The Courier 1220

The results are in: Meet your new Union Officers News, page 9

C OURIER THE

Issue 1220 Monday November 29 2010

THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF NEWCASTLE STUDENTS

www.thecourieronline.co.uk

Primate court battle rocks med school

BUAV

The University has admitted that it “fears for it’s staff” after a courtroom battle between the Faculty of Medical Sciences and a leading animal rights group threatened to expose further details of it’s use of primates for scientific research.

Figures show 27 macaque monkeys were among 24,696 animals used by the University last year.

The storm comes as a letter leaked to The Courier graphically details why authorities in Berlin refused to grant an unknown Newcastle University professor permission to carry out similar work in Germany in 2007.

The professor, who still works at the University, was told that his proposals were unethical because primates would be subjected to “considerable suffering” following a strict regime of intentional water deprivation that would amount to an “unbearable situation”.

At the centre of the controversy, macaque monkeys have a ‘unit cost’ to the University of £20,000, with a life expectancy of around six years

whilst at the Newcastle facility. Outside the laboratory, some macaque species live for up to 20 years.

The primates are used by the Newcastle researchers to further understanding into spinal cord trauma and how the brain controls movement.

24,696 The number of animals used for

research by the University last year

The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) logged a Freedom of Information (FOI) request in 2008, in which it asked the University to give details of licences held by researchers who conduct vivisection work with macaques.

The request was blocked by University officials, who claimed they did not hold the required information because the research was work in progress and consequently the intellectual property of the staff who held the licences. Therefore, divulging such information could jeopardise their future work.

A legal challenge was then mounted by the BUAV which saw a court Continued on page 4

FREE

Defiant students occupy uni building Jonathan Offredo

Embroiled in a debate of ethics: leaked letter puts animal research at University under the spotlight Joshua Shrimpton Dean Deputy Editor

EST 1948

Pained and restrained: a macaque monkey, similar to those used by the University as test subjects, is held in a plastic ‘primate chair’ device that renders it unable to move

More than 60 students from Newcastle and surrounding Universities and colleges occupied the Fine Art Building starting Wednesday night and continuing through the day on Friday in opposition to fee increases and cuts levied by the coalition government.

The peaceful occupation followed Wednesday’s march and teach-in organized by the Newcastle Free Education Network. Students say they chose to occupy the Fine Arts building as a symbol of the massive cuts facing the arts and humanities. Since Wednesday’s day of action, universities across the nation had reported occupations and some were still ongoing by press time on Friday.

As snow fell through the latter part of the week, students turned the Fine Art lecture theatre, foyer and part of the hallway into their very own space. There they held alternative education classes, workshops and hosted a gig Thursday night. The lecture theatre is seen as the main area for both sleep and meetings, which happen frequently throughout the day.

One of the first things students did after occupying the building Wednesday evening was to establish a list of demands. They included asking the university to send a statement of support for all involved in the occupation and protest, the release of documents regarding education cuts, an official statement rejecting the higher education proposals, etc.

By Friday afternoon, students had met with Registrar John Hogan to discuss demands several times.

“They [the occupants] are trying to make a point and get attention...

Continued on page 7

Inside today >>>

Wheels in motion

Royal wedding

Tanning dilemma

You’re fired

Singing Carroll’s praises

Helen Lam talks to two graduates set to shun Christmas by riding 4000km of South American terrain on a motorbike, all in aid of charity News, page 3

Are the Royal family more important to us than the average celebrity? Finola Gibson weighs up the pros and cons of next April’s big day Comment, page 11

In a bid to put the wintry weather behind them, three students discuss which tanning technique is top Lifestyle, page 15

Maria Moffatt picks apart The Apprentice as Lord Sugar’s candidates fight their way to the half-way point TV, page 33

Jono Taylor profiles Newcastle United’s Andy Carroll as the local hero begins to fill Shearer’s void Sport, page 38

2

Monday November 29 2010 THE COURIER

News Editors: Simon Murphy and Charlie Oven

Have you got a news story for The Courier? Email us at: courier.news@ncl.ac.uk

Fingers on buzzers: Union holds tough auditions for University Challenge

The Union Society, King’s Walk, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8QB. Tel: 0191 239 3940

Comment Do you want your Students’ Union to stay affiliated with NUS? The referendum is coming to campus: have your say.

Page 10

Lifestyle In a wasteful world Olivia Mason explores the growing numbers following a Freeganist lifestyle Page 18

Culture Music Editor Joe Skrebels reviews his four favourite females of the year from across the genres Page 30

Sport The final football taboo. Harry Slavin debates the sport’s wavering acceptance of homosexuality Page 38

Meetings Timetable: Monday News & Comment - 12pm, Room 6 Park Terrace Sport- 1pm, MLK, Room 6 Park Terrace Photos - 12pm, Room 6 Park Terrace

The Students Union have begun auditions for the popular show University Challenge in a bid to perform better than last year’s showing where Newcastle lost 315 - 70 to Sheffield

Olivia Marie Viveiros Newcastle University is hoping to find four brave and talented students for the new series of University Challenge.

Last week the Student Union held auditions to find contestants for the quiz show hosted by the straight talking Jeremy Paxman.

The University is hoping the team will have better luck than last time, as Newcastle lost by a staggering 315-70 against Sheffield.

Paxman was not sympathetic, de-

claring after the show: “Newcastle were rather mullered.”

Student Union President Tom Delamere, who is on the judging panel to find the best candidates, said: “We have held two auditions so far and we’ve had a good response.

“For the first round of auditions we were asking students a series of 40 sample questions which have been provided by the BBC and cover a broad range of subjects.

“For the second round, we’ll invite the high scorers back to answer questions in a format which will be more like the show, where students

will have to work in teams. We want to find a team that can cover different topics, but also work together.

It is a competition but they have to enjoy it and have fun too.”

The selected students will then have to go through a series of knockout rounds with other national universities, before appearing on the show.

Despite an array of applicants only around 20 per cent of teams actually make it onto the live BBC2 show.

Laura Bailey, Newcastle team captain from last year, told The Courier: “Being captain of last year’s Univer-

sity Challenge team was a great experience. The interview process was good fun.

“Our team all travelled down to Manchester together and had the whole television experience: dressing room, make-up, sandwiches in the green room; we even ran into Paxman in the corridor and had a bit of a chat.”

She added: “OK, so we were trashed in the end by a freakishly brainy team from Sheffield, but it was a great day out. “ Newcastle University has never won University Challenge.

Year abroad schemes face uncertain future George Sandeman As part of the government’s Comprehensive Spending Review, the British Council has been targeted for possible efficiency savings and austerity measures.

This affects language students up and down the country. The British Council is a key cog in helping students find teaching assistantships during their year abroad; a necessity in order to graduate.

Assistantships are the most popular choice for languages students, because as stage two student Liz Lewis explained, there is high demand for them, as they provide

invaluable support from hosting schools and more time to experience the culture.

Presently, 30 per cent of placements on the year abroad scheme take shape in the form of teaching assistantships, accounting for some 2500 students each year.

Funding for the scheme is currently being withheld by the Department of Education, pending a review; although no definitive deadline has been given as to when a decision will be reached, leaving many second year students in limbo.

Many students and faculty have been left aggravated in response to the government’s supposed lacks of urgency to deal with the issue. The

year abroad is considered a critical part of a modern language degree.

Newcastle’s Alison Potter, a current participant in Colombia, emphasised its importance: “It’s essential, as without the year abroad there might as well be no language degree; it makes all the difference.”

In a meeting with Dr Franck Michel, Director of the year abroad at the University, he argued: “With the Government apparently committed to student mobility they seem to say one thing and do another.”

Dr Elizabeth Anderson, Head of Languages at Newcastle, has described the suspension of the scheme in a letter to the Government as “particularly contradictory

and counterproductive”.

The justifications behind suspending the scheme by the Department of Education have been considered a necessary reduction in spending measures in light of the recent budget deficit.

Whilst QUANGOs, such as the government Hospitality Advisory Committee for the Purchase of Wine, have been scrapped for being one luxury too many, critics have argued that the British Council should not be grouped in the same category.

Figures show that the Council has £750,000 per year to place 2500 students, working out at £300 per student.

Tuesday Life & Style - 12pm, Room 6 Park Terrace Fashion - 12pm, Room 6 Park Terrace Wednesday Film - 12pm, Room 6 Park Terrace Arts 12.30pm, Room 6 Park Terrace Music - 1pm, Room 6 Park Terrace TV & Radio - 1.30pm, Room 6 Park Terrace Editorial Team: • Editor - Fran Infante • Deputy Editor - Joshua Shrimpton Dean • News Editors - Charlie Oven & Simon Murphy • Comment Editors - Danny Kielty & Laura Heads • Life & Style Editors - Mary Mullarkey and Kat Bishop •Fashion Editor - Lauren Girling • Arts Editor - Stephanie Ferrao • Film Editor - Adam Williams • Music Editors - Polly Randall & Joe Skrebels • TV & Radio Editor - Ellie Wilson and Lynsey Fawcett • Puzzles Editor - Andy Pitkeathley •Listings Editor - Ciara Littler • Sports Editors - Kat Bannon, Jono Taylor & Wills Robinson •Photo Editor - Briony Carlin • Design Editor - Helen Mamalaki • Online Editors - Bethany Sissons, Katie Hicks, Elliot Bentley and Colin Henrys •Proof Editors - Charlotte Loftus, Katy Lawson, Hannah Davey, Verity Cunningham, Freya Marks, Gemma Farina, Jessica Cree, Amy Jordan, Ruby Hall, Rebecca Gee, Jennifer Beer The Courier is printed by: Harmsworth Printing Limited, Northcliffe House, Meadow Road, Derby, DE1 2DW. Tel: 01332 253013.

Established in 1948, The Courier is the fully independent student newspaper of the Union Society 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 opinion pieces are those of the individual writing, and not of The Courier, the Union Society or Newcastle University.

THE COURIER Monday November 29 2010

News

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Hit the road: graduates prepare for epic South American adventure in aid of charity Helen Lam While the rest of us will still be tucking into leftover turkey sandwiches, on December 28 recent Newcastle University graduates Adam Armstrong and Tom Burnham will be flying to South America to begin the trip of a lifetime, all in aid of two great causes.

After itching for an adventure, Adam and Tom signed themselves up to take part in The Mototaxi Junket. The challenge is to drive a 125cc motorbike with a trailer attached known as the mototaxi - from Asuncion in Paraguay to Cuzco in Peru, an incredible 4000km.

The two week adventure will take them along the dirt tracks of the Amazon rainforest, through the driest deserts in the world and across one of the most remote wildernesses on the continent.

However, there is the catch that it’s an incredibly dangerous journey; in which they are risking not only their health but their lives to complete.

This is in addition to the risk of muggings, armed robbery, kidnappings, traffic accident, tropical diseases or even just getting lost.

In spite of these dangers, the two remain undeterred, and are optimistic of achieving their goal of raising money for two very worthy charities they feel passionate about.

The first is the Colquencha project, which gives aid to a poverty-stricken village in the Bolivian Highlands, in which nine out of 10 families live in extreme poverty. The second is Help for Heroes, a British charity which gives support to the British Armed Forces.

WhipBikes, a Newcastle University graduate business has already shown their support by sponsoring the two.

Speaking to The Courier, Adam said: ‘’Luckily we’re both still young and stupid so we aren’t too nervous, but I suppose my biggest worry is that we won’t finish.

“I believe the adventurists have only run this twice before and last time 62 started the race and only eight finished. Two mototaxis went

Wheels in motion: graduates Adam Armstrong and Tom Burnham will be driving a 125cc motorbike attached to a trailer, across an incredible 4000km of varied South American terrain

off the edge of cliffs.’’

The two will be keeping a video blog for everyone to follow them on their travels and said: ‘’It is a once in

a lifetime trip, and at the same time we actually get to raise money for some great causes.

“The good thing about these kinds

of trips is that the danger and challenging nature of them puts a lot of people off, which makes it more special. ‘’

To find out more about Adam and Tom’s charitable adventure, more information can be found at www.themototaxidiaries.blogspot.com.

Opinion poll reveals popularity of University Elliot Bentley The Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings, which were released as an iPhone app last week, allows prospective students to view statistics on universities across the world, as well as participate in “live opinion polls”.

The first poll asked users which university they would recommend to a friend – and number two out of the app’s four hundred institutions was our very own Uni. Following closely behind Newcastle in the top five were Imperial College London, Polytechnic University of Milan and the National University of Singapore. First place went to Aston University in Birmingham, which is notably absent in The Times’ own top two hundred world univer-

sities. Newcastle is number 152 of the same list.

So what makes Newcastle University so recommended? Asked what he liked about Newcastle, second year English Language and Literature student Ben Travis said: “There’s so much going on – there’s great nightlife and a really good gigging scene with lots of venues. It’s nice being so close to the seaside – you can get to the beach quickly!

“I really like the fact that the university is right in the centre of the city and it has a good range of courses.”

Newcastle has gained a recent reputation for being a party city, particularly in the wake of the Sunday Times’ damning undercover report from the trebles bar frontlines.

In the infamous article, Giles Hat-

ersley described swathes of students “Drinking like there’s no tomorrow” outside nightclub Sea. Jenny Beer, a fourth year modern languages student told The Courier that she thought Newcastle’s nightlife was “a big attraction for a lot of people – not for everybody, but a lot of people”.

Her own reasons for studying in Newcastle were: “It has a great mix of people, there’s a lot going on in the city, and the University is very well-respected and a really good place to study.”

Of course, for the cynical person there is an alternative theory: that there are just more iPhone-wielding students in Newcastle, all voting for their uni, than any other university in the world. Well, other than Aston.

Great up North: survey shows Newcastle to be one of the most recommended universities

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Monday November 29 2010 THE COURIER

News

“Where you draw your own ethical line is a very personal thing” As an animal rights group drags the University through the courts, a top professor fears ‘militant’ reprisals for his staff, reports Deputy Editor Joshua Shrimpton Dean Continued from front page hearing earlier this month blast the University’s reasons as an “affront to common sense”. A recent BUAV press release confirmed the tribunal’s crushing response: “It would be remarkable if the University did not hold important information about extensive animal research carried out on its premises by its employees, for which it received the funds, and for which it provided the facilities, the training, the ancillary staff, the drugs, the routine equipment and the necessary insurances.”

The Information Commission is yet to make a formal judgement on whether the University is justified in citing a duty of care to its staff for not releasing the information.

Professor Paul Flecknell of the University’s Institute of Neuroscience told The Courier of his unease that Newcastle staff could face violent reprisals from animal rights activists, similar to those directed at researchers of Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) over recent years.

The infamous Cambridgeshirebased company, which tests various substances on animals, has been the target of undercover infiltrations by campaigners and violent attacks on its staff from ‘militant’ activists who have used anything from CS spray, pick-axes and arson in their war against HLS. Five members of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) were jailed last month for threatening HLS staff.

Prof Flecknell said: “The University is obviously very nervous about putting its staff at risk. HLS was a very upsetting case for lots of us who work with animals. One of my colleagues went there as a vet and

told me of all the things that were happening to staff. You wouldn’t want that happening to staff at Newcastle. That’s the nervousness that the University has.”

The FOI request was prompted after the BUAV learnt of the University’s “highly invasive” brain experiments on macaques, following the publication of articles by three researchers.

Around the same time, the German authorities, in consultation with the Swiss Federal Office for Veterinary Surgery, declined a grant for a Newcastle researcher to conduct “selective awareness” animal experiments involving macaques.

The four-page leaked document, translated from German, tears apart the researcher’s proposal by citing multiple concerns for the welfare of the macaques, who share “Fundamental basic cognitive functions with humans.”

Much of the criticism is directed at the intended training method, which sees the macaques’ water allowance severely restricted in order to motivate them to perform certain tasks, including sitting in a primate chair.

The German authorities asserted that: “The animals would have free access to fluid only two days a week…with experiments lasting from 100 to 400 days, they are so repeatedly thirsty over such long periods of time that they can quench this thirst only by tolerating having their heads immobilised in the primate chair that they surrender to this immobilisation time and time again.

“The animal learns that it has no alternative to achieving this goal. In order to avoid a life-threatening suffering (thirst), the animal has to en-

dure another considerable suffering (being immobilised in the primate chair).”

Professor Flecknell, whose research interests include the welfare of animals used in biomedical research, denied that such a harsh water deprivation regime exists at Newcastle.

He said: “What happens here is not as restrictive as was proposed in Germany. I go and watch these animals in the lab where they freely get into the chair; one of them voluntarily sticks his head in the right position and looks around as if to say “Where’s my Ribena, let’s go guys.”

To me, that isn’t an animal that is distressed and is doing something because he is being forced to do it.

They know that if they don’t cooperate they will get the fluid eventually.”

However, a recent BUAV press release has fundamentally questioned whether the University needs to use primates at all for the research in question: “These experiments are contentious because primates can be replaced by human volunteer studies using non-invasive imaging machines such as Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging machines. It is supposedly a fundamental principle of UK legislation that animals should not be used where non-animal methods can give the desired information” it said.

Prof Flecknell responded: “I’ll be very blunt: nobody would want to use primates if they could use people.”

Most of the University’s macaques are subjected to evasive procedures that involve electrodes being implanted into their brains.

Students around the campus reacted with shock and surprise after learning that primates are used by the Faculty of Medical Sciences for research purposes, blowing the ongoing ethics debate wide open.

“It’s not black and white” Prof Flecknell admitted.

“There are relatively few people who are complete abolitionists and there are very few people who are the opposite; everyone’s somewhere in between. Where you draw your own ethical line is a very personal thing.

“If you’re going to make a judgement about the use of animals in research, you ought to apply that same ethical standard to other uses of animals. What about keeping pets? We neuter our cats and dogs because we don’t want kittens or puppies; they’re an inconvenience.

We eat close to a billion animals globally, whilst the way we kill and keep them isn’t wonderful.

“You have this irony that you have one group of animals in a lab with a law protecting them, whilst we’re freer to do things that would be illegal in a lab to animals outside it.”

Speaking to The Courier, BUAV’s Fleur Dawes urged shocked students to contact the Vice Chancellor, Professor Chris Brink, directly to voice their concerns.

She said: “Ask for a meeting with him and request further information on animal experiments at the University.”

The University faces a tense wait whilst the Information Commission continues to deliberate BUAV’s appeal. A verdict could come at any time over the coming weeks or indeed months.

Above: Home for 27 young primates last year

Rights should never be violated whether humans or animals Bethany Sissons Commentary

W

e are made to believe that testing on animals is the only way to improve medical and scientific research, but this is not the case. Testing on animals, for whatever reason, is cruel, unnecessary and a violation of their rights.

Animal rights activists are often depicted in the media as radical animal lovers. The University fears that the testing they have been carrying out on macaque monkeys

may result in protest. Whilst I don’t condone violence, surely people have the right to speak their minds about this controversial issue.

Animal testing in the University certainly reflects badly on the institution. The animals being tested on are subject to brutality and cruelty, as well as confinement, caging and uncomfortable transportation.

These animals are captured and eventually die in the laboratory.

Just because animals do not have a voice to say no, it does not mean that they want to be experimented on. Their bodies are played with by humans to create something that selfishly benefits people. Do scientists have the right to play God like this?

Furthermore, the fact the University tried to keep the public in the dark gives connotations that the research is underhand and unethical.

This is revealed by the leaked letter from the German authorities to a Newcastle University researcher; denied permission to carry out the research in Germany in 2006, this denotes that there is something unsettling about testing on animals.

In addition, the University has revealed that they do carry out procedures which were denied to the German researcher. Although the University insists that their regimes are not as harsh, a severe system of water deprivation in order to ‘train’ the macaques into sitting in a ‘primate chair’, does not entice

me to support the use of animals for scientific research. It seems like an inhumane way to treat these innocent animals.

The University is reducing the life expectancy of macaque monkeys to only six years, when they should live for fifteen to twenty years. We should be protecting these beautiful animals, not cutting their lives dramatically short. This is just another example of scientists trying to control the natural order of things.

Moreover, testing on animals for medical reasons will not necessarily make a difference to healthcare for humans. A human’s reaction to the test could be different to an animal’s. With no guarantees, is

it really worth damaging so many animals’ lives? Moreover, putting animals under stress whilst the experiments are carried out can damage the results. There are other options available, such as test-tube studies and computer models, so why take the lives of animals?

Rights should never be violated whether they are a human’s or an animal’s. Who has the right to judge how much something or someone’s life is worth? Can we put a moral value on the life of an animal - or a human? When there is no certainty that these experiments will even have any validity, is the risk really worth it? Scientists need to stop playing God.

THE COURIER Monday November 29

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News

BUAV

Newcastle students have their say: Rob Gibson – Mechanical Engineering I didn’t know animal testing took place here. It’s foul.

The money could be put to better use, rather than testing on macaques, which is just wrong. I’m totally against all animal testing. If something’s for human benefit then it should be tested on humans.

It’s just not right.

Kerrie Pool – English Language & German I wasn’t aware that the University conducts animal tests. Using macaques is shocking. I didn’t think that anything like that happened here. It’s disgusting. You hear a lot of things about animal rights and animal cruelty and how wrong it is, so I didn’t think it would ever take place at a university like this. I don’t think that using primates is justified for any kind of medical research.

Kelly Hewitson – Modern Languages & Management Does animal testing really happen here? I had no idea.

Knowing that macaques are used makes me feel sad. I went to a focus group for a dissertation on animal research and we came to the conclusion that much depends on how they’re kept.

Sarah Barry – English Lit & Politics Animal testing happens here?

Well, I’m very shocked to hear that.

Ellie Chapman – English Literature The use of primates is shocking, I didn’t have a clue about any of it. It’s taken me by surprise. I think using animals to test beauty products is wrong, but when it comes to medical sciences it gets a bit more complex.

Above top: a macaque monkey with infant

Hard lines: the leaked letter gives a frank insight into practices used by researchers involved with primates at Newcastle University

Testing for a medical purpose seems in many ways justified Amy Jordan Commentary

T

he news that Newcastle University used 23,000 animals last year in laboratory testing is bound to cause a stir. Yet amongst the cries for animal rights, it is easy to overlook the important research being done by the University.

While cruel treatment of animals is not to be advocated in any way, the vast benefits brought about in the advancement of medical treatment and drugs cannot be ignored.

It is the University’s attitude towards the release of information regarding animal vivisection that is troubling, rather than the purpose of animal testing itself. There are often cases of animal rights activists getting a front page spread, but there is still uproar in the press when it goes wrong the other way.

It is difficult to forget the media onslaught that ensued after the drugs trial incident in 2006. It resulted in one of the test volunteers being dubbed ‘The Elephant Man’, as his head and face had swollen in reaction to the drug being tested.

There are stringent regulations in place before a drug can be licensed.

In this case, the anti-inflammatory drug had been tested on both rab-

bits and monkeys. Obviously, cases such as this prove that animal testing is not foolproof, but one can only imagine the effects on humans if the drug had not already been tried out on animals.

Arguments against animal testing focus on animal rights and question why human rights should be valued above those of animals. To these, my response is that using animals for medical testing should be done only when necessary.

The macaque monkeys at Newcastle University are being used for research into how the brain controls movement. This research could be fundamental for the development of studies into curing paralysis.

Until it has been revealed what the

other animals are being used for, it is difficult to comment on the effect this will have on the University’s reputation.

However, with the information we have presently, we can see that Newcastle University is heading up important studies that could change many hundreds of lives.

Whilst the use of animals for testing cosmetic treatment should not be condoned, animal testing for a medical purpose seems in many ways justified.

If Newcastle University wants to be at the peak of studies into new and innovative medical treatments, then the use of animals is inevitable within this process. Unless animal testing is prohibited on a

wider scale, Newcastle University will have to continue testing on animals in order to just comply with UK (and international) law on drug licensing.

Attitudes of extremist animal rights groups, such as the Animal Liberation Front, do not help towards this goal, with cases of arson and direct attacks on researchers lowering the tone of the debate around animal testing. Virtual simulations and other alternatives may be a possibility in the future, but until then, the only option for the production of safe drugs and critical medical advancement is by testing on animals.

Sadly, in some cases, the ends justify the means.

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Monday November 22 2010 THE COURIER

News

A direct message: After a day of protesting, a band of students occupied the Fine Arts building; witness Jonathan Offredo reports on the symbolic event, when direct action took a new Continued from front page from the University.” He said.

“They are doing that, but the sooner it ends the better.” He added.

The occupation is not approved by the University. One of Hogan’s main concerns is the disruption to the normal flow of classes. The occupants have urged lecturers to have classes continue normally. Yet there is debate whether the occupants’ presence is a distraction.

Imogen Coates, a second year Fine Arts student, said she was rather indifferent about the occupation, but was a little annoyed that she had to use her Smartcard to get in through the side door. After the first night of occupation, security began carding at the door.

She added that a few friends have been inconvenienced after lectures previously scheduled in the lecture hall were moved due to the occupation.

Students plan to remain occupying the building throughout the weekend.

“We have the intention of staying until our demands are met or at least some sort of settlement has been made. We are occupying to defend education but we don’t want to disrupt Art students from their education,” Simon Childs, with Newcastle Free Education Network, said.

Since the occupation began, students have established a presence both on the building’s windows and via social media such as Twitter and Facebook. As of Friday afternoon the Twitter account had 117 followers and the Facebook had 254 friends. The group of students

have also set up a blog which has received some traffic and messages of support from around the world.

Students also conversed with other occupants in Edinburgh and Leeds via Skype.

Following Wednesday’s demos, which saw a turnout of over 1000, students both in occupation and at the demo expressed disappointment and disillusionment with Newcastle Union Society representatives after pulling their previous support of the demo at the last moment citing “health and safety concerns.”

Teal Griffin, a final year Fine Arts student stood outside of the Union at the start of demo said of the union’s decision: “I think it’s really disappointing from their side. It’s a cop-out. I think it’s pretty shameful really, it’s a good opportunity for the University to really have a say here and the Union is not supporting us,” he said.

There was unanimous consensus among occupants that the Union society had failed them, and they have since emailed a statement to president Tom Delamere saying, “Newcastle University Students Union has systematically failed to stand up for those it represents in the fight against cuts to education.

The ultimate manifestation of this was its complete lack of regard for the largest student demonstration to take place in the North East for a generation: a demonstration that offered positive and peaceful resistance to the unprecedented threats we face from cuts to education.”

Since receiving the email, the sabbatical officers have expressed their

complete support for the occupation: “In the spirit of the protest against the cuts to higher education.”

Delamere said pulling out of Wednesday’s demos was a “very hard” call and was apologetic for any distress caused by the decision.

“We apologise that you feel let down by the decision which we had to make and can see why it caused such distress due to the late notice.

“We appreciate that the trust has to be built up again.” He said.

The march, which began at noon, saw students from local universities, colleges and schools march from Newcastle University down Northumbria Street, and back to the University waving placards, dancing to music and shouting slogans denouncing the fee hike and cuts in education.

Students from the universities marched to Monument where then met students from local colleges and schools. One parent, who only wished to be called Jayne, stood on the curb applauding students as they marched past.

“I just think the kids need to fight back and I’m really, really proud of them for standing up their rights,” she said.

A 17-year-old Sixth Form student with hopes of going to university to study sociology slept over on Wednesday night with permission from her parents. The student said they started planning to come to the demo a few weeks ago when they saw the event on Facebook.

She said: “It’s just ridiculous the amount of people who can’t follow their dreams because of this govern-

Occupation is not an aberration Simon Childs Commentary

O

n Wednesday November 24 a peaceful protest of around 1000 students took place in Newcastle city centre.

Following the protest, well over 100 students crammed in to a lecture hall belonging to Newcastle University for an afternoon of lectures, workshops and discussions to answer a simple question: ‘how do we want to continue our movement against a government who are proposing to chunder all over our education and the dreams of countless aspiring students?’

At the closing meeting of the day, an overwhelming majority of the remaining attendees voted to peacefully occupy the arts building of the university.

As I write this, around 60 students are occupying the Fine Arts

building of the University against cuts to our education and soaring tuition fees, and in solidarity with occupations at around 20 universities nationwide.

Our choice of building is symbolic. Fine art, along with the arts, humanities and social sciences in general have been deemed irrelevant to the Con-Dem government’s vision of an education where critical thinking and creativity will be scorned.

The Lib-Dems, whom so many of us voted into office, have sold us out at the purr of a ministerial limo.

The Tories have never stood up for students and the previous Labour government got the ball rolling on the marketing and degradation of our education.

The NUS has finally started to make tentative steps towards forming a semblance of resistance, but they won’t move quickly and decisively enough.

Locally, the Newcastle University Student Union’s decision to pull out of backing the mass demon-

stration at the last minute was disappointing.

We chose to act. We won’t lie down as our younger brothers and sisters are condemned to a lifetime of debt for an education which treats them as human resources, not human beings.

In the words of journalist John Pilger: “Direct action is the only political course left to those who are disenfranchised and whose ruin is announced on a government spreadsheet.”

So, in the most peaceful way possible, we have taken action beyond a simple march and occupied.

But this occupation should not be viewed as an aberration. Occupations have an honourable history in the student movement.

Significant though we hope our actions will be, they will not win free education for future students.

We need a sustained campaign involving masses of students to take back our education. Come on Newcastle, let’s make it happen.

We are your occupiers: Students living in the Fine Art building posted their photos on as the protests hit the streets, many officers commended the organisation and peaceful

Monday November 29 2010 THE COURIER

7

News

D.CRAIG

L.MACKENZIE

L.MACKENZIE

D.HAMILL

their blog, giving real faces to an ongoing campaign of peaceful occupation. Above right: Wednesday’s events started with protests on campus attended by around 1,000 students. Above: Northumbria Police were out in force attitude of all involved. Above right: The students on night one of the occupation gather and plan their actions for the coming days, the ground rules they set included: being respectful, being peaceful and no alcohol or drugs

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Monday November 29 2010 THE COURIER

News

Library loans first ever Niagara Falls image Sophie McCoid Staff at the University library have enabled the first ever image taken of the iconic and magnificent Niagara Falls to be put on display.

The image, which has been in storage since the 1920s, was discovered in 1996 by Dr Lesley Gordon, the Special Collections librarian, on a miscellaneous shelf. Seven other daguerreotypes and 7000 photographs of the Middle East were also discovered on the same shelf.

The original image was taken in 1840 by Hugh Lee Pattison, a chemist from Cumbria, who took a new innovation with him – the daguerreotype – to try out on his business trip to America.

It would have taken 20 minutes to capture the picture on the silver coated copper plate inside the camera. The plate would have then been saturated in warm mercury fumes to bring the image to reality.

The well-dressed gentleman standing at the top of Horseshoe Falls was originally believed to have been added by an engraver at a later date.

The figure appears on the original daguerreotype, however, suggesting that the figure is actually Pattinson, who would have had to stay perfectly still for fifteen minutes while the image was created.

Laughable in our modern days of point and shoot.

There are very few examples of

The image of Niagara Falls was taken in 1840 by Hugh Lee Pattison, a chemist from Cumbria who took a new innovation with him while on a business trip in North America

daguerreotypes left in the world as they are extremely fragile. The image can also be easily rubbed off the silver plate, and oxidises when exposed to air.

The daguerreotype was invented in France mere months before Pattinson’s visit, suggesting that the

image is the first photograph taken in Canada, making it a very rare and valuable holiday snap.

The University has loaned the digital copies of the images to the Niagara Parks Commission as part of the 125th anniversary celebrations.

A new explanative panel is also being added at the spot where most historians believe the photos were taken from - right in the middle of the Maid of the Mist marketplace.

Library staff told The Courier: “The importance of these photographs being found in the library cannot

be stressed enough; as examples of some of the first photographs ever taken, they offer a unique glimpse into an unknown world.

“All the staff at the library are very proud that Newcastle has been able to make this unique contribution to the Niagara Falls exhibition.”

Project aiming to improve public health underway Tarren Smarr Newcastle University continues to lead the way in the perception of ageing. The Institute for Ageing and Health alongside the Human Nutrition Research Centre have launched The Livewell Programme, aimed at transforming the health and wellbeing of individuals who are of retirement age.

The Livewell Programme, running in collaboration with North East volunteers and experts from Newcastle University, is working on improving peoples’ overall health; both physical and emotional. This includes finding new ways to encourage exercise and healthyeating lifestyles similar to those found in the Mediterranean.

Nutrition expert and professor at the University, Paula Moynihan commented: “People these days are living longer but not necessarily in a state of good health.”

The programme hosted a launch event on November 9 2010 at the Great North Museum, featuring leading chef and restaurateur Terry Laybourne. Laybourne offered demonstrations of simple and healthy Mediterranean recipes to inspire people to take notice of their eating habits. The event also included interactive displays and exercise advice.

“Just a few easy changes could dramatically improve quality of life into old age. It is never too late to start eating healthily” Moynihan said.

Overall, the Livewell Project aims to place a focus on the emotional wellbeing of individuals over 60, as well as encouraging an active social life alongside encouraging physical health.

Professor John Mathers, Director of the Human Nutrition Research Centre and project leader stressed: “The period around retirement is a great time for this, as people are already making life changes and this can be just another choice, with long term benefits for healthier life.”

The team hopes that the project will be successful and applied all over the country. By targeting individuals who are at the age of retirement, the programme is more likely to have higher success rates. One main reason is because people are more likely to incorporate change during periods of transition that fall naturally in the life cycle.

“Easy changes to lifestyle could add years to a healthy and fulfilling life” mentions Moynihan.

As getting older is inevitable, it is promising that research groups, including Newcastle University, are working hard in promoting healthy lifestyle and changing the attitude that society has towards the ageing community.

The programme will continue to develop further community links and partnerships to expand services and deliver the innovative programme for more people across the country as they come closer to retirement.

THE COURIER Monday November 29 2010

News

9

Freshers’ Week 2011 to have the F-Factor Fran Infante Editor Last week’s Union elections saw the successful recruitment of five new Part-Time Officers with the FFactor team storming ahead to win the position of Freshers Week Organisers 2011.

The week, which was the first in a series of Union elections that will be run this academic year, passed off without controversy and at the results night last Friday there was a relaxed and informal atmosphere, as the candidates found out how they had fared in the snowiest election week in memory.

The triumphant Freshers week team of Anna Lamotte, Stephen Meagher, Michael Neilson and Camille Stephenson were thrilled to find out that they will be working for the Union full time next summer, as they plan every element of the first Freshers’ Week to be held in the new Union building.

“We are ecstatic” they said “it’s been hard being outside all week in the harsh weather, trying to stop people and talk to them when they just want to be back indoors but we’ve had so much support from our friends. Everyone has been out with us in the snow and cheering us along.

“We have to give a big shout out to all our campaigners because without them we wouldn’t have got anything done. It makes it all worthwhile now, all the getting up early, and all the standing on the streets.

“We’re very excited. Freshers’ Week 2011 is going to be the biggest, best Freshers’ Week ever, that’s what we promised, that’s what we will deliver”.

In the hotly contested category for International Officer it was Sofokilis Paraschou who was victorious.

Like his fellow candidates he too noted the test of friendship exhibited by his campaigners who braved the elements to ensure that his campaign was a success. Despite being in the most contested category he told The Courier: “To be honest, I’m not surprised, but I am very happy, thank you to everyone who voted for me”.

For some others too , the evening brought happiness if not surprise.

Three candidates ran unopposed with only the distant threat of being out voted by Re-Open Nominations

or RON to contest with. This was the case for the new Postgraduate Officer Man Zhang who, nevertheless was delighted with the news, and greeted the room with the promise: “I will try to be a friend to you all”.

Later she told The Courier “I am very happy. I would like to thank my supporters because the members of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association really helped me a lot, helping me to send out flyers, and all of my friends, my roommates helped so much and I really love them and I love all of you. I really appreciate this chance to work with the Students’ Union and I will try my best for everyone.”

Esta Innes also ran unopposed and was elected Gender Equality Officer, she told The Courier that she was thrilled with the result and excited to start putting into action her election promises, especially in promoting International Human Rights day on the 10th of December.

Dave Hickling was greeted warmly as it was announced that he would return to his former position as Community Officer and it was clear that though he may have spent the last few months out of office, his commitment to helping students in the wider community, has not paused.

“I’m pleased to be back, I’ve actually won my more this year than I did last year which is encouraging. Hopefully I can build on the progress of last year to try and further the interests of students in the city”.

The results were announced by the Sabbatical Team and Elections committee on which six students sit to help organise and police the elections process. Speaking as the evening drew to a close Union President Tom Delamere told The Courier : “I am so proud of all the candidates who took part, it’s always brilliant to see new people get involved with running the Students’ Union. This is the first time that I know of that the position of International Officer has been contested by three candidates, which is absolutely amazing.”

The next big election will be March when the full-time sabbatical positions are decided along with any remaining Part-time officers positions. Look out for more information in The Courier closer to the time or e-mail president. union@ncl.ac.uk with any questions.

Top Right: Despite being one teammate down the F-Factor were all smiles, as were the individual and unapposed candidates; Esta Innes, Dave Hickling and Man Zhang. Above: Sofoklis Paraschou credits his friends’ help

10

Monday November 29 2010 THE COURIER

News

National Parks face uncertain future in light of severe government spending cuts Rachael Day Following the recent government spending review, much attention has been focused on how government cuts will affect higher education. However, spending cuts have had far reaching implications on other key areas of society.

It was announced that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will face a massive 30 per cent cut to its budget.

The cut is considered to be one of the biggest made by the coalition government.

Since the vast majority of funding for the UK’s National Parks comes from central government, it is likely that the conservation of these beautiful areas of countryside will be under threat following the cuts.

There are 15 National Parks within the UK, including 10 in England, each of which is administered by its own National Park Authority (NPA) which decides what the funding will be spent on.

The amount of funding received depends upon the size of the National Park, the number of residents and the number of visitors it gets.

In the year 2008-2009, funding ranged from close to £3.3 million for the Northumberland National Park, to approximately £8.3 million for the Peak District National Park.

However, this is likely to see a vast decrease following the cuts.

Speaking recently on the issue, Jo Hall, Communications Manager for registered charity Campaign for National Parks, told The Courier: “Government grants to NPAs are their biggest source of income, and

if these are cut radically, then the Authorities’ ability to deliver their statutory purposes will be affected and we will all be the poorer.”

While it is inevitable that budget cuts be made in every area of finance, it does not follow that Defra is one of the worst affected departments when, only a matter of months ago, Prime Minister David Cameron stated that he wanted the coalition government to be “the greenest government ever”.

Dr Nicola Thompson of Newcastle University’s Centre for Rural Economy, spoke to The Courier about the consequences of severe cuts.

“Cuts will affect the work of the National Parks on conservation, recreation and rural development. They will mean that the Parks deliver less for those who visit them and impact on the level of resources available to

those who live and work there.

“It will mean difficult choices on where to make the cuts; for example, whether to cut work with children and young people from urban areas, or work to improve the skills and employment opportunities for young people from in and around the Parks, or work to protect iconic species and landscapes that many millions visit and value.

“It is inevitable that cuts will be made, and this will involve difficult choices, but it is important we speak up for the things that we know are of value.”

It seems that, until Defra makes its final decisions, the future of the conservation of National Parks remains uncertain.

Clare O’Connor, External Affairs Co-ordinator for the UK Association of National Park Authorities, told

Stag head stolen from Oxford College bar Elliot Bentley Part time vacancies Job Title: Bar & Restaurant staff Employer: Holiday Inn Jesmond Salary: National Minimum Wage Closing Date: 22/12/2010 Basic job description: Bar & Restaurant Staff are required for a newly opened Holiday Inn located in Jesmond, with a soon to be opened trendy new bar and restaurant.

Location: Jesmond Job Title: Bar Staff Employer: Bar 38 Closing date: Ongoing Salary: Meets National Minimum Wage Basic job description: Bar 38 are looking for Bar Staff to work in their busy student venue. Applicants will be required to work 2-3 shifts per week mainly at night.

Person requirements: Bar experience preferred but not essential.

Applicants should be outgoing with a strong work ethic Location: Newcastle upon Tyne Job Title: Campus Brand Manager Employer: Graduate Jobs.com Closing date: 01/12/2010 Salary: Competitive + OTE Bonus Basic job description: General marketing of the site across campus and building relationships with key contacts within the University.

Person requirements: May require use of home PC or laptop.

Location: Newcastle University Campus Job Title: Census Co-ordinators Employer: Census Closing date: Ongoing Salary: £9.27 - £13.03 per hour Basic job description: To manage and coordinate the census operation in an area, including manag-

ing a team of up to 15 field staff.

For 4 months - 7 Feb 2011 - 20 May 2011 Person Requirements: Access to a PC or laptop will be necessary.

Location: England and Wales

hours per week.

Personal Requirements : Applicants must have excellent communication skills and customer service experience.

Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

Job Title: Customer Account Advisor Employer: Brighthouse Closing date: 26/12/2010 Salary: Meets National Minimum Wage Basic job description: This retail based position liaises with customers and the management of their accounts. Applicants will advise customers on keeping their accounts up to date and resolve any issues that may arise.

Person Requirements: Good communication and business acumen.

Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

Job Title: Flyering Staff Employer: Don’t Panic Closing date: 20/12/2010 Salary: £10-15 per hour Basic job description: Don’t Panic are looking for professional, reliable and fun flyering staff to promote various events that will be taking place in your area. The jobs are often 1 or 2 hours long and pay at least £10/hour.

Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

Job Title: Fitness Instructor Employer: Fitness Links Closing date: 31/12/2010 Salary: £50 per day shift Basic job description: Fitness induction, writing fitness programs, taking fitness classes, maintaining cleanliness of the gym, and advising members on their fitness regimes and equipment. A day shift is usually 8 hours.

Person Requirements: Minimum Level 2 in gym instruction Location: Newcastle + Nationwide Job Title: Plate Waiting Staff Employer: Direct Recruitment Closing date: 17/12/2010 Salary: Meets National Minimum Wage Basic job description: Direct Recruitment are looking for experienced waiting staff to work across the Newcastle area. Working hours are to suit, between 4-20

Job Title: Bar Staff Employer: Direct Recruitment Closing date: 17/12/2010 Salary: Meets National Minimum Wage Basic job description: Direct Recruitment are looking for experienced bar staff to work across the Newcastle area. Working hours are to suit, between 4-20 hours per week.

Person Requirements: You must have excellent communication skills and customer service experience.

Location: Newcastle upon Tyne Job Title: Bar and Catering Staff Employer: Confident Choice Closing date: 01/12/2010 Salary: Meets National Minimum Wage Basic job description: The days and hours of this post are flexible to suit.

Person Requirements: You must have previous bar or catering experience.

Location: North East

An Oxford college has had a controversial stag’s head stolen from its Student Union, two weeks after a £10,000 renovation of the college bar.

The head, which has been nicknamed “Douglas” by students, was taken from Corpus College’s JCR, which has been closed until the culprits reveal themselves.

“The vegan bastards who destroyed the head will purchase a replacement at their own expense,” said Student Union treasurer James Pontifex.

“I hope this teaches them the futility of their actions and the naivety of their beliefs.”

Leeds Met Union responds to threats from racist group Leeds Met Union has been accused of giving a platform to fascists after it responded to threats from a racist group.

Gary Younge, a Guardian writer and anti-fascism protestor, criticised Leeds Metropolitan University after a talk he was due to give discussing the rise of farright parties was moved due to worries that EDL supporters were planning to turn up.

Union president Liam Challenger defended the decision as a necessary precaution to protect students. However, Leeds Unite Against Fascism member Christian Hogsbjerg told The Leeds Student: “If you give into them continually then they’ve won.”

Tutor accused of violence in London demonstrations An assistant tutor at the University of Sussex has been accused of being involved in the violence at the student

The Courier: “As yet we do not know the extent of budget cuts for NPAs. Some have already shed staff, many have put a freeze on new recruitment and, once we hear from Defra, there will no doubt be many more difficult decisions to make over the next few years.

“National Parks are Britain’s ‘breathing spaces’, so hopefully we will continue to be able to help look after these wonderful places where people can find peace and tranquillity, outdoor activities and local food and hospitality.”

Got a story?

Contact the news team and be the first to break the news: courier.news@ncl.ac.uk

demonstrations in London. Luke Cooper, who is a member of the International Relations department, was reported by The Evening Standard to have said that he “attacked Tory HQ”.

Cooper told Sussex student newspaper The Badger that these comments were “complete fabrication” and “slander”, as well as part of an attempt by the media to “vilify those who took part in the demo – making them out to be violent thugs in hoodies”.

Student banned from Union to run for presidency A second year Cambridge student banned from the Student Union is to stand for the position of Union President.

Gabriel Latner gained notoriety after telling journalist Lauren Booth, “I’m going to nail you to the fucking wall up there” during a debate titled, “This House believes Israel is a rogue state.”

Booth, who is sister-in-law to former Prime Minister Tony Blair, refused to accept the apology. Although Latner’s ban was lifted, he may be penalised up to 20 per cent of his votes for breaking Union election rules by giving interviews to the press.

York student charged on possession of child pornography The University of York’s Student Union, YUSU, is to defend a student accused of 17 charges of child porn videography.

The student, who is pleading guilty to the charges, is accused of creating numerous indecent photographs of children, as well as possessing 34 indecent photographs of children.

The 50 images contain children from the age of six upwards, with half of the material reaching four out of five on the COPINE Scale.

Police were initially alerted by the accused’s housemates when they found the images on an open iTunes network.

11

THE COURIER Monday November 29 2010

What will the Royal wedding reveal about the monarchy?

Comment Editors: Laura Heads and Danny Kielty - courier.comment@ncl.ac.uk

> Page 11

If you’re happy and you know it tell the Tories Emily Sargeant

Winter blues are common. To soften the blow, I think to myself: ‘it’s Christmas soon, buzzing for carols’ (because I am) – but then I walk past Fenwick, and get creeped out by the fake children who apparently only have the use of one arm in one direction, and this spoils my festive cheer. How can we know how to keep ourselves in good spirits?

Well, never fear, David Cameron is making it his mission to get to the bottom of how we can measure our happiness, or ‘general well-being’, to improve our standard of living.

While this may sound great, I’m not sure about the image of David throwing on an all white linen outfit, and skipping up the hill to join Steve Carell for the credits of The 40 Year Old Virgin, singing ‘Age of Aquarius’ with an incense stick in one hand and a dream catcher in the other.

Andrew Oswald, a Professor of Economics from Warwick University, states: “Economic performance is...a means to an end…not the accumulation of television sets, nor the vanquishing of some high level of interest rates, but rather the enrichment of mankind’s feeling of wellbeing”.

So, next big question: how can we even begin to understand what it is specifically that makes us happy, when happiness itself is such an un-

You, The Courier Phillip Space, second year Physics student reviews the last edition

I

n last week’s issue, News’ coverage of the forthcoming student protests was good, and they resisted the temptation to overdo a story that could have run for pages and pages.

Comment again produced several thought-provoking articles, with Sophie McCoid’s prison article a personal favourite.

Lifestyle contained several informative articles on post-graduation prospects and Camp America, which represent a very positive change from the sex-heavy articles of last year, and Culture was once again a good read.

The highlight of the week however has to be Sport. A wide range of photos certainly enhance the section and the continued coverage of less well-known sports, in this case Kite and Windsurfing, makes a nice change from last year’s football-heavy content.

known quantity? Not only this, but you will notice, happiness and wellbeing are used by David Cameron interchangeably. Are they the same thing? I don’t think so.

Aged six, I would have rather the staff at school had left me busying myself with working out how the hell I could get that water turbine to work, but in retrospect I am mostly glad that they forced literacy upon me.

A job interview would probably be over fairly quickly now if, when it came to giving them my CV, all I could do was emphatically gesture towards an (albeit impressive) model of the Millennium Dome that I had lovingly constructed in my portable sand pit. You might think as a building choice, this would be a cop out, but remember those spikes; not for the faint-hearted sand sculptor I can assure you.

Hence, what improves my eventual well-being, particularly in the case of education, may not necessarily be what I believe to be making me most happy out of my relative options at the time.

The measurement of happiness is no easy feat. There are questionnaires, but they don’t ascertain the cause of our mood necessarily. We can say as a statistic, married people are happier than unmarried, but this may be because happier people are more sociable, and therefore more likely to go out and meet someone as opposed to staying in with their seventeen cats. We can’t clarify cause and effect; so what can we do to make a positive step?

As per usual, the iPhone apparently has the answer, like the all-knowing wizard that it is. Really, Mr. Apple?

Finally, the serious news article about Close House was well written by Colin Henrys and made a good change from the usual backpage match report.

On the downside however, the number of typos throughout last week’s paper suggest that the proof-reading requires a lot of work.

What do you think of The Courier this week? Send your 180-word review to courier. comment@ncl.ac.uk

The government is planning a new set of measures which will attempt to quantify the happiness or ‘General Well-Being’ of our nation

I can measure my happiness using your phone? Sure thing! It’s an app called ‘Mappiness’.

I’m not convinced and frankly, that kind of technology frightens me.

Next thing I know I’m going to wake up in the early hours to find that my phone’s self-combusting, having totally lost the plot, and is frantically trying to work out the formula for the creation of anti-matter whilst simultaneously baking a trifle, screaming “There’s an app for that!”

I’m going back to my 3210 with its Purple Ronnie fascia. Scrap that, I’m just going to pay people impromptu visits, holding up a chalkboard next to my face with what I would’ve sent in a text written on it.

Anyway this app isn’t actually as intimidating as I thought. It’s free and it is part of a research project based at the London School of Economics. You send them anonymous data about how you’re feeling, as well as whom you are with, what

you’re doing and where you are.

Creepy? A bit, yes. But all in the name of research.

This attempt to measure wellbeing may all seem a bit fuzzy and hedonistic to some, but I don’t think we should reject it as an ambition just because it’s difficult to quantify.

The fact that it’s even a mere consideration in future politics should theoretically have a positive effect, even without pinning happiness down into a scientific formula.

Sex, sorcery and the Young Socialists Danny Kielty Comment Editor

Whilst many people these days struggle to find any legitimate reason for casting their vote toward the election of a parliamentary political party, it appears the Young Socialists from the Catalonia region of Spain have found the perfect motivation to vote for them - an orgasm.

Granted, I’ve often (when feeling a little peckish) craved a Spanish omelette, but I can’t say I’ve ever heard Jeremy Paxman hailing the orgasmic qualities of the Spanish voting system.

All of this stems from a recent campaign video created by the Young Socialists, which depicts a young Spanish señora twitching in an outrageously suggestive manner. After wafting herself with a polling card, as the polling station staff look on in apparent disgust, the video concludes with the phrase: “Voting is a

pleasure”. Lovely.

It seems as if the quality of campaign videos has been following a progressively downward trend lately. American Tea Party Politician Christine O’Donnell’s recent effort began with the words: “I’m not a witch”.

It does seem a rather glum reflection of modern politics that campaign videos, whilst once filled with such subtleties as policy and a little staged fraternization with the working classes, have been replaced by sex and sorcery.

On the Young Socialist’s rather dismal effort, Alicia Sanchez-Camacho, the leader of the opposition Popular Party in Catalonia, said it was “an attack on the dignity of women”.

Unless this video was filmed by a fly-on-the-wall documentary maker, I couldn’t possibly agree more.

Much like an unwanted anecdote teller at a Christmas party, Joan Herrera of the Green Coalition said: “It would be very difficult to reach voting for any of the candidates, myself included”.

Well Joan, if your pillow talk is anything like your politics talk you’d

have my sentiments on this one.

Just imagine what shape the political campaign video could take in 20 years time. Politicians may take recent inroads into sex and sorcery and push them to their advantage.

“Socialists from the Catalonia region of Spain have found the perfect motivation to vote for them - an orgasm” Conservative politicians may fill reams of campaign footage disputing accusations from the Labour opposition that higher education fees and unemployment are due to Tory “black magic”.

Muggles up and down the country will hang up garlic in their porches, fearing an evening visit from their local M.P. You may think I jest, but I’ve already been to a student demonstration in which students held placards bearing the image of David Cameron uttering the unforgiveable curse: “Avada Kedavra”.

12

Monday November 29 2010 THE COURIER

Comment

Should we continue our affiliation with the NUS? like the discount that we get for having NUS on the back of our student identification cards. But how many of us actually actively use the card to get discounts?

Now let’s rethink this situation.

The majority of students that use a discount don’t use their student cards. Instead they use the NUS extra cards that were purchased at the start of the academic year.

So in reality, you are paying for your discount card anyway. If Newcastle is not associated with the NUS you would probably still buy that card, you may just pay a bit more for it.

While the NUS is a voluntary organization, universities still have to pay for their membership. How much do you ask? Only a mere £47,000. That’s right, you heard me correctly.

Yes Laura Heads Comment Editor

It’s a matter of course that when you think of the Union, you immediately also think of the NUS. Whether it be from the NUS affiliation on the back of your Smartcard, or from the posters that (used) to be around and about the Union building itself.

There are arguments that we don’t gain much from the NUS, and indeed in some aspects this is true. If the NUS were to fund and help with everything we expected from them, however, they would be stretched far beyond what they are capable of.

If you look to any other union you will see that they carry out as much, if not a little less, than what the NUS does. They are performing the basic function of a union; we shouldn’t expect any more.

The NUS provides us with numerous opportunities and support in Union representation, welfare and democracy. You just need to look at the ongoing tuition fee issues to see how the NUS is working, on our behalf, and fighting our corner. Granted we could do this on our own but it does say a lot more coming from a large, recognised, organisation that represents around 95 per cent of universities up and down the country, than from a university itself.

The national demo held a few weeks ago was NUS organised. It’s hard to say that a similar demo, on the same scale, could ever take place again without the continued work and organisational skills of the NUS. Prime example: the more recent, non-affiliated demos, despite gaining media attention, can easily be considered as not as successful. Most students don’t really care about these demonstrations nor know they are happening.

Add that to the reality that no university would be able to hold the

“The NUS is doing a disservice to students enabling the continuation of a binge drinking culture”

NUS affiliation: with the upcoming referendum on our membership is it still worth joining or should we walk away from the NUS?

government to account as successfully as the NUS does, the nationwide platform gives them a lot higher stead than a localised university would. It sounds a little extreme, but unfortunately it’s the reality.

We save around £63,000 on commercial products a year by joining the NUS - that’s on things such as cheap alcohol and drinks. It also means that despite the huge sum we pay to remain affiliated, we actually gain a profit. Add to that the additional advantage of our 10 per cent discount in most popular student shops (Topshop, New Look and Republic to name just a few), at no extra cost and really we’re on to a winner. Saving those few extra pennies is vital to the life of a student, and the NUS enables us to do this.

No Tarren Smarr

The NUS - the national voice of students, or theoretically at least. The organisation is responsible for representing students across the country and, among other things, giving students a kick-back of benefits.

However, are the benefits worth the price?

The NUS claims that they are comprised of over 600 Student Unions, which accounts for roughly 95 per cent of the Student Unions in the UK.

Yes, it is statistically significant, but if the NUS is so stellar, why are the other five per cent of union societies still holding out on joining?

One of the benefits of joining the NUS that affects students’ pockets directly is the reduction of drinks prices. Unfortunately this year Newcastle University doesn’t have a Union building to host these reduced drinks deals. Newcastle students are not gaining the so-called benefit of cheap drinks.

Thinking about drink deals, there have been people kicking off all across the country regarding the binge drinking culture that is influenced by cheap drink prices. One could almost say that the NUS is doing a disservice to students through the promotion of cheap drinks that enables the continuation of a university binge drinking culture.

OK, I know that some of us really

In a time where the economy is in decline and universities nationwide are being hit with budget cuts, do we really want to spend £47,000 for our membership to this organisation? Our money could be well spent elsewhere.

I understand that the NUS promotes campaigns for global justice and supports minority groups such as LGBT, but our own University fights for those things as well! Our welfare officer, alongside student volunteers, put in a great deal of time and effort to support minority groups and raise awareness.

Newcastle doesn’t need to pay to be part of the NUS when we are doing these things on our own.

Lastly, the NUS offers support for graduates. But last time I checked, our own University provides an outstanding amount of support for our graduates, including everything from careers advice to networking opportunities with other University Alumni.

Long story short, the NUS isn’t worth the price.

To Facebook or not to Facebook, that is the question Amy Jordan

We’ve all seen it. The swift closing of a suspiciously blue and white window as you walk into a housemate’s room when they are ‘working’. But what are the implications of social networking on the school student?

A recent online survey by One Poll of 500 teachers has revealed that two thirds of teachers thought that pupils were rushing their homework, thus doing it poorly, in order to spend more time on online social networking websites.

On top of this, 58 per cent of those questioned said that spelling is suffering as a result of increasing digi-

talisation of education and social activities.

As university students, we are all too aware that spending too much time on social networking sites, such as Facebook, does directly implicate our studies - I’ve seen enough status updates to testify to this!

However, the average school pupil may be unaware of the importance and benefits of such arduous tasks as algebra homework and geography projects.

The years spent at school, and doing homework too unfortunately, are key to formulating a person’s attitude to work in the future.

Studying habits of friends and fellow students shows how there are always the same groups of attitudes to work, from the annoyingly efficient to the indescribably last minute. In a lot of cases, these mirror attitudes held at school.

For most of our generation, Facebook and MySpace were trends of

the later teens and therefore less compromising to the formulation of our work ethic.

Yet with younger and younger children signing up and getting online profiles, attitudes to work are being developed alongside attitudes to social networking. In some cases, the latter being deemed more important.

“Two thirds of teachers thought that pupils were rushing their homework... in order to spend more time on online social networking websites” Social network membership has implications not only on pupils’ attitudes to education, but is also instrumental in the establishment of

social identities and interaction.

Cyber bullying has been an issue since the invention of the Internet and email, but with the advent of social networks there has evolved an increasing need for pupils (and persons of all ages) to create a ‘perfect’ online identity.

‘De-tagging’ pictures and ‘liking’ certain bands are just two ways in which an individual can control their online footprint.

Now, an individual’s profile is a simulation of their day-to-day existence, one that they can control and adapt according to who they are friends with and how they wish to appear.

Janie Burt, a spokeswoman for JCA, a company providing school trips, stated: “Rather than relying on life experiences, educational travel and face to face interaction with others, children are becoming obsessed with social networking and this is shaping their attitudes instead.”

Staying in and social networking is, for some pupils, becoming the new going out.

Yet, it is our real life interactions that are most important in forming our attitudes and identities socially, and with regards to education.

While obsession may be too strong a word, the infatuation with our online selves needs to be curbed if we are to maintain a high standard of education, both in schools and universities.

Web Exclusive <<<

Make your comments on any issues raised this week and read exclusive stories now. Online at www. thecourieronline.co.uk

THE COURIER Monday November 29 2010

13

Comment

A right Royal way to have a wedding Finola Gibson

Since the announcement of the engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton there has been a torrent of media stories and documentaries hyperactively speculating and discussing the wedding and the nine year romance of the couple.

Will this wedding really be a joining together of our country in celebration, like the Royal weddings and coronations of the past? Or has the engagement highlighted that the Royal Family are now no more important to our country than the average celebrity?

The couple’s engagement is already plastered on the front page of Hello and OK! magazine where the likes of the Kerry Katona wedding(s) and former Big Brother contestants love stories have been shown.

How can the Royal Family represent the Head of State, when they are given the same treatment as the average ‘C- lister?’

The Royals no longer seem to be powerful because of their ancestry, and appear to be nothing more than an important tourist attraction; the

wedding portrayed somewhat as a ‘Coming Soon’ exhibition.

Is the monarchy still only established because of its continued popularity created by the media and funded by the tax payer’s money?

The visit of the Pope in September underlined the fact that Catholicism in Britain is no longer essential to contemporary British lifestyle; so, could the Royals be heading down the same road?

It is easy at first to blame the Royal Family for the attention that surrounds them, because they are gaining from it financially; however, it is indisputable that there is still huge pro-monarchy support in this country.

Students can be cynical that the Royal wedding is anything different from the tacky princess weddings repeated regular on TV, but particularly among the older generations there are many patriotic people who believe a Royal wedding is a special spectacle not to be missed.

Maybe we should consider it from the perspective of William and Kate themselves, who are obliged to have their wedding broadcast to the whole of the country, which is completely out of their control something I suspect they might not be fond of.

Merchandisers clearly have faith in a continued pro–monarchy country,

taking the William and Kate commemorative china plates and cups out of the store room and dusting them off. I like to imagine that old grannies are already making trips to the shops just to purchase one.

The monarchy’s position in the country has been a gradual descent from political power for hundreds of years, but that isn’t to say that their power hasn’t grown in other domains.

The Royal Family are of more use as ambassadors then they ever were when they had more political control in the past.

I am not discussing the genuineness of the couple, or suggesting they are the Royal version of Katie Price and Peter Andre. There is no grounding to the belief that their relationship is anything but real, having been together for so long even under intense media pressure.

It shouldn’t be the public that is disappointed with the monarchy’s more politically passive position, when they still bring in huge revenue through tourism that has helped alot of business in Britain. It is the Royal Family themselves that have the 24-hour media and press attention, a lifestyle many of us wouldn’t want.

However, neither am I saying that we should pity them when it is undeniable that a lot of the money that

will go towards the wedding will have made its way from the taxpayer’s wallet.

But at least we will get to see it courtesy of the BBC and read about all the specific details from the media, down to the number of diamonds on Kate’s wedding dress and the names of the horse that will pull the couple in the golden carriage.

The monarchy shouldn’t be slandered when they raise more money than they cost, and the rich and affluent lifestyle is what makes them appealing to tourists.

Anyway I always like to believe that the Queen secretly does her cashmere cardigan shop at Marks and Spencer like the average pensioner.

It is when the media decided that the Royal Family are no longer of interest that there may be problems for them. The wedding is going to be broadcasted nationwide and will surely be an elegant and sophisticated event.

This will hopefully give a positive image of Britain to the rest of world.

I’d rather (when I start paying taxes) fund somewhere like Buckingham Palace, which can be seen by all, than to the sneaky politicians that have used the taxpayer’s money to buy new landscape gardens, which are for private show only.

Cut budget playing games with P.E. participation J. WHITTAKER

Tarren Smarr

Almost everyone can remember participating in P.E. whilst in school. The teachers wore tracksuits and yelled while you ran around a freezing cold hockey pitch in shorts or a skirt, trying not to get hit by the stick from another student who lacked the co-ordination to wield it.

Yeah, I’m pretty sure horrid memories of P.E. span most Western cultures and backgrounds.

Last week the government announced that they are ending the £162 million funding that is used in cooperation with School Sport Partnerships. The scheme promotes sports and P.E. in schools as well as inter-school competition. While opponents claim the money will be used to fill other holes in education, it has been rumoured that the money will actually be spent on more competitive sports and athletes.

I get it; with London hosting the 2012 Olympic Games, the United Kingdom wants to demonstrate that we rock at competitive sports and have great competitive athletes. But without P.E. and inter-school competitions, how will the UK find their top competitors of the future?

What about the big push for sports participation that has swept the country for the past two to three years? Schools have been able to introduce new sporting and athletic activities such as yoga, cheerleading, and even boxing because they have had funding to do so. P.E. is about giving everyone a chance to try something new and something they are comfortable doing. Why

take that chance away from them?

Among our many horror stories about school P.E., we all actually learned some good lessons. I for one learned that punching a girl in the face because she kicked me during a game is not necessarily the best life decision.

With modern P.E. designed to avoid the ‘last man standing’ scenario during team selection, and picking on the little one in rugby, kids do learn some very valuable skills. Sports and athletic participation of any kind teaches discipline, teamwork, cooperation and among other things encourages physical activity. Any physical activity is better than none at all.

We have all seen the news broad-

casting stories of increased obesity in adolescents. Trust me, taking away generalized P.E. and putting the money toward elite or competitive athletes only is not going to help remedy the situation.

Back in 2003, the government did cut some hours of P.E. Instead, they launched a campaign to promote literacy and numeracy in the student population. Research later suggested that children who do a combination of technical skills mixed in with physical activities and fine arts are the ones who do better on tests.

So after all the hoopla from this prior campaign and the time spent reverting back to incorporating P.E., why would the government want to try this again? Guaranteed, the re-

sults will probably be very similar.

Kids need the chance to express themselves on a playground or through physical activities. These opportunities are provided to them during P.E. Youth and adolescents need to find things they are good at and cutting time or funding is putting them at a disadvantage.

Oh and what about all the people who are employed through schemes that work with P.E. and inter-schools competition? Cuts to the spending budget have already threatened jobs all over the country, and a decrease in spending will also mean fewer jobs in the field of sport and P.E. The North East is known for having great programs and initiatives that are run in schools. Many of our own University students who volunteer with the Sports Centre have worked with inter-schools competition. Though volunteers won’t be hit financially as they are not getting paid, the people who are in charge of the programmes that use our student volunteers will be. Many of them could lose their jobs once schools stop participating in interschool competitions.

The outlook is dim if spending is actually reduced and P.E. cut or even shortened in the curriculum.

Though many of our P.E. predecessors had horror stories from their time of participation, most would also agree that they have had some life-long benefits and lessons that were learned during P.E. Regardless of how we feel about our school days, it is important for kids to have the chance to get out of the classroom, get some fresh air, and do something physically active. Cutting P.E. or reducing participation will only encourage the sedentary lifestyle that the medical community is trying to avoid and potentially setting up a health crisis for the future.

Mind your manners Katy Covell Columnist

Eye contact: one of the most powerful communicative tools that we have at our disposal. But I believe that with this wondrous ability to speak without words, or as Ronan Keating says: “When you say nothing at all”, comes a responsibility to ensure that we don’t cause unnecessary discomfort in others.

Being from London I am all too aware of the seemingly very British, ‘no eye-contact on public transport’ rule. Now, I will confess that as well as learning to studiously avoid the slightly ‘unusual’ commuter’s goggle layering its way across a busy train carriage, I am partial to the occasional, wistful gaze at those rather more attractive in appearance.

But here’s the thing: as soon as they meet my eyes, I can’t help but look away. This is an inbuilt, automatic reaction that I don’t think I could, or would want, to override.

I feel there is something rather disconcerting about being looked at when you haven’t invited, let alone implied, that you might reciprocate such visual contact. However, I’m not only referring here to undesired perving, but also when people feel that it’s OK just to stare at you.

Last week I had the pleasure of being invited to the theatre by a good friend after her Mum had purchased two tickets for her birthday. I was very excited to find myself sitting just two rows from the stage, only to then feel distinctly defensive over our position when I became increasingly aware of the elderly couple to my right, peering disapprovingly at us.

Now both Brenda (her name has been changed for confidentiality and legal reasons) and I had dressed smartly for the occasion, had our mobiles off and were sitting quietly, waiting excitedly for the play to begin. The perfect theatre-goers you might say. Yet no matter how many looks I shot sideways, I continued to feel this ‘OAP-ville’ scrutiny.

Please note that I would never like to be accused of being ageist, though the last sentence may have implied otherwise. But I suppose the point that I’m trying to make is that ageism works both ways and on this occasion, it was I who felt the victim of such prejudice.

As it happens Brenda’s Dad has impaired hearing, and so the family can never sit any further back than row D if he’s going to be able to appreciate the performance, hence why they’re in the habit of getting such great seats. But really, this shouldn’t matter, for if you’re able to pay you’ve just as much right as anyone else to get the best seats.

Yet this, and indeed other elderly couples’ behaviour towards us made me feel as though we were somehow out of order being there.

Perhaps I was too quick to malign this pair and they were simply intrigued that two ‘youngsters’ would be so interested in an Alan Bennett play, but whatever their reasons, their continued attention made me uncomfortable.

It doesn’t matter what your age, colour, background or motives: unappreciated staring is rude.

14

Monday November 29 2010 THE COURIER

Comment

Making money while you study: student self-sufficiency Bethany Sissons

In this economic gloom, are we ever going to be able to succeed in making a million working for someone else? With the graduate job market continuing to look dire, perhaps graduates will have to make their own success rather than depending on someone else to invest in them.

In these tough times students are thinking about going down the selfemployment route, choosing to try out new business ideas instead of competing with the seventy other graduates going for just one job.

The lack of job opportunities seems to be making young people more resourceful and business minded.

In this job market depression, perhaps we should view this positively and concentrate on the fact that students are being forced to make wise business decisions independently. Young people are persuaded to think outside of the box and be original. Rather than depending on other companies, young people are making their own way.

Samantha Kerrison, a third year Business Management student, told The Courier why graduate schemes

have lost their appeal: “Being a third year student and approaching the end of your university career is a daunting but exciting prospect. At this point in time, graduate schemes are not particularly appealing.

Spending five hours on an application to be sent an instantaneous message explaining that you are not an appropriate candidate for the job becomes very disheartening.”

Samantha added: “I have begun to explore the prospect of self-employment after university, putting my entrepreneurial skills to the test.

From running my own business as part of a Business Enterprise module and experience of working with SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise), I feel that I have gained sufficient practical skills to create my own business.

“The University is very lucky to have a supportive Careers Service which can give guidance and advice on business start-ups. They will help as much as they can to make your idea become a reality. I think it is important that more students consider self-employment - there are not enough jobs available so why not create one for yourself?”

With the proposals to raise tuition fees, young people starting their own businesses may be one way to combat being able to earn a wage without entering higher education.

Lord Alan Sugar is just one, and perhaps the most famous, example

Students may need to make it on their own

of a man who left school early and made his own way. Perhaps these business skills are more valuable than paying to study for a degree that won’t guarantee you a job in the end.

Furthermore, students aren’t just waiting until they’ve graduated to start up these exciting and new business plans. Students running businesses alongside their studies seems to have become quite commonplace; we don’t realise that stu-

dents are inventing, organising and selling behind closed doors.

First year Business Management students, Melissa Whipp and Natalie Diver, are students doing just that. Speaking to The Courier Melissa said: “I handed CVs into bars and restaurants to apply for a part-time job whilst studying but I heard nothing back, so me and Natalie decided to start our own company. We’ve set up Elizabeth-Jade Events and we’ll be organising unique social events for people.

“We decided to launch the company for the experience really but it is also partly to raise money whilst we’re at university. We’ve also decided to donate 10 per cent of our profits to Breast Cancer Care - it’s an appropriate charity for the events that we’ll be organising.”

“We want to create unique event experiences for people; instead of big nights out, we want people to be able to socialise in a more personal atmosphere. The events we have planned so far are a pole dancing competition because we’re both in the pole dancing society and we just love it! We also have plans to host a girls’ night and we’re hoping to bring in representatives from companies such as Body Shop and Ann Summers.

“We’ve had a lot of help from Rise Up at the Careers Service. They’ve given us a template for a business plan and told us how to apply for a

grant to get the company started.

“I’m really excited about launching our business; at the moment it’s not a problem to balance it around university work – Natalie and I are extremely organised!”

The internet means that running a business is probably easier than ever.

Everything can be done quickly and with the click of a mouse. Being efficient is one key to success and when balancing business with studying, the web has made this easier.

This idea of being a ‘self-made man’ however has certainly been romanticised. Doing well in business is harder than it may appear.

We hear about the success stories on Dragon’s Den, such as Levi Roots’ Reggae Reggae Sauce, but what happens to those pitches that don’t come to anything? Peter Jones, the dragon who founded the National Enterprise Academy, warns that only one in twenty manages to succeed in running their own profit making business. However, he can only say that coming up with the next invention is “all good stimuli for getting our brains rewired for success in the future.”

Making your own way in the business world is something to be admired. To have the initiative and dynamic ideas to start your own company is difficult, but perhaps it is the only way to make a stamp in a society of graduates all vying for the top jobs.

THE COURIER Monday November 29 22 2010 201

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The student dinner party experience Newcastle-Upon-Dine > Food, page 17

Life

Freeganism: an eco-warrior’s answer to waste

Around 8.3 million tonnes of food are wasted by UK households every year, creating a new eco-phenomenon called Freeganism, as Olivia Mason explores

Political stance: more people are turning to Freeganism to reduce waste. Although Freeganism is illegal, many believe it prevents environmental exploitation November is almost over, your loan is dwindling and you are not sure that the 50 pounds you have left is going to sustain you for the next few weeks.

Well, luckily, food is not going to be a problem thanks to Freeganism.

Across the pond they call it Dumpster Diving; essentially, it’s the notion of living off items recently thrown in bins.

Surely this is for the homeless and extremely impoverished, you cry.

Actually no, hard-core Freegans are appalled at the amount of waste in this country and are making a political stance by proving that living out of bins is a very feasible lifestyle choice.

Freegans deem that buying vegetarian options from somewhere like KFC still supports the corporation.

Dumpster diving is the ultimate political stance. They believe consumerisation promotes poor working conditions, exploits animals, and harms the environment.

Each year, 6.7 million tonnes of food are thrown out. Half is perfectly edible and in a lifetime, it’s estimated that each of us wastes up to £24,000 worth of food. Various protest groups have sprung up trying to put a stop to this by proving that many people can be fed with food from bins. Make Food Not Bombs is

one such organisation which feeds the homeless and makes meals for the community solely out of recycled food.

You just have to loiter around any supermarket at closing time to witness the amount of edible food that is thrown away. In most cases, Health and Safety results in a loss of sense, as well as 6.7 million tonnes of food a year.

If you catch wasted food as soon as it hits the bins, this is just a small step away from buying reduced goods. Living your life this way may not be advisable; we all have reputations to uphold! But if money is tight one week, why not get a free meal and save the planet at the same time? Online, some claim that they even make profit from dumpster diving by finding electronic items that can be sold at garage sales; true cheapskates take note!

As with anything, you can raid bins as little or as much as you want. Some people find dumpster diving addictive; they will not just go around the supermarket bins, but look through household waste, skips and business waste.

People have claimed to have found computers, hoovers, fridges, radios and microwaves. If this sounds appealing, scout around your local area in the early morning - there

are usually certain days each month when people leave old furniture outside their house to be picked up by the council.

People often leave discarded furniture outside their house for the council to collect.

People claim to have found computers, hoovers, fridges and radios in skips People have been known to find good quality items of furniture this way. In our society, people don’t fix things which are easily repaired and they leave things on the street that should be given to charity. A top tip here is having no shame; at the end of the day, you’re the one who gains.

Now you know the facts, how do you put theory into practice? Firstly, you will need a torch of some sort; raiding bins in broad daylight is not advisable. Secondly you may need something to hold up the bin lid; a piece of string, a tall friend, something heavy, anything will do.

I would also advice dressing appro-

priately; rave attire is a bit obvious, short skirts are a big no no, while all black attire may be too much of a burglar look.

I must also warn you that raiding bins is not without risk. Freegans have to deal with guard dogs, tricky bins, barbed wire and bleach thrown on food.

So, what do supermarkets throw out? Bread is a major item, and the majority of times, it is completely edible. Ready meals are good finds as they are usually completely packaged. Be slightly warier of fresh, refrigerated goods such as fruit, vegetables, meat, and dairy.

But use your discretion; if you are quick, the food has sometimes only been out the fridge for half an hour.

Also pick your supermarkets carefully. Some are wary of bin raiding, so they put up plenty of defences. Some are less strict; they will package goods carefully so they do not become contaminated. Experiment, scour around, ask people. Most importantly, use common sense. If somewhere looks very busy or very dodgy, go elsewhere.

The best thing about freeganism is the element of surprise: who knows what goods the humble bin will offer!

The Penny Pincher #7 Baking and more...

Sarah Bennett Columnist

If you think I mean just cakes, then worry not.

Baking is a great and cheap way to make snacks that last the week.

Recipes for cookies and biscuits usually require an equal flour to butter ratio, half that ratio to sugar, and an egg: then the world is your oyster!

If you head down to Grainger Market to the Quality Loose Foods stall, you can buy all sorts of chocolate chips, dried fruit and spices.

Flapjack is also a great cheap snack to make. Porridge oats can be bought cheaply in all major supermarkets and again, you can add things to a plain recipe: chocolate, dried fruit or nuts all make homemade flapjack that little bit better.

However, my favourite biscuit is the gingerbread. I don’t mean to sound big-headed, but I make amazing gingerbread. One year, I made them as cheap Christmas presents for all my friends. I baked them a few gingerbread biscuits and tied them together. It went down really well and hardly cost anything. (I would keep this in mind for this Christmas...)

Baking isn’t confined to biscuits, flapjack or cakes. Another of my favourite things to make at home is pizza. I know Domino’s pizza is very good, but unless you get it on Tuesdays when it’s 2-4-1, then frankly, I’m not interested. Plus my housemates go absolutely mad over my pizza and it doesn’t really cost that much at all.

The dough requires flour and some yeast; then all you need to do is mix about 300g of flour, a packet of yeast, and some warm water. Leave the sticky dough in a warm place (or in my case, on the radiator!) for half an hour to let it get stretchy, then roll onto a baking tray. Pre-cook it slightly before adding all your toppings, then act like a child and give your pizza a face if you so wish.

Oven-based dishes like lasagne, shepherd’s pie and cottage pie are a great student staple too; cheap and easy to make. The best thing about these baked dishes is the fact that leftovers always taste better the next day, after being zapped in the microwave!

So, why not make your mum proud when you go home for Christmas and cook her a traditional student meal, complete with baked snacks for dessert?!

Next week: Cheap Christmas presents... www.facebook.co.uk/pennypincher

16

Lifestyle

Monday November 29 2010 THE COURIER

Health

health

Spidercise: A new approach to fat burning Harriet Webb discovers a new way to stay in shape, that doesn’t involve hours on the treadmill...

An alternative workout: Paul ‘Spider’ Chan developed a workout that would increase your metabolism, and help burn calories for longer, The Courier’s Harriet puts Spidercise to the test to find out if the great claims are true

Everyone wants quick fix to successful and result driven exercise.

When reverting back to the old saying, ‘quality over quantity’ scientific research has proven that it is possible to increase your metabolism and burn calories up to 38 hours after completing a 30 minute metabolic resistance training session.

This concept was further developed by Paul ‘Spider’ Chan enabling him to devise the most effective fat burning, muscle toning program.

So with this Spidercise (which wasn’t yet named) was born. Spidercse was founded five months ago, inspiration initially came from a fictional comic book hero progressing into a work out based on body leverage combining techniques from real life movements of dance, martial arts, yoga and various forms of grappling.

Spidercise combines the six essential major movement components into an original bodyweight program, stimulating muscles, hitting every alignment and thus gaining improvement through movement.

The rules, regarding effective metabolic resistance or cardio with weights, investigate the intensity, power and quality of exercise. Many people are not aware that fitness is dependent on intensity - not on time.

Evidence supporting ‘Spiders’ theory examines a study observing 20 weeks of endurance training vs. 15 weeks of interval training. Results showed aerobic/endurance group burned more total calories during exercise but the interval training group lost an astounding nine times more body fat; showing us the magical consequences of short duration, higher intensity training.

A much more effective, metabolic benefit is induced, with the possibility of burning calories even after 38 hours.

With Spidercise, you can burn calories while you’re sleeping. So, how many kcal can you burn in a session?

Far more than a ten hour So, effectively, you can burn calories while you’re sleeping. Therefore, when asking the pertinent question, how many kcal can you burn in a spidercise session? The spectacular theory of the afterburn is developed, and is the significant key to burning fat.

Disturbing for some may be the knowledge that approximately 10 hours of mind numbing, low intensity pounding on the treadmill burns a measly half a pound of fat.

To add to this the major problem of slow cardio, is the moment you stop exercising, your metabolism returns to normal pretty much immediately, giving no metabolic benefit and therefore no afterburn!

In the UK alone the diet and weight loss industry is worth an astronomical £1 billion a year. As many of you know too much of our disappointment there is no miracle product.

The appeal of an effortless solution invites the desperate dieter, waiting for that next breakthrough cream or pill, playing on emotions and more often than not always ending in failure.

The only permanent solution to health and fitness is a proven effective fitness program combined with good no nonsense nutrition, in turn producing unquestionable results.

I have no problem with admitting I am a fully fledged ‘gymaholic.’ I love the gym; to me there is nothing better than how good you feel after finishing a session. However, after three years of doing the same boring, repetitive routine with minimal results, I leapt at the opportunity to try something new.

The prospect of ditching the treadmill was all too exciting, so with my new knowledge and the incentive of my ‘body inspiration’ Megan Fox firmly planted in my head, I undertook the Spidercise session. I was fully aware that after a swift 45 minute session, I may still be burning calories tomorrow night when I hit Sinners in my beautiful new dress.

Spidercise is definitely what it says on the tin, an intense powerful workout combing cardio with weight. After the quickest 45 minutes of new interesting exercises I was well and truly shattered. The next day I woke up feeling inspired but needless to say a wee bit tender, excitement growing for my next Spidercise session and the gut feeling that I had stumbled across something truly awe inspiring.

Spidercise has developed on ‘Spiders’ ambition to re-educate the mindset, ‘those who want to, can!’

Spider has committed his life to helping individuals like us to get a body we are proud of and to be, “the most coolest, happiest, most confident self” ending years of weight loss frustration and giving us a new improved energy, strength and vigour to go through every day full force.

Spider doesn’t only educate peo-

ple within his exercise classes but also via his blog, a fascinating read and very informative. So far, Spider has helped many people. Ilse Hermkens said: “Spider is an amazing inspiring Trainer who really loves his job and who will change your physical and mental health in a way you never imagined possible.

“With fully customised training sessions to meet your specific needs and objectives, he brings in creative moves/techniques which engage many different muscle groups at the same time…many you didn’t even know existed.

“He definitely brings out the best in me and makes me feel confident and positive, and this positive energy just transfers in my relationships, jobs and values.”

With guaranteed results in as little as three weeks why not take part in Spidercise 21days total body makeover. A tighter, firmer body, with that much desired toned waistline and a revved up metabolism, comes complete with nutrition advice, skin care and colour consultant.

Help support Spidercise conquer its quest for world domination.

For more information visit Spider’s facebook page: http://www.facebook. com/spidercise or his website: www.spidercise.com

THE COURIER Monday November 29 2010

Health

Lifestyle

17

health

Tantastic: is sun-kissed skin a golden rule? Doctor, Doctor:

“I’ve got greasy hair- help!”

Tanned: Some women, such as Rosie (above left), believe that a tan boosts confidence.

Natural: Victoria (centre) believes fair skin shouldn’t be enhanced by tanning products

Katy Lawson uses gradual tanning products to avoid fake-tan mishaps.

The spray tan takes about sixeight hours to develop, so ideally get it done the night before your big party. The developing tan is the coat underneath, and the top coat is an instant tan. This is a pain as it can go EVERYWHERE, and you wake up in the morning looking like an Oompa-Loompa.

But after a shower, you are a beautiful, bronzed, even colour. You can’t help but want to show it off.

Not only does it look great, but it lasts too.

Providing you follow the three golden rules of a spray tan, you can wear it with pride for up to a week: 1) Exfoliate before your visit, until your skin wants to cry. The more dead skin you get off, the better it will look. 2) Do not moisturise the day before. It will not last. 3) Moisturise at every available opportunity post tan.

It also doesn’t pose the health risks of sunbeds, or take as long to develop. One session can leave you sun-kissed, whereas it can take several sessions on a bed to even create a base tan. I admit this is not the cheapest way to bronze up, but I do think that when you have a special occasion, it is better to play it safe and let the professionals do the job.

Surely it’s better to pay a little extra for that streak free finish?

As the winter months draw in, we can all end up looking a bit pasty, but tinted moisturising creams are a great way to get that summer glow.

Cheaper than jetting off to the Mediterranean and safer than sun beds, they come at only a couple of quid a pop.

So if you don’t fancy stripping down to the bare minimum for a spray tan, and want something that lasts a little longer than Rimmel Shimmer, opt for gradual self-tanning moisturisers. Unless you apply the whole bottle in the dark, there’s little danger of turning yourself orange.

Coming with the additional benefit of moisturising the skin, they may not be the best option for a pre night out rush, but are worth taking the time to apply if you’re after an even shine. The best include Johnsons’ Holiday Skin, Dove’s Summer Glow and L’Oreal’s NutriSummer, which range from fair to darker skin, and are often available from Home Bargains and Poundland, beating the price of a spray tan.

When it comes to application, exfoliate the skin to avoid patchy elbows and knees, then apply sparingly and evenly. Leave a little while to dry before dressing, remembering to wash your hands to avoid the orange-palmed effect. Word of warning, however: don’t wear white after applying, as the colour can rub off and is notoriously hard to get off.

Similarly, leave a day between applications, as the colour can build up surprisingly quickly. In order to counteract my pre-winter pastiness, I tried Evian’s Holiday Skin.

At first, the product seemed sticky on the skin, but eventually sunk in,

making the period of near-freezing worth the wait. There was a slight smell emerging, yet this faded with time and was definitely nothing compared to the hardcore whiff of fake bakes and instant fake tans.

After a few hours, the results became noticeable, making my skin look a little less peaky. I was now nearer to pale than pasty. If applied every few days, the effects of tinted moisturisers are well worth standing skimpily clad in the cold for.

Plus, you don’t run the risk of going out with one leg more orange than another. So, if you’re looking for a healthy glow, grab the Johnsons.

You’ll avoid the risk of sun spots and wrinkles, will save money, and your skin will be soft, glowing and naturally sun-kissed.

Investing in a spray tan before special events always pays off, says Rosie Perry.

Before university, I was a complete tanning virgin. Thanks to some of my more orange friends, peer pressure, and a selection of horrifically pasty photos, I have now embraced the tan. My first ever spray tan experience came before my second year English ball.

I am the worst applier of fake tan ever, so I decided to splash out, and hopefully avoid being a patchy mess. It was a relatively cheap experience (£10 at Luxe in Jesmond), and surprisingly un-embarrassing, as the lady is friendly and business-like. I told her I didn’t want to be tangoed, but looking like I’d just arrived back from a three week holiday in the Caribbean (we can all dream).

Victoria Mole believes there is nothing wrong with being pale.

From the moment Coco Chanel glided off a cruise ship in 1923, revealing a bronzed body, Western women have strived for sun-kissed skin. Being of Scandinavian descent, my melanin-deprived genes led me

to resent my pallid complexion. I am capable of burning on a cloudy day, whilst my friends would return from exotic holidays with an enviable glow.

The media is infiltrated with horror stories about sun exposure and the damaging risks taken to achieve this desired look; it never occurred to me that people would try to achieve the opposite. The skin lightening industry in India alone is worth at least £100million.

Most of these skin treatments contain hydroquinone, a cancer-causing chemical. In the same way that Hollywood promotes the tan- Bollywood idealises the fair. It’s undeniable that dark skin is alluring; the Facebook page ‘Life is better with a tan’ has almost 400,000 fans. Nevertheless there must be something special about pale skin if so many aspire to it.

A genuinely natural appearance is not always the most flattering, and cosmetics are sometimes necessary to promote self-confidence.

The purpose of makeup is to conceal imperfections and enhance features. Why should fair skin be viewed as in need of enhancement?

Fakeness is consistently deemed unattractive, whereas confidence is captivating. Not only is fair skin a striking rarity, but it also appears soft, graceful and delicate.

The changing status of fair skin from its associations of rank to the tan representing modern luxury, is evidence that standards of beauty are determined by social factors.

Marilyn Monroe, Anne Hathaway and Christina Hendricks have all embraced their porcelain skin.

Moreover, regular ‘World’s Sexiest Women’ list-topper, the fair Scarlett Johansson, is GQ magazine’s ‘Babe of the Year 2010’. Save your money and appreciate your skin. A tan is not the only way to be beautiful.

Greasy hair really can be a sight for sore eyes! People might start to think that you don’t bathe or that you really just don’t care about your personal hygiene. But actually, your hair might just produce too many natural oils that are really there to keep your hair healthy.

There are a few ways of preventing this greasy menace from spoiling your dapper appearance. The first of which would be to simply wear a hat around campus, and don’t let on to people that you’re secretly hiding one ugly monster under there.

Another greatly used technique is to use dry shampoo, a canister can be picked up from your local boots or supermarket; simply spray it into your hair, look like a granny for a few seconds (as it turns your hair white) and then brush it out.

Instant hair revival. A much more traditional method would be to use talcum-powder in your hair, but it has proven much more difficult to get the evidence to go away.

If you don’t want to splash your student loan on dry shampoo, you could go for the time consuming method of washing your hair every morning. If you have a long fringe which is the only part of your hair that gets greasy, shove your head under the tap and get washing every day. Although some people argue that washing your hair every day makes it greasier; but if you already have greasy hair you don’t really want to just flaunt it.

The important thing is to make sure you use a good shampoo and conditioner. Lemon shampoo leaves your hair feeling refreshed, and greasy hair will soon be a thing of the past.

If all else fails, wap out the clippers and shave it off! The bald look might be in next season for all you know...and then you’d be the ultimate trendsetter. Although this may not be your look, but it could be easier than walking around with your hair stuck to your face.

So it’s best to try these ideas to see which works best for your greasy mop. But if anyone is to blame for this condition, blame your parents...after all, it is your genes that have done this to you.

Ben Parkin

Batiste Dry Shampoo is perfect if you don’t have time to wash your hair

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Monday November 29 2010 THE COURIER

Lifestyle Sex & Relationships

sex & relationships blind date

Dangerous Liaisons

Stuart Ross & Charlotte Hole

#7 Dumped by text

He said: I don’t really recall the time………

I got so trashed I can’t remember any of my blind date. And yes, I know what you’re thinking…….LAD But oh no, Hi Hater!!

I’m kidding, I had a lovely time.

Charlotte looked pretty dazzling and despite her funking up my plans to go ice skating for being inappropriately dressed, I was too much of a time fine gentleman to give up then.

In all honesty the weather was the main plan funker so I can’t blame her. I was sort of preparing for the worst because I had no idea what she would be like but it worked out good, she’s my type of girl.

It was cold and raining, so after a bit of DofE practice walking around the city, we commenced upon our journey, after all, my invitation involved a ‘journey’.

We went for cocktails in some place near the train station – it was kind of quiet in there but we could people watch out the window, which we both seemed to enjoy. I’m a big people watcher. Then we headed to ‘Rodislington Manor’ where we were greeted by my cheery flatmates in our humble abode. You could be thinking….bad idea. And you could have been right, it could have been really really good or really really awful, but surprisingly I’m pretty sure she liked it.

My flatmates and I were hard at work the night before in planning an ‘original’ idea so we cleaned up and decorated my room suitable for fine dining! We even bought some cool decorations and scrumptious food.

The wealth of talent throughout our flat led to a night of fine music, waiting on and guitar playing whilst we ate and got to know each other better. I learnt that she was a really

Pamela Mardle Columnist

nice girl with a huge personality and a yummy look. She also studied history and did hurdles- both interests of mine-so we had a few talking points to keep the conversation, and wine, flowing.

I also liked her accent as she was from Somerset, I found that quite cool. She says ‘boy’ funny.

I learnt a lot about her and would most definitely like to meet up with her again if her 6 hours a week of history allows it!

She said: Basically, I can sum up my blind date in 3 words. Unexpected, entertaining and bizarre. The experience began with finding a note posted under my door on Friday night inviting me to an adventure around the city of Newcastle, ending at Rodislington Manor. It was a bit cryptic and a bit creepy that he found out where I lived, but I appreciated the effort.

On meeting Stu I thought he was pretty good looking, Scottish, a bit tall, but generally alright. We shook hands and he had bought me a white chocolate polar bear as a presentwhich I thought was a nice touch.

Then we headed out to the city and found a bar to have cocktails and learn a little bit about each other.

Turns out he is training to be an Olympic athlete, he’s into gangsta rap and when I asked how he got a scar on his arm he told me he was bitten by a shark whilst scuba diving in Australia... so a pretty exciting guy.

After cocktails he told me I needed my bus pass for dinner. I thought this was a bit cheap, but in the end we did get a taxi back to this mysterious location. Turns out he was taking me back to his flat. When we arrived he told me to wait in the kitchen for 10 minutes for him to “change”. At this point I wanted to turn around and go home, but then I heard a knock at the door and he walked in wearing a kilt. A red tar-

tan kilt. Slightly disturbed, I asked what he was doing and he said “follow me”.

When I walked into the hallway I was greeted by his three flatmates who had taken on the roles of waiter, chef and guitarist. I was then led to his room where a dinner table had been set up with confetti, glitter and what I hoped was fake snow, with a Christmas tree in the background.

No candles – due to accommodation safety regulations, but a pretty good effort none-the-less.

Each course was served to use by his ‘waiter’ Tom, who he constantly referred to as Squire. The food was actually really good, apparently home cooked by chef Bisby who I did get to meet later on in the evening. The meal was going welluntil he sat on my desert.

All-in-all it was an unforgettable evening and Stuart has definitely left a lasting impression in my memory, but I don’t know if I will pursue this further.

madame vs monsieur

Our agony duo Madame & Monsieur on what to do when boys bits are bent Madame et Monsieur, help! My penis is bent. It bends all the way to the left and hurts when I masturbate. This is really annoying and ruins my sex life. I’ve only ever shown it to two people. One said it was okay and the other just laughed at me. This really ruined my confidence in the bedroom.

Monsieur How can I make it straighter, what should I do?

Mate. I’m not sure whether we are the right people to be asking about this problem, maybe you should

Madame

K.VONG

book yourself in on embarrassing bodies, I’m sure Dr Christian would be happy to look at your bendy schlong and help you out.

If it hurts when you masturbate, I suggest that you stop doing this if at all possible.

Visit your gp and ask them for advice, they might say that you just need to stretch a little to the right each day, then again they may say

that you will have to undergo surgery which will more than likely cost a lot of money.

As for the sex life, in the long term the right girl will love your joystick whatever direction it points in.

Honestly try not to worry too much; everybody is different; there will be other guys out there with bent willies and I dare say some girls with some pretty bizarre looking vagi-

nas – your bendy wang is not alone!

Love it!

My darling, why do you want to make it straighter? In my younger years (before monsieur of course), I once dated a guy with a similar ‘problem’. If it wasn’t for the fact his pork sword looked like it had been in too many duels we never would have lasted so long. Oh I do miss being slayed like that.

However, if you do feel you can’t live like this any more see there is surgery available - although is can be costly and painful.

A DIY job could prove effective, but getting the weight balance just right is tricky and could lead to it swinging too far in the other direction instead. That would be ironic now wouldn’t it.

Personally, I think you need to start seeing it as a blessing rather than a curse. It is a common misconception that every hole fits like a glove, but that isn’t strictly too.

Shop around. Try and few on.

There is at least one girl out there you will make very very happy.

One message received. From: Your (now Ex) Boyfriend. “UR DUMPED”.

Heartbreaking. I’m sure many of you can relate to this scenario from at least one point in your life, probably from your pre-teen years when having a boyfriend was more a reason to not speak to that person except for in cyberspace while letting the school know you fancy each other. Hopefully for us supposed adults, most potential suitors have developed a slightly more tactful approach to ending a relationship.

But is the text break-up ever truly necessary? I guess if you really do not want to come into contact with that person ever again, this is sure to keep them at bay for fear of total humiliation or a public break-down in your presence. How about in an amicable split where you feel you are “just friends”? Well, for one, at least explain that in the text, please. It may seem patronising but at least an attempt to explain the all-out cruelty of your actions has been made. Surely, though, friendship is about respect and thought for each other.

Being chucked is humiliating enough in itself, without the knowledge that as a result the image of you blubbering into your teddy bear is permanently etched into your loved ones’ memory.

Being able to mourn in private seems somewhat more civilised.

Maybe a phone conversation is called for to spare embarrassment and bad feelings in these circumstances: a compromise between the all-out cold-hearted text and the soul destroying experience of keeping your composure when you’re dying a little inside.

Silence on the other end of the phone if you’re the perpetrator is probably the best you can hope for in a situation; otherwise a slanging match and floods of hiccuppy tears is likely to ensue which can be difficult to manage through loud speaker. Try not to laugh -one can only assume that a person who employs this method of dumping is likely to burst into a fit of giggles as a result of an adolescent lack of control, but it will only make things worse (and possibly cause an asthma attack from stifling the sniggers).

If it really has come down to ending things via your Blackberry, surely the other person must have noticed something was up.

Apparently not. Love, it seems, really can be blind. It appears that the only decent thing to do is offer an explanation (through the medium of vocal conversation, not Messenger) in order to act like a rightful adult. Let’s leave the anticraze of the text break-up where it belongs: in the playground.

THE COURIER Monday November 29 2010

Food

19

Lifestyle

food & drink

Newcastle-Upon-Dine: bring on the competition

Lifestyle challenges Rosie Perry, Niki Holgate-Smith, Ania Kurek and Sarah Brown to create a four course feast

The dishes Niki:

Course 1 - Puff Pastry Tartlets I made three little puff pastry tartlets; goat’s cheese and red onions, pesto, mozzarella and cherry tomatoes, and tomato, ham and cheese.

Overall they were straight forward to make; just a shame the mozzarella tarts didn’t rise!

Rosie:

Course 2 - Beef Koftas, Garlic and Chilli Pitta Crips and Fresh Green Salad Unfortunately, I’m a notoriously average chef, so I decided to try something out of a student cookbook.

Making the dish wasn’t hard, but my issues came with timings. My koftas were overdone, and I served up way too much food.

Sarah:

Course 3 - Thai Red Squash Curry This was very easy to make.The best part of this dish is only one pot to wash up! Just boil the butternut squash and baby corn in coconut milk and Thai red curry paste, then add mangetout later, plus a few other bits of bobs (I included chicken as an extra).

The hardest part: try not to burn the naan bread you serve it up with!

Ania:

Course 4 - Trio of Desserts I did three deserts: chocolate brownies, strawberry cheesecake and pink Cava.

The brownies were burnt on top, but gooey inside. My cheesecake was a combination of digestive biscuits and butter, topped with Philadelphia, strawberries and sugar.

Rosie

Ania

Sarah

These light canapés were a great starter.

They were really tasty, and I am fully pro anything involving green pesto. Niki remembered that I am not a fan of goat’s cheese, and she kindly brought me another type of cheese!

Although I did enjoy them, I was not expecting ‘cherry tomato, pesto and mozzarella BISCUITS. The goat’s cheese and red onion tarts were too rich.

The whole ‘plate composition’ was also very plain. In Come Dine With Me, aesthetics matter!

I loved how light these were.

They were a perfect starter. I did feel that the plate was quite bare and she could have done something extra to go with them. Maybe a salad? Also, the mozzarella tarts were very flat.

Niki

Sarah

Ania

This was interesting, but the sheer amount of food was offputting.

The crisps were nice, but more party snack than starter. It was nice to have some salad though. Had this been the only starter, it might have gone down better.

The kebabs were dry.

I think some sauce would’ve been nice.

But I was impressed by the way it looked on the plate.

It was nice to have something different. The pitta crisps were done perfectly, but there were too many.

A harsh score, but they were burnt.

There needed to be a Mediterranean sauce with them.

This would’ve combatted the dry meat, and been something to eat the pitta with.

There was A LOT of food, and it was a struggle to get it all down!

Ania

Rosie

Niki

This tasted delicious, but there was too much of it. I would have liked the vegetables to be cut into smaller chunks. Personally, I would have appreciated more naan; then, when I went for more, I wouldn’t seem like a fatty.

I haven’t had a curry for ages, so I was over the moon to find out this was our main.

I was pleasantly surprised that this was incredibly tasty, but not too hot. The chicken was a lovely addition, as too much sweet potato can put me off a little.

This was my favourite.

It was so tasty, and I loved all the different parts to it.

The two little bits of naan bread on the side of the plate were not too much (and if you wanted more then there was extra given on a side plate).

Sarah

Niki

Rosie

I enjoyed the variety. The brownies were very soft inside... nom!

The Cava went down well, and finished off the evening perfectly. I am always a sucker for puddings, so this course was always likely to go down well!

Unfortunately, I was way too full to appreciate this course.

The different desserts were well made, and the middle of the brownie was amazing; it’s not easy to get it that gooey. The Cava was a great way to end - I was impressed with that!

The thought of three desserts after three courses made me want to vom. The cheesecake was too heavy and creamy, but I did enjoy the brownie (maybe not the burnt ‘tinge’ Kurek!) I have to say, the Cava was my favourite course.

The final scores winner

21/30 15/30

20/30 19/30

20

Lifestyle

Monday November 29 2010 THE COURIER

Travel

travel

A warm welcome to Morocco Georgie Denny explores the beautiful North African country during the Islamic celebration of Ramadan

Ten Minute Travel

Peter Warcup visits Northumberland’s famous market town; Morpeth

Djeema el Fna: Marrakech’s famous square, a magical space bustling with snake charmers, street perfomers, henna tattooists and food stalls specialising in local cuisine

Our first destination was Marrakech. The guide book had waxed lyrical about Marrakech’s famous square, the Djemaa el Fna, but nothing could have prepared us for our first encounter with it. We approached at nightfall; from about a mile away we could see the trails of smoke rising into the sky, hear the snake charmers’ hypnotic tunes and smell the mix of exotic spices filling the air. It was nothing like I had ever seen before; the Djemaa el Fna is a magical space, filled with snake charmers, story tellers, henna tattooists, street performers and some of the best fresh food stalls the city has to offer.

Morocco assaults your senses as soon as you arrive, and for me, no pocket of the country does this as much as the Djemaa el Fna. If, like us, you arrive at night, head straight for the Medina (old town), find one of the cheap guest houses situated on the streets surrounding the square, dump your bags and explore; it’s lively until the early hours, particularly during Ramadan, so don’t waste any time! Try Hotel Medina on Sidi Bouloukat.

It’s clean, cheap and has hot(ish) showers. It has a lovely roof terrace which serves breakfast and for only 60dh (£4) you can sleep on the roof!

However if you do decide you need a bed, double rooms are 120dh (£8) a night.

After three nights in Marrakech we headed west to the coastal town of

Essaouira to meet our uni friends.

The beautiful town has a Mediterranean feel to it and the famous breeze (great for windsurfers!), that is present all year round, was a welcome break from the oppressive August temperatures. There are lots of cheap guesthouses amongst the medina, but keep your eyes open for the best deals; the four of us managed to rent a three storey apartment with a roof terrace for just 100dh (£7) a

The spectacular medieval city of Fez appears to be suspended somewhere between the Middle Ages and the modern world night each.

The old town is a maze of winding streets, perfect for mooching around and a bit of shopping! There’s some great jewellery, good quality leather bags and amazing throws and carpets, but whatever you’re buying make sure you haggle! The Moroccans are mostly welcoming and friendly to tourists but they are more than ready to rip you off so keep your bargaining hat on to get a fair price.

If you’ve had enough of haggling, head to the beach to sunbathe and

a swim….or a camel ride! There are lots of all-day treks available, but be warned that camels are not the most comfortable animals to ride in the heat. We decided that an hour on the beach at sunset would be enough, and our honed haggling skills allowed us this for only 20dh (£1.50) each!

Sad to leave lovely Essaouira and our friends, we headed up the coast and inland, via sweaty bus and train journeys, to Fez. This spectacular medieval city seems to be suspended somewhere between the Middle Ages and the modern world. Head to Fes el Bali, the Medina, and explore its intricate web of lanes, blind alleys and souks.

Hotel Cascade is a good choice; situated just next to the entrance to the Medina, it attracts a young, international crowd, offering basic rooms with shared showers for 100dh (£7) a night. Fez is drenched in culture so start exploring the labyrinth-like souks, a personal favourite was Souk el Attarin (souk of the spice vendors).

Don’t miss the breathtaking Medera Bou Inania one of Fez’s only religious buildings still in use that non-Muslims are permitted to enter.

Don’t worry too much about getting lost in Fez…it’s inevitable. Just let yourself get drawn in and enjoy the intense, vibrant feel the city has to offer.

We hadn’t realised when we booked our trip that we would be

there during the month-long festival of Ramadan, and through my over enthusiasm with the guide book, we were a little apprehensive. I had visions of walking through empty streets with nowhere to buy a bottle of water during the day. The reality was very different; the larger cities were still as busy as they would be any other month of the year.

As the trip went on I started to quite enjoy Ramadan. As the sun set each evening an exciting carnivalesque atmosphere filled the streets as everyone stops to eat and socialise. We were touched by the generosity of the Moroccans when, on a long train journey, two young men insisted we shared their figs and bread as they broke their fast.

Towards the end of the trip we decided it would be a good idea to try Ramadan for 24 hours. By asking around we discovered the best technique was to stay up through the night eating and drinking with the locals, go to bed at sunrise and try to sleep through the worst of the 45 degree heat of the day. Easier said than done…waking at about 2pm it was a struggle not to reach straight for the water bottle, but we managed to abstain. Come sundown we were very hungry, very irritable, and completely in awe of the Muslim peoples’ tolerance and determination in the name of religion.

Morocco is a fascinating and beautiful country; I would go back in a heartbeat!

So Morpeth might not be just down the road, but for a mere £4 the 20 minute train journey is definitely worth it. Morpeth is an historic market town situated in the heart of Northumberland’s spectacular countryside. Whilst the town may be relatively small, its shops, restaurants and attractions are testament to its centrality in the culture and history of the surrounding area.

In Morpeth town-centre, try visiting the 13th century Chantry, which is host to a museum and art gallery, after which you can go river boating in Carlisle Park. If you get tired of the town-centre, Morpeth is the ideal location from which to explore the surrounding countryside, although admittedly a car helps. There are countless highlights, whether it is the dramatic Northumbrian coastline or the magnificent Wallington Hall, you will not be disappointed. Definitely worth visiting is the splendid Cragside House, once home to the north-east industrialist Lord Armstrong.

Anyone with an unhealthy desire to splurge cash will be delighted by the designer brands and household knick-knacks which Rutherford’s department store has to offer. Alternatively there is the town’s 800 year old Wednesday market and a farmer’s market the first Saturday of every month. If you happen to miss either of these, then try the brand new and rather chic Sanderson Arcade, which boasts 27 shops selling everything from Crew Clothing, to confectionary perfection from local chocolatiers Oxley’s of Morpeth.

With its quaint cafes and fine-dining, a visit to the town remains incomplete without a meal. Recently opened by local restaurateur Kevin Liu is Múlan, home to some of the finest Chinese food in the region.

Another highly recommended gastronomic treat is The Black Door Bar and Dining Room, run by North-East Chef of the Year, David Kennedy. If it’s a beverage you want, then check out one of the numerous old stable inns, before heading to Vinyl and then Suburban. All in all, this is a town and region which you should make an effort to visit during your time in Newcastle.

Morpeth:the attractions here are central to the culture and history of the town

THE COURIER Monday November 29 2010

21

Stylish decades of the 20th century > Page 20 and 21

Suited and booted: find your perfect style Nataly Birbeck and Eliza Hunt profile one of the city’s rising stars in the fashion world; they are Nakal suits

N CROWDER

Nakal suits: bright, bold and will catch your attention. Alex Taylor and Josh Green have found their niche in the menswear market

Nakal Clothing is a fresh and innovative brand pioneered by our very own Newcastle student, Alex Taylor, along with his business partner, Josh Green.

The company produces outrageously designed suits ranging from the Union Jack, to racy zebra prints, to striking bright blue; the choices are limitless.

Back in 2009, the budding entrepreneurs’ paths crossed whilst surfing in Indonesia. Coincidentally, the pair shared an interest in business and decided they wanted to develop something unique that they could bring home so they had something to show for their travels. The energetic, hedonistic atmosphere of Bali offered opportunity and prospects for the pair.

Originally, Alex and Josh encountered some minor difficulties. They bought and then attempted to sell two hundred and fifty pairs of brightly coloured boxers, but managed to sell a mere four pairs…and they still wear the leftovers now.

After this initial set-back they persevered as they were confident that they wanted something bright that “sold itself”. With some further research they discovered a new niche: customized suits. Bound for Malaysia, they boarded a plane in a pair of luminous green suits, naturally getting heads turning. They quickly realised they were onto something after an Indonesian man described them as very “nakal”- Indonesian for cheeky - and so the brand was born.

Alex and Josh had discovered a real gem. Cheap to make, cool and inventive, they took their first collection back to England and began selling them out of the boot of their cars at their old schools.

The suits were an immediate hit; within a day they had sold out and the boys were inundated with orders. By June 2009 they had set up a website and began to target a wider market, advertising through Facebook and Google and the orders just kept on coming. What started out as a bit of fun proved surprisingly successful.

The suits are individually made to measure and are incredibly popular.

They appeal to the young and stylish: students, professionals, bands, teams, entertainers and more. They now sell between twenty and thirty suits a month for between £65 and £100 and operate using a very personal service. Alex and Josh take the orders and communicate directly with their tailors back in Bali, with whom they have built up a successful and efficient working relationship.

However, it hasn’t always been a smooth ride. Last year the pair paid £3000 for a stand at the National Wedding Show and only took £50 worth of orders…a bit of a shock but something which has, in hindsight, proved a useful learning curve. Alex said that “there have been times where I’ve been fed up and thinking that it’s failed, but then orders come in and we persevere with something we believe can be successful.”

For the future, Nakal is aiming to develop a range of suit accessories, thereby

entering into a more competitive market.

Alex and Josh are planning on applying to the next series of Dragon’s Den, confident they will be able to impress the dragons. The company has also become part of Alex’s degree; six people are now working for them to develop marketing and promotions.

On the 2nd December, Nakal is planning on holding a night in Perdu to showcase the designs. They are also intending to host a charity student fashion show which will use exciting and imaginative clothing companies to raise money for charity.

In Alex’s words, “Nakal produces crazy and outrageous clothes; catering for peoples’ wild side”. For Alex and Josh, Nakal is not just a business, more a representative of their upbeat and lively outlook on life. Nakal, with all its spots and stripes, definitely has a very colourful and vibrant future.

To purchase your own designed suit visit www.nakalclothing.com or show your support by ‘liking’ Nakal suits on Facebook.

N CROWDER

Unsure about what dress shape suits you? Sylvie Hall has all the answers The classic pear is the most common body shape for women in Britain. Pears tend to have slender necks and a small top half, with a more generous bottom half and full thighs.

The A-line cut of a Trapeze dress is the most flattering because it draws attention to your defined waist and flares out over your hips and thighs.

Celebrity pears include Beyonce, Kristin Davis (Charlotte from Sex And The City) and Shakira.

If you are apple shaped, carrying your weight around your middle and being top heavy, you should define your waist and balance your body with a 1950s full skirt/dress style as seen by Louis Vuitton this season.

Create the illusion of a slim waist with an empire line belt, a very flattering trick for apples.

Celebrity apples include Jennifer Hudson, Liz Hurley and Catherine Zeta Jones.

CATWALKING.COM

Wrap dresses: well-suited to hourglasses

Hourglass figures can fill out a Body Con dress and do it justice. However, those hourglass girls that want to avoid hoards of lecherous men should avoid this style. Considered the ‘perfect body’, hourglass girls want to accentuate their curves, not hide them and should avoid shift or trapeze styles. Instead, wrap dresses can achieve the perfect balance for your figure.

Celebrity hourglasses include Salma Hayek, Kim Kardashian and Scarlett Johansson.

The maxi dress was the fashion staple of the summer and is continuing its legacy over the winter months. It flatters all figures, but consider maxis with an empire line as the draping nature of the dress can sometimes create the illusion of 10 non-existent pounds!

The maxi dress is a firm favourite of Nicole Richie, Miley Cyrus and Jessica Szohr.

Athletic or boy-shaped figures can create the illusion of curves with an asymmetric dress. The detailing draws the

CATWALKING.COM

eye from one shoulder down to the opposite hip and is extremely flattering. In fact, the asymmetric dress is perfect for all body shapes and has been seen on all sorts of celebrities, from Girls Aloud to Katherine Heigl and Lauren Conrad.

This festive season embellishment is in but it doesn’t always suit certain dress cuts. If you are going for detailing, stick to a simple shift shape to ensure that there isn’t overkill. The same rules apply for any texturing, as velvet and other luxurious fabrics can be seen all over the high street and catwalk this season.

If you are on a budget, choosing the ideal cut for your body shape will not only flatter, but will show your ability to style your shape, rather than focusing on the key trends.

If you are unsure about which dress shape you suit, it is often trial and error we’ve all spent hours in Topshop fitting rooms!

As long as you keep your dress simple and accessorise, there is no need to spend a fortune. Just follow these tips and any of us can look red-carpet ready this Christmas.

CATWALKING.COM

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Monday November 29 2010 THE COURIER

Fashion Style decades

A century of fashion

Clare Slipper examines fashion’s passion for imitation and reinvention of 20th century trends It is without doubt that a recurring motif of the noughties is seeking inspiration from past eras. The 20s liberated fashion with the flappers, the 60s swung with the hippies, the 70s channelled disco-chic and the 80s wore everything tight, bright, and shiny. Fashion is constructed socially and culturally. It is as changeable as the weather, and decadeupon-decade since the Renaissance it has brought with it an aesthetic emblem from that time. But can we lay claim to a visual vocabulary that has defined our era, or are we really the ‘attention deficit generation’ who replicate the trends of yore? Or, perhaps, we are a generation of innovators and instead of tending to fashion hangovers from previous eras we revamp, reinvigorate, and reintroduce these once-loved styles onto the catwalk and the high street.

It goes without saying that the past decade has introduced certain trends which will go down in history with a ‘noughties’ motif. Ugg boots, Crocs, trucker hats and all-day gym wear have dominated the streets in recent years (a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it).

Other fashion cultures have come into their own, meaning that this generation may be known for having a multiplicity of subcultures with a dedicated fashion following, as opposed to the rather homogenising style of past decades which pinpointed people as ‘hippies’, ‘mods’, ‘rockers, or ‘teddy boys’, just to name a few.

However, most ironically of all, probably one of the most definitive looks of the noughties has been vintage styling.

Never before have fashions of the past made such an impression on the present; vintage has an omnipresence on the catwalk and in high street stores that is not particularly tied to a certain decade, yet is aesthetically distinctive as being inspired by the designs of yore. It has been argued that recession chic fashion is all about staying within the safety net of what has been successful before. Are we just sticking with what we know to protect ourselves?

Certainly, the catwalks in recent years have been suggesting that sticking with old trends has become something of a new phase. Marc Jacobs’ 2008 collection saw an 80s neon revival with his collection of Stam handbags in blinding yellow, pink and green; a startling visual that contrasted the classic brown Stam.

On a similar theme, Armani’s A/W 2009 show was all about shine, shine and more shine: tight, shiny trousers, leather berets and gloves, sharp shoulders and red lips. Miuccia Prada, as the brains behind the Prada and Miu Miu fashion houses, took inspiration from the 60s in the A/W 2010 collections with a selection of beautiful shift dresses, long coats and turtlenecks, adding bows and bold details to add a powerful yet timelessly feminine twist to staple pieces from this era. And truly embracing the past in all of its glory, Dolce and Gabanna in their A/W 2009 ready-to-wear collection took inspiration from almost every decade.

From 1920s on-the-knee tailored pencil skirts, 1950s full skirts and Marilyn Monroe prints, right through to 1970s sparkle and mirror decorations and beautifully robust ruffled shoulders from the 1980s, this collection showcased the best of the 20th century. And of course, who could ignore the sudden re-birth of the loyal, trustworthy legging? Before they hit the jackpot in late 2007 they were simply a throwback to something our mothers may have chosen to wear when they

were nursing us out of nappies.

It could be suggested that the biggest tragedy of ‘copycating’ is that the symbolic meaning these trends held in the past is slightly diminished. Where a floaty 60s skirt or an 80s padded shoulder marked a change in social order in the past, they are now commodified and have moved into the mainstream, taking away any of the revolutionised ‘counterculture’ they symbolised in previous decades. This said, many recycled works from the past have been a little bit flash-in-the-pan (wet look leggings, Winter 2009, anybody?). Perhaps this is down to the fact that we have grown up in a decade which has seen an explosion in technological developments. The dissemination of gossip is hot off the press, information travels fast, and trends that are in one moment go flying out the window the next. Living in such a climate of change, perhaps we can conclude that the only recurring motif of the decade is the fact that nothing really stays fixed for

a long time.

Personal expression is endemic – people can pick and choose from whichever era they relate to the most. All trends have a life cycle; they are born, admired on the catwalk, disseminated to the public, filtered down to the high street, overexposed, and eventually burn out.

Surely if we re-work these ‘dead’ trends it is not copying, but rather rejuvenating lost causes? Further to this, figureheads within the fashion powerhouses have been disseminating timeless trends for decades. It is without doubt that this is less a case of self-plagiary, and more a genuine appreciation for classic, defining trends which can be as cutting-edge now as they were then. Perhaps if this guidance is combined with fresh, pioneering visions from new graduates then we have the perfect balance. Of course we learn from our mistakes, but time has proven it is also savvy to stick with what you know. This, afterall, defines the essence of style.

Styling: Milly Simon and Katie Lauren Henry Photography: Briony Carlin Clothing: model’s and stylist’s own

THE COURIER Monday November 29 2010

23

Style decades Fashion

Over to you: the ultimate decade of style Katy Lawson indulges in twenties fashion Masculine silhouettes, short hemlines, dark lipstick and cigarette holders: the roaring 20s were a great period for fashion experimentation and liberation. For the first time, women had the freedom to play with fashion, breaking away from the stuffy clothing of the Edwardian period and embracing all things

modern. Out went the corsets and crinolines, and in came loose-fitting shapes, nude tights and androgyny and the era of the flapper.

The flapper was a kind of woman who wasn’t afraid to experiment with fashion and cosmetics, cutting her hair short, wearing powder and lipstick, and creating a new definition of ‘feminine’.

Up went the hemlines and out went the dresses; women’s waists disappeared and their busts decreased, their newfound freedom being defined by the way they dressed. Clothes became lighter and less restrictive, moving

away from the heavy cottons and wools of the war and turning to playful, wispy silks and chiffons that swayed with the music as dancing culture had changed dramatically with dances such as the Charleston being à la mode.

As shown in the beautiful designs of Coco Avant Chanel, Gabrielle (‘Coco’) Chanel became a major influence on the period, designing comfortable, yet effortlessly chic clothing that women could actually breathe in. Her colours ranged from neutrals to navy and black, creating the original LBD and changing the course of fashion history.

Victoria Mole takes a look at the fab forties

Briony Carlin considers the sixties effect

Cinched-in waists, pencil skirts and square shoulders; the 1940s saw fashion fall prey to practicality amidst the ‘make-do and mend’ propaganda of World War II. Despite the severity of the situation, fashion was a source of morale; lipsticks sold out within an hour of pharmacies receiving new stock and Max Factor officials visited munitions workers, handing out powder-like ‘pancake makeup’, encouraged as a protective barrier from the chemicals. For safety women, would wear their hair in a knotted turban, although when not operating machinery they would make a statement with long, curling tresses à la actress Veronica Lake.

As stockings were scarce, women would use makeup on their legs and fashion their own seams with eyebrow pencil. For additional flair, scarves were tied into bows and hats were adorned by floral fascinators; women proved that they were able to look strong and stylish armed with sleek utility handbags and strikingly tailored attire. In order not to be wasteful, dress-makers would use any fabric available, including parachute silk and wedding dresses were shared by friends and relatives.

Due to Paris being heavily affected by the war, there was a vacancy for another fashion capital to emerge: New York.

Moreover it was the decade in which the term ‘pin-up’ was coined, following Betty Grable’s iconic poster photo, often sighted in soldiers’ lockers. This revolution was led by Christian Dior, whose ‘New Look’, featuring flowing skirts and hourglass silhouettes, took the fashion world by storm in 1947 with his first haute couture catwalk.

A lot happened in the 60s from the moon landing to the arrival of Beatlemania. So much changed that it was only a matter of time before fashion created its own innovations. Although the first half of the decade was largely dominated by the good behaviour of the 50s – the Chanel suit, the full skirt, the matching sweater set – things got very modern very quickly.

The Warhol-induced obsession with popular culture in the 60s had an immeasurable influence on fashion. There was the fad for black polo-neck sweaterdresses à la Beatles, Brigitte Bardot’s beehive and Twiggy’s boyish crops and lashings of black Edie Sedgewick eyeliner. Either side of the pond, things were moving fast: America held Woodstock and rebelled in an outburst of free love and flowing fabrics, whereas in the UK, Mary Quant led the way by popularising the controversial mini skirt. The mini skirt, an audacious interpretation of the 1950s sack dress, inspired women everywhere to dare to bare, and legs, arms and midriffs were liberated from their woollen prisons. For men, the suit was perpetually a staple, although lapels and trousers became skinnier and sharper.

Conversely, flares became popular for casualwear, a precedent of the bell-bottoms of the seventies.

Synthetic fabrics were also responsible for pioneering trends in the sixties: elastic and plastic were being mass-produced and found their way into just about everything. Tights, rather than stockings, helped women wear the raised hemline with confidence, and the development of lycra led to many stretchy and skintight creations. Colour and pattern were not left out of this exciting revolution.

Whether it was Carnaby Street’s bold monochrome or Biba and Ossie Clark’s psychadelic, acidly trippy swirls and patterns, the 60s were experimental, influential and, like a magic eye, slightly headache-inducing.

Olivia Mason rediscovers 80s influences

High-waisted jeans, jumpsuits, big hair, shoulder pads, outrageous patterns, gymwear; a list of 80s fashion or Topshop’s new range? You do not need to look very far these days to see what the 80s have done for fashion. I agree watching Terminator and Back to the Future conjures some fashion nightmares, but perms aside there are lots of fashion dos, and to be quite honest those perms make me green with envy. The highwaisted jean and crop top combo are everywhere, epitomising the 80s along with the jumpsuit , which is making an equally huge come back. Lurking in the back of my mum’s wardrobe are some shoulder pads ready to take your eyes out; great for dress up but put them in the ‘never again’ pile. Maybe shove some of the ghastly prints in that bundle too.

Of course some pieces will always keep cropping up; we can attribute acid wash jeans, leg warmers and jelly shoes to the 80s. If gym wear is your thing watch Fame for no shortage of 80s fashion tips.

For a fashion icon the adventurous of you should steal some of Madonna’s ideas; a more demure look is definitely headed by Princess Diana with suits and shoulder pads aplenty.

24

THE COURIER Monday November 29 2010

Listings

25

Listings

what’s happening on your campus?

Women for Women International present Pray the Devil Back to Hell

monday

tuesday

Listings Editor : Ciara Littler - courier.listings@ncl.ac.uk

wednesday

thursday

friday

Armstrong Building , Lecture Theatre 1.49, November 30, 18:15 The documentary film is directed

by Gini Reticker and records a peace movement called 'Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace', which works to end a brutal civil war which has torn Liberia apart. The film highlights the strength and perseverance of the women of Liberia and is an uplifting, and, most of all, motivating,testimony of how grassroots activism can alter the history of nations.

Since 1993, Women for Women International have empowered over 243,000 women who have endured and survived war to move towards economic self-sufficiency. The Women for Women International Society want to give you a chance to see the kind of

Your City:

women we support and how they are able to revolutionise their lives, and move a step closer to transforming their country’s future.

The committee will be on hand to answer any of your questions, as well as providing snacks and treats! Also , we have tote bags, T-shirts (designed and produced by Harpers Baazar) and brilliant books for sale.

If you have any questions please email us at nwfwinternational@ncl. ac.uk. It is a fantastic film so it would be brilliant to see your faces and please bring friends, housemates, anyone you like. www.praythedevilbacktohell.com

Pick of the Week

Cardio-Active - A different view of treating the heart. Moving from digitalis to digital Centre For Life, Times Square, From November 27, From £7.25 NUS

Cardio-Active explores the form and structure of the human heart and changes that occur when normal function ceases by innovative and creative layering of the complex imagery of natural structures evident in both human and plant form. Traditional artists’ techniques in pen, pencil, pastel, paint and print are combined, enhanced and explored through experimentation in digital scanning and electron microscope photography.

Whilst you’re there get in the festive spirit and check out the Ice Rink: prices start at £6.95 for students and it’s well worth the price for a great day out as the snow continues to fall. Details of skating times and further information about the Centre for Life can be found on the website: http://www.life.org. uk/life-science-centre.

Christmas Market

Monument, All this week, ends Sat If you need a push to get into the festive spirit, or if you’re well on your way there already, brace the winter conditions and head down to the Christmas Market this week. From paella to ponchos, beer to bread, this market services all your needs. Make your way round the stalls and be tempted by everything from warm jumpers to tasty treats. Don’t miss out on this Newcastle tradition; this is its last week and there are plenty of things to try out before the end of it.

Do you want your event advertised in The Courier?

Hitch Society

Information Meeting

Lecture Theatre E, Medical School, 19:00 Come along to hear about the adventure of a lifetime that will give you one of the most memorable Easter holidays of your life.

Any questions or if you can’t make it, email: hitch@ncl.ac.uk

Insights Public Lecture

The extinction crisis: is there any hope?

Curtis Auditorium, Herschel Building, 17:30 -18:30, FREE

A Night Of Poetry @ Tyneside Cinema

Book Club: The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest

Tyneside Cinema, December 5, 13:00 Book Club will be looking at how the latest instalment of the must-read Millennium Trilogy translates to the big screen.

This Book Club event will be presented

by Rosie White from Northumbria University.

Book Club is an informal post-film chat for anyone. If you would like to attend just come along, buy a ticket and sign up as a free Book Club member on the day.

2. Shopping Make and Mend Market Star and Shadow Cinema, Ousburn, December 5, From 12:00, FREE

Newcastle’s biggest arts, crafts, vintage & second hand market holds it’s Christmas Special!

This is the place to get those unique gifts for your friends & loved ones. Free entry as always and the cafe will serve mulled wine amongst other hot & cold drinks. And for a festive extra, there will be a clothes swap from 2-3pm (women’s clothes only). Bring clean clothes, shoes & accessories in good condition for the swap.

For more info, see Facebook group Make and Mend Market or contact Krista at MAKEANDMENDMARKET@googlemail.com.

Zumba Dance Class

17:00, FREE, Meet at Park Terrace, booking essential Come and join in the fitness craze that’s sweeping the nation. For your hour’s free class, just email Emily at giag.union@ncl. ac.uk for your limited space. Don’t miss out!

STAR Stocking Filler

A Night of Acoustic Music Heaton Perk, Heaton Park Road, 19:00-22:00, £2

STAR presents Stocking Filler a cosy night of acoustic music from local bands that you can enjoy with a nice cup of tea and a tasty cake. All you need to do is bring a present!

This year we’re supporting WERS (West End Refugee Service) and their festive tradition of giving a parcel of presents to the refugees and asylum seekers that WERS helps support, helping provide a treat and practical bits and bobs to those with very little. We’re collecting chocolates, sweets, toiletries, woolly hats, scarves, gloves, umbrellas and small presents.

Have a look around for little things you could do without, any unwanted Christmas pressies of years gone by that someone else might appreciate, buy something small and nice, or even get knitting!

Insights Public Lecture

Contemporary Portugal: from Empire to Europe

Curtis Auditorium, Herschel Building, 17:30 -18:30, FREE Professor Antonio Costa Pinto, University of Lisbon.

The ‘age of the masses’ was inaugurated in Portugal without the upheavals affecting democratic regime-change elsewhere in interwar Europe. On the eve of the twentieth century, Portugal, its political frontiers unchanged since the late middle ages, was the ‘ideal’ state envisioned by liberal nationalists. Culturally homogenous, it had no national, ethno-cultural, religious or ethno-linguistic minorities, nor had it territorial claims in Europe. Yet Portugal’s imperial and colonial past is vital to understanding the country’s history.

For more details please see: www.ncl.ac.uk/ events/public-lectures

NSR Present...

Shift Static, Bibelots & Waiting For Winter

The Cumberland Arms, Ouseburn, Doors 19:00, £2 Newcastle Student Radio takes over The Cumberland Arms with another discerning selection of emerging talent. See three distinctive acts: openers Shift-Static, are Newcastle University students with a talent for technical wizardry, delicate layering of vocal loops and wavering guitars, lending an ethereal quality to their beautifully manipulated experimental pop; second act Bibelots, feature former Newcastle student and NSR member Gareth Evans, now co-producer of Geoff Lloyd’s Hometime Show on Absolute Radio. They journey up from London for their first ever Newcastle show to delight the ears with their incredibly catchy dirty blues/ Electro / Indie. Headliners Waiting for Winter can be found at www. myspace.com/waitingforwinter and promise to end off this great night with a bang.

So come down and join the NSR crew at The Cumberland for what promises to be a riveting spectacle and a great night for all.

St. Luke’s Hall, Claremont Street, NE2 4AH December 2-4, Doors 19:00 - Performance 19:30 , Tickets on sale outside the library Mon - Wed this week & on the door, £6.

In Coraline’s family’s new flat are twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. Thirteen of the doors open and close.

The fourteenth is locked, and on the other side is only a brick wall, until the day Coraline unlocks the door to find a passage to another flat in another house just like her own. Only it’s different.

At first, things seem marvellous in the other flat. The food is better, the neighbours infinitely more interesting, even

the garden is spectacular. But there’s another mother, and another father, and they want Coraline to stay with them and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.

Other children are trapped there as well, lost souls behind the mirrors.

Coraline is their only hope of rescue.

She will have to fight with all her wits and all the tools she can find if she is to save the lost children, her ordinary life, and herself.

This Listings spread is for you. Simon Stuart, International Union for ConserA place for students and socie- vation of Nature ties to advertise any events that As the rate of species’ extinctions occurring in world continues to rise, Simon Stuart they are organising. From team today’s discusses whether the world’s governments trials, recruitment drives, fund- are doing enough to prevent a crisis from beraising and charity nights, to coming a catastrophe. live music and art shows - we The Blue Bunny Cafe, 11 St Mary’s want you to know what is going Place, 20:00-22:30, FREE on around your university campus - and more importantly we Come along for a chilled out, mid-week, folkwant you to be able to let others tastic night at the Blue Bunny Cafe. Ed Burgon BioSci Trip to Poetry Readings will be singing some of his own home-brewed know about it too!

Presented by NUTS material, supported by the fantastic Chris Rick- Edinburgh X-mas To get details of your event Tyneside Cinema, 19:30 -21:30 Hyena Comedy Club, 21:00 etts, fresh from a tour of Poland. published in these pages, all Don’t miss the first event held by A Night of Entry is free and the drinks are cheap. It is not Market you have to do is email the date, Poetry @... Please come join us in the Tyneside Join NUTS as they present their annual Christ- ticketed and the venue only holds 50 people so Saturday 4, Leaving from the Union bar (level 3) for what promises to be mas knees up. Hosts Katy Covell and Sam Jef- come early to avoid disappointment. time and location of your event Cinema’s a great night of poetry and fun. The night also ferson bring you an evening of laughter in the at 08:30, £10 with a short description of what marks the launch of Newcastle University’s form of NUTS members re-enacting musical Hopefully you’ve picked up your ticket for it is and who it is for to: courier. creative writing magazine Alliterati. You don’t legends. This promises to be a night full of outto be reading at this event to pop along, rageous performances and full-on indulgence. this great trip to Edinburgh. For those of you listings@ncl.ac.uk, or stop into have it’s well worth seeing what poetic talent there Join the crowd, buy a drink and sit back and let with tickets it’s time to get in a festive mood, The Courier office at Park Ter- is coming out of the University. the entertainment commence. see the city and enjoy some tasty food and drink. race.

Our top events happening in Newcastle this week 1. Books

Give It A Go!

NUTS present Coraline

3. Performance Actions Returning in a Circle BALTIC, December 2, 18:00, FREE, Booking Essential

Hermann Pitz’s photographic techniques were developed before distortion via digital processes became a possibility.

Pitz is currently Guest Professor at the School of Arts and Cultures, Newcastle University and is exploring his artistic practice through the parabolic mirror, which is housed in the Herschel Building. The performance will be a physical presentation of his photographic work.

To reserve a place call 0191 478 1810 or email events@balticmill.com

Stars in Their Eyes

4. Stage

5. Panto

The Wind in the Willows

Robin Hood

Northern Stage, November 29January 8, 10:00/14:00/19:00, £5.50-£19.50/ Student £9 The Wind in the Willows is a classic English tale of friendship, fun and adventure.

In a funny and touching adaptation by the brilliant Alan Bennett. We discover the delights of the riverside, the motorcar and the open road, as well as the perils of the Wild Wood and the very real danger of weasels... Join Ratty, Mole, Badger and Toad for a Christmas to remember.

Check out www. northernstage.co.uk for more info and to book your tickets now.

Ed Burgon + Chris Ricketts @ The Blue Bunny Cafe

Theatre Royal, November 30January 15, 13:00/14:00/19:00 £10-£27 Each year the Theatre Royal pantomime gets bigger and better and this year’s unmissable extravaganza is set to be the only panto you’ll want to see this Christmas.

Panto wouldn’t be panto without Clive & Danny and this year they have lots of surprises in store. Brand new, amazing 3D technology returns - so put on your magic glasses and prepare to be amazed.

Last year over 80,000 saw Cinderella, so don’t miss your chance to see the biggest panto in the North East!

weekend

Butter Bridge Records Present...

Merry Xmas

Saturday 4, 19:30, The Mixer (upstairs @ the Legion Club Jesmond) 3 West Jesmond Avenue, £5/4

Hitch Society Social

Starting in Madisons and finishing in Digital, 19:30 This social is open to all so bring friends, flatmates and anyone else who wants a fun night with the Hitch crew. There will be wristbands, which will give you cheap drink offers all night, as well as plenty drinking games along the way!

Any questions email: hitch@ncl.ac.uk or join the Facebook, ‘Newcastle Hitch Society’.

Check out this night featuring some great acts: Holy Mammoth; previously Newcastle-based Seamonster and before that Catweasels, and exciting indie noise Behemoth; Our Imaginary Friends, intelligent indie-pop romantics, like Belle and Sebastian on acid; TheRunningChelsea, aka Tom Hollingworth, Newcastle-based singer-songwriter and all round renaissance man; Skylark Song, acoustic folk duo, on fiddles and guitars, traditional and orignal, like Richard and Linda Thompson pulled out of the Tyne.

CDs available.

You’d be mad to miss it!

Visithttp://www.butterbridgerecords.com/ For more information

Coming Up in NUTS... Spring Awakening Newcastle College, December 8-10, £7 This year’s long awaited musical is coming up soon. Spring Awakening shows us a world where grown-ups hold all the cards, but a group of school friends experience the exhilarating, turbulent journey into adulthood...

Look out for tickets selling outside the library and get in early so not to miss out. More details next week.

The revolution is here. thecourieronline.co.uk - Keep up with The Courier wherever you are - Enjoy exclusive online features - Comment on your favourite articles - Take part in online polls - Tell our writers what YOU really think

28

Monday November 29 2010 THE COURIER

Life & Style

Luke Hearfield looks at the TV shows making the leap into the movies > Film, page 27

photography

Introducing the modern face of beauty Z.NELSON

Juliet Armstrong on the photography exhibition that explores the global obsession with beauty Beauty is often claimed to be in the eye of the beholder and so what attracts one person can simply repel another.

As such, the question of what constitutes beauty is the thematic focus for the photographic exhibition at the Side Gallery, called Love Me by Zed Nelson.

Love Me explores the beauty industry through the eyes of a world that has become somewhat obsessed with beauty and obtaining the perfect image.

With increasing pressure on both sexes to look perfect in everyway, there is a clear lack of tolerance for different appearances. Nelson explores the possibility that beauty exists across a wide demographic, contrasting with the stereotypical Westernised vision of beauty.

The opening of the exhibition marks the final stage of the creative process. After spending five years travelling around the world, Nelson has produced a stimulating array of thought provoking images documenting beauty.

The photographs depict cosmetic surgeons, anorexics, bodybuilders, soldiers and businessmen as some examples. It is clear therefore that what constitutes beauty is not limited to the traditional Miss Congeniality concept.

Nelson addresses a crucial issue by portraying both the positive and negative facets of beauty. Peoples’ lives are drastically affected by the constant desire to be beautiful, so inevitably there are victims from this $160 billion industry, which Nelson explores in his work.

The beauty industry seems impossible to avoid in our daily lives, whether it be from the choice of shampoo we use to the perfume and aftershave we long to have in our Christmas stocking.

These decisions no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, all contribute towards the beauty industry. Therefore, there is a resonating idea in the exhibition that we are all somehow victims of this industry, manipulated into believing we need the latest products to enhance our looks.

Beauty really is not as free and uninhibited of prejudice as what an ideal society would like to believe.

The majority of beauty magazines convey images of blonde haired and rather bony models, offering a sharp contrast to the shape and image of your average person.

Nelson uses his photography exhibition to highlight the increasing contempt for this representation of beauty because it appears restrictive, excluding the masses from believing they are beautiful.

Nelson has created an inspirational exhibition as he highlights that beauty should not be judged or defined as a definite form.

It is the variety of appearance that should be praised and documented, thus resisting the industry belief that beauty simply belongs to models on the front cover of the magazines.

This exhibition promises to be an emotive experience, raising significant issues that need to be confronted by our increasingly image conscious world.

Mirror mirror on the wall: Zed Nelson’s Love Me shows how the global obsession with body improvement has turned into a religion

news

Billy Elliot playwright supports student riots The violent clashes that occurred during the recent student protest against increasing tuition fees have been likened to the poll tax riots of 1990 and praised by an award winning playwright.

Lee Hall, author of BAFTA and Oscar nominated play-turned-film Billy Elliot has said of the rise in fees: “What the government is doing is condemning generations of people to a second class education system; it’s a tragedy and a farce.”

Hall came from a working class family in Newcastle with his father a painter decorator and his mother

a housewife. He attended a comprehensive school and then went on to study English at Cambridge University before heading back to Newcastle to work as a fundraiser during the time of the poll tax protests.

The Millbank riots have been deemed the largest protest for thirteen years, with ten hurt, 50 arrested, smashed windows, the Tory headquarters being occupied and further arrests as the most violent demonstrators are being identified.

The 1990s riots were mass disturbances across England and Scotland after Margaret Thatcher imposed

the poll tax, a tax whereby everyone paid the same amount on their house despite their income, thus the rich would pay the same amount as the less wealthy.

The public outcry, especially from the working-class resulted in violent protests with the most famous being in London on March 31, nicknamed “The Battle of Trafalgar”.

Hall said “I hope this is the start of something like the poll tax. It showed that direct action is worthwhile.”

Whilst this may be true, it begs the question of whether violent action

is the way forward, surely there are more tactful ways that the educated youth can put pressure on the government?

Violent protests make students seem like yobs, and demonstrating no longer looks like a form of expression or passion but an excuse for an angry few to aim their frustrations at something.

Hall used his past experiences to create a work of art with Billy Elliot, surely this is a better way of expressing ones frustrations?

Whilst Hall strongly believes that the Millbank riots were justified in

that they allowed students to show their anger about the increase in fees, surely his hard work and determination that earned him a place at Cambridge and a successful career as a playwright is testament to rationality, determination and hard work.

Rioting is a shortcut, although it puts pressure on those in power it does not display rationality, makes it harder for students to be taken seriously.

Anna Ward

THE COURIER Monday November 29 2010

29

Arts Culture

Arts Editor: Stephanie Ferrao - courier.culture-arts@ncl.ac.uk

art

stage

The sound of silence A rainy Saturday afternoon in November. It‘s grey, cold and generally much too unpleasant outside, but nevertheless the streets are filled with people, noisy and stressed.

If you want to add a sophisticated edge to your quiet time, you might choose a museum or gallery. And if you want to visit an exhibition that actually deals with silence, the Globe Gallery is the right place for you.

Turning up the quiet is a new exhibition by the artists James Quin and Bernadette O’Toole. All of O‘Toole‘s works are untitled, drawing the attention fully to the paintings.

They‘re an arrangement of white, black and grey planes floating into each other while following an invisible symmetrical order which makes them look like dark corn fields; reminiscent of fifteenth century Flemish portraiture.

The paintings, all on round backgrounds, can have a both calming and disturbing effect on the viewer, emphasising the different facets of silence. The murky, almost obscure and lonely side of tranquility, is also the theme of Quin‘s pieces. Solitariness and voicelessness dominate his paintings; the people are small, even without mouths, and often only the back of their heads are visible.

A TV showing a distorted, muddy image, an animal, glowing in the dark - everything in Quin‘s works seems to be a bit mysterious, paranoid, alone, but most of all: very quiet.

Both artists are graduates from Newcastle University, and hold Masters Degrees in Fine Art. They live and work in Liverpool and recently took part in the Liverpool Biennale with their new pieces; James

Review: Measure for Measure

Silence is golden: Turning up the quiet at the Globe Gallery, the new exhibition that aims to show how images can speak for themselves

Quin was also awarded the People‘s Choice Award in the Liverpool Art Prize 2010.

The Globe Gallery in North Shields

hosts Turning up the quiet as its final exhibition before moving to another venue.

Turning up the quiet is on at the Globe Gallery until December 18 Lisa Bernhardt

art

Putting the spotlight on the Quayside Limelight; Saturday Night is a live public art installation and video work by a pair of artists working under the name of Sans façon.

The artists are a Glasgow-based duo made up of French architect Charles Blanc and British artist Tristan Surtees, and have created a quirky alternative to city street lighting by replacing existing street lights with theatre spotlights, giving passers-by their chance to bask in the limelight and temporarily transform the street into a stage.

The pair tried this out on Newcastle’s Quayside, filmed the results, and will be screening it at the Side

Cinema to demonstrate how urban art can be viewed as a performance.

A presentation by the artists will then follow - the first event in the UK in which the artists discuss and reflect on the making of the work.

The evening will be topped off with a discussion; chaired by Richard Hollinshead from North East public art consultancy Grit & Pearl, on the changing nature of public art commissions – a fitting end to an evening that is set to explore the varying faces of contemporary art.

Limelight is part of a larger commission to mark the launch of ARTISPHERE, a new cultural centre in

Arlington, Virginia.

The following 12 months will see the work visit a further five locations around the world including Gaborone (Botswana), Berlin (Germany) and Calgary (Canada) to produce an hour long film for each city and in turn constructing a frame through which we can view both the similarities and differences across cities and cultures.

Sans façon began as an investigation between Blanc and Surtees, and has developed into an ongoing collaboration through an art practice undertaking diverse projects, both temporary and permanent, that ex-

plore the complex relationship between people and place.

Their projects are thought-provoking and diverse, ranging from covering the legs of a 1940s Madrid concrete water tank in mirrors, in the Depósito Elevado, to creating a sonic map of Cardiff in Odd Sympathies.

Limelight will be screened at the Side Cinema at 6.30pm Thursday December 2. Tickets are £4 and can be purchased at: www.northernarchitecture.com.

Lucy O’Neill

Newcastle University Theatre Company performed Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure at St Luke's Church Hall last week.

The play is one of Shakespeare’s less performed productions. Set in Vienna in the 1600s, the play questions issues of religion, morality and justice. Duke Vinciento hands over his control of Vienna to Lord Angelo, whilst cunningly disguising himself as a friar to observe the city's on-goings.

Claudio is arrested under new laws and his virtuous sister Isabella, a nun, pleads to Angelo for mercy.

Angelo agrees in return for a sexual favour. Isabella has to face an important and life-changing decision: to sin or to save her brother's life.

The NUTS production was the debut of a number of first years students whose performances levelled with the standards of their more experienced co-stars.

In particular, Richard Spier who played the Duke, shone with an outstanding performance that proved comical, enjoyable to watch whilst staying true to his character, with a unique energetic flare.

Although some would argue that Shakespeare is outdated and perhaps not so relevant for a younger modern audience, after this performance few would still agree. Only a small number of people would have been unable to enjoy and laugh at the brilliantly witty scenes created by the farcical Pompey, played by Tom Ackworth, who captured the hearts of the audience by being a foolish yet lovable rogue.

Flora Turnbull, who played Isabella, added a serious and emotive tone to the play, which she did with ease and elegance. The moral light of her character meant that Shakespeare’s message could be portrayed clearly to the audience.

Isabella was essential for many of the intense scenes in the play and in combination with Angelo (George Alldridge), they created an artfully uncomfortable scene when the supposedly moral Angelo attempted to force himself upon Isabella.

Although some of the cast stumbled over their words, this could easily be due to opening night nerves or the long, complex Shakespearean speeches. The costumes and sets were minimalist but had an authenticity to them and allowed for continual action with swift movement between scenes.

The directors Samuel Jefferson and Harry Haynes, along with the cast successfully, made a lesser-known Shakespeare play accessible and humorous for the audience, proving a prior knowledge of the story was not necessary, all the while keeping essential traditions that are key for the Shakespearean experience.

Sally Priddle

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Monday November 29 2010 THE COURIER

Culture Film

film film five

film of the week

The American Director: Anton Corbijn Cast: George Clooney, Paolo Bonacelli, Violante Placido Runtime: 105 mins

George Clooney’s recent career choices have earned him a great deal of respect from intelligent cinemagoing audiences. Bar the limp conclusion to the Oceans trilogy, each of his films since 2005’s Good Night, and Good Luck (a film for which he was paid a total of $3, a dollar each for starring, writing and directing) have been personal projects that challenge the audience or Clooney himself. The American arrives in cinemas with a lot of expectation to live up to.

In this post-Bourne world, all action thrillers face increased scrutiny from audiences and unfavourable comparison to the Matt Damon trilogy is always forthcoming. Some, such as this year’s Salt, proved a satisfactory addition to the genre while others, like the nonsensical Bond sequel Quantum of Solace, simply pale in comparison. However, The American deserves to be compared to films of years gone by rather than its modern day counterparts. The

film constantly evokes memories of classics from the 50s and 60s with Hitchcockian influences in everything from the poster to the cinematography and pace of the film. The audience is thrown in at the deep end at the start as Jack (Clooney) is forced to flee to Italy after being tracked down by a group of Swedish assassins. A confidante instructs him to avoid the cities and head to a small town in the mountains. Director Anton Corbijn, best known for his Ian Curtis biopic Control, constructs a decidedly austere atmosphere throughout; vast swathes of the film come and go with little dialogue and Corbijn leaves the motives of each character up in the air for the audience to decipher. Herbert Grönemeyer’s wonderfully assembled score becomes the star at times, perfectly in keeping with the luscious Italian landscapes.

Now in the Abruzzo Mountains, Jack becomes even more of a lost soul. Despite its European sensibilities, the main character continually craves his homeland; there are long fetishistic scenes as he builds a firearm for a new mystery associate and he frequents local coffee shops, ordering an Americano every time.

Comparisons can be drawn between Clooney, now an ageing star himself, and Jack, a man with his best

Movie cameos

We No Speak Americano: Clooney’s character takes solace in a small Italian town

days behind him. But both prove they’ve still got it; an obligatory car chase shows Clooney can still handle the action while Jack’s precision construction of the gun proves his ability. The supporting cast has been well assembled by Dutch-born Corbijn. He uses a wholly European group of actors from Italy, Sweden, Finland Belgium and his native Netherlands, each of whom are virtually unknown outside their respective countries. Violante Placido gives the real standout performance in her role as Jack’s prostitute-turned love interest Clara. At times the film is guilty of overplaying the same trick, a butterfly theme throughout

the film is a little overdone and the ending, while in keeping with the rest of the film, could be seen as a tad underwhelming. However, with such a strong lead performance and classy cinematography it’s easy to overlook these minor faults.

Verdict: Clooney’s star power will help bring a slight European film to the masses while Anton Corbijn proves he’s not a one trick pony by producing a beautiful follow up to his debut effort. A relatively unknown cast is used to great effect and helps create a well rounded thriller film.

Typecast or outcast? repeated roles. The Planet Hollywood trio of Willis, Stallone and Schwarzenegger, despite having pursued the odd self- referential comedy, are widely known as the one liner spouting, phallic gun waving icons of action cinema. Their limited talent is the complete antithesis to their success, with typecasting facilitating their stardom and in Schwarzenegger’s case, the political authority of a California governorship. Similarly, Samuel Jackson’s foray into more dramatic roles has never extinguished his clichéd type in Pulp Fiction as the quick talking badass mofo, which he continues to play with clearly enjoyable relish.

For every success story typecasting can also banish performers to the B-list, repeating the same role in straight to DVD bargain bin fodder.

From the cheeky cockney mannerisms of Danny Dyer, to the wooden heroics of Steven Seagal, actors cans become so intertwined with their stock role, they can’t get hired for anything else.

However in some cases, studios take risks casting already established performers ‘against type’ for comedic or dramatic effect. Casting a commercial comedic actor in a serious dramatic role, can provoke critical attention due to the audience‘s preconceptions of the actor being drastically reversed. From comic Robin Williams’s terrifying

4) David Hasslehoff, Spongbob Squarepants: The Movie The feature-length movie based on the popular kids TV cartoon features one of the most bizarre cameos to date. Stranded on an island Spongebob and Patrick are saved by live action Hasslehoff reliving his Baywatch fame with a slo-mo run in red shorts. While Hasslehoff propels himself through the water like a motorboat, a climatic action scene takes place between the cartoons on his body. Surreal, selfaware and undoubtedly hilarious.

3) Bill Murray, Zombieland In the recent zombie comedy the survivors are seeking shelter in a Beverly Hills mansion where a zombified Bill Murray approaches the group. It turns out Murray is dressed as a zombie and that he acts like one; he can wander the streets safely. In an incredibly drawn out cameo, Ghostbusters is referenced, a prank ends in comedic violence, and Murray hilariously mocks his own career lows. The film’s comedic high-point.

comment

In the early years of cinema, performer’s names were not circulated to general audiences, remaining anonymous to the viewing public.

All this changed in 1909, when the explicit advertising of actor’s names in promotions allowed film performers’ identities to circulate in a broader public culture, marking the birth of film stardom. In the modern film industry, the predicted success of a film is determined by its casting, with performers establishing their fame through certain cinematic genres, styles and dramatic roles.

For working actors and actresses, typecasting is both a positive and negative curse. Critics and audiences tend to castigate those who play similar roles, indicating that the performer lacks talent and originality in their career choices. Most performers try to avoid typecasting but some who embrace it, have hugely successful careers, while others too closely associated with their certain type find it difficult to be cast in different roles. The common preconception with typecasting is the contrast between film stars and film actors. Film actors succeed via their talent while an un-talented typecast star can become successful by the force of their personality.

A pertinent example are the action films of the 1980s, which produced a variety of cultural icons who have since built their careers on the same

5) Keith Richards, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Johnny Depp once admitted in a BBC interview that he took inspiration for the character Jack Sparrow from the nuances of legendary Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards.

To return the affectionate tribute, the ageing rocker appeared in the third instalment of the series, playing Sparrow’s wonderfully seedy father Captain Jack Teague. Disney banned Richards from the films publicity because of circulating rumours of him snorting his father’s ashes.

Star of Superbad and Scott Pilgrim, Michael Cera is often typecast as a geeky teenager

portrayal of a psychotic voyeur in One Hour Photo, to Jim Carrey’s transition from rubbery slapstick to a tragic everyman in The Truman Show, casting against type in a suitable project, can produce genuinely unique performances. Contrastingly, when high-profile film stars take on outlandish roles the result can be commercial and critical meltdown.

Hollywood icon John Wayne, who was famous for his all-American cowboy persona, took on the role of Mongolian warrior Genghis Khan in the 1956 epic The Conqueror. Dissuaded from taking the role by producers, Wayne wished to play the role ‘as a cowboy would’ and the film was a commercial and critical ridicule, mainly because of Wayne’s ridiculous casting clashing with his strongly established screen persona. Casting against type is the worst kind of hubris and as demonstrated

by Wayne’s shame, escaping type is not as easy as donning a historical costume and fake moustache. In the commercial Hollywood system,

typecasting is to a large degree inescapable. The business of film acting and especially the star system relies on marketability, recognisable faces and mass–production, that delivers audiences familiar plots, genres and characters. Ideally all actors and actresses want to remain working and embodying a type, is a possible path to financial success and stardom. With Superbad and Scott Pilgrim star Micheal Cera typed as the awkward bumbling teen and Jack Black as his usual zany self in the forthcoming Gullliver’s Travels, typecasting evidently still continues. Suffering in typecast purgatory may pay the bills but it cannot be an artistically satisfying way to spend a career. The genuine acclaim will always remain with the versatile performers who immerse themselves in roles, striving to push the boundaries of cinematic acting.

Chris Binding

2) Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Expendables Stallone’s throwback to the 80s action film showcased Arnold’s first cinematic appearance since 2004.

The short scene between Willis, Stallone and the aging Governator, shot in one day, crackles with charisma with one liners exchanged as quickly as bullets. Arnold’s majestic entrance is matched by his powerful screen presence and a fitting comedic throwaway gag to his presidential aspirations, humorously echoes his current political power.

1) Alfred Hitchcock, various The British filmmaker made cameos an art form, appearing personally in every one of his films. As an auteur he loved to hide himself in the mise–en scene with many ‘blink and you’ll miss them’ appearances.

Appearing as a dog walker in The Birds, a cowboy in Pyscho and as a variety of other individuals blended within extras, his style of cameos cemented his auteurship and was continued by director Quentin Tarantino.

Chris Binding

THE COURIER Monday Novermber 29 2010

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Film Culture Film Editor: Adam Williams - courier.culture-film@ncl.ac.uk

feature

From small screen to big screen Luke Hearfield on the television hits that have made the tough transition onto the big screen There’s no denying that movies based around classic television series are an equation to box office success. This summer’s The A-Team managed to rake in an impressive $176 million worldwide, despite the fact it hasn’t appeared on television screens since 1987. But the implications of the new wave of TV related blockbusters is that Hollywood is running out of ideas and they’ve turned to previous formulas to bring in the money. Audiences love the familiar and it appears we love nothing more than a good story retold with a different interpretation.

From The Dukes of Hazard to Scooby Doo, film producers seize the opportunity to take a familiar story, throw some special effects wizards in for good measure, revamp the script and they’ve got themselves a recipe for a profitable movie. But this does not always result in cinematic gold. Where producers get it wrong is when they don’t stay loyal to the original source, losing sight of the foundations which made the original as good as it was. Just look at the new versions of Charlie’s Angels.

Both were successes at the cinemas but were overloaded with too many modern film techniques, like the 360 degree camera angle from The Matrix and too many blatant innuendo jokes, stealing focus from the warmth of the matriarchal charac-

This summer’s The ATeam managed to rake in an impressive $176 million worldwide

that we have already witnessed.

At the end of the movie we know Starsky and Hutch will become friends, and we know that Fred and Wilma will end up together, yet we’re satisfied with the familiarity and the predictability that we will find the extra ten pounds in our wallets to go view it again. But it’s not just television where producers are getting their sources from; everything from comics to children’s toys have had the Hollywood makeover. Who’d have thought that a line of Hasbro toys would have the support of Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay, to make two films

about robotic automobiles and have the end result be two massive summer blockbusters.

At the end of the day, there is no harm in attempting to make something old more fresh and relevant.

This could be an indication of the development of where modern cinema is heading. British sitcoms in the 70s were often adapted to the big screen and that trend seems to be starting again with The Inbetweeners movie currently filming and an Alan Partridge film also in development. If books, graphic novels and Disneyland rides can be made into films, then why can’t TV shows?

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Hidden behind his shades

Aisya Hisham discusses the artistic successes of cult Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai Hidden behind his shades – even at night – it’s hard to think that such a man could be taken seriously.

Except he is not just anyone: the first Chinese to win Best Director at Cannes and one of the most innovative of his time, Wong Kar-Wai defies everything and anything ordinary. Along with other filmmakers, Wong’s directorial debut of As Tears Go By in 1988 generated the second new-wave of Hong Kong filmmakers. His rise to prominence however, came later with a series of successful films that included Days of Being Wild, Chungking Express and his sublime masterpiece, In the Mood for Love. “I hate love stories,” Wong says, “they sell prettiness. I don’t do that. There’s more to life than love.”

Not the case as it seems. With his unique and visually stunning style, his films often explore the subject of sex and love. However, his narrative vignettes can be difficult to fully grasp at times, even with their simple plots. Johnathan Rosenbaum once labelled his film as ‘random experimentation’. Even so, there’s no doubting his flair for

art-house bittersweet romance. His films are like colour-palettes and his characters move around in it in isolation and loneliness in search for comfort and harmony. Happy Together encapsulates this sophistication in all its emotional intensity between two gay lovers. It’s his most linear and straightforward film he admitted. Set on location in Buenos Aires, it’s no surprise then that this film won him Best Director although its theatrical run was restricted worldwide given the subject matter and the raunchy sex scene in the opening. The Shanghai born director experienced much of the identity turbulence similar to that of his characters having moved to Hong Kong as a child and having lived through the handover of Hong Kong from the British to China. The former practically inspired In the Mood for Love.

The film, set in 60s Hong-Kong around two jilted lovers, garnered two awards in the 2000 Cannes – Best Actor for Tony Leung and the Technical Prize. Wong deserved every bit of that recognition especially given his reputed working

Get Carter returns home

Jack Torrance looks forward to a special screening, celebrating the Tyneside classic

ters that the original series depicted.

When you get it right you end up with something that satisfies both old and new audiences like the 2009 reboot of Star Trek; a brilliant bal-

ance of new innovative film styles whilst paying homage to the original source.

In film making, we have come to a point where the term ‘old is the new ‘new’ has really come into effect.

Audiences that have grown up with familiar shows enjoy the nostalgia of seeing their favourite characters like Kirk and Spock once again tackle familiar sci-fi related storylines.

Relishing in the experience of what they used to enjoy back from their youth but representing a more modern day outlook. But the sad part is that the pool of creative ideas is drying up. Popular shows have large fan groups and familiar names sell tickets. We are constantly subjected to ‘pre sold awareness’ which basically translates to audiences becoming so simple that we can happily be amused by a rehashing of something

news

methods. Well known for his impromptu changes and improvisation, writing for Wong is never so much a developing process as being behind the camera. “The script actually develops with the characters” he said in an interview with Time Magazine, “If you want to make a film with an actor or actress, there must be something that attracts you. I’m trying to exploit it, the quality that they might not even be aware of themselves.” That was Norah Jones’ exact sentiment when she got a call from Wong to star in his first English feature, My Blueberry Nights. In fact, Jones had never heard of him until then.

However, most would agree that working with Wong is a challenge.

A difficult man to please, Wong is meticulous about his work. “A shot is like love, it’s about timing; a certain moment in the right place, in the right light, in the right movement, this shot will become memorable” he explained and for most of it, it means gruelling months or even years of filming. During the shooting of In the Mood for Love lead actress Maggie Cheung recalled to

the Guardian feelings of frustration. “Every day we’d be shooting, but at the same time we were not shooting because we all knew Karwai was just watching us, without a real story in his mind.” What was expected to take three months lasted three years. Despite his exhaustingly long hours, Wong’s charm has attracted successive collaborations.

Since his second feature, Christopher Doyle, director of Paranoid Park, has been his cinematographer for every feature but two. Then there are his regular muses including Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung and Leslie Cheung.

This maestro however, who’s been compared to Jean Luc Godard, doesn’t apply the same principles to his work. Wong believes in creating something different each time which prompted him to experiment with the popular gangster genre in Ashes of Time and his less than commendable American love story in My Blueberry Nights. While we adore his cinematic innovations, Wong perhaps should remain true to his romantic genre of unlucky lovers.

Film fans will this week have a unique opportunity to see what is probably the most prominent cinematic portrayal of Tyneside at one of the locations where it was originally filmed.

A special screening of Get Carter, the gritty 70s crime thriller starring Michael Caine, will be shown this Thursday at Newcastle Racecourse, a venue which featured in the film. The event is part of a series of screenings called See Film Differently, promoted by Volkswagen, giving moviegoers a greater insight into their favourite films. As well as the screening itself, attendees can look forward to an exhibition of stills from the film accompanied by information about the locations and archived media coverage from the time of the film’s release. Set almost entirely in 1970s Tyneside, Get Carter tells the story of London gangster Jack Carter, played by Michael Caine, who returns to Newcastle, his home town, to investigate the death of his brother.

This investigation leads him into a shady underworld of violence, gambling and vice, and when he finds out the truth he exacts brutal revenge against those responsible.

Although it caused outrage among the British press at the time of its release, it’s not difficult to see why the film was named greatest British film of all time by Total Film magazine in 2004. The bleak setting, jazzy soundtrack and memorable dialogue are particularly impressive when compared to the recent crop of cheesy, trigger-happy, mockney gangster films by Guy Ritchie and co. Alongside other British classics such as The Italian Job and Alfie, Get Carter is certainly one of Caine’s career highlights.

His ruthless, almost inhuman character is shown to have few redeeming qualities, but demonstrates just enough emotion to warrant some empathy from the audience. Whilst the harsh bleakness of the setting stands in direct contrast to the fun and trendy Newcastle of today, the film features a number of recognisable landmarks that can be seen around the city, such as the Quayside, Neville Street and the bridges over the Tyne.

The Gateshead Trinity Centre car park also features, although this can no longer be seen across the river because it was unfortunately demolished last month. Whether you are lucky enough to have secured tickets for Thursday’s screening or not, Get Carter is a must-see. Not only is it a genre-defining, powerful and gripping masterpiece of film, it is also a slice of local cultural history and an opportunity to see familiar everyday locations on screen.

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Monday November 22 2010 THE COURIER

Culture Film

film in cinemas The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest Director: Daniel Alfredson Cast: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre Runtime: 147 mins Another film franchise based on a series of highly successful novels comes to an end. The young protagonist is not a boy wizard, but a mildly autistic young woman with a penchant for computer hacking and tattoos. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest concludes the trilogy that is based on the multi-million selling books written by the late Stieg Larsson. Originally adapted for the screen as a short mini-series on Swedish television, it has now reached a global audience after being re-released as three feature films.

The first instalment released in 2009 was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which had an intricate but ultimately straightforward plot which proved successful. Quite different though is

Chico and Rita Directors: Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal Cast: Eman Xor Oña, Limara Meneses, Mario Guerra Runtime: 94 mins

Cuban jazz still seems to hold a place in many music lovers’ hearts. Buena Vista Social Club are still riding high and Cuba’s influence on the world of jazz is undeniable. Fernando Trueba, who previously directed the documentary on Cuban musician Bebo Valdes, is well versed on the topic and so is able to put his own musical spin on the romance genre. We’ve all seen romances based around music: High Fidelity, Singin’ In The Rain and so on, but there’s something electric about a romance centred around jazz. Within seconds, you are able to flick between different emotions in one song and, just like the relationship between Chico and Rita throughout the film,

Uncle Boonmee Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul Cast: Thanapat Saisaymar, Sakda Kaewbuadee Runtime: 114 mins

Where to begin with a film like Uncle Boonmee? Critics have been queuing to lavish praise on the Thai foreign language film, securing it the prestigious Palme d’Or award at the Cannes film festival. However as I exited the cinema I was somewhat

the storyline of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest which requires prior knowledge of the back-story.

It follows immediately from the end of the preceding film with Lisbeth Salander in hospital facing imprisonment for the attempted murder of her father. Keen to see her locked away is a secret organisation within the police and judicial system that has links to people-trafficking. Trying to secure Salander’s release and expose the conspiracy is the journalist Mikael Blomkvist, of the Millennium magazine. Much of the film has the feel of a courtroom thriller, and investigative journalism is a major theme. As with most book adaptations though, some elements have been cut.

There are times when the sheer number of characters and the complexity of the sub-plots overcome the story. There is a lot of exposition on screen, with characters frequently discussing the events unfolding.

This is quite difficult to convey in an interesting manner.

In some ways this problem stems from the source material, as the novel is probably the least cinematic of the trilogy. Its translation into a feature film is noticeable, as there are long periods of inactivity where an increase in pace would have helped drive the story. However, in a multi-

radar Never Let Me Go Director: Mark Romanek Cast: Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan ETA: February 2011

plex full of Hollywood sequels laden with special-effects, the slow pace and lack of pretension in the narrative is quite a refreshing change.

The performances by the whole cast are particularly credible. The title character is played by Rapace, repeating her successful portrayal of a conflicted young woman. She is let down though by spending much of the film in either a hospital bed or a prison cell. Consequently, there is not much for her to do, nor much interaction with Nyqvist. Nyqvist’s pragmatic method of acting is one of the defining features of the trilogy, and performs the role of the unassuming journalist quite convincingly. Both he and Rapace have dem-

onstrated that they are dependable and capable of leading roles, so it will be pleasing to see more of them in future productions.

it remains captivating until the end.

Chico is a cocky yet so far unsuccessful pianist who, in a search for a new singer to perform with at an upcoming talent contest, spots the beautiful chanteuse Rita. This sparks a whirlwind romance full of highs and lows, mainly due to altercations with Chico’s current mistress, until it sputters out when Rita is given a contract to go to America.

The script is not fantastic. It’s very predictable, unless you haven’t seen many romance films which I doubt is many people, and flows exactly how you would expect it to. But, just like High Fidelity, it’s the love of music that drives this film. Here you see Chico interacting with famous jazz musicians such as Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and being present in the final moments of Chano Pozo’s life. The soundtrack is perfectly done so as to accompany the emotions of the two characters.

A heartfelt ballad after a disagreement between the two or an intense samba when emotions are running high. Every scene has a perfect accompaniment.

The animation also is something to note here. Mixing together a

hand inked style with CG in the more action based scenes, it manages to make these characters seem human whilst also using the ability to manipulate the colours in subtle ways to convey deep emotions. The streets of Havana look lush and rife with activity, whereas wintery New York, accompanied by the separation of Chico and Rita, looks cold and almost emotionless. One dream sequence in particular really pushes this art style to its limit to beautiful effect.

Verdict: Chico and Rita is a film

which panders to the hopeless romantics; those that are still waiting to find their “true love”. This tale of love, loss and betrayal follows the romance book to the letter, but the gorgeous art style and the prevalent use of Cuban jazz adds to what would have otherwise been quite a tepid story.

confused by the film and judging by the bemused look on my fellow cinema-goers faces I was not the only one. It is only really with hindsight that the praise awarded to the film becomes increasingly justified. The film explores such a wide breadth of themes and ideas that it takes some time to digest and appreciate the scope of the film.

When watching this film it might be worth bearing in mind the Samuel Taylor Coleridge idea, ‘the willing suspension of disbelief’. That said the film itself is essentially the story of the title character Uncle Boonmee who is suffering from long term kidney failure. He is seeing out his twilight in modest forestry dwelling and during this time he revisits his

numerous past lives. These range from a buffalo to a princess and are interspersed with visits from his deceased wife and now transformed missing son, who appears as a bizarre monkey-ghost. Uncle Boonmee also reveals more about his current life, his involvement with the killing of ‘commies’ and his current occupation as a farmer. The film is set in a rural part of Northern Thailand, close to the borders of Laos and Cambodia, this is illustrated by the origin of Boonmee’s servant who ‘crossed the river’, i.e. illegally entered Thailand. The film also captures some stunning visuals of the landscape, and often the backdrop adds to the mystique of the film with contrast of the light and land-

scape. For long periods of the film, the pace is almost agonisingly slow and dialogue is kept to a minimum, almost allowing the audience to reflect in the way Boonmee is reflecting on his own life. As with some foreign language films, the viewers need for the subtitles can impact on the film’s accessibility. It can be quite hard to pick up subtle nuances with the dialect when having to read the captions at the bottom of the screen; a film crafted with such subtlety as Uncle Boonmee does sometimes fall victim to this.

It is fair to say Uncle Boonmee will not be to everyone’s taste and that there are some elements that will always remain largely inexplicable. It is possible you may sit there and feel

Verdict: Despite strong performances from all the cast, particularly Blomkvist and Salander who are portrayed superbly, this is a weak conclusion to the trilogy. It lacks the originality displayed in the first instalment, and is instead overwhelmed by the complexity of the plot from the source novel.

Jeremy Trotter

Chris Taylor

2011 sees the release of much anticipated film Never Let Me Go, based on the 2005 best selling novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro.

First aired at the London Film Festival, the film was greeted with emotional responses, described in some reviews as comparable to Ian McEwan adaptations. This seems likely; the plotline certainly gives this film the potential to address the horrors of life and underplay them with humbling subtlety. For Tommy (Garfield), Ruth (Knightley) and Kathy (Mulligan) life is, and always has been defined by their relationship to their old school, Hailsham, and before that, the knowledge of their Huxley style, ‘birth.’ The film follows the story of their lives; their desires; their aspirations, and the pain of these failing to actualize consistent with other Ishiguro masterpieces such as Remains of the Day. Audiences may also be shocked, or indeed frustrated at the seeming indifference the characters demonstrate towards their circumstance and tragic purpose, and confronted instead by a realistic portrayal of evading the concept of mortality and the truths that cause pain. Cinemagoers should eagerly anticipate a film which has brought together an exciting mix of names including Screenwriter Alex Garland is a more than suited for Never Let Me Go which handles themes of self- denial, dystopia, and what it means to be ‘other.’ Director of One Hour Photo Mark Romanek leads the star cast in this adaptation already noted as an Oscar wildcard.

Yet this film is likely to polarize.

Distinctly British, it is sure to lack the glamour of films such as AI or The Island, both of which encompass similar themes, and some viewers may dislike a film of such intense restraint. Conversely, others are likely to applaud Ishiguro’s original reinvention of the archaic question: what does it mean to be human?

Hayley Hamilton baffled, confused and slightly bored, but just as likely you may be swept up in the world Weerasethakul creates and enjoy the enchanting appeal of the film.

Verdict: Uncle Boonmee is certainly an acquired taste, and should be watched with an open mind. It is certainly difficult to comprehend the whole concept as you watch it, however based on my experience it is a film that must be seen to be believed.

Joe Palmer

THE COURIER Monday November 29 2010

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music

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Music Culture

Music Editors: Polly Randall & Joe Skrebels - courier.culture-music@ncl.ac.uk

This is a woman’s world now Polly Randall reflects on the rise and rise of the female star

The other day I was spending my night watching Mad Men, which is incidentally a great TV show, and I was struck by one of their advertising campaigns. A buxom young girl with flowing golden hair clutched at her dress as she sang the shrill companion to an advert for a diet drink.

It was not the obvious lack of musical taste that worried me about this; it was the early 60s in America, so some things have to be excused. But this woman, whilst making doe eyes at the camera, was purely for men, singing for men to show women what they should aspire to be, all controlled by the ad men pulling her puppet strings.

Skip forward 40 years and although the all-powerful master puppeteer on a Saturday night has a much more recognisable face, the products coming out of X Factor this year

add a lot more to the current debate about the state of British music than in recent years. Although perhaps not to my own personal taste, the presence of contestants such as Cher show the prominence of young females in the music scene today. And perhaps aesthetically pleasing to some, this isn’t a clever marketing trick to sell her to the vast hordes of hormonal teenage boys who I imagine secretly watch X Factor with their mothers on a Saturday night.

The marketing man has shifted his focus and his schemes to music by females, for females. Cher clearly has bags of attitude, appears independent on stage, and dresses how she wants to; if this is compared to Mad Men’s advertising ploy the differences couldn’t seem greater.

This year’s contestants on X Factor are merely the obvious conclusion to what has been a growing phenomenon in music over recent years. If I had the ability to sing, which sadly, especially to anyone who has heard me, I do not, then growing up looking up posters of Debbie Harry and Karen O on my wall would have

been an encouragement to make music for myself, not anyone else.

For those lucky few who are blessed with vocal chords better than a dying cat’s, the influence of women such as these is undeniable. Blondie has had musical prominence since the 80s, whilst Karen O has been the female force to reckon with for the entirety of the 21st century, so it only follows that their musical offspring are carrying on the impact they have already made.

Pop is often a transparent business, where more often than not sex sells and everyone knows it. Putting aside Pixie Lott and The Saturdays with their overly manufactured, physical appearance, there is a lot of good things to be said about how far the female has been removed from the type cast that has haunted her history. Look at Florence + The Machine or Ellie Goulding, some of the most successful acts around, female or not, and see how they present themselves. With an aesthetic matching their music and a sound which is not tailored to be oozing with latent sexuality, the independ-

ence they are showing means female pop music is the best it’s been in generations.

But, pop aside, look at bands such as Sleigh Bells, Best Coast or even Paramore and women have never been so prominent in so many successful bands. Compared with this, it’s possible to see male music as having staled and remained static in an aesthetic that might have been appealing at the beginning of the decade but now really needs to move on a little bit. The rise of Tinie Tempah et al aside, JLS have heralded the return of the all-singing all -dancing boy band, and X Factor’s One Direction seem keen to carry this trend on. Whilst both may get shitloads of money, where’s the desire to reinvent rather than merely rehash a worn out brand? It seems at this moment in the 21st century, the girls can get the money, the fame and the prestige without making themselves sex objects to the man.

Although a clichéd phrase and one which should be avoided, ‘girl power’ never looked so good.

interview Grace Harding chats to Sunday Girl about finding her feet in the scary world of pop Sunday Girl, have you heard of her?

I hadn’t, but according to the wonders of the internet Jade Williams, as she is otherwise known, is the new blogger’s darling - a position that a slot as support act for Ellie Goulding on her recent tour will no doubt reinforce. Sunday Girl, a name not in reference to Blondie’s number one single but a nickname stemming from her Sunday job in a pet shop, is an unlikely success story.

Afraid of singing in front of anyone, she would only open up behind locked doors in her bedroom to accompany the radio, making it her New Year’s resolution every year to take that next step. This all changed when aged 17, her mother, who had listened to her through her bedroom door took her to a hypnotherapist in order to cure her daughter of the fear that was holding her back, “I had to do it because I’d always had a weird feeling that I needed to do something with singing and I felt guilty that I wasn’t doing it”. To test if the process had worked Jade joined the local choir for the afternoon to see if she was cured and suddenly felt as if “a weight had been lifted off my shoulders”. However, Sunday Girl was not immediately born from this experience as Jade struggled to find her own voice and style in the world that had suddenly been opened up to her, and without copying the influences she heard all around . Time spent writing and acting as lead singer to a jazz cover band helped her to create and develop a strong

image of what she wanted to be.

Recently selected to be the face of the River Island Graduate Fashion line, her look – scruffy Chanel- is a very important part of the Sunday Girl brand. Having studied art and stage design at university, she does all her own artwork, creates individual pieces for her live show, and styles her own promo shots. It is this element of control that makes Sunday Girl such a personal project and something that Jade tries so hard to protect. As a name, Sunday Girl was originally deemed unsuitable by her label, but in the end she won them over. Although fashion is obviously an element to Sunday Girl, her simple and elegant style merely stands as a background to the power of her music, which she has described as a “beautiful wall of sound”. Due to the recent influx of female artists such as Florence and the Machine, Little Boots and her touring partner Ellie Goulding, I asked if being lumped with other women singers and comparisons to artists such as Alison Goldfrapp and Bat for Lashes is a blessing or a curse. She sees such associations however, as a compliment, and a way of reaching new people who otherwise may not have heard of her. So the recent Diplo remix of her song ‘Four Floors’ was “a wonderful surprise”. As one of the leading DJs, songwriters and producers around she hopes his choice to remix her song will open up her music to new genres, and with a new electro dubstep take on it, it could become the next club hit.

As a budding DJ herself she knows what works in clubs and how to make a successful playlist, though did admit to mixing in a bit of Destiny’s Child for some cheesy dancing amongst the best of recent bands she meets and listens to!

Not just a pretty face: Sunday Girl is so much more than just a ‘look’ or good clothes

With her album more or less finished, and first single aimed to be released in January, there is a lot in store for Jade Williams. Live she appears vulnerable, but an inner confidence soon shines through as her impressive vocal chords begin to weave their magic. Although still under the radar for some, if the reception she received on the first

night of her support tour is anything to go by, she will soon be heading back our way as the star of her own show. Sunday Girl embodies the awkwardness of growing up and stands as a role model for overcoming fears - as she put it herself, “if you want to do something badly enough, you can.”

column Pop Scene Mark CorcoranLettice Columnist

Welcome, dear friends, to the second edition of PopScene! The first one seemed to attract little to no controversy or upset: let’s make sure we correct that oversight this time.

Moving swiftly on though, you can’t have failed to notice that we are once again in the grips of a Northeast winter. The nights are endless, the temperature is freezing, and worst of all that bloody Fenwick’s window won’t shut up. But there is help at hand should you feel the need to lift the gloom – there are plenty of nights around this month to lift the spirits and let you Dance Yrself Clean. So let’s list them, yes?

First of course, there is the farfrom-small matter of the return of Hard to Love to World Headquarters on Wednesday 1st December.

Having established themselves over the last year as Newcastle’s newest, freshest and most downright fun indie party, their last event of the year is sure to see them pull out all of the stops to give you – yes, YOU – one hell of a winter warmer.

And if your indie needs remain unsated after this, then up-and-comers Horrorshow are putting on their latest bash at The Telegraph on the 8th.

Always pulling in a good crowd to a wonderful, intimate venue, Horrorshow have attracted something of a cult following – and here’s the bit where I tell you to go join that following by going down there. So, you know, go do that.

There’s also the rather fantastic gig that us lot at NSR are curating on Friday 3rd at The Cumberland Arms. Not to blow our own trumpets, but our last one sold out completely – and we think this one could well do the same. Previous headliners, post-rock-dubstep-anythingelse pioneers Shift-Static, return to open proceedings, and we’ve got the superb O Messy Life headlining, whose brand of folked-up rock with a punky edge is unmissable. At £2 entry, it’d be downright rude not to.

For anyone like myself heartbroken about missing out on tickets for Belle & Sebastian at The Sage this month - how could you do this to me, Stuart Murdoch, you heartless, talented bastard? – I may just have the gig for you. On the 10th, local icons Milky Wimpshake are holding their album launch at the Bentick Sports & Social Club in Fenham, organised by the ever-reliable minds, ears and other organs behind Fakeindielabel.

Packed full of buzzsaw guitars, garage rock smarts and bittersweet, humorous lyrics, Milky Wimpshake may be the rebound you need.

Alas, the word count is almost complete, and now comes the time of bittersweet departures. I hope you think of me until we meet again.

I won’t be thinking of you though, mind. I’m just an egomaniac.

34

Monday November 29 2010 THE COURIER

Culture Music

music listings

Monday 29th Joe Brooks, O2 Academy. 7pm. £8 Coming out of nowhere, the internet phenomenon from Southampton has a rapidly growing fan base thanks to media coverage that started when he topped the MySpace music charts. His hard work in the music industry has paid off and he hopes to sell out another tour, promoting his debut album Constellation Me.

feature

Ones to watch: The four females Joe Skrebels picks his favourite femmes of the year from four genres

Tuesday 30th North East Unsigned at LYH. FREE. With Shift-Static through to the next stage in this completion already, head down to LYH for a night of the best in new music from Newcastle, all for free! The night’s line-up consists of Illustrators, Matadors, Apache Viking and The Din. All four will be battling it out for a space in the next round.

Wednesday 1st Paul Weller supported by The Rifles, Metro Arena. 7pm. £35 The ‘Modfather’ returns to Newcastle once again with a gig that promises all the energy and atmosphere that would have been present in performances by The Jam in their prime. Expect the best songs from his career, alongside tracks from his newest album Wake Up the Nation which has been nominated for the 2010 Mercury Prize for Albums of the Year.

Thursday 2nd Volbeat, O2 Academy. 7pm. £10 Their “Beyond Hell/Above Heaven Live 2010” tour expects to shake up the 02 with their mix of heavy metal, rock and blues. The Danish rock band performed at Download earlier this year and are adding further to their impressive string of live acts with tour, promoting their new album that shares its name with the tour.

Friday 3rd Dear Superstar, The Other Rooms.

7pm. £7 The Mancunian rock band with a heavy eighties vibe have supported loads of high profile bands in the past including Papa Roach and Bullet For My Valentine. They have had a lot of airtime on Kerrang radio and promise to include material from their follow up album to Heartless which they are currently working on.

Saturday 4th Paul Smith, The Sage. 8pm. £12.50 The lead singer of Maximo Park takes to The Sage in Gateshead for his homecoming gig celebrating his new solo album Margins, which sounds deeper and mellower than some of his work in Maximo Park.

The acoustics in The Sage should suit this performance.

Sunday 5th Peter Andre, Metro Arena. 7pm. £28.50 Having been in the tabloids like an incurable rash over the last couple of years, Andre is performing his biggest tour this century with songs from his last three albums with the nineties classics thrown in. It can be hard not to like him, but his catchy hits are even harder to dislike.

Chris Scott

Indie Best Coast

Hip-Hop Nicki Minaj

Folk Caitlin Rose

Dance Katy B

Amidst her flurry of blog posts about fan’s cats or her self-professed habitual “dank” habit, it’s easy to forget that Best Coast frontwoman and founder Bethany Cosentino has amassed a huge group of critical, commercial and (let’s pretend this is a word) celebritical fans very, very quickly this year. With consistently good reviews for debut album Crazy For You, sold out shows all over the world and luminaries as wide-ranging as Bruce Springsteen and Bill Murray outspoken admirers, it seems this has most certainly been her year. In an indie world suddenly awash with fuzzed-up surf-rock, Best Coast offer the laconic comedown to the summery uppers of The Drums or Surfer Blood – and the mix of the familiar and the achingly ‘so hot right now’ is proving a formula that’s hard to argue with. It’s not clear as to how long this trend will last, or whether Best Coast will remain rooted in it but as long as they do, Beth will remain the genre’s princess.

A genre popularly dominated by songs of gun-toting masculine bravado seems like the hardest place for a female solo artist to break through, but this culture-spanning (she’s of Indian and Trinidadian descent and grew up in New York) starlet-to-be could be the one to do it. She’s been lauded for a refreshingly liberal lyrical viewpoint but never fails to bring home the familiar styles of American hip-hop with a unique flow and approach to songcraft. And don’t think that because you haven’t heard her in the charts over here you can write her off too quickly – she just broke the US Billboard 100 record for number of singles in the charts at one time with a massive seven, quite possibly down to her prolific rate of collaborations with artists like Drake, will.i.am and Lil Wayne. With her debut album, Pink Friday just released, Nicki Minaj is most definitely striking a blow for the underrepresented female rapper and is certainly one to watch out for.

While the likes of Taylor Swift dispatch with any of the dignity country music might have built up after years of (mostly deserved) ridicule by indulging in horrifying “Southern ballads”, Caitlin Rose has decamped to our shores to ply her trade in a more considered fashion.

While treading the same water as some of the more successful British female folk acts of recent years (see Laura Marling, Alessi’s Ark), Ms. Rose brings her Nashville heritage to the table to offer something a little different. Chock-full of lap steel, plucked electric guitar and a beautiful American twang, her debut album Own Side Now trades on all the old stereotypes yet never sounds recycled - and with a predilection for a wryly-observed line or two, the listener stays beguiled throughout but never feels alienated. This all leads to us questioning quite how she hasn’t seen the album released in her homeland yet, but for now she’s a beautiful foreign secret we Brits can enjoy undisturbed.

Seen as the female arm of the postdubstep movement, Katy B is staking a claim as far more than just a facet of that new scene and rather the epicentre. After high profile collaborations with The Count & Sinden and Magnetic Man, her first single, the Benga-produced ‘Katy On A Mission’, hit the top of the indie charts and led to a major label deal quickly being worked out.

It all points to a fantastic year had and an even more successful one to come for this Peckham-born BRIT School graduate - as well as helping Ms. Dynamite to relaunch her career, there’s presumably an album and God knows how many more guest spots to come. With a style that takes in the recognisable traits of the current UK dance scene, it seems there’ll be a resurgence of UK Garage, funky house and even R&B undertones under her auspices, and with the talent she’s shown so far, this can only be a good prospect for what’s to come from Britain’s new dance(ing) queen.

The Strong Females Tape

‘Single Ladies’ is strong, empowering, but best of all plain fun.

Bikini Kill - ‘Rebel Girl’ “That girl thinks she’s the queen of the neighbourhood!” The best way to get an important message across is always by shouting it.

Robyn - ‘Fembot’ A little electro-pop gem of a singer, Robyn can jump from gentle romantic ballads to swaggering rap without a second thought.

Another graduate of the Riot Grrl movement, Sleater-Kinney are more than just a little punk band ‘Jumpers’ is a beast of a song.

Kate Nash - ‘Do-Wah-Doo’ Some might dismiss Nash as being a bit lightweight, but ‘Do-WahDoo’ is a great little anti-romance anthem.

Lush - ‘Ladykillers’ The message contained within Lush’s ‘Ladykillers’ can be summed up as “eff off mate, I’m no slag”.

Sonic Youth - ‘Swimsuit Issue’ Bassist Kim Gordon has one of the most ferocious voices in rock music, and in ‘Swimsuit Issue’ uses it to chase off a mysognist boss.

moodtape

Beyonce - ‘Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)’ Surely you must know this one -

Peaches - ‘Set It Off’ I think this comes under “sex-positive feminism” - Peaches sings/ raps exclusively about sex and how much she loves it. And why you can’t have her.

Nancy Sinatra - ‘These Boots Are Made For Walking’ Well, it sort of had to be included, didn’t it? “Boots, start walkin’!”

Listen to this playlist at www.thecourieronline.co.uk

Sleater-Kinney - ‘How To Play Dead’

Le Tigre - ‘Deceptacon’ An electro spin-off of the Riot Grrl movement, Le Tigre are best known for this criminally underrated floorfiller.

tea towels on offer. Further to this, repeatedly throughout the show an excitable man waved a wooden handled umbrella in the air, and to finish off I saw one of my lecturers there. Yes, it was an extremely middle aged affair, which led to much amusement due to dancing similar to that of embarrassing uncles at weddings. I also learnt that Alison Goldfrapp is the middle aged man’s pin up girl of choice, and to the enthusiastic balding man who

stood behind me at the show, I applaud your choice. Having gone to this gig out of a marginal interest in the band and the desire to avoid a night in watching The X Factor, I came away not only thinking I had had a night of passable entertainment but was in fact rather impressed. Any show involving costume changes makes a nice change, starting the night in what my friend described as looking like a metal scouring pad the show was

clearly all about the theatricality of music. The electro numbers went down the best and led to some of the previously mentioned dancing, but once swapping into an outfit akin to that of a eel dressed up as a jester the ethereal numbers made a atmospheric close to the show. In all, a band I now have justifiably renewed interest in.

Elliot Bentley

live

Goldfrapp

O2 Academy, November 20 2010 There are a number of points I can make about the crowd at tonight’s gig to demonstrate the typical attendant. Firstly, I had debated taking my own mother to this gig, secondly on the merchandise stand there was a charming selection of

Polly Randall - Music Editor

THE COURIER Monday November 29 2010

35

Music Culture

music

albums

the top 5

Kanye West

1. Brian Eno – Small Craft On A Milk Sea New Album

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

The ego has landed. In recent years, Kayne’s increasingly eccentric extra-curricular activites – ambushing Taylor Swift at awards ceremonies, replacing his bottom row of teeth with diamonds, not to mention his demented Twitter feed, have eclipsed his status as one of the foremost hip-hop artists of his generation.

With My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye hasn’t so much swept away his ignominy as made it his central preoccupation; while his greatest inspiration has always been Kayne West, here we have an album that is the sound of his id, unleashed and on the rampage.

Unsurprisingly then, he’s built a monument to himself that surely ranks as his finest album to date.

‘Dark Fantasy’s sinister schoolmaster introduction leads into a beat that sets the precedent for the next hour to come – a brand of cinematic, genre-bending maximalsim that sets this apart from, well, pretty much every other hip-hop album released this year. It’s an album full of highlights, always pushing higher up some Mount Olympus of sound: the King Crimson-sampling

bravado of ‘Power’, the surprisingly moving ‘All of the Lights’, and the frankly indomitable ‘Runaway’ whose nine-minute runtime never feels flabby, are easily some of the best tracks released this year in any genre.

That’s without mentioning the staggering cameo list on this record either. Additional production from The RZA, guest verses from Jay Z, Raekwon and Kid Cudi, vocals from Rihanna, Alicia Keys and Bon Iver, a Gil Scott-Heron sample and a piano solo from Elton John – no, seriously. And, perhaps more controversially, there’s a turn from comedian Chris Rock on ‘Blame Game’, delivering a borderlinepornographic outro skit that marks the album’s only real low point.

But then again, this isn’t an album about good taste or subtlety. It’s about following every idea to its illogical conclusion, and throwing down a gauntlet to everyone else: for Kanye, this is the new hip-hop gold standard. As ‘So Appalled’ has it, “This shit is fucking ridiculous.”

Kid Cudi

My Chemical Romance

Man on the Moon II

No, it’s not a single track, but Eno’s ambient stylings make this a single, albeit very long, experience. Like most of Eno’s work, it can be a bit like marmite initially but it grows on you and makes a perfect choice for background music to listen and chill out to. This album varies in intensity and depth throughout, all the while painting quite a haunting picture in your mind.

2. !!! - Jamie, My Intentions Are Bass Single The catchy percussion beats that lace this track together work incredibly well, especially with the slightly toned down vocals and boosted bass. The entire track keeps a high energy flowing, but doesn’t overdo it. Definitely worth a listen and would be interesting to see how it would be performed live.

Mark Corcoran-Lettice

Danger Days

Paul Smith Margins

Susan Boyle The Gift

3. School Of Seven Bells- I L U Single This track seems to almost float while you listen to it. It flows well throughout and creates a very chilled out vibe by using Goldfrapplike vocals mixed with a light synth backing that does sound similar to Enya tracks in some ways. All the components of the track complement each other and the overall product works well.

Man On The Moon II does not start particularly well. The soundscapes are impressive and well arranged but the rhymes are lost in them and the first few tracks are forgettable.

Things improve though with ‘Marijuana’s woozy guitar and choral backing vocals, before the more orthodox hip-hop of ‘Mojo So Dope’.

Then the beats really warm up– ‘Ashin Kusher’s echoing dub vibe expands brilliantly, while ‘Erase Me – Main’ features everyone’s favourite megarapsuperstarextraordinaire Kanye West, and resembles a mutated Weezer single. It’s highly catchy. Cudi’s characteristic originality sees the robotic ‘Wild’n Cuz I’m Young’ veer off in one direction, ‘MANIAC’ in another and ‘Mr Rager’ orchestrated to magnificent effect. Guest verses on ‘The End’ provide a positive change while ‘All Along’ is a better-than-youraverage-ballad. Some might find Cudi’s introspective focus a turnoff, and his lyrics aren’t spectacular.

Crucially though the rapping often isn’t central to the songs; the mellow, throaty delivery is certainly easy on the ear, but this is far from a ‘straight’ hip-hop album. What it is is genuinely different, and a lukewarm start is outweighed by the quality and creativity on show later on. Other, blander records beware.

Life after the scene-magnet of The Black Parade was never going to be easy for My Chemical Romance.

Despite being poorly received from critics and a large portion of the existing fan base, a slightly unnerving concept watered down with radiofriendly riffs and lyrical hooks propelled Gerard Way’s band into an iconic household name. Danger Days is in many ways the hangover from such an emotionally destructive period for the band. The boundless lyrical eccentricity that defined The Black Period era returns (see: current single ‘Na Na Na’ (Na na na nannananana etc. and ‘DESTROYA’) but contaminated with fatigue; just as Lostprophets proved earlier in the year, a lack of conviction yields poor results in all but the most talented of musicians. Comparisons with The Betrayed are extremely accurate, both are the soundtrack to their respective bands falling apart. Fortunately for MCR, Danger Days isn’t so much of a bad record rather than a misguided one. The lack of passion from the music will likely be compensated for by their fan base’s sheer belief in the deteriorating cult that is My Chemical Romance. For those who are simply curious, this is radio-friendly poprock by numbers.

Paul Smith is your typical local boy done good. In his day job with Maximo Park he has penned anthems that can unite a festival field and soundtrack a good night out.

However Margins, his debut solo album, is billed as a “more personal offering of melancholy, insight and intimate modern blues”, and seems to be an attempt to give Smith an outlet for the songs that didn’t fit the Maximo Park singalong anthems mould. Here lies the problem; the album just fails to stand out. This doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have some highlights.

Opener ‘North Atlantic Drift’ opens up proceedings with a catchy melody whilst ‘Strange Friction’ is a perfect example of Smith’s ability to combine clever wordplay with big choruses. However aside from such moments, the album seems to toddle on at a steady pace without ever really making its mark on the listener. Its intimacy is also arguably at times its downfall. ‘While you’re In the Bath’ may have been intended as a delicate ballad but it offers a listener perhaps too great an insight into the personal life of its author. This album is worth a listen for its stronger moments although it comes dangerously close to being boring by its finish.

For those who have been awaiting the second album of Britain’s Got Talent’s Susan Boyle, it will not disappoint. The Gift predominantly features Christmas themed songs and is arguably predictable. Yet it does allow for Boyle to sing numerous iconic songs in her beautifully powerful voice, such as ‘The First Noel’, ‘Away in a Manger’ and ‘Come All Ye Faithful’. Although the album will not be top of the party playlist this festive period, it is irrefutably well composed and delicately put together; truly showing that something really enjoyable can come out of TV talent contests.

Despite all the songs on the album being covers, Boyle’s individual voice does allow her to offer a new take on the well known songs making it stand out from the average karaoke-style album. The simplicity of the songs makes them easy to listen to without an over fussy brass band distracting you from the main vocals. The Gift is precisely what you would expect from an album by Susan Boyle, however this is not necessarily a negative.

Undisputedly, she sings the songs wonderfully and as the album title funnily enough suggests, it will undoubtedly be a good yuletide gift for many.

Martin Flynn

Stuart Edwards

Jack Kidder

Sally Priddle

4. Local Natives – Who Knows Who Cares Single Another light track, but this one uses a melodic piano backing that supports the harmonic duo of vocals that drift in and out of the song.

The track incorporates elements that constantly surprise the listener, making the song feel restless, but in a good way.

5. The Funeral Party – NYC Moves To The Sound Of LA Single The dangerously addictive chorus is only one of the many components of this track which makes it linger in your head. The song sounds manic at times, but that just adds to the madness of it all. The rawness of the vocals scratches its way through the track whilst the guitar riffs raise your heart rate in anticipation.

Chris Scott

Competition!

We have three pairs of tickets for Pendulum at the Metro Radio Arena on the 9th December. All you need to do for a pair is answer this question: What Australian city do Pendulum hail from? Email your answers to: courier.culture-music@ncl.ac.uk

THE COURIER Monday November 29 2010

37

Culture TV & Radio

tv & radio tv highlight

TV & Radio Editors: Lynsey Fawcett & Ellie Wilson - courier.culture-tv@ncl.ac.uk

The Apprentice

soaps

Halfway through the sixth series, the candidates continue to compete for the crown!

Wednesdays 9pm, BBC1 We’re half way through the process of The Apprentice and already we’ve had tantrums, tears and some truly unforgettable moments that are sure to go down in Apprentice history.

This year’s memorable opening came from Stuart’s one-liner, ‘Stuart Baggs the Brand’ and then, proceeding to get himself into more trouble by boasting about his impeccable sales skills with “everything I touch turns to sold”; in true Apprentice style, this was soon proved otherwise.

As soon as they arrived, the contestants were thrown straight in at the deep end as Lord Sugar told them they were to spend all night making sausages to sell the following day. The girls prospered as they sold high quality sausages and the boys failed miserably under Dan’s leadership style and left us all thinking he should be in anger management therapy rather than management. Raleigh’s “It was shameful!” outburst ensured that he left his mark as he left after week one due to emergency family matters.

Week two saw Laura step up for project manager where she tried to sell their book-eeze to retail stores and came back with a record breaking £0.00. However, it was Joy who got the chop after Lord Sugar claimed that “he hasn’t seen anything from her.”

tv previews

Dispatches: The Kids Britain Doesn’t Want Monday 8pm, C4

Coronation Street

Mon, Thurs, Fri on ITV1 Carla breaks down after admitting the truth to Michelle and then hits the bottle after a run in with Peter.

Nick confesses his feelings on the eve of Leanne’s wedding, will she go ahead with it?

Ken makes a shocking discovery after looking for Peter in ‘The Joinery’, John discovers the extent of Charlotte’s mental state and Molly finally tells Tyrone the devastating truth.

Eastenders

Competitive: Sir Alan Sugar puts his businessmen and women through tough challenges to determine who will be his Apprentice

Qualified surgeon Shibby definitely had his heart in the right place when trying to sell baked goods but got carried away and couldn’t deliver what he’d promised. Lord Sugar didn’t think he had the business acumen to continue in the process.

Week four saw the teams representing new, innovative products to sell. Under Jamie’s leadership, Melissa insisted pitching is her ‘forte’ and became stroppy when Jamie removed her from the role.

She then ensured that she had the most memorable exit ever on The

Apprentice as she snubbed her colleagues on their way out and complained as she was fired, “well done on ganging up on me, horrible people.”

Selling clothes in Manchester didn’t come naturally to Paloma as her team failed to display any signs of enthusiasm for the clothes and ended up selling recycled clothes.

Marketing cleaning products was left to team leaders Alex and Christopher and while Alex went down the comical route with the Germanator and the phrase hasta la vista gravy, Christopher used

an octopus to illustrate that “eight hands are better than two.” The Germanator failed to meet the criteria, resulting in hasta la visa Alex!

New host of The Apprentice: You’re Fired, Dara O’Brien was a wise appointment by the BBC as he injects his much loved humour and quick witted quips that we so often enjoy watching.

Who will triumph this year and win the job to become Lord Sugar’s Apprentice? Tune into BBC1 every Wednesday at 8 o’clock to find out.

Maria Moffatt

Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri on BBC1 Ryan is faced with an ultimatum from Stacey. Masood and Jane take their relationship to the next level with a visit to a hotel, and emotions run high when Jane makes a shocking confession to Ian. Glenda finds herself in financial difficulties and Syed faces a dilemma as he holds a secret that could destroy his parents’ marriage.

Emmerdale

Weekdays 7pm on ITV Roz is suspicious of Holly’s recovery and begs Adam to see the truth. Declan is surprised by uninvited guests, but Mia and Ella make themselves at home. Bob worries Viv is enjoying his company too much and she continues to guilt trip him.

John is horrified at the lengths Molly has gone to for Holly and her betrayal is too much for him to bear. Meanwhile, Marlon makes a decision about the baby.

Hollyoaks Frankie Boyle’s Tramadol Night Tuesday 10pm, C4

This is Michael Bublé Saturday 10:25pm, ITV1

Operation Mincemeat Sunday 9pm, BBC2

Weekdays 6.30pm on C4 Everyone struggles with the aftermath of the fire and Mercedes is devastated when she’s told she‘s not welcome at Malachy’s funeral.

Gilly struggles to cope with the lead up to Steph’s funeral and when the day arrives he rejects the plans for a glitzy celebrity-worthy farewell.

After missing the funeral Mercedes drowns her sorrows and in a special episode we see how Warren escaped the Loft fire and fled the village.

Neighbours Britain has a history of providing sanctuary to refugees and those in search of asylum, but we often forget that children are involved.

Through the eyes of a 10-year-old Iranian boy, a 16-year-old Afghan boy and 22-year-old Ugandan woman, it explores the story of how children are being neglected in the immigration process.

The three individuals openly discuss how their dreams of a new life in Britain are completely different from the reality they experience. Rather than being welcomed into our society, they are met with hostility and distrust. The complex process of gaining asylum is also causing them psychological harm.

Consequently they feel brutalized by the British asylum process and are becoming The Kids Britain Doesn’t Want.

These young asylum seekers are fleeing persecution, terrorism and war to come to Britain. The least we can do is hear their stories and watch this documentary, so tune in this Monday.

He is a man with no boundaries.

From insulting The Queen to Jade Goody, the infamous sharp tongued and often controversial comedian Frankie Boyle has ditched the discussion panels and created his own television show.

Frankie Boyle shot to fame with his harsh comments and hilariously dark humour on BBC’s ‘Mock the Week’. However, he has quit the show and decided to go solo with his new series named ‘Tramadol night’ (the name comes from a synthetic drug similar to Heroin) reflecting his bleak view on British culture.

The show is a mixture of stand up and pre recorded sketches; one of which is a BBC soap opera, which has the actors faces blurred out to avoid offence as the humour is so politically incorrect. You can’t help but love him.

No doubt that the show will be receiving angry complaints the next day, so if you’re not easily offended, this is definitely the one for you.

Superstar Michael Bublé is back in the UK to perform his latest album, as well as his famous classics.

Mr. Bublé who has sold over 25 million albums, won two Grammys and performed in over 40 countries, will also be experiencing the British culture.

In this fly on the wall documentary, we not only get to see him charm us on stage but also backstage and off-stage too.

Mr. Bublé will meet some of his most famous fans including Holly Willoughby and Peter Kay, as well as the British public.

Michael is interviewed by Holly, who finds out about his fans, his tour and what makes him tick.

We also get a glimpse of Michael backstage at The X Factor, as he performs his single ‘Hollywood’.

In this documentary we get to see Michael mix with the Brits, doing things such as joining the Nottingham Panthers Ice Hockey team and visiting the infamous Balti Triangle in Birmingham for a curry. This is not one to miss!

During World War II, English agents devised a plan to deceive Hitler into thinking that they were invading Greece when, really, Sicily was the target.

This strategy to dupe Hitler was set up by James Bond author Ian Fleming, who has a flare for creating spy adventures.

British agents obtained the body of a Welshman, Glyndwr Michael, who had killed himself with poison. They then used his body to create a new identity; he acquired a new name and a briefcase with fake secret papers detailing the Greece invasion. Then they planted all of this onto Spanish shores, where they hoped the Nazis would find it.

The operation was a resounding success as Hitler moved his army to Greece to prepare for an invasion that was never intended, while in Sicily, the British army was met with little opposition.

Macintyre details one man and his cleverly devised operation; changing the outcome of history.

Rosie Daly

Luke Hearfield

Olivia-Marie Viveiros

Maria Moffatt

Weekdays 1.45pm & 5.30pm on Five Ringo’s funeral approaches and the street try to cope with their grief.

His wife Donna tries to focus on the positives, but will Zeke and Declan’s behaviour make the day even worse?

The Kennedys find themselves torn apart by their different ways of grieving. Paul eventually returns to work insisting he has changed, but Rebecca thinks it is all an act to win her back. Could she be wrong?

Home and Away

Weekdays at 2.15pm & 6pm on Five Indi is struggling with the fact that she opened Annie’s letter to Romeo and confesses to Romeo, leaving him furious.

The discovery of blood in Penn’s room matches his blood type, was he met with foul play? The investigation into Penn’s disappearance intensifies and Alf becomes the suspect. Vittorio and Biance finally get back on track.

Lynsey Fawcett TV & Radio Editor

38

Monday November 29 2010 THE COURIER

Culture TV & Radio

tv & radio nsr

The sampled shows for this week prove that sticking the radio on first thing is no bad idea, NSR’s range of morning shows is varied and guaranteed to provide you with an entertaining soundtrack to your breakfast. So here’s what happens from 10-11am...Monday brings you the unmissable NSR Chart with Bethan Brown and Victoria Mole, playing the most recent releases NSR have been loving with a focus on non-mainstream tracks and some fledging acts we support.

Recent weeks have seen bands like The National and Crystal Castles grace the number one spot.

Tuesday morning presents you with the dubiously titled Morning Glory with Callum Sibley’s chirpy banter. Wednesday morning is well worth getting up for, as Nile Amos and Joe Redpath explore African and American black music of the past and the modern music it has inspired, with a skilfully selected playlist of Soul, Funk, Crazy Jazz, Afro beat and much more all intelligently presented. Thursday gives you the C-word with Duncan and Matt, all I can say is give it a listen.

Friday rounds up the week’s morning shows with In the Laundrette a gossip based show with a choice smattering of tunes to gear you up for the weekend.

NSR is proud to announce that we are putting on another gig at the lovely Cumberland Arms in Ouseburn on Friday the 3rd December showcasing some fantastic local bands: Shift Static, Grandfather Birds and Special Guests as well as indie-electro band Bibelots, all the way up from London for their first Newcastle gig. All this for a mere £2 on the door, entry from 7:30pm.

The last gig we held sold out so make sure you get there on time to guarantee entry for an entertaining yet cheap night out.

Louise Morris Station Manager

interview

When Charlie and I go into the dressing room at Powerhouse to chat to Treyc Cohen, she’s wrapped up warm and sipping on hot lemon and honey. She greets us with a friendly - but sleepy - smile, “I’m so tired, even though I’ve been asleep

radio highlights

In Search of Mimi Monday 10pm, Radio 2

Friday Night is Music Night Friday 8pm, Radio 2

Mariah Carey has been in the music industry for the 20 years and is the voice of classic ballads that everybody will know. Hero, Without You and Anytime You Need a Friend are my favourites.

Trevor Nelson traces Mariah Carey’s career and attempts to discover who the person behind the voice is. The show includes an interview with Mariah and also insights from her closest friends.

The show starts by playing her first ever single Vision of Love, which, after its release in 1990, secured Mariah’s place in the music industry. Her appearance on MTV’s Unplugged sessions helped to propel her into global notoriety and lead to her album Music Box staying in the charts in the US for 128 weeks.

Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s more hits followed. However, her career took a set back in 2001 when her first feature length film, Glitter, was badly received. Mariah talks candidly to Trevor about this dark time, saying that her friends helped her to get through it.

However according to Trevor it seems Mariah is back to reclaim her role as the leading lady of hip hop, especially after her critically acclaimed role in Precious and successful 12th studio album.

This show is a captivating listen for fans of Mariah or for anyone who has ever wondered about the person behind the music.

7467 episodes, 50 years, 5 times a week… and that one theme tune.

Coronation Street has graced our television sets for half a century and Mike Dixon and the BBC concert orchestra are commemorating that much loved cornet. Performing live, the fifty piece orchestra will soothe you on your Friday night with a repertoire of those iconic soap theme tunes. If you have ever sung along to the Neighbours theme tune or hummed with the Archers on a Sunday afternoon, this broadcast will provide you with a dose of comforting easy listening. The BBC’s popular ensemble will no doubt deliver two hours of virtuosity that will move many with its new contemporary style of classical music.

Players of such fine musical talent go beyond being just a conventional orchestra. From underscoring most of the Blue Planet series and collaborating with Elbow on the Seldom Seem Kid album, they are just about everywhere and it really is no surprise they are leading this salute to soap opera. Along with special guests who will join them in the finale are the cast of the new Coronation Street musical - Rogues, Angels and Heroes and Fools.

So once you have said goodnight to Wetherfield for the week tune into Radio 2 for an evening of those much loved melodies… although I warn you now you will be whistling the tunes all night long.

Rosie Daly

Hope Gray

comment Thousands of nerds across the country are screaming over the return of The Big Bang Theory. The hilarious yet intellectual sitcom about four brilliant (but socially awkward) physicists and their hot neighbour has returned to our screens for its fourth season.

The show is known for its creative storylines and dialogue, but after three series and a best actor Emmy award for Jim Parsons (Sheldon), can the Star Trek, quoting, romantically challenged boys still keep us laughing at their fish out of water experiences?

I have to say it has its ups and downs. The writers have mixed things up a bit. Firstly, Sheldon is boldly going where he has never been before... a relationship. We caught a glimpse of Amy Farrah Fowler at the end of the last series.

They seem the perfect couple as they tick the same boxes: narcissistic, ridiculously intelligent, and lack of ability to understand sarcasm. The relationship is a gamble though, as having two characters so similar defuses the impact of Sheldon. And as Leonard says “we already have one Sheldon”, so can Amy fit into the group dynamic?

We’ve returned to Leonard and Penny being friends instead of a couple. Their relationship had plenty of physics but definitely no chemistry, so returning them to how they worked best was a good move. The writers still manage to create some terrific storylines like the battle of the office between Raj and Sheldon, and best of all; Sheldon’s ‘mobile virtual presence device’. The episode was wonderfully goofy along with the best ‘Bazinga!’ moment to date.

Where the writers have dropped the ball is the use of the entire ensemble cast. Many episodes revolve around Sheldon. Jim Parsons comedic abilities don’t even parallel the other actors’. However, the show’s winning formula is the whole batch of mismatched characters, not just one individual.

The series doesn’t quite hit the heights of its predecessors. However The Big Bang Theory continues to think outside the box, with original storylines and it doesn’t dumb things down for the audience. So let your inner geek out, and get lost in the hilarity.

Luke Hearfield

tweets of the week Sarah Millican A child on the train just starting barking. I am starting to see why people have them.

Jedward If Edward of tomorrow travelled in time to today and met up with Edward of today would Edward of today think it was John Sue Perkins Of course Gillian’s up in the dunny , where else would she be? #imaceleb

James Corden I woke up,put the radio on and Justin Timberlake said,”I’m gonna have u naked by the end of this song!”And he did!

Matt Edmondson My face is still damp from Louis Walsh’s tongue.

Jimmy Carr @realrossnoble & I put the world of comedy to rights at lunch. He made me do my weird laugh, I made him shout out an expletive.

Ellie Wilson and Charlie Berendt chat to Treyc Cohen after her departure from The X Factor in the car all day. I feel so sorry for my tour manager, I must be terrible company!”

The demands of touring and playing gigs in the middle of the night after her elimination must be taking their toll, but Treyc remains positive, “What’s done is done now, it’s time to move onto the next thing.

I’m just waiting for my call for a big, fat record deal!”

In what little spare time she has, she does try and keep up with the show. “It’s hard because of all the gigging, but I have been watching it when I can. I really want to see how everyone’s doing and how it all pans out.

It’s weird, when I was watching it on Sunday night I was thinking ‘I was on that’, it’s so surreal. When you’re doing it you’re just doing it and it’s like you’re in a bubble, but when you come out it really hits home.”

And what was it like being in that bubble? “It was an amazing opportunity. Performing for millions of viewers and to that huge studio audience, and also getting to meet a lot of people that work in the industry, all the professionals. To get all that professional help was incredible, I’m truly grateful for that.”

Treyc got on well with everyone she met on the show, “I didn’t have a bad word to say about anyone.

I’m quite laid back, I can get on

with most people and I did and had a ball.”

She did tell us that she got on best with Rebecca Ferguson, so Treyc’s very excited to see how far she gets in the competition. “She’s amazing inside and out and her vocals are just incredible. I’ve kept in touch with her, Paije and a load of people that work on the show. Rebecca’s got a great chance of winning, along with Matt, One Direction and Mary. It’s far too early to call!”

There has been some controversy over the judges’ voting between Treyc and Katie, with Cheryl refusing to decide and forcing a threeway vote. “They definitely should have gone to Cheryl last, but what will be, will be. At the time I was just oblivious though, it was weird, you don’t know how you’re going to react until you’ve been in that situation. Katie’s a fighter, she’s not going anywhere!”

But there were no hard feelings for Cheryl on Treyc’s part. “I really got on with her, we’re the same age and I really liked her.”

What was it like having her as a mentor? “She wasn’t as hands on as I expected, that’s what the show portrays, but she’s a busy girl with her own career and I understood that. We saw her on rehearsal days and when picking songs. If we ever needed any help she was always there for us.”

Singing stong: Treyc’s huge talent wowed her fans as she performed at Powerhouse

Cheryl would be proud of Treyc tonight as she performs on stage.

She’s looking stunning in a black mini-dress and towering heels – strictly necessary for this pint-sized

popstar – as she belts out some really powerful notes. A talented lady with a voice like hers should have definitely made it further in the competition!

THE COURIER Monday November 29 2010

39

Puzzles Culture

puzzles

Puzzles Editor: Andy Pitkeathley - courier.puzzles@ncl.ac.uk

crossword across

Down

7. Invalid (4) 8. Having a carbon basis (7) 10. Dry (4) 12. Sign of the Zodiac (3) 14. A model representing solar systems 15. Capital of Argentina, Buenos ----- (5) 16. Floating device (4) 17. Twilight (4) 19. In operation (6) 21. Used in the transmission of genetic information (abbrev.) (3) 25. Prohibit (3) 26. School exam (1,5) 30. Award for achievement in television (4) 31. Adhere; stick firmly to (4) 32. Rear part of a ship (5) 34. Cardinal; central cause (11) 36. Nocturnal bird of prey (3) 37. Berth or dock a boat (4) 38. Deceiver (7) 39. Norse God of Thunder (4)

1. Prestigious universities in the US (3, 6) 2. Murderers (7) 3. Slingshot (8) 4. Greek winged Goddess of victory; sportswear manufacturer (4) 5. Crescent-shaped flaky breakfast roll (9) 6. Cheese made backwards (4) 9. Mature (4) 11. WWF symbol (5) 13. Marine mollusc (6) 18. Children’s’ writer Roald ---- (4) 20. Despicable, morally reprehensible (4) 22. Racket sport (9) 23. Debacle, complete failure (6) 24. Moveable articles for the home or office (9) 27. Resident of Venice (8) 28. US songwriter born 1941 (surname) (5) 29. Affluent (7) 33. Notoriety, well-known public persona (4) 35. Resound (4)

word link

word steps

Find the word that can be placed between these words to make two new words or phrases

HOUSE

STONE

SUPER

KIND

NEWS

CUT

DEAD

LIFT

TOY

BOOK

phone in Use the clues and the keypad to find the answers to the grid using the week’s theme to help you. For example the number 3 in a clue could be D, E or F. This week’s theme is British Universities.

Last week’s crossword answers

Across

sudoku The aim of this puzzle is to fill each box so that each column, each row and 3×3 grid contains the numbers 1-9 just once.

Work your way down the steps from PIPE to RACK by filling in each step with a genuine four letter word.

As you take each step change one letter of the previous word keeping the rest of the letters in the same order.

PIPE

RACK

Down

1. 2747865 1. 2284 4. 387426 2. 693673 5. 393837 3. 226467

The clues below will help but they may not correspond to the order of the steps.

Clues • Humans considered as a group • Starchy grain used as a food staple • Fully developed

Last week’s Sudoku answers

andy’s number cruncher Keep your brain in shape by trying to complete these sums as fast as you can without using a calculator

16

+18

MEDIUM

Last week’s phone in answers

logical What does this say?

16

x4

x2 +58

Divide 1/3 of this by 6

Take the Multiply Half square by 0.5 this

HARD

16 x13 +8

Divide by 24

logic problem

-4

Square this

-17

=

+119

Divide 8/22 of by 11 this

=

Cube this

3/5 of Divide this by 5

=

Square root

On the first day the beanstalk increased its height by half, on the second day by a third on the third day by a quarter and so on. How long did it take to achieve its maximum height of one hundred times its maximum height?

answers Word Steps: Pipe, Ripe, Rice, Race, Rack Number Cruncher: Easy = 32, Medium = 44, Hard = 15 Word Link: Maid, Man, Paper, Weight, Story Last week’s Logic Problem: Start the 7 and 11 minute hourglasses when the egg is dropped into the boiling water. When the sand stops running in the 7 hourglass, turn it over. When the sand stops in the 11 hourglass, turn the 7 over again.

When the sand stops in the 7 glass 15 minutes will have passed.

Last week’s Logical: Wait in vain

EASY

THE COURIER Monday November 29 2010

41

Hurricanes feel 2018?

England the Loko-motion > Sport, page 39 SportsEditors: Editors: Paul Christian, Gavin Tom James - courier.sport@ncl.ac.uk Sports Paul Christian, JamieJamie Gavin and Tomand James - courier.sport@ncl.ac.uk

> Intra Mural Football, page 40-41

Sports Editors: Jono Taylor, Wills Robinson and Kat Bannon - courier.sport@ncl.ac.uk

The view from the SRFU press box

Sports Editor Wills Robinson recalls his experience as an intern at the Scottish media team a fortnight ago

Full Concentration: Andy Robinson looks on as Scotland were comprehensively beaten 3-49 by New Zealand at Murrayfield a fortnight ago. For the SRFU press team, it proved a busy week A fortnight ago, I was given the opportunity to work with the media team at Murrayfield, in the week building up to Scotland’s first Autumn International with the All Blacks. It was an intense and very busy week, but one that was very rewarding.

The 9am start was certainly a shock to the system. I sat at my desk, checked my emails, and then was normally sent by the media manager to make tea and coffee for everyone else.

As an unpaid intern, the menial jobs do come a plenty, so it’s key to just take it on the chin.

I am then handed the press release for the day. This includes any injury updates, changes in selection or other rugby news that affects Scotland Rugby. We are the first to know about any changes and have to make sure nothing is leaked, and are forced to sign a confidentiality agreement, legally obliging us to keep quiet about anything that is released.

The press would begin to arrive at around midday with the likes of BBC and Sky setting up their equipment, and constantly asking for more tea and coffee, which we ultimately have to fetch for them.

Then, once manager Andy Robinson has finished putting his team through his paces, we head down

to the changing rooms ready to chaperone the players and coaches up to their interviews.

Normally we would brief them on what to say as well as giving them some information to sneak in, such as current ticket sales and statistics that show the side in a favourable light.

Throughout the week leading up to the All Blacks game, the players were told to mention their series win over Argentina a few months before and the confidence and belief they had going into the game.

When you are around the players, especially when they are conversing with the press, you really do get a sense of their emotions and feelings in the lead up to a match. The Scottish squad had a genuine sense of confidence and belief that they could beat the All Blacks; however this was to no avail.

Throughout the week, the routine would remain invariably the same, with press conferences going on most days with different ‘story’ players going in front of the journalists.

On Friday, the captain’s run is organised, where each team trained inside Murrayfield to give visual footage of the squad to broadcast media.

The Scotland team come out with a strict and disciplined session,

training as a whole squad. On the other hand New Zealand come out hands in pockets and whistling for what seemed to be a very relaxing session. Richie McCaw and Dan Carter are stood just kicking the ball to each other, while Stephen Donald is kicking at goal. Sonnie Bill Williams is sat in the stands, beanie at the ready, bracing the Scottish elements.

On match day the press team will arrive around 11.15am, with kick off at 5.15pm. Murrayfield is quiet and calm before 60,000 fans descend upon it in the early afternoon. Each member of the team picks up a headset from the police room and prepares themselves for a very chaotic day in preparation for the match.

First, the media team heads down to the tunnel to check everything is in place; backdrops for the postmatch TV interviews and then the press-conference room for the written press after the game. Programmes are delivered around the stadium. Around the press deck, the likes of Andy Nichol and Justin Marshall are quietly wandering around, minding their own business with a cup of tea and a soup.

It’s 2pm, and Murrayfield is starting to buzz as the drink starts to flow and the anticipation builds.

Bagpipes are playing all around

the ground and nobody could have possibly wished to see any more tartan kilts in one place.

The Scotland team arrive to a crowd outside the dressing rooms.

Flower of Scotland is played on the bagpipes outside as Ross Ford is the first through the door.

I stand in the tunnel, chaperoning the players into the dressing room, while behind me, Jill Douglas is waiting to interview Andy Robinson as he arrives. A bit of small talk goes down well with both, but sadly nothing more.

When the All Blacks arrive, it is a different story. Some have wry smiles on their face, some are singing along to the music on their headphones, and the likes of Dan Carter are whistling, hands in pocket as they walk in, with Kevin Mealamu carrying the drinks bottles at the end.

The team sheets are collected and delivered to the press deck, as the media sit down ready for the game.

During the match, the media team prepare to ask the players questions at the end of the game for the website, with a fellow intern writing up a run of play report live online.

Unfortunately, the game did not go Scotland’s way, but for the press team, it starts to get busy. I make my way through the crowds from the press deck and stand on

the pitch as the players make their way into the tunnel. I wait outside the changing rooms as Jill Douglas interviews a disappointed Andy Robinson followed by an elated Graham Henrys.

After the game, the written media are waiting in the press conference room for the views of the coach and captain. At the end of the aftermatch formalities, individual players come out to be interviewed. A dejected Kelly Brown and Richie Grey talk through the frustration before the All Blacks stroll in.

I first manage to grab man of the match, Sonnie Bill Williams, who expressed his delight at getting some much-needed game-time, while labelling Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith as “the best centre partnership in the world”.

I also managed to speak to the all time most-capped All Black Richie McCaw, who praised Sonnie Bill’s “unique ability with the ball”.

“When you’re defending him you need to look after him”.

My week at Murrayfield was one that I will never forget, as I returned to Newcastle exhausted but thankful for the experience. For the rest of the media team, the work starts all over again on Monday in preparation for Scotland’s next game.

42

Monday November 29 2010 THE COURIER

Sport

The FA just don’t know what taboo Harry Slavin German footballer Mario Gomez has broken away from the traditional viewpoint of modern day footballers in a recent interview with German celebrity magazine Bunte by stating his belief that “being gay should no longer be a taboo topic.”

According to Gomez, homosexual players should be open about their sexuality with their team mates and the public, and suggested that by “outing themselves” as homosexuals, they “would play as if they had been liberated.”

His comments have seen him voice an alternative view to those held by his country’s FA and teammates, with the German Football Federation (DFF) recently saying that although they are campaigning against homophobic behaviour within football, they cannot protect any player who decides to publicly announce his sexuality against the barrage of inevitable abuse from fans and unwanted media attention.

While his thoughts are refreshing to hear from a renowned professional, there is no denying the sobering truth on which the DFF have based their advice to homo-

sexual and bisexual players within the sport. Even though Gomez cites a number of popular individuals in other areas, football continues to be an exception where the message appears to be as callous as this: homosexuality is still a massive taboo in football and with its image as a masculine sport, gay players simply aren’t tolerated.

Mario Gomez is certainly in the minority by speaking out about the backwardness of this interpretation. Only this month, the head of the Croatian Football Federation Vlatko Markovic, remarked that no gay player will ever play for the national side while he is in charge, insinuating that homosexual footballers were, in whichever sense he meant, not as healthy compared to ‘normal’ players.

So far no action has been taken by FIFA, UEFA or the Croatian Football Federation against Markovic, who’s only acknowledgment of any wrong-doing has been to apologise for the statement which he even denies making in the first place.

Despite the numerous personnel in other industries such as film, music, and other sports, homosexuality is an issue the football community just isn’t comfortable dealing with. Other sport stars in other sports have come out to their peers,

most notably Gareth Thomas, the former Welsh rugby union captain, who received a lot of support from the rugby community.

The situation in English football is no different to the rest of world with a distinct lack of effort on the part of the FA to provide any attempt to step up efforts to tackle homophobic behaviour within the sport.

At the beginning of the year the FA inexplicably pulled the plug on an anti-homophobic TV advertisement campaign, and, although they claim to be merely delaying it, there has been no indication since of any attempts to re-launch the programme.

It is worrying how little headway English football has made in the two decades since Justin Fashanu decided to go public with his sexuality. His decision, as is well known, resulted in tragedy: disowned by his own brother, abused by crowds and surrounded by constant speculation into his personal life, ultimately resulted in the player committing suicide in 1998.

The lack of progress, in an age where acceptance in society is much greater than that of twenty years ago, shows an unwillingness within football to move with the times.

But as the topic of homosexuality within football begins to see homophobic slurs widely condemned, as rumours about gay footballers begin to bore us and as anti-homophobic groups within the game sustain support for their cause, surely we are just looking at a case of eventuality.

Media attention on the subject is now tending to question the inaction of football authorities and the game’s inability to provide any support for homosexuals. Mark Chapman’s BBC Inside Sport programme titled The Last Taboo saw him attempt to draw answers from English football as to why there are no openly gay players in the professional leagues, which even saw current footballer Clarke Carlisle candidly answering questions on the subject Despite the growing support for players in the game however, is there really any need for a gay player to come out and risk his career? Is it worth the possibility of jeopardising your job, social alienation and almost certain abuse from fans just to be the first brave soul who decided to out himself?

Bisexual poet and amateur footballer Musa Okwonga believes that players do not come out for a mixture of reasons, some due to fear

of physical and emotional abuse, while others tend to stay in the closet for fear of their career.

Okwonga sees the ‘social progress’ within football maturing in a very different, but familiar way. Unlike the possibly fantastical idea of one brave man standing up against prejudice and outing himself to the world media to pave the way for dozens more to follow in his footsteps, Okwonga draws on parallels with the American Civil Rights movement; a certain Rosa Parks and the human emotion of frustration.

The idea that constant verbal barrages from fans would be enough to tip a player over the edge is quite plausible – there are many more acts of notable frustration carried out on a football field today than there are acts of genuine bravery.

Despite his good intentions, Mario Gomez’s comments are ultimately misplaced at this time.

While support for homosexuals within the game is in dire need of restructuring, gay players must still be looking for an answer to help free themselves of their own burden.

As lessons continue to be learnt from the past, it is still unclear whether football is ready to address its final taboo.

Holding out for a Geordie hero Jono Taylor Sports Editor Although retiring from the game over four years ago, the legacy of Alan Shearer remains as prevalent as ever on Tyneside. His name continues to be chanted on the terraces of St James’ Park, and it is safe to say that Newcastle United have never found an adequate replacement.

His retirement in 2006 triggered the rapid demise of his beloved club, with Newcastle United becoming a sinking ship with no captain capable of steering them to shore. Despite Shearer’s best efforts as a short-term manager, Newcastle sank out of the Premier League in May 2009 after sixteen years in the top flight, with the foundations that he had helped build for a decade left in tatters.

Despite being written off by the pre-season critics last year, Newcastle United returned to the ‘Promised Land’ with relative ease, winning the Championship in comprehensive fashion.

A number of their egotistical highly-paid superstars jumped off the ship, while manager Chris Hughton created a tightly-knit squad who were more than equipped to gain promotion at the first time of asking. The likes of Kevin Nolan, Jonas Gutierrez and Fabricio Coloccini restored their flagging reputations, while Wayne Routledge and Mike Williamson proved shrewd January acquisitions.

However, it was Gateshead-born striker Andy Carroll who proved the most impressive, cementing his place in the first team by contributing 19 goals to Newcastle’s promotion charge. His consistently impressive performances were rewarded last month when he was given the infamous number nine shirt at St James’ Park, to the bemusement of some of the nation’s most experienced sports writers.

Andy Carroll was widely condemned by the national news-

papers after missing a relatively straightforward header during Newcastle’s Premier League baptism of fire at Old Trafford earlier this season. Martin Samuel’s article in the Daily Mail was amongst the most damning. On 17th August 2010, Samuel wrote: “Prospects are not as bright for Andy Carroll. Newcastle United, newly arrived and undercooked considering the extent of the challenge, will look to play the Premier League big hitters on the counter attack, meaning Carroll will lead the line alone and must have a deadeyed instinct for goal. He is not that type of player, sadly.”

Since his harsh and tenuous article, Newcastle’s number nine recently notched his eighth goal of the season at the Reebok Stadium, and has received a host of praise from Premier League managers, journalists and fellow players. Carroll has already been tipped to play a part in England’s EURO 2012 qualifying campaign, while Arsene Wenger has been reported to be closely monitoring his progress.

Carroll made his England debut in the friendly defeat against France a fortnight ago and was widely praised for his performance. Above all, Andy Carroll now recognizes the fundamental truth of being a Premier League striker - the fickleness of the media.

At only 21-years-old, the sky is the limit for Andy Carroll. The last year has seen an incredible development in his game, and his potential is genuinely frightening. He is already very good in the air, both in attack and defence, while he can also score goals with his feet. His work-rate for his team is unquestionable, and his confidence unfathomable.

Andy Carroll is far from the finished article, but he undeniably possesses the raw attributes required to become an established Premier League striker. The development from potential to proven will be determined by his personal

Andy Carroll made his England debut in the friendly defeat against France earlier this month. Can he be Newcastle’s new saviour?

desire, attitude and graft during the upcoming months.

It is four years since Alan Shearer hung up his boots at St James’ Park for the final time, and Newcastle United have certainly paid the price for not replacing him. However in Andy Carroll, they may well have found his heir. After a World

Cup of bitter disappointment in the Rainbow Nation, England are searching for the next generation to take over from their perennial under-achievers. Newcastle’s newest number nine is far from possessing genuine international pedigree, but his development should certainly not be met with the cynicism or

ridicule of recent times. Despite all of the unfounded mockery that he has already received from analysts such as Martin Samuel, Andy Carroll now finds the eyes of a nation firmly upon him. I hope that he thrives under the spotlight.

THE COURIER Monday November 29 2010

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Sport

Is football coming home in 2018?

After months of campaigning, FIFA will finally decide on Thursday whether England will host the 2018 World Cup Finals. Dan Robinson and Jimmy Booker look at our chances...

Dan Robinson Imagine the scenes. London, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, even Plymouth, bounce in unison as men, women and children from all corners of the earth visit the Great British Isles for a four-week feast of football. The Beautiful Game has finally come home.

England is the birthplace of the sport that is not only synonymous with our nation, but also the most popular game on the planet. We boast the greatest and most competitive league around, our clubs frequently challenge for honours in Europe, and we have historic competitions such as the FA Cup, which consists of more fairy tales than the Brothers Grimm.

Not only that, but some of the best players on earth are now happy to call our noble nation home sweet home. We can offer genuine world class stadiums like the Emirates, Old Trafford and, of course, Wembley (if we forget about a certain pitch crisis).

Even outside this trio, we have a great range of eye-catching arenas, fitted with complete seating and posing few safety risks. Yet, somehow, we have not hosted the World Cup since 1966.

We have some of the best fans the world over; supporters who will follow their teams through thick and thin no matter what league they are in. Despite the club virtually imploding and seeing their side slip from the Champions League semi-finals to the depths of League One in just four years, almost 25,000 still managed to find their way to Elland Road to watch Leeds claw their way back.

The Championship, England’s second tier, is the fourth most watched league in Europe in terms of attendances. When you consider some of the achievements of the top sides in other less popular leagues across the continent, such as Ajax, Lyon and Porto, to name a few, this is remarkable.

This summer’s event suffered from regular poor crowds, probably due to FIFA’s pricing policy as much as anything, but you could bet Gareth Bale’s escalating value on this not being a problem should the competition be staged here.

If 25,000 are prepared to spend their hard-earned cash on Derby Jimmy Booker Everyone’s getting behind it. Prince William, David Cameron and David Beckham are just a few of the select that are caught up in the hype and hope that football will indeed be coming home for the 2018 World Cup Finals.

From the way it is sold to us by the team behind the bid, you’d think they were right in jumping on the proverbial bandwagon quicker than you can say ‘They think it’s all over’.

Compared to it’s bidding rivals, England looks to be one of the front runners on Thursday. A poor transport system and the lack of current stadia have thrown Russia’s bid into jeopardy, no clear security plan and concerns about co-hosting tensions have halted the Iberian challenge, and underdog Belgium/Holland is let down by lack of hotel space and government guarantees.

vs. Scunthorpe, then just how many will be there for a World Cup match at their local stadium?

Put simply, the prospect of witnessing the biggest tournament this great sport has to offer at your doorstep will be an offer not to be refused, irrespective of the likely sky-high cost.

England will always carry the hooligan tag after the events of the 1980s, yet in actual fact this is no longer considered a significant problem in the English game.

Trouble appears to be restricted to the odd match between rivals, and even then there is only a very small minority involved.

“England is the birthplace of the sport that is not only synonymous with our nation, but the most popular game on the planet” Logistically, England can also point to an infrastructure which will require no more than a mere refinement. In terms of transport, we have top-class rail links between all the major cities and more remote areas, frequent buses in urban centres, excellent motorways and airports for the majority of the host cities. Accommodation should not be a major problem with a great range of travel lodges and hotels across the country.

The fact that the Olympics is already set to come to London in 2012 suggests that this country is already well-placed to stage a major sporting event. Any work that has been put into 2012 will be transferable to 2018. Likewise, the last major football tournament to be staged here, Euro ’96, can only be described as a roaring success.

As expected, FIFA’s recent health and safety report placed England’s bid as ‘low risk’, and ahead of the other contenders.

Yet, in equal anticipation, the World Cup is unlikely to be decided according to such glaringly obvious factors. Instead, politics, the media, and, of course, money will no doubt hold the cards.

Russia appears to be favourite at present, despite never having really been a major international player in the game. Of course, England may have been in pole position had it But does this pave the way for England? Not by any stretch.

FIFA inspectors have criticised England’s bid, as it is deemed that England “has not contracted the required number of venue-specific training sites or venue-specific team hotels.” The report goes on to reveal that there are also too few training base camp hotels.

Many would argue that these concerns are relatively minor when compared to co-hosting tension and clear security plans, and would be easily rectified in the seven and a half years between now and the tournament’s staging.

FIFA also gave England a glowing reference on such issues as transport, IT infrastructure and technology, event safety, marketing, media and communication; each of these undoubtedly an important string to the bow of the 2018 bid.

Just a minute, I hear you say. The English transport system received a glowing reference? The English

Back The Bid: After a long campaign, England will finally discover this Thursday whether it will stage the 2018 World Cup Finals

not been for the media in this country, which appears to be hell-bent on sabotaging our bid despite the rewards they would no doubt en-

joy should we triumph.

But even if the papers and politicians aren’t quite united, let’s just hope that, come Thursday, we can

taste the success which our national side has denied us for years. Back The Bid!

transport system? I don’t think I go two days without hearing of ‘essential maintenance work’, ‘it’s never this busy on a Friday’ or ‘it’s the train in front’s fault’ that screws everybody over.

Another issue is that the estimated cost of the bid is just shy of half a billion pounds, £455 million to be precise. As with all major events, this will probably steadily increase for the next seven years to the point of it doubling, even trebling.

I will acknowledge that if a half decent tournament is organised, this will probably be made back many times over, but if the 2012 Olympics budget is anything to go by, then the country is looking at a pretty hefty initial hit to fund it.

While I’m on the subject, is it wise to go for a tournament so soon after London will play host to the world’s finest athletes? The 2012 Olympics, along with its dreadful logo that has plagued us for years and will do so for a long time yet, has come

under a lot of fire for escaping all the national budget cuts, and remains a destination for a lot of the taxpayer’s income even throughout these difficult financial times.

No one more than I would like to see the finest footballers on the planet gracing our home venues, but does England really need the tension that goes with the funding of such a major event, especially when the government is enforcing so many spending cuts on the public?

Optimists would call the potential World Cup in England, as they have branded the 2012 Olympics, a shining beacon of hope that would unite a nation during times of struggle and hardship.

However, football is not loved by everybody. Some people hate it, just as there are those who couldn’t give two hoots whether Usain Bolt runs the 100m in London or Paris.

The issue of whether we have a World Cup or not may not matter

anyway, if the English Press has anything to say about it. Recent investigations by the Sunday Times into FIFA corruption, a forthcoming Panorama special and, according to UEFA President and FIFA Vice-President Michel Platini, years of the British media criticising football’s governing body has thrown the bid into question.

Whether the allegations are true or not, the claims have hurt FIFA, and it would be naive to think that such an issue wouldn’t play on the minds of the bigwigs who cast the deciding votes.

England is a tolerant and colourful nation, so recent jibes by Spain and an intimidated Russia that they have concerns about the British public in the face of multiculturalism will not wash.

My biggest fear is that this British public won’t have two pennies to rub together when they want to pay to see their heroes do what they do best.

44

Monday November 29 2010 THE COURIER

Sport

Eccles masterclass puts icing on Aftermath cake Intra Mural Football Division 2

Olympic Mayonnaise 0 Aftermath 2 Dan Robinson at Longbenton 3G A second half Dave Eccles brace was enough for Aftermath to fight off the challenge of Olympic Mayonnaise in a comfortable win at Longbenton.

Despite a poor first half devoid of much goalmouth activity, the Mathematicians proved their superiority as they stepped up a couple of gears to condemn their opponents to a fifth straight defeat on the spin in a snow-swept affair.

The opening period was far from Winter Wonderland though, with neither side able to find a rhythm or take the necessary risks to penetrate the defence.

It took 15 minutes for the first real chance to present itself, thanks to a rash clearance from Mayo keeper Ray Crisp which fell right at the feet of Rob Sheldon. The midfielder managed to hold off the challenge of the defender, but Crisp recovered well to make a good save when the shot came his way.

Yet, regardless of the neat passing displayed by Aftermath with some good build-up play, they were frequently let down in the final third with poor deliveries and astray passing from the forward players.

However, they soon found that route one was the best recipe for goal-scoring opportunities, as the defenders began to look for the ball over the top, knowing they had more pace to boast.

A good long-range ball from Chris Haywood found Eccles behind the defence, but the keeper’s presence was enough to see him fire wide from 20 yards out.

On the half hour mark, Eccles was again released in the same area, but once more found the goal an evasive object, as the ball was struck beyond the far post.

Although their kit suggested AC Milan, the Olympians’ defensive

Aftermath braved the bitterly cold weather last week at Longbenton 3G, as well as some snow, to record a morale-boosting win over Olympic Mayonnaise play contained louder echoes of Darlington, as they struggled to deal with the Aftermath strikers.

But it didn’t stop them from shouting “This is quality!”

Worryingly, they have clearly seen worse this season. The only member of the back four who appeared comfortable was left back ‘Bondy’, with strong tackling and a couple of runs forward at least offering his side something of an attacking description.

As half time arrived, Aftermath continually failed to capitalise on their opponents’ shortcomings at the back, and skipper Haywood’s team talk questioned the will of his side to take a much-needed three points.

This still did not seem to give them the rear-end kick they required, however, as they were almost punished by their own trick. With the sound of the referee’s whistle still reverberating in the air, the familiar

sight of a long-range aerial ball released Mayo striker Joe Newmarch through on goal.

Hesitancy got the better of him as he opted to hold it up rather than advance on goal with the defenders on his heels, and the opportunity was spurned.

Just three minutes later, Aftermath had keeper Dan Turner to thank, who palmed away a goalbound strike after the Mayo forward found space following a throw-in.

At the other end, a great reflex save from Crisp kept out the best chance of the match thus far, from an eight-yard Pete Watts’ header which seemed destined for the net.

This was the closest they had come yet, but still appearing short of ideas, they turned to Intra Mural football’s number one linesman ‘one lucky Aftermath player’, Robbo, for some one-footed inspiration.

Having somewhat fortunately netted in two previous appearances

on the 3G, this felt like just the occasion for the silver-haired assassin.

However, it was another substitute whose introduction would be felt more keenly, as striker Joel Hawkins arrived on the field with an hour gone.

Almost immediately he made an impact, as he squared the ball for Eccles, who composed himself to pick his spot past the keeper.

Finally, Aftermath had taken advantage of their dominance and suddenly had the game by the scruff of the neck. Hawkins looked lively and a good bet to add more goals to this tie.

But it was Eccles who doubled the scoring, intercepting a horrendous ball across the backline before rounding the keeper and slotting home.

Mayo tried in vain to claw their way back into the game, with Chris Holland leading the line well but struggling to cause problems for a

solid Aftermath defence. Haywood and Nick Ridley were colossal in the centre and little got past them all afternoon.

With 10 minutes remaining, Eccles could, and perhaps should, have bagged his first hat trick of the campaign when he found himself one-on-one with Crisp. But he watched in agony as his effort curled towards the wrong side of the post despite possessing bags of time and acres of space.

The game soon fizzled out under thick snowflakes, but Haywood was happy with his side’s victory against the team they were promoted with last season.

“It was a good three points in the end, and we’re very happy to get our first clean sheet of the season!” he said.

“The man of the match award has to go to Pete Watts for his tireless effort all match in a defensive midfield role”.

Waterpolo success Newcastle hit the bullseye as in season opener Northumbria fail to find range Men’s Waterpolo

Newcastle 1sts Dundee 1sts

11 5

Stuart Mac Manus at Northumbria Sports Centre After a win the previous week over tough rivals Durham, Newcastle were keen to continue their winning form into the first BUCS fixture of the season against Dundee.

The start of the game was tense, with Newcastle conceding a counter attack goal against the run of play. However, Newcastle rallied before the end of the first quarter with captain Ally Walker levelling the score.

The second quarter was close fought, with Newcastle gaining the upper hand through goals from Luke Watkins and Stuart Mac Manus, to put the home side two goals ahead at half time.

Dundee came back strong in the

second half, but an excellent Newcastle defence combined with a great quarter in goal from James Hillmen, kept the Dundee goal tally to two. Further goals from Terry Clarke, Alex Smith and Richard Jackson pushed the hosts further in the ascendancy.

With the score at 6-2 going into the final quarter, the home side just needed to control the game in order to secure a crucial victory. Newcastle kept their discipline despite a fast and furious fourth quarter, conceding three goals, whilst adding five to their own total.

A strong performance from the hosts ensured a morale-boosting 11-5 demolition of the competitive Scottish outfit. It was a great result and a very promising start to the Waterpolo BUCS campaign, and one that will hopefully set the trend for the rest of the season.

For more information, contact Charlie at: Charles.ellington@ncl.ac.uk

Men’s Darts

Northumbria Newcastle

0 10

Calum Stewart at Northumbria Student’s Union Newcastle were keen to show their ‘bouncebackability’ against city rivals and no one went home disappointed, with the Newcastle lads showing unbelievable tekkers to dispatch the Poly 10-0 without dropping a single leg in the entire match.

The doubles pairings of Gary Cowlam / Calum Stewart and Simon Yewer / Steven Mead got the match off to a great start with convincing wins.

Debutants, Ryan Bennett and Martin Reynolds, played the first two singles matches and were not put off by the crowd and the big stage, both running out 2-0 victories, in-

cluding an exquisite 99 checkout from Reynolds.

Gerrard ‘Jedward’ Weale then showed that he hadn’t been phased by his defeat at Leeds by running away with a 2-0 win in his encounter.

With the score now at 5-0, it was up to Simon Yewer to guarantee the win, and he duly obliged with a fine performance. Yewer’s recent victory ensured that he has kept his faultless singles record for this season intact.

‘Shakin’’ Steven Mead and Captain Calum Stewart were the next singles players, at numbers three and two respectively, and both got the better of their Poly counterparts in two more one-sided affairs.

In the battle of the number ones, it looked like Glittery Gary had let complacency set in and was looking like being the first player to lose a leg in the match, but he pulled out an inspired 106 checkout to leave his opponent stunned.

This confidence carried Gary to a comprehensive 2-0 win. He now joins his doubles partner, Calum

Stewart, in the elite group of players yet to lose a leg this season, after playing four games.

With the score at 9-0 it was now down to the untested trebles team of Weale, Reynolds and Bennett to complete the whitewash, and they were far from phased by the task as they dominated the leg to come away comfortable winners, allowing Newcastle to march off with the cleanest of clean sheets.

After thrashing the Poly, Newcastle’s Darts players will be looking to continue their fine form in the upcoming weeks.

Interested in getting involved?

Please get in touch at: newcastle.dartssociety@ncl.ac.uk

Web Exclusive <<<

For more match reports, comment and blogs, visit our website at www. thecourieronline.co.uk

THE COURIER Monday November 29 2010

BUCS

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Sport

Rifle club target firing success Rifle Club Michael Savage, Dave Booker and Derek Wong Rifle shooting is one of the oldest and most prevalent sports in the world, with almost every country participating in it. A shooting discipline has been part of the Olympic Games since 1912. The University has been practicing this noble discipline since the club was re-founded in 2001 after a long hiatus.

This season the NURSC has dramatically improved upon last year’s great accomplishments. During the previous year the club scored clear rounds in the British Universities and College Sports (BUCS) League with the A, B, and C teams coming first place in their divisions respectively.

Special mention goes to the A team as several university teams are extremely strong with their national shooters. As well, our university teams placed fourth in competitions in Sheffield, Appleton, and the Imperial Championship meeting in Bisley, Surrey.

Club Captain Sanjay Mortimer said: “For many years the club has had quite a slog justifying itself alongside well established sports in the University such as rugby. The results that we have been able to

The rifle elite: Newcastle prides itself in being the premier University Shooting Club in the North East of England achieve demonstrate how hard the University’s Rifle Club have been working behind the scenes.

“We are now able to excel at a

high level against very tough opposition, against clubs that have been established for far longer than we have been. As it stands we are

currently the only northern English University to have made it into the Sheffield Championships as we did last year.”

Shooters from the University mainly participate in two forms of the sport, .22 smallbore and 7.62 fullbore.

Smallbore involves firing small calibre rifles at short ranges from 25m to 100m. The targets are cards with 10 small circular targets giving a maximum score of 100 achievable.

Fullbore involves firing large cali-

bre rifles at much greater distances from 300m to 1000m. To be able to train for fullbore the club decamps down the M1 to the National Rifle Association headquarters in Bisley.

These trips, besides being a very good experience for the members, provide a social camaraderie which cements the friendships developed in the club.

The club has acquired many talented shooters that are pushing to gain their first international cap.

However, the main body of club members are novices who have just picked up the sport on coming to university. The more experienced shooters teach and coach the beginners on the main principles of the sport, guiding them to become the experts of the future.

Club President Derek Wong said, “This year we have many more accomplished shooters and we have already started our BUCS season spectacularly; hopefully we can build upon our position this year and do the University proud.”

Newcastle University prides itself on being the premier University Shooting Club in the North East of England. The club takes its members from a wide spectrum of abilities: previously experienced shooters to people who are taking up the sport for the first time.

It is a friendly and close-knit club with a strong emphasis on the social aspect.

Our sessions start at 6.30pm every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday in the University Longbenton Sports Ground.

If you are interested please do not hesitate to contact Derek Wong or Sanjay Morimer at: d.k.s.wong1@ ncl.ac.uk or sanjay.mortimer@ gmail.com

Aberdeen tipped for coaching award Tarren Smarr Newcastle University has yet another sporting accomplishment to celebrate.

Iain Aberdeen, director of the University’s fencing programme, has been announced as one of the top three finalists for Sportscoach UK’s coveted Performance Development Coach of the Year Award.

The award is set to recognise coaches that have not only shown commitment to the sport, but those who provide initiative and develop high quality athletes.

It is no surprise that Aberdeen has been nominated for such a prestigious award. Newcastle University has long been known for it’s fencing programme and producing high quality athletes, and it is through his commitment to excellence that the programme thrives.

In order to help fencing become not only a sustainable sport at the university, but also in the North East, Aberdeen developed a Junior Performance Squad that trains at the Sports Centre. This unique squad is open to athletes aged 13-18 and provides them with elite training.

“The Junior Performance Squad is one of our flagship recruiting programs. We want to keep the athletes engaged in the sport and hope

they will want to continue as a student of the University” Aberdeen commented.

Not only has he taken the initiative to include young athletes in a high performance sport, he also spends time working with youth in schools.

“They [the children] start at the basic level with plastic swords.

Some of them really enjoy the sport and like learning new skills.”

Alongside working with the University and local schools, he also spends time coaching Paralympic athletes. The current British Paralympic champion was coached by Aberdeen and is from the North East of England.

Iain Aberdeen, a former coach for Great Britain, has worked hard to provide opportunities for involvement in fencing. This includes hosting a five-day international camp during the summer, establishing and maintaining links with the local community and continuously training athletes to a high standard of sporting participation.

Under Aberdeen’s coaching, athletes have competed at the national, European, and international level and the University places near the top rankings in BUCS each year.

The winner of the award will be announced at the awards ceremony at The Brewery in London on November 30 2010.

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Monday November 29 2010 THE COURIER

Sport BUCS

Knights thrust aside by Sheffield M. HIETALA

Men’s Basketball

Newcastle 2nds Sheffield 1sts

39 68

Marika Hietala at the Sports Centre In early November, Newcastle Seconds had secured their first victory of the season by beating Leeds Metropolitan Carnegie Thirds in the first round of the cup, whilst in their round one fixture, Sheffield Firsts had crushed Hull. This second round fixture between Newcastle and Sheffield had the sense of David versus Goliath to it. Only this time, the giant won.

The name of the game was clear from the beginning; Newcastle would struggle to stay in the match as Sheffield, with more individual talent, would be in control of the happenings on the field. The home side showed maybe too much respect for the visitors who took an early lead.

Sheffield played with greater confidence and Newcastle made a number of unnecessary mistakes, losing the ball to the visitors all too easily. Defensively the hosts were constantly a few steps behind, and as the pressure was weak, Sheffield at times simply sailed through the Knights’ defence.

However, the hosts could not be blamed for a lack of effort. As the game progressed, the home team got their game increasingly togeth-

er, and particularly Ben Clayphan challenged the Sheffield defence.

Even if looking through rosetined glasses, it would not be an exaggeration to argue that the stars were aligned against Newcastle Seconds last Wednesday. The team managed to create opportunities and space to take shots, but they consistently only shook the backboard or bounced back into play from the edges of the basket.

The second quarter saw a more composed and mobile Newcastle.

While Sheffield seemed somewhat arrogant and lost their focus for a time, Newcastle grew in confidence.

The hosts’ efforts were rewarded as the third quarter started with the home side leading by a point, while only their poor finishing prevented them from taking a greater lead.

In the third and fourth quarters the game tempo increased as Sheffield was awakened from their false assurance. Newcastle fought back bravely, but the further the game advanced, the clearer the level difference became.

At the offensive end of the field, Newcastle crashed into Sheffield’s defensive wall and the home side were forced to take hasty shots from difficult positions, whilst Sheffield got their diverse, offensive game working properly, and the last quarter was a Sheffield show.

No cup magic in the Sports Centre last Wednesday. Newcastle put up a good fight, but ultimately were second-best to Sheffield’s elite.

Newcastle shines in Short Course Swimming Stuart McManus in Sheffield Knights missing the magic: Newcastle just couldn’t match the skill and confidence of the Sheffield victors in second round clash

Third round sealed Men’s Hockey

Leeds 3rds Newcastle 1sts

0 5

Charley Wright at Weetwood A below-par performance from Newcastle University Men’s Hockey Club’s elite was enough to see them through to the third round of the cup with a victory over Leeds thirds.

The early exchanges saw both teams struggle in possession, with Newcastle giving the ball away too readily to the visitors. After 20 minutes had been played, the only chance of note to either side was a Newcastle penalty corner which was charged down by a pumped Leeds defence.

However, the final 10 minutes of the half saw Newcastle stamp their authority on the match with two quick-fire goals. The first came through a swift transfer across the

pitch, with Patrick Ost applying the well placed finishing touch.

Newcastle’s second half was much more impressive. A series of quick one-twos between veteran right back John Colville and fresher Rob Ramsden and then skipper Hector Hall eventually saw the ball to the end of Ian Rossiter’s stick, whose clever skill and deceptive pass fooled the Leeds goalkeeper, allowing Josh Mackay to slot the ball into an empty net.

Newcastle’s pressure continued up until the half time whistle, with Mackay and Rossiter teaming up again on a break to narrowly miss a relatively easy chance on the break.

After the break Newcastle started well, obviously fired up from their half time team talk. Within five minutes they had extended their lead to three goals through a simple penalty corner routine, ending in a pinpoint strike by Ian Rossiter.

A period of sloppy play from the away side followed, with lazy tackles and misplaced passes not being helped by some unusual umpiring.

Still the defence held strong with Max Underwood at its core continuing to attempt expansive passes from centre back.

After this patchy period of play Newcastle went on to secure the win and their ticket through to the next round of the cup with a further two strikes at the end of the second half.

The first came courtesy of Rossiter’s stick, the forward finishing a carbon copy penalty corner routine of the one he had scored 20 minutes earlier. The second was slightly more fortunate with a direct through ball from Underwood finding Mackay’s stick in the ‘D’, the young forward deflecting the ball past the helpless Leeds goalkeeper, deftly rewarding his running during the whole game.

Overall the Newcastle side will feel like they could have played better, but with victory in the bag they can look forward to more challenging opponents in the future rounds.

On the weekend of November 1214, Newcastle’s Swimming Club took 22 swimmers down to Sheffield for the Short Course BUCS championships- our largest team in years.

The weekend got off to an excellent start with Will Jolly winning gold in the Men’s 1500m Freestyle.

Will took the lead from the start, and with the whole team cheering from the side, kept in front of the competition and stormed through to victory in an impressive time of 15:35.

Boosted by Will’s success, the Men’s and Women’s Freestyle relay teams both achieved new club records and narrowly missed out on final places.

Saturday proved a tougher day, but the squad should be delighted with their efforts. With tough competition against International and Olympic swimmers, our squad held their own. Adam Shaw got the team off to a good start in the morning, narrowly missing out on going under the two minute mark in the Men’s 200m front crawl.

Chris Dixon then went on to swim 32 seconds in the Men’s 50m Breaststroke, finishing inside the top 20.

Other top 20 swims on the Saturday were achieved by Caroline Brady, Chris Garner-Jones, Misha Newman, Martyn Stott, Lauri Simkiss and Rachel Ellis. The day was rounded off with the medley relay

heats, where the girls’ team of Caroline Brady, Lauri Simkiss, Rachel Ellis and Liz Hodges produced a fantastic race and qualified for the Ladies’ B final.

Not to be outdone by the girls, the boys’ team of Chris Garner-Jones, Chris Dixon, Misha Newman and Adam Shaw finished the medley in a new club record, but unfortunately missed out on a final place by fractions of a second.

On the Sunday, Will Jolly repeated his success on Friday night by coming fourth in the Men’s 400m Freestyle, smashing the four minute barrier in a time of 3:57. Will completed a trio of great swims by recording a new personal best in the Men’s 200m butterfly, arguably the hardest competitive race.

Not to be outdone by Will, Rachel Ellis made the Ladies’ 50m Butterfly final, recording a time of 29 seconds and finishing eighth against very stiff competition from Loughborough and Stirling.

The weekend was finished off with the medley finals. Worn out and tired from 24 hours at a pool, the whole team gathered together to cheer the girls on in the final.

Caroline made a great start on the backstroke, and the rest of the team carrying this success on, with the girls finishing in third place.

All in all a fantastic weekend with great swims by everyone involved.

If anyone out there is interested in joining the swimming team, even if you have not competed in a few years, don’t hesitate to get in contact with Graham Donald (graham. donald@ncl.ac.uk ) or Lis Kilcourse (e.a.kilcourse@ncl.ac.uk) .

THE COURIER Monday November 22 2010

47

BUCS Sport

Third time not-so-lucky for Poly Ladies Hockey

Newcastle 1sts Northumbria 1sts

1 0

Kat Bannon Sports Editor at Longbenton Despite the fact that their undefeated run came to an abrupt end against Leeds the previous Wednesday, Newcastle Ladies are back on track for promotion after defeating Northumbria for the third time this season last week.

It was clear from the start this game was not going to mirror their whitewashes against Manchester seconds and Sheffield Hallam.

Play was matched in pace and possession from the first whistle, as Northumbria fought to prove their worth against the top of the league contenders.

However, there was a distinct difference in Newcastle’s play

from the lethargic stick and ball movement that characterised their match against Leeds. Although the forwards were yet to spark any notable action, the Newcastle defence calmly kept the Poly at bay despite the relentless hassling of the opposition’s midfield. Captain Abigail Moreland continued to battle against some questionable umpiring decisions, whilst Kate Robertson’s trademark block tackle left the Poly forwards frustrated.

Fifteen minutes on the clock saw Newcastle awarded their first penalty corner. The meticulous practice they underwent at training paid dividends as fresher Nicky Mollison fired the ball into the middle of the backboard from top ‘D’ to give the Royals the edge.

Nonetheless a one goal lead was not enough for Newcastle to feel even remotely at ease. A reminder to stay alert presented itself only a few minutes later when a through ball from the Northumbria defence found a stray forward on the Roy-

als’ twenty five. Fast tracking back from Newcastle forced a tight-angled shot from the forward who was unable to produce the wonder goal to even the stakes, allowing ‘keeper Emma Peters, and the dedicated sideline support team, a sigh of relief.

Worked out of the danger zone to lackadaisical fresher Erika Coakley, she fired a textbook ball down the line to centre forward Jenna Watt, whose inherent skill and flair looked ready to offer the Royals a potential chance on goal. However the poly defence outnumbered Watt quickly and the Newcastle back four found themselves under pressure again.

A Northumbria short was wrongly awarded from the aftermath of a winning tackle by Moreland found a poly player tripping over her own stick to give the poly the advantage. A goal line scramble kept Newcastle’s hearts in their mouths but Vice Captain Katie Leitch’s usual left post ferocity prevented

any sniff of a Poly comeback.

Minutes before the end of the first half Coakley’s silky skills allowed her the space to drive the ball down the right wing and hammer a cross which grazed the goal line. Unfortunately for birthday girl Tutu Osifodunrin, she was perhaps too busy finding her key to the door to get a stick there in time.

Newcastle entered the second half eager to increase their lead.

Man of the match Sophie McClean continued to work tirelessly over all areas of the pitch, proving a constant nuisance to Northumbria in snatching the ball out of midfield and powering through on the attack.

With only 10 minutes on the clock Osifodunrin’s push for a birthday goal reached its height. Finding herself with only the ‘keeper to beat, her narrowly angled shot brushed wide of the right post. Her next attempt came closer, when after picking the ball up just before the twenty five from McClean, Kat

Bannon delivered the ball to Osifodunrin, her shot this time rebounding from the left upright. It was then third time not-so-lucky as she was denied an extra birthday present once again when another long ball, this time from Mollison, found Bannon between the half way line and the twenty five. With one defender to beat a quick run around, the back from Osifodunrin gave her the ball again inside the ‘D’. A double rebound saw the ball dribble out of reach as it bounced off the ‘keepers back and skirted the wrong side of the post, the final whistle moments later confirming their score as 1-0.

Hoping to regain their position at top of the table Newcastle are keen to maintain this winning form against Manchester next week, and more importantly in Stan Calvert when they hope to make it a four out of four winning clean sweep against the Poly.

Netball Round-up: Newcastle 2nds Teeside 4ths

Harriet Needham at the Sports Centre

Newcastle 1sts Durham 1sts

28 42

The Royals knew this game was going to prove tough after closely missing out against their local rivals in their last league clash. It was a strong start for both teams, as play was matched goal-for-goal in the opening quarter. However, the opposition prevailed and were four up at quarter time. After a stern team talk, the Royals hit the court in the second quarter with their heads held high, ready to show Durham what they were made of and catching back to be within one goal of the oppositions’ score. The threat of Durham’s tall GS was kept at bay by Newcastle GK Sally Burden, forcing the opposition to fashion alternative strategies to get the ball into her hands. There was some excellent drifting down court with player of the match and GA Corinne Kinvig sweeping the circle edge beautifully. The girls continued to hold strong, however, after a few changes at half time Durham proved too tough and began to pull away, securing a more comfortable lead. Although not an easy game for either team, and despite not finishing on the winning side of the score line, it proved the best performance of the season for the Royals and sets them in good stead for next week’s clash against the Poly.

B. BABY

90 3

It was a record breaking match for the seconds this week as a crushing win over Teeside fourths allowed them to plough their way into the next round of the cup. There was no question of a Newcastle defeat as the away team played beautifully, keeping their heads held high throughout and refraining from giving away any easy balls.

Meanwhile, the opposition found themselves snowed under by GD Sassa Hamilton and WD Issy Retberg, who both picked up some incredible interceptions. Movement down court displayed some excellent passing and noteworthy progression from everything the girls have been practising and working towards in training. The ball was snowballed into the shooting circle with player of the match and GA Anna Dickinson putting up some fantastic shots. Well done girls!

Newcastle 3rds Leeds 5ths

50 24

The thirds achieved a solid win over Leeds fifths last week in the second round of the cup, getting off to an excellent start with good movement down the whole of the court. Vicky McMurray picked off vital interceptions in defence, allowing the scoreline to progress further, whilst the shooting was exceptionally outstanding, especially by GA and

player of the match Anna Rosenberg who kept her feisty defender at bay. Charlotte Plumtree at GK and Katie Marron at GD worked well together picking up countless interceptions. However, the match was not a complete walk in the park, as Leeds made it a struggle at some points for the girls to play their own game, but they pulled through to secure their place in the next round of the cup.

Newcastle 4ths Hull 2nds

65 52

It was a slow start for the fourths this week with the opposition taking an early lead and finishing the first quarter three ahead. The team fought back hard to be down by one at half time and then taking the lead easily in the third quarter. Felicity Linehan, out of position at GK had a fantastic game, never relieving pressure on the shooters. The whole team played brilliantly, with excellent movement down court.

Joanne Pilkington at C proved more than deserving of her player of the match status. Her accurate feeding and tireless defensive work down the whole of the court kept the entire squad battling on. The shooters performed amazingly, not struggling at all under the pressure of the tight defence. Ella Davison at GS shot beautifully, rarely missing a shot. A great performance all round, especially after a tricky start.

The 1sts faced defeat last week in a hard fought battle against local rivals Durham

BUCS Results - November 24 Badminton

Mens 1sts 4-4 Liverpool 1sts Mens 2nds 8-0 Sunderland 2nds Womens 0-8 Birmingham

Basketball

Mens 1sts 61-63 Bradford Mens 2nds 68-39 Sheffield 1sts Mens 3rds 53-94 Leeds Met 2nds Womens 1sts 73-40 Sheffield 1sts Womens 2nds 36-40 York 1sts

Fencing

Mens 1sts 104-132 Keele 1sts Womens 1sts 135-61 Bradford 1sts

Football

Mens 3rds 0-5 Sheffield 2nds Womens 1sts 0-9 Durham 1sts

Golf

Golf 1s 2.5-3.5 Lincoln 1sts Golf 2s 3.5-2.5 Sheffield 1sts

Hockey

Mens 1sts 5-0 Leeds 3rds Womens 1sts 1-0 Leeds 1sts Womens 2nds 12-1 Leeds 6ths Womens 3rds 11-0 Bradford 1sts

Lacrosse

Womens 2nds 5-16 Liverpool 1sts

Netball

1sts 28-42 Durham 1sts 2nds 90-3 Teeside 4ths 3rds 56-24 Leeds 5ths

4ths 65-52 Hull 2nds

1sts

Rugby

Table Tennis

Rugby League

Tennis

Mens 3rds 20-8 Leeds Met 3rds Mens 4ths 22-12 Sheffield 2nds

1sts 14-6 Liverpool 1sts

Squash

Mens 1sts 4-1 Durham 1sts Mens 2nds 3-0 Northumbria 3rds Mens 3rds 0-3 Hull 1sts Womens 1sts 1-3 Northumbria

Mens 1sts 8-9 Edinburgh 1sts Mens 2nds 7-10 Durham 2nds Mens 1sts 12-0 Northumbria 1sts Mens 2nds 0-12 Hull 1sts Womens 1sts 0-12 Leeds 1sts Womens 2nds 1-2 York 1sts

Volleyball

Mens 3-2 Northumbria 2nds

48

Monday November 29 2010 THE COURIER

Ladies hockey back on track Sports Editors: Paul Christian, Jamie Gavin and Tom James - courier.sport@ncl.ac.uk

> Sport, page 43

Sports Editors: Jono Taylor, Wills Robinson and Kat Bannon - courier.sport@ncl.ac.uk

The Big Freeze: Sport snowed under at Cochrane

After heavy snow showers swept across the city last week, a host of BUCS and Intra Mural games were postponed. Amongst the games cancelled was Newcastle 1sts Rugby Union showdown with rivals Northumbria

Sheffield say good-Knight to cup as Newcastle triumph

Women’s Basketball

Newcastle 1sts Sheffield 1sts

73 40

Jessica Ambler at the Sports Centre The second round of the BUCS knockout cup saw the Knights take on Sheffield in a hard fought northern joust, seeing them powering through to the next round.

With no previous dents in their armour the dominant, unrelenting force that is Newcastle Women’s Firsts was a huge threat and the away team arrived carrying a noticeable stench of fear.

The home court advantage was welcomed by Newcastle and the late tip-off time allowed the girls to arrive focussed and equipped with the all-important ‘game faces’.

However, having only beaten Sheffield by five points at the beginning of the season, a tough game was to be expected and Newcastle were ready to put up a fight to defend their unbeaten record.

A monstrous jump allowed Holloway to win the tip and direct the ball into the waiting arms of point-

guard, and rebel, Egle Duleckyte.

Newcastle immediately fell into their offence and swung the ball around using strong screens in the attempt to create an open shot.

The first points came from Jambler using a back-door cut to receive a pass from the baseline.

Quickly back on defence the Knights used their formidable manto-man marking to prevent Sheffield any ball movement, but when their opening basket dropped, the home side adjusted to recognise the shooting threats. Newcastle’s Lithuanian domination left a somewhat dense opposition scratching their heads as the ball flew down court to complete textbook fast breaks.

However, the score was close and poor passing from Newcastle allowed easy interceptions and the control of the game was reversed.

In the second quarter Newcastle recognised the change in the Sheffield defence and volleyball enthusiast T. Fung was quick to take her signature shot. Coco Vaughan played a strong game and drove to basket without any hesitation.

However, Sheffield came out on top with rebounds as their booty-

popping tactics boxed the Knights out of contention. Down court they presented threatening moves and with the thunderous post player squaring up on the outside, the Knights weren’t always able to read the outcome.

Sheffield also set solid screens to open up their shooters but J.HP. Monney fought round to deny them any points. A block from Dr Vaughan caused a turnover and sharp passes between the Vaughan duo came at much to the delight of the family fan club.

The quarter ended 35-22, which Newcastle would only hope to capitalise on.

Coach Ballard used half time to boost the team with more of his inspirational words.

The dreaded third quarter that has affected Newcastle basketballers for some time would have no part in this game and the home side went back onto court fired up. Ball movement was strong and a sober, Jacqui Fisher made her presence felt under basket, drawing Sheffield in for shooting fouls. Her 75% record from the line brought in easy points and allowed Newcastle to settle back into their defence.

Still in man-to-man the Knights stayed tight and stepped up the defence to prevent drives to basket. Frustrated Sheffield attempted outside shots but the embarrassing air balls did nothing for either their score or street cred. Yoga expert Duleckyte called plays early and created a couple of successful offences leaving Sheffield scrambling to regain possession.

Newcastle hustled hard, coming out on top to make steals and breaks down the floor. Once again the noise both off and on court was invaluable and a Newcastle completely outplayed their opposition scoring 21 points compared to the meagre eight of Sheffield.

The Knights went into the fourth quarter with a big lead that they only intended on extending. The normally quiet E. Jackson reverted to her Cumbrian roots when continuous fouls both on and off the ball went uncalled. Persistence on her baseline moves resulted in good baskets as she outclassed the manic defence.

Katie Boyd used her height to dwarf Sheffield and her reliability in the key was vital on preventing any cuts coming through. Sheffield

played a tough game and didn’t give up but when the final whistle came, Newcastle finished with a punishing 30 point lead. Coach Ballard once again summarised the game; “The commitment from the team cannot be faulted. They know I get mad and yell at them but it’s all for show, as I do always have faith in them. I really am lucky to be the coach of this great side and not only do they bring home the win but they play really good basketball with it.”

Newcastle Women’s Firsts team appear unstoppable and are no longer just achieving wins, but are bringing huge scores with it. Oppositions have reportedly been left in tears after these Newcastle destructions and some cannot face ever playing again.

The team is always growing in strength and will work hard to stay undefeated as they know that future games will not be easy.

Bradford next week will aim to knock Newcastle off their top spot, but even without homecourt advantage, Newcastle remain confident.