you need for the biggest festival Tyneside’s ever seen p. 31
The Independent Voice of Newcastle Students
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HIGH SEAS We review the best dishes
How video games are changing the way we treat disease p. 35
to treat your munchies on the Amsterdam ferry p.17
Where does your £9000 go? Uni publishes expenditure breakdown Disclosure follows SU Council call for greater transparency on fee use SU President: Students want assurance of value for money
By Charlie Dearnley News Editor Following the calls from the Students’ Union Council, the University has published a breakdown of its yearly income and expenditure, showing that student fees account for 41% of its income. At a Council meeting on Wednesday 5 February, a motion was unanimously passed that called for the University to publish financial information online. The information covers the income and expenditure for the fiscal year, and subsequently explains what students’ £9000 tuition fees are spent on, and how much of Newcastle University’s overall income they make up. For the fiscal year beginning 1 August 2013, and ending 31 July 2014, tuition fees make up the largest percentage of the University’s income constituting 41% of the overall income. Out of the £438,463,000 of income over the year, tuition fees account for roughly £179,876,000. The rest of the money comes from government funding grants, funding for research projects, income from residences and catering, and income from investments. The University’s investments only make up roughly 1.5% of their overall income, though this small statistic signifies £6,360,000. Newcastle University invests in a fund managed by BlackRock, this fund involving investments in tobacco, arms manufacturers, and oil. The income received from residences and catering account for all money made through halls of residence and private housing owned by the University, and any catering establishments and cafe’s owned by the University. 40% of the University’s expenditure is put towards running academic departments, this is largely concerned with paying the salaries of Academic
staff. £170,524,000 was designated in 2013,14 on running academic apartments. Running the University and maintaining the buildings and facilities together account for roughly 22% of the total expenditure. These costs include investment in and refurbishing teaching facilities, creating new buildings, and running campus security. Undertaking and doing academic research constitutes 20% of the year’s expenditure by itself, costing the University £80,004,000. Providing academic services accounts for 7% of the total expenditure, whilst residences and catering constitutes only 5%. 4% is taken up by other expenditure, a section in the published finances that totals £17,404,000. The total expenditure amongst many other things covers paying for teaching facilities, and buying resources such as books and journals for the Robinson Library. It also covers the cost of running student support services like the Careers Service, Student Wellbeing, the Sports Centre, and the Exams Office. Student and staff computing equipment and software are also included. It also covers the cost of administration and the salaries of the senior management team, including the Vice Chancellor and the Executive Team. The movement at Union Council asked for a monthly account of the University’s financial details, and although this was initially agreed, it was later amended to be annually in accordance with the University planning their finances on a yearly basis, meaning the income and expenditure doesn’t change between months. Claire Boothman, president of Newcastle University Students’ Union commented that, “As students are now paying a lot more for there tuition fees, £9000, they rightfully want assurance that they are getting value for money.”
20%
Academic research: £83,004,000
11% 11%
Running the University: £45,865,000
Other expenditure: £17,404,000 Maintaining buildings and facilities: £48,083,000
4%
7%
Providing academic services: £26,508,000 Providing residences and catering: £20,363,000 Running academic departments: £170,524,000
5%
41% Newcastle University’s expenditure for the fiscal year 1 August 2013 - 31 July 2014
2
News
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NEWS
4 5
Uni  scores  high  in  green  league  tables  Students  tidy  up  Jesmond  gardens
COMMENT
9
Why  feminism  will  never  be  a  fad
CULTURE
12 13 14 24 26 34
Monday 16 February 2015
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The Courier
         News  Editors:  Charlie  Dearnley,  Antonia  Velikova  and  Kate  Dewey  Online  News  Editor:  Mark  Sleightholm courier.news@ncl.ac.uk  |  @TheCourier_News Â
Sex trafficking seminar opens eyes to reality of ‘disgusting injustice’ By Kate Dewey News Editor
Newcastle Rhythms Hub have recently been actively engaging with one of the world’s most problematic issues: human sex trafficking. They have organized a series of events including talks and film showings to increase awareness regarding the issue of sex trafficking. Newcastle Rhythms is a Christian focused community committed to advocating the support and need for justice in every realm of life. Members meet regularly to pray and discuss what changes they can make to benefit those of others. On Saturday 31 January they held their first event covering the issue of sex trafficking at St. Luke’s Church. The event included a talk given by Univer-
Hipsters:  a  spotter’s  guide Blind  Date:  Tom  meets  Naomi Win  a  meal  for  six  at  Handmade  Burger  Co. Fifty  Shades  of  not  okay
sity alumnus Helen Taylor, who graduated from Newcastle in 2010. Taylor is a volunteer for anti sex trafficking ministry Exodus Cry in Kansas City. Exodus Cry’s website details its purpose: “Exodus Cry is built on a foundation of prayer and is committed to abolishing sex slavery through Christ-
are sexually exploited through prostitution, on the streets and through online venues and help connect them with a variety of victim services. “The hope is to come alongside these young women as a friend, committing to support her own dreams and choices for freedom; giving her the dignity and ownership over those courageous de-
“The truth is that WKLV LQGXVWU\ REMHFWLĂ€ HV GHJUDGHV HQGDQJHUV DQG H[SRVHV ZRPHQ to H[WUHPH YLROHQFH RQ D UHJXODU EDVLVÂľ centreed prevention, intervention, and holistic restoration of trafficking victims.â€? Taylor spoke exclusively to The Courier about her involvement with the organisation: “I reach out to girls who
cisions. I truly believe that rescue is a journey, not just an event.� Taylor was contacted by the student organisers, third year Medic Harry Collin and third year Architecture student Wango Mwanza, through her involvement with the Christian Union. She commented: “It was an honour to return to my university city and give a seminar on the topic of sex trafficking.� She continued: “Throughout history, social justice issues have been zealously embraced by students and boldly heralded to the rest of society and this generation is no different. Because I myself was a student when this issue first gripped my heart, I am passionate about empowering students in this life season, where your entire life stretches before you, to have the courage to give your life to something you believe in.� When asked about the reason behind organising the talk, Naomi Higton, third year Medic and part of the team of 15 Newcastle students involved in Newcastle Rhythms, told The Courier: “We wanted to raise awareness of sex trafficking. “It’s such a disgusting injustice, we want to help bring God’s justice and love into the situation.� The average age of prostitution in the
+HOHQ 7D\ORU Image: Naomi Higton US is 12-14. During Taylor’s speech, she told the experience of a young girl who was told by her pimp: “If you ever try to escape again I will bring you back and kill you right in front of your daughter, and then I will kill her�. The girl said she believed him, as she had watched him kill a girl before. For every girl trafficked and sold, it is estimated that there are between 10 and 20 men paying for her ‘services’. Taylor voiced: “No women deserves to have her body sold. No one deserves to be sold as a piece of skin.� She said to The Courier: “The truth is that this industry objectifies, degrades, endangers and exposes women to extreme violence on a regular basis.� The event had a great student turnout, and second year Speech and Language Therapy student Sarah Atkinson highlighted that the issue is not discussed within the student population enough: “Before this event I had not heard of anything to do with the subject in my two years at university, and I almost feel as though ‘sex trafficking’ and ‘prostitution’ are taboo words in our society.� Taylor added: “It was exciting to see so many students at the talk responding positively and asking further questions.� Newcastle Rhythms also organized a film screening of Nefarious on 7 February as part of their events on sex trafficking. Their next event is still being planned.
7KH GH¿ QL tive  Sher- lock  GULQN ing  game Microsoft  moves  into  PC  gaming 6(; 75$)),&.,1* (;,676 7KH SRVWHU IRU WKH À UVW HYHQW DQG VWXGHQWV DQG WKH SXEOLF JDWKHU WR OLVWHQ WR VSHDNHU +HOHQ 7D\ORU Images: Naomi Higton
NUSU,  King’s  Walk,  Newcastle  upon  Tyne,  NE1  8QB.  Tel:  0191  239  3940
The Courier is a weekly newspaper produced by students, for students. It’s never too late to get involved in the paper, whether you’re a writer, illustrator or photographer. Email editor. union@ncl.ac.uk for more information.
Editor Tom Nicholson News Editors Charlie Dearnley, Antonia Velikova, Kate Dewey and Mark Sleightholm Comment Editors Victoria Armstrong, Matt Corden and Ruth Davis Culture Editor Kate Bennett Lifestyle Editors Tom Tibble, Annie Lord, Jack Dempsey and Holly Suttle Fashion Editors Amy O’Rourke, Hannah Fitton and Hannah Goldstein Beauty Editors Charlotte Davies, Charlotte Maxwell and Kathy Davidson Arts Editors Becka Crawshaw, Lucy Chenery and Jess Harman Film Editors David Leighton, Rosie Bellini and George Smith Music Editors Jamie Shepherd, Dominique Daly and Chris Addison TV Editor Helen Daly, Ellie Mclaren and Rebecca Dooley Gaming Editors Sophie Baines and Ben Tyrer Science Editors Penny Polson, Laura Staniforth and Jack Marley Sports Editors Jonty Mawer, Peter Georgiev, Huezin Lim and Josh Nicholson Copy Editors Megan Ayres and Emma Broadhouse
The Courier is printed by: Print and Digital Associates, Fernleigh House, 10 Uttoxeter Road, Derby, Derbyshire, United Kingdom, DE3 0DA. Established in 1948, The Courier is the fully independent student newspaper of the Students’ Union at Newcastle University. The Courier is published weekly during term time, and is free of charge. The design, text, photographs and graphics are copyright of The Courier and its individual contributors. No parts of this newspaper may be reproduced without the prior permission of the Editor. Any views expressed in this newspaper’s comment pieces are those of the individual writing, and not of The Courier, the Students’ Union or Newcastle University.
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news.3
Monday 16 February 2015
Buddhist chaplain: ‘Mindfulness is a process of internal housekeeping’ By Charlotte Maxwell In the November of last semester, a new Buddhist chaplain joined the Newcastle University Chaplaincy fold. I met with him last week to discuss his new role, Buddhism on campus and the practice of Mindfulness. Following our talk I went on to attend a mindfulness and meditation session, to get a taste of how what we had discussed played out in practice. Andrew White, who has been working within the charity sector, took on the role of Buddhist chaplain on a voluntary basis. He describes the role as “somewhat of a labour of love� and relishes the opportunity to get back into volunteering “as this is something you encourage individuals to do� within the sector. He was a replacement for the previous chaplain, who had recently retired. The Buddhist chaplain was the first nonChristian chaplain to join the Newcastle chaplaincy and since then, both Jewish and Muslim chaplains have also joined. The chaplaincy is very focused on tolerance and respect of all faiths amongst staff and students.
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During our discussion, Andrew highlighted that he has been enjoying his role in the chaplaincy since his appointment. He commented that whilst there is not an endless queue of students looking to use the service, it is “like a GP surgery and students can take comfort in knowing that it is there, if they ever need to use it.� He offers group mindfulness and meditation sessions on a fortnightly basis, on Tuesday evenings in the Chaplaincy, as well as a drop in service on Friday mornings. The purpose of this service is to provide students with a listening ear, whether they are stressed or experiencing uncertainties in their life. It is also an opportunity for students to ask any questions they may have about the Buddhist faith. As I had dropped in to meet Andrew on a Friday morning, we did end up venturing into some discussion of Buddhism and Buddhist practices. Andrew described Buddhism as a faith that many people are often “intrigued� by. He outlined a basic history of Buddhism and highlighted its similarities and differences to the Abrahamic faiths. Like many other religions, there are a number of schools, the main two being Theravada and Mahayana. “I am a practising Theravada Buddhist; this type of Buddhism is very commonplace in places such as Thailand and Sri Lanka,� Andrew explained.
“There are also Mahayana Buddhists; this practice is more common in China and Japan.� Andrew went on to discuss articles of faith within religion; he then asked me whether I had a particular faith, to which I responded that I am a practising Christian. I was surprised when he stated that it was possible for me to be
both a practising Christian and a Theravada Buddhist. “There are no articles of faith within Theravada Buddhism and so they wouldn’t conflict with your Christian beliefs,� he pointed out. Following this he described a woman who attends the Tyneside Theravada Buddhist group, which Andrew frequently visits. He commented that she
was a practising Roman Catholic, but was also able to be a Theravada Buddhist alongside this faith. He explained how the focus of the Buddhist faith is based around what he described as: “being, within this current experience�. The practice of meditation and mindfulness is encouraged as a way for individuals to achieve this.
“Mindfulness can be described as a process of ‘internal housekeeping’â€?, said Andrew. He discussed the four concepts that are taken into consideration when being mindful: mind states, feelings, reactions and the physical body. Mindfulness is a process that requires practise, but focuses on guiding individuals to finding some balance within their lives. “So many people are always looking at screens‌ I found myself looking at my phone a lot in the car once and had to take a step back and question why I was doing that.â€? The Mindfulness sessions that are run by Andrew last an hour and focus on developing an awareness of the body and thoughts in the mind. The aim of the sessions is not to wrestle with these thoughts or take actions towards them; instead we are to sit with them, acknowledge them as an object and just be aware of their existence and our feelings towards them. Following our talk, I attended one of Andrew’s group sessions. As someone who has attempted both meditation and mindfulness before – and miserably failed, I was unsure of what to expect and how I was going to find it.
“The purpose of his mind and meditation sessions is to SURYLGH VWXGHQWV with a listening ear ZKHWKHU WKH\ are stressed or H[SHULHQFLQJ XQ certainties in their OLIHÂľ Andrew made a key point: it is a process that you make steps towards. Within that process, practice is key. The session involved a walking meditation, along with a seated meditation which then moved towards a more thought focused exercise. I had never previously considered that you could walk and meditate simultaneously. I unfortunately could not, given that walking meditation requires you to keep your eyes open and I frequently became visually distracted. Having said that, the eight other attendants and I were guided through the walk with efficient prompting for us to refocus our attention to our feet. Following this we engaged in a seated meditation; I lapsed in and out of focus during this, although I did find the prompting on breathing and focusing attention to bodily sensations very helpful. This was a very calming exercise, though it was emphasised that practice is required for the body to adjust to the idea that you are meditating rather than going to sleep. The session was rather insightful and the other members of the group attend on a regular basis. For those who are unable to attend Andrew’s fortnightly sessions, there are also weekly guided lunch time sessions, led by the University’s honorary Buddhist chaplain, Chris Earle-Storey.
4.news
Monday 16 February 2015
The Courier
Green League vs. fossil fuel: how green are we?
2015, down from 45 in 2013. The University has had a specific Sustainability Team since 2005. Hannah Newcastle University has been awarded Owens, Sustainability Manager, higha “First” for its environmental record, lights the strength of the University’s coming joint 12th out of 151 universi- Environmental Audits and Manageties. There are concerns, however, that ment Systems. In this area of People & this ranking may be misleading. Planet’s survey Newcastle scored 100%, People & Planet, a national student and it is one of several areas that has group that campaigns on green issues, seen significant improvement since the has compiled this year’s University League began in 2007. League, formerly known as the Green Owens also noted the implementaLeague. They hope the rankings will tion of a Sustainable Food Policy in help prospective students make an in- 2012, and investment totalling over £5.5 formed decimillion in en“The methodology used sion about the ergy efficiency. environmental In terms of by People & Planet has and ethical remanÁ XFWXDWHG \HDU RYHU \HDU, carbon cord of univeragement Peosities. VRPHWLPHV VLJQLÀ FDQWO\µ ple & Planet The League awarded Newranks universities based on their en- castle 90%. Only two other institutions vironmental and ethical policies and achieved such a high score in this catpractices. Universities are graded in the egory. same way as degrees – with 23 instituThe league rankings have proved tions, the Universities of Liverpool and highly volatile, however. Between 2007 Warwick among them, failing. and 2011, Newcastle achieved a wide Professor Tony Stevenson, Pro-Vice- range of positions, from a high of 30th Chancellor for Planning and Resources, in 2008 to just 104th – a “Third” – two said: “Newcastle University’s perfor- years later. The following year it was mance in the latest People & Planet awarded a “First”. Green League ranking highlights our Owens said: “The methodology used commitment to continue investing in by People & Planet has fluctuated year our campus to offer the best possible over year, sometimes significantly; our facilities, while providing an environ- focus is on continual improvement in mentally friendly and welcoming place environmental performance and confor our students, staff and visitors.” tinuing to embed sustainability in the It is the third year in a row the Uni- University’s day to day operations. versity was awarded a first class “de“Additionally, there are many imgree”, and the University’s ranking has provements that we have made, parimproved every year since 2010. Just 30 ticularly those around sustainable travel institutions were awarded a “First” in that aren’t captured in the league such
By Mark Sleightholm Online News Editor
Image Credit: Sharon Loxton
as increased cycle storage, sustainable certain areas, these tend to be measuretravel roadshows and weekly ‘Dr Bike’ ments of policies rather than action.” cycle maintenance sessions. A University spokesperson responded “There are lots of projects planned for to Munnion’s comments, stating: “The the future including: further increase University is committed to investing in cycle storage across the campus, sig- in a socially responsible manner and nificant investment in refurbishment of follows its Socially Responsible Investexisting buildings including the roll out ment Policy. of LED lighting across the campus, and “The policy recognises that, from creation of a new Urban Sustainability time to time, there may be expressions Building on Science Central.” of concern from within the University In addition to ignoring several key community related to specific compaenvironmental improvements the Uni- nies whose activities or values appear versity has made, the League has been to be incompatible with the University’s criticised by members of a campaign core values. The University will constarted by People sider these con& Planet itself. cerns on a case by ´7KH EDVLV RI RXU FDPSDLJQ Fossil Free is case basis followa UK-wide net- is that WKH\ KDYHQ·W EHHQ ing the process work of camDFWLQJ RQ WKHLU HWKLFDO outlined in the paign groups policy.” LQYHVWPHQW SROLFLHVµ aiming to stop The Univeruniversities insity has agreed to vesting in companies considered envi- meet with Fossil Free to give the camronmentally unfriendly, such as those paigners a chance to formally propose involved in the fossil fuel industry. their divestment plan. Toby Munnion, one of the leading Ethical investments are assessed by voices of Fossil Free Newcastle, said: “I the People & Planet University League, think that the Green League survey is a and this was one of Newcastle’s weakest lot about ticking boxes and it’s mostly areas, scoring just 40%. This was higher about the policies the University has. than 17 of the 30 universities awarded The University has them, the issue is a “First”, 10 of which scored 0%. Just whether it actually acts on them. 11% of the 151 universities surveyed “The basis of our campaign is that achieved a higher ethical investment they haven’t been acting on their ethical score than Newcastle, and the Univerinvestment policies... we don’t feel that sity of Brighton was the only institution it’s very reflective on actually how green to achieve 100% in this category. the University is.” Newcastle has dramatically improved These sentiments were shared by other its performance in this area, however. students. The Young Greens, a society As recently as 2009 the University only founded in the autumn, said of the achieved the lowest possible score in rankings: “While we do perform well in terms of ethical investments.
The Courier
news.5
Monday 16 February 2015
Jes we can: students clean up the streets students have little respect for their environment. Tony Waterston, Chair of the Jesmond On Friday 13th February students Residents’ Association, was very combraved the rain to help local residents plimentary of the event and emphasised tidy up Jesmond. how students were taking it upon themThe event was based on an earlier selves to improve the streets of Jesmond. “Tidy Up” in South Jesmond, but this There already are plans to do another time the concept was extended, with Tidy Up, this time around West Jesover 30 people taking part. While any- mond Metro station, as well as in other body was welcome to join, the event areas such as Heaton and Fenham. The was organised by students and aimed volunteers hope the Tidy Ups can beto improve student-resident relations in come a regular event. one of the most student-populated arAndrew Todd, who represents stueas of Newcastle. dents in West Jes“The Jesmond Tidy Up mond for both the The Tidy Up attracted staff and and NUSU, KDV EHHQ RUJDQLVHG JRA students from explained how WR JLYH VWXGHQWV an Newcastle and Newcastle and N o r t h u m b r i a RSSRUWXQLW\ WR JLYH EDFN N o r t h u m b r i a Universities, inhope to alternate WR WKH FRPPXQLW\ µ cluding SCAN Tidy Ups in their and Claire Boothman, NUSU Presi- respective student areas. In this way all dent, who said she was delighted to see of the city can benefit, and the events “students in action”. will help to bring the two student comLocal businesses were also highly sup- munities together. portive, with Acorn Hardware donating Andrew was one of the organisers of bin bags and litter pickers, and Tesco the Tidy Up, and said: “The Jesmond and Greggs kindly giving food to the Tidy Up has been organised to give volunteers. students an opportunity to give back Despite the cold and wet weather, to the community. There are a lot of students knocked on doors to see if lo- negative stereotypes of students, but in cal residents wanted help tidying their reality this is just a minority, and many gardens. Others focussed on the streets students volunteer and undertake some themselves, picking up litter and mak- incredible things. We are hoping that by ing the environment more attractive for getting out there and tidying up we can everyone. highlight some of the great things stuThe main focus of the Tidy Up was dents do and create stronger links with Manor House Road in North Jesmond, the community. as well as some other nearby streets. “We hope that the event will be sucSeveral passers-by stopped to thank cessful, and will grow into a regular the volunteers for their efforts. The or- event targeting not just Jesmond, but ganisers of the Tidy Up hope that it can all areas of Newcastle with student resihelp to challenge the perception that dents.”
By Mark Sleightholm Online News Editor
127 62 58%%,6+ 6WXGHQWV KHOS WLG\ XS WKH ORFDO FRPPXQLW\ Images: Claire Boothman
Rise Up hosts NU Apprentice intersect with working not only with other candidates but also adapt to other business environments as well. The Rise Up team at the Career Service Although initially applying indepenhas hosted the NU Apprentice compe- dently, from Wednesday 18th February tition. Promoted as a “hands-on, high students will be sorted into randomised energy competition” where business- groups before narrowing down to worksavvy candidates from all degree back- ing in pairs by the final task. The wingrounds and stages can develop their ning pair will be awarded a £500 cash business skills prize to split beand confidence ´7KH ZLQQLQJ SDLU ZLOO EH tween them and in real busithe title of winness scenarios, DZDUGHG D FDVK SUL]H ners of the 2015 the competi- WR VSOLW EHWZHHQ WKHP DQG NU Apprentice tion entails takat the Rise Up ing on one task the title of ZLQQHUV RI WKH award ceremony each week for on the same 18 $SSUHQWLFH µ held the next three night, a prestigweeks. ious award in the eyes of potential emAlthough the specifics of the competi- ployers. tion have been kept under wraps for obLast year may have set a tough act to vious reasons, candidates can expect the follow with Kane Avellano and Daniel three tasks to consist of pitching an idea Lipchev winning the process with their to business professionals, negotiating idea to set up Jesmond Cat Café, Kane and interacting with social enterprise. pointing out “the idea and the amount 60 candidates who evidenced good of detail” and “constantly improving teamwork qualities, entrepreneurial whilst working” were contributing facflair, leadership skills and charisma tors to their victory when interviewed were selected out of a record number last year. of 109 applicants, up 20% from 2014 With the previous year’s tasks conentries. sisting of the creation of a new bottled When questioned, Jack Thomas, third drink, a challenge to source different year marketing student said that Rise Christmas products and a 10-minute Up was not “just on the look out for en- answer session in front of a panel of trepreneurial skills but ‘inter’-prenurial judges on a presentation of the team’s skills as well” stating that there was also business idea, candidates this year can a great focus within the selection pro- definitely expect some tough challengcess of how an individual’s skills could es.
By Rosie Bellini
:+(5( +$9( <28 %($1" $ VWDWXH RI 0U %HDQ YLVLWHG WKH 5RELQVRQ OLEUDU\ ODVW ZHHN DV IXQGUDLVLQJ HIIRUWV IRU WKLV \HDU·V &RPLF 5HOLHI DSSHDO JDWKHUHG SDFH 5RZDQ $WNLQVRQ JUDGXDWHG IURP 1HZFDVWOH LQ LQ HOHFWULFDO HQJLQHHULQJ Image: Mike Urwin
6.news
Monday 16 February 2015
The Courier
Pride of Newcastle Awards launched By Jack Parker
The 2015 Pride of Newcastle University Awards, formerly known as the ncl+ Extracurricular Achievement Awards, with nominations now open and being taken. The awards have been relaunched, developing upon the past success of the awards and are organised by Newcastle University Careers Service and the Students’ Union. They seek to recognise those students who go the extra mile in their university careers. This could be anything from exceptional contributions to clubs and societies, to helping and making a difference within the local community through volunteering or entrepreneurial efforts. The Careers Service website states that an individual’s extracurricular activities that could be considered as being worthy of nomination include running a club or society, volunteering, fundraising, starting a new business, representing students, or working on campus or in the city. “We are looking for students who go that extra mile - and through these awards we want to say thank you!” Marc Lintern, Director of Newcastle University Careers Service, said: “The Pride of Newcastle University Awards recognise the exceptional achievements of our students through their extra-curricular activities, whether in the University, our region or overseas.”
All current Newcastle University students are eligible to enter or be nominated in any of the 13 different award categories. This may be as an individual, or as a member of a group or student society. The winners of each category will receive a £250 cash prize and formal recognition of the award on their degree transcript. Lintern adds: “As well as presenting awards to a number of our outstanding students, this special evening dinner will include presentations by Chris Townsend OBE, a Newcastle University graduate from 1977, talking about his work on London 2012, as well as some of our students talking about their extracurricular activities during the year.” This year’s event will take place at Newcastle Civic Centre on Wednesday 3rd June, with nominations being open until Friday 13th March. There are 13 different award categories that link to the University’s societal challenge themes, Including Social Renewal, Contribution to Arts and Culture, Community Spirit, Environmental Champion, Social Inclusion and Cultural Diversity Outstanding University Contribution, Outstanding Contribution to Societies, as well as the ViceChancellor’s Award. Anyone wishing to learn more about the awards, the categories, as well as how to enter or nominate another student are encouraged by the University to do so on the ncl+ website.
“We are looking for students who go that extra mile”
The ceremony for Pride of Newcastle University awards will take place on 3rd June. Image: Yordanka Georgieva
The Courier
news.7
Monday 16 February 2015
First of Entrepreneurial Insights lectures talks Nakd By Ghangaa Mano Rise Up and the Newcastle Entrepreneurs have prepared a lineup of entrepreneurs from varied industries as guest speakers to share their journey with students and graduates, in the hope of inspiring them to start their own. ‘Entrepreneurial Insights’ is a cost-free event allowing students the opportunity to network. Kellie Forbes-Simpson, the organizer for the array of talks revealed: “Entrepreneurial Insights emerged from the Vice Chancellor’s Think Tank on Student & Graduate Entrepreneurship, an idea which hoped to engage audiences with enterprising skills and develop more collaborative initiatives with students and therefore Newcastle Entrepreneurs have worked with the Rise Up team in the Careers Service to develop the idea into Entrepreneurial Insights.” The President of the Newcastle Entrepreneurs Society, Vicki Dorling, spoke about the effort that went into making this event possible: “We’ve worked really hard with Rise Up to secure a great line up of speakers for the launch of the series and hope this initiative will give students the confidence to launch their own businesses one day.” Jamie Combs, the founder of the best-selling Nakd Bars in the UK, kick started the affair as the first presenter last Wednesday 11 February 2015. The lecture revealed how his whole idea had begun and a question and answer ses-
sion with the audience followed. Creating a product that was the first of its kind in the market may seem intimidating to many but Mr Combs explains that: “I was very confident about my idea because my idea was rooted in common sense. My doubt was gone because my point was so true and self-evident.” Mr Combs further gave advice on how to conquer moments of doubt that so often stifle entrepreneurs with great ideas: “There’s always stuff you don’t know. It’s about framing it and allowing negative emotions to do their thing.” The talk by Jamie Combs was doubtlessly a success at achieving its objective. “It was really interesting to hear what he has to say because he is experienced starting a business, especially since I’m pursuing food & nutrition”, said Chloe Watson, a Food Marketing and Nutrition undergraduate. “I’ll definitely be back for the next talk”, she added. The next lecture features Paul and Rob Forkan, the young brothers behind the Grandys Flip Flops footwear brand, who were inspired to create a social enterprise after losing their parents in the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. It will be held on 25 February at 5.30pm at the Great North Museum. Sir Richard Branson, Sir Brian Souter, founder of Stagecoach and Jim Cregan, founder of Jimmy’s Iced Coffee will be sharing their secrets of launching a successful start-up on 3 March. Anna Jones, the CEO of Hearst Publishing, one of the biggest publishers in the world, will be giving her lecture later in the year.
“There’s always stuff you don’t know. It’s about allowing negative emotions to do their thing”
GETTING NAKD: Jamie Combs, founder of Nakd Bars speaks to students. Image: Justas Butkus
International Development Conference set to tackle world-wide issues and concerns
Ambitious Cities makeover for John Dobson Street By Alix Pickles
LOOKING BACK, MOVING FORWARD: Poster for IDS’s 2015 conference. Image: International Development Society
By Yuwei Hu International Development Conference, organized by International Development Society (IDS) Newcastle, will be held on 21 and 22 February in the Herschel Building. The annual conference is grabbing the spotlight considering what change has taken place since entering the millennium. The conference aims to lively discuss what the development plan should be henceforth and deliberate how closely the needs of the world’s poorest have been met by 2015. Every year, the event has provided networking opportunities to learn from a host of excellent academics, NGOs and organizations, senior level business practitioners, and leaders on the cutting edge of international development
theory. This year will be no exception. The 2015 event will feature live demonstrations from top speakers, including Newcastle’s Professor Sugata Mitra, prize winning TED speaker and Dr Graham Long who has contributed to Beyond2015’s policy and advocacy work at UN and EU level. “We always attract a range of guests, and have in previous years attracted around 300 delegates across the weekend”, said Olivia Petie, President of IDS. She continued: “the conference is our biggest event of the year and we’re really looking forward to sharing our passion for such current and topi-
cal issues with many other interested individuals. It is perfect for peers and visionaries who aim for careers in the third sector, teaching, politics, management and international development!” Over the weekend a fair of organization stalls, based upon exclusive partnerships with IDS, will offer ethical overseas volunteering opportunities, student internships and post graduate research placements. All students are welcomed with a reduced price of a £15 2-day ticket for the conference. Visit the website to see more at: http:// www.idsnewcastle.org/conference/.
“It is perfect for peers and visionaries who aim for careers in the third sector”
Proposed plans for a £1.1 million investment would see John Dobson Street transformed into a new tree-lined boulevard. Newcastle City Council is aiming to improve the city’s infrastructure by making the street more pedestrian and cyclist friendly, as well as ensuring more reliable routes for public transport services, including taxis. The plans are part of the council’s fiveyear vision to transform the highways and public spaces in the city centre. It is the biggest project of its kind to be undertaken by the authority. The proposals include the transferral of traffic to single lanes and a new pedestrian-friendly, tree-lined central reserve in the middle of the road. If the plans succeed cars will no longer be able to turn left onto John Dobson Street at the St Mary’s place junction, restricting the flow of traffic. Priority will also be given to buses and taxis, in the hope that this will allow buses to run to timetable. A large part of the plans revolve around creating a two-way cycle track, segregating bicycles from motor traffic. It is hoped this will make travelling in the city safer for cyclists. The council plans to eventually connect all of its proposed ‘strategic cycle routes’. These aim to give local people a cheaper and faster link from the Newcastle suburbs to the city. It will also be part of the existing Great North Cycleway, a regional route from Blyth to
Darlington. Funding for the £1.1 million project will come from the £5.6 million that Newcastle was awarded in 2013 as part of the Department for Transport’s Cycling Ambitions Cities project. Newcastle has not been known for being a cycle-friendly city in the past. A recent YouGov poll for the UK cycling charity Sustrans showed that 64% of Newcastle residents support Government investment in cycling and 52% of those living on Newcastle said they would cycle more if cycle lanes were separated from traffic in busy roads. The Newcastle Cycling Campaign said “We are very happy that road space has been appropriated from the currently over-proportioned carriageway to provide separated continuous space for walking and cycling, thereby bringing a human scale to the road environment.” However, they have voiced reservations about the design, saying that the suggested cycle-roundabout is “overdesigned and is unnecessarily impeding pedestrian desire lines.” The proposals for the renovation of John Dobson Street were on show last week at the City Library with Highway Engineers in attendance to answer the public’s queries on the project. The public can still comment on the plans at Let’s talk Newcastle online. If the project goes ahead it is anticipated that work will begin in the summer of this year and if it is successful the plans will be replicated in other parts of the city.
Monday 16 February 2015
8.nationalstudentnews
The Courier
NEWSTACK
York launches research in DNA cancer Job  Title:  Frontline  Brand  Manager  Employer:  Frontline Closing  Date:  10/04/2015 Salary:  £7.85  per  hour  Basic  job  description:  Frontline’s  mission  is  to  transform  the  lives  of  vulnerable  children  by  recruiting  and  developing  outstanding  individuals  to  be  leaders  in  social  work  and  broader  society.  Frontline  are  looking  for  people  to  become  part  of  their  exciting  recruitment  campaign  at  university.  If  you  are  passionate  about  making  a  positive  change  in  society,  well-Âconnected  with  different  networks  at  your  university,  self-Âmotivated  with  an  interest  or  experience  in  marketing  this  is  a  fantastic  way  to  develop  transferrable  skills  to  aid  any  future  career. Person  Requirements:  You  are  ideal  for  this  role  if  you  are  an  enthusiastic,  proactive  individual  who  has  excellent  communication  skills.  You  PXVW DOVR EH FRQÂż GHQW ZHOO FRQQHFWHG VRFLDEOH articulate  and  happy  to  approach  new  people  as  well  as  network  on  campus.  Location:  On  Campus  Job  Title:  Little  Kickers  –  Part  Time  Coaches  Employer:  Little  Kickers  Closing  Date:  31/12/2015 Salary:  £7.50  per  hour  Basic  job  description:  Due  to  recent  success  Little  Kickers  is  currently  recruiting  talented  part  time  assistant  coaches  to  help  meet  growing  demand.  We  are  urgently  seeking  CVs  from  students  interested  in  working  occasional  hours  WR Âż W DURXQG WKHLU WLPHWDEOH KRXUV SHU ZHHN –including  week  days  and  weekends  (potential  additional  hours  in  future,  depending  on  perfor- mance  and  demand.)  Person  Requirements:  As  this  role  involves  coaching  children  aged  between  18  months  and  7  years  candidates  must  have  excellent  commu- QLFDWLRQ VNLOOV EH SK\VLFDOO\ Âż W DQG HQMR\ ZRUNLQJ with  Children.  Ideally  candidates  will  have  a  FULL  Driving  license  and  access  to  own  transport  to  enable  successful  candidate  to  get  to  each  venue. Location:  Newcastle,  Durham  &  Sunderland.  Job  Title:  Personal  Assistant  Employer:  Disability  North  Closing  Date:  09/03/2015 Salary:  £8  per  hour  Basic  job  description:  Personal  assistant  required  to  provide  necessary  support  and  com- munity  enablement  for  my  husband  who  has  Par- kinson’s  disease.   Cantonese  speaker  required  as  you  must  be  able  to  speak  on  my  husband’s  behalf  when  out  in  the  community.  The  main  SXUSRVH RI WKH MRE LV WR HQVXUH WKDW P\ KXVEDQG has  social  interaction  and  company  throughout  the  day  and  ensure  he  is  safe.  Part  of  your  role  will  also  include  assistance  with  domestic  duties  within  the  home  environment. Person  Requirements:  Candidates  must  be  car- ing,  patient,  passionate  about  helping  others  and  must  speak  Cantonese. /RFDWLRQ 1HZFDVWOH XSRQ 7\QH Âą 6KLHOGÂż HOG area.  Job  Title:  Newcastle  Work  Experience  –  Com- munications  Assistant  Employer:  Beacon  Hill  Arts  Community  Inter- est  Company  Closing  Date:  22/02/2015 Salary:  £700  Bursary   Basic  job  description:  Beacon  Hill  Arts  is  a  multi-Âaward  winning  organisation  supporting  WDOHQWHG \RXQJ Âż OPPDNHUV ZLWK OHDUQLQJ GLV abilities  to  create  and  exhibit  their  own  work.  We  are  going  through  a  period  of  exciting  change,  exploring  ways  in  which  we  can  provide  our  core  production  and  exhibition  activity  in  a  more  sus- tainable  way.  As  part  of  this,  we  want  to  become  better  communicators  to  our  audiences.  The  100  KRXU SURMHFW ZLOO LQYROYH VSUHDGLQJ WKH ZRUG DERXW who  we  are  and  our  work  –  it  gets  shown  all  over  the  world  –  our  PR  strategy  needs  to  keep  pace.  The  placement  student  will  also  help  to  record  DQG VKRXW RXW DERXW RXU JUHDW SURMHFW RXWFRPHV and  the  impact  they  have  on  our  individual  artists,  as  well  as  working  with  us  to  step  up  our  social  media  presence. Person  Requirements:  Fundamentally,  we  need  you  to  be  a  great  communicator  –  and  we  don’t  believe  that  is  restricted  to  people  who  are  VWXG\LQJ PDUNHWLQJ DQG FRPPXQLFDWLRQ VXEMHFWV so  we  are  very  keen  that  we  receive  applications  from  a  wide  range  of  backgrounds.  Candidates  should  be  possess  the  following:  passion  and  excitement  about  our  work,  great  communicator  in  written  and  verbal  English,  regular  user  and  good  understanding  of  Social  Media  (particularly Â
Facebook  and  Twitter)  and  a  good  understanding  of  MS  Word  and  Excel. Location:  Newcastle  upon  Tyne  Job  Title:  Support  Worker  Employer:  Real  Life  Options   Closing  Date:  25/02/2015 Salary:  £6.78  per  hour   Basic  job  description:  A  n  exciting  opportunity  has  arisen  for  Support  Workers  to  really  make  a  difference  to  individual’s  lives  for  our  services.  These  roles  involve  helping  the  people  we  sup- port  who  have  severe  learning  disabilities  access  the  community,  supporting  them  to  lead  an  active  DQG IXOÂż OOLQJ OLIH :RUNLQJ DV SDUW RI D WHDP OHDG by  a  Service  Manager,  you  will  receive  training  DQG RQ WKH MRE FRDFKLQJ DV ZHOO DV VXSSRUW WR carry  out  a  wide  range  of  support  tasks  and  ac- tivities  to  help  promote  independence  and  social  LQFOXVLRQ KRXUV SHU ZHHN Person  Requirements:  The  ideal  candidate  will  be  able  to  show  an  aptitude  and  enthusiasm  for  the  role.  You  will  be  positive,  compassionate  and  empathetic  with  an  encouraging  nature.  You  will  need  to  have  a  positive  attitude  to  the  rights  of  people  with  a  learning  disability,  particularly  their  right  to  be  treated  with  the  respect  and  dignity  they  are  entitled  to  as  an  equal  member  of  society Location:  Newcastle  upon  Tyne  Job  Title:  Specialist  Employer:  Apple Closing  Date:  01/05/2015 Salary:  Competitive  Basic  job  description:  As  a  Specialist,  you  help  create  the  energy  and  excitement  around  Apple  products,  providing  the  right  solutions  and  getting  products  into  customers’  hands.  You  understand  that  the  Apple  Store  is  dedicated  to  deliver- ing  a  customer  experience  that’s  unlike  any  other.  It  starts  with  you  discovering  customers’  needs.  And  with  the  support  of  your  store  team  members,  you  match  those  needs  with  the  right  products.  Every  day  is  an  opportunity  for  you  to  turn  another  Apple  Store  visitor  into  a  loyal  Apple  customer.  As  a  Specialist,  you’re  highly  skilled  at  uncovering  customers’  needs,  then  following  through  with  enlightening  solutions.  16  hours  per  week.  Person  Requirements:  Ability  to  deliver  great  customer  experiences  in  a  very  active  environ- ment  and  to  be  invigorated  by  constant  per- sonal  interaction,  strong  interest  in  technology,  particularly  Apple  products,  and  agility  at  learning  new  products  and  features.  Strong  communica- tion  skills  that  let  you  converse  as  freely  and  comfortably  with  small  groups  as  with  individual  customers. Location:  Newcastle  upon  Tyne   Job  Title:  Newcastle  University  Employer:  Postgraduate  Assessors  Closing  Date:  19/02/2015 Salary:  £14.22  per  hour  Basic  job  description:  Successful  applicants  will  be  trained  to  work  in  pairs  and  as  individuals  to  apply  set  assessment  criteria  to  assess  students  participating  on  Career  Development  modules,  ncl+  Award  and  ncl  Excel.  Candidates  will  be  expected  to  make  reference  to  the  assessment  criteria  to  produce  formative  feedback  for  indi- vidual  students  and  required  to  provide  cover  in  the  event  of  assessor  absence  and  to  liaise  with  &DUHHUV 6HUYLFH VWDII RQ VSHFLÂż HG DVVHVVPHQW matters.  Successful  applicants  will  be  expected  to  FRPPLW KRXUV EHWZHHQ Âą ZLWK PRVW KRXUV EHLQJ DFFXPXODWHG LQ WKH ZHHN SHULRG IURP WR Person  Requirements:  This  post  is  only  avail- able  to  Newcastle  University  full  time  postgradu- ate  students  who  are  eligible  to  work  in  the  UK.  Applicants  are  expected  to  possess  an  under- graduate  degree  from  a  recognised  university  and  can  demonstrate  current  experience  of  assessing  undergraduate  students  against  stipu- lated  criterion. Location:  On  Campus Â
A collaboration between York University, the NHS and 14M Genomics was announced on 10th February, outlining an ambitious project to analyse over 20,000 cancer patient blood samples, to discover whether particular markers in DNA can influence the treatment of haematological cancer. The research hopes to find patterns and other key information that can help inform doctors and patients about prognosis and predict success about different treatments. It is built around the Haematological Malignancy Research Network, which aims to provide real world data to inform clinical practice and research, HMRN researchers compile and analyse data from patients across Yorkshire with blood cancers and disorders. They have compiled data on over 20,000 patients and York University researchers will now use these data samples to analyse tumour profiles alongside patient records to pinpoint which genes can affect individual chances of recovery.
St. Andrews speaks on climate change A paper published this week claims that CO2 releases from the deep ocean aided in ending the last ice age. Dr James Rae, a research fellow and climate scientist at St Andrew’s University conducted research into the processes that triggered to rises in atmospheric CO2. This recent study provides evidence for the theory that carbon stored in an isolated reservoir deep in the ocean re-connected with the atmosphere, leading to not only a rise in CO2 but also an increase in global temperature. The research reveals categorically that carbon releases cause rises in global temperatures. Rae comments on his research “You’ve got to wonder what adding the same amount of CO2 to the atmosphere, but 100 times fast, will do to the global climate in years to come.� This innovative research forces us to consider the effect that carbon footprints have upon the planet.
Security guard threatens to kill students A security guard from City University threatened “Let’s meet outside. I kill you� during an altercation with two journalists from The Square, City University’s student newspaper. The disagreement happened after the security guard had been instructed to remove flyers promoting an investigation into the University’s Vice-Chancellor’s expenses. The reporters filmed the incident, available to view on The Square’s website, which caused the security guard to confiscate the phones and demand that all photos and videos of him be deleted. Their student ID cards were also confiscated, though Reception helped them retrieve them later. The incident occurred on the same day that Spiked magazine gave the university the highest rating possible in its Free Speech University Rankings.
Fatboy Slim appreciation at Brighton Norman Cook, his stage name being Fatboy Slim, has received an alumni awards from Brighton University for his contribution to the music industry since he graduated in 1985. He studied for a degree in British Studies when the University was known as Brighton Polytechnic and has since become one of the country’s top producers. Fatboy Slim has won ten MTV music awards and two Brit awards during his time as a solo electronic act, including time as a rapper and a DJ. Producing other tracks like Mama Do The Hump and Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat, to great acclaim in the music industry. He was presented with his award at Brighton University’s Alumnus Awards 2014 at the Dome, and said of his award “I am proud of my city, my education and my career and this awards seems to celebrate all three in one happy event.â€? Images: Arian Kriesch, Petr Ĺ tefek, Nick, Shokophotoi
Sophie Norris
The Courier
.9
Monday 16 February 2015
Comment
thecourieronline.co.uk/comment
Comment Editors: Victoria Armstrong & Matt Corden Online Comment Editor: Ruth Davis courier.comment@ncl.ac.uk | @Courier_Comment
Feminism is no fading fad Anti-feminists often like to dismiss feminism as just the latest fashionable social justice cause. Obviously that’s nonsense, but do portrayals of feminists and feminism in the media compromise the movement, or is any feminist discussion welcome?
F
Grace Jones
W
eminism was everywhere in 2014: Karl Lagerfeld staged a rally on the catwalk of Chanel, Elle’s entire December issue was dedicated to it, and programmes featuring complex female characters and relationships, such as Orange is the New Black, Girls and Broad City, were more popular than ever before. Even some of the biggest pop stars in the world couldn’t keep the word off their lips, with Taylor Swift, Lorde and, of course, Beyonce ‘coming out’ as feminists. They say no press is bad press, but is this apparent feminist explosion a positive step for advocates of gender equality, or is it just showing a movement co-opted by trend analysts trying to predict the next big thing? Many of the companies jumping onto the bandwagon are making products that are consumed largely by women and girls, so surely an increased awareness of what feminism stands for cannot be a bad thing for them. If Elle and Cosmo want to fill their pages with articles about the gender pay gap alongside next season’s fashion trends, then more power to them - any space for discussion that is opened up this way is a new space for knowledge sharing. But what happens next season when midi skirts go off trend? Will feminism disappear too?
hat does it mean to be a feminist? Usually, one might assume that a ‘feminist’ is someone who simply believes in the social, economic and political equality of the sexes. It is really not a difficult concept to grasp. When it comes to the media, however, most outlets seem to portray different women as having varying levels of importance in feminism, depending upon their vocal and physical projections. Celebrity feminists are constantly misinterpreted and misrepresented, but the question is: are the celebrities being ambiguous about it on purpose? There are many questions to be asked concerning this subject, and they are becoming increasingly difficult to answer.
“This white male feminism seems so much more important”
“Although the proliferation of feminist ideals is positive, when it is neutered, repackaged and sold back for a profit its true message is lost”
It does seem like we’ve been through all this before. In the 90s, the Spice Girls and Destiny’s Child brought girl power to every independent woman, and TV shows such as Sex and the City and Ally McBeal were hailed as feminist rule breakers. If we are still having the same conversation twenty years later, it shows that feminism is not an accessory bound for the bargain bin at your local charity shop, but an important movement that clearly still has many relevant concerns. The real power of feminism is its threat to preexisting power structures which privilege richness, maleness, whiteness and heterosexuality. And this is also where the real problem with its viral explosion lies. By being in the pages, the mouths and the forefronts of many things upholding these regimes, is the subversive power feminism holds being glossed over as it conforms to the neoliberal forces of what is expected? Miley Cyrus can say that she feels like she is ‘one of the biggest feminists in the world’, whilst simultaneously using black back-up dancers as sexualised props. She is not upholding a set of values that activists and theorists have spent decades trying to get legitimate public acknowledgement of; she is just using a cool new buzzword to validate her problematic actions. This then, is the most important argument for why feminism should be less on-trend: although the proliferation of feminist ideals is undoubtedly positive for women and girls, when this proliferation is only after feminism has been neutered, repackaged and sold back to them for profit from the mouths of commercial organisations, its true message and potency is lost in the fine print.
Alexandra Lyon
What others think... “In my opinion, feminism isn’t especially endorsed by the media; rather the media reports on what is an increasingly relevant topic. Ultimately, it isn’t a trend, it’s a necessity”
Kate Dewey
“I think that at a point in time a few years ago there was something of a lull in feminist debate; people thought that the fact women had more rights than decades ago meant equality has been achieved; this seems like a mass realisation that it hasn’t”
Victoria Armstrong
The most recent famous feminist admission came from Emma Watson at the United Nations Conference. Her argument was clear and strong, and she has rallied the support of thousands who seemed to previously be, at most, ambivalent about gender equality issues. The #HeForShe campaign admitted one thing that most feminists, myself included, would not want to admit - that for real change to occur, the men of the world must change their outlook and rally for the women around them. That is not to say that the movement must become one focused on men, but rather one that is pushed forward with their help. However, as convincing as Watson’s argument was, it seemed unbelievable to most that it was so widely accepted. She seemed to be reiterating, in one speech, the sentiments that feminists have been voicing for decades. Was the argument only more palatable because she is famous, beautiful and calm in situations of injustice? This is a possibility – but why then do artists such as Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj, both self-confessed feminists, have to try so much harder to prove themselves? Intersectional feminism is less widely practised than people may think; do artists who dance and dress in a provocative way have less intelligent views on important political matters? Certainly not – but it would appear the common feeling is that sexual awareness and political awareness in women are not mutually exclusive. This ridiculous notion has led to people questioning Beyoncé’s motives, for example. Despite her literally appearing in front of a monumental display of lights, fashioned into the word “FEMINIST”, people are still struggling to believe that her views are nothing more than the product of a puppeteering management structure. It is as though the most successful woman in pop, worth several million dollars in an industry dominated by men, cannot be autonomous about her decisions. Whilst positive intentions of Nicki and Beyoncé have been constantly scrutinised, male celebrities who accepted the notion of #HeForShe took to wearing t-shirts bearing the slogan: “This Is What a Feminist Looks Like”. Male celebrities such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Simon Pegg and Tom Hiddleston were all photographed wearing the merchandise, but the motive behind this genuinely is questionable. The pictures seemed to say, “I’m a feminist, and I’m not going to burn a bra because I don’t wear one!” This white male feminism seems so much more important than actual black women’s feminism, and something about that just does not sit right with me.
10.comment
SOAP BOX
HIGH STREET SHOPS Google WHSmith, and it describes itself as a stationers and bookshop. Google Starbucks and it describes itself as a coffeehouse chain. Boots:‘a chemist’, and Primark: ‘a clothing retailer’. So why is it that I can buy children’s games in WHSmith, cushions in Starbucks, a Crème Egg in Boots and all the requirements for a movie night – DVD, popcorn, and sweets – in Primark? I’m fed up with every shop insisting on selling everything. What happened to when you only bought clothes in Primark, Nurofen from Boots, coffee from Starbucks, and pens from WHSmith? On a grander scale, look at airports – Gatwick South Terminal has over 26 shops and 13 restaurants. It’s more impressive than the average High Street in London. Shops are becoming super-shopsthat-sell-everything, Walmart-esque, which is a foul and terrifying idea because Walmart is an awful place. Then again, when I was in a rush in WHSmith the other day and didn’t have time to go into another shop, it was really useful being able to buy lunch there too… (Note to reader: The Body Shop is exempt from this criticism, as it dogmatically sticks to its sole wares. And is near to closing down because of it.) Antonia Cundy
HAIRDRESSERS For most of us it comes around every two months or so. You look in the mirror one day, and you decide that it is time for a trip to the socially awkward humdrum that is the hairdressers. Now, for me, this is a big deal. Rarely do you have to sustain small talk for so long with a stranger who wields so much power over you. Either it’s about something as mundane as the weather – which, unless it’s snowing, I could not care less about – or it’s about something deeper such as the current political climate where, of course, you cannot disagree because they are literally in control of what you will look like. Recently, this took an unpredictable turn when – I kid you not – the hairdresser asked me, “Have you heard about Freddie the dolphin who’s been ‘shuffling himself ’ in front of onlookers in Whitley Bay?” and then proceeded to ask another customer to Google it (if you’re unsure what action she might have been referring too, ask your parents)! What am I meant to say to that? On the bright side at least she promoted the conversation from small talk to medium talk. Josh Snell
LAZINESS I am annoyed by laziness. It’s a controversial thing to say in the year of the blanket and a new collection of Ben & Jerry’s flavours, but I am hard-fast, dead-set against laziness. I should clarify something here: I’m not talking about laziness in the sense of ‘I’m going to have a day where I do nothing other than watch TV, eat, and wallow in my own filth’. This, I often take great pleasure in doing. It’s university attendance laziness that is really irritating me. Laziness in the sense of ‘I’m not hungover or tired, but I am still not going to go to my lecture because I simply cannot be bothered’. C’MON PEOPLE. Most of us only have an average of 9 hours per week that we have to spend ‘in university’, surely we can muster the effort to go to them? We know the majority are a waste of time, and don’t get me started on how they’re not worth how much they cost, but really – what the hell else are you going to do today? If you’re away, acceptable. Have something else to do, acceptable. But if you’re just lying in bed browsing Buzzfeed, please get up and go. Antonia Cundy
Monday 16 February 2015
The Courier
Karl Marx strikes back Since the rich refuse to pay up, socialism is just as relevant in the 21st century Image:Wikimedia
T
Adam Thompson
he Conservative-coloured, anti-socialist argument goes a little like this: public spending has gone far enough, now we have to wipe our own nose and pull ourselves up by the bootstraps. What is meant is this: you will wipe our nose and put our boots on for us. The American version is even more insidious. News anchors of a Republican bent can repeatedly be heard hawking the notion that the rich owe it to the poor to stop paying their way. ‘Let them make it on their own; they deserve a hand-up, not a hand-out,’ they say. In unison, the 50 million US citizens living below the poverty line yell, ‘Amen! I’m sick of being suffocated by charity!’ In Britain, we lack the ambition and imagination to properly implement a socialist society. In America, the squawking is so loud that they will never get round to it - the tinnitus is so bad they do not even acknowledge having a degree of it already. Contrary to bad press, certain aspects of socialism are very healthy indeed. Take the banking
sector for example. After the financial collapse in 2008, over £1 trillion was given by the state to the banks to keep them afloat. What is this if not socialism? If we can provide a crutch for a cartel like the banking sector (and recent news regarding HSBC suggests that this is not an unjust description), we are capable of spreading money more evenly across the whole of society.
“It is everything we like best about the country we live in”
At the present time socialism is under attack; increasingly it is considered a failed experiment. However, look at all socialism has achieved and you will see that it is everything we like best about the country we live in: free healthcare, education for all, support in hard times. Ask the majority of people, and these principles will be what they value most. This is not to say the system is without flaws, but perhaps the majority of flaws exist outside of
socialism. The state is both wasteful and weak, tossing away money on wars and unnecessary deterrents while propping up oligarchs and shady corporations. If a party brave enough to call in the money owed from Google et al takes office, we will soon realise socialist ideals are not so unachievable after all. If we can divert our economy from swelling the pockets of bankers performing high-wire bets with imaginary money to actually making things, there might just be enough capital left over to repair the NHS. We should not allow bankers or politicians to kick lumps out of social housing or healthcare. Go back fifty years and these were the dearest things people had. Socialism is not dead, it just needs the ‘leg up’ owed to it by closing tax loopholes and wrenching ourselves from overdependence on the city. Education also has a part to play. How socialism works, the responsibility we all have to maintain it, and the necessity of looking after the old or disabled should all be introduced at school age. Then again, children get told about socialism already, it just goes under a different name: sharing.
Jack Goodall
The Courier
comment.11
Monday 16 February 2015
Freedom of expression must be tempered by sensitivity to others
A response to last week’s article on the importance free speech in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo killings which considers the rise of Islamophobia in Europe
Valentine’s Day is awful Alice Brien on how a Christian celebration lost its way
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F
Melek Cabron
ollowing the events in Paris a month ago there has been fear going around in our society, although for many different reasons. On the one hand we have Muslims who fear for their lives now, and then there are other people who are afraid that there will be restrictions on our freedom of speech. No matter how tragic the events were, I cannot claim that the people at Charlie Hebdo were in any way heroic. If you look at Hebdo’s previous publications you will see continuous proofs of the magazine’s xenophobic, anti-semitic, and Islamophobic content. We should remember that yes, satire should provoke, but it should be thoughtprovoking. It should not feed prejudice, but open people’s eyes. The events that followed the Charlie Hebdo murders are an indicator of how acceptable Islamophobic behaviour and comments have be-
come in the name of freedom of speech. Within 48 hours 16 places of worship were attacked. How come we feel comfortable discussing ‘our’ probable lack of freedom of expression, when countries like France feel free to ban the niqab, a piece of religious attire that does not harm anyone in any way? Society is easily and quickly misguided by the actions of certain extremists, which does not only fuel hate and fear on one side but both. Freedom of speech has always been restricted; you can say and do what you want up to the point where it harms others. This is why we have courts; this is why we have laws. It is usually the privileged who think they can say and do whatever they want to without dealing with the consequences because they are rarely the victims of it. One should ask why we would allow that kind of hate speech just in the name of the vague term of freedom of speech. Never mind that there are laws against hate speech already.
And no, restrictions do not have anything to do with being a coward. Consideration and respect help us to get along with each other. Newcastle currently has to deal with a possible march of the right group PEGIDA who make it clear that they want Muslims to ‘go back where they came from’. They are in fear that all Muslims who came to this country to work, or maybe even were born and raised here, want to impose their own ideals on them. I am pretty sure that all of these people just want to wake up and go to work and have a nice day and not talk to racist fools. I do not think that Nazis should be allowed to go out on the streets and spread their hateful thoughts in public. At the moment Muslims in Dusseldorf, Germany have not been able to go outside on a Monday evening without being greeted by a group of ‘protesting’ Nazis. I do not want my and other people’s safety to be sacrificed for an idealistic idea of ‘freedom of speech’. People should be more afraid of 1939 than 1984.
Keeping Ed above water Despite Ed Miliband’s lack of sparkle and charisma, his achievements shouldn’t be negated
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Matt Corden
or some, the “Miliband factor” in 2015 is as toxic as giving Richard Nixon the Republican nomination for President in 1976, or reinstating Neville Chamberlain as leader of the Tory Party in 1945 (hypothetically speaking of course, Chamberlain was long dead by then and Nixon would have been impeached immediately). Bacon sandwiches, awkward embraces with both brother and wife, awfully repetitive and robotic interviews; the Conservative PR machine can smell a repeat of Neil Kinnock’s electoral flop of 1992. I suspect some within the ranks of the Labour Party can smell it too. Of course image and strength of character matters in politics, it’s a Brownite delusion to pretend otherwise, but Ed Miliband deserves more credit than he often gets; he has been perhaps one of the most influential opposition leaders in modern history. He successfully pressured parliament into finally recognising Palestine as a state, albeit imperfectly, with drivel from David Cameron bemoaning that providing a state for these stateless people – who have been subject to Israeli military force since 1967 – will undermine Israel’s existence, which is just as important as the selfdetermination of the Palestinians. As the son of a Holocaust survivor, many of the more enthusiastic followers of Theodor Herzl have repeated the silly accusation that Miliband is a “self-hating Jew”. He forced the phone hacking scandal to the top of the political agenda, with lasting knock-on effects to Rupert Murdoch’s empire. He has definitely stood
up to the monopoly of gas companies who are failing to reduce their prices to reflect the economic climate, proposing a break-up of the six major energy companies. That’s a shake-up that will be as radical as Thatcher’s original dogmatic decision to privatise energy in the 1980s. Despite his tragic image, it’s not too much of a stretch to suggest that there’s something of the Thatcherite in Ed Miliband, in the very loose sense that he is not frightened to challenge the status quo. Of course his record is by no means free of disgraces. His conduct during the vote on intervention in Syria was a scandal, the endless terms and conditions he demanded (all of which Cameron accepted) made no difference, and he refused to support the motion at the last minute in a cheap attempt to embarrass him. Whilst Labour Party officials were cheering and clinking champagne glasses in their offices, Assad had napalmed another town. What followed was his nonsensical position that we can only fight ISIS in Iraq and not Syria. ISIS won’t be recognising any border distinction so what place do technical legalisms have in a conflict of great importance? This political opportunism is an unfortunate tendency with Ed Miliband, and it was articulated well by David Aaronovitch in describing him as a political vulture. As a rare breed, I remain fairly nostalgic for Tony Blair’s New Labour (and yes, including the long overdue toppling of Charles Taylor, Slobodan Milosovic and Saddam Hussein), so Ed Miliband’s insistence to reject this legacy is to be regretted in my view. I’m still not sure if he will get my vote in May because my differences with him aren’t quite settled, but it’s only fair that his very real achievements in opposition are recognised.
Image: Riots Panel @ Flickr
lmost as soon as the final “Fa-la-la-lala” ceases, it seemed that the shops were immediately re-dressed for that dreaded time of year again – Valentine’s Day. Still groggy from the New Year’s hangover, you are bombarded with new forms of chocolate in Tesco. It proves too difficult to find the familiar purple of a Cadbury’s wrapper and you find yourself returning home with a milk chocolate bar elaborately decorated with hearts ‘To The One I Love’ and for some inexplicable reason, two Crème Eggs. And then come the incessant invitations to themed club nights, singles parties… At least the colour scheme is the same festive red. But it creeps in where you least expect it too. I was horrified to find my Starbucks take-away cup subtly adopting the Valentine’s theme for the first time ever, changing the boxes to heart shapes. I can tolerate commercialism to a point, but this just seems unnecessary.
“Valentine’s Day has become like every other originally Christian public holiday: profit orientated and soulless”
When my boyfriend at the time gave me a card for Valentine’s Day I almost broke it off with him. He said he tried to find the cheesiest card, to keep it lighthearted – but this is a lie. There is no such thing as a not-cheesy Valentine’s Day card. I send cards to my friends all year round to remind them I love them, and the unexpectedness of it makes it more special. Not because I had to wait a whole year to tell someone. I would also like to take this moment to consider the more technical problem of Valentine’s Day. No, I don’t mean whether you need to have “the talk” with your partner to find out what “seeing each other” actually means. Whilst the feast day was adopted as a replacement for a pagan festival, St. Valentine was actually killed for not renouncing his Christian faith. In a way, celebrating St. Valentine’s Day is about the same as celebrating Christmas, or Easter. It has become like every other originally Christian public holiday: profit oriented and soul-less. And more than anything else, it is stressful and expensive.
“When my boyfriend gave me a card for Valentine’s Day I almost broke it off with him”
However, the February stretch is a long time without any celebrations between Christmas and New Year’s and Easter, and I understand we need something to keep us going. So why do we not celebrate Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day as it is more popularly known as, more widely? That too has lost it’s religious undertones, and we might make that last minute rushed pancake, but it’s the day before the start of lent, why not make it a bigger and better celebration? Where are the alcohol and meal deals for Pancake Day? It’s literally a day where we use up food – now that is a commercial holiday I could get behind. Yes, I may be considered as the Grinch who stole Valentine’s, but I’m sure I can console myself with the mounds of marked down chocolate come the 15th February.
12.lifestyle
Monday 16 February 2014
The Courier
Lifestyle Editors: Jack Dempsey, Annie Lord, Holly Suttle & Tom Tibble
S
BNOC life
ometimes I completely forget just how hard you muggles have it. Like the other day, I was shooting the shit with one of my lesser known hangers-on (a total fucking muggle if I ever did see one), when I said something that completely stunned him. I think it was about cutting through the shitty riffraff and straight into the anus of Digi. This lead me to a biblical scale revelation: the poor fucker actually has no idea what it’s like to be me, an official Big Name. As a result of my shocker, I thought it’d be a nice to give you Z-listers a taste of the lifestyle; a dollop of vintage jam on the Smartprice rice pudding that is your life.
Find your valen-Tyne
Spent Valentines Day alone? Sam Hutt gives us a foolproof guide to bagging a belle/beau
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ow that Valentines’ Day has come and gone, your good friends here at the Courier have decided to give you some helpful hints and truthful tips on how to bag yourself a date in time for next year. You may want to tear this page out and keep it with you at all times, for the insight we are about to share will help you in the strangest of circumstances. This top secret information will prove to
be invaluable to your love life. Step 1: Clean up your act and your bed (when the moment’s right, be prepared.) Remove those crusty bed sheets covered in nachos from the endless nights of Netflix marathons, where you have wasted your life away, and jump in the shower. We recommend you shower at least once a week to provide adequate scent dispersal throughout the University campus. A good amount of phero-
“Everyone’s clearly too intimidated to ask me to the pub, so I go back to Jezzy to nap off my raging ganjover”
It’s Monday. I walk into my lecture, late of course, and see all my buds lose their shit. They haven’t seen me since I peppered that hobo with fries on Saturday and typically give me the ledge reception I deserve—immediately shifting up, making ample room for me to park my Big Name. “Yo Peter, how’s it hanging, mental scenes this weekend am I right?” “Shh,” he says, eyes fixed on the OAP garbling at the front. “Oh don’t bother with him, the old fucker will not stop. Probably the highlight of his week.” After the lecture, everyone’s clearly too intimidated to ask me to the pub, so I go back to Jezzy to nap off my raging ganjover. I’ve found it’s fairly standard for the Small Names to keep shtum around a Big Name—nobody wants to poke their fingers into the lion cage. Tuesday, seminar central. Fitties giving me the eye from all angles when I start giving it the feminist spiel. That’s right, I think us chaps should cook the dinner so that you gals can get yourselves spruced up in the bedroom, know what I mean, put the quality back into equality. None of the chickas seem to take me on, but it’s hard to communicate sexual desire when some wrinkly sackademic won’t shut their troll hole.
“‘Who’s this slick bastard messaging me about wellpriced student events?’” Orange bloody Wednesdays, get in. Quick flick followed by the cheekiest of Nandos. Pull a code off a peasant (Orange? Have a bath) and watch American Sniper. Take that terrorist! Not so cocky now, are you, terrorist? How Bradley Cooper ever recovered enough from that wicked hangover and gained such savage sniper skills I will never know. Thursday off. Get my promo on for Tiger Tiger and myself (“Who’s this slick bastard messaging me about well-priced student events?” - bingo). After that, monstrous gym session. Tune up the abs, a few squatties for the hotties before finishing with a boozy jacuzzi dip — naked of course. They don’t allow it, but you can bugger right off if you think I’m keeping my shorts on when the jet streams are on.
“A few squatties for the hotties before finishing with a boozy jacuzzi dip naked, of course”
Friday. My day. Get in your eye day. The only studying I’ll be doing today is of my beautifully sculpted hair. Even my pubes will look lush before tonight, like fucking Velcro—don’t get too close if you don’t want to strap on. I’ll be speaking Banternese all night long. It’s time to ring the boys and start getting wankered, we’re going downtown.
Monument: the typical hunting ground
mones will attract the opposite sex. Note: Don’t forget to scrub the downstairs department – you never know which day will be your lucky day. Step 2: Now you are appropriately clean, it’s time to get you out of your Jesmond cave. People are social creatures and they tend to hang out on dark street corners, under bridges, and in University library cafes. The best technique is to integrate yourself into a group of other student beings who are more sociable than yourself and make sure you find a group of Newcastle-ites (not the other University, they-who-must-not-be-named). When your target is acquired, isolation is key to your hunt. You need to separate them from the herd. Step 3: Making the move. When you find a possible suitor, don’t forget to keep smiling and bare those teeth wide – it’s best to act unlike yourself and more like those cool kids (‘cause they all seem to fit in) that you watch on your old-skool Netflix films. Popular topics of conversation: “Dude, I got so wasted in Tiger last night!” “Oh man, I’ve got so much course work I haven’t done!” And our personal favourite, “I really enjoy chatting to the ladies at reception in the SU – they are so kind.” Step 4: Go in for the kill. After establishing how clean you are, and that you actually are a fellow ‘cool’ Newcastle student (because only the real cool kids talk about how wasted they are in Tiger), feel free to put an arm round your subject and slyly whisk them away to Eat4Less for your first of many dates to come. Classy as it is, you could also opt for an even higher-end establishment, such as McDonalds or Burger King. Maybe treat them to the subway from within the Student Union itself. If this doesn’t work, well then, we don’t know what to suggest. Everyone knows Eat4Less is a favourite amongst our students, and hygiene is only relatively important. You’re on your own, mate.
A history of the hipster Social historian Ruby Nguyen details the rise of the hipster counterculture movement
“W
hy did the hipster burn his hand? Because he touched something before it was cool.” What exactly is a hipster? Placed in a final exam, this question would probably cause more failed papers than a breakdown of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. In fact, no definition can do hipsterdom justice, but if a hipster happens to pass by, he’ll immediately be spotted like Eminems among Jay Zs, Juicy Js and Kanye Wests. According to Oxford Dictionary, a hipster is a person with the ability to sense the latest trends and fashions, especially those marginalised by the cultural mainstream. However, the hipster died the minute we called him a hipster, for the term no longer has the same meaning. His multi-dimensional melting pot of styles, tastes and behaviour complicates a true definition of the counter-subculture that swims against the mainstream. The term was coined in the 1940s to define someone who rejected societal norms – such as middle-class white people who listened to jazz. As a principle, hipsters divorced from the mainstream and embarked on the pursuit of individualism and authenticity. The movement started gaining popularity in the early 2000s as followers began taking small steps in distancing from the crowd, such as wearing white belts and ‘guyliner’ for a sophisticated fashion combination. A range of add-ons followed through out the years: from rare-vinyl collections, tobacco pipes, Buddy Holly glasses (despite 20/20 vision) to tattoos of Chinese characters that symbolized something along the lines of ‘beauty’, ‘nature’, ‘love’ and ‘truth’, hipsterdom rapidly evolved and diversified. More contemporarily, hipsters favour tight jeans, Kombuchas, thrift shopping, indie music and, most importantly for males, beards inspired by Victorian preachers. For more information, please consult Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Nowadays, hipsters define themselves by being
Hipsterical: This chap is having a mad one trendsetters, not followers. Experimental in nature, their trendsetting involves creating a transatlantic melting pot of all styles, tastes and behaviours. The modern hipster swears by authenticity, extracting many core elements of all classes and their respective attributes and while doing so proudly recycling the ‘tasteless’ into the ‘tasteful’. However, many wonder whether hipsterdom is on the verge of extinction. Deliberate refusals to adapt and/or accept progress make this counterculture look ridiculous as they are deemed ‘trying too hard’. MacBook and iPods? I’m good with my pre-war typewriter and portable vinyl player, thank you. Non-conformities that were once admirably traditional, authentic and singular have now been deemed unreasonably eccentric and senseless
and rather indicate rejection of progress, or worse: lack of adaptability to modernity. Indeed, the so-called ‘hipster fatigue’ is lurking as it gradually becomes mainstream. The constant attempt to polarise our culture sphere begins confusing both parties as they merge into one vast, wildly mixed and diverse patchwork of lifestyles, philosophies and fashion trends. Consequently, the destabilisation of both ends - mainstream and hipsterdom - causes many interesting reactions of their followers. As Chai lattes and thrift-shopping gain popularity at the mainstream end, the kingdom of hipsters at the other end increasingly favour iPhones and Lady Gaga. Nonconformism is stuck in a never-ending, exhausting cycle. ‘Who is a non-conformist?’ - we all are!
The Courier
.13
Monday 16 February 2014
Culture thecourieronline.co.uk/culture
Culture Editor: Kate Bennett Sections: Lifestyle, Fashion, Beauty, Arts, Music, Film, TV, Gaming and Science courier.culture@ncl.ac.uk | @CourierOnline
Blind Date
Naomi Harryman, 3rd Year , Law meets Tom Newell, 3rd Year, Business Management
Tom on Naomi
How did your date go? It was going okay until it transpired that she had got with my flatmate. She spent around an hour chatting about that. She’d gone on a night out with an unfamiliar group and had never been to Digital before, and was subsequently nervous about being left alone, so she thought she’d stay with my flatmate who she already knew, by pulling him. Thing is, I’d done a bit of Facebook stalking and seen that we had 7 mutual friends, so I had talked to the flatmate in question and already knew her story. I genuinely didn’t give a shit, but it seemed like she’d made her mind up about the direction of the date after talking that long about my flatmate. Crikey, so what were your first impressions? She was nice, very well spoken. But she did seem to put on a much posher accent when talking to the waitress. Oh right, did there seem to be any reason for this? Well we looked at the wine list, and I only know a little about wine, and she seemed to know about wine, so we ended up having a kinda who’s-the-most-middle-class-wine-off.
Who paid? He paid. It’s the 21st century, so I’m not paying, Women fought for the vote, and I vote not to pay. Anything cheeky happen on the date? Not really, I flirted with the bar tender, but Tom went to the loo so it was okay. You’re allowed to do that when they leave the room right? What were your first impressions of Tom? He was really nice. He put in a lot of effort very gentlemanly.
So why didn’t you like him in that why? Well the main topic of conversation was how I got with his flatmate last week. It was unfortunate. Especially seeing as his flatmate was my boss.
“It was going okay until it transpired that she had got with my flatmate”
How did that conversation come about? We were talking about mutual friends, and it was like, ‘‘oh.’’
Did you find her attractive? Yeah, reasonably, general vibe was positive. Who held the floor of conversation? She did. In previous dates I’ve been accused of dominating. It was a bit awkward when we talked about graduate jobs, she talked about hers and I was waiting for her to ask about mine. She never did. What was your favourite thing about her? She was very genuine, no bullshit. And what about your least favourite thing? The continual talk about my flatmate. She was talking about an upcoming birthday night out and she spent ages trying to make me persuade my flatmate to go out. She didn’t even invite me! Did you make any moves? No, and it ended quite weirdly. Up until flatmate-gate it seemed to go okay and then it flattened out. We then went for cocktails around half 9 and I was hoping to move through a few bars down quayside but she then said she had to be in bed by 10. I was led to believe she likes early nights. Did you like her clothing style? She said she doesn’t normally bother so I suppose I should be grateful. Is she girlfriend material? Don’t know. It’s difficult to consider when she can’t even stop talking about my flatmate. How was general conversation other than flatmate-gate? Well other than that, it was lovely. Another weird bit though, we did chat about Facebook stalking each other in the lead up to the date. But her method weirded me out a bit. She found my number, which she used to find my Snapchat, then found my surname through that and then finally found my Facebook.
Rate your date out of 10. 7
How did your date go? It was nice. We went to the living room, for food, it was classy. Then we went to Hop & Cleaver for cocktails.
“It’s the 21st century, so I’m not paying. Women fought for the vote, and I vote not to pay”
Who paid for the evening? I paid for the meal. She paid for the cocktails. She offered to pay but I think there was an implied understanding that I’ll do one and she do the other. My mates gave me a list of 3 rules and one of them was that I had to pay for the meal.
Sum up Naomi in 3 words. Fun. Natural. Flatmate-gate.
Naomi on Tom
Looking for love? Send in your details to c2.lifestyle@ncl.ac.uk
“The main topic of conversation was how I got with his flatmate last week. It was unfortunate” Do you think anything would have happened if you hadn’t got with his flatmate? The flatmate thing wasn’t serious, and I’m not sure anything would have happened with Tom anyway. He’s a really nice guy, but just not for me. He’s just a bit... ‘nice.’ He needs to find a nice girl, and I’m not a nice girl. Was there any awkward moments during the date? Honestly no, there were absolutely none. But then I do talk a lot. What did you think of his appearance? He clearly tried really hard with it - not to be patronising. Sum the date up in 3 words. Nice. Nice. Nice. Bless him. You know? [Pulls face] Plus he told me I’m aggressive. Was that a compliment? Rate your date out of 10. 7? Cause it was nice?
14.lifestyle
Monday 16 February 2015
The Courier
Lifestyle Editors: Jack Dempsey, Annie Lord, Holly Suttle and Tom Tibble Lifestyle Editors:
Holly Suttle Morning mayhem
Y
ou know those people you see on the Metro each and every morning? Those ones you simply do not want to talk to at 9am in the morning. You might even spot your old housemate from last year, the one who you did get along with, but it’s 9am, and let’s be honest, we can’t be bothered to talk to them. However, as time ticks on, we feel as if this morning journey into university has been wasted. Fear not - I have the perfect solution.
“These techniques will make you feel more proactive”
Here are some ways to keep you occupied on those treacherous journeys into uni, when you are close to dying of boredom. Whether you are on the bus, on the Metro, or even waiting in your lecture (you early bird), these techniques will make you feel more proactive, like you have potentially achieved something this day. Here we go: Make a playlist. Easy, simple and something you can do on the move on your phone or iPod. Get prepped for the gym, or for your pre-drinks later, you’ll be feeling tons more productive already. Next, do your admin. Check emails, reply to stupid Facebook messages, do your daily tweet. Whatever it is that you feel addresses the norms of responding on social media. Even write a quick message to a friend from home and brighten up their day with a soppy ‘I miss you’ message. Organise your next night out/in. Text the friends who will be going, or group message them making plans for your big night out next on the Toon, or what film you want to watch with your flatmates that night. Have something to look forward to at the end of the day! Lastly, people watch. We all love doing this. You might ear in to some juicy gossip, or just get a good laugh at how hilarious some people are.
Stealers wheel B 1 3
Haaris Qureshi gives us some methods to stop your bike getting nicked icycles are expensive. I know this because I looked in the shop window of a bicycle shop once and it cost more than the cheapest sandwich in the Student Union shop and anything more expensive than £1 is too expensive (Poundland FTW). So obviously to those who have bicycles, having your bicycle stolen is not ideal. The sure way to avoid bicycle thefts happening is for people to stop stealing bicycles, but that would be ridiculous because we live in a victim-blaming society and therefore it’s all your fault and up to you to stop having your bicycle stolen. Don’t fret, however! I have never had my bicycle stolen – and so am very well placed to advise you on ways to prevent the theft of your transportation device. But before I give my #1 cannot-fail solution, here’s my top ways to ensure your continuing ownership of your bike.
Get a biometric shock bicycle lock
Most people have the standard bicycle lock, which can be easily broken up with most pliers (like the one I always keep on my person because … reasons). However, your Biometric Shock Bicycle lock™ prevents this by electrocuting anyone who walks into a 10 metre radius of your bike and isn’t you (the bike owner will be kept safe by a device identifying yourself with chips, which will be embedded throughout your body and may or may not make you sterile). The heap of charred bodies surrounding your bike also offers an extra layer of protection.
“The Biometric Shock lock electrocutes anyone who isn’t you”
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Employ a 24/7 armed guard
This is a nice touch which provides some level of customisation. You can have the standard single thug. You could employ an entire SWAT team. Or, for those classicists among us, a Roman centurion, with a gladius and shield. Note this may or may not be legal. I have no idea, I’m not a lawyer! But you could try it out and send your feedback our way.
Take your wheels with you!
Simply detach/yank off the wheels of your bike, and take them in with you. The thief will then have to carry the bike with him, which will weigh him down and make him easier to track when you hunt him down to carry out vengeance. You could even throw the wheels at him like some sort of death Frisbee.
“You could throw your wheels at the thief like some sort of death Frisbee”
4 5
Buy a big coat
This actually doesn’t have anything to do with bicycles. It’s just that it’s getting cold and I’m worried about hypothermia. Suppose if it’s a big coat, you could hide your bike under it?
Don’t own a bike
I do not own a bike, and because of this, I have never had a bike stolen off of me. This is literally an easy to implement solution that cannot fail or be exploited. Enact this one step of not owning a bike, and you will never fall foul of bike thefts ever again!
Win: burgers for six
Lifestyle gives you the chance to win a meal for six people, complete with The Handmade Burger Co. drinks and sides, at The Handmade Burger Co. in The Gate
1. Who founded Newcastle’s first art gallery in 1901? 2. What street in Newcastle does the muffin man live down? 3. Which king reigned between 1547-1533 in England? 4. What was mathematician Leonardo Pisano Bogollo’s nickname? 5. What Harry Potter spell creates a bandage and a splint (also a Latin word)? 6. In the tales of the Brothers’ Grimm, what is Cinderella’s name? 7. Who established the sonnet form in the 14th century? 8. What is the ‘customer favourite’ meal at Quay Ingredient? 9. Which female artist’s first ever published song is called ‘Tim McGraw’? 10. Which other page in this Courier issue has a burger on it? (Look through it now!) 11. What is the surname of the current editor of the Courier? 12. What, in the periodic table, does At stand for? 13. What is the world’s northernmost active volcano called?
FINALLY: What does the hidden word mean? Once you have managed to discover the hidden word down the middle, find out it’s meaning and send it in for YOUR chance to win!
To enter, email c2.lifestyle@ncl.ac.uk with the answer to the puzzle above, and earn the chance to win. The winner will be selected out of a hat and announced in next week’s issue.
The Courier
lifestyle.15
Monday 16 February 2015
thecourieronline.co.uk/lifestyle c2.lifestyle c2.lifestyle@ncl.ac.uk | @CourierLifestyle @CourierLifestyle
Restaurant review: The Fat Hippo
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s a burger enthusiast, and a right foodie, I’m forever on the lookout for new places to try in Newcastle on a student’s budget. So I jumped at the chance to review Fat Hippo (I think I almost trampled someone in my excitement, no lie). I’d heard nothing but awesomeness about the place, and why on earth I’d left it this long to try one of Newcastle’s best restaurants, I have no clue. But, good things come to those who wait. And trust me, ‘good’ is an understatement. The restaurant is tucked away on St George’s Terrace, in the heart of Jesmond. With its fairy lights and quirky hippo sign, it looks bright, welcoming and unique. It was too cold to eat outside, but the benches outside hinted at the chilled summer dining experience in the months to come. Inside, the restaurant was busy, and full of customers of all ages - from families to students to loved-up couples, to sports teams out for a post-match scran – it seems the appeal of Fat Hippo is universal. The drinks menu is extensive – there’s a range of alcoholic beverages, from beers (including the Fat Hippo IPA) to ciders, spirits and boozy milkshakes, and a brilliant selection of ‘T-total’ drinks too. I opted for a thick, sweet vanilla milkshake and my date for the night, my housemate Jess, went for the chocolate equivalent. One sip, and we were fully sold on the place. As I cast an appreciating glance over the food menu, I was tempted by the variety of tantalising starters, but I was set on getting straight down to business. I’m met with a list of absolutely genius burgers, from the classic ‘American’ (8 ounces of juicy goodness with cheese, gherkins, ketchup and mustard), to an experimenter’s heaven ‘PB+J’ (8 ounces of patty with peanut butter and, get this:
Jesmond: home to the Fat Hippo
Media student Louisa Barnard mounts a defence of her subject
bacon jam) and the challenging ‘Captain Cook’ (24 ounces of succulent beef in 3 patties, layered with cheese, bacon and Fat Hippo Sauce). There are some great veggie options: the ‘My Big Fat Bean Burger’ looks spectacular – it’s a spicy bean patty with grilled halloumi, red peppers, tomatoes and garlic mayo. It caught my flatmate’s eye, and she decided on it. After much deliberation, I decided on the ‘Gastro’ – 8 ounces of pink-in-themiddle beefiness with layers of parma ham, rocket and pesto mayo. The staff at Fat Hippo are brilliantly friendly and attentive, and the atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming. It’s easily the kind of place you could go to on a date, to celebrate a birthday, or to take your parents when they’re up visiting you (and footing the bill, obviously). When our burgers arrived, Jess and I were in awe. These burgers (with a side of triple-fried skin-on chips) are something else. Knives and forks won’t do here – this food requires rolling up your sleeves and getting stuck in. So that’s what we did. From the first bite, it was easily one of the best burgers I’ve ever eaten, surpassing the much lauded Almost Famous back home (sorry, Manchester!). A good twenty minutes (filled with silent appreciation and much mess) later, we were done. I picked at the last of my chips and nursed a food baby. Jess declared that she’d never need to eat again. We had a half-hearted look at the desserts menu – it looks brilliant, and definitely something to attempt next time. Because, of course we’re coming back, and we’re bringing the rest of the house next time, too. Iqra Choudry
Microwave meals: Cheat’s peach cobbler T
his week I happened upon a recipe for peach cobbler for one, a recipe that you can make in a mug using the microwave… and I did not hesitate. This is a cheap, quick and alarmingly simple recipe that’s going to make you wonder why you haven’t been eating peach cobbler your whole life. Here’s the secret to throwing together a cheat’s version using your microwave in ten easy steps. Time taken: Quarter of an hour Ingredients: 6 peach slices, 4 tablespoons of plain flour, 2 tablespoons of white sugar, 1 tablespoon of butter, half a teaspoon of baking powder, a splash of milk and a dash of cinnamon. (Optional: a handful of pecan nuts). 1. Arm yourself with 2 mugs. 2. In one mug spoon a decent table spoon of butter. 3. Pop this in the microwave for up to a minute until the butter melts.
4. Add 2 tablespoons of water and a splash of milk to this mug, and stir in with the butter. 5. In your second mug (preferably, a big one) spoon 4 tablespoons of plain flour. 6. Add 2 tablespoons of white sugar, half a teaspoon of baking powder and a dash of cinnamon. 7. Stir together all the dry ingredients that are in Mug 2. Then, add them to Mug 1 and stir it all into one mix. Top Tip: If you happen to have been most irresponsible with your money while you were in the supermarket and, as a result, you have pecan nuts in your cupboard (I’m guilty) then chop a handful of them up and add them to your batter. They add some crunch to your cobbler! 8. Take a tin of slices peaches and drain it. Tip most into a Tupperware and pop them in the fridge to eat another time. 9. Save about 6 peach slices. Lay these in a square of kitchen roll and try to dab them dry using the
Mediangst
roll, so that they won’t sog up your cobbler with peach juice. 10. Finally, add your peaches to the mug (either sit them on top of your cake or stir them in). Microwave for one minute. Leave to rest for maybe half a minute. Then, microwave for another minute and FEAST. Top Tip: The reason for the rest half way through microwaving is that, if the same thing happens to you as it did to me, your cobbler mix might froth a little in the microwave, like a science experiment. I think maybe the peaches react with the batter? Who knows! Anyway, the froth tastes amazingly sweet, but just watch for it overtopping the mug while your cobbler warms. Hayley Godbehere Visit Hayley’s food blog for further recipes and inspiration: http://chefbehere.blogspot.co.uk/
“S
o you take media as a degree? That sounds…fun...”. Fun! FUN!? How is any degree fun? Of course, it’s interesting, but no, my degree is not about ‘having fun’. It does not consist of watching films. This is why media students always dread the moment when they are asked what course they take, because they have to be instantly prepared to defend themselves. The personality traits that are connected with media studies are far from positive; at a stretch we are deemed somewhat ‘cool’, and probably decent company for a night out. But never, NEVER, are we credited for our academic abilities. Even in a society where every single person is reliant on social media, the link is never made between that and our course.
“Media students dread the moment when they are asked what course they take’’
Like those doing arts and humanities subjects, we are generally understood to be free spirits, seeking self-expression whilst enjoying the freedom of having minimal work. We are seen as a ‘good laugh’ and rarely taken seriously. It is easy to forget that actually, as it is such popular subject there are limited jobs available, most of the time we end up undertaking a lot of additional work to build a portfolio of knowledge and experience simply to help us get a foot on the job ladder. This does, in fact, include reading. I know, shocking as it is, media students do actually have to read things – a LOT of things. Nevertheless, there is an energy and spirit amongst us media students exactly because we don’t take ourselves too seriously, yet work hard when it is needed. Now, mathematics on the other hand, is a universally respected course. It is also a word that strikes fear into the hearts of many. This is what is deemed as a ‘proper’ course, one that can cripple someone’s social life under the weight of its cleverness. It is a course that people are certainly proud to study. You either understand the subject or you don’t. Therefore, these textbook learners get credit for being ‘naturally clever’. Within the subject there are less debates or secondary opinions. Maths is conventional and traditional, which is how it has earned its position high up in the academic hierarchy.
“Maths is conventional and traditional, which is how it has earned its position high up in the academic hierarchy”
Compared to school where mathematical wizards are generally spotty kids with glasses and no social skills, at university maths students can proudly declare, “Yeah, I do Maths!” We no longer question their social skills as much because it is such an established course (even though the general public always seem to be baffled that anyone could possibly enjoy the subject). Alongside this, for some reason it is always more exciting when a female takes the subject. Apparently this is far more rare. The subject was always so strongly enforced at an early age that to many it became a chore. Maybe this is why taking maths has almost become a badge of honour. Many of us could not even comprehend continuing it after the set criteria age, so how could anyone else? We just assume that if you take maths if was because from an early age you did not socialize, or you were a massive ‘nerd’, when in fact, it is a subject that students are just naturally good at.
The Courier
Monday 16 February 2015
lifestylefeature.17
Scran on the Tyne is all mine The route from Newcastle to Amsterdam via the DFDS ferry is one taken by many of us, and having sampled the delights of the Dutch capital the munchies can be a nuisance. We sent Jamie Shepherd to investigate the ferry’s fancy new menu
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ome dingus once said, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch” but they obviously weren’t invited on-board a big, fuck-off boat to try the onboard restaurant’s taster menu. Considering I was initially planning on just defrosting one of the plethora of weird veggie curries I’ve got filling up my freezer space, I felt that this was obviously a no brainer, as when you’re a penniless student living in Heaton, you’ve got to be pretty mercenary when it comes to acquiring your latest meal. The details I’d been given were pretty scarce. I had to arrive at the DFDS ticket offices at 9.45 prompt but considering I’ve not been to that part of North Tyneside since I was a chubby 8 year old, hiding his fat rolls from potential bullies at Wet ‘n’ Wild I knew I was going to have to set off early. I arrived at Percy Main Metro, a location that accrues only legendary status for most students in Newcastle, only to have no idea where the fuck I was going. After approaching a couple of fishwives who kept calling me ‘hinny’, ‘pet’, and ‘flower’ I was back on track and approaching the almost Indian reservation like structures of Tyneside’s premiere outlet shopping centre Royal Keys. When I got the ferry office, was ushered into a room with 7 other people. All of them well established local food journalists and bloggers. When asked who I worked for all I could say was that I was music editor for my student newspaper, which resulted in a load of blank stares. “So, what exactly are you doing here?” the matriarch of the group demanded to know. I felt I couldn’t just admit that I was here for a free lunch, so I made up some bullshit that I was covering for someone (technically true) who’d ironically been taken ill with the shits (not true). Bluff successfully played (so I thought), we were given high-vis jackets and led into the cavernous car park. We were squeezed into the narrow confines of an elevator and taken to the Blue Riband restaurant. There’s a few different dining options available on board but if I’m going to explain this via Hollywood film analogy. Blue Riband = Kate Winslet; 7 Seas Buffet = Leonardo Di Caprio but replace Kate with retired school teachers and Leo with radge Geordie stoners and you’ve kinda got an idea who’s catered for. After a chat with the chef, we were invited down to the kitchens and assigned tasks. I really wasn’t expecting to have to work for my dinner and I really didn’t expect to be given the most dyspraxic unfriendly task going. While everyone else had easy tasks like kneading bread or putting smoked trout in blender, the chef had me making duck spring rolls. I managed to surprise my uncoordinated self with how quickly I managed to pick up the rolling skill but then I thought if I actually was on this boat going to Amsterdam I was going to have to learn how to roll something else never mind spring rolls. After making about 11 or some, seemingly presentable spring rolls we were led back upstairs, to dine and were presented with our scran. Presented excellently we had a mini feast of trout mousse with black rice and seaweed puree, smoked scampi
(not the breaded type you get in ‘spoons) with aioli, balsamic caramelised onion and duck spring rolls, mini margherita pizzas, veal carpaccio with gorgonzola and chorizo crumble on top, freshly baked spring roll bread, and Gateau Marcel which was a mini chocolate cake that was firm baked on one side and soft and gooey on the other. After spending a frustrated January doing Veganuary, I was more than happy to be presented with everything I’d been forbidden that past month. The trout mousse had a creamy but tart taste and a reassuringly fluffy consistency and the prawns had a subtle smoked flavour that still managed to stand up to the strength of the aioli. The duck rolls were rich and slightly sickly, but the acidity of the balsamic vinegar curbed the urge to vomit (not that I was going to anyway). My personal favourite was the veal carpaccio as a month of total meat abstention made me really fucking appreciate the taste of tender, not quite cooked meat. Although the chorizo crumble kind of reminded me of the strange bacon bits you get on cinema hot dogs, the gorgonzola oozed, delicious molten mouldy cheese goodness. The dessert was rich and claggy and stuck to the insides of my gob but I wasn’t fighting it, I was just shovelling more of it inside me. The pizzas didn’t really go with the whole vibe, as such, but I ate them didn’t I? This was kinda like one of the genius but bizarre combinations that you come up when you’re gripped with extreme cases of the munchies, which I thought, was apt for dinner on the “high” seas. After 15 minutes’ recuperation time we were given a tour of the bar facilities and offered a chance to make our own cocktails in the boats “nightclub”. This was more like the Phoenix Club than the Berghain of the open waters and that vibe was heightened by the fact the barman told me that the most popular cocktails served there are sex on the beaches, strawberry daiquiris and cosmopolitans. There was nothing whatsoever that you could call cosmopolitan about this bar but when you’re on a boozy student trip to the ‘Dam you’re not really going to care where your drink’s coming from as long as it’s surprisingly reasonably priced and freeflowing until an indeterminate time. After one too many effeminate and pseudo-classy cocktail, it was time to return to dry land and the grim reality of North Tyneside (seriously, don’t ever go anywhere in this area that isn’t Tynemouth, Whitley Bay or maybe Cullercoats). After waddling back to the metro stop well fed and slightly squiffy, it sunk in that this was possibly one of the weirdest things I’ve ever done in the name of being fed and watered. It’d be a long time before I came across any food quite like this without my mother’s credit card to hand. It’s definitely gonna be Eat4Less baguettes until next loan day depending on whether they’ll actually let me in there, that is as let’s face it; they’re probably not my biggest fans given that the review I wrote for the Courier compared its dining experience to “queuing for bread in some ex-Soviet republic. Photos: Katie Vincent. Twitter: @ladyfromatramp
A music journalist being silently judged by food writers and a head chef
“Then I thought if I actually was on this boat going to Amsterdam I was going to have to learn how to roll something else, never mind spring rolls”
“There was nothing whatsoever that you could call cosmopolitan about this bar, but when you’re on a boozy student trip to the ‘Dam you don’t really care where your drink’s coming from as long as it’s surprisingly reasonably priced and flowing until an indeterminate time”
The author checking Tinder for hunks when he should really be paying attention to something else
So there was a tiny stone-baked pizza and no sign of any “delicious pasta”
I don’t know what’s beefier, the meat or the arms. Am I right?! (Not wrong)
18.fashion
Monday 16 February 2015
The Courier
Fashion Editors: Amy O’Rourke and Hannah Fitton Online Fashion Editor: Hannah Goldstein
Slogan: So-gone? Laura Barron
Why slogan tees should be a thing of the past
Khaki comeback Attention! Military inspired colours are marching back onto the high street, and V Victoria ictoria Thewlis tells us how to style this army inspired look
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hen I was 11 I bought a t-shirt that had the slogan ‘Fate or Fortune’ written on it. I thought it was really cool for about a year, until I came to my senses and banished it to the back of my wardrobe forever. I recently found it again when I was trying to sort out all my clothes, and after massively cringing and asking myself what on earth I was thinking, I quickly consigned it to the ‘not even good enough for the charity shop’ pile. It has been much to my chagrin that the fad for slogan tees has reemerged, and what’s worse, it’s not even the sole preserve of prepubescent girls anymore. It’s hard not to squirm with embarrassment every time I have to read the words ‘GEEK’ or ‘PEACE’ scrawled all over someone’s chest. You’re not making a profound political statement about stereotypes or war - I would imagine most people are pro-peace anyway, and the fact that you think that people might doubt that, funnily enough, you’re against warfare, probably says more about your paranoia than your political beliefs. What you’re really telling everyone is that you’re so unoriginal that you chose to buy a top that thousands of other people also own, with a slogan that you didn’t even come up with, but that instead was unthinkingly inscribed into a design by someone who knew that people would be thick enough to believe that having YOLO on a top counts as fashion.
“That t-shirt may have ‘YOLO’ written on it, but what it really says is ‘twat’”
Just as bad are the people who have quotes written on their tees, almost invariably said by someone that they’ve never heard of. I saw a person with ‘I have a dream’ written on their T-shirt last week. The state of fashion today is apparently so poor that something which was once so meaningful and brought hope to thousands of repressed people across the world has now become part of such a superficial trend. People are throwing these tops on without putting any thought into what they’re wearing. If you really did have ‘nothing to wear’ you’d be dressed in a bin bag, although admittedly then you might look a little less ridiculous. Clothes are amazing, designers put huge amounts of effort into their work to create beautiful things, and yet instead people are spending money on tops that took literally no time to think up. That t-shirt may have ‘YOLO’ written on it, but what it really says is ‘twat.’
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et in line fashion comrades, military is making comeback. It’s a classic, timeless trend and we’re seeing lots of clothes in shades of brown and green appearing in high street stores. Many celebrities have been sporting the trend, such as Kate Moss and Kim Kardashian, who make military suit their own personal styles showing its versatility. Where did the military trend start? The traditional colours such as khaki, beige and camel were initially worn during the world wars for tactics and because of its practicality. After World War Two the military style became mainstream and worn by men and women in everyday life, as there were large amounts of surplus army clothing. Since then,
the colours inspired by World War Two military have made several come-backs and this Spring, everything green is a go-ahead. It’s not just military shirts, jackets and jumpers that are cropping up, but styles with elegant twists. Khaki culottes are great item to have in your wardrobe this season combining two staple trends, and they are a great way to give a feminine edge to khaki. Another great way to make military feminine is by mixing it with colour or with floral prints. The high street offers range of bold prints in a mixture of bright and military colours. Khaki and camel are versatile colours and they’re not restricted to day time but are suitable for the evening and even for more formal occasions as well.
Recently at the SAG awards Jenifer Aniston wore a full length khaki dress, giving military a classy edge and proving that it can be worn for any occasion and not just everyday wear. Another fab thing about military is that it can be worn in all seasons. We saw khaki and camel for autumn/winter and now the same colours are appearing for spring/ summer. If you prefer a more individual look and are worried that following this trend will make you blend in with the crowd, then scour the vintage and charity shops. There are lots of great vintage pieces that you can pick up for a fraction of the high street price that are unique and still embrace this returning trend.
NRFS: R RAG AG Fashion Show
Fashion Editor Amy O’Rourke looks behind the scenes of the highly anticipated fashion fundraiser
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he RAG Fashion Show is back for another year, and this time around, it’s going to be bigger and better than ever. With catwalks showcasing national brands Urban Outfitters, Topshop and Dr Martens followed by local companies such as Yesterday Society and Love Niche, it’s a show fashion lovers cannot miss. Sharing the catwalk with the high-street giants are local brand The Yesterday Society. Based in Grainger Market, the store is a treasure trove of vintage gems, sporting a selection of Levi’s jeans, flannel shirts and oversized denim jackets, all perfectly suited to a student budget. Love Niche, another Newcastle based brand, will see a walk oozing with glitz and glamour, as the models sparkle in dresses and vibrant evening wear. After you’ve finished planning that 21st outfit, or deciding what dress you’re next loan is going to pay for, it’s time to get back to basics, as Ann Summers showcase the best in lingerie, taking inspiration from the highly anticipated 50 Shades of Grey. Proceeds from the show will be shared between two charities; the Caroline Rainbow Foundation, a charity promoting travel safety awareness amongst young adventurers, and the Albert Kennedy Trust, a charity supporting young LGBT who are homeless or living in a hostile environment. With amazing raffle prizes to be won, goodie bags to be claimed and plenty of pretty clothing to be lust after, it’s a show not to be missed.
Buy your tickets at www.nusu.co.uk/ragfashion
The Courier
fashion.19
Monday 16 February 2015
thecourieronline.co.uk/fashion Instagram:@thecourierfashion | Facebook: facebook.com/thecourierfash |Email: c2.fashion@ncl.ac.uk |
Snapped on campus
Alexa for AG Denim
Lottie Bovill and Bea Galletley headed out to catch the freshest looks
Tessa Jones
Finally, you can emulate Alexa’s effortless style as she releases a collection with AG Denim
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Nicky Bio med
Alex History and Politics
Alice Bio med
Freddie Mechanical Engineering
Dress for success As job interviews swiftly approach, Ellen Dixon scours the high street for the looks that will help you make the perfect impression
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hat you wear to an interview depends crucially on the type of job you’re applying for. The more creative the job role the more creative the outfit can be. For most interviews it should be office-appropriate, but that doesn’t mean you can’t look good at the same time. It’s important to show your professionalism, both in your etiquette and appearance; choosing the perfect outfit is useless if your nails are chipped or your blouse isn’t ironed. For most jobs, a smart outfit will do, but you’re more likely to make an impression if you wear something which stands out from the hordes of trouser suits. It’s still important to be tasteful though, and you can’t go far wrong with tapered or cigarette trousers. They look effortlessly smart, and are perfect teamed with a soft drape blouse which Topshop have in almost every colour; the soft lines balance the rigid structure of the trousers.
interview outfit. A black or tan leather tote is perfect, and a more rigid shape looks smarter than a soft pliable one. Unless the job is involved in art or fashion where a statement piece could make the outfit, jewellery should be understated, so a delicate silver or gold necklace or a simple leather watch is usually just enough to finish off the look.
“It is important to show your professionalism, both in your etiquette and appearance”
Although a blazer would polish up the outfit, a loose or sleeveless duster can add something different if the job is one with a more relaxed dress code. This look, in relatively muted colours, could be worn with a pair of mules or a brightly coloured court heel, and in the latter case, it always adds a little extra if your shoes match your nails, and if appropriate even your lipstick - it shows you take notice of the finer details which can always be seen as a transferable skill. Unless the job is one where a classic suit is an obligation, replace it with coords of a different kind like a high-necked top and matching A-line skirt. Finally, accessories should be kept to a minimum but they shouldn’t be an afterthought. It’s worth investing in a versatile bag that could match any
Topshop
lexa Chung, world renowned ‘It’ girl and transatlantic fashion icon has expanded her designer collaboration repertoire into denim. Following on from two previous collections with American brand Madewell, she unveils this new collaboration with AG Jeans. Chung has designed a 21-piece denim-focused collection, which is available to buy now. Featured are skinny jeans, dungarees, frilled dresses, shirts, flared jeans and A-line skirts, all in varying shades of denim, from navy blue to khaki green and white. Chung had a big hand in designing this collection in Los Angeles, which is proved by her innate aura of utter coolness being visibly present. She is known for her sultry but not over-exposed looks and whimsical, preppy styling, and this collection is no different, demonstrated by the incredible lookbook she has created, modelling each piece. There is a distinct late ‘60s and early ‘70s revival feel about the pieces, with cropped flares, high waists and short hemlines featuring prominently, making the photo shoot in sunny LA the perfect setting to display these retro, feel-good looks. Chung has said this collection is “inherently the missing pieces of my dream wardrobe”, and I think we can all agree that she’s given us so many more inspiring alternatives to your standard jeans and smock dresses, all with that unique ‘Cali cool girl’ edge.
“I think it’s clear that any influence you can get from Alexa’s exquisite personal style in your own wardrobe should be very welcome”
This California vibe was part of Chung’s initial design concept, where she was aiming to create pieces that “someone will really love, cherish, keep forever, and wear day in, day out”. However, this latest design offering from Chung, the denim interspersed with jersey sweatshirts and boyfriend tees, is unfortunately not cheap. With the denim pieces starting at £168 for a pair of faded blue cutoff shorts, shopping her looks may just be stretching your overdraft a bit too far. Although, Chung’s unique and quirky designs will no doubt be somewhat replicated on the high street in the coming months, especially since a couple of her pieces have already sold out on the AG Jeans online store. With a Mulberry handbag named after her, being a muse for many top designers and the worthy recipient of a British Style Award, I think it’s clear that any influence you can get from Alexa’s exquisite personal style in your own wardrobe should be very welcome.
20.beauty
Monday 16 February 2015
The Courier
Beauty Editors: Charlotte Davies and Charlotte Maxwell Online Editor: Kathy Davidson
Hairs and graces graces
Desert island products Tessa Jones JLYHV XV D UXQGRZQ RI WKH WRS ¿ JLYHV XV D UXQGRZQ RI WKH WRS ¿ YH EXGJHW EHDXW\ ELWV VKH FDQ¶W GR ZLWKRXW L’Oreal Nude Magique BB Cream
Beth Watt talks hair removal and asks: who are we really doing it for?
Everyone has by now heard of the revolution that is BB Cream and I can confirm it lives up to every expectation. This 5 in 1 cream from L’Oreal goes on so smoothly and blends perfectly, mimicking the texture and look of bare skin that it claims to do. It comes out in a grey colour with tiny little beads in, but matches to your skin tone as soon as you rub it in. Since finding this, I haven’t worn foundation at all, and even on a night out I just wear this with some concealer and translucent powder over the top. This is particularly handy when it gets hot and busy in a club; you still have your makeup on at the end of the night. If you’re up late in the morning due to your hangover and rushing to a lecture, rubbing some of this in is like an instant pick-meup. When you’re stuck on a desert island, this BB cream will become your new best friend because of its SPF 12 and hydration qualities, protecting you somewhat from the drying sun. I’ve tried other BBs and this is simply the best choice.
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s a vociferous and unapologetic feminist, body hair is something most people assume I have an opinion on, and yet, perhaps unfortunately for this article, I do not. Though the great body hair debate rumbles on, I take no issue with whatever a woman or man wants to do with his/her body, as long as they feel good in their own skin doing it. I am, of course, currently sporting a healthy leg thatch under my tights to help my poor circulation through this latest Newcastle cold snap, but must admit I considered reaching for the Veet when in seminar my concentration was irretrievably broken mid-sentence by a pesky patch of downy bad boys on my knee poking through my 80 deniers.
“Whatever Nair smells of, it sure as shit isn’t lychees and kiwis” Yet, whatever the reasoning behind our personal choices, I believe we need to seriously question why, generally speaking, clean-shaven bodies make us feel more comfortable. After all, the processes by which we achieve such hairless nirvana are by no means pleasant: we have all felt the fistsclenched-under-the-desk, eye-twitching itch of razor burn, and let’s be honest whatever Nair smells of it sure as shit isn’t lychees and kiwis. Epilation and waxing, however, are certainly the crème de la crème of torture kits made available by your friendly high-street pharmacist. Epilators quite frankly resemble low-budget extras from the Alien vs. Predator series, and are very literally a series of tiny tweezers yanking out clumps of your hair/skin wherever they see fit, and let’s not pretend that when you go for a wax your hair is buffed off with cotton wool. Plus we’ve all heard the story of the last-minute holidaymaker (always a friend of a friend…) who used a quick at-home hot bikini waxing kit and waxed herself… well, shut.
“We all have a friend of a friend who used an at-home bikini wax kit and waxed herself... shut”
I think as society progresses there are plenty of us, both male and female, who don’t shave if we know nobody’s going to notice, which begs the question: who exactly do we shave for? If the answer is to appease some social standard which demands Barbie and Ken levels of smoothness, then I suggest to you, dear reader, that we dare to dream; dream of a hairy utopia where Saturday evenings aren’t spent giving yourself RSI in your less than capacious student shower, contorted into a yoga position optimistically called ‘Sideways Facing Girl Shaving Legs’, or clutching your Wilkinson Sword Quattro, delicately shaping your chest pelt into a vaguely uneven love heart.
“The winds of change are blowing, tousling your back hair as they pass”
2014 saw the dawn of the lumbersexual – the fetishisation of male body hair enshrined in hashtags amongst the hallowed halls of social media – and the appearance of American Apparel merkin mannequins, trends which are both indicative of a wider cultural movement of body hair acceptance. It seems to some like the winds of change are blowing, tousling your back hair as they pass. So maybe continue normal service until told otherwise for now, but if I were you, I’d maybe think twice about investing in that four pack of replacement razor heads.
Johnson’s Baby Light Oil Spray I first saw this in an Asda magazine (hey, it’s free) and it got such rave reviews when it first came out that I had to give it a go. I’ve tried cocoa butter and other popular brands before but I always found they left my skin quite greasy and took ages to dry, so I thought if it’s good enough for babies then it should be good enough for me. I was not disappointed. It comes in a pump bottle which you then spray all over your body and rub in. I have 12 foot legs so have to use quite a bit, but on a normal person you shouldn’t need that much, maybe 1 or 2 sprays per area. When you first start rubbing it in, it comes up as white but stick with it and it blends in to your skin seamlessly. The oil takes seconds to dry and keeps your body really soft and non-greasy all day, with regular use meaning you only feel smoother as time goes on. I find it works best when applied straight after a shower, and I put a bit extra on my legs before leaving the house if I’m opting for no tights.
Boots Natural Collection Lash Length Mascara
I’m going to put it out there and say I absolutely love the Natural Collection mascaras. It’s a collection from Boots and the products are all around £2 or £3, which may put some people off as a lower price can often mean a lower quality. I haven’t tried all the products but I can definitely vouch for the mascara range. They are good quality products at massively affordable prices, and my personal favourite is the Lash Length in Black. On a night out, I’ll use a lash primer from Estee Lauder followed by 2 coats of this mascara, and during the day I find just one coat of the mascara alone is enough to keep you looking awake but not too done up. It doesn’t clump, the colour is strong and it stays on well even after a night out. I’ve tried the waterproof version which was a little difficult to remove, even with a heck load of micellar water, but I’ve never had any issues with the normal version running or rubbing off. At such a low price, I’d say it’s definitely worth a try – you may be pleasantly surprised.
Rimmel Brow This Way Brow Styling Gel Your eyebrows are arguably one of the most important features on your face – they can change your whole look and frame all your other features. So, I think it’s important you keep them groomed and looking good. Brow gel can help you manage this and keep them styled even when you haven’t used a pencil or other filling product as well. You apply it using a short, chubby mascara-esque wand and just brush through your brow hairs in to the style you want. Give it less than a minute and the gel will set on your brows, keeping them in place all day and all night. I use Gel Clear and you can’t tell you’re wearing any product as there’s no shine and it doesn’t go on thickly, but it keeps your brows looking natural and well groomed. The best bit is that it only cost me £3.99, so you won’t even notice it leaving your bank account - but it’s well worth buying. I know your brows aren’t exactly a priority when you’re stranded on a desert island, but with this product and a bit of concealer, you’ll be on fine form in case any mermen surface.
Olay Essentials Beauty Fluid
Since I was about 13, I’ve been using this moisturiser and I would never consider using any other. Olay is a long popular brand, and I think the fact that even my grandma used to use it too is testament to the quality. It keeps the skin on my face really soft and smooth, and I do notice a difference when I don’t use it for a couple days. You don’t need a lot, maybe a penny sized amount, to cover your face and neck because it’s very creamy and blends really well. I put it on a good helping straight after using my face wash and reapply a bit more just before putting makeup on, so it acts as a primer too. There’s a very faint, pleasant smell to it and I use any excess on my hands, making it double useful. You can get it in two different sized bottles, so you can still fit the smaller bottle in to your hand luggage - handy for when you get stranded on that humid desert island.
The Courier
beauty.21
Monday 16 February 2015
thecourieronline.co.uk/beauty Instagram  @courier_beauty   |  Twitter  @CourierBeauty
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7LUHG H\HV RLO\ FRPSOH[LRQV DQG GHK\GUDWHG VNLQ KRZ WR WDFNOH FRPPRQ EHDXW\ ZRHV For best results, apply after moisturizer, and follow Recovering dull eyes by popping a pea-sized amount onto the back of Missing out on much needed beauty sleep is the biggest contributor to those pesky under-eye circles, but don’t fret concealer is here to help. A top tip is, if you use foundation as well as concealer, apply foundation first, you’ll find that you don’t need to use as much concealer. If you apply concealer first, however, you’ll remove most of it while applying your foundation. When questioning what shade of concealer to choose, go slightly lighter than your skin tone, as well as one shade lighter than your foundation to line the three sections of your eyes: the inner V, the middle section of your eyelid, and just below your brow bone. The most effective way to apply concealer is to draw a triangle with the base under your eye and the point toward your cheek. Whilst this illuminates the skin, it also creates the illusion that your face is lifted, leaving you with a more brightened complexion. For a daytime look, apply concealer with the ring finger; here the warmth of your skin will make the product melt beautifully, with an even distribution. Alternatively, to provide higher coverage in the evening try using a small concealer brush, the sweeping motion of gently blending the brush in the under eye area will work miracles for the face. To enhance this fresh faced look, set the under eye concealer with a light nude eye shadow (Burberry’s Sheer Eye Shadow in Trench no. 02 is good for this), to make sure the product doesn’t crease or budge throughout the day. The best concealers for dark circles will leave the skin radiated, keeping your peepers bright all day.
your hand and gently smooth the product over the face. Focus the primer on the oilier areas, particularly the T-zone as this is the area that tends to see make up stray. The reason Benefit’s POREfessional works such wonders is that it creates a barrier between the skin and foundation, preventing any oil from surfacing. With its silky, lightweight formula, it quickly minimizes the appearance of pores, leaving you with a smooth base. In terms of increasing the longevity of lasting make-up, it definitely helps. In conjunction, applying a setting powder also assists in sustaining a matte complexion. To blur imperfections in one single sweep, look out for a powder that doesn’t settle into fine lines, as this can give off the appearance of a cakey face. Translucent powder is your best bet as the lightweight texture only acts to combat shine, without clogging up your pores, absorbing excess oils to keep the skin shine free.
Banishing dehydrated skin Over time, your skin can easily became dehydrated and dull-looking. Whether it’s the winter months or you’re simply feeling a little run down, dehydrated skin is a problem for many of us. Revitalizing and enriching, Neal’s Yard Remedies Rehydrating Rose Facial Polish (a la Rose) exfoliating polish is the answer to all your troubles. Enriched with antioxidant milk thistle, aloe vera and gently exfoliating wild rose seed powder to provide you with booted and rejuvenated smooth skin boosted. The enriching olive and coconut oils replenish moisture, whilst cooling and soothing rose extracts restore your skin’s natural radiance. To reap the benefits of this glorious product, use on damp skin and apply with a circular massage motion to cleanse the skin. Simply wash off with a washcloth and pat the face dry. Flo Davies
Mattifying the complexion Whether you have oily skin, or just have those days where face make-up strays, keeping your make-up in place is a battle. If you struggle with an oily complexion then using a primer (Benefit’s POREfessional is a winner) can help in preventing make-up from moving about.
Spotted  on  campus 2XU H\HV RQ FDPSXV Ashley  Williams  VKDUHV WKH WRS WKUHH EHDXW\ ORRNV VKH KXQWHG GRZQ WKLV ZHHN
Rebecca Dooley, 21, English Literature
Adam Wignall, 25, Surveying and Mapping Science
Vicki Johnson, 20, Biology
You might call this look the Birthday Braid (Rebecca turned 21 just last week). Rebecca’s look gets the job done while she’s on the job – it’s an easyto-do French side braid, perfect for keeping out of the face during a long work day. Rebecca uses TRESemmĂŠ hair spray to keep her style in place. It achieves what most students are going for – a lowmaintenance, no-fuss style that makes you look like you’ve put a bit of effort in, without actually having to. Rebecca said: “I have to wear it up for work, so I usually just do it different ways, and today I chose this.â€?
Adam’s chosen to keep it short at the back and sides with a bit of length in the front, a popular look for men around campus. I’m not sure what Adam would look like with longer hair, but something about the close-cropped style looks really sharp and well-suited to his face. It matches nicely with his closely trimmed beard – he says short facial hair suits him best. “It’s no longer than this really, can’t be doing with a long beard.�
Vicki’s half-up, half-down bun is a simple way to pull your fringe out of your eyes while growing it out. It’s especially flattering on longer tresses like these, because you have more to work with to achieve a fuller look up top. I like what Vicki’s done here with her neatly spread bun, rather than just going for a messy knot. It gives the style a bit more elegance.
Adam said: “I think it suits me. I get it cut about once every ten days at the moment.�
Vicky said: “It’s just the length of my fringe, I don’t like it down.�
Marmite  beauty  Going  grey Ellen  Walker  and  Lucy  Cochrane  go  to  head  WR KHDG RQ WKH JUH\ ORFN
Love - Ellen
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acky hair colour isn’t exactly anything new to the beauty industry. However more recently, pastel shades have taken over, with the collection from BLEACH London becoming a huge hit. One of the most popular washed-out pastel shades is grey, which takes brilliantly to bleached blonde hair for an all-over subtle wash of colour. Not only is it light and feminine, but it’s easy to maintain, as it still looks effortlessly flawless with light or dark roots showing through. It even works as a dip dye effect and was brought into the spotlight by Kylie Jenner, who sported long dark black hair which faded to a dark gunmetal grey shade, adding a grungy lift to her usually dark locks. Guaranteed to make you stand out from the crowd, this daring look adds an edge to any hairstyle and even manages to glam up the simplest of hairstyles and cuts. I love that a hair colour associated with old age has been given a youthful and modern twist, leaving those who have gone naturally grey earlier than expected with the confidence to embrace their natural colour as well as supporting the opportunity for people to experiment with and love this colour which was once thought of as old fashioned. It’s such a classy and beautiful look, this is a trend which I hope sticks around for a while.
G
Hate - Lucy
rey typically connotes dull and boring hair, which older women try and keep as far at bay as possible. However, last year saw the rise of the unexpected grey hair trend amongst young people, and is set to be a huge trend for 2015. Although this trend can look great on some people, very few can pull it off and it is far from a straightforward process. In order to achieve this look, the stylist has to strip all the pigment from the hair, which is especially difficult for darker hair and requires a much lengthier process. The pre-bleaching routine dries out hair, can weaken it long-term and can be damaging if not done correctly. This look is therefore unattainable at home as it requires the right stylist to find the right shade which will be different for everyone. The lightness also means that it washes out easily and can fade quickly, especially if you use heat styling often. Hair needs a lot more attention after this kind of colouring and requires touch ups every 4-6 weeks. This style is therefore not ideal for the low-maintenance type who would rather use a home dye kit to achieve their colour, which lasts a long time and requires less hassle. Although this look is on trend and heavily prevalent in fashion magazines, I think that this look is more of a passing trend, as well as not being the easiest look to achieve. What’s more, why not embrace this trend in later life when your hair is heading down that route anyway, as opposed to going through a lengthy process for something that may not necessarily work for everyone.
Beauty tip of the week
Apply a thin layer of foundation to your lips - this will help your lipstick stay all day.
22.arts
Monday 16 February 2015
The Courier
Arts Editors: Lucy Chenery and Becka Crawshaw Online Arts Editor: Jess Harman
Should art be driven by money? Attempting to become an artist often feels like a conscious decision to never have any money, but that’s to miss the point of art itself, says Charlotte Maxwell
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Holly Argent takes to the streets of Glasgow to discover the city’s art scene
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ith Glaswegian artists dominating the Turner Prize in recent years and 2014 being a strong year for Glasgow School of Art graduates – Duncan Campbell (winner), Ciara Phillips and James Richards – Glasgow is ever more proving itself a strong and supportive environment for Fine Art practice, perhaps even more so than London. With my last visit being Glasgow International (2014) which showcased the creative talents of Glasgow and its wide-reaching connections throughout the city, there were a couple of galleries I wanted to re-visit this time. With gig tickets to see Viet Cong in the evening (a really great band, I’d look them up if you have the time and enjoy a bit of indie/post-punk rock) I had a few hours to kill. Tramway is a gallery and arts centre housed in a beautiful former tram depot. Its main exhibition space is a huge factory-sized room still intact with the original tram grooves in the concrete floor and pillars. Due to host the Turner Prize 2015, right now it holds Laura Aldridge’s California Wow – I start with this because it’s an amazing, densely colourful and tactile show. Fighting the urge to hug the brown fur cuboid, curl up in the wooden ‘seats’, brush your skin with the spray painted towelling, it’s a pull and push with your hands, wanting to touch, move and grab the materials you encounter in the multi-faceted exhibition. An aesthetic concern for looking ‘stylish’, the cheesy grins of the faces of shiny plastic suns hanging above and throughout the space are mocking in a snide kind of way, as if this flush of colour, teasing bodily pleasures and gloss of a sexy interior is a disguise or manipulation in some way, not allowing one to fulfil basic primitive desires like touch. Motifs such as a flag and curled-up objects are translated into clay mobiles, ceramics and fabric cushions: a constant re-use and the translation from one medium to another is visible and her photographs of clay mobiles being held by the body in some way opens up the performative elements objects and textures can have. The show comes with quite hefty press release, which usually would put me off but in this case the text describes the number of collaborations within the show and her inspired trip to California. The best sculptureled show I’ve seen in a long time, I couldn’t recommend experiencing it enough. Transmission Gallery and The Modern Institute were also pretty good visits but due to the few words I have left I’ll briefly mention Good Press – an artist book lovers dream. Selling a whole range of publications from DIY zines, photo books, artist books, cassettes, catalogues and more established books from the likes of BookWorks and Halo Press, it’s a gorgeous little space where you can flick through the textured pages of some beautiful as well as conceptual publications. The popularity of the ‘artist book’ seems to have really rocketed over recent years and with the LA book market (which looked amazing in the photos) just finishing up last week, it seems its becoming a global thing (hopefully not a fad) but Good Press seems to be keeping it fairly local and especially supportive of UK artists and book makers, embodying the spirit of Glasgow’s art scene as a whole. Image: Holly Argent
ince a very young age, I was always told I would make no money being an artist. “There’s no money in art” seemed to be a cultural phenomenon, though this as a statement seems to have its limitations in what it is actually regarded as art. For example, Beyonce makes art and makes a whole lot of money for doing it - the singing, the dancing, the clothing range, the perfumes, the list goes on. And I’m sure Hugh Jackman and Adam Sandler aren’t complaining about their pay packets. However, the subject of money in art is an interesting, multi-layered one. Let’s take the first argument that I posed. If we conclude that art doesn’t make you money, that doesn’t necessarily mean that your creations couldn’t be driven by money. Whether you’re a painter, a slam poet or a dancer, you want your work to be seen and to inspire its audience. You want to create something new and enticing to the mind. But, bearing all this in mind, is it OK to prioritize the idea of making money over these artistic passions and freedoms? If you’re a business orientated person, there is the natural onus that you will need to be making a profit. Profit and creativity seem to collide
on the grounds that there is so much less funding going into the arts industry. The only rolling paper you come across tends to be curled up strips
“A lot of energy and open thinking goes into the artistic process - and that cannot be paid minimum wage, by the hour”
of newspaper that you’re adding to your first masterpiece or curled-up fliers from the exhibition you recently installed. A lot of energy and open thinking goes into the artistic process - and that cannot be paid minimum wage, by the hour. Creativity is priceless: you either have buckets full of it or you’re a little bit deficient in that department. The time, the think-
ing, the transitions between ideas and the development of your final artistic output are so personal that they almost possess a little piece of you. By putting yourself into your work, it is given a life: a life that is only fuelled by engagement with an inquisitive and respectful audience. Whilst making money doing what you love would be the dream, things don’t always turn out as you hope they would. Also, surely the most important thing is doing something you love. Yes, you need to pay the bills and have a wage to get by on, but money won’t necessarily make you happy with your career venture. I met a Buddhist chaplain the other day who suggested that I change my outlook on my career prospects and pursue what I love. Thus, whilst I may end up working a dead end job fifty percent of the time, I can be a poet the rest of the time… sounds good enough to me.
What do art students do all day?: Josh Borom, 4th year Lucy Chenery launches our fortnightly feature on young artists at Newcastle Uni
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osh, a friendly acquaintance of mine, very kindly agreed to have a chat with me about his work. Josh is a smiley, enthusiastic peer who I often see rushing round the department on his latest mission to form an adventurous new creation. Before I asked any questions I noticed a sculpture by his desk which I was intrigued by; made from metal, it was suggestive of the human form. Josh is in the midst of developing wearable technology, with the metal sculpture being a starting point for his project.
“Art is the only thing that makes no sense and complete sense at the same time”
Through his philosophical research surrounding issues of post-humanity and prosthetics, Josh tries to tackle whether prosthetics make you more or less human and further explores the extended capabilities of humans in this situation. I was hooked straight away by his phenomenal technological mindset. Josh also explained that his ERASMUS programme last year, an industry placement in Croatia, changed his practice for the better. Whilst on the programme, Josh worked for the performance festival Zooming Fluid States where he practiced in the role of an artistic producer. The first two years of the course, as Josh was reminiscing, seemed a little more laid back, the last two years of the course proving to be truly challenging as it is pushing him to new extremes. For example, Josh is cur-
rently organising the Degree Show which exhibits in Newcastle and London, an extremely stressful task. Nervous yet on the ball, Josh seemed to be excited about the coming months. I cant recommend enough staying around at the end of the year to catch the show, the work never fails to impress. Looking back on 1st year, Josh started off the course with a scientific mindset which has carried through all the way to 4th year, something which relates to Josh’s near application to Biomed and Medicine before he dramatically changed his mind to Fine Art. The extreme juxtaposition in interest seems strange, but in an art degree it makes your work interestingly varied. Josh said that it was an unexpected development, but one which was much better than expected. Something Josh also participates in is the artist platform Square One. Based in the North Wing, Ouseburn, this organisation allows artists, musicians, dancers, foodies and more to experiment with pieces in a relaxed exhibition environment. Explained as a “creative hub”, past Square One exhibitions all full to the brim with interesting people, great atmosphere and a good laugh. Well worth a visit. Confidently Josh stated that, “If you take anything away artistically then that’s great. If you just eat and drink, that’s fine too.” The next Square One is on March 12th, so keep your eyes peeled, come along and certainly look out for a review from us. As a finishing statement Josh said something that myself, and I am positive many others, can relate to: “Art is the only thing that makes no sense and complete sense at the same time.” A great conversation full of inspiration and innovative ideas surrounding the boundaries of the human form. Josh, it was a pleasure.
The Courier
arts.23
Monday 16 February 2015 Confused? Turn to p. 14
Previews
Taking Sides: People’s Theatre
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aking Sides, a drama by Ronald Harwood, explores the uneasy relationship between art and politics. The tense play follows the true story of German conductor William Furtwangler facing interrogation and de-Nazification in post-war Berlin. The protagonist finds himself faced with an American army officer determined to uncover evidence that he was not a saviour of Jews, but a collaborator with the Nazi regime.
“Harwood’s gripping drama explores one of the dilemmas of the twentieth century”
Historically accurate, the drama explains the reality behind events as we learn that Furtwangler’s leadership of the Berlin Philharmonic throughout the 1930s led the Nazis to adopt him as an ambassador for their values; his recording of Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony even accompanied the announcement of Hitler’s death on German radio in 1945. Yet throughout the war he’d refused to allow Nazi salutes during performances and made covert efforts to protect Jewish musicians from persecution. Harwood’s tense, gripping drama explores one of the dilemmas of the twentieth century: in totalitarian states, must artists collaborate and survive, or rebel and risk oblivion? How can music thrive in the midst of one of the most repulsive regimes imaginable? Showing from the 10th to the 14th of February in People’s Theatre at £13.50 a ticket (£11 concessions), it deserves a visit. For more information visit: www.peoplestheatre.co.uk. Jess Harman
Spring The Yeomen of Accessible arts Programme: the Guard: Jennifer Hopps Newcastle Centre Gilbert and Sullivan explores Newcastle’s top art venues, all on your for Literary Arts Society doorstep
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hen you fall in love with a piece of literature it can sometimes be a death sentence to hear its creator talk about the creative process behind it, removing the shroud of mystery that made it so magical. However, when a bill as rich as the Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts’ spring programme comes along it is impossible to resist seeing these fantastic writers in person. From the appearance of Helen MacDonald discussing her seminal memoir, H is for Hawk, to the vast array of acclaimed poets such as Iain McMillan (who Carol Ann Duffy praises as ‘one of today’s greatest poetry performers’), alongside globally recognised poets who will be present at the Newcastle Poetry Festival, there is no shortage of genius contemporary writers for the literary-minded to choose from.
“A rich line-up that will no doubt make for some very entertaining talks”
All these and many more events create a rich line-up that will no doubt make for some very entertaining talks, offering fantastic opportunities to add a new layer of depth to a reader’s favourite contemporary works. Ultimately, for anyone interested in literature, Newcastle is the place to be this spring. When spoilt with such choice, the death sentence might just be worth the risk.
Book Review: ‘Buddhism #now’ by Dr Nigel Mellor
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wish I’d always gone to exhibitions in the frame of mind of a reviewer, prepared with some background reading as well as having my mum’s determination to listen to the guide with rapt attention. The (pleasant) confusion, however, came when the guide himself implied that Graeme Durant, the young author, purposefully made his works difficult to understand. Their arrangement and rather abstract titles on the brochure might befog your brain even more and there is a chance that you might not be able to see all of them on first glimpse – an example for this being the enormous eyebrow (which is called John) at the top.
“The work’s surrealistic nature makes everyday objects look out-of-place because of their unusual sizes and location”
What you’ll definitely notice, however, is the wide set of influences in Durant’s works. Their surrealistic nature makes everyday objects look out-of-place because of their unusual sizes and location. This spontaneity is also reiterated by the mixing of different signs from diverse cultures in a seemingly miscellaneous manner. Hand sculptures and their semiotics remind us that the meaning of a text depends heavily on the culture that reads it. However, it is unequivocal that the giant moving gherkin resembles a smile. It highlights the importance of something that is rarely considered significant. And if this doesn’t confuse you enough, a cap at the top right corner of a painting would definitely do so. Maria-Magdalena Manolova
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ilbert and Sullivan’s Yeomen of the Guard, set in 2025, focuses on the tale of one man’s fate as he is sentenced with capital punishment on account of a false charge. Revolving around a complex set of themes such as love, autonomy, heartbreak and deceit, the play is sure to capture the audience’s attention, despite a problematic ending that leaves these elements unresolved.
“A much-updated adaptation of the classic”
Interested primarily in Colonel Fairfax – a man of science and intellect and a former soldier – the plot’s is devised around a cunning strategy in response to Fairfax’s sentence – to secretly marry in order to ensure his money remains in the safe hands of his widow, as opposed to his accuser. However, unknown to him, he is already the subject of another complicated scheme endeavouring to procure his freedom, instigating confusion and tension in the play. This updated adaptation of the classic screams towards an avant-garde age of technology, and one can only wonder how a play of such high renown can incorporate contemporary culture into its script and score. The Gilbert and Sullivan Society are clearly taking a huge step with their 21st Century play and I look forward to attending the performance with my Literature module on Thursday 19th February. Tickets are only £8 and can be reserved via email through nugss@ncl.ac.uk. Rebekah Crawshaw
Liam Keeble
Reviews
Graeme Durant: Baltic
thecourieronline.co.uk/arts c2.arts@ncl.ac.uk | @CourierArts
t a first glance, Dr Nigel Mellor’s book ‘Buddhism #now’ is easy to dismiss. The eye-catching cover clearly designed to engage our generation is a little cringe-inducing, and when I picked it up to read ‘Big Questions, Inner Peace, LOL’, I was apprehensive to say the least. But you know what they say about books and covers, right? Dr Mellor really knows his stuff. The book is an entertaining introduction to the main principles of Buddhist approaches to achieving inner peace. In an interesting move, Dr Mellor has severed these principles from their cultural and religious background and applied them to everyday situations.
“An entertaining introduction to the main Buddhist principles”
The narrative is unique and amusing; the first part is devoted entirely to a conversation about the principles of Buddhism and their applications, between two characters – DVD and Monkfish. It follows them as Monkfish teaches DVD about his Atheist-Buddhist-Christian outlook on life, his relationship to Buddhism and the lessons it has taught him. Informative interludes covering a wide range of topics, from ‘Spirituality and Enlightenment’ to ‘Grieving’, give readers a brilliantly diverse coverage. The second and third parts of the book serve as ‘extras’ – for those fascinated by the 1st part. As I read on, I find myself enjoying the book more – the focus of the book shifts from the everyday events to science, to circular causation, to a frank look at the complexity of our lives and life in general. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable read. Iqra Choudhry
Victor Pasmore: Hatton Gallery
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he Hatton Gallery’s current exhibition shows the diverse work of Victor Pasmore. Pasmore is an influential part of Newcastle’s art scene, having exhibited at the Hatton Gallery numerous times whilst teaching as Head of Painting at Newcastle University (1954-1961). This exhibition includes a wide range of his works; split into three parts it illustrates Pasmore’s evolution from figurative painting to abstract constructions. Pasmore is well known for this drastic change in style, considered by critic Herbert Read to be ‘the most revolutionary event in post-war British art’. However, this exhibition reveals Pasmore’s steady progression towards this end.
“It illustrates Pasmore’s evolution from figurative painting to abstract constructions” Pasmore’s shift towards abstraction was born out of a frustration with the limitations of painting. This led to experimentation with 3D geometric constructions and subsequently Pasmore became known as a leader of British constructivism. These abstract pieces are given pride of place in the main part of the exhibition and are enhanced by sympathetic lighting. Despite the juxtaposition in style between Pasmore’s earlier paintings and prints and his later 3D constructions, throughout his work there is a careful and consistent consideration of form. Photographs, original posters and catalogues are also on display and document Pasmore’s influential presence at the Hatton Gallery. Eilish Briscoe
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here better to begin than the aptly named Newcastle Arts Centre, host to some of NUTS’ own shows? This venue never fails to have something going on, whether it’s theatre, art workshops, art exhibitions or music performances. They have their own bar in the basement (Black Swan) which screams ‘artistic’ in an admirably unpretentious way. This cosy courtyard space – holding approximately 100 people – is usually filled with the sound of jazz or Latin music, and occasionally classical. It is available to hire if you fancy doing your birthday in seriously arty style.
“Student tickets begin at £5 for the Theatre Royal – you’d spend that on club entry, so why not spend it on a night here?”
If you fancy somewhere a little more grand, the Theatre Royal is a venue that should not be forgotten. Students often think that they cannot afford to see any performances held here – how wrong they are. Student tickets begin at £5 – you’d spend that on club entry, so why not spend it on a night here? If you’re more of the spontaneous type, incapable of doing anything not last-minute, never fear – if you ring two hours before the show, spare tickets are often going for half price. The Theatre Royal offers not only drama, but also comedy, dance and music. For those who like more obscure performances, or just want to leave the crowds behind, Northern Stage is the place for you. Located conveniently on Newcastle University’s campus (opposite the Student Union), this venue focuses on putting on avant-garde shows, which could either be described as ingenious or extremely weird. If you go to one of these performances, prepare to be surprised – you can never predict what they are going to be like. For instance, I once went to a show where the two actors shouted at one another from opposite ends of a row of chairs, whilst the audience all held hands and lent towards one another. Perhaps surprisingly, it was great.
24.filmfeatures features
Monday 16 February 2015
The Courier
Film  Editors:  Rosie  Rosie  Bellini  &  David  Leighton Online  Editor:  George  Smith
Fifty  Shades  of  not  okay
Pleasure            Island
Danny  Dyer’s  oeuvre
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anny Dyer is a titan of modern cinema. He’s tremendously watchable, in the same way as one might hang around to see the aftermath of a supertanker slamming into some unspoiled rocky outcrop before exploding and incinerating all the fluffy and adorable creatures in the postcode: it’s distressing, it makes you reconsider your plans for the rest of the afternoon, and it has a very real chance of making you resent humanity, but it’s terribly difficult to stop yourself gawping at it. He doesn’t just make bad films - Human Traffic and The Football Factory are really quite good - but the stench of cinematic failure sticks to him like those pheremone sprays you get in pub toilets. The partnership which Dyer struck up with diretor Nick Love has been particularly fruitful in this sense - together they’ve created The Football Factory (a genuinely enjoyable smack-’em-up caper focussing on the who is mugging off whom in the West Ham FC fraternity), The Business (mostly shit, more 80s references than an episode of Ashes to Ashes set in a leg-warmer factory) and Outlaw. Outlaw is genuinely amazing. It asks the big questions, questions like, ‘What if nobody was capable of rational thought and Surrey had a higher concentration of semi-automatic weapons than Omaha beach on D-day?’ In Outlaw, Sean Bean recruits several irked blokes who don’t like the way that life in Britain is really stacked against middle aged white guys (“Get AIDS or jump on the bus with a rucksack full of explosives, [and] the government will dish you out a free car these daysâ€?, Bean’s character rants at one point) and that grabbing some big shooty guns and dishing out explosive vigilante justice is the way forward. The script was built around ‘real life’ stories Love found in newspapers, which explains why fear lurks round every corner, and then when you get around the corner it turns out it was a paedo or some appalling hooded yoof. On the DVD commentary, Dyer laments that he had “never seen zero stars beforeâ€?, and then goes on to blame the film’s dismal box office showing on “fahkin broadsheet cuntsâ€? and calling reviewers “fahkin slagsâ€?. The fantastic thing about Dyer’s films is that they’re all essentially the same: Dyer’s character will get beaten up and then have a promontory dream which will be returned to at the beginning of the third act; the words ‘cunt’ and ‘slag’ will be thrown around willy-nilly; and the only reason anyone goes into a toilet is to get their head kicked in or snort enormous lines of cocaine with the same wild abandon one might expect of a particularly reckless vacuum cleaner. The guilt of validating Dyer’s existence by watching his films is obvious, but where does the pleasure aspect come in? Well I still think that for all his crassness, his rejoicing in a certain kind of unreconstructed masculinity which should probably have gone out of the window when we stopped having to fight woolly mammoths every other Tuesday, he remains fundamentally quite likable. He’s a bit like a dog which keeps running into a screen door: you laugh, then you feel bad for him, then you hope he does it again. The overriding feeling is that he basically doesn’t know what he’s doing, and keeps making roughly the same film again and again, with occasional diversions into wildly unsuccessful alleyways. Take, for example Run For Your Wife in which he plays an apparently likable bigamist who wants to avoid both of his wives attempting to kill him when they find out about the other wife (opening weekend takings: ÂŁ602), or Pimp, in which he wears a three piece suit and says ‘tart’ and ‘slag’ even more regularly than usual. Whatever Dyer’s charm is, I remain grimly fascinated. Tom Nicholson
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ifty Shades of Grey, the all-time top-selling erotic novel, arrived on the silver screen this Valentine’s Day. It owes its success partly to the controversial storyline that portrays an emotionally and physically abusive relationship between the main protagonists Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey. How are filmmakers going to materialize it onscreen? Cinema spectators are intrigued as to how this somewhat unconventional romance is going to be visualised. Let us speculate. First impressions of the official trailer leaves one with mixed feelings. One may start yawning the moment the two main characters encounter. She - the pretty, shy and clumsy girl - meets him - the wealthy and attractive businessman - and a minute later they end up making out in the lift. Consequently, the couple can be seen kissing at a lake, dancing in his apartment or her meeting his family. A love story Ă la Cinderella where they live happily ever after, right? Wrong. In fact, those stereotypical love scenes are often disrupted by shots revealing the ‘darker’ side of the story. In a brief jump-cut, Christian takes off his shirt and revealing many pock marks on his torso, subverting the standard construction of a Greek god alias the
male protagonist. Later on, a close-up of dictionary definitions of ‘the submissive’, followed by a sequence of Ana being tied up in grey ties, red ropes and blindfolded in what the audience initially presumed to be Hollywood standard-issued erotic scenes, hints at where the story-line is travelling to. Clearly the film makers are not going to shy away from the intense BDSM that pervades through the couple’s sex life. Nevertheless, the characters’ romance is more complex in it’s literary version. Fifty Shades of Grey indeed radiates its romanticization and glorification of domestic abuse in every way. The domination/subordination element is no longer restricted to bedroom affairs but it invades their relationship, even in the pair’s everyday interaction. One sequence that effectively illustrates this point is when Christian secretly slides his hand up Anastasia’s thigh during a dinner with his parents. In the trailer, this sequence ends by the couple talking in the garden. In the book, the concealed context is indeed ‘darker’. Whereas it is obvious that Christian’s hand movement was a seducing attempt, Anastasia actually rejected his sexual proposal by closing her legs. This little rebellious action has caused their later ‘conversation’ in the garden: “I want you, and I want you now. And if you’re not going to let me spank you – which you deserve – I’m going to fuck you on the couch this minute, quickly,
for my pleasure, not yours.� That escalated quickly, eh? Starting from the perfect super-lover, Christian’s image drastically deteriorates as he demands sex from his partner as a ‘punishment’ for her previous rejection - an outright threat to rape her, really. Aspects like these, however, seem to remain hidden or have been subdued in the film adaptation. The film version appears to inadequately shed light on the real nature of the characters’ relationship, constituting of constant domination, possession and control consented to by both parties. It suggests the filmmaker’s avoidance of controversial elements in the literature - instead, they rather focus on cinematic techniques such as close-ups and dramatic contrasts to aestheticize eroticism, romanticize violence and glorify abuse. However, this remains a speculation as the movie will be released next week, and it’s advisable not to make any firm conclusion on the adapted content. Let us stay tuned and place our bets.
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ery few of us don’t love seeing their favourite actor or actress hit the big screens, even if it is the fifth film that summer. But when we realise that it is just another pisstaking regurgitation of their other works, that’s what makes our blood boil. With the release of Olivier Megaton’s Tak3n and David Koepp’s Mortdecai earlier this year, that’s exactly the crime that is being committed. Hollywood has always managed to trick us into seeing our favourite actors play the same role time and time again by taking advantage of our loyalty. As true fans, we feel that it
“There are exceptions of course, actors who in finding a niche in which they excel can get away with typecasting. Easy example, martial arts = Jackie Chan�
is our duty to go and see these films, even though we know that it will be a far cry from the original or a mere imitation of a past performance. We therefore give Hollywood the incentive to exploit this role further and make more films that tend to be quite‌disappointing, but we will go to see them nonetheless. Why? Because we are true fans. And so the never-ending cycle goes on. There are exceptions of course, actors who, in finding a niche in which they excel can get away with typecasting. Easy example, martial arts = Jackie Chan. But I believe there is a difference between these actors who have built their entire careers on a particular image and those who have been unwillingly moulded out of their original flexibility and are trapped in an acting purgatory by continually cashing and being cast into
similar roles. Take Johnny Depp. Despite being an incredibly talented performer, since his golden age of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl we have yet to witness Depp assume a role that doesn’t have a striking resemblance to the eccentric pirate hero and achieve the same level of success. A ‘Zoolander’ of acting nowadays, Depp finds himself stuck in a pit of predictable and increasingly bland versions of Captain Jack Sparrow. Minus the panda eyes and trinket-infested dreadlocks, on which filmmakers are so insistent to pile dirt by milking this once-unique archetype. It wasn’t really surprising that, after watching the trailer of Mortdecai, Mortdecai I found it difficult not to see the pirate behind the curly blond moustache and the posh British accent. Conversely, it’s nice to know what we are getting ourselves into when we buy our cinema tickets and we do have certain expectations when we go to watch their films. I mean, who doesn’t want to see Liam Neeson punch and shoot folk, all the while dishing out badass one-liners? But isn’t this exactly the problem of typecasting? Some actors are so versatile that it is impossible to pin them down to one role, whereas others are so strongly identified with a particular character that it becomes difficult for them to escape from that persona, a persona which becomes so familiar and comfortable to them but will one day inevitably become boring to us viewers. Personally, I think that Hollywood’s obsession with and desperate attempts to recapture previous triumphs instead of sparking new successes has turned into a sad tragedy, as sight of an actor’s true potential slowly fades in the process. All we can do is just hope that one day, Hollywood will surprise us and make me eat my words. But for now, it looks like we might be in for a Taken 4, guys.
The Courier
reviewsfilm.25
Monday 16 February 2015
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‘I’d really like to claim your ass, Ana.’ - Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)
Ex Machina (15)
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ight off the back of Black Mirror, Alex Garland makes a stunning cinematic debut in Ex Machina by following the law of all good man-machine films: evidencing how human Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be, but also how devoid of humanity that people can be too. At the premise of the film we catch a first glimpse of our protagonist, dorky computer coder (‘just another guy’), Caleb, through the shimmering screen of a computer. He’s won a Willy Wonka-style competition to spend a week at the house of reclusive billionaire genius Nathan, the CEO of the technology company he works for and the inventor of the world’s most popular search engine Blue Book. The audience don’t even have chance to decide the validity of this pop-up before they’re airlifted into the middle of an isolated reserve and beckoned into a house-cum-research facility. Upon his arrival, Caleb learns that Nathan has selected him to be the human component to a Turing Test - charging him with judging the capabilities and consciousness of Nathan’s latest experiment, a breathtaking A.I., ‘Ava’. However it soon becomes apparent that Ava’s emotional intelligence proves more sophisticated, seductive and deceptive than the two men could have previously imagined. The uncomfortable low-key environment (heavily inspired by Deus Ex), minimalist soundtrack and tender pacing allow for all the wordy questions to be explored, but also facilitate an excellent backdrop so that moments of intensity and thrill come
as a haunting surprise to the audience. The characters themselves are beautifully crafted with three terrific performances battling for centre stage: Oscar Isaac’s intimidating, alcoholic Nathan, Domhall Gleeson’s earnest young protégé Caleb and Alicia Vikander’s impressive AI Ava packed into an attractive female form. Although some may feel the pacing is slow, I feel this perfectly facilitates the strained power play between the three, as even within moments of calm, a dark and painful force is always present. Character development is slick, intelligent and genuine as a threatening power play ripples from one to another leaving the audience unsure whether any interaction will result in tender companionship or menacing persecution. However it is undeniable that Vikander’s performance as Ava is the character who remains inside your head as you leave the cinema, which is exactly where she wanted to be. Her performance is bewitchingly captivating with every calibrated, delicate glance and small gesture of the wrist. Despite being created in an all-male vacuum, Ava succeeds
in surpassing the static female artificial life form that is too easy to fall into within the sci-fi genre, from Maria in Metropolis to Rachel in Blade Runner. Although the film does touch on exploiting the female body through some chilling displays of synthetic skin, there is a distinctive distancing from sexuality. Reflecting back on the film in its entirety, it almost feels that the film isn’t about artificial intelligence at all, but rather Garfield is commenting on how men create female objects, use them, own them and discard them, exploring the depths of objectification and patriarchal confinement with astute finesse. Overall, although slow in parts, Garland succeeds in producing a rarely intelligent take on Artificial Intelligence that successfully gives a new meaning to the tag line of the film; there is nothing more human than the will to survive.
Mortdecai (12A)
Tak3n (12A)
Selma (12A)
ak3n (or, as I like to call it, “Tack Three En”) is the problem with Hollywood today. Never mind all of your Oscar injustice surrounding Selma and American Sniper, the real rot lies with the money-spinning tripe that the Nightmare Team of Luc Besson and Olivier Megaton is now responsible for. Allegedly the final film in the Taken franchise, Tak3n follows the further antics of Liam Neeson’s homicidal mercenary Bryan Mills in the constant quest to show his daughter that he loves her. This time around, no one is ‘taken’ in the kidnap sense, but instead a close family member is taken…from this mortal coil instead. Bryan is framed, sending him on a quest to clear his name by inanely running from the police, punching more innocent cops and waterboarding his enemies. All under a 12A certificate, kids! Megaton’s thriller is an intensely confused and tenuous film that can barely justify its own existence, with a plot so ridiculous that you can’t even believe Besson and co. are trying to pass it off as a continuation of Bryan Mills’ murder-saga. Like The Hangover: Part III before it, the filmmakers misguidedly try to inject something fresh into the franchise by jumping genres, and the result is even flatter than that failure. Any opportunity to amend the sins of the dreadful Taken 2 are squandered within the film’s opening act, making the forced family drama even more constipated than it was last time. The presence of a giant panda and a constant joking reference to the stuffed toy is even worse than Michael Bay’s attempts at comedy. It serves only as an embarrassing prelude to 90 minutes of brutal, incomprehensible editing where something or other happens amongst all the throat-punching and ridiculous escapes. Liam Neeson looks positively tired throughout the whole bloody affair, and you can’t blame the poor man. He’s bound to the mast of this sinking ship, as is his reputation. Come on, Hollywood, do us all a favour and stop this crazy train. More like this: Unknown (2011)
elma is a potent historical drama film. Its sometimes harrowing scenes of factual events make for a gripping watch – a story so laden with uncertainty that it makes it hard to peel your eyes away from it. Due to this, it has been nominated for numerous awards, including an Academy Award, this season. It is centred on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches, resulting from President Lyndon B. Johnson hesitating to address the issue. It covers the events from when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his organisation, SCLC, are drafted in to combat the racial voting inequality in Selma, Alabama. It documents the black residents’ conflict with the white authorities as they strive to achieve their goal. David Oyelowo portrays King with great success. His performance is flawless, his voice even replicates the preacher rhythm of King’s speech. He commands attention whenever he is on-screen and the fact that he has been snubbed by the Academy in this year’s awards is extremely disappointing. One of many highlights of this film is the interweaving of old news footage. This is particularly prevalent during the march, considering the whole sequence is made up of it. Another highlight is the overlaying of FBI reports. This shows the extent to which King and his family were monitored. One of the very few faults of this film is the lack of exploration into King’s family life. There are numerous mentions of familial instability but this is only fully addressed in one scene. It is a powerful scene, but the topic could have been expanded upon. Overall, Selma is a gripping, and at times, heart breaking film. It successfully documents the struggle of being black in America and the subject matter is still very relevant due to the tragic events in Ferguson last year. Ferguson is even mentioned in the film’s Golden Globe winning original song ‘Glory’. This furthers the message that racial inequality is still all around us. More like this: The Rosa Parks Story (2002)
Simon Ramshaw
Emma Allsopp
I
n his newest action comedy, Johnny Depp plays Lord Charles Mortdecai, British aristocrat on the verge of bankruptcy and parttime rogue. His second identity as shady art dealer got him involved in a case of a stolen Spanish painting as he was asked to find the vanished Goya by the MI5. Accompanied by his loyal manservant, Mortdecai embarks on a dangerous but hilarious race to hunt down the missing masterpiece, rumoured to contain a bank code to Nazi gold treasure, which also attracts a troop of angry Russians, an international terrorist and even his own wife Johanna. To be frank, Mortdecai turned out to disappoint on many levels. Apart from the beautiful cinematography by Florian Hoffmeister, the movie’s supposedly comedic character is absent, its humour blunt and flat and only sporadically delivering daft laughs. As a result the storyline itself is shallow and lacks substance. More specifically, Johnny Depp seems worn out as he perpetually imposes his mass produced, one-size-fits-all on-screen character - à la Captain Sparrow - on Lord Mortdecai, the eccentric, silly and clumsy aristocrat who spends the first 20 minutes of the movie boasting about his moustache. Other terrific acting talents such as Olivia Munn and Ewan McGregor have been wasted as they engaged in weak and poorly constructed supporting roles as MI5’s Inspector Martland and the nymphomaniac Georgina, one of the antagonists. However, entertainment-wise, Mortdecai is a digestible action comedy that has amusing touches and is appreciated by fans of Depp’s trademark onscreen identity that now serves to embody Lord Mortdecai. It is truly entertaining, light-hearted and suitable for friends on a cozy Saturday evening in combination with a pizza to cool off from the daily university stress. Just don’t forget to switch off your inner film critic to avoid any internal analysis that may ruin your movie night. More like this: The Lone Ranger (2013) Ruby Nguyen
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More like this: Sunshine (2007) Rosie Bellini
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Who wouldn’t want some of Will Smith’s grandma’s sweet potato pie right now? Mmhmmm. Too bad just as he’s tucking into this dollop of this heavenly carbohydrates bloody robots start helping people get their inhalers - the scandal. “Hold my pie. Sir, hold it or wear it.” THINK OF THE PIE.
“What do you put in here that makes it taste so good?”. Well Miss Hilly, if you’re a nasty racist, you must realise that eventually something will come back to bite you - or rather you’ll eventually bite into poo pie. Kudos for the director for making her eat it for so long before revealing the dark secret
Nothing excites feelings of nausea quite like the smell of vomit, and in a devious move on behalf of Messr Hogan, a pie-eating contest is turned into the world’s greatest chunder-fest. Using castor oil and raw eggs and six pies to help himself vomit, Lardass sabotages his own pie-eating contest and makes a tent erupt in a flow of brilliant bile-ridden revenge on the bullies and the town that once called him fat. Pie-power!
Human pie? Just ... no. Sorry guys, I’m out
26.tvfeatures
Monday 16 February 2015
The Courier
TV Editors: Helen Daly and Ellie McLaren Online TV Editor: Rebecca Dooley
Let’s get absolutely -ed
The drinking game
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NOSEBLEED TERRITORY
BOSSING THE SUMMIT
You will need: - Any series of Sherlock - Your own drink - Other Sherlock fans with drinks
Noel Fielding
1. Every time Sherlock insults Anderson, take 2 fingers worth of your drink. 2. Every time Sherlock’s deductions pretentiously come up on the screen written, take 1 fingers worth. 3. Every time you hear “the game is on”, take 1 finger of your drink.
Let’s Dance For Comic Relief has provided some of the most shocking and awe-inspiring performances from celebrities in the history of television. From Robert Webb’s Flashdance to Rufus Hound’s Chezza, the list of top moments are endless. The ultimate moment on LDFCR, for me, however, has to be Noel Fielding AKA Kate Bush, wandering on the moors searching for his Heathcliff. Not only was the image of Noel in a full length dress and wig beautiful, but his dancing was actually pretty impressive (and all for a good cause). As a big fan of Kate Bush, I was surprisingly not offended by his depiction of the icon. It just made me love her more. Ellie McLaren
Natasha Kaplinsky Back in the early days of Strictly, there was much less raciness and sexy sparkle and far more cute waltzing and actual attempts at being good on the dancefloor. But the family fun of the show was rocked when it was revealed that news anchor Natasha Kaplinsky had stolen her dancing partner, Brendan Cole, away from his thenfiancée (and professional dancing partner) Camilla Dallerup. It was reported that Camilla needed hypnotherapy to get over her heartbreak. Nowadays, it’s commonplace for the professionals to hook up with their celebs on reality shows like this - some have even ended in marriage - but Brentasha were the controversial firsts of this bandwagon. Unfortunately, however, it wasn’t to last. They may have taken home the Strictly glitterball of victory, but they didn’t save the last dance for love. Ellie McLaren
GRAB YOUR CRAMPONS
BASE CAMP You there! Down it, fresher.
4. Every time people assume Sherlock and John are romantically involved, take 2 fingers of drink. 5. Whenever Mrs Hudson says “I’m not your house keeper”, take 3 fingers of your drink. 6. Whenever Sherlock flicks up his collar or plays with it in his ‘game-on’ way, take 1 finger of your drink. 7. Whenever Sherlock analyses someone’s personality or life without their consent (and to their disdain), take 1 finger of drink. 8. Whenever Watson raises his eyebrows, take 1 finger of your drink. 9. Every time Sherlock says “I’m bored”, or something to a similar effect to indicate his intellectual superiority, take 2 fingers of your drink. 10. Every time Sherlock whips his magnifying glass out (not a euphemism), down it. Kassie Hopewell
Todd Carty I think Todd Carty was mint on Dancing On Ice and I don’t care who knows it. There have been many absolute champions of pure entertainment on that show, which sadly ended last year, but for me, the only real winner is Todd Carty. His genius routine went just a little bit wrong when mid-‘Help!’, Todd literally required assistance when he stumbled off the stage, only to return looking a bit bashful. If it was planned, it worked; it looked like it wasn’t. I love TV when it goes wrong. Especially live TV; there’s something exciting about it. So when something goes wrong on both live TV and a skill show, it was quite exciting and I’ve never quite forgotten it. So here’s to you Todd, my hero of Dancing On Ice. Helen Daly
Ann Widdecombe You might have liked Strictly Come Dancing before 2010. The chances are you didn’t, because it wasn’t graced by the wonder that is Ann Widdecombe. To put it simply, she was incredible. Girl can really move. From week to week, Ann showed diversity; from the samba to the salsa, Ann proved that she could bust some shapes on the dance floor. Heck, Ann even cracked out a raunchy rumba. What I liked the most about Ann is that she really tried. Every week she came out with a brand new dance, and almost always executed all of the moves keeping time with the music. She put lots of effort in and I commend that. Good job Ann. Helen Daly
STUCK IN THE CHALET Sinitta
Oh Sinitta, made infamous for clinging desperately to the spotlight and being Simon Cowell’s ‘right hand gal’, her time on Dancing On Ice was never going to be good. In fact - pause for shock effect - she didn’t even make it past the first week (it’s okay, Sinitta, someone has to be first). However she still remains fondly in our memories for somehow managing, during her pitiable skating routine, to slice open the trousers of dance partner Andrei Lipanov with her skates. And even that didn’t succeed in thawing the judge’s icy condemnation of her ‘skills’. Rebecca Dooley
The Courier
highlightstv.27
Monday 16 February 2015
thecourieronline.co.uk/tv c2.tv@ncl.ac.uk | @courier_tv
TV Rewind
A The Casual Vacancy he Casual Vacancy was J.K.Rowling’s first book after the global phenomenon that is Harry Potter, and the question on everybody’s lips was: has she lost her magic? The absence of Harry and Hogwarts, which has become so deeply ingrained in our culture, was something that most people approached with trepidation, when it was announced that The Casual Vacancy was both aimed at an adult audience and contained no mention of flying broomsticks or meddlesome elves. The unspoken concern was; could J.K. Rowling exist without Harry? J.K. Rowling’s answer was the weighty novel about the fictitious small town of Pagford, a place of small town gossip, and local issues. As the title proclaims, the plot centres on a ‘casual vacancy’, or the political absence that is left if the representative MP dies while in power. So far, so different, a far
cry from any of the magical mayhem of the world of Potter. Due to this power vacuum, all sorts of characters come out of the woodwork to lobby for the opportunity to run for election, as well as other characters that represent the social and economic problems that the town faces. The novel attempts to explore people from a variety of different backgrounds in an almost Dickensian scope and size of character list. There are angst-ridden teenagers, bored housewives and brutish husbands, and this is exactly what is wrong with the novel. The flaw is Rowling’s effort to make the everyday extraordinary, just as Harry Potter brought the extraordinary to the everyday. The characters become stereotypes of different social classes, and the narrative is convoluted with barely credible subplots. Upon its release the novel was met by lukewarm praise and gentle disappointment; many felt that in an attempt to differentiate The Casual Vacancy from the success and obvious pressure from Harry Potter, Rowling went too far in portraying the ordinary.
Despite this, the BBC commissioned an adaption of the novel to be filmed, which is due to be aired on 15th February. The cast boasts big-name actors amongst which are Michael Gambon, Rory Kinnear and Keely Hawes who should bring a touch of class to the proceedings. However, the issue is that by having top-class actors there may be a tendency to rather ham the action up, trying to inject a little spice into a mediocre plotline. The story of a small, quiet town fraught with issues is one that has been much used in TV and film and often to greater effect - think Hot Fuzz for example. Perhaps the The Casual Vacancy could do with some murderous cult of pensioners to add to the drama. Equally, the broadcasting of the drama, which will be split into three parts to be shown over the following three Sundays, has be plagued by criticism of enhancing left-wing issues, even suggesting parts have been added that do not appear in the book. However, judgement will have to be withheld until Sunday night, but one thing is for sure- it isn’t Harry Potter. Fiona Callow
Vic & Bob’s House of Fools
The Jump
Keith Lemon’s Sketch Show
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BBC, Sunday, 8pm
Channel 4, Sunday, 7pm
BBC2, Monday, 10pm
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hey’re back! Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer are back with another series of House of Fools. The longstanding comedy duo returns, following their excellent Christmas special. When this show was first announced, no one really knew what to expect from the pair, there was a real worry that it just wouldn’t be as brilliantly bizarre and off-beat as Shooting Stars (God rest its soul). I’ll not lie, the first series was a tad flat in some places, I wasn’t used to seeing them in a sitcom type setting, but after seeing the Christmas special, my faith in Vic and Bob was restored. Looking ahead to the second series, the duo look to be back in fine form, with their unique surrealist comedy that no one else has ever managed to imitate or even match in terms of outlandishness and silliness. Vic and Bob also practice a lost art of slapstick comedy, something that is rarely seen on modern British television, there really is a sense of nostalgia about them, a reason why audiences tune in again and again to see them. There really is no other ‘mainstream’ comedy act like these two. House of Fools is no Vic Reeves’ Big Night Out; you can actually understand what is going on and keep up with the pair. This week’s episode sees Bob teach his 23-year-old son about the ‘birds and the biscuits’ and with Vic and Beef ’s help arranges a blind date for Erik at Julie’s Bistro. I have no doubt in my mind that the events of the episode will be nowhere as near clear cut as that, and that I’ll doubtlessly be tuning in to see what really happens. Jack Parker
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es, you read that correctly; to everyone’s amazement and quite frankly, bewilderment, Channel Four’s answer to Splash, Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing On Ice, The Jump has been back on our screens. For those who haven’t seen this ludicrous show. The Jump features loads of ‘celebrities’ all competing to be the best at winter sports. The celebs go head to head at various different Winter Olympic sports such as the skeleton and the parallel slalom. The loser goes against another loser in the feared ski jump and basically has to try and jump further than their opponent. The loser of that, well, they get sent home with a hot chocolate and a blanket to recover from their shame. This series has been no different to the previous, to be brutally honest, except the level of celebrity has definitely increased: from Stacey Solomon to Louie Spence, the celebrities have been entertaining, to say the least. Admittedly, there weren’t any Amy Childs levels of drama (for those out of the loop, she refused to participate in the ski jump, claiming it was ‘petrifying’ and as a result was knocked out of the competition in the first week), but there seemed to be a real camaraderie between the celebs. Sadly, The Jump is now over. For those who don’t want to know who won, stop reading now. Yes, it was everyone’s favourite Mr Essex himself, Joey who won the competition. Always likable, and always trying, Joey proved himself to be diverse in his talents; he’s not just ‘the king of the jungle’ now, but he’s also ‘the king of the piste’. Helen Daly
ITV2, Thursday, 10pm
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aking on the new challenge of a surreal, fast-paced sketch show, Keith Lemon’s new project is no Celebrity Juice. Yet the ever-hilarious Lemon does provide some entertaining caricatures. Rather than just a mere impression of the target, he latches on to a particular characteristic and runs away with it. Some new personae include the ever spluttering, permatanned David Dickinson attempting to sell a bottle of window cleaner, and Holly Willoughby on This Morning as her breasts slowly pop out her dress. Lemon has managed to entice an array of celebrity guests, with Phillip Schofield, Fearne Cotton, Piers Morgan and Paddy McGuinness making appearances. The disorientating nature of this show, with the real life Leigh Francis offering interpretations of other celebrities through the character of Keith Lemon, makes it clear how we need this persona to shine through in order to offer his trademark hilarity. Still, the comedian pulls it out the bag: audiences appear to love Lemon’s vulgar identity – his interpretation of The Big Fat Gypsy Kardashians has reached over 7 million views already. His witty excerpt, having said Kardashians flogging branded garments on the roadside from the renamed store ‘GASH’, clearly pokes fun out of the Kardashians, rather than travellers. Yet, not all of Lemon’s sketches succeed. His repeated interpretations of Geordie duos Ant and Dec and the Hairy Bikers, are somewhat fused together in a similar impression. Though it doesn’t quite match up to Celebrity Juice, it is a great replacement to what once was Dapper Laugh’s slot on ITV2. Lauren Exell
ww, here it goes - it’s 1996, two young comedians burst onto our screens, bringing with them a TV show like no other. The channel, Nickelodeon, one of the first kids’ TV channels in the UK, gives us Kenan & Kel. This is a really tough one for me, growing up with this show in the late nineties and early noughties, this show is an essential part of my and many of my friend’s childhoods. Yet it wasn’t exactly high class children’s programming - this was no Blue Peter, lovingly served up to us by the BBC.
This was something completely poles apart from anything being produced by British TV channels; it was wacky, zany, amusing. The show centred on teenage best friends Kenan and Kel, and their crazy adventures growing up in Chicago. Kenan was the really boring one, the normal one, you know, he went to high school, had a part-time job, good parents, etc. Kel was the mischief maker, Kenan’s foil, always on hand to make the life of Kenan that extra bit more difficult. I read somewhere that the two were supposed to be a sort of modern, youth-friendly version of classic entertainment duos such as Laurel and Hardy and Penn and Teller. I wouldn’t go as far as that; they weren’t part of the upper echelons of American culture, Christ, they were definitely going for the lowest common denominator at times. But that’s what Kenan and Kel was about, teenagers having a laugh and getting into some very sticky situations. In my earlier years, I can remember watching this for hours and hours on end - it was nearly a part of my daily routine, I just loved it. It was almost on a par with Scooby Doo, when it came to sheer amount of each show watched.
“Kel probably lives his days as a type-two diabetic, he probably hates orange soda.” Whilst I consumed large amounts of Kenan and Kel, Kel voraciously consumed gallons of his beloved orange soda. I think this show may be the very reason why I like Irn Bru so much. Thinking about it now, I really hope they were giving him the sugar-free one. Then again, this was 90s America, so the sheer amounts of sugar that boy consumed must have been sickening. It’s probably what kept him so damn hyper throughout every episode, before going home after filming only experience the world’s largest, most sugariest comedown ever. It’s probably why, after four funny years, the show came to an end. Kel probably lives his days as a type-two diabetic, he probably hates orange soda. As for his co-star, Kenan went on to greater things, he’s now one of the main cast members of Saturday Night Live, America’s best known sketch show. And though Kenan and Kel may now only be a distant memory to them both, as well as me, it will always have a special place in my heart, Kenan and Kel were major parts my schoolnights’ viewing, and with that, massive crazy, clumsy, crackers parts of my childhood.
Jack Parker
28.music
Monday 16 February 2015
The Courier
Music Editors: ditors: Jamie Shepherd, Dominique Daly and Chris Addison
Electronic Blanket Our man on the scene Max Palmer-Geaves gives us the low down on Newcastle institution Shindig, Octave’s latest offering and soul singer Andrew Ashong Electronic goings on: Shindig XXIII By the time this is published the line up will have been out for a couple of weeks, but for the sake of any first years who might glance at this column, I thought I should include a little piece on what could prove to be one of the waviest days of your life. I went last year and it was mental. Not like ‘that was one of the best nights out I’ve had in ages’ mental, but more like ‘I will never forget how ridiculously hedonistic and awesome that was, someone go fetch me some OJ and some ulcer medication, I can’t feel my face’. The setting is lovely; you get to run around to some unbelievable acts in full view of the Tyne. The good news is that this year the line-up is even better, which is seriously good going considering that last year’s headline act was German techno’s favourite son and pioneer Sven Vath. Dixon, Richie Hawton and Pete Tong add an unreal element to what is essentially a local festival and are sure to make your Shindig experience memorable. If you’ve never been, or never heard of it, give it a look as I’m almost sure you won’t be disappointed.
Preview: Octave presents Leftwing & Kody @ Cosmic Ballroom
DJ EZ seemed the obvious choice for me to hype for this week but rather than go for a classic garage DJ, I’ve chosen one of Britain’s brightest young duos, Leftwing & Kody. The pair won Best Breakthrough DJ at DJ Mag’s Best of British awards, and although I’ve seen them twice now, they seem to get better each time. Cosmic Ballroom is the perfect setting for the rolling bass lines and swinging hats that will make for two hours of unrelenting, inescapable grooves. The pair genuinely seem to love Newcastle as well, and both times they’ve played there was a palpable energy in the room, a sense of togetherness driven by their no holds barred, room wrecking set (although to be fair though it could have just been the unsurprising amount of general substance abuse). If you need convincing further, they’ve actually uploaded the live recording from the last time they played Cosmic, complete with crowd screaming and the goosebump inducing final tune choice of Booka Shade’s ‘In White Rooms’. I think the beauty of Leftwing and Kody is their general lack of pretension. They don’t try to be anything other than a pair who can keep you moving all night by playing banger after banger. Listen to: Leftwing & Kody - Live at Cosmic Ballroom (available on Soundcloud)
You Need To Hear This: Andrew Ashong
Ashong is a British-Ghanian soul singer-songwriter; DJ and producer who first began playing sets and producing his own music aged 16 after spending his formative teenage years digging for records. His mixes have a certain quality, which has bled into his own recordings; a vintage sound produced by digging through crates for wholesome soul tunes preaching messages of love. It’s noticeable these days when a DJ really knows their tunes and has been developing their craft over years of playing. Andrew Ashong is one of those artists who has the ability to pull out tunes you’ve never heard of but instantly feel you need. His first break came with a solo release on Theo Parrish’s label Sound Signature with the Flowers EP, the title track of which was voted the ‘Track of the Year’ at Giles Peterson’s Worldwide Awards 2013 and hailed by music blogs as an essential listen. Since then Ashong has released a self-titled EP containing hazier, jazz infused, soulful tunes, once again to critical acclaim. It’s rare to find artists whose aim is not to sound perfectly polished and top the charts but rather to connect with people’s souls and spread a message of love. Listen to: Andrew Ashong – ‘Special’
Miffed Swift and the copyright rift The people’s pop princess gets petty: Iqra Choudhury on Taylor Swift’s copyright controversy
F
irst off, let it be said – I adore Taylor Swift; I’ve been unashamedly singing into hairbrush-microphones to T-Swizzle songs since 2005. But her latest move to protect her brand has me perplexed. Sorry Taylor, I don’t think I can shake it off. Recently, 37 applications to trademark Taylor Swift song lyrics have been processed; it seems that phrases like: “Party like it’s 1989”, “this sick beat”, and “nice to meet you, where you been?”, are now trademarked for Taylor Swift’s use, and her use only . At the time of print, Taylor’s people are waging war on Etsy shopowners peddling unofficial Taylor Swift merchandise. This move is the latest by Taylor Swift to protect her intellectual property – she removed her entire back-catalogue off Spotify over a dispute about royalties preceding the release of her latest record 1989, and audio and lyric videos of her songs on YouTube are taken down on the same day they’re being uploaded. Taylor Swift is adamant that if you want her music, you have to pay for it, and let’s be honest – that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I paid for 1989, and it was money well spent.
I’m a massive Taylor Swift fan, but I can’t really defend her here. A while back, I watched a tour DVD of a metalcore band called Parkway Drive (I am going somewhere with this, I promise) – on their world tour, they found a plethora of bootleg merchandise outside their shows in Mexico. Keyrings, t-shirts, mugs; all festooned with the words ‘Parkway Drive’, with song lyrics, with logos and album art. And get this – instead of being mad, and going on a trademark rampage, the band members were flattered. And pretty humbled, because their name was putting a roof over
“Taylor, as much as I love you, as much as I will defend you to the death, you’re in the wrong this time”
someone else’s head. Lead singer Winston McCall said, “We’re actually stoked – if our name can help anyone make a living, then it makes us happy.” I’ve been to tiny shows where the room’s been less than half-full, watching bands who implore their fans for a place to stay the night because their record revenues are nothing, and they don’t make enough off merchandise sales to afford a place to stay. On the Vans Warped Tour every year, the bands have to make a certain amount of money off merchandise every day, or they can’t afford the run of shows the summer tour allows them. These bands struggle to stay on the road. The truth of the matter is Taylor Swift isn’t a struggling musician on the toilet circuit. This woman is selling out arenas. She’s selling them out worldwide. Her records go multi-platinum. She’s probably made more money in the time it’s taken me to pen this article than I’ll earn in the next several years. With all due respect, Taylor, as much as I love you, as much as I will defend you to the death, you’re in the wrong this time.
“It’s not difficult to see where Taylor’s coming from on this she wants to corner the market on Taylor Swift merch, and that’s totally her prerogative”
In a world where the better part of an artist’s revenue comes not from record sales, but from touring and merchandise sales, it’s not difficult to see where Taylor’s coming from on this – she wants to corner the market on Taylor Swift merch, and that’s totally her prerogative. But coining generic phrases like “this sick beat” seems a little petty to me. And
Interview: Ali’s Love Child
Music Editor Jamie Shepherd talks to Newcastle University band Ali’s Love Child, who UHFHQWO\ UHDFKHG WKH ¿ QDO RI WKH SUHVWLJLRXV L6HVVLRQV FRPSHWLRQ LQ 0DQFKHVWHU How did you guys find out about the competition? Jordan Smith (second year Chemistry & Medicinal Chemistry, guitar): It was a lass on my course who said that there was a battle of the bands competition going around. She pointed it out because she was in the music society and she said “Oh, well you guys should get involved”. So she gave me the details and that’s how it all kicked off. So what actually happened in this competition? JS: We played this venue called The Hyena, which funnily enough isn’t a music venue, it’s a comedy club. It wasn’t really a competition between the bands there, it was a nationwide competition between 70 bands. Jack Donnelly (second year Ancient History & Archaeology, vocals): There were 5 bands there from Newcastle University and it was put to a national vote. Everybody got filmed and it got stuck on the iSessions website and you had to get your mates to vote for you. We found out, about a month ago that we and four other bands were going through to play the national final at the Gorilla club in Manchester. The prize is a recording studio day and tickets to Latitude. I take it you’re pretty hyped to win then? JD: A day in the recording studio is good ‘cos they can be pretty damn expensive. Al Hall: Especially for the student budget. JS: We were going to record, whatever happens, but a day in the studio for free would be a massive help. Is it hard juggling the not very rock & roll world of being a student and being a rock star? AH: Not really, we rehearse twice a week at First Avenue studios in Heaton and then the gigs themselves are in the evenings, so they don’t clash with uni. It’s just difficult in the holidays ‘cos our bassists Malaysian and he lives in Kuala Lumpur, so he’s not
exactly available at short notice. Everyone else is scattered outside of term time. How easy do you think it is to find musically likeminded people at uni? Does it happen straight away? AH: It’s quite hard actually, because the stuff we’re doing now isn’t popular anymore. Even the Rock Society isn’t our thing, as they’re a bit too heavy metal orientated. JD: When I went to my audition Al said to me, I always knew you were into good music and that’s one of the only ways you can tell straight away. By someone’s band t-shirts or their questionable hair-
cuts. What do you think about the fact that most students who make their own music have ditched the guitars for laptops? AH: A lot of the people that you meet now who make music are trying to get gigs in pubs rather than clubs JS: Everyone wants to be a DJ but that kinda works in our favour, because we’re a little bit different from what’s going on and we go against the grain. People still really enjoy rock music and everyone still really enjoys having a sing and a dance along. It’s always good fun to play.
The Courier
music.29
Monday 16 February 2015
Shadows In The Night
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Bob Dylan
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ob Dylan makes a change in his staggering thirty-sixth album to date, Shadows In The Night, delivering a stunning and moving collection of covers, mostly popularised by Frank Sinatra. Dylan lays these well-known American classics bare in his stripped-down and delicate renditions, bringing something truly original to the table. In a statement from his website, he describes how he is ‘uncovering’ these songs rather than covering them - “Lifting them out of the grave and bringing them into the light of day”. He does this flawlessly. It is the roughness of Dylan’s voice, which acts as emotive driving force throughout, texturing his collection against the gentleness of his band. Only light horns pepper the album, such as on ‘The Night We Called It a Day’, subtly heightening the ambience of this mellow song. Shadows In The Night is in many ways an ode to Frank Sinatra, a celebration and love of his work, from one great artist to another. Yet in his appreciation, Dylan replaces Sinatra’s grand bravado and richness with light, woozy romantic laments. ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ encapsulates this perfectly in its almost whimsical tune. The final number, ‘That Lucky Old Sun’, ends Shadows In The Night lusciously on a delicate crescendo, oozing tenderness while resonating powerfully all the same. He flourishes as an old crooner, romantically lamenting at every turn, echoing that of ‘Lay Lady Lay’. Dylan unravels a softer, more vulnerable side to himself in his old age through his careful choice of songs. He gravitates to the lonesome and forlorn, those full of regret, and even the religious in ‘Stay With Me’. His latest effort is a clear contrast to Dylan’s elec-
trifying and politically charged early work, however Shadows In The Night is a small triumph in his recent output. Dylan, in his way, cements himself as a master of husky lullabies and as an artist who continues to evolve after all these years. In the heart-breaking opener, ‘I’m a Fool to Want You’, Dylan renders a compelling tone, which resonates throughout the album, keeping the listener hungry for more. He lessens the drama of Sinatra and in turn creates a more moving performance. His voice quivers on every note, totally complementing the spare instrumentation of his five piece band and making the lyrics “I can’t get along without you” ever more pertinent. The album is simplistically beautiful; Dylan has
Happy People Peace
2011 Until 2014 Percussions
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ollowing up their stellar debut In Love, Peace’s Happy People is a worthy sophomore piece that more than capitalises on their indie-pop credibility, and thrusts them into the direction of gaining wider recognition. Sonically the record more than lives up to its title, with the sound being cemented in an array of chipper melodies and commanding riffs. It’s the type of sound that just commands your attention the moment you start listening, with bassist Sam Koisser having the powerful ability to entice you with propulsive rhythms that you definitely lose yourself in. It’s also a style that’s hard not to love, yet Peace also don’t fall into the trap of creating a monotonous sound, moving on the spectrum of grungy chaos on the likes of ‘I’m a Girl’ to very chilled acoustics on the likes of ‘Someday’. This great production value is supported strongly by the witty lyricism that the band displays. The simple hooks are there, but this is definitely more of a complex affair that simply masquerades as this slickly-packaged project. The music just contains this cool, humorous edge you can’t not like, a prime example being ‘Perfect Skin’, a song that is as much about feeling insecure about yourself as it is just sexually objectifying someone. Of course bringing it all together is definitely frontman Harry Koisser. His vocal throughout charms in a way that makes you invest in the group more, whilst he also brings a self-deprecating edge in places that highlights his wonderful ability to truly inject personality into each track. Happy People is the first album this year I’ve felt was actually worth the listen. So if you’re struggling to find new music in this quiet first quarter, then definitely give this a whirl. Christopher Addison
“Dylan, in his way, cements himself as a master of husky lullabies and as an artist who continues to evolve after all these years” added a sense of the ethereal to these already timeless songs, which have been endlessly covered. Despite his now haggard voice, his melodies flows with such great ease, evoking an almost dreamlike quality, most aptly displayed in ‘Full Moon and Empty Arms’. Although a departure from his best-loved works, Shadows In The Night is a must for any Dylan fan. and his most accessible album in recent years. It’s a gentle, slow tempo marvel from start to finish. Leah McAteer
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011 Until 2014 is the latest collection of songs under Kieran Hebden’s alias of Percussions, but you probably know him as beatmaker Four Tet. The album opens with the rumbling static of ‘February 2014’, and then the sunny, shuffling, two-note progressive bursts appear. The minimalist easing in to this opening track is met later with a bricolage of various beeps, and a sporadic rising, rumbling bass. ‘KHLHI’ samples Syreeta’s 1972 song ‘Keep Him Like He Is’, which is teasingly spurted among the electronic soundscape, before the soul singer’s voice becomes lucid. It is a strange juxtaposition in sound, but there is something satisfying with the new-found clarity, almost like when trapped water leaves your ears after a bath. This is a stand out track, and luckily Annie Mac has made it available for a free download. ‘Ascii Bot’ opens with a sweet arpeggio that is carried throughout, and hi-hat, snare and kick drum percussion fills out the delicate rising notes, before another falling arpeggio plays out over the top, creating an intricately modulating fugue. The euphonious repetitions of “moving on” by the female vocalist adds delicacy to the arrangements. Hebden understands music. He knows that ‘drops’ belong in cheap, commercial dance music, which listeners grasp on to as the talking point of a song (we have all heard it: ‘wait for this SICK drop’). Hebden avoids those tedious, saccharine crescendos and split-second silences, and instead fills his songs with weird, wonderful and often indescribable noises, forged together by his artistic prowess in his field of electronic music composition and production. This album is another wonder in Hebden’s flawless oeuvre. Connor McDonnell
More than this Pin-Ups – David Bowie Another artist paying homage to his musical influences, but this was at the height of Bowie’s Ziggy zeitgeist. Appearing with supermodel and 60s icon Twiggy on the front cover, Bowie pays homage to classic beat groups such as The Yardbirds and The Pretty Things whilst also paying a nod to contemporaries The Who. Kicking Against the Pricks – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Mad man and maverick Nick Cave has always been controversial in terms of going against the musical grain and this release did just that and more. Covering everyone from The Velvet Underground and Johnny Cash, Nick Cave croons/growls these classics in his inimitable post-punk style.
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Diva requests In Van Halen’s tour rider there was a specific request that there would be a bowl of M&Ms in their dressing room. Seems pretty fair, but wait: every single brown M&M had to be taken out of the bowl. If there were any brown ones found, the concert would be cancelled there and then, at full price. Harsh. However, there is a side to this that is understandable – the promoter is unlikely to have read the rider properly, and could quite easily miss specific technical specifications. Not adhering to these would ultimately harm the band’s overall performance.
Madonna’s eccentric performances go further than just the stage: she requires a brand new toilet seat at every single concert which she plays. This seems a little bizarre. Maybe, she wants everything to be pristine in cleanliness when she arrives to perform, or maybe she has a serious ego problem that makes her need to be the ‘official first user of a toilet seat’ at a venue. Either way, a new toilet seat is a little bit odd, and clearly makes her more materialistic than your next professional musician.
Viet Cong Viet Cong
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adore classic post-punk and it’s very rare that I’m impressed by the revivalist pretenders to the post-punk throne. I find that most bands picked up on the Pitchfork radar, as new postpunk, are posers who are too scared to go for the jugular. Viet Cong’s self-titled debut album shows no fear and takes no prisoners. Considering the Calgary-based band only formed in 2012, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Viet Cong was one of the albums your parents listened to in their room whilst wearing a lot of black leather and lace (and that’s just your dad). Opener ‘Newspaper Spoons’ mauls you in the neck with the sheer unpolished cacophony it unleashes and transports you to an unwelcoming northern gig venue on a very cold day in 1979. ‘Pointless Experience’ hearkens back to Siouxsie and the Banshee’s ‘Spellbound’ if they’d released it on The Scream, with vocalist Matt Flegel’s haunting inflections sharing Sioux’s harrowing urgency. ‘March of Experience’ opens like a Lynchian soundscape but then rises to a psychedelic peak sounding like every great psychedelic record released in the 1960s that wasn’t the fucking Beatles. ‘Bunker Buster’ allies itself to Wire’s ‘Three Girl Rhumba’ played underwater on a speed comedown while ‘Continental Shelf ’ could be the bastard lovechild that Joy Division and the Sisters of Mercy will never have with its slow-tempo eulogistic feel. The synths of penultimate track ‘Silhouettes’ lull the listener into thinking the album will end with an almost joyous zenith but the album’s closer ‘Death’ shatters that illusion. While sharing the bleakness of classic British post-punk, the final track owes more to the angsty alternative stylings of early Sonic Youth cementing the album as a referential soundscape of all things haunting. Jamie Shepherd
Lady Gaga is known for her rather extravagant performances, and it seems as though her backstage food requests match. Wanting a plate of cheese before a gig is bad enough – singers know that dairy products do nothing to assist your vocal performance, in fact it is the opposite – but on ice? Lady Gaga must clearly like her cheese cold, at least that’s all it seems she wants the ice for. Either that, or maybe she likes to chew on ice before going on stage.
Jennifer Lopez clearly fits the bill of a ‘super diva’. Aside from the fact that her tour bus must be exactly 40ft in length, it has to be totally kitted out in white upholstery. That includes: table cloths, candles, couches, lilies, roses. You name it, her ridiculous demand will require it. She also needs a CD collection chosen from any of 43 artists, and scented candles from any of Diptyque’s Tuberose, Figuier, or Heliotrope. It seems as though it’s pretty easy to kit out her tour bus then…
Marilyn Manson is notorious for asking for a bald-headed, toothless hooker in his tour rider. Whether or not this is actually wanted by Manson, the request does come across as a little bit obscure. This comes alongside some rather ‘normal’ requests such as Haribo, champagne, and Doritos - making the hooker request all the more bizarre. George Suddaby
The Courier
musicfeature.31
Monday 16 February 2015
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Preview: 6 Music Festival
Hipsters of Tyneside rejoiced when Lauren Laverne announced that the 6 Music Festival was coming to The Toon. Don’t despair if you have no idea who any of these people are, as our supercool writers have picked their ones to watch
Ghostpoet Ghostpoet truly is a poet. He’s been on my essential album list ever since I first clapped my ears around Peanut Butter Blues and the Melancholy Jam; there’s even an undeniably affable genius to his debut record’s title. Tracks such as ‘Us Against Whatever’ and ‘Cash and Carry Me Home’ provide a deluge of phrases which attempt to understand and explain minute moments in the everyday; take the line ‘I love you like chicken soups and biscuits and lemonade but sometimes I’m deaf I must need a hearing aid’ for example. I was lucky enough to meet him after his show at the Cluny last year and he is one of the most humble artists I’ve ever met. His live show pulls you in and wraps you up in a left-field take on musicianship. It relies on the ability of those onstage but also on the dark beauty of the relatable stories created in the writing process and the often-charming imagery is offset by a gritty electronic sound. He is an artist who excels in individuality. Max Palmer-Geaves When: Saturday 21st February Where: The Sage, Hall 2
Jamie T One of the hottest indie/alternative acts for a few years now, the lyrical Londoner Jamie T is on his way to Tyneside. Audiences are in for a treat from the man who has been described by some as ‘a one-man Arctic Monkeys’. He’s been bubbling away quite nicely for the past seven to eight years now, and this is an artist that is really coming to the fore, coming our way to Newcastle. The singer songwriter released what is arguably his biggest and best-known single so far, ‘Zombie’, back in August, and was easily part of the soundtrack to people’s summers all across the nation. Jamie T seems to be only growing in popularity, and the 6Music Festival can only bring him more recognition and the attention that he deserves. Jack Parker When: Saturday 21st February Where: The Sage, Hall 2
Maximo Park I’m most looking forward to seeing Maximo Park. Aside from anything else, they’re a cracking band to see live. Honestly, I’ve seen them a few times live now, and they’re one of those bands who just put on an absolutely cracking show. You can see from their performance that they really belong and feel at home on big stages at festivals. With fan-favourite belters such as ‘Our Velocity’ and ‘Apply Some Pressure’ pretty much guaranteed on their set, seeing them at the 6Music Festival would not be a mistake; their roaring guitar riffs and shout-along songs are impossible not to dance along to. Too Much Information was released last year and it seems like the Northern lads are still at their best; ‘Give, Get, Take’ was played at the 6Music Festival launch last month in Mens Bar and it sounds just as epic played acoustically as it does with a fully plugged-in band so it’s definitely one to watch out for in their set. To put it very, very simply, Maximo Park are one of those bands that everyone loves. They constantly stream out hit after hit, which guarantees that their set in Gateshead will be absolutely unmissable. Helen Daly When: Saturday 21st February Where: The Sage, Hall 1
Jamie xx
In my head, Jamie xx and I have the kind of relationship akin to that of two love-lorn characters in a film that are perpetually in the wrong place at the wrong time and keep missing their chance to meet. Up until now every tour Jamie has taken of towns and cities were always in clear avoidance of those which held my residence. But alas, finally he has decided its the right time for our eyes to meet across the smokey dance floor and fall into romance like trance whilst soaking up his unmistakably good vibes. Originally hooked by Jamie’s name sake band The XX, his transition into blisteringly hot remixes such as ‘Pull my Heart Away’ and ‘You Got the Love’ back in 2009 was enough to make me dream of one day raving in his presence. Dominique Daly When: Saturday 21st February Where: The Boiler Shop
Four Tet Four Tet (real name Kieran Hebden) is one of the pioneers of contemporary electronic dance music, with a solo music career spanning back 16 years, yet everything he touches seems to become a monument of timelessness. His back catalogue ranges from Lo-fi experimental jazz to jungle inspired dance tracks, as well as his extensive, non-exhaustible list of remixes, of an eclectic spectrum, scoping from Madvillain to Radiohead. He has also had numerous collaboration credits, most famously his secret project with Burial releasing a two-track 12”. Hebden’s career is a well established, which has been rewarded with his own record label, Text Records. The meritocratic nature of music has paid dividends to Four Tet, and he has certainly paid his way in to it, gifting us with some of the most spellbinding experiments in electronic music. Connor McDonnell When: Saturday 21st February Where: The Boiler Shop
Interpol Whilst the news that Lauren Laverne was in Mens Bar was enough to get me fervently excited between lectures a few weeks ago, life was truly complete when she announced that Interpol would be playing BBC 6 Music Festival, a mere walking distance away from where I live.I simply cannot wait to go to the O2 Academy on a Friday for something other than Dirty Pop. They’ll be sharing the stage with the equally awesome likes of Mogwai, Sleater-Kinney and The War on Drugs, but seeing Interpol (a band created when I was the tender age of one) is going to be nothing short of momentous. Over the course of their set, I’ll simultaneously experience the thrill of hearing familiar classics like ‘Obstacle 1’ and ‘Evil’ live, whilst also becoming more accustomed to the newer songs on El Pintor, last year’s release. So if you see someone belting out ‘Public Pervert’’s infamous lyric, ‘Oh, so swoon baby starry nights’ whilst fittingly swooning over the deep dreaminess of Paul’s voice, it’s probably me. Sophie Ahmed When: Friday 20th February Where: The O2 Academy
Sleater-Kinney Every chance I get to write an essay on feminism I always manage to find a way to work in those gnarly Riot Grrrls of the mid-1990s. There’s something about the rage and passion of that time period that sets my pulse going so imagine how excited your boy Jamie was when he heard that original Grrrl band Sleater-Kinney were gracing the O2 Academy this Friday. I already pissed my Calvins with steamy zeal when they released their first album in a decade, No Cities in Love, last month. When the opening strains of ‘One More Hour’ fill the grandiose space of the O2’s auditorium the crowd should be reminded of why Sleater-Kinney are more important than Haim, Karen O, and Florence in the canon of female musicians. Jamie Shepherd When: Friday 20th February Where: The 02 Academy
Hot Chip Hot Chip are at the head of a lineage of great British dance musicled synth-pop groups which runs back through New Order, Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode. As much as they piss about with their various splinter groups and side-projects, they’re at their best making glorious techno pop. In a sense, they’re a contradiction in terms: synth-pop groups generally sit in a well-worn groove which says that they don’t really move very much (kind of a prerequisite when you’re trying to play a synthesiser to be fair), look mildly pissed off and make sounds which have music hacks reaching for the thesaurus to find another word for ‘icy’. Hot Chip, though, are a bundle of laughs, bouncing about like giddy toddlers and improvising willy-nilly. Even when they’re doing their doleful balladry rather than four-to-the-floor bangers, there’s a great, comforting warmth floating over everything. So, it’s with great joy that I heard that they were back If you were to place new single ‘Huarache Lights’ in a Venn diagram (and pop music is nothing if not a brilliant excuse to get one’s graphs out), it’d sit in both the ‘grower’ and ‘banger’ sections in much the same way as the first single from In Our Heads, ‘Flutes’, did so brilliantly. Tom Nicholson When: Saturday 21st February Where: The Sage, Hall 1
32.gaming
Monday 16 February 2015
The Courier
Gaming Editors: Sophie Baines and Ben Tyrer
Bloodborne hype Michael Hicks tells us why he’s hyped beyond belief for Bloodborne
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f there’s one thing I’ve learned coming to university, it’s that I love the Souls series. Made by a relatively small Japanese studio named From Software, the Souls series is infamous the world over for being ball-bustingly hard. There’s more to the games than their extreme difficulty though; the atmosphere is second to none, the worlds detailed, intricate and brilliantly designed, the non-player characters are fantastically written, online play is engrossing and great fun, if not incredibly frustrating at times and the series is home to some of the best boss fights in video game history. Did I mention the Souls games are hard? They’re pretty hard; but the games (generally) walk the fine line where death feels like a result of your own error, and it challenges you to overcome your failures and emerge a better player. When you do overcome that particularly grueling boss fight you’ve been throwing yourself at for hours, the sense of accomplishment is unlike anything else. The Souls games are a drug, and I was soon hooked.
Mod Spotlight: The Candle Makers S
Sophie Baines explores the hidden secrets behind the ever-burning lights in all of Skyrim’s dungeons kyrim is famous for having an excellent community of creators and players, but even with these high expectations occasionally a mod-maker will outdo themselves. The Candle Makers Part One, created by NemoStone on the Steam Community Workshop is a good example of this. The mod creates a whole new questline to the game, similar to the Path to Elsweyr mod and others of its kind. It expands the game by inventing new areas of Skyrim to explore, introducing new characters (and new voice actors, which we will come to in a minute) and altogether reinvigorating the game for long-time players like me. I start my experience immediately after installing the mod; my long-suffering Wood Elf Kerinda, the beautiful ghost horse Shadowmere and Dark Elf companion Jenessa set off on a long quest to discover the C andlemakers of Skyrim. As you may have guessed, this mod is concerned with the
forever glowing candles found in the dungeons and abandoned keeps of Skyrim’s landscape. Who exactly tends to these apparently well-maintained candles in Skyrim’s abandoned ruins? This mod aims to answer this question, and although Part One is the only one out so far, the next quest lines look set-up to explain that little oversight on the part of the developers. First we head to Eagle’s Knob (you can tell this mod was made by someone with a sense of humour) where we meet a man with an extremely deep voice, whose name professes him ‘Silent’, but his mouth reveals him as not. He sends the player on a wild goose chase to find a missing man, who
“The voices have the old Skyrim weird-as-hell Scandinavian-Canadian mix down to a tee”
we do not know the name of, nor what he looks like, nor where is going. But we find him! Surprise, surprise, he is lying in a pool of blood on the road from Riverwood to Whiterun, the starting zone for the game (I expect that the mod is meant to be installed early on, rather than on level 42 as I am). The mod carries on in much the same vein, we are sent places to do things and say things, very much in the vein of Skyrim itself. But what this mod has over the base game is its irrevocable humour and self-awareness. At one point, one of the characters say, “You have to go see Karvac, but his office has a bit of a weaponry issue at the minute, so he’s in the tavern”. If you investigate the office, all the weapons in the room launch themselves from the racks directly into your face, injuring you and
heavily damaging companions. The mod is mainly well-developed, although with the occasional bug, extremely well written and acted. In all honesty, I’ve tried a lot of these quest-type mods for Skyrim, and often the voices are either not dubbed in, badly synced with the game audio settings or simply cut and stolen from other characters in the game. This mod has voiced every one of its named characters with their own actor (or at least a couple of very talented actors), it is perfectly synced to the game audio and is hilarious. Whoever it is who has done the voices have got the old Skyrim weird-as-hell ScandinavianCanadian mix, the timing on the jokes is great and so much personality is injected into the script that its hard to remember its not the base game. If it weren’t for the lighting errors (and the fact that nothing is considered stealing, which had my hoarding habits in complete overdrive), I would have forgotten entirely that this was not in fact Skyrim. I would recommend this mod to anyone looking for questtype mods for the game. But they seriously need to make everything stealing, I just can’t resist taking it if I can just take it. It got to the point where both my companions were fullup and I was still 100 overweighed. In all, an absolute joy to play.
Greatest Final Fantasy characters Kezziah Hall takes us through the greatest Final Fantasy characters and tells us why her heart lies with these characters in particular
5. Vivi, IX
2. S Sephiroth, Sephiroth ephiroth, VII
Yes, he had to be on this list. Sephiroth is the most famous antagonist of the entire Final Fantasy series, and one of the first to come to mind when I think of classic video game villains. Essentially, a superhuman, Sephiroth is ruthless and cruel. A palehaired, pale-faced angel, Sephiroth is the epitome of bad stuff. Through this game, spin-off games and other media, he also has a deep, and interesting back story. He is able to get inside Cloud’s head, torturing him, making him all the more terrifying. And I don’t think anyone can forget that particular character death he is responsible for… Of course, he is a massively popular character and his legacy will live on throughout the Final Fantasy has always been a great series for telling very human sto- gaming generations. ries, and we see that through this character. Terra can be considered the main protagonist of Final Fantasy VI (arguably the first female main character of the series). She is half-human, half-esper, and the slave to the twisted antagonist of the game, Kefka Palazzo (he really reminds me of The Joker: clown make-up, maniacal…), acting as his weapon. Terra’s story is one of breaking free from not only the physical, but mental ties that bind her. Her new-found strength of character and Maybe it is surprising that Cloud is not here instead! compassion shine through as the game progresses. Admittedly, Tidus is annoying in the beginning. In terms of personality, he is Cloud’s opposite: he is silly, loud (well, he is our first voiced Final Fantasy protagonist) and arrogant. However, Tidus is number one for me as he is a prime Final Fantasy X is probably my favourite game in the series, with some example of amazing storytelling through of my favourite party members in any RPG I have played. Auron is an gaming. In my opinion, no video game all-round amazing character. Crucial in so many fights throughout the character develops as Tidus does. Growgame, Auron is always my main focus when it comes to levelling-up, ing from childish and unlikeable, into being the heavy hitter of the party and wreaking total havoc over my someone to be greatly admired, it is one enemies. However, it’s not just his OP skills that make Auron a great of the most rewarding parts of playing character. He doesn’t show it much, but he is a man who genuinely Final Fantasy X is to see the man Tidus has wants the best for the world, but accepts it will be difficult to save it. become by the end of the game. To see Vivi in Kingdom Hearts made me so happy, you couldn’t even believe. The black mage with the infamous pointy hat, blue coat and big yellow eyes is certainly one of the most memorable Final Fantasy characters in terms of appearance – but has an amazing story arc. Vivi is the youngest playable character in the entire series at 9 years old, but we see him asking very big questions about his identity, who he is, understanding his origins and what it means to be a black mage. His story is definitely one of the most moving and real within the series.
Flashback to E3 2014, and amongst the announcements of the likes of Halo, Uncharted, Rainbow Six Siege and The Legend of Zelda, it was Bloodborne that got me the most excited. So why am I hyped for Bloodborne? The answer is simple; while the game has changed its name, it’s unapologetically a Souls game. Bloodborne takes place in the city of Yharnam, a Victorian-styled hellhole of a city in which people come in droves in search of a magical cure-all elixir said to be hidden in the city, and you are one such unlucky chap. Graphically, Bloodborne is a huge leap forward for the series, and the lighting engine is put to fantastic use, plus the attention to detail is staggering. The combat system has been tweaked from the Souls games in that aggression and maintaining a fast pace is required to take on the bloodthirsty hordes, and guns are now available to the player for the first time. Despite these changes, the rest of this game is business as usual, and the first footage of the game promises something fans of the series won’t ever forget. The game is shaping up to look very, very good; Bloodborne is Demon’s Souls on steroids, and I for one can’t wait to get my fix.
4. Terra, VI
1. Tidus, X
3. Auron, X
The Courier
gaming.33
Monday 16 February 2015
Review: Dying Light Ben Tyrer takes on zombies, parkour and dark humour in the latest in undead slaying simulation
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aking a zombie game is kind of a bold move, because there are so many out there and so few of them are memorable. Luckily, Techland made a decent attempt with Dead Island, an open-world zombie survival game with moxie and flaw in equal measure. Though a sequel to that game is presumably underway, for now we have a kind of spiritual successor in the form of Dying Light, a game which takes a number of the elements of Dead Island and gives them a good polishing – resulting in a better game generally. The big feature in Dead Island was the absolutely brutal combat. In the zombie-ravaged holiday resort-turned-hellscape, guns were in reasonably short supply, meaning players had to make use of an assortment of blunt objects and cobbledtogether makeshift weaponry to stave off the liv-
ing dead. The ability to position attacks allowed for a range of disgusting techniques – breaking the arms of the zombies to prevent them from wielding weapons of their own; shattering their legs with plywood and leaving them to crawl around angrily before finishing them off with a boot to the head – it was some seriously grisly stuff, and left a lasting impression. The combat largely carries over to Dying Light, but has lost a bit of its edge because it is no longer possible to target body parts with the same precious, meaning some of the strategy – and a lot of the visceral energy – has been diminished. Still, the zombies animate wonderfully and buckle appropriately under the weight of your blows. Electrocuting one zombie threw it into a convulsion so harrowingly rendered that I wound up feeling pretty guilty about it – impressive in a genre completely saturated with violence.
New to the game is a parkour system that makes you far more agile than you ever were in Dead Island. Avoiding the undead by clambering around on roofs and building-tops is literally a viable strategy, and one the game rewards you for with experience in the Agility skill tree – in a sort of throwback to The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, you level up aspects of your character in Dying Light by performing those actions – meaning a scrappy player will become better at fighting, and a flighty one will wind up swifter. In spots, the quality of writing begins to toe the line between hokey and believable, but thankfully leans more frequently into being enjoyable than unacceptably ridiculous. Characters generally react to the horrors of post-infection life in sensible, grounded ways and the narrative premise for the protagonist Kyle Crane – a kind of double agent with an agenda hidden from the game’s two main factions – is actually a really smart way for the game to let you perform missions for both ends of the spectrum. A particular highlight comes during the night, when more vicious and conniving variations of the undead lurk the darkened city streets – faster, more intelligent and able to climb almost as ably as the player, these zombies make travelling in darkness a thrilling, more challenging and more rewarding experience when compared to the relatively slow shamblers that populate the streets in the day – subdued as they are by the suns UV rays. Dark tone and brutal fighting aside, Dying Light isn’t afraid to have some fun. Many quests have a quirk to them, and plenty of Easter eggs – including a Destiny-esque ‘loot cave’ and a Ubisoft-style tower climbing mission – are scattered around the world. Though amusing, these never detract from the pretty well-crafted atmosphere. If you’re looking for satisfying combat, an open world and plenty of zombies you can do far worse than Dying Light.
What I’m playing: Darkest Dungeon -DFN &DXO¿ HOG gets damp and dirty exploring the rogue-like joy of Darkest Dungeon
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t the end of my first day playing Darkest Dungeon, the situation was hopeless. I had lost all four of my highest-level party members to the game’s first boss, the Apprentice Necromancer, because after each one fell I continued pushing my traumatised, insufficiently supplied party - I just needed to do a little more damage! I refused to retreat, and one by one, they died. Nobody was left to carry the loot home, and I’d spent all my savings on the expedition, meaning I was bankrupt, unable to supply the next quest at all. I had to start over from the beginning. Darkest Dungeon has just recently come to Early Access on Steam. The visuals and sound design are excellent; it has a kind of gothic horror atmosphere and a comic book aesthetic, with a deepv o i c e d narrator who says things like
‘possessed with insidious intent’, and classes such as Grave Robber and Witch Doctor. It plays something like XCOM crossed with Rogue Legacy:: XCOM’s permadeath combined with Rogue Legacy’s system of traits, and procedurally generated layout. You have a pool of heroes to select from, each with their own class, abilities and personalities. You might have a kleptomaniac who steals items from you during quests, or a known cheat who is banned from gambling in the local tavern. You take these heroes out on quests into dungeons, supplying them with torches, food, and ideally shovels to dig through any rubble that might be blocking their path. Each quest randomly generates its own map, populated with loot, enemies, traps, and various other secrets to find and discover.
“The visuals and sound design are excellent; it has a kind of gothic-horror atmosphere and a comic book aesthetic”
Combat is turn-based and relies on a system of positioning - each ability can only be used from a certain position in the four-person line-up, and can only hit certain positions in the enemy’s lineup. It’s an enjoyable system. The most unique feature of the game is the stress mechanic. As you explore dungeons, various events will make your party more and more stressed, and if they hit a breaking-point, they will develop a quirk that lasts until they return to town. They might become paranoid and refuse to accept
thecourieronline.co.uk @Courier_Gaming
The blast gunishment Ollie Burton showcases his favourite guns and weapons from throughout the gaming world Mr Toots Red Faction Armageddon Ever seen Nyan Cat? You know, the web’s favourite rainbow-trailing musical feline? Well it’s basically that. Except this is a unicorn. And instead of being gently sprinkled among the cosmos like some celestial festive ribbon, the rainbow is instead sent hurtling from the anus of our equine pal towards an unsuspecting victim. His facial expressions would indicate somewhat that Mr Toots does not enjoy this procedure. Not that we’d ever stop. Simply completing the story once will net you this rather unique ‘weapon’.
Experimental MIRV Fallout 3 Few tools allow you such ridiculous levels of destruction as the MIRV launcher. What’s better than a miniature nuclear warhead launcher? A launcher that shoots eight of the damned things, that’s what. This thing will obliterate anything unfortunate enough to stand within the sizeable blast radius – which tends to include you. To claim it, you’ll need to find four of five holotapes scattered around the Capital Wasteland and enter the National Guard depot armoury. There has never been a better time to turn a mouthy Raider into your own personal Chernobyl.
RYNO Ratchet & Clank No self-respecting list of ludicrous weapons would be complete without mentioning Ratchet & Clank. Never has a more perfect weapon management system been implemented, and each entry in the series featured a new model of the RYNO (Rip You A New One). Basically you pull the trigger and everything dies. Everywhere. This doozy will set you back 9,999,000 bolts and can only be purchased in challenge mode after completing the game. I’m still waiting for Insomniac to address Ratchet’s storage location for his ridiculous payload. Perhaps Up Your Arsenal was a more insightful sequel than we think.
The Penetrator Saint’s Row: The Third
healing, suspecting treachery - or abusive, castigating the other party members for their mistakes and raising their stress. More rarely, they might actually rise to the occasion and gain a positive quirk, instantly lowering their stress and conferring benefits. It’s this stress system that can really destroy you; returning to town stressed out, you have to pay to have your heroes go drinking, gambling, meditating, etc., in order to bring them back to sanity. Or, like me, you might just get them all killed in the dungeon because of your own stubbornness. But the game allows you to camp out within dungeons and relieve stress. It allows you to retreat when things get bad. Despite its unforgiving appearance, Darkest Dungeon gives you every opportunity to avoid making mistakes. You learn to take things slowly and accept minor defeats in order to avoid major ones. It teaches you humility. Check it out on the Early Access depths of Steam.
Trust me when I say that there is no way of describing this thing while maintaining the tone expected of a decent human being. It’s a phallus. A large purple phallus wielded akin to a baseball bat to smack people around with. While bruises may only be skin-deep, deep mental scarring and psychologically torturing degrees of public humiliation are sure to result. And at the end of the day, isn’t that all that matters? I’m compensating for nothing.
The Spread Contra Great weapons are not confined to the games of our modern era. In Contra, two things can make your day that much better: The infamous Konami code, immediately granting the player 30 lives (trust me, they’ll go fast) and the spread gun. We take being able to aim freely for granted, but in Contra your weapons are locked into a straightahead line of fire. The spread gun increases your angle of fire to a full 45 degrees, allowing you to blaze through man and tank alike, indiscriminately consuming all who would oppose you in a blissful whirlwind of fire and gore. Or just use your crappy rifle, whatever.
34.gamingfeatures
Halo, is it me you’re looking for? N
Monday 16 February 2015
The Courier
Microsoft’s Windows 10 conference had some less-than-juicy gaming revelations. Gaming Editor Ben Tyrer reviews the highs and lows, and remembers a time when Microsoft took PC Gaming seriously
Virtual Reality and virtually nothing else worth mentioning. Despite building the hype for gamers, Microsoft didn’t have a lot to show
ear the end of January Microsoft held a ‘Windows 10 Next Chapter’ event where they showed off features of the new operating system, and tried desperately to convince people that it was worth upgrading when the new system becomes available later this year. As part of that event, a bunch of gaming-related news made its way to the fore – not entirely unexpected considering Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, had been making pretty pointed remarks about the future of gaming on Windows leading up to the day of the conference. It was easy to be snarky about it – after all, who is Microsoft to try and herald the ‘arrival of games to Windows’ when the PC already boasts a huge community of players and thousands of games not available on any of the other platforms? As it turns out, the things announced at the conference were not what we were expecting – or rather, what we were hoping for.
your PC if it’s also running Windows 10. A nice feature, but not an earth-shattering one and certainly not one that merited the build-up Microsoft put behind it. Alongside that news, Microsoft promised that more games would feature cross-compatibility, allowing players on Xbox and PC to meet online, and that more games would release simultaneously for Xbox and PC. To show that this was a real thing, Phil was pleased to announce that a long-standing Xbox franchise – the audience hung on every word, waiting for Phil to say those magic words - would be making its way to PC soon: Fable Legends. Oh. Alright. The other bit of news was the reveal of Microsoft’s new Windows Holographic division and some pretty funny high-concept videos of their new Hololens gadget, which does roughly the opposite of an Oculus Rift in that it projects things onto the world around you rather than locking your head in a dark box with a screen in it.
“Still, if at some point I can literally play Minecraft in my living room, or stand towering above my virtual armies in a strategy game playing out on my coffee table, then that’s pretty fantastic” For starters, there was no Halo announced for Windows – something which seems obvious when you consider that Halo is one of the big systemsellers for Microsoft, but which nevertheless seemed increasingly likely as Microsoft dropped more and more hints leading up to the conference. The new AI assistant for Windows 10 is dubbed Cortana, a big nod towards the flagship shooter series, while the new version of Internet Explorer is rather brazenly entitled SPARTAN. These clues, among myriad hints from Microsoft talking about the merging of its services and a promise to renew focus on Windows as a gaming platform made it all seem possible. What we got instead was the news that eventually Xbox One will be running a console-specific flavour of Windows 10, and that if you own an Xbox One you can stream games to
The potential applications for gaming are immense, but the reveal was met with a healthy dose of cynicism from a crowd who remember very well the promise and subsequent lacklustre delivery of the Kinect. Still, if at some point I can literally play Minecraft in my living room, or stand towering above my virtual armies in a strategy game playing out on my coffee table, then that’s pretty fantastic. It will never replace good old fashioned gaming (for me, at least) but there’s room enough in this wild industry for devices and designs of all sorts. In a Reddit Q&A, Bill Gates, who has a reduced role in the corporation but still consults on Microsoft’s operations, seemed pretty enthusiastic about the technology but conceded it needed a bit more time in the old silicon oven before it was ready for prime time. The Chief hasn’t had an outing on PC since Halo 2 in 2007.
Microsoft announced it was bringing gaming to Windows, but is anybody paying attention?
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t was a pretty hollow claim – gaming has been on Windows for a long, long time and Microsoft was rarely its herald. In a talk on numerous topics including economics and the future of corporations, Valve CEO Gabe Newell – formerly a Microsoft millionaire – explained that in the early days of the company, Microsoft Windows ran on an estimated 30 million computers – a resounding success for the time by any metric. However, it was not the best selling software of its time. The number one shipping software product of the time was DOOM. More people owned a copy of the seminal first person shooter than Microsoft’s operating system. Today, Steam and various other platforms on the PC constitute an enormous portion of the entire gaming industry. It is perhaps needless to say, but Microsoft has had a relatively small gaming presence on Windows and any attempts it has made have generally been met with scorn – Games for Windows Live
was a source of frustration for many, and the few developers who did use it have mostly since migrated to more popular online services like Steam. There was a time when Microsoft was at least a respectable force in PC gaming, with studios like Ensemble and Blue Fang Games producing games like Age of Empires, Age of Mythology and Zoo Tycoon – all of which were well received by gamers. But these ventures largely fell by the wayside with the introduction of the Xbox, and Microsoft has struggled to gain ground on the PC ever since. The success and savvy of the Xbox division is undeniable, however – many would argue Xbox the ‘victor’ of the last generation of consoles. If Microsoft genuinely intends to make a move on PC and isn’t just talking the talk to seduce potential buyers of Windows 10, it could be an exciting time to be playing games on PC – as if it wasn’t already.
“Microsoft’s attempts at PC gaming have generally been met with scorn”
The Courier
featuresgaming.35
Monday 16 February 2015
It turns out that far from being a harmful thing, video games have a whole range of uses in treating the sick. Josh Hills takes a look at some examples
Extra lives: the medical EHQH¿ WV RI YLGHR JDPHV
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n the modern era, few areas of entertainment are as prolific and as oft scrutinized as gaming. More than a hobby, we take pride in our medium as it careens exponentially into the future, pervading for the better every nook of technology; however, an unfortunate cliché of media deems coverage of anything potentially positive to be warped and pessimistic. Blustering past the naysayers, and somewhat aware that I’m preaching to the choir, I’d like to explore how our diverse and incredibly vast industry lends itself not to violence, introversion, and obesity, but instead the promotion of good health in the broadest sense of the word- elaborating upon recent studies and examples with my own interpretations. A bit of happiness, for a change. I’ve spoken imaginatively before about the way in which video games transport our minds to a different world, but never about the consequences of such a transcendence. Simulations are beasts in their own right, but to be able to make a game of something injects a dose of enjoyment into the act. That’s why, increasingly, video games are being used as literal medical aids; by distracting patients from their physical woes, an MRI study at the University of Washington concluded that “virtual [interaction] actually reduces the amount of pain-related activity in the brain”, citing clinical trials that incorporated a snowball-fight game dubbed SnowWorld which alleviated the suffering of burn-victims. It’s evident that, with the inclusion of promising peripherals which incorporate motion control and virtual reality, the genre has limitless potential for application. To demonstrate this point, medical students of the University of Rome who had been training with a Nintendo Wii scored higher in their laparoscopic (read, ‘incredibly-intricate’) surgery than their peers. Therefore, we can add “increase in motor control” to the developing list of gaming benefits. In its current state, our hobby (admittedly with some caveats) has a positive community, interspersed with a slew of popular, proactive figureheads. Love them or hate them, gaming celebrities are prominently associated in fund raising, with annual events such as Awesome Games Done Quick or hourly events like The Humble Bundle et al raising astonishing levels of awareness (with the former recently raising $1,575,000 for the Prevent Cancer Foundation in one session). Furthermore, Cancer Research UK has been working on a programme straightforwardly named ‘Play to Cure’ by playing their game you will, in a round-about way, be analysing genetic data that “can then be used to develop new life saving treatments”. Awesome. So we’ve covered how games can be employed to incur health benefits, but what about their design? We’ve all came across an unsightly ‘Wii: Balance Board’ or two in our lives, but there’s more to virtual exercise than wobbling atop an expensive paperweight. Recently, Microsoft’s Xbox Fitness made use of their Kinect to bring a more fleshed out exercise regime to homes world-wide. Another game, Shape Up, implanted you into an environment suspiciously reminiscent of a TV quiz show
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to battle it out with your friends in a kinetic manner. Soon, we’ll all be leaping over chairs with ease like Bill Gates circa 1996. They might be scoffed at, but these games represent solutions to the problems of an otherwise busy, unhealthy life that can’t make room for traditional exercise. Skipping merrily to the classroom, we can also observe how games improve our learning ability. Personally, I attribute many key skills that I use today to my childhood spent pushing buttons and memorising cheat-codes. Pokémon Red and Blue taught me strategy. Pokémon: Mystery Dungeon taught me co-ordination. Pokémon: Dash prepared me for real-world disappointment. Okay, so I was a bit of an obsessive child, but the sentiment carries. It appears, from any and all studies conducted in the classroom, that video games don’t inhibit learning, they bolster it. A study in the journal of Human Movement Science recorded that “in order to sharpen its prediction skills, our brains constantly build models, or ‘templates,’ of the world,”, and that “we now know playing action video games actually fosters better templates”. Essentially, playing video games ingrains a more efficient method of processing information in our brain-things (I’m not particularly scientific myself). With the increasing homogeneity of our platforms-of-play, educational games are becoming less monolithic, and more accessible. A personal favourite of mine, Duolingo, teaches you foreign languages in an interactive, quiz-like manner. It’s important that I clarify- I’m not claiming that by playing video games you unlock a fast-lane key to a better mind, but rather the stereotypes and caricatures of the average ‘gamer’ are cartoonishly out of proportion. So, we’ve travelled world-wide on a crash-course tour of the remedial aspects of video-gaming, covering briefly the physical health benefits that can be reaped every release-day. To wrap up, I’d like to mention something a bit closer to home, in talking about how video games can ease and even cure to an extent, mental health problems. I suffer from mild depression. It comes and goes, often focusing more on the coming than going, and for the longest period of time video games have been my outlet - my stress-ball. Contrary to popular belief, they’re great for socialising. I recently met a future flatmate via Blizzard Entertainment’s Hearthstone! They help me de-stress, they let me focus my attention and abilities into something I enjoy immensely. They’re polymorphic - if I need something soothing, Crayon Physics and a cuppa; if I need to release my rage, I’ll go Mount Your Friends, and if I want to feel angry for any discernible reason, I’ll invite my friends round for Mario Party. The point I’m trying to make, in a convoluted way, is that they can be used to treat issues you mightn’t otherwise know how to tackle. They occupy my attention, and inspire me. They don’t remove my bad feelings, they convert them into the fuel that I need to keep myself going (so if you see me playing Boson X in a lecture, it’s medicinal, I swear). Video games provide a platform for innovation, and are clearly undeserving of the stigmatism they carry- a penchant for procrastination, maybe, but my personal zen indefinitely.
36.science&technology
Monday 16 February 2015
The Courier
Science Editors: Laura Staniforth and Penny Polson Online Science Editor: Jack Marley
Mighty mitochondria
Science of the Tyne Local research and that
Ollie Burton discusses what the new legislation means for the solving debilitating diseases
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hat exactly are mitochondria? They’re essentially the power centres for all of our body’s cells – the primary location of ATP production, a molecule which we use to transport energy. Originally, they are thought to have been independent one-celled organisms which were engulfed by another cell, eventually forming symbiotic relationships and giving rise to the multicellular organisms we see today. A very important facet of mitochondria is that they inherited exclusively from the mother in most species, a pattern known as maternal inheritance. Unfortunately, this means that should any detrimental mutations arise in the mitochondrial DNA of a female through mutation, any offspring she bears will also contain these same sequences. It should be noted that this DNA is carried separately from nuclear DNA, comprising about 0.1% of the total cell DNA, and has no effect on appearance, personality or behaviour of the resulting child, which is a result purely of nuclear DNA. Given the vital role of mitochondria within the body, producing around 90% of the energy required by the body to sustain and support function and growth, the effects of these mutations can be severely crippling. Tissues that are most likely to be damaged in this way typically include those of the brain, heart, liver, skeletal muscles and respiratory systems - leading to symptoms such as muscle weakness, diabetes and developmental delay among others. Currently 1 in every 200 babies in the UK are born with faulty mitochondrial DNA, with 1 in 6500 of those going on to develop conditions leading to serious injury, debilitation or death. However, there is a method of treatment currently undergoing testing – pronuclear transfer, developed right here at Newcastle University. To begin with, an embryo is created using the sperm and eggs from the two parents. A second embryo is then made from the father’s sperm and a donor egg from a second female. Before either embryo undergoes cell division, the pronuclei are removed from the first embryo, once again leaving the defective mitochondrial DNA behind. The pronuclei are also removed from the second embryo, and the pronuclei of the prospective mother transferred into it, resulting in an embryo containing nuclear
Two mitochondria, chilling out and being their usual useful selves
DNA of the father and mother, but the mitochondrial DNA of the donor female. The fertilised embryo can then be implanted into the uterus of the mother through standard IVF technique. So far in testing the procedure have been tested in various animals including mice and macaques (a type of monkey) to great success, as it has been known for quite some time that the only way to treat mitochondrial diseases is to remove the defective DNA altogether and prevent it being passed on. Last year researchers at Newcastle revealed they had created ten functional, healthy human embryos in this way, using the DNA from a man and two women, with the embryos being destroyed within days, as per British law. These technologies are set to revolutionise treatment of these mitochondrial diseases. On 3rd February, 2015 British MPs in the House of Commons voted in favour of allowing embryos to be created through IVF using biological material from three individuals. Chair among the opposition was Fiona Bruce, Conservative MP who questioned the value of the ‘destruction of at least two human embryos and probably in practice many more, in order to create a third’. Conversely, Labour MP Andrew Miller, Chair of the House of Commons Science and Technology committee, gave fervent support to the motion. He stressed that the benefits to be gained by the 2500 families each year affected by mitochondrial disease in their newborns far outweighed the risks. Surveys have indicated that the majority of the British public are in favour of this therapy so it just remains to be seen whether the bill will make it through the House of Lords and become a fully viable technique for our nation’s doctors. Any physician wishing to use these methods must apply for specific permission from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority on a case-by-case basis. Regulators in the US are now meeting to discuss the benefits of mitochondrial DNA replacement, and we may well see a worldwide adoption of these practices. It represents the chance to eliminate some of the most horrible diseases of our time, an opportunity we should grasp with both hands and move forward.
GM crops: deserving of mad props? :KDW DUH WKH SRWHQWLDO LPSDFWV RI JHQHWLF PRGL¿ FDWLRQ" Matt Byrne investigates the pros and cons
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rom vegetables to the distant futures of scifi novelists, genetic modification remains a contentious issue. Genetic modification (GM) has its origins in agriculture. Farmers selectively bred livestock or plants with desirable traits to create a superior breed. Genetic modification takes this method one step further. The DNA of the organism is modified in a laboratory to bring about these changes immediately. Genetic modification has progressed to the point where crops can be produced that are resistant to pests and mosquitos are made that do not spread malaria. World hunger is an issue that will only get worse with an increasing world population. The higher yields and reduced resource requirements of GM crops could solve the problem of how to feed an ever-growing world population. Natural crops are dependent on the environment are in. They are fragile; pests or unfavourable weather can destroy natural crops. Genetically modified crops are engineered to be more resilient. They can produce higher yields and are immune to certain pests so fewer crops are lost. These benefits mean that genetically modified crops could be the solution to the increased food demand. However initial concerns arose from the public that eating genetically modified foods could be dangerous. There is broad scientific consensus that this is not the case, but some long term dangers may persist. Hypothetically the modified DNA can be trans-
ferred from plant to plant through crossbreeding. This could lead to “super weeds” or “super bugs”, organisms that inherit the beneficial traits unintended. Fortunately this has been shown to be very unlikely. More likely is that public opinion will remain unfavourable. Some African countries have rejected GM crops sent to them in times of famine based on potential risks to the public. Insects also have potential for genetic modification. Female mosquitos are the carriers of malaria, a disease that kills 627,000 people per year. Because of the substantial burden, millions of pounds have been invested in research. While the mortality of malaria is decreasing, scientists at Oxitec have discovered a new technique that could eliminate the problem altogether. Male mosquito eggs are injected with DNA, which codes for the protein tTA. This protein stops the cells in the egg from progressing to later stages in its lifecycle. When the male mates with a female mosquito the eggs laid by the female do not hatch. The male mosquitos are released into the environment and mate with female mosquitos but are rendered sterile by this protein. Tests in South America have shown that the population can be reduced by up to 80%. There are concerns that the GM male mosquitos are not as fit as the natural males and so may struggle to mate as effectively. One may also think that there may be serious ecological
consequences from eliminating mosquitos but some scientists believe this may not be the case. The applications of genetic modification are not purely scientific. Researchers and artists have created pieces of art, dubbed BioArt from genetically engineered bacteria. The bacteria have their DNA altered so that they express a fluorescent colour. Different varieties of these bacteria, each with a different fluorescent colour, can be “painted” onto agar plates to create art. Genetic modification is already a contentious issue and it is only in its infancy. As further advancements are made the division grows further. When is it unethical to continue? The film Gattaca embodies this topic. A dystopian future where genetic modification has led to the division of society.
Those who receive modification before birth are entitled to higher socioeconomic status and subsequent benefit; those who do not are ostracised. Genetic modification is a hyperbole of Darwinian principles: the fittest survive. It has the potential to solve many problems despite the minor risks.
Image: Jim Gathany
The Courier
Monday 16 February 2015
technology&science.37 thecourieronline.co.uk/science c2.science@ncl.ac.uk | @courier_science
A chip in your shoulder
Anna Jastrzembska goes under the skin of new human microchip technology
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an you imagine accessing a building or unblocking your smartphone with a wave of hand? It might sound like a sciencefiction (or an introduction to dystopia) but it recently became a reality in Sweden. Four hundred employees of a Stockholm-based hi-tech block “Epicenter” were implanted with ID chips. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips are no bigger than a grain of rice and they are pushed under the skin of a hand by a professional tattooist. The BBC reporter Rory Cellan-Jones, who also decided to get implanted, says that the procedure does not hurt more than normal injection. The chips in “Epicenter” can be used to open the front door, office rooms or use a copy machine. The owner of one of the companies, Felicio de Costa, uses his chip to communicate with computer and smartphone, or even unlock his bike. The future plans include paying in the firm canteen with a wave of hand. Currently the employees of “Epicenter” can choose if they want to be implanted with the chip. PINs, passwords and ID cards are replaced with more intuitive touch of hand. While it is no doubt convenient, the easiness of access comes at a loss of privacy of some personal information. The door and photo-machine can now record who uses them and how often. Only about half of employees decided to get the chip so far. However, the opponents seem more concerned about the limited usage of the chip than the possible infringement of personal information. They do not want to be implanted “only” to be able to open the doors without an ID card. The RFID project was organized by a Swedish bio-hacking group. As developers chief executive Hannes Sjoblad explains, they want to understand the potential uses and spread the debate about RFID chips before they become widely used by big corporations or governments. While the chips functions are now limited to gaining access, the potential behind them is theoretically endless. They could monitor the bodily functions, such as glucose levels, temperature or sleep patterns. They could record progress in a gym. They could be used as a payment method. In more dystopian scenarios, the chips could be used as trackers or provide information to tax authorities.
Whale of the Week Bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus)
The members of the bio-hacking group were the to insertion of foreign cells into their bodies, and first to get implanted. Sjoblad uses his chip as a busi- this technology could be the next step. Moreover, ness card, where it can be accessed with a swipe of the implantation is reversible. If someone changes a smartphone. Some might their mind, it takes only call them cyborgs, but the “With the popularization of about five minutes to rebio-hackers argue that we move a chip. Sjoblad also are surrounded by tech- wearable technology, such as argues that the curiosnology either way. Looking fitness- or sleep-trackers, ID ity that drove the hackersat all the data gathered on and later the employees of a smartphone, the RFID chips are not a science-fiction “Epicenter”- to get RFID chips seem harmless. Biis a strong bonding but an inevitable future” chips onic limbs and laser vision experience. surgeries become standard treatments. With the “Epicenter’s” full name is “Stockholm House of popularization of wearable technology, such as fit- Innovation”. It is a base for world-leading digital ness- or sleep-trackers, ID chips are not a science- companies and aims to create new ways of workfiction but an inevitable future. ing. The whole building will be using Microsoft Sjoblad compares the concerns behind the ID “internet of things” technology. It will inform chips to the suspicion when mass vaccination pro- when the meeting rooms need to be emptied or grams (“an early example of bio-hacking”) were plants watered. first introduced. Nowadays, few people objects
Image: Amal Graafstra
Illustration by Becky Irvine
Save the slow loris Michael Hicks looks into dark trade that surround the slow loris
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he slow loris is famous around the world for being a cute little ball of harmless fluff with big, wide heart-melting eyes. Their appearances in viral videos across the internet (in which they do adorable things like throw their arms up while being tickled) only reinforces this view that the slow loris is an exotic choice of pet with the uncanny ability to trigger cuteness proximity better than nearly any other animal. Sadly, this could not be further from the truth. Firstly, the slow loris is not a single animal, but there are actually at least eight species of slow loris; all of which are found in South East Asia or in its neighboring regions. All of the species are considered ‘vulnerable’ or ‘endangered’ by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species; with the main reasons for the decline in numbers are rapid deforestation and the resulting fragmentation of their habitat. This leads to individuals finding it much harder to get together to mate, due to isolation. The environmental element, combined with the unsustainable demand for the animals in the exotic pet trade, has led to declines in slow loris numbers. The slow loris are protected under Appendix 1 of the CITES treaty, forbidding the trade of slow loris internationally; but despite this they are still commonly sold on market stalls in places such as Japan. Despite the looks and the passive reaction to most threats, the slow loris is far from harmless. The animals are able to administer a potentially fatal toxic bite, which they create by licking a gland which secretes the toxin on their elbow; the toxin activates when mixed with their saliva. Due to the ability to deliver a toxic bite, the teeth of the animals are often removed with the use of pliers, wire cutters or nail clippers. The removal of the teeth causes severe bleeding, which can result in shock or even death, and that’s not even counting the high chance of contracting dental infections. Without their teeth, the animals have no means of surviving in the wild and must remain in captivity for the remainder of their lives. An estimated 95 percent of animals rescued from illicit trade die due to dental infection or improper care.
“Due to the ability to deliver a toxic bite, the teeth of the animals are often removed with the use of pliers, wire cutters or nail clipper” As the animals are removed prematurely from their parents; the animals are rendered unable to remove their own urine and feces. Their feet also contain a vast network of special blood vessels which allow them to hang for hours from a branch without fatigue, but this numbness can leave the animals very susceptible to cuts when in their cages. Captive species also regularly suffer from tooth decay, obesity, diabetes and kidney failure; and the incredibly high death rate in captivity due to factors such as infections, poor healthcare and pneumonia. Slow lorises may seem like an exotic idea for a cute pet, but doing that simply facilitates a an illegal trade cruel beyond words; so yeah, slow lorises as pets; don’t do it. Image: encyclographia
The Courier
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Monday 16 February 2015
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40.sportfeatures
Monday 16 February 2015
The Courier
Insane in the brain: elite sport’s problem with head injuries ,QGHSHQGHQW DGMXGLFDWRUV PXVW KDYH WKH ¿ QDO VD\ RQ DQ\ LQMXU\ WKH SUHVVXUHV RQ FOXE PHGLFV DUH MXVW WRR JUHDW The seriousness of head injuries within sport cannot be emphasised enough. The number of incidents and the need to deliver a safer playing situation has increased over the past century - perhaps because of the reaction of the media and fans, as well as the risk of legal accountability. Concussions can cause symptoms like memory loss, impaired cognitive function and changes in personality. But the most troublesome effects of repeated incidents lie in the long-term: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a degenerative brain illness closely linked to recurring head trauma.
It remains such a significant concern former American Footballers have committed suicide by shooting themselves in the chest to leave their brains to be examined – CTE was established in each of these cases. Make no mistake, this isn’t exclusively an American concern; the two rugby codes in the UK are every bit as physically demanding as American Football. You need to look no further than the George North injury in the Six Nations opener. The debate and the court cases will blow up eventually in UK sport – the problem must be addressed before we
“Team doctors, who have a vested interest in their team’s success, play the primary role in allowing a player with potential head trauma to return to the field”
Therefore, allowing players to return to the field after being diagnosed with a concussion cannot possibly be condoned – to do this could jeopardise their future health. The issue has been under the spotlight in the US more than anywhere, with the NFL providing 228 diagnosed incidents in 2013. A $1bn settlement between the league and ex-players is currently pending judicial approval.
let a life-threatening injury provide the spark for change. Reforming the way we assess head injuries would allow us to be more confident players returning to the game are fit to do so. Careful consideration is critical in creating a head injury protocol finely balancing the risks to a player’s health, with the fact athletes deserve the opportunity to perform and achieve their
George North receives treatment against England last week Photography by Getty Images
ambitions. The principal issue here lies in the system of examining players. The Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT3) adopted by professionals is the criteria used to identify concussions - it provides strict standards a player must meet to return to action. The intention behind it makes perfect sense - allow pitch-side doctors and physios to recognise concussions. If a player passes the protocol after all the tests are completed, they are permitted to return to activity - there is no reason to hold back a healthy athlete. The test’s purpose is undoubtedly to prevent concussed athletes continuing. Yet, it exists equally to ensure players can return to the field safely after thorough examination. Julian Edelman, the New England Patriots wide receiver, provides a recent example – he passed the NFL’s protocol and scored the winning touchdown in the Superbowl. But, the system fails its players because of a fatal flaw – epitomised by the attitude of the president of the NFL Physicians Society, Matthew Matava. He argues, “team physicians should be the ones to make the final call” on a player’s return. This line of thought exists throughout the sporting world – team doctors, who have a vested interest in their team’s success, play the primary role in allowing a player with potential head trauma to return to the field. The world’s most popular sports bring in billions of pounds every year – the Premier League just signed a £5.1bn TV deal - but safety appears to be an afterthought. It isn’t acceptable. We allow the potential for bias to creep in to a situation where a player’s health could be on the line. Impartial medical officials should be making the call. In the wake of the George North debacle, it has been proposed television replays are used to help detect head injuries. And yet, this doesn’t resolve the primary issue. IRB Chief Medical Adviser Barry O’Driscoll last week backed the only viable remedy – “team doctors, they have coaches in their ears. We need independent doctors who can go onto the pitch to assess the players.” Taking away any power a team has to allow a concussed athlete to play would ensure any returning players are healthy. A blanket ban on players returning to the field could prevent an athlete who isn’t concussed from performing – it would mean the creation of an overprotective concussion policy. If independent doctors are the only party with any say in an athlete returning to the field, and they determine a player fit to return after passing the protocol, the player should be back out there, not sat on the sideline. “If there is any doubt, keep the player out” is the slogan used by FIFA’s chief medical officer, Jiri Dvorak. Under a revised system, this could still apply. If a player has been deemed undoubtedly fit to participate by an objective medical professional, keeping them out cannot be supported. Gabriel Pennington
Martin Skrtl powers in a header after sustaining a facial injury Photography by Getty Images
6KRUW WHUP JDLQV FDQ PDNH IRU ORQJ WHUP FRPSOLFDWLRQV IRU SOD\HUV The news that the Welsh Rugby Union mann that this crick was temporary and has avoided sanctions from the IRB would soon dissipate, however, after an after George North was allowed to re- extensive investigation; tests revealed main on the field against England after that Trautmann had irrevocably dama second consecutive blow to the head aged his spine and that the injury would is quite frankly a disgrace. After receiv- have career-altering consequences. ing a harsh blow from the boot of Dave The goalkeeper’s convalescence took Attwood in the first half of the RBS Six months; however after a severe spell of Nations clash, North was, in accordance absence he returned to the City goal but with procedure, taken from the field and unfortunately never recovered his forassessed by the Welsh medical team. mer glory. It is obvious that the injury In the second half, however, North re- caused, and its aggravation by playing ceived a second, far more serious blow on had permanently tarnished his abilthat appeared to render him temporar- ity to perform at the top level, therefore ily unconscious. In accordance with IRB limiting his sporting prospects. regulations, North should have been Now, this is not to say that this partaken from the field permanently and ticular injury was critically detrimental given medical attention however, due to his health in the long run; it is well to some miscommunication between documented that Trautmann went on medical staff; North was allowed to fin- to a successful international coaching ish the game. Not only is this highly neg- career, living to the substantial age of ligent in terms of the left winger’s own 89. Notwithstanding all that has been safety, but also detrimental in terms of mentioned, from a player’s perspective, his team’s chances of winning both the not adhering to this injury in the corgame and the rect and approprioverall champi- “There surely must be a line ate manner was onship. Wales lethal to Trautdrawn between doing all mann’s ability to were unilaterally dominated one can to win and, quite play football. in the second Now of course, frankly, exploitation” half of the game there are less seand North’s apvere instances of parent lack of mental acuity due to in- this nature. Martin Skrtel’s head injury jury may have played a sizeable role; that he sustained against Arsenal earlier something that has clearly played on the this season didn’t stop him from giving mind of Warren Gatland by the fact that a sterling, match-winning performance North had been dropped from the team in a crucial game. It is important, howfor the subsequent fixture against Scot- ever, in these circumstances to consider land at Murrayfield. Its key decisions the nature of the injury; Skrtel’s injury, such as these that are critical for both though horrific on the eye, was largely player safety and teams’ relative success. cosmetic and the Liverpool doctor’s obFor most people, this “debate” will served proper procedure. The defender seem ridiculous, and they would be was allowed to play on because he was right. Of course, it is ridiculous to argue deemed fit and not in danger of any that players should not be taken from long-term damage unlike in the case of the field when seriously injured. There Trautmann, potentially North also. are, of course, some examples where The question remains, however: where players who have been seriously injured do we draw the line? Where do the deand have carried on, and in some cases mands of sporting excellence and sucto great effect. But to what cost? cess at the top level stand when faced Bert Trautmann, for example, the with injury? There is something to be legendary Manchester City goalkeeper said for desire and passion in these who severely injured his spine during circumstances of course, but when the 1956 FA Cup final in a scuffle in the that impinges on the wellbeing of our penalty box, is to many a prime example sportsmen, surely they become null and of this. That day, Trautmann gave a mes- void. Equally, in terms of the respective meric performance in goal, making sev- teams, there surely must be a line drawn eral match winning saves. At the end of between doing all one can to win and, the game Prince Phillip, when present- quite frankly, exploitation. ing Trautmann with his winners medal, Medical procedure, in instances of commented on the seemingly uncom- grave injury, must remain king now and fortable crick in the goalkeeper’s neck forever more. Here endeth the lesson. that he had developed during the game. After the match, a doctor told TrautJonty Mawer
The Courier
sportfeatures.41
Monday 16 February 2015
Between terror and bliss By Calum Wilson The African Cup of Nations drew extra attention this year with the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus causing original hosts Morocco to withdraw, citing fears of an epidemic. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) was forced to relocate to Equatorial Guinea, co-hosts in 2012, with little over 2 months notice. All that considered the organisers should be pleased that the tournament even took place, although it didn’t pass without controversy. On the pitch the trophy went to favourites Ivory Coast, who ended a 23year drought with penalty shootout glory over Ghana, after a goalless draw. The hero of the hour award went to Ivorian keeper, Boubacar Barry, who saved and then scored the crucial penalties to win the shootout 9-8. A rather fairytale ending for the veteran keeper, who had only been brought in due to injury to the first choice number 1, and who had been in the squad through two previous final defeats in 2006 and 2012. The hosts endured a mixed competition. On the pitch they surprised many by making the semi finals and gained support along the way for their spirit and endeavour, personified by 21-yearold keeper Felipe Ovono, whose commanding performances gathered the attention of the watching audience. Their progress into the last four was however deemed somewhat fortunate; a last minute penalty against Tunisia raised one or two eyebrows. Off the pitch there were plenty of negatives for the hosts. Whilst limited time to plan may be to blame, the quality of accommodation was widely criticised. The most harrowing incident took place during Equatorial Guinea’s semi final defeat to Ghana, when fans began hurl-
ing missiles at the opposing fans and players, leading to a police helicopter being drafted in, much to the shock and bemusement of the world’s media. The incident threatened to overshadow what was otherwise a competitive tournament. In true African style it was filled with the usual colour and enthusiasm to accompany the on-field drama. Premier League managers, who lose some of their crucial players during the January month, will be heartened with the improved level of skill on show. The
rise of the likes of Burkina Faso, runners up in 2013, and Equatorial Guinea this year, suggests a closing of the gap between the best and the rest on the continent. Player of the tournament went to Everton’s Christian Atsu. The 23-yearold Ghanaian produced some electric displays, including a stunning 30-yard goal, bent in from almost on the touchline. The goal sparked a fantastically well-rehearsed team dance, now synonymous with African sides. The winger
has yet to produce the goods in England since his loan move from Chelsea, but Roberto Martinez will no doubt hope to reproduce some of that magic. For the Ivory Coast, victory in the final saw their “golden generation”, including the likes of Barry, the Toure brothers and Gervinho, finally put an end to years of expectation and hope. The Ivorians, nicknamed the elephants, can now pack their trunks and return to their respective domestic leagues to see out the remainder of the season.
Ghana’s Christian Atsu was named AFCON Player of the tournament Photography by Getty Images
Mercedes dominance threatened By Michael Rowan Despite the supremacy of Mercedes in 2014, Formula One still had an entertaining and enthralling campaign last time out. My prediction in this paper 11 months ago came through (eventually) as Lewis Hamilton stormed to the title in a season full of highs and lows. Moving on from 2014, the cars have been designed; the liveries and engine suppliers have changed and the first run outs of this years breed of Formula One challengers have been completed at Jerez. The first test is crucial for a
team to see how their cars shape up in time for the first race of the year in Melbourne on March 15. The results from the first round of testing are certainly interesting. At the top of the time sheets, after their disastrous 2014 without a single win, were Ferrari powered cars. After the transfer merry-go-round of 2014, new boy Sebastian Vettel topped the time sheets on both days he was in the car followed by Kimi Raikkonen setting the fastest time of the week on day 4; albeit on the faster and softer tyres. Mercedes start to defend their drivers and Constructors Championships
seems hard to interpret. Their car showed intense consistency at Jerez allowing them clock up approximately 2,00km by the end of the test. Also, the fact Lewis Hamilton feels this years car feels very similar to its predecessor won’t bode well for the rest of the field. However, they didn’t really set the field alight in terms of pace failing to finish top of the time sheets and Vettel’s best time was over a second faster than what Rosberg or Hamilton managed. Have Mercedes been caught? McLaren’s renewed partnership with Honda and Alonso was always going to be difficult but Jerez was a particularly
Sebastian Vettel owned Circuito de Jerez with his new Ferrari car Photography by Getty Images
hard test for them. They only registered 50 laps all week due to numerous engine troubles and the most laps they managed in a single run was less than 20. With a narrow design on the rear, it seems a lot of work may be needed for McLaren to finish some of the more demanding races. A distinctively camouflaged Red Bull took to the circuit at Jerez. Dani Riccardo fresh from his beating Vettel in 2014 and being the only non-Mercedes man to win can look to 2015 in high spirits. However, will the car be up for it or will Daniil Kyvatt cause a similar surprise this year? It was a difficult test; only McLaren recorded less laps and their pace was not in the top 10 for the week. They were in a worse situation last year struggling with their Renault engine and 2014 didn’t turn out to be a disaster for them despite the much needed end of their dominance. Sauber and Lotus (having swapped to Mercedes powered engines) will be hoping for much better seasons than last season as Sauber failed to score a single point and Lotus only two. Both have seemingly made progress. Meanwhile, Williams will be hoping that 2014 was no fluke and they seemed content with the progress they made albeit their times were in the middle of the time sheets. From the established teams, only Force India were absent amid an apparent crisis in the cost of Formula One to small teams with both Caterham and Marussia falling into administration. A 16-car grid would be disastrous for Formula One so hopefully it is just speculation.
The Courier’s Sports Editor Peter Georgiev inspects the most bizarre moments from the sporting world
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any of us have adopted the peculiar habit of claiming that ‘Football is everything’ thus bestowing upon this sport the ultimate meaning of our existence. For all its sentimentalism, this expression cannot be further from the truth as someone’s being goes far beyond the limits of their favourite game. Yet, in some cases, such a phrase is not merely a hyperbolized love statement but actually shapes the attitude of people towards life to the very point of ending it. While the term Ultras has gained extensive popularity from the beginning of the century, if you haven’t watched Egyptian football, you are probably not aware of its entire meaning. Last Monday’s vicious clashes in Cairo were not the first, nor the worst in the country serving only to confirm how destructive reckless passion might be. With the death toll rising above 30, the tragedy comes only two years after a massive riot at a match in Port Said took the lives of 74 spectators. Much like then, the Egyptian Premier League is now suspended indefinitely while the football community stays in shock in the aftermath of another accident which cast a shadow over the reputation of the King of all sports. This was the second tragedy with Egyptian fans in three years Photography by Getty Images
The fatal intersection of football and politics in Egypt can be traced back to the January revolution in 2011 which forced President Hosni Mubarak out of power. Now that football clubs there are even more popular than political parties, Ultras movements have accumulated millions of participants with the most popular being Al-Ahly’s ‘Ultras Ahlawy’ and Zamalek’s ‘White Knights’. It was exactly fans of Zamalek who were fired at with tear gas by the police for allegedly trying to enter the stadium without tickets. At this point in modern football, stadium safety should be by far the most important target of any self-respected national or international association. Many countries including the UK have managed to overall resolve this issue in the light of major catastrophes such as the Hillsborough disaster and the Valley Parade fire. Nonetheless, fan violence is not merely eradicated to a full extent as cases of unfortunate death still regularly appear on the football map. However more developed European stadium security might be in comparison to Africa, the recent lethal fight between Deportivo and Atlético Madrid supporters reminded us of the fragility and flaws evident in all safety systems. Thus, authorities around the world remain in search of a suitable answer to the dangerous demonstrations prompted by overenthusiastic love for football. But perhaps the more fundamental question from an Ultras’ perspective seems to be – ‘Is it really worth it?’. Illustration by Daisy Billowes
42.sportbucs
Monday 16 February 2015
The Courier
Lions savaged by top ‘Cats Women’s Ice Hockey Newcastle Wildcats
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By Jack Marley at Whitley Bay Ice Rink The Wildcat women doubled down on their earlier away game victory against Birmingham by subjecting the visiting lions to a Whitley Bay wipe-out late Tuesday night. The midnight fixture saw the return of Hannah Maurice as captain and the debut of newcomers Sophie Newton and Jamie Kraft. Clad all in navy, the girls passed the home game test with flying colours and stretched their winning streak to 3 in a game that saw each player shine at their brightest. It was Birmingham that lunged on the break, perhaps eager to make amends for the last game, but the hastiness of their forwards came up against the single minded focus of the Wildcat goal-scoring duo Stephanie Towns and Hannah Maurice, and lost miserably. An ice-melting run from Towns (that left a pursuing defender sprawled in her wake) set Maurice up for a finish that she put away with little effort. The first goal barely a minute in set the tone for the rest of the period, if not the entire game, which for a while came to resemble a Wildcat free-for-all on goal. A clutch of long-range drives by Emma Painter, a confident one-on-one effort with the goalie by Kirsty Ballard and a flamboyant chip and run over the heads of two defenders by Helen Collins marked the home side out as the leaders in both style and substance, but it seemed that old habits die hard among the opposition. Their typically
hot-headed attitude was punished with a sending off after one of the Lions cross checked Kraft, and the resultant Wildcat powerplay precipitated a yawning void in goal difference and shots on target. By period’s end (which on this occasion, was announced by an improvised yell from the crowd to compensate for the broken klaxon) the girls had very
much ran away with it at 7-1, with goals for Maurice, Towns, Ballard and Elizabeth Bates and the only consolation for Birmingham being an unlucky ricochet into the Wildcat net off Towns’ stick. It would prove to be little comfort into the second period as the generous playmaking of Kraft turned the neutral zone into a fast-track lane for Wildcat
offensives, with notable mentions for Amy Hopley and Ballard who both capitalised on drop shots to plough through the net minder’s five-hole. This was all despite the Lions’ approach to preventing goals, which, in the absence of a well-linked defence network, mostly involved half of the team collapsing the net. The girls did well to pierce the
Newcastle’s ladies recorded their most convincing victory so far Photography by Sam Henderson
obstruction and find enough space to score as often as they did, but it was clear in their golf-like serenity as they lined up shots that they were enjoying themselves. Newton took a hole-in-one from point to make it 14-1 and as the clock ran down the Lions came to resemble downtrodden circus accessories, rather than the kings of the arena as their namesake was supposed to evoke. In the interest of impartiality, Birmingham occasionally proved there was still something of the wild in their heart. They stormed off the third period break with a bolt of a breakaway, but Newcastle net minder Sarah Jayne Boulton casually headed it off and henceforth normal service was resumed. The Wildcat pride stayed consistent in the final 20 minutes, delivering the second career goal of Hopley, an assist from Lauren Bilby and reliable fore checking from Victoria Scudamore. The final goal, achieved via a late dash from Maurice with 2 seconds to spare, was pure showmanship and the crowd left buoyant with the prospect of future bouts while the scoreboard flashed 20-1. As the Zamboni cleared the wreckage from the Birmingham half, coach Stu Tomlinson gave his take on the night’s events. “Birmingham were aggressive, but the girls gave as good as they got and the newcomers didn’t let it phase them. They slotted right in and helped create a better all-round team performance. Birmingham drew against Sheffield last time, but if we play like we did tonight we can expect better.” And so it is with a hattrick of wins chalked up that the ladies march on to Sheffield. With the Kings ousted and the Lions slain, the Wildcats are off to pick a fight with some Bears.
Netball’s seconds extend win streak
Women’s Netball
By Abi Dodwell at The Sports Centre NUNC 2nd 41-21 Hull 1sts A brilliant match from Newcastle as they storm Sheffield with a strong victory. The first quarter set off with a great start as the whole team stayed tight on their opponents and restricted Sheffield’s movement down the court. The defensive work of Tess Richardson and Georgia St Rose in the centre court meant that Newcastle had control of the game and by half time had a significant lead. In the second half Newcastle were able to maintain their lead as the accurate shooting and great movement from Tesni Fellows, who earned player of the match, allowed Newcastle to continue to increase their score. In the final quarter Newcastle stayed focused and ensured that Sheffield would not catch up to them as they dominated play and fought to steal every pass. Vice-Captain Sadie Neve was delighted with the team’s performance as she was “Proud of every player for always keeping their heads up and never giving up.” Yet another superb win for Newcastle 2nd team and with promotion on the cards the team is determined to continue their winning streak.
NUNC 3rd 32 - 44 York 1st
NUNC 4th 24 - 32 Leeds 4th
After being beaten by York earlier on in the season, Newcastle stepped onto court ready to fight viciously for a win. From our first centre pass it was clear that Newcastle were on good form as they put pressure on York’s attack as Sophie Houghton stayed tight on her player and Blocked York’s attack. York began to pull away but Lauren Parker and Grace Brumhill’s movement down the court meant that Newcastle were able to pick up their game and finish the first quarter 9-12. Going into the second quarter Newcastle raised their game further as Lauren Markham fought for every rebound and tipped York’s many overhead passes to their giant shooter. By half time Newcastle were drawing 16-16 and they kept their defensive game strong as every player down the court blocked their opponent and forced York to make errors. In the final quarter Newcastle were only down by three goals and everything was to play for. Shooters Flo Bauer and Olivia Gordon kept their heads up and nailed shot after shot but unfortunately York just took the lead and won the game 32-44. Despite the loss, the improvement from the last time Newcastle played York was astounding and truly a performance to be proud of.
As Poppy Briggs stepped into the centre circle for the first quarter the pressure was high as Newcastle were hungry for a win. She started the game off on a strong footing as Newcastle as her bullet like pass made quick work of Leeds defence and immediately gave Newcastle a lead. Taken by surprise Leeds fought back fiercely but Newcastle were able to keep in the game and only trailed by 3 goals as they entered the second quarter. Newcastle continued their strong performance as Steph Garfield and Isa Telford worked well together as they moved down the court and fed into the D. Their solid effort meant that by half time they were only down by 5 meaning that they still fighting to bring the game back. Throughout the third quarter Ellie Rutter made some great steals and stayed strong against her shoving wing attack. Paired with Isa Telford’s pressurising play Newcastle fought hard for every single ball but still were not able to quite level with Leeds. They lost the match 24-32 but everyone’s clear effort and determination meant that the game was one of great quality and a real nail biter to watch.
Newcastle’s seconds defended efficiently and played hard Photography by Abi Dodwell
The Courier
sportbucs.43
Monday 16 February 2015
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Women’s Ice Hockey Newcastle 2nds
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Bradford 1sts
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By Maddie Moffett-Murdock at Bradford The chilly morning and long journey to Bradford University could do nothing to dampen the spirits of Newcastle women’s rugby second team. Unfortunately upon arrival at Bradford they informed Newcastle that they only had 13 players for the day, Newcastle agreed to match their 13 although they also chose the play under protest. The loss of the flankers meant that there was to be much more variability in the positions played throughout the match, however the flexibility of the team meant this wasn’t an issue and everyone who took on a new position did so with confidence. A strong start put Newcastle on the attacking foot, amazing communication and organisation swiftly moved the ball across the pitch whilst continuously pushing forward and constantly gaining ground. Not long into the first half and the ball flew out the wing and was meet by Amy Horne who used a quick burst of speed to shoot through a gap in Bradford’s defence and score the first try of the game and her first try for NWR. This seemed to give Bradford a bit of fire, and quickly they equalised due to a lack in concentration from Newcastle who needed to switch from attack to defence quicker. The match continued with Michelle Healy making brilliant tackles, hitting low and stopping Bradford in their tracks. The speed of passes and the strength of the communication between Newcastle was improving with every minute of the game. This meant that the wingers got a bit move involved in the game and again gave Horne the chance to
Despite the loss, NWR are still upbeat and happy Photography by Maddie Moffett
fly past Bradford, covering most of the pitch to score another try. Although Newcastle continued to be stronger in open play, the scums were consistently dominated by a much stronger Bradford and without the flankers to watch the sides it meant their
number 8 was picking and going regularly and this would often leave Newcastle on the back foot. Bradford’s second try was gained via a pick and go from a scrum and impressive use of a hole in Newcastle’s defence. The try from Bradford gave Newcas-
tle and extra push to pull forward once again, with another impressive set of hands from a very strong pack off backs gave Horne the ball, using some quick footwork and excellent support from Natalie Hamer and Katie Wilkinson she flew up the wing to bring the score 15-
(27 points) sharing that position with a dangerous opponent in the shape of Durham. It was exactly Durham who got the better of The Three Musketeers – Daniel Ming, Sam Ridley and Daniel Remedios – in a close encounter last December (130-109). However, that rare misfortune has in no way frustrated Newcastle’s blades before the crucial local derby in March. ‘The guys’ and girls’ teams are feeling confident going head to head with Poly at Stan Calvert this year following an incredible season so far’, Danny Ming reassured. ‘Having put in big wins in the clash against Northumbria last year, I can
by the retirement of sisters Elena and Madlen Ivanovi who embarked on an year abroad in the beginning of the season. In their absence, Molly Jowsey now fights side by side with other promising teammates Ellie Irwin and Daisy Bil-
lowes. Despite their negative record, Newcastle’s Women will still take on Northumbria in the role of front-runners. Meanwhile, the entire fencing team has been moved into a big new purpose
10. Unfortunately Bradford took advantage of Newcastle taking a bit too long to switch back into a defence set up to utilise the available space and score their third try. The second half progressed with Newcastle still dominating in open play and becoming much stronger in line outs, Sarah Hall pulled off a new line out call with speed and gained Newcastle plenty of ground. The aggression of the team had significantly improved from the first match of the season and players were more confident to get involved in a steal or a maul. Hannah Anthony particularly showed herself to be an excellent player with incredible steals and tackles. Bradford were determined to get that extra try and with only 12 minutes to go they did just that, another lapse of concentration and lack of low tackles let Bradford slip through. This time converting the try to bring the score to 15-22. After playing on Newcastle found themselves with 10 metres of the try line, a scrum won by Newcastle gave Jen Boggiano the chance to pick and go after spotting a gap in Bradford’s defence, surrounded by Bradford’s player Boggiano fought to reach the try line, the support from Hamer allowed those extra couple of metres to be gained and extending her arms as she fell to ground, Boggiano grounded the ball over the try line. Bring the score to 20-22 and scoring her first try for NWR. Newcastle left the game feeling ecstatic and that this was the best they had played as team so far. New captains Hannah Lymn and Jen Boggiano said it was a great game from the girls and those who took on new positions excelled. However playing under protest meant that scores would get switched if Newcastle lost so the League will read a win for Newcastle.
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Stan Calvert Fencing Preview By Peter Georgiev for Newcastle University Prior to last year’s Stan Calvert, Newcastle University had not tasted defeat in six consecutive editions of the competition which made the end of this marvelous run an even more bitter pill to swallow. With the expectations rising high as always, the former champions are now looking to dethrone Northumbria and the exploitation of their significant advantage in some departments should prove to be instrumental in achieving that goal.
build centre where Newcastle will enjoy some of, if not the best, facilities in the country. An upgrade their Stan Calvert rivals would probably not be happy to find out about.
“Last year, the fencers brought the Uni four valuable Stan Calvert points with two convincing victories” Newcastle’s fencing contingent has been steady as a rock in the past few seasons thereby earning the reputation of a favourite in every single match both in the male and female leagues. Last year, the fencers brought the Uni four valuable Stan Calvert points with two convincing victories to live up to this dominant status. A glance at their recent form suggests an inevitable déjà vu in the upcoming battle against Northumbria. Nine wins and just a single loss have cemented Newcastle’s Men at the top of the BUCS Premier North division
almost guarantee the max number of points for Team Newcastle on our current form. There can be surprises in any sport, but we are doing our best in training to make sure we put them to the sword’. In contrast to their male colleagues, Newcastle’s women have struggled to replicate their impeccable performance from the previous campaign. After falling to Durham, Edinburgh and St. Andrews in a row, the fencing ladies dropped to 4th place in their Premier North division. To some extent, that deterioration has perhaps been caused
Newcastle put in a ruthless performance last year Photography by Peter Georgiev
Sport
www.thecourieronline.co.uk Monday 16 February 2015 Issue 1305 Free
thecourieronline.co.uk/sport
Sports Editors: Peter Georgiev, Jonty Mawer & Huezin Lim Online Sports Editor: Josh Nicholson courier.sport@ncl.ac.uk | @Courier_Sport
THE LONG, SLOW BATTLE OVER HEAD INJURIES p. 40 VETTEL RETURNS IN RED p. 41
ICE QUEENS STRIKE AGAIN p. 43
.QLJKWV ZLSH RXW +XGGHUV¿ HOG Men’s Basketball Newcastle 2nds
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Huddersfield 2nds
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By Huezin Lim at the Sports Centre On a chilly Wednesday night, the Newcastle Knights second-string faced the lads from Huddersfield. In their blue and yellow, the boys from afar looked enthusiastic and cheerful to have made the journey all the way down to the Tyne. With the tip-off starting a little later than the audience expected, friendly handshakes were shared and the game began. Huddersfield were a humble team with three wins and five losses in the Northern 4B division this year. Thus, it was a tall order for them to overcome the mighty Knights, especially with them winning on their home court earlier in the academic year. The game started with a solid jump shot from Newcastle’s No.14 Beech and a sloppy inbound play from Huddersfield gave the home side another possession. The away team was struggling to find their offence and they were forcing themselves towards the basket with little effect. Newcastle must have been pleased with the effort on the offensive rebounds, constantly challenging and getting three in a row, being finally able to put it into the basket. Huddersfield were struggling from the start from the fast pace of the game and giving away turnovers throughout the first quarter. Thankfully for the audience, Huddersfield found their way back into the game slowly, by penetrating the lanes. However, their minicomeback at the start was definitely helped by Newcastle’s inconsistent passing and Huddersfield tipping the ball one time too many. The first time-out was called by Newcastle and it was understandable that after such a strong first two minutes, the players were throwing it away. Sloppiness allowed Huddersfield to find composure and a more confident offensive game. However, the time-out was not very effective. Newcastle’s offence was still too predictable and no one was able to find penetration with the ball being tipped way more often than a pass was actually completed to a teammate. For all their earlier uncertainties, Huddersfield took the lead after a missed free throw as the thrower put it straight back in from the offensive rebound. The cold spell the Knights were undergoing finally ended when a basket was finally made but only to give up the ball on two consecutive possessions due to inaccurate passing. Coach finally decided to make a change and a huge change this was, bringing on Derek Ho,
Newcastle’s ballers completely destroyed their opposition cementing themselves among the top three teams in the league Photography by Huezin Lim
No. 7 on the Newcastle team. Derek ended the quarter with the Knights first 3-pointer at the buzzer and that was a much-needed basket to relieve some of the pressure from a poor quarter by Newcastle’s standards. As play resumed, the crowd was once again reminded that showboating in amateur sports never pays off. An astounding moment happened after a string of jumpers from deep by Derek again but a steal by Newcastle’s Oulton yielded an open opportunity but when he tried to
but to no avail and the game started to get scrappier as the second quarter went on. Coach was saying stop chest passing the ball and giving them opportunities to get the steal. It was clear that turnovers were the key factor here and if Newcastle were able to do better in holding on to the ball, the hosts would be ahead by a lot more than just three points. For the number of offensive rebounds Newcastle grabbed, the team was simply unable to capitalise on second chance
him gave Newcastle two easy points. At half time, the score was 30 to 18. To start the third quarter, Mister Big Shot Derek scored another pair of three-pointers, giving the Knights a staggering 19-point lead. Huddersfield were finding it incredibly difficult on offense demonstrating a disturbing lack of precision. Everything was going well for Newcastle’s Knights and who were stealing the ball and causing turnovers all over the court. It was hard to see what the Huddersfield team were going to do
dunk the ball, he missed it and clanked against the rim. Not surprisingly, he was immediately subbed and reprimanded by the coach. It was a huge relief to see someone from the Knights step up to the plate and really take command of the game and Derek was the man for the task. He was contributing from the bench both on offence and defence, and blocking the Huddersfield shooter from behind, to the satisfaction of the crowd. Newcastle attempted some pressing
points which was a let-down. With the lead shrinking, the positive and aggressive play from No.5 Law gave the Knights easy lay-up. Attempting the trap once again, Newcastle finally gained some success and forced the turnover. Sloppy passing from Huddersfield gave Newcastle some extra turnovers as well. Derek kept up his high quality play after his buzzer-beater and scored and assisted in three baskets consecutively. With another assist before the end of the quarter, another brilliant pass from
to come back into this game. To begin with, the guests were looking to counter the press as Newcastle seemed to push their advantage and their momentum Things only got worse for Huddersfield as one of their strongest players fouled out mid way through the third quarter! The poor lad was not playing particularly aggressively, just being pinpointed by the referees and a case of wrong place at the wrong time. With a 29-point lead, it was ugly for the players but Newcastle were relentless and only
“It was a huge relief to see someone from the Knights step up to the plate and Derek was the man for the task”
pushed for a damaging scoreline. Over the foul limit, the away team were struggling in a big way, throwing balls all over the place. In defence, the opposing team had not much drive to get the rebound and they were a demoralised group of players. At the end of the third quarter, the score was 50 to 18 to Newcastle and most remarkably, Huddersfield failed to score in the entire of the third quarter while Newcastle racked up 20 points. In the final quarter, Derek was still going strong, finishing the match with 21 points. The Knights role players had extended time in the game, which was welcome for everyone. With the season soon coming to an end, it was an opportunity for the coach to identify for the next academic year who took any opportunity on the court seriously and who could make plays even though the team were not under any sort of pressure. With the team unfortunately out of the Conference cup, the ballers are certainly looking forward to the last three games before the end of the academic year, especially when two of those games will be in Newcastle.