Courier 1365

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Tuesday 27 February 2018 Issue 1365 Free

thecourieronline.co.uk

Lifestyle GIAG takes Lauren Sneath to the Dog and Scone Page 14

Film What does Black Panther mean for the future of film?

Page 26

Stan Calvert Relive all the Stan Calvert action as it happened 8 Page Pullout

The independent voice of Newcastle students

Est 1948

Vice-Chancellor backs the strikes Mark Sleightholm

Professor Chris Day, the Vice-Chancellor and President of Newcastle University, has expressed support for staff striking in protest at changes to their pensions.

Staff at 64 universities across the UK, including Newcastle, began 14 days of industrial action on 22 February amid a dispute over changes to the Universities Superannuation Scheme which they argue could leave them up to £200,000 worse off.

Professor Day’s statement was published via Twitter in the early hours of Thursday morning, just before staff and students arrived on campus to set up picket lines for the strike.

“I absolutely support staff ’s decision to strike,” Day stated. “I’m not sure what else they can do to express their concerns about the situation we now find ourselves in.”

Day went on to point out the national nature of the dispute, with Newcastle just one of 64 universities affected by strike action.

Day is a member of Universities UK, a grouping of UK Vice-Chancellors that represents the interests of universities and was responsible for the changes to the USS pension scheme. According to his statement Day “will urge strongly that negotiations need to recommence” with striking staff, represented by the University and College Union.

Students showing their support Image: Saffron Kershaw-Mee

continued on page 4

Picket lines are drawn in the UCU strikes Steven Ross The first day of Newcastle lecturers’ strike over pension reform began on 22nd February with a rally at Grey’s Monument.

It was organised by the president of the University and College Union (UCU), Bruce Baker, who is also a History lecturer at Newcastle.

Baker began by reading an announcement from Newcastle University Vicechancellor Chris Day, which stated that he understood why lecturers were striking and that he would be meeting with vice-chancellors from other universities, urging for a return to negotiations.

The first speaker, Unite Regional Officer, Dave Telford spoke about how none of the staff wanted to be in a position where they had to strike but that the administration had left them with no other option.

He stated that the administration’s ap-

proach to negotiation was ‘their way or no way’.

Next, Trade Union Congress Regional Secretary, Beth Farhat talked about the Trade Union bill, saying that it was ideologically driven and constructed in a way that would make it harder for employees to withdraw their labour to protect their rights.

She also addressed students, suggesting that as soon as they start working, they should join a trade union.

Matt Perry, Vice Chair of the UCU Newcastle branch spoke next, and talked about the first recorded workers strike, by the pyramid builders, who demanded garlic to protect themselves from mosquitos.

That the pyramids exist was proof that they were successful. Perry also said that while 14 days of strikes would be costly for lecturers, it would be worth it to ensure that they could afford to use their central heating when they retire.

Sarah Elton, from Durham University said that students are being turned into

consumers, and lecturers into service providers. She argued that if lecturers did not act now, higher education as we know it will not exist in five years.

Dave Telford stated that the administration's approach to negotiation was "their way or no way" Finally, UCU Head of Higher Education, Paul Bridge, told the crowd that the degree of anger among union members was palpable. However, he said that he was prepared to negotiate with the Vice-chancellor, and it was now up to the administration to come to them.

Henry Holborn, Campaign Officer of Newcastle University Labour Society,

attended the rally.

He said that the administration was using false figures to justify cuts and that lecturers are already under strain with constant assessments like the Raising the Bar initiative.

He also said that lecturers helped him at university, so he wanted to support them.

Stephen Burrell, a PhD student from Durham University, said that this was the first time that politics has affected him directly as, going into academia, his future pension plan would suffer because of the proposed cuts.

In an interview with the Chronicle, UCU regional official Iain Owens said of the dispute: “Nobody wants to take strike action, but staff at Newcastle and Durham feel they have no choice.

It is staggering that the universities have refused to engage with the union and a real insult to staff and to students.We hope students will continue to put pressure on the vice-chancellors to get their reps back round the negotiating table.”

Inside today >>>

Oxfam Crisis discussed The Courier's writers debate the morality of Oxfams actions following revelations about the charity Comment, page 5

Royalty or activism?

Who sets the hottest trends in the 21st century: our beloved royals or those who take to the streets in protest Fashion page 17

No to single-use plastic The BBC want the substance banned by 2020 following the success of Planet Earth II Science page 28

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thecourier The Courier is a weekly newspaper produced by students, for students. It’s never too late to get involved in the paper, whether you’re a writer, illustrator or photographer. Just visit thecourieronline.co.uk/about for more information.

Editor James Sproston Deputy Editor Alex Hendley Online Editor Jared Moore Copy Editor Laura Staniforth Current Affairs Editor Sunil Nambiar News Editors Valentina Egorova, Hanson Jones, Louise Hall and Isabel Sykes Comment Editors Jamie Cameron, Caitlin Disken and Alexandra Sadler Life & Style Editor Izzi Watkins Lifestyle Editors Sophie Henderson, Jaymelouise Hudspith, Lauren Sneath and Victoria Young Fashion Editors Chloe Bland, Sophie Schneider and Zofia Zwieglinska Beauty Editors Laura Greatrex, Lois Johnston and Susanne Norris Travel Editors Charlotte Hill and Talia Gillin Culture Editors Zoë Godden and Ciara RitsonCourtney Arts Editors Scarlett Rowland and Carys Thomas Music Editors Toby Bryant, Charlie Isaacs and Ally Wilson TV Editors Jacob Clarke, Joel Leaver and Alex Moore Film Editors Helena Buchanan, Daniel Haygarth and Christopher Wilkinson Gaming Editors Gerry Hart, Georgina Howlett and Richard Liddle Science Editors Jack Coles, Christopher Little and Ciara Ritson-Courtney Sports Editors Mark Sleightholm, Courtney Strait, Tom Shrimplin, Sydney Isaacs and Matt Proctor The Courier NUSU King’s Walk Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8QB Tel: 0191 239 3940 The Courier is printed by: Trinity Mirror Printing, Barton Road, Riverside Park Industrial Estate, Middlesbrough, TS2 1UT Established in 1948, the Courier is the fully independent student newspaper of the Students’ Union at Newcastle University. The Courier is published weekly during term time, and is free of charge.

The design, text, photographs and graphics are copyright of the Courier and its individual contributors. No parts of this newspaper may be reproduced without the prior permission of the Editor. Any views expressed in this newspaper’s opinion pieces are those of the individual writing, and not of the Courier, the Students’ Union or Newcastle University.

From the archives

10 YEARS AGO

The house of power A decade ago and the Pink Triangle was only starting to emerge as the beating heart of Newcastle’s LGBT scene. In a time when same-sex marriage was illegal but homophobic hatred was not, the Courier ventured into unknown territory with not one but three reviews of gay bars in the city.

Emma Brumfield walked readers through several of the Pink Triangle hotspots and explained how a “close knit feel” was balanced by the pricey drinks. Meanwhile a review of the newly refurbished “house of fun”, otherwise known as “the Powerhouse” extolled its “fun-loving and outrageous” ambience.

A separate report on the Pink Triangle elsewhere in the paper also heaped praise on Powerhouse. The mention of the “Sheila’s Wheels ladies”, who had recently performed at the club, isn’t the only thing that dates the review, which demonstrates just how much attitudes have changed.

Luxury halls cause student outrage

34 YEARS AGO

AU goes sabbatical The Students’ Union moved one step closer to gaining its sixth sabbatical position, with approval by the University Senate and Council the only obstacles remaining to making Athletic Union President a sabbatical role.

Since the first two sabbatical roles were introduced in 1968 Newcastle’s sabbatical team had undergone many changes in roles, but the addition of AU Officer in 1984 marked the last significant change until 1992, when the role of entertainments officer was replaced with a sabbatical editor of the Courier.

The AU itself had been around since the 1890s, but the president only became a full-time paid position in 1984.

Since then the title has changed back and forth from “AU President” to “AU Officer”, but the links between sport and the Students’ Union has survived unchanged.

Mark Sleightholm

CROSS-CAMPUS NEWS World Cup moves Moscow students

The World Cup is set to wreak havoc for students at Moscow State University, as their campus becomes a “fan zone”, their exams brought forward and their halls of residence taken over by security teams.

The proposed disruption has sparked protests and petitions, which were initially met with firm resistance from the University’s officials, although progress has been made this week, particularly regarding the exam dates, which were set to be taken early, before the World Cup begins, meaning that students would have less time to prepare. Students’ demands that the fan zone be moved to a nearby park, however, have fallen on deaf ears.

President candidate under scrutiny

27 YEARS AGO

In a neat echo of current accommodation concerns, students in 1991 were outraged to learn that new “luxury halls” were to be built on Windsor Terrace. The rents for the en-suite rooms were predicted to be “as high as £35 a week”, with the Students’ Union actively campaigning against the development on the grounds that all students should have access to affordable accommodation.

Concerns were also raised over the location of the new halls, which at the time were at the very edge of campus and a long way away from any catering facilities at a time when self-catered student accommodation was still relatively unusual.

The only consolation was that the cost of building such luxury accommodation would not raise rents elsewhere, instead being covered by the high rents at Windsor Terrace. This did little to ease the concerns in the Courier, however, that the new development would lead to a division between rich and poor students on campus.

Today Windsor Terrace is one of the cheapest accommodation options for first years, with other sites offering not just en-suite showers but actual baths, as well as entirely self-contained studio flats

Tuesday 27 February 2018

Windsor Terrace sparked controversy when it opened in the early 1990s Image: Mark Sleightholm

A candidate in the student elections at Trinity College Dublin has been reported for sexual harassment.

Sean Ryan is running to be the next president of Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union but stands accused of sending unsolicited, aggressive and sexual messages and Snapchats to several women.

Ryan denies the allegations, which include sending nude Snapchats and messages such as “I want a blowjob” and “lick my balls and call me Mr President”.

The matter has currently been referred to the Junior Dean, who is responsible for student discipline at the university, and the Student Union’s Electoral Commission.

Ryan previously attracted controversy in last year’s elections, when he was on the campaign team for a candidate accused of sending sexist tweets during his campaign.

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the courier Tuesday 27 February 2018

@TheCourier_News courier.news@ncl.ac.uk thecourieronline.co.uk/news Current Affairs Editor Sunil Nambiar News Editors Valentina Egorova, Hanson Jones, Louise Hall & Isabel Sykes

NUSU to host Inspiring Women Conference

Isabel Sykes News Editor This Saturday, NUSU are hosting their annual Inspiring Women Conference in the Students’ Union.

The event seeks to celebrate the achievements of inspiring women from Newcastle and beyond, and to empower others to follow in their footsteps.

The theme is ‘100 years of celebration’, honouring 100 years of women’s suffrage The conference will consist of talks, an open discussion, and various workshops and sessions which this year centre on the theme ‘100 years of celebration’, honouring 100 years of women’s suffrage.

The day aims to celebrate the achievements already made by the movement as well as consider how people can continue to progress and work for equality.

Writer, journalist, and broadcaster Rebecca Reid is the keynote speaker for the evening, and will talk about issues surrounding gender in the press.

Her talk will look at how women can get into a career in media, some of the problems women experience within that environment, and why women in media have the power to affect change.

Chi Onwurah, an MP representing Newcastle upon Tyne Central and

Shadow Minister for Industrial Strategy Science and Innovation, will also be speaking at the conference.

Professor Karen Ross is scheduled to give a talk focusing on gender, politics and news. In particular she will discuss female politicians and their relationship with mainstream media.

Helen Kelly, from Ernst and Young, will lead a workshop entitled ‘You and Your Strengths’, instructing people on how to on play to their strengths when job hunting.

The event, which runs from 10am until 4pm, will end with an open discussion focusing on the question ‘How can women progress in a world of double standards?’

Last year’s Inspiring Women Conference was very well attended and this year looks set to be similarly successful, with over 120 people ‘interested’ in the Facebook event page.

Professor Karen Ross is scheduled to give a talk on female politicians and their relationship with mainstream media The event is open to anyone and tickets are free, with a free lunch also included.

Students can register for a space at the conference by filling out a short form on NUSU’s website, a link for which is also provided on the Facebook event page.

Last year’s conference was attended by high-profile guest speakers Image: Rebecca D’Andrea

Decline in uni applications from poorer areas Laura Bolden Applications to enter university from 18-year-olds in the poorest areas of Scotland have fallen, according to a new report from the admissions service UCAS.

“We know that some institutions just aren’t pulling their weight.

That needs to change” Jodie Waite, Education Spokeswoman for the National Union of Students Scotland

The University of Edinburgh Image: Flickr

The number of applications to university in the most disadvantaged parts of Scotland decreased from 1,970 in 2017 to 1,900 this year. The first reported decrease since 2008.

The report also revealed that whilst applications of those from poor areas of Scotland decreased there was a 1.8% increase in the application rate of those living in the most advantaged areas.

This means the gap between poorest and most affluent applicants has wid-

ened whilst applications to Scottish universities increased overall.

Institutions such as The University of Edinburgh and The University of Glasgow have already introduced schemes such as adjusted offers to help applicants from deprived regions of the country achieve a place at university.

The Scottish Government has provided funding for additional places at Scottish Universities as part of its commitment to widen and increase access to higher education for students from the most disadvantaged 20% of households.

Education spokeswoman for The National Union of Students Scotland Jodie Waite told the BBC: “The Scottish government has, rightly, made widening access a priority. But we know that some institutions just aren’t pulling their weight. That needs to change. We need to see concerted action- from all institutions- to boost admissions from those from poorer backgrounds.

“We know that the current system of student support is broken- forcing the poorest higher education students into the most debt, and giving further education students no guarantee of support.

“That’s why, as part of this budget, we’re calling on the Scottish government to commit substantial new investment to deliver a world-class financial support system to match our worldclass education system.”

In England, however applications of 18-year-olds from the most disadvantages areas has increased 9.9% since 2006, making them 81% more likely than ever to apply for higher education.

Applications in general have also increased in 2018, with 18-year-olds more likely than ever to apply for university with an application rate of 37.4%.

Clare Marchant, UCAS chief executive said that “higher education continues to be a highly popular choice for 18-year-olds”

The report also demonstrated a gap in the application rates between men and women The report also demonstrated a gap in the application rates between men and women, in England women are 36% more likely than men to apply to university while in Scotland the difference means women are 56% more likely.

These statistics demonstrate a worrying shift for the diversity of university student bodies in forthcoming academic years.

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Tuesday 27 February 2018

Student petition calls for refund for lost teaching Jaymelouise Hudspith Planned strike action by the UCU will affect 14 days of learning over a fourweek period, across approximately 60 UK institutions.

As a result students are questioning what will happen to the portion of student loans spent on teaching during this period if the teaching will no longer take place.

The University and College Union (UCU) said the walkouts would start on 22 February and be spread over four weeks.

UCU is striking as a last resort to save the USS pension scheme UCU is striking as a last resort to save the USS pension scheme, that without may lead to lectures and tutor being forced to live below the poverty line come retirement.

In a joint statement by the National Union of Students (NUS) and UCU, they condemned the “marketisation of education”, reduced pensions would cause problems in staff recruitment and retention, and many staff faculty members would be forced to leave their current positions.

Students fear the strike will lead to cancelled lectures, late assignment marks and feedback, that the strike will impact their performance in upcoming exams and assessments due to missed content and lack of lecture and tutor contact hours for help over the fourweek period. This is a particular concern for final year students who may be left without support for their dissertation due to the strike action.

Students at Cardiff University, Sam

Veal and Katie Walters, decided to take matters into his own hands by starting a petition on change.org calling for compensation for students for the teaching missed due to the strike.

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: “Students are understandably worried about what may happen, and angry that their universities appear to be doing absolutely nothing to avert the most disruptive strike action ever seen on UK campuses.

Vale told BBC Radio Wales’ Good Evening Wales programme it could lead to students not being taught everything they needed for exams later this year and they should be “academically compensated”.

Whether this student compensation is financial compensation or extenuating circumstances compensation on exams and assessments during or after the strike period.

Walters stated, “There’s more support for our view in that we want our lecturers to have their good pension, but the secondary ‘brush students under the carpet’ that seems to be coming through is so unfair.”

The missed teaching hours will not be rescheduled as rescheduling the lecture would undermine the lecture’s reasons for going on strike.

The missed teaching hours will not be rescheduled However, many courses have limited teaching hours and therefore the few hours they will be losing are precious.

Cardiff University said, “there is no basis for a refund” to students would arise due to the strikes, adding it was doing everything possible to “ensure there is minimal impact on teaching and learning”.

continued from front page

Mark Sleightholm In the run-up to the start of the strike action UCU claimed that small but wealthy colleges at Oxford and Cambridge were given a disproportionate voice in the UUK talks that led to the changes being proposed.

“We will continue to make every effort to minimise the disruption to our students” Professor Chris Day, Vice-Chancellor at Newcastle University

42% of institutions surveyed by UUK supported lowering their risk of pension losses, but campaigners argue that since individual colleges at Cambridge and Oxford were given equal weight in the survey as much larger institutions, such as Newcastle University, the results were skewed in favour of wealthy Oxbridge colleges. UUK itself disputes this and argues that the views of all institutions were considered fairly.

With 14 days of strike action planned between 22 February and 16 March, attention has turned to the impact of the strikes on students.

Nearly 100,000 students across the country have signed petitions calling for compensation for missed teaching time, although Newcastle University’s

regulations clearly state that the University is not liable for a loss of teaching due to “acts, events, omissions or accidents beyond the reasonable control of the University”, with strikes at the top of the list that also includes “nuclear, chemical or biological contamination”, “riot” and “fire, flood or storm”. This makes it highly unlikely that the University will offer any tuition fee refunds for students.

However, the University has committed to spending all the money withheld from striking lecturers’ salaries to “directly support students, for example through the hardship fund”, something Day reiterated in his statement.

“We will continue to make every effort to minimise the disruption to our students. I met with students last week to discuss their concerns and fully respect their solidarity with their tutors.”

Day’s tweeted statement attracted well over 1,000 likes The Students’ Union itself decided against taking an official stance on the strikes, although many students still joined their lecturers on the picket lines.

Day’s tweeted statement attracted well over 1,000 likes and received comments of support from several lecturers involved in the strike.

Representatives from the UUK and UCU are set to meet on Tuesday 27 March, despite the UUK earlier stating that “talks would not re-open” after announcing the pensions changes.

One sign here reads ‘World leading researchers deserve a secure pension’ Image: Mark Sleightholm

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Tuesday 27 February 2018

The “biggest strike our Higher Education Sector has ever seen” Sunil Nambiar Current Affairs Editor Strike action is taking place in universities across the country. Beginning with a walk-out from 22 to 23 February, the 14 days of strikes will see members of the University and College Union (UCU) - some 40,000 lecturers - walking out. The strikes are expected to run until March 16.

In Newcastle, staff, students, and members of the public gathered at Monument on Thursday, 22 February.

A large crowd attended to hear speakers from the UCU and support unions by standing up to attack what they considered to be unjustified and harsh cuts, taking place within a broader scheme of austerity and wealth transfer to the rich.

Over a million students are likely to be affected by the strikes while 575,000 teaching hours are expected to be lost

‘UCU strike rally : USS action the strikes’ event on Thursday 22 February Image: Saffron Kershaw-Mee

Protesters shifted through the crowd handing out information on the strikes.

Behind the speakers, students stood holding up banners and singing songs of protest.

At Sussex University, students stormed a lecture hall on the strike’s first day.

This descended into alleged assault.

In a Facebook post Sussex Supports the Strike reported that “[o]ne of our marchers was assaulted by a student when we disrupted the lecture.

“The marcher was violent tackled into a wooden table by another student. University officials stood by and watched

this assault that was only ended by the quick intervention of other marchers”.

Close to 100,000 students have also put their names to petitions demanding compensation for missed hours.

Over a million students are likely to be affected by the strikes while 575,000 teaching hours are expected to be lost as a result of the strike, according to the UCU. The Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, urged those participating in the strike to “get back to work” as students “need to get their degree”.

Calling it the “biggest strike our Higher Education sector has ever seen”, Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted “I join staff, students and @UCU in calling for the employers to commit to meaningful negotiations to resolve this dispute.”

Jamie Cameron, a second-year politics student working with the campaign group Newcastle Student-Staff Solidarity said: “Of course it is frustrating to lose teaching time, but let’s direct our anger at the wealthy and distant university executives pushing through these savage cuts of 40-70% of staff pensions.

“As is well established, there is no believable deficit in the USS pension scheme. University executives are using this fake deficit projection as a smokescreen to shift pension liability to staff, forcing them to gamble their pension funds on the stock market instead of having a fixed pension they have always been promised.

“Both staff and students are collateral in the clumsy, conceited, and obvious positioning of University Vice-Chancellors and USS fund managers.”

Hanna Tamminen, a second-year geography student and Feminist Society International students representative said: “The biggest reason for striking and fighting the pension cuts is clear: the absurdity of the situation wherein

members of staff are being pressured like this.

“Pensions are something to rely on.

Moreover, in academia it takes a long time to get the qualifications to gain that pension.

of their income above £25,000, with remaining debts are cleared 30 years after graduation; the Institute for Fiscal Studies estimated that 77% of current graduates will have at least part of their loan written off by the Treasury as their level of earning would not allow them to pay back the entire debt.

Many experts support a reversal of the Conservative government’s decision to remove maintenance grants, which provided non-repayable financial support for students from low-income backgrounds.

higher education sector and the Party.

It is feared that disadvantaged students will consequently apply for the cheapest courses with the poorest graduate opportunities, which The Guardian describes as “hindering rather than boosting social mobility”.

Speaking against variable fees, Labour Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner described how “charging more for the courses that help graduates earn the most would put off students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds from getting those same qualifications.

As part of our industrial strategy we need to ensure that we get more students on those courses.”

It is unlikely that the government will decide to completely scrap tuition fees.

Although the Labour Party’s support for free higher education has brought them immense support among young voters, the Conservative Party regards this as unaffordable.

Asked about the impact of the review, a Newcastle University spokesperson said: “Newcastle University has a strong track record in opening up opportunities for students from less advantaged backgrounds and providing financial support for those most in need.

“We are keen to ensure that students with the potential to succeed aren’t put off from university by concerns about whether they can afford it.

“Newcastle University is highly respected for its quality of education and develops the graduates employers are seeking across all disciplines, highlighted by our excellent graduate employment statistics.”

“Of course, it is frustrating to lose teaching time, but let’s direct our anger at the wealthy and distant university executives” Jamie Cameron, a second year politics student at Newcastle University

“Pension cuts seem absurd when so much money is already invested in University education, and members of staff can’t be disregarded when there are such big sums of money at stake.”

Thursday 22nd was the first day of the strikes at Newcastle University. Crowds gathered from 8am to form picket lines, hand out pro-strike literature, and protest against the cuts.

At times, music from a travelling sound system could be heard. Students stood in solidarity with staff and could be seen parading through the University campus with banners and singing songs.

The bulk of the student protestors appeared to be affiliated with the new campaign group Newcastle StudentStaff Solidarity.

Jamie Cameron has also been organising in this group and had the following to say: “A win for us won’t be the end. We will be campaining to end student poverty on campus, and we will fight for a living wage for all workers at the university.”

May’s review of tuition fees Grace Dean

Various posters have been displayed around the city Image: Saffron Kershaw-Mee

Theresa May is launching a major review into higher education funding.

The Conservative Party promised a review of tertiary education funding in their election manifesto last May, and this is now being launched amid further debate about whether the UK higher education sector offers value for money. With average graduate debt reaching £50,000 and UK tuition fees being among the highest in the world, this review is seen by many critics as much-needed.

The review will analyse the entirety of UK higher education funding, including the decline in lifelong and part-time study, but will mainly focus on undergraduate tuition fees, which have attracted further controversy following their rise to £9250.

Sector experts have suggested a range of options that the government may explore in the review.

Many higher education specialists have suggested reversing the Coalition’s 2012 introduction of £9000 fees by reducing fees back to £6000 per year. Critics have however pointed out that this would mainly benefit higher-earning graduates who would have a smaller loan to pay back, and the fee reduction would ultimately be funded by universities reducing expenditure on widening participation measures.

Experts have also recommended decreasing interest rates on student loan repayments to make debts more affordable. Currently graduates pay 9%

It is unlikely that the government will decide to completely scrap tuition fees There is widespread support for their return from both the public and the University and College Union. May suggested that these grants may be reintroduced as the report will examine “how we can give people from disadvantaged backgrounds an equal chance to succeed. That includes how disadvantaged students and learners receive maintenance support”.

The most controversial option is the introduction of variable fees, which would see fees differing between courses depending on financing costs and potential graduate earnings. Although supported by new Education Secretary Damian Hinds, this option has been heavily criticised within both the

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Tuesday 27 February 2018

Leading professor leaves Newcastle over Brexit fears Grace Dean Professor Josef Vormoor, who developed pioneering cancer treatments for children with his role at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research, is leaving Newcastle University.

Professor Vormoor, from Leer, Germany, worked for three years as Director of the Institute and for 12 years at the university. He is moving to the Netherlands to work at the national cancer centre in Utrecht, and has said that, although he was ultimately swayed by the new opportunity, Brexit did play a role in his decision to move abroad.

Although he was ultimately swayed by the new opportunity, Brexit did play a role in his decision to move abroad His decision to leave the University and the Institute has furthered the discussion about the impacts that Brexit is having on research funding and recruitment of academia, which has echoed warnings from the science industry.

Discussing the potential impact, Professor Vormoor described how “recruiting doctors and scientists from Europe is going to be more difficult”, which will be coupled with increased problems with accessing funding.

“I still think people will come to work in this country’s universities and hospitals in the long term because they’re fantastic but there’s going to be a difficult period in the short term because of the lack of certainty.”

“Scientific research is a global community. The majority of clinical trials to treat cancer in children I’ve been involved with have been cross-border because there simply haven’t been enough patients here to test treatments on.”

These concerns have been echoed by Professor Steve Clifford, who has replaced Professor Vormoor as Director of the Northern Institute for Cancer Research. He described how “Brexit has created great uncertainty over our future relationships with our European colleagues in medical research.”

“It is fundamental that essential Europe-wide medical research does not lose out in the Brexit negotiations. European Institutions [and academics] are critical partners in the research and development of improved therapies, and EU funding and regulatory authorities are central to much of this work.”

Both Professors Vormoor and Clifford firmly believe that further clarity is needed on Brexit’s impact on universities and scientific organisations so that resources can be efficiently allocated and new funding sources sought.

Reflecting Newcastle University’s position as a global research hub, a spokesperson said, “we continue to prioritise securing opportunities for our researchers and students to access vital pan-European programmes and build new global networks.”

“We remain unswerving in our commitment to a continuation of substantial numbers of European and international staff and students as we support and value all their contribution.”

Professor Vormoor has been highly praised for his achievements at the University, with his work described by a University spokesman as “outstanding”. Despite the uncertainty caused by Brexit, the Institute is optimistic for the future and it is hoped that new Director Professor Clifford, who was heralded/ hailed as “fantastic” by his predecessor, will echo Professor Vormoor’s success.

Josef Vormoor, pioneering research leaves Newcastle University Image: Newcastle University

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Tuesday 27 February 2018

Annual BBC3 festival returns to the Sage Amber Marwick Gateshead’s Sage arena will be transformed into a hotbed of performance, debate and education this March, with BBC Radio 3’s Free Thinking festival attracting some of the county’s most acclaimed creators and academics.

The festival will attract some of the county’s most acclaimed creators and academics Newcastle University’s contribution will put working class and feminist voices in the spotlight, as well as featuring cutting-edge creative and scientific content from some of the institution’s most talented individuals.

The event kicks off to a musical start on Friday 9th with the Voices of Hope Choir - which includes staff and graduates of the university – performing a brand-new piece composed by Lucy Pankhurst.

Direct descent of Emmeline Pankhurst, the composer will pay tribute to the famed Suffragette with a text based on her own words, marking 100 years since women won the vote in the UK. As winners of The Choir or the Year competition, Radio 3 anticipates that the vocal group will show “how music for many voices connects individuals and groups”.

Musician and lecturer Kathryn Tickell will also bring local and working-class voices to the forefront on Friday in a special episode. Exploring the rich folk traditions of the North East, the show

will feature sea shanties and mining songs performed live by The Keelers, as well as a set of traditional Ethiopian songs, reimagined by folk musicians Haymanot Tesfa and Arian Sadr.

Saturday morning will see a fascinating trip into the music of the past, with senior lecturer Kirsten Gibson reviewing recent interpretations of 16th and 17th century songs.

The art of the spoken word is to be equally celebrated on Sunday, with show The Verb exploring the best in new poetry, writing and performance.

Multi-award winning poet and lecturer Sinéad Morrissey will be sharing an exciting new commission for the show.

A performance from folk duet The Unthanks is also hotly anticipated by The Verb, their unique style described by the Sage as an “eclectic approach in combining traditional English folk, particularly Northumbrian folk music, with other musical genres.”

Scientific faculties are also to be represented this year, with the weird and wonderful behaviour of everything – “from schools of fish to starlings to atomic particles” – explained in depth by the university’s own Professor Melissa Bateson and Dr Richard Bevan.

Newcastle University’s contribution will put working class and feminist voices in the spotlight Engineering and architectural studies likewise won’t be amiss with Dr Sean Wilkinson as he puts the Tyne Bridge under the spotlight, discussing the world’s megastructures and the human aspiration to build them.

The annual BBC3 festival will happen at the Sage Gateshead Image: Herbert Winata Ng

Newcastle lecturer appointed in House of Commons Steven Ross Dr Sylvia de Mars, who lectures in EU and International Law at Newcastle University, will be taking up a new position part time as a Senior Researcher in EU and International Law and Policy at the House of Commons Library.

De Mars will provide analysis of legislation that will be discussed in Parliament as part of the ongoing Brexit debate.

De Mars will provide analysis of legislation that will be discussed in Parliament as part of the ongoing Brexit debate In correspondence with the Courier, she stated that the role will ‘give my research a practical dimension […] and will enable me to hone my research skills for very concrete purposes’.

As the issue of Brexit continues to become ever more important and divisive in Parliament, de Mars’ work will be crucial as her impartial analysis will ensure that both sides of the discussion have the available resources to be fully informed about Brexit’s legal framework.

De Mars said that it is important for policy makers to listen to experts because they need to be aware of all of the details pertaining to the issues that they make policy on.

With the complexity of Brexit, it is unlikely that MPs will have all of the relevant data on hand themselves.

Therefore, experts like De Mars will be providing MPs with the information that will enable them to do their job well.

De Mars told the Courier that while she will ‘make the occasional trip to London for team meetings and briefings’, most of her work will be done from Newcastle, where she will continue to work for the university. She has even made ‘Do Not Disturb!’ signs for her office at Newcastle for when she is working for the House of Commons.

De Mars gained her PhD from Nottingham before coming to work at Newcastle University Law School, and said that her experiences at both of these institutions were instrumental in preparing her for working for the Commons.

De Mars said, ‘having been an academic for the last 8 years has made me more prepared for answering MP questions and writing briefings for them that are both comprehensive and comprehensible’.

The importance of De Mars’ work will become increasingly apparent over the coming months The importance of de Mars’ work will become increasingly apparent over the coming months and years as the issue of Brexit continues to dominate British politics.

De Mars will be working for the House of Commons from afar Image: Flickr, UK Parliament

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the courier

Tuesday 27 February 2018

@CourierComment courier.comment@ncl.ac.uk thecourieronline.co.uk/comment Comment Editors Jamie Cameron, Caitlin Disken & Alexandra Sadler

Oxfam: A crisis of moral leadership?

After revelations about sexual exploitation at Oxfam, our writers discuss charitable principles and the role of government Scott Houghton

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ollowing the 2010 Haitian earthquake, it has emerged that aid workers at Oxfam were found to have exploited the humanitarian situation by engaging in prostitution and sexual abuse. The Secretary of State for International Development, Penny Mordaunt, is now insisting that the organisation must have ‘moral leadership’ to continue receiving funds from the UK government. But what exactly is ‘moral leadership’? Surely you’d expect charities, especially those such as Oxfam, to be behaving morally anyway.

Moral leadership, as I define it in a humanitarian context, is acting in an altruistic manner. It involves placing principles, which are higher than yourself above such things as profit or celebrity, and treating those whom you are going to help humanely, fairly, and with respect. Whereas the word ‘leadership’ here denotes a specific kind of cuttingedge aspect to humanitarian aid. In effect, you conduct yourself in a manner so humanely, fairly, and respectfully that you are a leading light in this area. The organisation becomes an authority figure on the matter. The fact that some individuals at Oxfam were already concerned by specific humanitarian aid workers going to work in Haiti seems to demonstrate that the organisation acted immorally. It acted negligently and put its shortterm goals above those higher moral principles.

Thereby, not exhibiting moral leadership.

Surely you’d expect charities to be behaving morally anyway Ensuring continued moral leadership within aid organisations requires a combination of material support, but also a continuing revaluation of the values of an organisation. On The Andrew Marr Show, Penny Mourdant insisted that ‘it doesn’t matter whether you’ve got a whistle-blowing hotline, it doesn’t matter if you’ve got good safeguarding practices in place – if the moral leadership… isn’t there, then we cannot have you as a partner.’

This comes close to the mark, I think. If there is no commitment to these higher moral principles,

which are above the organisation, then no material help such as whistle-blowing hotlines will be able to ensure moral leadership and the ability of an organisation to act morally in the future. In short, it needs to place its core values at the very top of its agenda when conducting its humanitarian work.

Alexandra Sadler

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he very definition of a charity implies the existence of some level of moral leadership. By nature, charitable organisations should be pioneers on issues of moral concern, acting as examples for the rest of us to follow.

Yet, the ecent actions of some within Oxfam demonstrate that we cannot automatically assume that charity equals morality.

I am furious that these people felt comfortable and secure enough in their position to take advantage of these circumstances. There was obviously no consideration for the Haitian people, devastated by a natural disaster, or for the implications upon the vital work of humanitarian aid and aid workers globally. It is a reflection of our society and an organisation that these people feel that they can carry out such abuse, without fear of reprisal. Further reports of sexual harassment at Save the Children, including the former chief executive, suggest such exploitation, abuse and harassment is not limited to one organisation.

Of course, the actions of a few should not colour our judgement of the organisation as a whole. So many people around the world are doing fantastic work, and other people’s actions should not prevent them from doing so, but these reports have far reaching consequences.

Oxfam’s chief executive has reported that the charity has lost around 7,000 regular donors since the reports of sexual exploitation in Chad and Haiti

were revealed to the public. A recent Guardian/ ICM poll reports that 52% of those who had already donated are now less likely to fund humanitarian causes. The disgusting actions of those who felt protected enough to sexually exploit vulnerable people in a disaster zone have potentially impacted upon other future vulnerable people. If charities do not receive donations then they cannot carry out their vital work.

We cannot automatically assume that charity equals morality If we want to ensure the continued existence of these organisations, and their work, we must confront the culture that allowed this to happen, and ensure

that changes Oxfam’s aninternal reviews forward, this does that these events that the perpetraescaped any It is difficult to exactly m e n t spond even There gescharble

are made. Whilst nouncements of are a positive step not negate the fact happened, and tors very nearly penalty. ascertain how the governshould reto this, or if they should. is the sugtion that it a or-

ganitions should regulated.

The sexual exploitacharities cannot regulate. Even are in

s a be further revelations about tion suggest that be trusted to selfwhen regulations place,

charities are able to avoid accountability for their actions by misleading the public, or the Charity Commission. This, however, creates a difficult situation whereby charities should be independent enough to carry out their objectives, but held accountable for wrongdoing within their organisation.

Additionally, there is the issue of the pervasive-

They have shaken public trust in the organisation ness of such behaviour. The top echelons of Oxfam maintain being unaware of such behaviour, but allegations that they deliberately misled the Charity Commission, and therefore the public, suggest otherwise. By doing so, they have shaken the public’s trust in a long-standing organisation that claims to work for the benefit of others.

However, humanitarian causes and organisations should not be abandoned completely. Yes, the reports about Oxfam are horrifying and infuriating, but to remove support for the sector as a whole contributes towards the damage already done. The vast majority of aid workers are carrying out their role because they believe in what they do, and want to help. It is the minority that abuse their position and take advantage of situation with a pre-existing a power imbalance.

We should focus on ensuring that monitoring mechanisms are effective and promote more accountable safeguarding strategies. The cancellation of funding might be effective, but will drastically reduce, or end, essential relief. Instead, those who have been convicted of wrongdoing should forfeit their salaries and be removed from their position, not transferred to elsewhere where they can continue their exploitative practices. Charities should place moral concerns at the core of their operations, or the abuse will continue.

Student satisfaction: Survey-ing a loss?

Mark Sleightholm argues that the National Student Survey is a waste of our time, and that there’s more to university life than ranks

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inal year undergraduates are being pestered to fill out the National Student Survey, and will continued to be hassled until the survey closes at the end of April. Prizes are offered to the schools with the highest response rates and claims are made that filling out the NSS is your chance to shape the future of your university. Which isn’t necessarily a lie, although maybe not quite in the way you’d expect.

The survey has run every year since 2005 and provides the “student satisfaction” figure in those university league tables you pored over before applying. I’d always thought satisfaction was a feeling rather than a number, but there you go.

The NSS is too big to be of any use to students The wheels fell off the NSS wagon last year, however, when an uncharacteristically militant NUS launched a nationwide boycott campaign. This was

in protest at the inclusion of NSS results in determining universities’ grades in the Teaching Excellence Framework – a set of metrics that could have helped universities to raise tuition fees, although that potential link looks pretty thin these days.

Even if the rumours of tuition fee cuts turn out to be true, the NSS, and the Teaching Excellence Framework it will feed into, is still worth opposing. How can we seriously reduce everything that makes up someone’s university experience – their course, friends, clubs – into arbitrary metrics? It’s telling that last year the NSS was redesigned to change the question on satisfaction with students’ unions to focus solely on their academic support, completely ignoring everything else unions do for students.

Feedback can be useful, of course, and it’s nice to know that our university and union care about what we think. But there’s no way that 27 tick-boxes can do any kind of justice to everything you’ve done and felt at university.

The Union and the University can (and do) ask for feedback on specific areas, and they might get something useful back, but how does knowing

that 85% of students feel they have enough study resources available help anybody? The NSS questions are designed for all final year undergraduates across the UK, and a survey that large can only ever ask really generic questions and can’t cope with any nuance. The NSS is too big to be of any use to students; all it’s good for is an inter-university pissing contest.

Why do we need to measure student satisfaction in such crude terms?

Why do we need to measure student satisfaction in such crude terms anyway? One student’s satisfaction is another’s grave disappointment, and the whole idea of ranking universities and making them compete with one another smacks of marketisation and a decidedly neoliberal approach to higher education.

Employers, parents, the public at large; many people still think in terms of Oxbridge, Russell Group, ex-poly and so on, regardless of where these universities actually find themselves in the tables. Does it matter to you if Newcastle sits 13 places below Loughborough?

Maybe instead of playing universities off against each other we should focus more on actually improving higher education. League tables will only reinforce ideas about “good” and “bad” universities, when really there are many things – the course, the location, the extra curricular activities, to name a few – that should determine whether that uni is right for you.

Despite the best efforts of NUS last year only 12 universities fell below the required 50% response rate to be discounted from the NSS, although this did include several big hitters like Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester, Sheffield and University College London.

Filling out the National Student Survey is a few minutes of your life you’ll never get back. But if you actually want to give feedback to your university or union, you’re better off just telling them directly.

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Tuesday 27 February 2018

NHS: Rise in admissions

As admissions for eating disorders rise, our writers discuss what can be done to help those in need

Ella Williams

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sk for help, is the primary advice given to anyone struggling with mental health.

This is often the first hurdle sufferers must overcome, but to ask implies a response. Instead, what should be the gateway towards a long process of recovery is a process in itself; those most vulnerable are being forced into a system of waiting lists ignorance and misunderstanding. This is the reality for the growing number of Eating Disorder cases throughout the UK. Last week, NHS England published figures of the rapid rise in inpatient admissions, with numbers more than doubling in the last six years.

Eating disorders, including illnesses such as anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating disorder and EDNOS (eating disorder not otherwise specified), are mental illnesses that manifest physically. For this reason, they are the deadliest of all mental health disorders, with one in five cases ending fatally. It is this complexity combined with an overstretched, under-funded care system that results in the downward spiral: doctors are forced to prioritise, and can treat only the physically sickest. Meanwhile, the rest get sicker. People simply become cases.

How can we break the cycle? Namely, by removing the focus on the physical. Creating a system that opposes eating disorder thought patterns involves an entire overhaul of how eating disorders are treated by the NHS. The NHS must focus treatment on wellness, by

responding positively to mind-sets focused on recovery. Furthermore, preventative measures for those susceptible to severe cases must be taken at the beginning, rather than the end, of their descending health. This can be carried out in the form of educating people and raising awareness of the initial signs of a problem. Similarly, a striving for health, can be encouraged by amplifying the voices of those in recovery. The stories of past sufferers should focus on how well they became, rather than how ill they once were.

Those most vulnerable are being forced to wait Present similarities between the process of treatment and disordered thoughts creates a downward spiral that leads people further into their illnesses.

Instead, disorders that thrive off physical numbers should be treated by their mental nuances, disorders that focus on an external image should be treated by their internal roots and disorders that idolise sickness should be treated by an equally vigorous and all-consuming ideology towards health.

If you think that you or someone you know might be struggling with an Eating Disorder, the Beat Eating Disorders charity provides information and advice about what to do and where to find further support: www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk Helpline: 0808 801 0677

Caitlin Disken

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ecent reports have shown that admissions to hospitals of people with life-threatening eating disorders has almost doubled in the past six years. In an era of NHS funding cuts and overcrowded hospitals, it’s no surprise that our health service is struggling to cope.

Eating disorders are notoriously hard to diagnose, and manifest in so many different ways that treatment can be difficult. Almost every person who has an eating disorder experiences the illness in a particular way, and treatment can take months to be effective. To support all of this, an efficient healthcare system is needed. The increase in admissions means that less specialists are stretched amongst more patients, with obvious consequences. When the UK’s leading eating disorder charity, Beat, says that ‘the system is not working at the moment’, it’s clear that something needs to be done.

The government has a poor track record for implementing measures for improved mental health care. Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services funding is less than £70 per head in the majority of the country. For an apparently developed country, this is diabolical, putting some of the most vulnerable people in our society at risk. These funds are supposed to cover treatment for all mental illnesses, not just eating disorders. As admissions rise, so should funding and availability of care. Instead, the government is failing to act, highlighting a lack of compassion for people who need help the most.

Silence on Myanmar?

Following Boris Johnson’s visit to Myanmar, our writers discuss Britain’s international obligations

Joe Holloran

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ver the course of the last eight months, the Muslim minority in the Rohingya region of Myanmar have faced what the UN has deemed to be ‘textbook ethnic cleansing’. This has forced the political world to look again at their own pledges and commitments to human rights. According to Médicins San Frontières International, at least 6,700 Rohingya Muslims died in the first month of attacks. For Britain, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has travelled the 5,300 miles to Myanmar to meet with the disgraced Aung San Suu-Kyi over tea.

We are forced to question Johnson’s sincerity in his plea for reconciliation. Firstly, not once in his visit did he accuse Suu-Kyi of her inaction. Secondly, he has not called on the UK government to openly agree with the UN in calling it ‘ethnic cleansing’. And lastly, there is the issue of Johnson’s ‘Machiavellian manoeuvring’. Myanmar is a hub of British trade abroad, with the government’s own trade website emphasising the importance of exports to the nation due to its land borders with the rest of Asia. Due to this trade with EU nations, Myanmar’s economy is the second-fastest growing in the region after India. Has this anything to do with Johnson’s silence?

I understand the frustration of seeming to do nothing So, with diplomacy in the hands of a clownish opportunist, some have been touting the idea of military intervention. For, they say, how is this ethnic cleansing different from the Holocaust in the 1940s? It was easy to intervene in World War Two, because our sovereignty was directly threatened.

We intervened against Saddam Hussain only because of the sycophantic nature of the Bush-Blair relationship. Military interventionism in the Far East is not the answer in this instance for much the same reasons. As Iraq and Afghanistan have shown us, the nature of warfare has changed and

the ‘removal’ by force of a leader we dislike leaves a void waiting to be filled by something worse.

I am no expert on foreign policy, and I understand the frustration of seeming to do nothing.

I do not know the solution. But, we as a people can do our part. A change.org petition to remove Suu-Kyi’s Nobel Peace Prize has, at the time of writing, reached 437,00 signatures. While taking away the accolade will do little to effect events on the ground, it will act as a symbolic denouncing of Suu-Kyi, on an international stage where one’s reputation is all that matters.

Louis Vanderlande

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he recent massacre and displacement of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar has seen a new humanitarian and political crisis arise in a region only recently stabilised. Boris Johnson being there means nothing and his movements are already well documented. His gaffes have rightly been ripped apart by the press. However. the real focus should be on what we can do.

What is the right path for us to take?

Economic sanctions? Travel bans?

Military intervention? Or perhaps even nothing, as does any Western state hold any credibility in being ‘morally right’?

I counter all these questions with another, what would be the final straw be? What would need to happen for us to justify a moral case for war?

Children murdered?

Done. Pregnant women? Done.

Elderly? Done.

People are being buried in mass graves, piled high and left to rot. The Rohingyas are left defenceless against the states weapons.

Words will not protect you from a bul-

let. Political action won’t stop them butchering innocent people in the night. Ask someone whose seen their family shot down and their house burnt to ash, ask them what we should do? I’m aware of my emotive language, but none of this is sensationalised. Read the news, listen to what the Rohingyas are saying.

Boris Johnson being there means nothing Tony Blair’s lasting affect has been to neuter us in terms of military action. We’re too afraid to act as we don’t want to be seen as interfering in a sovereign state’s affairs. We don’t want to start a war over a lie as Blair did. We don’t want be Imperial Britain again.

I am for military action, however, I’m not proposing a full invasion or an overthrowing of the state. A coalition should form of the states that border Myanmar, such as Bangladesh. This coalition would push into Myammar claiming a certain amount of territory and from there the Rohingya can flee to safety. From this point a dialogue can open, being that the coalition would retreat and relinquish all land back to Myammar under the condition that the Rohingya be left in peace. From there the healing process can hopefully start, but this is all naive thinking from my mind.

I hope for a resolution soon but too often we stand by as atrocities happen, as seen with the deaths of Rwandan people in 1994.

Inaction means we are just as culpable as those who are in the process of murdering their own people. Wake up.

SOAPBOX COMMENT’S HOME OF WEEKLY RANTS Scientific Selections

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Jack Coles

eah, here’s a weird fact – I was going to run as Editor of the Courier this year. If you look at the candidate list, however, you’ll notice that my face is (in) conspicuous by its absence.

This is the problem with being an MRes student; your lab project hoards time like a dragon with a twisted view of economics (time is money, after all). I suspect that very few of the full-time NUSU officers over the years have been STEM students. Partly because we can so often be focused in our discipline so we don’t want to leave, but this time constraint may also be a contributing factor.

Last year one of my friends, in his third year of Physiology, ran for a position. Poor guy didn’t do too well, as while everybody else was campaigning, he was stuck electrocuting muscle cells. Couldn’t we move elections to Easter instead?

TicketDisaster

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Charlotte Boulton

icketmaster. The worst ticket selling website to ever taint the online marketplace. I know that I’m not alone in suffering through Ticketmaster’s loading screens and the false apology when it finally reveals there are no tickets left – but no worries, go onto their partner sites and buy resold tickets for double, triple, even quadruple the price! Their customer service is barely a service, just a series of scripted tweets saying “Sorry, just try again!” I’ve been trying, that’s why I am asking for help because your website isn’t working!

Trying to buy tickets for popular bands or events is like an Olympic sport. You need multiple tabs, browsers, devices – hell, even get your friends involved to help! Sit refreshing like your life depends on it until the page finally loads. Or…just give up and go on another site. And lo and behold, there are still reasonably priced tickets left.

Ticketmaster? More like TicketDisaster.

Storm(i) in a Teacup

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Carys Rose Thomas

nless you live inside a minute medialess cave, you’ve probably heard that yet another baby Kardashian has graced the earth with its existence. Everybody, meet Stormi Webster.

I’ll be honest here and say I take an unusual stance when it comes to the Kardashians. All of my peers’ attitudes towards the renowned billionaire family take quite a love it/hate it marmite approach. I, however, remain relatively indifferent.

I am however monumentally pissed off at the reaction Kylie Jenner has received by people questioning how capable a mother she will make on account of her age. Those teethsuckers and eyebrow raisers who comment on the fact that she’s ‘only 20’, seemingly totally unaware of how patronising they’re being. Yes, she’s 20. But she’s also incredibly financially stable, has a good relationship with the child’s father and a large support network of family and friends around her to support and help her.

People should stop treating her like a child and acknowledge that she is an adult, who can make adult decisions.

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Tuesday 27 February 2018

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he Living Wage foundation is a campaigning organisation which aims to ensure low-paid workers get a feasible amount to live on.

Instead of the national minimum wage of £7.50 (if you are over 25 outside of London) it calls for £8.75 per hour. Over 4,000 businesses and 16% of higher education institutions have signed up to this. Unfortunately, Newcastle University has failed to do so.

In a disappointing written response to the Labour Society, Vice-Chancellor Chris Day suggested that the University prefers the flexibility of setting its own wage rates. The effect of this is to leave many staff on dangerously low-pay.

Over 4,000 business and 16% of higher education institutions have signed up to this Across the UK, In-work poverty is a serious epidemic. Whilst unemployment has gone down, jobs are far more precarious, and many are work-

ing for poverty pay. Research from 2017 at Cardiff University suggested that 60% of British people in poverty live in a household where someone is in work. This simply has to change.

Ideally, they should be getting far more, to at least £10 per hour. For a university that earned a £27 million surplus before tax in 2016-17, this is the least it can do.

Henry Holborn

I’ve worked for minimum wage in various jobs... being paid that little felt unfulfilling and disappointing

Ideally, they should be getting far more, at least £10 per hour The legacy of Martin Luther King has rightly been promoted by the University. His statue on campus is engraved with the three injustices he set out to fight against: war, poverty, and racism.

The failure to pay staff properly highlights our institution’s flagrant hypocrisy.

Now is the time to pay up The best way the university can uphold the memory of the civil rights movement is through deeds not words. Now is the time to pay up.

The Context

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veryone deserves to be paid enough to live. If you are working, it makes sense to be able to earn enough to put food on the table, pay bills and not be constantly worrying about scraping enough together if your hours are cut, or you’re ill and can’t work for a week.

The minimum wage, especially for 18 – 20-yearolds (£5.60), isn’t realistically enough for many people. I’ve worked for minimum wage in various jobs, including the under 18 wage (£4.05) for McDonald’s a few years ago; being paid that little, often whilst doing the worst jobs that management didn’t want to do, felt unfulfilling and disappointing. Luckily, I didn’t have to worry about stretching my pay for food shops, petrol or rent.

Some people argue that if you’re not happy with

It’s Personal

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how much you’re paid, you should just ‘find a better paying job!’ People in minimum wage jobs may not have much other choice or need the flexibility of a poor paying job which often comes hand in hand with a zero-hour contract. If you’re a working parent, student, have other caring responsibilities, or are juggling multiple jobs, sometimes it’s the only option.

That’s the thing, I don’t think anyone should be working for low pay when a living wage IS possible for many employers to pay without negative consequences.

People in minimum wage jobs may not have much other choice or need the flexibility of a poor-paying job which often comes with a zero-hour contract The current government Living Wage scheme only applies to workers over 25, disregarding younger employees who do the same work.

It isn’t enough, and I welcome any campaign that fights for all workers.

Charlotte Boulton

the STUDENT PERSPECTIVE

LIVING WAGE IN NEWCASTLE? Campaigning students and staff believe that workers at Newcastle University are not paid enough to live on. They explain why they won’t stand for the systematic injustice

Digging Deeper Jamie Cameron

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ook close enough at Newcastle University and the sight of injustices all around you is sudden and blinding. At Newcastle Student-Staff Solidarity, we find ourselves jointly fighting against student poverty, savage and unjustified cuts to staff pensions, and cruelly lacking minimum wages for the staff that make this University a reality.

Almost everyone in this country is getting poorer. Lecturers are paid 15% less in real terms than they were in 2007. Real wages across the country continue to decline in a lost decade of productivity and wage growth. The social security net is slashed and cuts to maintenance grants and a rise in tuition fees mean working class students find themselves priced out of higher education entirely.

Almost everyone in this country is getting poorer.

Lecturers are paid 15% less in real terms than they were in 2017 Almost everyone. The top 1% are doing rather well. In the UK, the richest 1% control 22% of the country’s wealth, up from 15% in 1984.

At Newcastle University, our Vice Chancellor is paid over £280,000 a year with an over £70,000 pension. He seems rather content to do little while his teaching staff lose 40-70% of their pensions.

Simultaneously, many cleaners and support staff are allowed to languish below the wage level considered necessary for a basic standard of living.

Meanwhile, Newcastle University’s net income rises 4% yearly, while we spend lavish sums on new buildings and new entire campuses in Asia and London, while new stocks and shares are bought without democratic approval and executive pay spikes yearly.

Many cleaners and support staff are allowed to languish below the wage level Newcastle University is just one front of this war being waged to leech money, wealth, and power from the working and middle classes, sending it directly to a distant and unaccountable class of elites.

At our group Newcastle Student-Staff Solidarty, we aim to resist and reverse these thefts, and fight for justice. On this Living Wage issue, we are pleased to endorse the Living Wage Foundation, and work with Newcastle University Labour society, who have done much of the research and preparation for this piece.

Students, staff , and workers make this a university Students, staff, and workers make this a university. There are terrible wrongs here and elsewhere to be righted, but not for long.

In Conclusion Henry Holborn

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esponding to a Freedom of Information request in 2017, the University stated that a total of 358 staff are paid less than £8.45 per hour.’ Furthermore, ‘224 of this total number are women’. Whilst the 2018 figures for people below £8.75 are unavailable, this suggests there are hundreds of workers below the living wage. Furthermore, a clear majority of these are women. As a member of the Athena Swan Charter, the university has a responsibility to support women’s rights at work, and promote equality.

Any key political organisations and trade unions have expressed their support for the campaign. On campus, societies who back this motion include Labour, Feminist, Marxist, and Young Greens.

The UCU are also happy to collaborate. Craig Dawson, chair of TUC young workers, GMB member, and student at Newcastle stated that “£8.75 is the least staff at Newcastle University can ask for. Wages have been frozen for many on the lowest pay bands for the best part of a decade.

It is time to demand an end to poverty pay and move towards a real living wage” Chi Onwurah also echoed support. She argued that, “Everyone deserves a living wage and every organisation benefits from paying its staff properly. As MP for Newcastle Central, I urge all large employers in my constituency to sign up to the Living Wage Foundation.”

This mass of support demonstrates a clear mandate for change. Will the management now listen to these demands?

Newcastle University may boast a lofty status as

a Russell Group member and TEF Gold institution. However, it is falling short in treating staff properly. Many higher Education institutions have already affiliated to the foundation, including Salford, Oxford, Glasgow, and the Open University. Surely Newcastle can follow in their footsteps?

A key example of a successful campaign was Cardiff University A key example of a successful campaign was Cardiff University, which accredited in 2014. In a BBC interview, one worker expressed that after getting the wage rise, she no longer needed to do two jobs. This helped her gain more time at home and greater independence.

I recently spoke to a cleaner in the SU who has worked here for 7 years full-time. He emphasized the constant strain on living standards, with his weekly bus pass costing £13.50. This highlights a real impact a pay rise could have. Most importantly, this change will benefit the livelihoods of hundreds of low-paid workers.

So how can you help? Firstly, please support a motion at council, which aims to lobby management to support the campaign. Please talk to staff who are affected.

Ask them to get in touch with the group to start building a movement. If you have any questions, or would like to be involved, please email Newcastle.uni.lw@gmail.com Why should we fight for it? On practical terms, it has a real economic benefit for those on low pay. This is an achievable goal with the moral imperative of challenging poverty and injustice.

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student voice

Tuesday 27 February 2018

James Sproston spoke to the Welfare & Equality Officer Sarah Craggs, spilling the beans on the NUSU Wellbeing Fair T hough there may not be a specific campaign this week, there are two huge events set to hit campus: the Wellbeing Fair on Thursday 1st March from 11am in Venue down in the Students’ Union, followed by the annual Inspiring Women Conference on Saturday 3rd March, kicking off from 10am down in Venue.

This is the inaugural Wellbeing Fair, with Newcastle University Students’ Union’s Welfare and Equality Officer Sarah Craggs summarising the event as “a fair that supports students in their understanding of how to improve their own personal wellbeing.”

The fair will feature several information areas, including representatives from academic support, wellbeing services, and the Student Advice Centre, alongside five key areas to enhance personal wellbeing. Craggs, with support from the Campaigns Support Worker Kay Hattam from the Representation and Democracy Office of NUSU, has organised the event into five key areas: ‘keep learning’, ‘stay active’, ‘connect’, ‘give back’, and ‘take notice’.

‘Keep learning’ is rather self-explanatory, as opportunities to improve writing and language skills are offered by their respective university bodies, as well as an advertisement for the public lectures series, which features several highprofile speakers. ‘Stay active’ is similarly selfexplanatory, as representatives from the Athletic Union, Inclusive Sport and Centre for Physical Recreational and Sport teams will be present.

Opportunities to get involved with Give It A Go, NUSU Societies and Watch Your Head’s wellbeing workshops will be offered in the ‘connect’ zone; likewise, Go Volunteer, RAG and Community and Hall Reps will be present to represent the ‘give back’ section. Finally, the ‘take notice’ area will be filled by student media, potentially alongside photography and meditation opportunities.

The fair will run from 11am-2pm, with a free session running each hour, including a petting zoo.

Layla Xie ties up some loose ends in the final instalment of Margaret’s story Volume 3: Sing a song of sixpence

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argaret often mentions an English girl friend of her who got married during undergraduate. She travelled to Australia for the graduation trip where her mother lives in. Then she sold their house and moved to Australia after the journey. As the girl said there is no reason but she is into that place.

Margaret admires the natural and unrestrained attitude that people “announce the intention to leave and really mean it”. It’s like nothing would become your obstacle and you just follow your heart on the life voyage, consistently discovering and challenging the unknown future. That is what Margaret wants.

She sent her CV to the university’s office in Belgium, and is waiting for the response.

In the new year of 2018, when staying with friends talking about the plan for new year, Margaret talked with smile: “ I do believe both bread and love will come.”

Margaret held her farewell party at Happiness Inn for her favourite spicy boiled fish there. After the dinner we went to KTV, sang popular songs till the restaurant closed and cut off the power. In the quiet, everybody played the beats with clapping, sang an old song called “Bidding Farewell”: ‘…At the edge of the sky and the corner of the land, The friends in hearts have gone their separate ways.

If only we had a bottle of distilled wine to celebrate the rare reunion; Then it wouldn’t be so cold tonight.

Outside the long corridor, along the ancient road, The green grass seemed to connect with the sky.

To ask my friend, “When will you be back after we part ways this time?”

Please don’t hesitate to drop by when you are here again.’

CHAT: LGBT+ Officer Hannah Fitzpatrick Hi Hannah, when did you start in this role? What were your main goals, and have you achieved them?

Well I started back in September, and one of my main goals was to improve trans policies at university, which is ongoing. I’m currently working with the sport centre to try and get them to implement and trans policy because they don’t really have one, they just operate of the Union one.

The Union one, actually, I need to follow up on as myself and last year’s officer rewrote the Union policy last year and so far it hasn’t been updated, as far as I’m aware. Of course, LGBT Week was a huge part of my manifesto, too. Aside from that, I’ve been looking to put a motion through council to include at least one sanitary bin in every men’s’ toilet in the Union, for trans men who don’t necessarily want to use the gender neutral toilets. I’ve been working to put some other motions through council, but I’m sure readers are aware that that’s been easier said than done over the past few weeks what with all the tensions and drama in there.

For those not familiar with your role, what is exactly that you do?

For any of the liberation reps, the purpose of their role is to be a point of contact between students and the Union. I can’t say I’m fantastic at advice, but I am more than happy to talk to people or to pass their queries onto the Union, the Welfare and Equality Officer Sarah or even just the LGBT Society. I go to various meetings, and the university usually come to me about LGBT issues which I will pass onto the relevant society, if I can’t come to a solution myself.

What’s been going on this LGBT+ Week then?

Well it’s been Newcastle Univeristy’s LGBT+ Week, which has been going since 2015, I believe, which was my first year at the university, as part of the LGBT History Month. It’s a weeklong celebration or raising awareness of LGBT students

and LGBT issues both on campus and around the world. It’s also a great way of getting LGBT students who aren’t necessarily associated with the society involved in things, encouraging them to come along to more things and making them more aware of our events, which is useful for those who didn’t come along in Freshers’ Week or don’t have Facebook, which happens believe it or not! It’s also a great way of students running their own events, for example every event from this week has been done by a different student, none of this week’s events were on me, which is great for them. For example, the former Marginalised Genders Officer did a Beyond the Binary artists event, which included a talk about non-binary and trans artists, and a couple of committee members from LGBT Society ran events too.

So do they come to you with their own ideas?

Generally yes, I will, in say December, make a group page for volunteers and organisers and see what people are interested in. Sometimes I’ll suggest something, but largely they come to me asking to do something in particular and I’ll book them in for it, such as the event we had on racism and sexism in the LGBT community, which Lauren came to us about. Toby and Georgia came to me about domestic violence amongst LGBT individuals and they organised it all by themselves, I literally just booked rooms. I think it’s great; it gets people involved. It’s been like that since I’ve been doing it, but I believe the very first LGBT Week was back in 1994, which was organised by Newcastle’s ‘Gay and Lesbian Soc’ of the time, which I think is brilliant, but the society’s origins go back to 1974, I think, the Gay Society, but their week didn’t go very well… They were water bombed near the Union by rugby students, but there’s been no homophobia anywhere near us this year! What’s been really good, actually, was the Faith Stall that included loads of Bible stories and quotes that include queer people, and Grace,

who set that up, is really good at finding things like that. That was in the tent outside NUSU and it got a great reception.

What else has been in the NUSU tent?

Well there’s been the cake stall, which I’m really proud of; I think we’ve raised around £51 for Action for Trans Health. There was everything from mental health stalls to domestic and sexual violence stalls and LGBT in sport stalls. Everything was ran by students, some suggested by myself but it was their arts and crafts, their resources, their creativity. I don’t like being too hands on with other people’s ideas, so I just let them get on with it.

So asides from the stalls in the tent, what have you had on this week?

We had a film screening and discussion with the BAME Society of ‘Paris is Burning’. It came out in 1990 and is a documentary about the 1980’s New York drag scene, mainly the black and latino scene, and is really fantastic - and historical! It was really well attended so I’m happy with that. The discussion on domestic violence that I mentioned was brilliant; Toby and Georgia put so much effort into it. Queer Question Time happens every year and is a platform to vent, ask questions and have discussions about pretty much anything. It puts people into an environment where people can ask any questions, and isn’t invasive at all. We had eight panelists lined up from all across the LGBT+ spectrum of sexualities and gender, which was fun. Friday finished with the self care workshop, nothing to crazy but just a chance for people to unwind from the week.

What’s the turnout been like?

Fantastic. I was so impressed with the artists Beyond the Binary event, there were so many students there. Emily, who ran it, but so much effort into it and it really paid off. The ‘Paris is Burning’ screening must have had about 30 people

there, so I’ve been very happy with the turnout. I’ve judged everything against my previous two years here and it’s had more people coming this year so that’s an achievement. Considering the drama of the strikes week, I’ve been pleasantly surprised.

Another thing that has pleased me has been the amount of new people turning up. Obviously you have your regulars, but lots of people have been turning up who aren’t from the societies, or don’t have time to come to normal events, and have been very interested. There’s also been lots of adults who work at the university or near campus, rather than just students, so that’s a real plus point.

Not to bring them up as much as possible, but have the strikes affected you much?

Not really. We did have to cancel an event on Thursday, which was disappointing, but I understand. People need to support their lecturers and stand up for what they believe in, but I obviously wouldn’t have chosen the same week for LGBT+ Awareness if I’d known! One thing I would like to say is how fantastic the volunteers have been. Not just the people who set up their stalls but everyone who simply came along and collected money for an hour so. Absolutely every little bit of help has been brilliant, so thanks to all of the volunteers. I am so, so proud of them.

Anything else coming up?

From me, personally, not too much as I’m a masters student and I have a dissertation to write!

LGBT Society have their socials fairly regularly, though, and I believe their next upcoming one is Harry Potter themed, which has caused some rifts between members claiming each house is the best! There has been some things that have been postponed over the past week or so that I’m hoping can still take place after Easter.

Alex Hendley

life & style

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the courier Tuesday 27 February 2018

@CourierLifestyle c2.lifestyle@ncl.ac.uk thecourieronline.co.uk/lifestyle Life & Style Editor Izzi Watkins Lifestyle Editors Sophie Henderson, Jaymelouise Hudspith, Lauren Sneath & Victoria Young

Blind Date

Harrison Askew, 20, 1st Year Politics and Economics

Harrison on Emily...

Tell us a little about the date. Where did you guys go?

We went for a nice Quayside walk, and then on to Bridge Tavern and Spoons for drinks. The night ended with an impromptu Uber to Rusty’s before heading to Soho for a dance.

What were your first impressions of Emily?

Emily walked up to me confident and sexy. I knew straight away that she was a little quirky and had a beautiful smile How was the conversation?

The chat progressed from casual, to serious, to flirting as the night went on.

Some pretty deep conversations were had, but we definitely had a laugh too.

Did you have much in common?

We shared a love for the band ‘Cage the Elephant’ as well as a desire to get quite drunk.

If Emily was an animal what would she be and why?

Emily would be a lion, her beautiful blonde hair and striking brown eyes are a strong combination.

What was her most attractive trait?

Emily was tall, thin and toned- there was no denying that she had an amazing body.

Her personality was so humble and down to Earth, so that was definitley what I found most attractive.

Did you kiss?

Yes we did, both during the date and after.

Have you been in touch since?

I’ve sent her a message, so we’ll see...

Would you swipe left, right or superlike?

100% swipe right!

VERDICT: HARRISON ON EMILY The casual chat progressed to flirting

Personality

Conversation

Looks

7/10 8/10 8/10

Fancy a date? We’ll set you up.

Find us on our 2017/ 2018 Facebook page or email at c2.lifestyle@newcastle.ac.uk

Emily Bamforth, 21, 3rd Year English

Emily on Harrison...

giving him the chance to be a gentleman’.

Did you have much in common?

I think we have a pretty similar sense of humour, which is nice. We are also both fans of the show ‘Always Sunny in Philadelphia’.

So, what were your first impressions?

He was very smiley which is always a plus, and he was dressed pretty smartly – he told me he had spent ages agonising over what to wear but to be honest he could’ve shown up in a t-shirt!

What did you do together?

We hit up a couple of pubs- he made me drink fancy whiskey. We ended up in Rusty’s- as any good night should.

Was Harrison a gentleman?

He was- he insisted on buying me drinks at first, but I decided we should go dutch because I am a gentleman too! He was also very good at holding open doors for me, but he kept getting annoyed when I walked in front of him because I ‘wasn’t

What did you like most about Harrison?

He was very easy to talk to, there was never a quiet moment.

What animal would Harrison be?

Probably a fox because of his ginger hair and quick wit.

Were you on the same level intellectually?

Yeah I think so – we had a healthy little political debate when tipsy.

Would you like to see Harrison again?

Sure, we had a fun time.

After the date, would you swipe left, right or superlike?

A cheeky swipe right.

VERDICT: EMILY ON HARRISON We had a healthy little political debate when tipsy

Personality

Conversation

Looks

9/10 9/10 9/10

the courier

14

life & style lifestyle Tuesday 27 February 2018 Top Tips: Beautify your strudent room Beauty Editor Susanne Norris shares her experience of being single on a Valentine’s night out

Valentines ‘day’, singles night out

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here are plenty of student rooms in Newcastle which are fully furnished and attractive. However, it may be that yours is a little dingy or empty looking, and has you missing your bedroom back home, which was chock full of nick-nacks and memories. Here are some ways to make your temporary bedroom a little more homely:

The old stand by: fairy lights

I’m pretty sure most people would agree with the notion that fairy lights can make anything look cosy. You could put some on a bin and I’d automatically pay you a compliment. Get some stuck above your bed, around your window, or over a mirror, to instantly brighten the room. Primark is always selling a range of fairy lights for very little, so this is a great way to cosy up your room on a budget.

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hen you’re single, deciding what to do for Valentines can be daunting to say the least. So that’s why I decided to disregard this commercialised day (sorry not sorry), ditch my inhibitions, and tag along with a sports social for a night out.

Just to clarify, I don’t play sports. But it just so happens my housemate is a pretty good ice-hockey player, so I find myself weekly going along to her socials with her. The night began as it always does.

Pre-drinks at someone’s house. To be fair, there was no mention of Valentine’s here. This could have been because we were obviously all single, or equally could have been because everyone was preoccupied with the ‘Great British’ theme

Get organised

Using storage boxes is definitely more efficient and aesthetically pleasing than letting everything pile up on a chair (based on my own experience) and mine cost me just over a tenner. If you don’t have room for extra storage options, just make sure all of your things are organised and have a specific place in your room. There’s also no point in hoarding heaps of clothes, shoes or anything that you don’t use on general basis when there are so many charity shops to which you can donate. Not only does keeping clutter around make your room seem smaller, but it also makes it harder to stay organised.

Place candles on every possible surface

Obviously make sure the surface is safe to keep a candle on, but I would genuinely just put candles everywhere. Landlords and student accommodation owners can be tricky when it comes to lit flame, but as long as you’re careful a candle can add scent and atmosphere to the most dingy of student bedrooms.

Rearrange your furniture

If you’re in a position to do so and if your room is big enough, feng-shui to your heart’s content. It’s bound to make you feel more in control of your surroundings and allows you to feel more comfortable.

Brighten up dull walls with artwork

Decide whose artwork you enjoy the most, pick out some photographs and get them printed off. If you can stick them to the walls in your room then do; if that isn’t an option, get some frames or photo holders and place them around the room.

Pay attention to lighting

Whatever the main source of light in your room may be, make sure you actually like it. Light bulbs come in all sorts of shades and strengths, and as a person who has had a pure white bulb in my room for 3 months (which made me feel like I was staying in a hospital room in a horror movie) I can say that it really does make a difference when you’ve got a nice, warm light rather than a horrifying, piercing one.

Get some plants!

Not only are they great for getting rid of your unnecessary carbon dioxide, but they look cute too.

If you’re awful with plants then I suggest getting a cactus, as they only need to be watered about once a year (don’t quote me on that).

Put the effort in to keep your room clean

Once you get your room clean and tidy, don’t fall into the trap of getting lazy with organisation. If you use something, put it back in its original place.

Likewise, if you eat in your room, don’t let plates and cups pile up. Little actions like that, practised often, will mean that you never end up with a huge job to do.

Gabriela Szczepanska

Image: Pexels

Image: tigertigerncl

the social adopted. My housemate went as Dec (influenced by Ant and Dec, of course) and I went as a footballer. Sexy. Perfect for Valentines.

It was when we got on the metro to town it became clear that love was in the air. Whist we ran around screaming and playing metro twister (left hand on the seat, right foot on the window, that sort of thing) more couples than usual surrounded us. They looked at us in a slightly bemused fashion.

I mean, it was more likely pity glares, but I’m going to say bemusement to make myself feel better.

Playing metro twister (left hand on the seat, right foot on the window, that sort of thing) So, the night really kicked off in Sinners. Standard.

Whilst there was no obvious Valentines theme, I did notice more couples than usual getting closer in the cage. I mean to be fair, it’s hard not to be pressed up to someone in that cage normally, but you get what I mean. Love appeared to be in the air. This romantic aura was complimented by the never-ending streams of other boys on their sports socials, making never-ending passes at all the girls around them. How extremely classy.

Our next pit-stop was meant to be Players.

However, we ended up avoiding this one, which I think was wise. Players had jumped on the Valentines hype, deciding on the oh-so-romantic notion of handing out free condoms. Oh, and lube, can’t forget that. This seemed to be a Valentines

that was promising to get people lucky, maybe just not in the traditional sense of ‘lucky-in-love’.

So, after deciding to abort mission with Players, we ended up in Tiger. A standard Wednesday night out for sport’s socials. However, for Valentines there was a twist. The theme was ‘masquerade ball’, inspired by Fifty Shades of Grey. Seriously, this was a night that was geared towards getting people one thing and one thing only. I mean I guess I kind of admire it. At least if everyone’s in masks you can go totally wild as who knows/cares who you’re grinding on. Equally, it could mean you go home with someone who you think is a prince but wake up next to a frog. Yikes.

Anyway, the night was a success. The Valentines hype didn’t take over too much, as even though Tiger was masquerade themed there were plenty of people there dressed in random outfits, like me as a footballer. Whilst I didn’t jump on the ‘getting lucky’ band-wagon that seemed to be prominent, the night was a good laugh and not too overbearing with Valentines celebrations.

Image: picsdaybyday

Give it a Go Review: Dog and Scone

Who can say no to a trip to a dog cafe? Lifestyle Editor Lauren Sneath headed down to Dog and Scone with our student union to ‘Give it a Go’ for an afternoon of puppers, red velvet and coffee

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s a student who very much misses her dogs during term time, I jumped at the opportunity to review Newcastle’s latest gimmick: the dog café, suitably named ‘Dog and Scone’ and situated just off Bigg Market.

I was given this chance by the ‘Give it a Go’ team at the Union; an organisation dedicated to providing students with the discounts and transport necessary for them to try new, exciting activities around the city. They kindly invited me on a session for which they had booked the entire cafe, just for the group of attending students, in the early evening.

What impressed me most was the smooth nature of the Give it a Go operation The evening began as we convened outside the Union, before being registered and walking down towards the centre of town. It was bitterly cold, but the short walk wouldn’t merit using a minibus, and was over before I knew it. The group was made up of several pairs and trios, some of whom knew each other from previous ‘Give it a Go’ events. It seemed like the organisation has done a good job of creating a friendly, welcoming community which encourages students to return more than once, after enjoying their first experience. There

Image: Lauren Sneath

Image: Lauren Sneath

were also a couple if people who had come alone (myself included) but this didn’t stem the flow of group conversation and everyone seemed to enjoy meeting new people, and found that they had some things in common.

Upon our arrival, we were enthusiastically greeted by a group of waitresses and a pack of excited dogs. It was ensured that our hands were clean before we entered, and as we went in were introduced to Mo Mo, Laughing, Noodle, Yuki, Coffee, and Sugar. They were of varying breeds, sizes and temperaments, but all very friendly. The staff offered us a free drink and, later, a slice of red velvet cake (which was incredible).

The ‘Give it a Go’ representative who was essentially our chaperone was friendly, and seemed to know everyone taking part. It felt more like a group of friends had gone on an outing than an organised

university activity- which I imagine is a draw for some students, as no one would enjoy feeling they were back in secondary school, on an organised trip.

The dogs really were adorable; Noodle, a dachshund puppy new to the business, was a personal favourite. As it was the evening, a couple of the dogs were sleepy, and therefore happy to cuddle on the laps of the students, much to the latter’s delight.

The staff were happy to answer all our questions about the dogs, and we learned about the varying dynamics in the canine relationships, as well as hearing anecdotes about each dog.

What impressed me most was the smooth nature of the ‘Give it a Go’ operation. The leader was confident and sociable, and every student seemed to enjoy themselves immensely.

the courier

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Tuesday 27 February 2018

Real talk: sex myths & madness

Sex is something we hate to talk about, Phoebe Bower talks us through the myths and the madness we all ‘know’ to give you the facts for a healthy, happy most importantly safe sex life

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veryone knows that university is a time for experimentation, with many students having sex for the first time or more frequently, with different sexual partners.

Knowledge of sex is key to having a healthy, safe sex life, and knowing the facts from the fiction.

Here are some myths about sex which have been disproven and which will hopefully lead to more realistic expectations and a more enjoyable, safer experience for all.

Coitus interuptus, often portrayed in pornography, is not an effective form of contraception

precum, can contain sperm putting you at risk of pregnancy if this is your only method. This also does not prevent the spread of STIs.

You cannot get pregnant if it is your first time or you’re on your period

Pregnancy occurs when a sperm fertilises an egg, and although just one egg is released a month, an ejaculation contains around 200 million sperm.

Yes, a woman on her period is less likely to get pregnant, but it is not impossible. Therefore be safe and use a condom or birth control.

Size

A well-known myth is that the size of a man’s feet is reflective of the size of his penis. However, it has been proven that there is no correlation between shoe size and penis size. This is also the case with hand or ear size too. Interestingly, in a UCLA study using a variety of 3D-printed penises, it was found girth was preferred over length, and that women

preferred an average length of only 6.5 inches.

Size = satisfaction

Another myth is that the bigger a man’s penis size, the more satisfied the woman will be. However, this is more important to a man’s ego than it is to a woman’s pleasure. The g-spot is located just two inches inside the vagina and is usually stimulated by the head of the penis when thrusting. It does not require a big penis to reach and stimulate it, in fact, it usually misses the g-spot completely. Of course, it is a matter of preference, but in this instance, a poor workman blames his tools.

Taste

The taste of your semen cannot be affected by the food you eat or what you drink. There is no scientific evidence to suggest that this is the case and although research does show that the sodium content of semen does vary among males, affecting the taste.

Natural Cycles

Natural Cycles is an app, backed by clinical research and certified in Europe as a medical device to be used as a contraceptive. It is a nonhormonal, non-intrusive contraceptive method that will tell you when you are ovulating and when you are not, therefore when it is safe to have unprotected sex. Although a natural contraceptive method, it is only 93% effective and has led to a lot of unwanted pregnancies. In addition, it is only certified in Europe, so it is only intended for use as a fertility monitor rather than a contraceptive, and it does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases (STIs).

The ‘pulling out’ method

Coitus interruptus, often portrayed pornography, is not an effective form contraception either. Many men are not able withdraw in time and pre-ejaculatory fluid,

in of to or

Image: Flickr

Time for spring cleaning Rowena Tylden-Pattenson shares with us her own twist on the New Year’s resolution, the Spring cleaning hybrid. Not only to help you de-clutter you life, but your living space as well

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ew Year, new you, right? Or are New Year’s resolutions not particularly cool anymore?

Put some music on. Something loud and motivating. Andrew Applepie, ‘A Couple of Pop Songs’. Open the window and get a box for the recycling. Throw out the Christmas cards, the birthday cards from months ago. Notes that make no sense or are crumpled. Put the rest in a folder, with sticky tabs or dividers for each subject. Clear off the desk, trim the plants of their dead leaves, then water everything with the half-full glasses of water on the bedside table. Check the batteries in everything and recycle the dead ones. Do all your pens work? Bin the ones that don’t

and use your favourite to make a list of the things you need to replace.

Hoover the floor. Blow the dust off that novel you’re halfway through. You’ll finish it eventually.

Or stick a post-it to the front and leave it somewhere for another to find. ‘Love this more than I did’. Throw everything off the bed and make it with fresh sheets, wrap yourself in the duvet like you’re a ghost and spook yourself in the mirror.

Hoover the floor, blow the dust off and you’re half way through Take the plunge and wash the treasured bear along with everything else (but put it in a pillowcase first, and pace through the whole cycle in fear). He’ll be fine.

Open the wardrobe and marvel at the costumes, the party dresses and pile of muddy shoes. Turn all the coat hangers the wrong way around, then when you wear something, back the right way again. Anything still backwards after two months, take it to the charity shop.

Someone’ll love that jumper just as much as you did. Every sock with a hole in, is out. Who cares about pairs anyway?

Use extra shampoo in the shower and finish up the bottle. Get rid of the old toothbrush you’ve had for a year (and the ex’s that’s been hanging around), scrub the mirror and smile at your sweaty reflection.

Mop the floor, then get a reed diffuser that makes everything smell like tea tree.

Break into that bottle of wine you’ve been saving for a ‘special occasion’. Anything can be a special occasion if you make it, and why not make

today special? Eat that last piece of chocolate in the packet. You’ll burn off the calories dragging all the rubbish out to the bin, the old clothes and books to the charity shop.

Scrub the fridge shelves until they’re clear again.

Rediscover your spice cabinet. There’s star anise in there! Swap the last camomile teas with a friend for

Break into that bottle of wine you’ve been saving for a ‘special occasion’ jasmine green. Make pancakes with the flour and eggs from two weeks ago, pour on the lemon juice and wince at the tartness. Wipe the table, bin the thirty copies of the same Chinese takeaway leaflet, throw out the stinking bottles on the windowsill and replace them with tulips.

Bask in the sunshine as you look around your belongings with fresh eyes. Half of the battle of spring cleaning is the mind.

lifestyle life & style My dissertation relationship

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our dissertation topic is like a new relationship - it requires care, attention, development and above all, patience. You might even want to take it on dates (Costa makes a refreshing change to the inside of the library, plus you’ll need the coffee).

Unlike a relationship however, your dissertation can’t physically complain that you’re not spending enough time with it. You will be able to tell for yourself, and you will feel just as guilty. Basically, if you think you’re going to get bored of spending time on it in less than a year, then you’ve probably picked the wrong topic.

Letters jump around the page turning your writing into a massive game of Scrabble Procrastination is a way of life. Just because you can write 2000 words in one day, doesn’t mean you should. When the time comes to write your dissertation, you’ll find yourself embarking on the adventure of a lifetime: exploring the mountainous terrains of Netflix, and braving the Amazon (Prime) Rainforest looking for hidden gems. You have one less module per semester; plenty of time to be spent in bed binge watching that entire series that your mate recommended in one sitting.

Although it may be necessary to sacrifice these days occasionally to spend the day in the library, and always plan what you’re going to do first.

There is nothing worse than dragging yourself all the way to the library at 10am to find there’s no free computers (you start to regret that extra hour you spent lying in bed scrolling through your phone), and the book you want is out on loan.

But these issues are less likely to occur when spending a night in the library - something I do not recommended. Imagine, its 4am, you’re 8 hours into your night shift. Words have stopped making sense, and letters jump around the page turning your writing into a massive game of Scrabble. In your sleep-deprived state, you feel almost as if in a drunken stupor and you decided that, as it’s technically dinnertime for you, a trip to Munchies is needed. Cheesy chips fix everything. You take the first bite only for it to suddenly dawn on you; you’re not drunk, and it tastes nowhere near as good as you’d always thought it did.

Sleep deprived, you’ll feel almost drunken.

Cheesy chips fix everything.

So go ahead and ask your friends; take solace in a unified sense of terror. But above all else, remember that ‘I’ve not done anything either’ is a lie. They are ahead – they’ve worked for weeks and you know it.

You will have days to question why you ever decided you were cut out for Uni. You will cry, and you will probably call your mum a lot, but persevere.

Emelia Worjcik

@Courier_life Image: Pexels

@courier_lifestyle

16

life & style fashion

LET’S GET ETHICAL Tokyo’s take on school uniform

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he fashion world has always been home for new and obscure ideas… but has Taimei Elementary School taken it one step too far?

They have recently implemented a compulsory designer uniform for their students, costing just over £500! With Armani as the designer behind the uniform, it is no surprise that the prices are through the roof. As a brand known for its simplistic yet luxurious designs, the style of the uniform itself is very plain but clearly well-tailored, almost Victorian in its variety. The school itself is situated in Ginza, an area renowned for its fashion credentials.

Whilst we can all appreciate the genius behind the Armani brand, this school have arguably taken the fun and novelty out of the designs and making the uniform compulsory takes the edge off the high-end fashion label. Seemingly it’s become a byproduct of trying to illuminate their place within this fashion district, but unfortunately the parents of these children are paying for it greatly. The expensive uniforms have been a major cause for concern for the parents, as although the uniform is not compulsory, there is a sense of pressure to conform and a judgement against families that may not be able to afford the designer labels.

Although this uniform is undoubtedly one you would wish to wear, to brag about its designer status, and despite the simplistic design the Armani label is still there to be endorsed and shown off.

The question is, it is necessary for young children to wear designer items for schooling? Whether the children can appreciate the style or not, the uniform should be focused around their position as students, rather than an army of models for a fashion house. Fashion in this case, is shown to be invading on decisions which should be based on grades, teaching and the overall outcome for the student. With a focus on the designer fashion of the uniform, the customary matters of exams, homework and the lunchtime bell become inferior.

To use fashion in this way could tarnish the moral aims that the brand stands for, as I’m sure excluding children from a school due to their uniform style does not conform.

There is a sense of pressure to conform and a judgement against families that may not be able to afford the designer labels High end fashion, such as Giorgio Armani, is fun and exciting due to its exclusivity. A novelty uniform, which every pupil in the school would be dressed in, would be a thrilling experience to be part of and inevitably make you stand out from other surrounding schools. But the fashion brand itself would not be as exclusive, devalued due to not only its uniform style, but also being worn by young children, who may not have any appreciation for its prestige within the fashion industry. It is also not universally feasible, so although it may be aesthetically pleasing it could create divides between the children from families who can or cannot afford it’s hefty price tag. The uniform has the potential to present fashion in a bad light. Something that should aid people’s creative personalities and allow a freedom of style could now consequentially create divides among young children in a school environment. This is taking fashion to an ethical extreme.

Emily Scott

Tuesday 27 February 2018

New York Fashion Week

Reem Elsadawy talks us through the hottest trends and events of this season’s fashion week

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f ‘Back to The Future’ was a runway show, it would have been the New York Fashion Week Fall 2018. The 8-day show kicked off with a post-apocalyptic element, mixing 80s trends with a predominant futuristic theme. Think animal prints and bold shoulders mixed with block colours and vibrant aluminium mirrored garms.

Tom Ford’s menswear collection served up the look exquisitely; his satin cargo pants paired with leopard print shirts and ties and icy metallic puffers was the ultimate head turner. But the show goes on; the womenswear models were decked in glitter, gold lamé fishnets, cheetah print stockings and leather biker jackets (nothing that we haven’t seen Griff Tannen and his gang in).

But if you think you have seen it all, then think again. The Calvin Klein team transformed the American Stock exchange building into a hallucinatory prairie scene. The entire runway was filled with a six-inch layer of popcorn on the floor (we have an exclusive picture of Margot Image: Vogue

Image: Pexels

Robbie’s shoes buried in it) creating a less of a post apocalypse, more of a pop-calypse. The show was all about firemen jackets and orange construction boiler suits teamed up with balaclavas and steel space suit dresses, entering everyone into a parallel universe (we kind of know how Marty McFly felt in 2015).

Think animal prints and bold shoulders mixed with block colours and aluminium mirrored garms Another iconic element of the show is the overabundance of bright block colours throughout.

Alexander Wang, Ulla Johnson and Christian Soriano were amongst the designers that immersed Image: Vogue

their models in jelly bean pink and acidic neon green block coloured coordinates, making velvet tracksuits, chunky knit cigarette trousers and faux fur moon boots really stand out.

Last but not least, designers emphasised another cutting edge futuristic 80’s trend, the ‘boxed shoulders’. At Marc Jacob’s show, the cat walk was dominated by dramatic razor sharp broad shoulders, double-breasted cashmere and tweed suits and nineteenth century duster coats. The models wrapped up in taffeta headscarves and large bowler hats, creating a silhouette mask over their faces and adding a dramatic touch to the ultimate futuristic collection of the week.

We ask though, why the 80’s? Well, the inspiration of this season’s trend is the upswing of feminism.

Parbal Gurung, in fact, explained his inspiration was the Gulabi Gang, a group of Indian female activists who used bright pink saris’ as a symbol of power and fearlessness. And why the intergalactic touch? Well, that’s just to add a bit of ‘extra’ because, why not?

Image: Vogue

Image: Vogue

Image: Vogue

T-shirts tell a thousand words

Ugne Rinkeviciute explains the importance of our favourite tees and their potential messages

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e only have a say in global issues when it’s time to vote in elections, right? Wrong. We vote every day. Our fashion choices can have a huge influence on our social and political voices.

The casual T-shirt you put on in the morning that reads your favourite quote is more than just a form of self-expression. In as far back as the 1960s, T-shirts were used as a way to send subtle political messages, a way to be heard. These days they’re subtle no more, their goal is to unite. With its new collection in October, 2016, Dior reminded us about the effect that a simple T-shirt can have, when a model wearing a plain white tee with the slogan “We Should All Be Feminists” stepped onto the runway. It’s no secret that the T-shirt was a response to Donald Trump’s... every public speech, really. As Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, has recently noted, Trump may be the most anti-woman president ever. But it’s not just Dior that used a T-shirt to speak up against gender discrimination.

Our fashion choices can have a huge influence on our social and political voices Image: Pexels

the courier

c2.fashion@ncl.ac.uk Fashion Editors Chloe Bland, Sophie Schneider and Zofia Zwieglinska

While large-scale designers need months to put together a single collection, small independent creators can make and share their work in an instant. Amanda Brinkman’s “Nasty Woman” T-shirt was designed just minutes after Trump used the two words to insult his opponent, Hillary

Clinton, during the final presidential debate in 2016. According to her, the T-shirt was meant to draw attention to the fact that sex inequality is still an ongoing issue today.

In addition to expressing political beliefs, T-shirts are also used to raise awareness of important health issues. Marc Jacobs’ 2006 campaign definitely turned heads when a number of celebrities posed naked in order to support skin cancer research.

These photographs of 50 famous men and women have appeared on simple white “Protect The Skin You’re In” T-shirts and all of the money made from the sales have been donated to the NYU Cancer Institute. One of the stars, Victoria Beckham, who joined the list in 2008, said she made the decision after moving to California, a region known for January sunburns, and becoming more concerned about her sons’ exposure to the harmful sun rays. It is remarkable that the simple 35 dollar T-shirt has already raised over $1 million and counting.

As the public is becoming more aware of the unrealistic female beauty ideals portrayed by the media, the everyday T-shirt has once again been brought in to encourage women to love their bodies. Since the plain white T-shirt with a blackletter slogan (no extra colours, no fancy style) seems to be sending the message across most clearly, the pattern is seen in healthy body image campaigns as well.

In 2010, when Urban Outfitters released an anorexia-promoting “Eat Less” tee, Sophia Bush confronted the issue by designing an oversized, loose-fitting T-shirt with the words “0 Is Not A Size” printed on it. In her open letter, the actress shamed Urban Outfitters for making fun of serious eating disorders and promoting starvation.

Eventually, the brand pulled the T-shirt from their

stores. These examples show the power of the simple T-shirt, capable of portraying huge and powerful messages. Next time you throw on a comfy T-shirt, consider the fashion statement you are sending.

These examples feature celebrities who have used their fame and fashion sense to send across important messages, messages that have been snapped up by paparazzi and therefore given opportune attention to the brand and the cause.

Whilst not all of us will be followed by cameras on a daily basis, we can still use fashion as a means of making a statement as well as looking fabulous. Now I am not just talking about a piece of statement jewellery added to an outfit or a pair of statement heels, but a statement with real importance in society. As a form of expression, the t-shirt gives everyone the power to send across out own messages and opinions... so go out there and make your statement!

Instagram: £shrillsociety

the courier

@CourierFashion c2.fashion@ncl.ac.uk

Tuesday 27 February 2018

17

fashion life & style

Your ultimate style icon: princess?

Jenny Franken and Sophie Schneider, respectively discuss whether the royal family are the biggest fashion inspiration in the 21st century, or whether the hot thing in the fashion industry is activism, and making a political and social difference

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eing a princess is the childhood dream of so many little girls all around the globe and even with them growing older, the dream remains slumbering in the heart of so many women. Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle seem to live the dream, on the arm of the highly sought-after princes Will and Harry. This may explain why the public follow their favourite princesses every step, especially in terms of fashion.

The “Kate-Effect”, evoked after the royal engagement, which shows how the Duchess of Cambridge’s style inspires the masses’. As soon as Kate appears in public, her outfit is tracked down by social media accounts and within only a few minutes, sometimes seconds, the article of clothing is out of stock. It has been reported that this effect results in £1 billion in revenue to the UK fashion industry every year.

£57k

The amount of money Kate spent on clothes in 2017

Ever since the announcement of the next British royal wedding, people talk about the “MeghanEffect”. She definitely has the potential to become the latest style icon of the royal house. Even when she was wearing an ordinary black jumper from Marks and Spencer it was, of course, sold out within minutes. As she has been known as an actress before, especially for her role in the series

“Suits”, her outfit choices have been in the public interest for a long time.

She now has to combine her modern style with the royal family protocol, but we are sure that she will bring a fresh breeze to the rather modest values of the royals. A messy bun, an almost off- shoulder top or the ripped jeans she wore at the first official appearance with Harry, are fashion choices that you wouldn’t expect from the very classic-styled Kate which have been seen on Meghan. Kate, however, is valued for her simple but chic outfits.

Diana shaped society’s perception of style With two different type of princesses both popular and valued for their qualities, a range of women are inspired by the modern princesses.

However, they were not the first royals to draw our attention to the fashion in the royal house.

The “Princess of Our Hearts” Diana shaped society’s perception of style to such an extent that she could be described as the greatest style icon of the 20th century. Diana’s outfits are still highly present and inspiring in our contemporary society. Confronted with the challenge to capture the wardrobe of not only one of the most famous families in the world but most glamorous, the costume designers of the Netflix series The Crown impressed with astonishingly authentic outfits.

The effort the costume designers have put into the recreation, explains the expensive production at a rumoured £80 million. Next to the Queen is her sister princess Margaret, one of the most photographed women in the world, who convinces with her more approachable sense of fashion. The Crown makes her present again with many fashion magazines looking for high street stores to copy her style. If conscious or not, the royals of the past and now inspire the masses with their chic and modern sense of fashion, and don’t we all look up to them and aspire to be like them.

Instagram @royal.house.of.windsor

Or a preference for protest?

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ritish princesses over the last few decades have not just been style icons for entire generations, but also empowered activists.

Equally, in the fashion industry nowadays, being successful is not just about your unique style, good looks, or professional styling, it’s about having a voice and a being socially conscious of the current issues the country has.

Princess Diana has encouraged the mantra ‘activism is attractive’ in the industry, which has been continued by high-profiled fashionistas in the industry, who are becoming aware of the political power they hold. Princess Diana, ‘the Queen in the Heart of the People’, was incredibly influential and impactful when it came to making a difference in society.

Her work with AIDS victims is still remembered now, as she was one of the first high-profiled celebrities photographed to be working hands-on with people affected by the disease.

Equally, she worked with prisoner’s families and set up funds to support the children of prisoners, as well as helping people live their final years in palliative care with dignity, and setting up funds to aid leprosy victims.

Most of the charities that she worked with were not usually affiliated with the royal family, and many saw her work as highly controversial. She rebelled against the protocols of the royal duty, and wiped away the façade of royalty, eradicating the constructed barrier between the people and the royal.

Being successful is not just about your unique style, good-looks or professional styling, it’s about having a voice

Instagram @babedotnet, @esteelalonde, @scarcurtis, @leomieanderson

Her iconic status was achieved by overstepping this barrier. She decided, for example, to not wear gloves, as she felt human contact through shaking or holding the hand of a person was the only way to really connect with the public.

She also rarely wore hats when she made visits as she stated that: “You can’t cuddle a child in a hat”. What made Diana a likeable, relatable member of the royal family is her active role in changing society. I’ve picked three activists in the fashion industry, who are equally outspoken on social media and through their fashion choices, have refused to conform to the fashion industry protocol.

Adwoa Aboah

Aboah founded GurlsTalk, which is an online safe space for girls to discuss any issues with race, body positivity, sex and mental health. Much like Diana, Adwoa rejects the higher celebrity status raising her up on a pedestal, she wants to be relatable, someone ‘gurls’ can confide in. She often does livestreams on her Instagram and on the website, and she also has started to involve GurlTalk in various festivals globally (Mexico City is next on 15 March).

Stella McCartney

McCartney is a famous supporter of animal rights and is known throughout the industry for her animal-free alternatives in her work, such as faux fur & suede, as well as yeast-based silk, and marine plastic leather. She has continued to produce sustainable fashion solutions for consumers, and in particular she has aimed to help the menswear fashion become more sustainable. In 2017 she shot her campaign in a Scottish landfill site to drum in the importance of making sustainable choices as consumers. Less famously, she has been an advocate for the ‘End of sexual violence in conflict’ international body as part of the UN.

Leomie Anderson

Anderson, famous as an ‘Angel’ for Victoria’s Secret, has had an active role in diversifying the industry, and calling out the racism and sexism models, and young men and women face. She has started discussions about tokenism for shoots and documentary, where she feels often shows ask for only one non-white model as a token shot at diversity. She also did a TEDx Talk named Behind the Lens of the modelling industry which eradicates false perception of the industry, as well as founding her clothing line LAPP in 2016.

Alongside her clothing she releases an opinion piece on her blog, most famously she released an open letter to her readers discussing consent and reclaiming the word ‘No’.

All three of these women are using their power as celebrities, much like Diana had as a royal family member, to voice the political issues that we face in society. Hopefully, being politically active will still be ‘hot’ throughout 2018!

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life & style beauty

the courier

courier.beauty@ncl.ac.uk Beauty Editors Laura Greatrex, Lois Johnston & Susanne Norris

Tuesday 27 February 2018

Tan-tastic: Fake it ‘til you make it Have you been struggling with streaky, patchy fake tan? Poppy Couling shares tips on how to get that perfect sun-kissed glow Tanner Moisturiser in the hope that I would indeed be left ‘sun kissed,’ only to wake streaky, orange, and carrying with me an offensive musk that lingered for days. However, please do not be put off, as I have since used some extremely natural, buildable and affordable tanning products that have not let me down.

19%

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Image: @sttropeztan

t this point in the semester, we begin to notice our visibly pale, almost translucent, complexion, and are thus compelled to find ourselves wandering down the Boots aisle that displays a wide range of tanning products. I must confess, I have found myself in this position of late!

Previously, I have had many a tanning faux- pas, some of which included committing the ultimate error of lathering myself with Garnier Gradual

of people in Belfast use fake tan on a regular basis, making it the fake tan capital of the UK according to a 2017 YouGov survey of 16 cities

Firstly, Bondi Sands Tan and Erase set (£27.99) is nothing short of a miracle, with the smooth foam creating a beautiful tan, and the incredibly effective erasing product as a unique addition, acting as a blessing once the tan begins to fade irregularly after a week or so. I must be honest and divulge my opinion of the St Tropez products, and I am afraid it is not a positive one in general, as the foam seems to dry skin out awfully, whilst the mitt apparently absorbs more of the product than you end up applying onto your skin. Alternatively, if the brand is something you are invested in, I have tried the St Tropez Gradual tan in Shower Lotion (£14.50), and although the idea of applying fake tan in lotion form under aggressively falling water may seem wrong and about as effective as attempting to re-cap a weeks worth of lectures on a Sunday afternoon, I found it surprisingly effective after a week of use.

St Moritz Advanced Pro Formula Ultra Dark Mousse (£8.99) is my definite foam of choice, and after one night of allowing the product to soak

my skin, and a very rigorous shower the following morning (normally including a strong smelling body wash, such as the Original Mint and Tea Tree Shower gel £1.95 to eradicate any remaining smell), I have been left glowing for five days or so with a beautiful golden shine. When choosing a mitt to apply with, I would highly recommend the Soltan Beautiful Bronze Self-Tan Applicator Mitt (£3.99), and can be transformed to look brand new after each use with a scrub under a hot water tap with some washing up liquid.

drops onto the palm of your hand on top of your usual moisturiser, rub your hands together and apply evenly all over your face or body. The beauty of this product is that, unlike many other face tans that invite overtly oily pores after use, along with the occasional influx of blackheads, this product allows you to use your normal face cream, so these potential drawbacks are eliminated. As a final nod towards another amazing product, especially useful for last minute tanning impulses before bed, the Ambre Solaire No Streaks Bronzer Light Self Tan Face Mist (£8.49) requires you to merely hold your breath and spray once over your face before you sleep.

Bondi Sands Launched in 2012 by Shaun Wilson and Blair James, Bondi Sands is Australia’s most popular brand of fake tan.

Image: @bondisands

Image: @bondisands

My most adored tanning product, however, is my Clarins Radiance-Plus Golden Booster for face (£20) and body (£27). It comes out its pipette applicator in oil form, and you simply pump two

I would like to conclude by imparting two pieces of advice. Firstly, remember to exfoliate before applying any tan to avoid patching around dry skin.

And secondly, and most importantly, I wanted to write this article as a way of advertising a way to avoid depressingly winter-white skin without being tempted to visit a sunbed. Although they seem to be a comparatively quicker and less sticky solution, they are in fact inherently dangerous and can trigger serious health issues, so stop wallowing over your sun-deprived smile, and treat yourself to one of these products!

Body confidence Don’t sweat it

Melissa Gandhi discusses this age-old debate and advises us on how to feel comfortable and happy with our individuality

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t this point in the semester, as summer approaches, we unfortunatley feel the pressure to bow to the pressure of body ideals. It’s time to shed some light on this issue and embrace those discomforts which restrict us from being satisfied with our own bodies.

It’s true! Bodies come in all different shapes and sizes but one thing which has always been neglected is our confidence to combat these insecurities.

In the media, body image is represented in various ways and can regulate and control our own bodily imperfections. Social media and celebrity culture have somewhat become influential within our lives, causing us to have weight obsessions.

We use weight to make sure our friends feel better about themselves, but it is also a way to put ourselves down and therefore becomes selfdestructive. I want to reinforce that being body confident doesn’t just mean achieving the ideal body weight. It means allowing yourself to be confident no matter what shape or size you want to be. Yes, we may try healthy hacks, but maintaining body confidence comes down to how you motivate your mind rather than the amount of hours spent in the gym.

Being body confident doesn’t just mean achieving the ideal body weight Individually, weight becomes our own worst enemy. It is amusing how we admire our friend’s body shapes and size, however we can become so critical of our own. Who cares, if we have small or flat boobs, stomach rolls or large thighs?

Disciplining our bodies to look a certain way isn’t the right motivation. I believe being body confident should come from within and if you want to shed a few pounds it should be based on the fact you want to be become a healthier you! It shouldn’t be because you want to look a certain way.

Pressure is another factor which enhances our

insecurities and anxieties surrounding our body image. As women, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to look a certain way. I must admit I do it myself, I think we all do it subconsciously. But when you think about it, it’s funny how we never recognise that we try so hard to become someone else, when in fact we shouldn’t really be trying at all. So, don’t let pressure get in the way of what makes you feel happy. It is okay to have a few cheat days or indulge in a few guilty pleasures. If you are really craving something calorific, I would say go for it! Rather than repressing those desires, it is better to overcome them and do what is best for you. Having regrets can feel like the worst thing in the world. But it is good to balance the good and the bad, so it feels as though you are not missing out on anything!

Image: @libbyshappyproject

One final thing to mention, being body confident is all about being you. What I am trying to say is that pressure comes in all shapes and sizes. We can become easily manipulated by wanting Beyoncé’s curves or Nicki Minaj’s bum. But realistically, is that ever going to happen? We care way too much about body image and it is time to realise that it is not about how we look externally. It is about channelling the mind with positivity. And with that positivity, confidence will grow, a benefit greater than any other diet. It can be really hard to boost that confidence, but I am sure it is deeply embedded within you somewhere and sometimes it is just great to be proud of it. It is time to embrace the real you!

Is it really as bad as we’re lead to believe? Emily Cartwright argues the pros and cons of wearing make-up to work out

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hether you love your skin, and wear make-up for the fun of it, or hate your skin, and wear make-up to cover it, one of the biggest decisions is whether to wear it to the gym or while you’re working out.

Initially, the immediate response would be that mixing base make-up with sweat can clog your pores and result in spots - which we definitely don’t want - so it’s a bad idea wearing makeup to the gym. Therefore then, the best solution would be to remove it beforehand with a cleanser like Clinique’s Take The Day Off cleansing balm (£24.00 for 125ml) or Garnier’s Micellar Water (£4.99 for 400ml).

44%

of 5,000 women surveyed

by Cosmopolitan Magazine sometimes wear make-up to the gym

However, I imagine some of you lucky people reading this find that wearing make-up to the gym doesn’t tend to give you spots. Though this may be the case, wearing make-up when sweating can cause dirt and bacteria to build up, and whether it gives you spots or not, I’m sure no-one wants that. So, I suggest LIGHT make-up. And when I say light, I mean water-based make-up like MAC’s Face and Body foundation (£24.50 for 50ml). The problem with this though of course, is that it’s more susceptible to slide off the skin during your workout. So, we’re back to square one - wearing no make-up to the gym.

If you remain adamant to wear a little something I recommend a product like MAC’s strobe cream (£25.00 for 50ml) as this will give your skin a little pick me up but also serve as skincare and so won’t block your pores. Additionally, putting product on your eyebrows too will lift the face (even if it’s just some brow gel), especially if you pop some concealer into your tear duct to brighten up your eye area. I recommend NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer (£24.00) as it’s light, creamy and brightening. For the eyebrows, and of course this is just my personal preference, my

favourite is Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo (currently 25% off on Cult Beauty, but originally £24.00) along with Maybelline’s Brow Drama gel (£5.99). Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Brows (£18.50) is also a good gel for the brows as it grabs every last little hair, so this might be a better option if you have naturally thin brows.

A curling of the lashes with Shu Uemura eyelash curlers (£15.00) will help too. And don’t forget to add a little mascara, I recommend Benefit’s RollerLash (£19.00), which will make the world of a difference to lift the face.

Whilst these are my recommendations for if you must wear make-up, all in all I’d say makeup at the gym is a bad idea. This is because it can easily clog your pores, and then cause spots. Plus, it’s generally bad for the skin as wearing make-up constantly and not letting your skin breathe will likely have negative effects. And on a happier note, you should be confident in your skin when going to the gym - you’re there to work on your body and health, not your face! Who cares who sees it anyway?

Image: @niomismart

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@CourierBeauty thecourieronline.co.uk/beauty

Tuesday 27 February 2018

Banish your breakouts

We all get breakouts, and we all know how confidence destroying they can be. Laura Bolden reveals all her secrets on how to control troublesome skin, and the best products to help do that

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reakouts can be one of the biggest confidence killers. One day your complexion is fine and the next you wake up with a random collection of spots. Everyone experiences it at one point, and as much as we tried to avoid it, our skin can be extremely hard to control.

Your breakout can be caused by multiple things from stress and hormones to your skin adjusting to new beauty products. I for one am prone to a breakout and throughout the past few years have tried almost every product, remedy and makeup trick available. So, I have listed some of my top tips from across the industry to help you prevent and even hide your breakouts.

Image: @thebodyshop

Learn to understand your skin type: Everyone has a different type of skin and the first step to helping heal or prevent breakouts is to understand your skin. It can be extremely confusing to understand which category your skin falls into, especially if you can relate to the signs of all types.

There are four main types - normal, dry, oily and combination. Skin products are mainly made to combat a specific type of skin, so knowing your skin type can help you choose the right products and routines to combat your individual breakout.

Create a routine: Getting into a skincare routine can benefit all different types of skin issues and is especially beneficial when preventing spots breakouts. You should have four main steps in your routine; cleanse, toner, treatments and moisturiser.

The products, especially the treatments, should be based on your individual skin requirements but maintaining the routine will mean your skin should adapt to its new regime.

Try natural remedies: Sometimes a breakout can be stubborn and at this point you should step outside of your comfort zone and try a home remedy. Toothpaste is a perfect example of a natural remedy that many people swear by to reduce the symptoms of spots. If you want to go for something more gentle on your skin you could try a honey and cinnamon face mask, the antioxidants in the ingredients are effective at reducing acne and spots. Applying green tea to your face is another weird, yet effective remedy. We all know it is good for your health to drink it, but the tea also contains antioxidants that can reduce inflammation when applied directly to the skin.

Apply tea tree: This is one treatment I swear

by; tea tree oil is known for its purifying and antibacterial properties making it perfect to help calm your breakouts. It is known as one of the best remedies for acne and it’s true, it helps to remove dirt and oil from pores while disinfecting them.

The Body Shop’s tea tree range has a product for each section of your skin routine and can help combat spots from the first steps.

Cover it with make-up: It isn’t always possible to prevent or reduce the symptoms of your breakout, meaning make-up is the next step. It can be extremely tempting to just cake on the layers of foundation, concealer and power and hope that it disappears but often this can make it appear lumpy and draw more attention. My go-to trick is to use a green-hued primer or concealer and apply it directly to the spot, the green covers any redness and the foundation will cover better. Another tip is to use two different shades of concealer, use your natural colour to cover the spot and then apply a lighter shade underneath the spot to remove any dark spots and shadows. If you’re struggling, there are some great YouTube tutorials that teach you exactly how best to hide your breakout.

Image: @lagirlcosmetics

Skin SOS: morning vs evening Deciding on a skin routine can be tricky to say the least. Tilly Parry and Sophie Hicks give details on both morning and evening cleansing routines so you can have the best skin possible Tilly’s Morning Routine

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should preface this piece with the disclaimer that I have a very, very dry skin type. Imagine the Sahara desert, or the Bolivian salt flats, but on a face. Bearing this in mind, here is my average morning routine.

I usually shower in the mornings rather than the evening, just because I’m usually too lazy to do anything productive by 7pm. Whilst I’m in the shower, I use two very gentle cleansers on my face: the L’Oreal Paris Fine Flowers Gel-Cream first, followed by the Nivea Daily Essential Facial Scrub.

I’d love to say I did plenty of research picking these, but honestly, the pink packaging and the promise to look after dry/sensitive skin was enough for me.

Despite this, I’d definitely recommend them for anyone with sensitive skin. I find that the gentle cleansing gets rid of the dead skin on my face, which helps keep the frequency of dry patches down.

makes it feel a little plumper whilst also feeling as if you hadn’t put anything on at all. However, I have been recently using it as an in-between step, instead of a toner, after I read an article that said toner is practically useless after other skin care innovations. (As I write this, it’s time for another disclaimer: I am not a skin care expert. Shocking, I know.)

I read an article that said toner is practically useless after other skin care innovations Then I slather on the Nivea Daily Moisturiser.

This is my absolute go-to: it’s cheap, creamy, and works great. I would also recommend the nighttime version of the product, which is a little thicker so it can work while I sleep. I find this gives me a healthy base before I put on my make-up, and I can put multiple layers on if the library air conditioning has left my skin particularly problematic.

This routine is far from perfect, but I’ve found that using gentle and only necessary products keeps me from dusty to healthy, which is all I really care about!

Sophie’s Evening Routine

Image: @lorealskin

When I’m out of the shower, all fresh and scrubbed clean, I pat my face dry with a towel and then immediately put on the L’Oreal Hydra Genius Moisturiser. This is a weird product that I’m not necessarily sure I’ll buy again: it’s water-based, and just…weird. It absorbs straight into the skin, and

extra soft. As a great environmentally-friendly option, the Full of Grace solid serum bar from Lush is great. To use it, you can either melt the bar in your hand or rub the bar directly into your skin to add moisture without being too heavy.

As part of my night-time skin routine, the first step is to wash my face. I’ve recently been loving Lush’s Angels on Bare Skin cleanser, as it is suitable for all skin types and gently exfoliates. However, Angels on Bare Skin does not remove make-up, so if you are wearing make-up, I’d recommend Garnier Micellar Water before cleansing with Angels on Bare Skin, so that your face is clear of all make-up.

After cleansing, I enjoy toning my face so that the pH balance is restored, and my skin feels energised afterwards. The Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic is great to soothe skin whilst being alcohol-free, and gives your skin a healthy glow. Once I’ve let my toner sink in, I like to use a serum before moisturiser, so that when I wake up my skin is

19

beauty life & style Big - up beauty brand lovin’

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This week’s beauty brand favourite may be pretty new on the UK scene. But, this beauty empire has been ruling the middle east for years now with their infamous lashes, creamy matte liquid lips and lovable businesswoman turned beauty influencer, Huda Kattan.

Sold in the UK via Selfridges, Harrods and Cult Beauty, Huda Beauty is a brand for the fullcoverage, pigment lovers of the world. Huda are most recognised for their distinctive ‘eye’ design packaging and just overall being a semiaffordable, blogosphere favourite which deserves all the love it gets.

Their first products which really had MUA’s raving was their eyelashes line; specifically, their ‘Samantha’ lash. As a completely cruelty-free line, Huda’s lashes promise a dramatic eye without being “too much” and are designed to last up to 12 wears to keep that fluttery, layered look for as long as possible. Initially, in a market of £1 Primark or £6 Eylure eyelashes, £15 for one pair originally made beauty-lovers cringe. But honestly, they’re 100% worth it.

And luckily for us, it doesn’t just stop at their lashes. Huda Beauty’s range of eyeshadows palettes are just as worthy to rave about. Although their highlighters, matte liquid lipsticks and flawless #FauxFilter foundation also deserve a place in this ode to Huda Beauty, their eyeshadow range deserves the top spot for me. As some of the creamiest eyeshadows in the beauty game at the moment, this brand’s palettes put makeup giants MAC and Urban Decay to shame. The Desert Dusk palette for starters is every MUA’s necessity including a mix of 18 bold mattes, iridescent shimmers and vivid glitters to experiment with.

After all, who doesn’t want to look like an Arabian goddess? And the same goes for their Textured Shadows Rose Gold palette which promises that “very on-trend” reddish smoky eye again with a mixture of 18 shades. Although like Huda’s eyelashes the palettes are on the pricey side at £56, every eyeshadow in the palettes are both long-lasting and super pigmented which makes the price very reasonable. However, if price is a big determining factor, you can instead opt for a pocket-size, 9 shade palettes from the ‘Obsessions’ range, which are all individually ‘to die for’ and will only set you back £25. With ‘warm brown’, ‘mauve’, ‘smoky’ and ‘electric’ options with the same blendability, pigmentation and long-lasting power as the Desert Dusk and Rose Gold palettes, as soon as you add one of these minis to your make-up collection you will just want to have them all! And don’t go worrying about make-up inspiration, Huda’s social channels are filled with tutorials and their Instagram is probably one of the most active accounts out there, so you can also ‘slay’ makeup looks like a pro.

Although some bloggers have complained about their shadows ‘fall-out’ or ‘crumbly’ qualities, overall it seems difficult to criticise almost anything within the Huda range. The range is filled with on-trend, completely worth it products with “Instagram-able” packaging fit for any make-up lover, professional or even beginner. So, it’s a 10/10 for Huda Beauty from me.

Laura Buckle

Image: @thebodyshop

Following a serum, I like to use 2-3 drops of the Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate. This is a multi-award winning face oil full of essential oils, and I find that my naturally oily skin is less oily when using it, as the oil combats my natural oil production. To use this, I’d place a few drops in the palm of my hand and pat into the skin.

Once your face is moisturised, it is equally important to use an eye cream, as it is one of the first places that shows aging as the skin is so delicate. The Ordinary’s Caffeine Solution 5% with EGCG visibly brightens the under eyes and provides hydration, and you only need a few drops to gently tap onto the under-eye area. Moreover, if I have any spots, the Ordinary’s Salicylic Acid 2% Solution is great to dab directly on to spots, and the spots are less red when you wake up. Once this routine is finished, I can finally rest after a day of lectures!

Image: Laura Buckle

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life & style travel

courier.travel@ncl.ac.uk Travel Editors Charlotte Hill & Talia Gillin

Festivals around the world Rowena Tylden-Pattenson talks Glastonbury and beyond...

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henever I think of festivals, the first one that springs to mind is Glastonbury. It’s unfortunately in its fallow year though for 2018, so off the cards this year.

However, there are plenty of other festivals across the world to choose from!

One of the most famous music festivals is Burning Man, in the desert wastes of Nevada. Every year there’s a different pyre topped with a man that goes up in flames, with previous examples of a UFO and a pyramid, which have been at heights of up to 105 feet tall! Apparently it’s an indescribable event, not done justice unless you’re actually there. From the photos the festival is a desert adventure with weird and wonderful sights everywhere you turn. The theme for the approaching 2018 festival is ‘I, Robot’ and will take place at the end August.

Closer to home, Tomorrowland festival (in the aptly named town of Boom, Belgium) is home to the very best EDM music. Running since 2005, Tomorrowland takes place over two weekends and unfortunately sells out in record time every year, so it might be one to look out for next year if you’ve not bagged yourself a ticket already. If you’re looking for a little bit of culture, Vienna, Austria, hosts the Vienna International film festival outside the Rathaus every year. This free festival celebrates ballet, film and opera every year, showing shows on a huge open-air screen every night as the sun sets.

Food is a big part of this event, with delicious offerings and tons of choice of great Austrian beers to enjoy in the sunshine. Last year we caught a screening of Swan Lake, heading home under a starry sky when it finished around 11pm. Smaller, but in a similar vein, is the Salzburg film festival, on from 20th July to 30th August this year.

Famed for its extravagant costumes and masks, the Carnivale in Venice has already passed but of course requires a quick mention. It’s popular to be sure, but perhaps not the best time of year if you want to experience Venice without the crush of people. If you’re looking to experience a more authentic Venice, try winter or late autumn insteadI’ve heard it’s just as beautiful and much quieter than the main season.

Food festivals are also hugely popular in Europe.

In Spain, the famous tomato festival La Tomatina occurs on the last day of August and involves painting the town red (with tomatoes). Sounds like great fun. Less famous but just as messy, the ‘battle of the oranges’ takes place in Ivrea, Italy. The Boryeong mud festival isn’t an edible festival, but just as messy- and good for the skin, too!

@Courier_Travel thecourieronline.co.uk/travel

the courier Tueday 27 February 2018

Doing it for the gram Julia McGee-Russell shares her photos from South America

If you love food, but don’t love it enough to be covered in it, Oktoberfest might be a better bet.

Okay, so this might be mostly a drinking festival, but appetites can still be satiated over bratwurst, pretzels and apfelstrudel. Found in Munich, it’s the largest public festival in the world, and many get decked out in lederhosen (for men) and dirndl dresses (for women). If that’s too much, Finland hosts the ‘Wife Carrying World Championships’.

Husbands must carry their wife (upside-down, of course) along a 253.5metre course, including icy water obstacles. There are actually wife carrying competitions all over the world, so plenty of opportunities to get practicing. Once you’ve found someone to carry (or carry you).

La Tomatina occurs on the last day of August and involves painting the town red (with tomatoes) Something completely different is the buffalo racing festival, Chonburi, Thailand. This festival has took place for over 140 years and includes farmers riding buffalo. Really fast, apparently. Mexico brings another peculiar one- the ‘Night of the Radishes’, in December. This radish-carving event became an official event in 1897, with artists and amateurs having a go at carving oversized radishes into people, wildlife and architecture. If radishes don’t float your boat, the Räbechilbi Turnip festival takes place in Switzerland. Turnips are carved and then paraded around the Canton of Zurich with candles inside. Taking place during November, the event has been described as a relaxed, family friendly event suitable for people of all ages.

The UK takes the medal for some of the weirdest festivals though. For example, the world toe wrestling championships kick off in June in Derbyshire.

Of course we can’t forget the world bog snorkelling championships in Wales that takes place during August. A little more extreme is the Cooper’s Hill cheese rolling festival in Gloucestershire. Secretly as a kid, I always wanted to have a go at throwing myself down the famous hill after an 8lb Double Gloucester. These days, you wouldn’t catch me dead even thinking about it, but it makes for some interesting viewing. 28th May 2018, if you’re intrigued. Hopefully something will take your fancy!

Danish Delights Caitlin Disken tells us about her adventures in Copenhagen

W Image: Wikimedia Commons

Words of the week- Russian Good morning - Доброе утро- Dobraye ootro Hi - Привет- Preevyet What’s your name? - Как Вас зовут- Kak vas zavoot?

Thank you- Спасибо- Spaseeba Goodbye- До свидания- Da sveedaneeya My Russian is bad- Я плохо говорю по-русски- Ya plokha gavaryoo pa rooskee

hen you think of going on holiday on a student budget, Copenhagen isn’t the first place that springs to mind. Denmark’s quaint capital, nestled on the west shores of the Øresund, long has a reputation for being a ridiculously expensive destination. However, the city is packed full of free culture that means it can actually be a pretty cheap place to go. It’s also one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, home to the picturesque Nyhavn, dramatic harbour and Strøget, the world’s longest pedestrian shopping street.

The city is packed full of free culture that means it can actually be a pretty destination If you visit Copenhagen, chances are that your experience will be largely based around the main city centre, flanked by the harbour on its southeast side, and the three man-made søerne (lakes) to the north-west. Of course, around Strøget, there is the usual city shopping to be enjoyed, but there’s also a multitude of cultural highlights to check out. The Botanisk Have, part of the University of Copenhagen, are scenic botanical gardens that are

free to the public, with the impressive Palm House at their centre. For rainy days, the Design Museum of Denmark is not only free for students with ID, but to everyone aged under 26. The museum is one of Denmark’s finest, showcasing everything from a permanent poster collection to special exhibitions, such as Erik Mortensen’s ‘I Am Black Velvet’, which is running now.

Undoubtedly, the panoramic views around the city are not to be missed. The Round Tower offers incredible views stretching all the way to the famous Øresund Bridge, which links Copenhagen to Malmö, in Sweden. The multi-coloured Nyhavn, recreated on almost every postcard, is the perfect place for an evening stroll. Crossing the harbour, Copenhagen’s world-famous Opera House is an architectural triumph. There’s also the new cultural development of Refshale Island’s Reffen, at the mouth of the harbour. Opening in May 2018, the project will offer creative workshops, pop-up shops, and a range of street food, with full meals from as little as 60 DKK (around £7). Christiana, an autonomous community filled with street art, well worth a visit, is also found on this side of the harbour.

On the city’s north-west side, Nørrebro is an upand-coming district filled with cool bars. Hiring bikes is a great way to explore this area, as well as neighbouring Vesterbrø. And that’s the best thing about Copenhagen – there’s always a hidden corner just waiting to be discovered.

a C lvert n a t S

Northumbria

Newcastle

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Despite defeat, fun run sees great success

Northumbria students, Newcastle students and Rory trod along Image: Denise Dixon

Toby Bryant at Town Moor 2018 saw the introduction of the very first Stan Calvert Fun Run. The 5k non-competitive event was joined with Newcastle University Athletics and Cross-Country’s (NUAXC) annual Cow Bell Race to unite all competitors, serious runners or not.

The Town Moor played host to the event with the course looping around the circumference, by the Exhibition Park lake and back around to finish in the middle of the Moor.

As anyone who has dared venture onto the Moor would guess, wind was

inevitably at play but the sun continued to shine as AU Officer, Clara Pettitt, started the runners.

The friendly event did pit together Newcastle University and Northumbria University students but its ‘open-to-all’ status saw a number of other clubs including Tyne Bridge, Morpeth Harriers and Heaton Harriers all feature.

The first runner home was former NUAXC member, Sparrow Morley, who posted the rapid time of 17:08. Second across the line, and first current student, was NUAXC Vice-President Will Stockwell at 17:24.

The fastest woman was Newcastle University Triathlon’s Zoe Macdonald, who continues to impress after an im-

pressive BUCS Cross-Country performance earlier this month.

Other notable performances include David Gaskin’s 4th overall as well as Shona Haston and James Whitmore, who both ran 5km PBs in under 20 minutes. Credit must also be given to Andrew Dixon who completed the course whilst dressed as Newcastle University’s lion mascot!

50th placed overall Col Stromsoy was the first Northumbria runner to finish with a time of 24:16. Stromsoy is also the University’s Director of Sport and had the following to say: “Clara and Kerry Anne have done a great job in organising the Stan Calvert this year and in respect to the fun run,

Clara has worked tirelessly to ensure that it not only went ahead but was a quality event.

“She should feel very proud of a job well done, especially as Newcastle smashed it in terms of people participating.

“One of the objectives for our next Sport President will be to get as many Northumbria students participating as Newcastle and, in doing so, help grow the event and make it as much a part of Stan Calvert as the brilliant fixtures we have between our universities.”

Pettitt was equally as pleased about the day’s action: “I am really happy with how the event went. A lot of organisation was required,

and a lot of things could have gone wrong. Somehow, with the help of many volunteers, we pulled it out the bag on the day and many runners crossed the line with smiles on their faces.

“I hope that this is a legacy that is built on in future years and the event just gets bigger!”

All in all, the Stan Calvert Fun Run and Cow Bell Race was a phenomenal success in its first year.

Despite the run not counting towards overall Stan Calvert points, the event united over 100 athletes in the city for a morning of fantastic running. All runners will be looking forward to next year’s event and seeing the day go from strength to strength!

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stan calvert

Tuesday 27 February 2018

Swimmers sunk SWIMMING Newcastle

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Northumbria 19

Mark Sleightholm at Sport Central Despite a valiant effort from Newcastle’s swimmers it was Northumbria that took home all six points on offer from the Stan Calvert swimming.

In a sweltering pool at Sports Central Northumbria claimed the victory in 19 of the 24 races, with several strong performances from the Newcastle side unable to turn things around.

The competition kicked off with the women’s 200m freestyle, with Northumbria setting the tone for the rest of the afternoon by taking both first and second place, with Newcastle’s single entrant into the race, Beth Meer, forced to make do with third place.

It was a similar story in most of the opening races, with the sole exception of Maddie Fale’s outstanding performance in the women’s 100m individual medley, which gave Newcastle their first points on the scoreboard. Despite being the only Newcastle swimmer in a four-woman race Fale pulled ahead during the backstroke leg and fought off a challenge from Northumbria’s Laura Gillingham in the next lane to claim Newcastle’s first victory of the afternoon. With one of the six overall Stan Calvert points awarded to the winner of the majority of the 10 women’s individual races, Fale’s win was important in keeping Newcastle in the game.

As Northumbria wins no longer looked so certain the crowd grew more animated as the tension rose In the men’s individual races the Newcastle swimmers could do little to stop the Northumbria onslaught, as race after race went the way of the hosts. Northumbria won all six men’s races in the first half of the session, ensuring they would take the overall men’s individual Stan Calvert point.

The women’s event, however, was kept alive by a second Newcastle victory in the women’s 100m freestyle, the first race of the afternoon with all six lanes in use. All six women remained fairly level for the first length of the pool, but Newcastle’s Siobhan Durcan was able to pull ahead by the halfway point. Irene Kyza fought back hard for Northumbria, however, and ultimately Durcan reached the finish line just milliseconds ahead of her rival.

At the end of the first session of individual races Northumbria were leading 6-0 in the men’s and 4-2 in the women’s.

Northumbria continued their dominance into the first two relay races –

How the action unfolded

the men’s and women’s 4x50m medley relays. Newcastle’s teams put in solid performances but this was not enough to catch the much stronger Northumbria teams, and Newcastle had to make do with second place in both races, unrewarded with points. The two relay wins gave Northumbria a further two points in the overall Stan Calvert score.

Maddie Fale once more proved to be Newcastle’s saving grace as attention turned to the 50m races; narrowly winning the 50m butterfly.

The Newcastle men’s team followed this with their only win of the afternoon, also in the 50m butterfly. With just one swimmer competing from each university it was the quietest race of the second half, and yet also the closest, as Newcastle’s Jordan Macdonald went head to head against Alex Rossetto from Northumbria.

The two swimmers remained almost neck and neck right up until the finish line, with less than half a second ultimately separating the victorious Macdonald from his Northumbria rival.

The noise from the mostly Northumbria crowd was testament to the importance of the race to the hosts, with Macdonald’s win depriving them of a men’s clean sweep.

This double victory at the start of the second half seemed to give the Newcastle team a much needed boost after their first-half battering, and Newcastle swimmers managed to claim a string of second place finishes. While this did nothing to adjust the overall score it demonstrated the talent of the Newcastle team, who were competing against one of the best university swimming teams in the country. As the results drew closer and Northumbria wins no longer looked so certain the crowd grew ever more animated as the tension rose.

Another very close finish saw Newcastle’s Durcan take another win for the women’s team, but this was not enough to balance Northumbria’s earlier dominance, and in the final individual scores stood at 6-4 for the women and 9-1 for the men, meaning Northumbria could take both individual points for the overall Stan Calvert tally, in addition to their two earlier relay wins.

The afternoon concluded with a second round of 4x50m relays, this time in freestyle. The highly talented Laura Gillingham gave Northumbria an early lead in the women’s race, but Newcastle’s Meer was able to make up a lot of ground in the first 25m the third leg.

By the time the final racers reached their midway point, however, Northumbria had a convincing lead and despite Durcan’s best efforts Northumbria took the win, and another Stan Calvert point.

The men’s race which brought the afternoon’s swimming to a close saw complete domination from the Northumbria side from the off, with Alex Rossetto, Charlie Spencer, Joel O’Hallaran and Tom Howley powering ahead of Newcastle’s team.

Newcastle swimming president Adam Sayedi had hosed down any hopes of a Newcastle win, pointing out Northumbria’s traditional Stan Calvert dominance in the sport. His fears were proved to be right as Northumbria took all six of the Stan Calvert points, Newcastle’s string of second places ultimately counting for nothing.

28 January Stan Calvert 2018 kicked off at Druid Park, where Newcastle stormed to a 26-8 win over a team a BUCS division above them.

Women’s water polo firsts dunk WATERPOLO WOMEN’S FIRSTS

Newcastle 14 Northumbria 5

James Sproston & Sydney Isaacs at Sport Central Keeping to Stan Calvert tradition, Newcastle’s women’s water polo firsts defeated Northumbria in the pool, with Newcastle’s quality proving too much for their opposition in a comfortable 14-5 victory.

Northumbria won the swim off, holding onto possession for the opening seconds of the game. A quick turnover of possession led to the first chance of the game, as Newcastle’s No.3 Ellie Churchill found Liz Kreek in front of goal, who swiftly converted at the second time of asking having hit the bar with her first attempt.

Kreek then doubled Newcastle’s lead from Charlotte Blyth’s pass, before completing a hat-trick from another Churchill pass. Churchill added a goal of her own shortly after, following Newcastle captain Sarah Poyntz’s hard work down the left-hand side.

Throughout the remainder of the first period, both teams competed

2-0

well, with Kreek unlucky to have a goal ruled out by the referees. As the quarter was drawn to a close, it was Newcastle’s clinical and decisive play that had proven the difference between the two teams, though Northumbria had competed for every ball possible.

On the balance of the game, Northumbria continued to match Newcastle for possession, but the speed and fitness of the Newcastle players was evident as multiple waves of attack were repelled by the visiting side to keep the score at 8-0. That defensive work also boils down to defensive organisation, with Newcastle benefitting from the experience of several National League players in the pool, as well as American scholar Kreek.

However, after a heavy touch from Churchill, Northumbria countered effectively for the first time in the game, with Sanderson scoring the home side’s first goal of the fixture. The Newcastle response was immediate, with Megan Lord and Jade Holden combining before Kreek received the ball in front of the Northumbria goal. However, Northumbria’s Ellie Purdy marshalled Newcastle’s No.7 away, running down the clock until the end of the third period.

Kreek beat Sullivan in the third swim off of the game, winning possession for Newcastle. Lord picked received

10 February Northumbria levelled the score after a nail-biting finish saw them take the M2 Rugby Union 15-14.

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the ball, feeding Ellie Sowerby on the right who picked out Kreek in pit, who managed to covert past Larisa Sucan in the Northumbria goal. Bosworth took Newcastle’s tally to double figures with a classy shot from six yards out into the top right-hand corner of the Northumbria goal.

Riding a period of sustained pressure, Newcastle scored their first goal of the final quarter when Liz Kreek broke clear, sending the ball across to Churchill, who played a one-two with Bosworth before knocking the ball in from one yard out.

On reflection, the victory came as little surprise, but the plucky nature of Northumbria’s play throughout was highly commendable, epitomised by their three goals in the final quarter.

Newcastle demonstrated their class on the day, with Liz Kreek playing especially well in a game that will have little effect on Newcastle’s season, besides do their confidence the world of good.

The men’s first team match was much more nervously awaited anticipated from the Newcastle side than the women’s first’s. In the first two minutes of the game key player Adam Courtley was majored out of the pool twice.

This proved crippling to the team as he was then forced to play a very safe game against an aggressive Northumbria side in order to avoid permanent

15 February Both men’s and women’s volleyball matches end in 3-0 Northumbria victories in a pair of entertaining but ultimately one-sided fixtures.

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stan calvert

Tuesday 27 February 2018

Northumbria edge basketball showdown WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Newcastle 2nds 33 Northumbria 2nds 73

Courtney Strait at Sport Central

Jade Holden defending solidly whilst sporting henna by Sydney Isaacs Image: Stephen Batey

Poly rivals exclusion. A Newcastle win in this match was always statistically unlikely.

Despite a very tense and close match, the result was consistent with the stats.

On Thursday, Newcastle women’s second team played their first ever Stan Calvert match. With the Newcastle W2s currently top of the northern 2B league, and the Northumbria side sitting in third, The seconds were confident and hopeful for their match.

Unfortunately Newcastle W2’s goalkeeper Holly Jackson was unable to play the match, so captain Lucy Aubrook stepped up to take on the role.

Lucy Aubrook’s performance in goal was without a doubt fantastic, reducing the Northumbria’s lead dramatically from what it could have been, however the team did suffer as a result of not having her as center-back.Center-forward, Tara Twine managed some great goals, but lacked support from team member Sydney Isaacs, who could not seem to get power behind the ball, placing it into the Northumbria goal-keeper’s hands on multiple occasions The Men’s Second team followed the women’s match with a positive performance but equally disappointing overall scoreline. Dispite a fantastic BUCS season, Newcastle M2 were unable to match the Northumbria side who currently sit a full league above them.

16 February

Wednesday, 21 October was full of excitement as the women’s second team, the women’s first team and men’s first team battled against Team Northumbria for Stan Calvert glory. At the end of the evening it was Northumbria who took two of the three games, but all three Newcastle squads represented the school with pride, fought until the final buzzer and had plenty to be proud of.

The first match of the evening featured the women’s seconds team, who was unfortunately shorthanded due to a few player absences that evening. The ladies from Team Newcastle put up a spirited effort against a talented Northumbria team who had twice as many players as Team Newcastle did.

In the half-court game, the sides matched up quite fairly. Team Newcastle handled Northumbria’s stingy onball defence the best they could, as they faced a relentless amount of pressure for all forty minutes of play. The Knights did a fantastic job moving the ball and finding the open player, but luck just was not on Newcastle’s side and they could not get their open shots to fall.

The difference in the game came in the fast break. Any time a Northumbria player pulled down a defensive rebound a speedy guard ran the floor and caught long, down court passes for easy layups. Because Team Northumbria had so many players they could rotate into the game, they had one or more players continually sprinting down the court for easy layups all game and it proved to be too much for the Knights, who had to push through fatigue in the second half.

Despite a lopsided score at the end of the game the seconds team has plenty of positives to take from the game. The fact that they handled pressure and was able to get open shots is a testament to

CRICKET Newcastle Northumbria

86/2 80/3

Dan Haygarth at Cricket Centre On a beautiful Gosforth Saturday morning, it seemed a shame that the Stan Calvert Cricket match would be an indoor affair. The sun was shining and there was barely a cloud in the sky. Granted, the usual Newcastle cold was out in force, but it was nothing that a stylish cable knit jumper couldn’t deal with.

Inside the Newcastle Cricket Centre at South North CC, Newcastle won the toss and elected to bowl.

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Northumbria smashed a 50-0 win in the W2 rugby. Both sides play in the BUCS Northern 3B league, but Northumbria sit in second place while the Newcastle team have yet to win a game.

their poise and will prove beneficial for them in their final games of the 20172018 season.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Newcastle 1sts 52 Northumbria 1sts 56

The women’s first team played a contested match, as the crowd filtered in and showed great support for Team Newcastle. In the first half Team Newcastle had a bit of a slow start, showing some nerves on offense. As they settled in they took control of the game and the rest of the half belonged to the Knights. The team used patient, smart ball movement to find many open shots, as guards Cassidy Sanders-Curry and Courtney Strait lit it up from long range. The one-two punch of Strait and Sanders-Curry combined for 46 points in the game.

Newcastle took a small lead into halftime, and the rest of the game was a back and forth affair. At halftime Team Northumbria brought in two WBBL players, including one who has not played a BUCS game yet this season.

Despite the roster change Team Newcastle played the game professionally and competed for forty minutes with only six players on their roster.

Due to some questionable officiating and a few unfortunate missed shots at the end Team Newcastle fell by four to Northumbria. But these ladies are not discouraged, as they have an opportunity to play Northumbria again in the BUCS championship semi-finals on 14 March. In the Stan Calvert match, the Knights proved they can compete against the top team in the league – no matter what new players Team Northumbria adds to its roster.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

both sides of the court. Bennett hit big shots to stifle Northumbria’s momentum in the final quarter, and “Big Pat” Wrencher was instrumental in defending Northumbria’s physical post players.

He also had a huge offensive rebound that led to an and-one, which got the crowd and Newcastle bench on its feet late in the game. Leal was consistent and poised throughout the game.

Though he did not score as much as he usually does, Leal played great defence and helped control the tempo for the Knights. Thanasis Ioakeimidis also dazzled the crowd with relentless on ball defence, as he picked his player’s pocket twice for easy layups. The game also showcased some new faces, as first year players Liam Oboubie and Zephi Sharman contributed solid minutes for the Knights. The duo shows young promise for the future of Team Newcastle.

The offensive star of the evening was Romonn Nelson, who produced one of his most impressive outings of the season. Nelson was an absolute force for Team Newcastle. His ability to streak

past defenders for layups was too much for the Northumbria defence to handle, and his outside shooting was on point as well and kept his opponents on their toes.

If his defence, guarded him close to stop him from shooting, he used his slick ball handling and incredible speed to get to the rim. If his defender stepped back to stop the drive, Nelson used a quick release for a barrage of three pointers.

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points left the women’s first team defeated and the men victorious.

The victory was a well-deserved one for the Knights, who have put up fantastic efforts against Northumbria in the past only to end up in defeat. This is a wonderful step for the men’s programme, who are looking to make a deep run into the BUCS and NBL playoffs.

Kat Amos lofts a pass to her teammate Image: Courtney Strait

Newcastle 1sts 76 Northumbria 1sts 72

The evening finale was a spectacle, as the Newcastle men defeated Team Northumbria for the first time in programme history. A massive well done is due to Head Coach Ian Hewitt, who rotated his players brilliantly and had his team ready to battle right from the tipoff.

Team Newcastle got its regular production from Americans Joey Bennett, Patrick Wrencher and Zach Leal, who all contributed to the team’s success on

Cricketers shine indoors Captain Will Briggs clearly hoped to take advantage of the pace and bounce of the artificial surface.

Northumbria’s openers, Smith and Trevaskis, started well and scored 24 from the first two overs. However, this strong start was halted with the first ball of the third over as paceman Josh Cutts took a fine catch from his own bowling to dismiss Trevaskis for 7.

After the wicket fell, Northumbria struggled to maintain a partnership. Their number three batsman, Ben Ringrose took the wicket of Dinning for 11 after some superb glovework from Shreenivas Sarma before Will Briggs clean bowled McGee for a duck. Briggs was the

17 February Newcastle recovered some much needed Stan Calvert points with a comfortable win in the skiing at Silksworth Ski Slope.

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pick of the bowlers. He came back from an expensive first over to finish with very impressive figures of 1-13 from his three overs. However, all of Newcastle’s bowlers performed well, especially towards the death only fifteen runs came from the last three overs as Northumbria were restricted to a modest total of 80 from their ten.

Set a target of 81 to win, Newcastle started well. Openers Will Caldwell and Ben Ringrose shared a partnership of 34 before the former departed for 18. Ringrose kept timing the ball beautifully and hit the mandatory retirement score of 25 with ease. Briggs hit a useful 13 before being stumped, which left Newcastle at 68/2, with vic-

19 February It’s one apiece in the first team water polo matches, as Newcastle’s women dominate their match and take a 14-5 win, before the men lose 11-22.

tory in sight.

Matthew Smith and Sarma knocked it around nicely to take Newcastle ever closer to the target. From the first ball of the ninth over, Smith cracked a 6 to take Newcastle over the line and win by four wickets.

Newcastle reclaim the cricket bragging rights after a dominant victory in a very enjoyable game of cricket.

Despite missing several first-choice bowlers, Newcastle’s attack was excellent. Economic spells from Briggs and Ringrose made scoring difficult for Northumbria’s batsmen. They claimed regular wickets and kept the target down to 81, which was achieved with ease.

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stan calvert

Tuesday 27 February 2018

Futsal falls to Northumbria MEN’S FUTSAL

Newcastle 1sts

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Northumbria 1sts

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Sydney Isaacs at Sport Central The grand finale of Stan Calvert 2018 took the form of a mens 1st team futsal match.

For those of you that don’t know, futsal is essentially similar to 5-a-side football, but with a smaller harder ball, rolling subs, and 20 minute halves with a stopping clock. This makes for a very fast-action, technical and often highscoring game; a fantastic spectacle for supporters.

With Northumbria taking the M1 futsal win last year but the score as close as 6-5, Newcastle were fired for a tense rematch. Despite being two leagues below Northumbria in BUCS, the relatively newly established Newcastle team have shown fantastic form this season, largely to the credit of player and coach Xavi Rodriguez Corral, and stepped out onto the pitch

with confidence.

As seemed to be a trend throughout Stan Calvert fixtures this year, the first half of the mens futsal was fairly did not clearly belong to either side.

The starting side of Thomas Valand, Rodriguez Corral, Toby Arup, and Umar Daoud were fast to secure their first goal and giving Newcastle a 1-0 lead. Following this, Northumbria managed to equalise, their attempt to get ahead following a close-to-goal free kick was foiled by an excellent save from keeper, Thomas Crozier.

As seemed to be a trend throughout this years Stan Calvert, he first half of the men’s futsal match did not clearly belong to either side Ten minutes into the first half, Northumbria passed through Newcastle defence and gained the lead. Following this all four Newcastle players substituted themselves. James Mckenna, shortly after returning to the pitch dramatically slid across the floor as the result of being fouled by a Northumbria player. Rodriguez Corral Scored two fantastic goals bringing the score

back in Newcastle’s favour to 3-2 before the ball lost the pitch completely and found the face of an unfortunate Northumbria supporter called Amy. In the final five minutes of the first

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leagues separate Team Newcastle from Team Northumbria in BUCS competition

half goals alternated between the sides. Each time the poly equalised, Newcastle restored the lead, but with less than a minute to go this trend was bucked as a penalty was awarded to Northumbria due to contact by the Newcastle keeper. This penalty brought the score to 5-4 at half time.

The Second half began with two penalties being awarded to and scored by Northumbria, but this did not deter the spirits of Newcastle. Five minutes in Newcastle’s Ammar Ba Omar took a corner. He passed the ball over the Northumbria players to Valand who volleyed it into the net with tremendous precision.

Unfortunately after this event the energy of the Newcastle side waned and the rest of the game was decidedly Northumbrian. The game including the final score of 9-6 and the Northumbriadominated supporter stands were representative of this years Stan Calvert memorial cup competition as a whole.

Yet another close futsal finale for Newcastle Image: David Jones

Newcastle fencers sharp to the max FENCING Newcastle 1sts

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Newcastle in the sabre competition.

Northumbria put up a stronger defence than they had in the sabre and it took a determined effort from the Blades, not least Artesi, to win the event 45-35.

Fencing president Max Sharp promised his team would “absolutely smash” Northumbria in Stan Calvert, and smash them they did.

The foil gave the Newcastle Blades a gentle start to the competition and they cruised to a 45-17 win. Solid performances from Sam Hoskyns, Sammy Chan and Stefan Chiu ensured Newcastle had the advantage moving into the other weapons.

Sharp, along with Gianfranco Artesi and Matt Dugher, represented

Fencing president Max Sharp was correct in his prediction of a comfortable Newcastle win

Northumbria were closing in on their guests at Sport Central and carried this momentum through into the épée, eventually winning 45-40. This narrow loss was not enough to dent Newcastle’s dominant performance, however, and their grand total of 135 to Northumbria’s 97 reflected their superior fencing throughout the afternoon.

21 February

The Stan Calvert action starts to heat up, with Northumbria winning two out of three basketball matches, the women’s first team rugby and take all six points on offer in the swimming.

The first round of equestrian events ends with a draw.

SKIING Newcastle 1sts

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Northumbria 1sts

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Sydney Isaacs at Silksworth Ski Slope

MAX SHARP

Mark Sleighthholm at Sport Central

Poly and posh are poles apart on the slopes

Fencers face each other before each making their stab for victory Image: Clara Pettitt

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22 February

Newcastle win the first ever Stan Calvert korfball match 8-7, but Northumbria come back to win both the second team water polo matches.

With Northumbria not participating in the Kings competitions this year, it was difficult to predict how they would compare with the Newcastle team. The Stan Calvert Skiing event takes the format of a best of three races.

Northumbria have dominated the event for the part 5 years, meaning it was time for a Newcastle victory last Saturday. The Newcastle race squad, captained by Ryan Jamieson have been training hard on Tuesday nights and were delighted when their efforts paid off when they deservedly won the first two races, leaving no need for the third to be contested. Jamieson commented “Everyone was skiing really well and we had a comfortable lead over Northumbria – Lets hope we can win it next year!”

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stan calvert

Tuesday 27 February 2018

in closing event

Newcastle net zero points in Sunday’s Stan Calvert event WOMEN’S NETBALL Newcastle 1sts 31 Northumbria 1sts 52

Alex Hendley & James Sproston at Sports Centre Excitement filled the Sports Centre as the 1s got underway in the sports hall, with plenty of onlookers from both universities.

The second two quarters became somewhat of a formality as the goal difference barely dropped below ten The home side kept it tight early on, trailing 4-6 around half way through the first quarter, but fell to a 5-12 deficit by quarter time. Newcastle had missed some clear cut opportunities in the first

23 February Northumbria’s women’s football team beats Newcastle in the futsal to the tune of 13-2 in a dominant display in Northumbria’s Sport Central

quarter, so changes for the second quarter included the introduction of Beth Marron as goal shooter, who was clinical throughout the game. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to stem the flow of Northumbria, who themselves had star attackers in the shape of Abbie Lebroq and Tamsin Moala, the latter barely missing the mark all afternoon. Leading 14-27 at half time, the second two quarters became somewhat of a formality as the goal difference barely dropped below ten once, before late dominance saw Poly extend their advantage to over 20, winning 52-31 at full time.

WOMEN’S NETBALL

to add another two points to Poly’s Stan Calvert tally.

WOMEN’S NETBALL

Newcastle 2nds 35 Northumbria 2nds 58

On the back of sizable defeats for their 1s and 3s, Newcastle University’s Netball 2s were defeated 58-35 on home turf by the favoured Northumbria University side.

The match acted as one of two si-

multaneous finales, with futsal centre stage over at Sport Central. Both were expected to be tight affairs that would entertain those that had made the effort to support Newcastle and Northumbria until the end of the day.

Going into the finale, both teams were playing for pride, with news of Northumbria’s Stan Calvert victory being broken by The Courier Sport at 3.52pm during the Netball 3s fixture.

Newcastle struck first in the match, after centre Seriya Vao picked out goal shooter (GS) Elizabeth McVie, who in turn found goal attack (GA) Lucie Bultitude with a deft bounce pass on the edge of the goal circle. Bultitude made no mistakes, standing two yards from the goal ring, the GA confidently converted.

Northumbria responded immediately from the centre pass, as Ellen Wright played a swift one-two with centre Holly Clark before picking out Faye Bateson with a clear sight of the ring. The GS levelled the scores as Newcastle hastily took to the centre circle to restart proceedings.

Throughout the early stages, the two teams were well-matched, as the lead was regularly exchanged between the sides. Bultitude added another for Newcastle, before wing attack (WA) Rachael Lickorish clinically converted seconds later. Several waves of Northumbria attacks were successfully defended by Newcastle’s goalkeeper (GK) Emily Heppenstall and goal defence (GD) Mia Day, but they finally ceded as the score quickly went from 7-7 to 17-9 to Northumbria by the end of the first quarter.

Emerging for the second quarter unchanged, Newcastle looked to cut the 9-point deficit that Northumbria had accumulated. However, their efforts went unrewarded as they slipped to 17 points behind the leaders, with a rare highlight being Lickorish’s goal at the end of the quarter.

Despite the game starting out as arguably the most even of the netball fixtures so far, Northumbria only stretched their advantage in the final two quarters, much to the dismay of the onlooking Uni faithful.

With the visiting team more than doubling the points tally of Newcastle by half time, the home side felt the need to make some squad changes in order to combat the deficit. Lora Hunt entered the fray at GK, with Lickorish moving into WD, Folger coming inside to centre, Katie Isbister taking on the WA role and Rosie Shouler-Harris given the GA responsibility.

Isbister began to show her class as her quick feet and swift balls played into the

Following the 1s defeat, the 3s took to the court ahead of the Stan Calvert finale featuring the 2s. With a starting lineup of Theakston, Phiri, Bower, Francis, Naylor, Roberts and Wainwright, hopes were high of a closer game than the one the crowd has just seen.

An excellent quarter kept Northumbrian scores to a minimum, but by the end of the second quarter a seven-point gap had opened up at 16-23. By the start of the final quarter, that advantage had opened up to ten points, despite some ferocious defending from the home side. By full time, Northumbria’s class was evident, running out 31-46 winners

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As the first ever Stan Calvert Memorial Fun Run took place on the Town Moor, but didn’t contribute to the points tally, Newcastle scored a much-needed win in the Indoor Cricket but lost the W1 Football.

Throughout the early stages, the two teams were well-matched, as the lead was regularly exchanged between sides Not only were Northumbria consistent in defence, but in attack they were persistent, energetic and cutthroat.WA Ellen Wright, who played all four quarters and wreaked havoc from start to finish, tore into Newcastle as they began to tire, and extended their lead to 20-39.

Newcastle’s 21st goal of the game came courtesy of McVie who, as the game went on, made a name for herself finishing efforts from long range.

The visitors’ captain Thompson played the first three quarters at WD, before tucking into GD for the final quarter to shore up the defence, cut out any leaks in the team and ensure that Northumbria got over the line unscathed. Despite this, Newcastle broke through sporadically, with McVie scoring another couple of goals following excellent passes from Lickorish.

When the score reached 30-44, the crowd would have been forgiven for thinking the onslaught was over, but from that moment Newcastle scored just five points while the visitors added 14, compounding their victory.

The full-time whistle blew at 35-58 in favour of the Poly, a result which turned out to be a microcosm for this year’s competition as a whole. Outfought, outlasted, outscored, the Newcastle team gave it everything they had, but it wasn’t enough to survive the Northumbria storm.

Newcastle’s goals weren’t enough to match their unforgiving opposition Image: Mark Sleightholm

Newcastle 3rds 31 Northumbria 3rds 46

24 February

shooters began to unlock the Northumbria defence as intended. Two goals were unfortunately cancelled out by the Northumbrian juggernaut to take the score to 17-34, before a brief period of Newcastle superiority pegged the women in black and red back to 19-35.

As they had shown throughout the match, Northumbria’s energy and precision proved too much for the Newcastle women and the stability in their team meant Newcastle didn’t look like getting back into the game without a miracle.

Continuing at GK for the whole four quarters, Northumbria’s Rebecca Mcculick limited Newcastle’s shooting opportunities, the very opportunities that the home side needed plenty of at this stage in the game.

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25 February

Newcastle concede walkovers in both rugby league fixtures and the Gaelic football, giving Northumbria a 26 point lead going in to the final day, but with 50 points still up for grabs.

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stan calvert

Tuesday 27 February 2018

Women’s lacrosse sticks it to Northumbria WOMEN’S LACROSSE Newcastle 1sts 17 Northumbria 1sts

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Tom Shrimplin at the Sport Centre It was battle of brains versus brawn as a smart Newcastle Lacrosse Women’s first team gave the physical Northumbria firsts an absolute thrashing following a scare early in the first half. It was an edgy encounter in the first few minutes of the game, with a lively and extremely physical Northumbria side not making it easy for Newcastle. Both sides traded a couple of goals making it 2-2 before a timeout took place The game was not helped however by a few dodgy decisions when it came to ruling offsides made by the match officials in the game, and the bitingly chilly conditions in Bullockstead. Indeed, one Newcastle player remarked as they were coming off the pitch after being substituted “My hands are so cold I can’t feel if I have the ball or not”.

However a couple of timeouts and motivational team talks later, a previously rattled Newcastle steadied the ship and started to show why they were two leagues above Northumbria. An awareness of tactics and the need to communicate showed why the mental side of the game is just as important as

physical fitness. Northumbria were tripling their defenders against Newcastle, and by driving the ball the women in blue were making it too easy for the women in black to stop their attacks.

Bearing this mind, Newcastle took control of the game taking it to 6-2 by the end of the first half, through a combination of fantastic teamwork, smart tactics and superb talent. Playing a bit more directly, Newcastle were able to quickly pass the ball and tear the Northumbrian defence to shreds.

While effective communication between the players in defence and attack meant they were able to both stop and score goals.

In the end the game matched the formbook and the chasm of quality between the two sides was clear to see. All in all, Newcastle can be very happy with their fantastic winning performance.

MEN’S LACROSSE Newcastle 1sts

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Tom Shrimplin at the Sport Centre If you thought the women’s game was brutal, then the Mens game took things to a whole new level. While the game got off to slow start, both teams the game increased in tempo and both sides fought practically tooth and nail for the ball. Northumbria took

Squash breaks even in Stan Calvert play WOMEN’S SQUASH Newcastle 1sts

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Northumbria 1sts

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Charlotte Cooper at the Northumberland Club This years Stan Calvert matches against Northumbria started as they always do - Newcastle gets a huge support group down to watch followed by a megaphone…Following last year’s results of Northumbria just beating Newcastle, we were ready for the challenge ahead.

Down at The Northumberland Club in Jesmond, the women’s teams took to the courts first. Despite Newcastle missing some of their key first team players they still got stuck in to their matches.

Up first were the number 3 seeds.

Stan Calvert Sunday

Newcastle fresher Hodgkins took a slow start to the game which Northumbria took full advantage of. The hard hitting third seed took the match in three straight games. The 5th seeds battled it out on the court next door which attracted spectators as the games went on. Newcastle player Murphy wouldn’t give up, giving her all but unfortunately Northumbria snatched the games leaving the scores 8/11, 12/14 and 9/11.

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victory from our first seed put the women’s team on the board.

After two tough losses Newcastle still had their heads held high looking for their chance to strike a win. Both the second seed and fourth seed players took another two 3-0 losses. Second seed Crowther performed some great defensive shots, but her Northumbria opponent was too strong for the Newcastle fresher. Again, with the fourth seed players, Newcastle’s Jardin was stretched out across the court the range of shots Northumbria were hitting out. This meant that Newcas-

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the first goal, but a great effort from Morgan Beeson led to the equaliser.

The men in black did get the ball in the net again, but after some slight confusion it was disallowed, meaning it remained one goal apiece by the end of the first quarter.

However Northumbria came alive and made their possession of the ball count in the middle two quarters taking the scoreline to 8-1 and the game out of Newcastle’s reach. This wasn’t helped by several bad injuries suffered by the team, including a knock to the head and a badly cut finger. However the worst injury was suffered by goalscorer Morgan Beeson who was forced to go the RVI with a dislocated shoulder after landing awkwardly from a heroic dive for the goal. While tempers flared between the players, as several errors and mistakes stopped many of their promising attacks.

Now resigned to defeat, Newcastle performed with a lot more gusto and force in the final quarter with nothing left to lose, resulting in their second goal of the game. Still, Northumbria managed to score another four goals, bringing their score to double figures, and making it four consecutive losses for Newcastle in this fixture.

In the end Newcastle never really seemed to turn up, with missed catches from long throws, gifting Northumbria the ball far too many times. Although it is important to point out that the men in blue and red were very unlucky when it came to injuries, and shooting, thanks to Northumbria’s MVP, the goal posts and crossbar. Nevertheless while the scoreline was an unfair representation of the game, Northumbria were the better team on the day and deserved the two crucial Stan Calvert points.

tle women had already lost. Despite this, captain and first seed player Cooper took to the court to be the last hope at a Newcastle win. Northumbria stepped out strong taking the first game. After some coaching advice from club coach Liam Gutcher, Cooper went back on court confident.

With some fantastic attacking shots and many winners from volley nicks, Cooper took the match 3-1. The overall score was 4-1 to Northumbria.

MEN’S SQUASH Newcastle 1sts

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Charlotte Cooper at the Northumberland Club After supporting the women’s team, the men come out with determination to sink the Northumbria men’s team down. President of the squash club, Ryan Doran was up first showing no mercy to his opponent. He took the match is straight games, 11/0, 11/2 and 11/2. Fourth seed player Cahill also followed in his team mate’s shoes. Again, with some strong narrow drives Cahill took the

Women’s lacrosse hustles for possession Image: Tom Shrimplin

Newcastle attack the Northumbria net Image: Tom Shrimplin

match 3-0. With Newcastle being in the lead by two games the pressure was on Northumbria to bring it back and level with their women’s team.

Fortunately for Newcastle, both the second and third seeds weren’t going to give in that easy. Third seed for Newcastle Walls, stepped up to the mark taking the first game 11/1. In his next game his opponent dug deep and fought back, however Walls’ shots were too much of a match wining the game 3-0. Second seed and longest standing member of the squash club, Mike Mackay then took to the court. With some supportive spirt from the crowd followed by Newcastle’s typical megaphone behaviour, Mackay was raring to go. Taking the first game by storm, Newcastle secured an 11/3 win. The Northumbria play battled back trying to defend all his opponent’s shots.

Newcastle again were too strong with the match score 3-0.

With the overall match score currently at 4-0 to Newcastle, they had already guaranteed a win over Northumbria. As the first seeds went on, Newcastle’s Wiggins wanted to take home a full 5-0 win. Dominating the ‘T’ Wiggins was miles stones apart from his opponent with the first game ending at 11/1. In the next game Northumbria picked up the pace leaving Wiggins on the back foot and a two-clear score to Northumbria 12/10. Now at 1-1 in games Wiggins found that drive to push his opponent further and add the pressure. With some long-standing

rally’s and some great attacking volleys Wiggins pulled it out the bag for Newcastle winning 3-1.

The overall score for the men’s match was a fantastic 5-0 win to Newcastle.

Unlucky to the women who missed out on a 1-4 loss however with some of their first team missing, the second team girls really stepped up their game doing Newcastle proud.

MEN’S TEAM DOMINANCE

3-0 DORAN 3-0 MACKAY 3-0 WALLS 3-0 WIGGINS 3-1 CAHILL

1:30 pm 12:20 pm 16-50 13-39 15-41

The day opens out at the Northumberland Club in Jesmond as the men’s second tennis team begins play, closely followed by basketball and golf.

Newcastle score their first points of the day after a definitive 17-4 win in the women’s lacrosse.

Results coming in thick and fast, with Northumbria taking M2 badminton and M2 tennis and just two points from Stan Calvert victory.

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the courier Tuesday 27 February 2018

Tennis team topped MEN’S TENNIS Newcastle 2nds

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Northumbria 2nds

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Toby Bryant at the Northumberland Club One of the most exciting events to feature on Stan Calvert Sunday was the Tennis competition at the Northumberland Lawn Tennis Association.

The events took place on the impressive indoor courts with the seating filled by the Universities’ tennis fans past and present.

The day started with early Northumbria wins in the Men’s 2 competition as Toby Leonard, James White, James Donnelly and Scott McKenzie fell victims to Northumbria’s abilities.

Nonetheless, there were valiant performances from the Newcastle play-

A Newcastle duo talk strategy against a tough Northumbria squad Image: Toby Bryant

ers. Notably, in the Men’s 2 Doubles, Leonard and White managed to come back from a 3-0 game deficit in their first set to make it a tightly challenged affair. Northumbria clung on for that first set and, despite some superb White volleys bringing the second to a tiebreak, Northumbria eventually turned over a stubborn Newcastle. We spoke to Leonard about the duel: “Stan Calvert is always such an exciting day and the atmosphere was great as always. After a few close matches we came out with the loss today, but we’ll be back next year to fight for the win.”

MEN’S TENNIS Newcastle 1sts

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Toby Bryant at the Northumberland Club

stan calvert Team Newcastle preps for a serve Image: Toby Bryant

Next up was the Men’s 1 team who commenced with the doubles fixtures as Corey Chan, Jurgen Springer, Alex Dodd and Joe Thompson entered the fray.

The latter pairing endured a straight set loss in 6-4, 6-1 which saw Northumbria’s Sam Archer steal the show. However, on the next court, a fierce fight between the Chan/Springer pairing and their opponents was taking place.

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set was allowed to Newcastle by a dominant Northumbria team on Sunday

Despite Northumbria double faulting on the match’s very first point, they cruised to a first set victory.

The second set saw Springer dazzle and it took a tiebreak to settle the two teams, Newcastle claiming that set. The final set was decided by a 10-point tiebreak which, despite Springer’s acrobatics, was finally clinched by Northumbria. The ensuing Men’s 1 single matches saw more victories for Northumbria who only dropped one set in the whole of the men’s competition.

Men’s firsts nab sole table tennis victory MEN’S TABLE TENNIS Newcastle 1sts 15 Northumbria 1sts

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Oliver Grant at Sport Central Northumbria embarked on the long and winding road to Newcastle university for the 2018 Stan Calvert. In awe they entered the sports centre and completed their pilgrimage. Terror flashed across their eyes as they saw the Newcastle’S first team. Nuradin Muktar, Miller, the never ageing George Falcus and the ever-smiling Chun Yin Yu. Northumbria’s star player Anth Barella managed to escape from the shadow of his brother for a fleeting moment to scrape through 3-1 against both Falcus and Miller. With inspiring support and limitless enthusiasm radiating from team mascot Matt Hopkins, the team rallied to win all the remaining games. Ever the entertainer, Falcus went the distance with Blair Carmichael leaving the crowd’s hearts racing and 3/4 of their seats useless but eventually prevailing the 3-2 winner. The rest

1:40 pm

And that victory comes after Northumbria’s men’s first badminton team battles their way to a 5-3 win to keep the Stan Calvert Cup.

was plain sailing until the headline events; Anth vs Chun and Nuradin.

After a shaky start, they both came through as 3-1 winners dedicating their victories to returning coach Bernie. With Falcus and Miller winning 3 each and Chun and Nuradin getting the clean sweep, the victory was certainly comprehensive.

MEN’S TABLE TENNIS Newcastle 2mds

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Oliver Grant at Sport Central The Men’s 2nds game wasn’t so straight forward. The teams were a lot more even and it was always going to be a tight affair. With the team consisting of: Hanson Xu, the president Oliver Grant, Sam Hansen and Matt Hopkins.

The first round of fixtures started off well for Newcastle. Matt Hopkins performed exceptionally to beat their number 1 player without giving him a chance to get into the game. He was controlling the rallies and dispatching the ball past his opponent at every opportunity.

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Sam Hansen didn’t have as much luck, coming up against a tricky defender who strived in getting a psychological edge on his opponent.

A good but rusty performance saw him lose 3-0 despite playing well.

Hanson and Oliver’s games were not as straightforward. They were a lot more tighter matches full of quick top spin rallies and intense play. Both the Newcastle players got the wins (3-2) in spectacular style to get the crowd off their seats and give a Newcastle an early 3-1 lead, with the crowd and tactics from the coaches playing a big part.

Newcastle players got their wins in spectacular style to get the crowd off their seats The second round of fixtures was where the momentum shifted Northumbria’s way. Oliver’s attacking game came up against the extremely defensive player Ben. The match up creating an unorthodox but yet entertaining game, which Oliver just lost out in. Hanson came up against their number 1 player.

The game contained few errors, so it could have gone either way. Unluckily for Newcastle Hanson just lost out 11-9 in the fifth game which gave Northumbria the edge. Matt and Sam’s were edged out in their games putting Newcastle behind on

2:15 pm

Newcastle gain a consolation victory in the fencing, where they “absolutely smash” Northumbria and secure a 130-97 victory.

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the overall scorecard.

The last two round of fixtures went in similar fashion. Newcastle putting up a strong, valiant effort creating some very entertaining games but causing Newcastle to lose each round 3-1.

Despite this, Newcastle ended up losing for the first time in 3 years 11-6. Even though Hanson put in a match winning performance winning 3 out of 4 of his game.

WOMEN’S TABLE TENNIS Newcastle 1sts

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Northumbria 1sts

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Oliver Grant at Sport Central The women’s game is structured differently with only two players per side. The Newcastle team consisting of Kate Roberts and Emily Walker was the last match of the day. All the other teams and more were glued to this fantastic match up. Both the girls were extremely up for the tricky test.

The first round of games started off poorly for the women both going 2-0 down in their respective games.

Kate got a lengthy team talk from the coaches and a big lift from the crowd who all stopped what they were doing to support this consistent quick paced game. Kate shifted into another gear to play some breath talking play to level the game at 2-2.

Momentum shifted her way and in the fifth game and from early on there was only going to be one winner, Kate’s consistently heavy topspin game was in the end too much for her opponent and before she knew it she was celebrating the win with the coaches and crowd.

Emily again had a steady start and as the crowd got more intense so did her performance. Playing some extremely strong table tennis in the third end but just lost out.

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set was dropped by a dominant Northumbria team on Sunday.

The game was tied at 1-1 going into the last round of fixtures before doubles would be played to decide it if needed. This time unfortunately the girls could repeat their success, with both losing in tight games. The win meant a lot to the Northumbria girls, especially to Kate’s opposition who dramatically turned it around to sneak the fifth game by 3-2 right at the end of the match.

This concluded the fixture with Northumbria winning 3-1. On another day it could have been very different since the Newcastle girls’ performances deserved more.

3 pm Another round of fixtures kicks off, while results coming in show Northumbria wins in men’s lacrosse and women’s squash. A 15-2 win for the M1 table tennis does little to raise Newcastle’s spirits.

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stan calvert

Tuesday 27 February 2018

Nifty Nighthawks hold off Northumbria 80 Northumbria to avenge defeat Newcastle 22 Korfball Newcastle

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Northumbria

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Mark Sleightholm at Sport Central Newcastle’s newest AU club put on a display of dominance in the very first Stan Calvert korfball fixture, beating their more experienced hosts 8-7.

Wilbert den Hoed got the Newcastle Nighthawks off to a strong start with an early korf and played a decisive part in his team’s overall victory. Despite only forming in the autumn, the Nighthawks maintained pressure on Northumbria throughout the match and after taking the lead midway through the third quarter pushed on to claim the win.

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Korfs were scored in the first ten minutes of the game

Northumbria responded to den Hoed’s early korf with one of their own, and after ten minutes of end-to-end play the score stood at 3-3.

A Northumbria penalty took them into the lead, and another korf shortly after put the hosts 5-3 up 15 minutes into the game.

A time out allowed the Nighthawks to regroup, and after a Northumbria shot tipped off the edge of the korf Newcastle

korfball president Hyun Gyu Ku gained possession, passing it to den Hoed who set up Rebekah Albiston for a clinical Newcastle korf.

This gave the Nighthawks the momentum and although three more shots missed the korf they kept the ball in the Northumbria half.

The first half drew to a close with a pair of penalties, one for Northumbria giving the Nighthawks’ attacking players a break from their extended period of possession, and another penalty cleanly taken by Newcastle’s Miles Clement. The half time score of 6-5 flattered a Northumbria side struggling to maintain possession and benefitting more from the mistakes of the Nighthawks than from their own expertise.

Northumbria began the second half with possession but almost immediately lost the ball to Newcastle, whose Jess Meakin narrowly missed an equaliser.

Two minutes later and Meakin was back at the korf but was unable to curve the ball into the korf from her close position.

Yet another penalty was given to Northumbria but they were unable to convert this one to a korf, while Newcastle successfully defended the rebound.

Once the ball was back into Newcastle’s attack zone Clement’s shot bounced off the side of the korf, before Meakin calmly scored from the rebound to level the score at 6-all.

Harry Waterman’s attempt to follow Meakin’s lead ended in a struggle involving several players from both sides, with Newcastle awarded a penalty.

Den Hoed, who played the sport growing up in the Netherlands and as one of the Nighthawks’ most experienced players also helps to coach the team, lined up to take the shot and gave Newcastle the lead with a smooth and

elegant korf.

Now finding themselves behind, Northumbria picked up the pace and started to make more emphatic shots on the korf, but were unable to stop Newcastle scoring once more and then maintaining a sustained attack on Northumbria.

In their attack zone Clement kept one Northumbria defender occupied by his sudden changes of direction, freeing up Meakin, Waterman and Arturo Steinvorth to attempt shot after shot.

Den Hoed supported the Nighthawks from the defence zone, stopping any Northumbria advance and making long passes to set up the Newcastle attackers.

We lost to this lot 10-2 the other day, so to turn it around like this, especially at Stan Calvert, is a right result With just three minutes to go Northumbria scored their seventh korf to put them back within a point of their rivals, but their hesitation around the korf stopped them from getting an eighth.

Newcastle regained possession but were unable to extend their lead and the game ended at 8-7.

“Everyone put in a serious shift today,” the club’s media officer Chris Baker said after the obligatory team photos. “We lost to this lot 10-2 the other day, so to turn it around like this, especially at Stan Calvert, is a right result.”

The Nighthawks’ attention now turns to the BUCS National Plate, where they’ll once again be going head-tohead against Northumbria.

Pies blown away in surprise result MEN’S ULTIMATE

A weakened Newcastle team struggled in the strong winds Image: David Jones

Newcastle 1sts

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11

James Sproston at Cochrane Park Newcastle Pies suffered a shock defeat in their Ultimate Stan Calvert clash against Northumbria, losing 11-3 at a blustery Cochrane Park.

In just the third Stan Calvert meeting between the two sides, Northumbria took advantage of the windy conditions, as several of Newcastle’s regular handlers weren’t available for the fixture.

Northumbria’s ability to throw big into and against the wind sent the team into a comfortable 4-0 lead, whilst Newcastle struggled when pulling and trying to press forward with the wind in their faces.

Newcastle managed to pull the score

4 pm

back to 6-2, following good work from Ali Razzaq to get a point block deep in Northumbria territory. From the resultant play, Pies handler Charlie Huins picked out Alex Monaghan in the end zone from the vertical stack for the point.

With an 8-2 deficit at halftime, Newcastle had a mammoth task to turn the game around. Though they managed to shore up their leaky defence, and continued to produce good bucket offence, Newcastle struggled to find the neces-

sary final throw.

Northumbria continued to use long deep hucks to score points, often using the wuthering conditions to catch Newcastle out. Though Newcastle managed to hit back through Razzaq’s hammer blade into the Northumbria end zone.

On the face of the result, Northumbria will be delighted to have broken their Ultimate Stan Calvert duck, however Newcastle will know that the conditions and their weakened team played a huge factor in their first Stan Calvert defeat.

4:45 pm 5 pm 22-66 22-66

The seconds’ golf ends in a 4-2 win in a repeat of the firsts’ score earlier. Northumbria are now storming ahead in the overall score.

A final flourish from Newcastle sees the men’s squash team take a huge 5-0 win, while the netball thirds fall 46-31.

Most Stan Calvert sports award two points for a win, and one each for a draw.

The swimming has six points up for grabs: four for relays, one for the overall winner of the 10 individual men’s races and another for the women’s.

Stan Calvert Results Date American Football Sun 28 Jan

Location

Score

Points Points

Druid Park

8 - 26

0

2

15 - 14

2

0

3-0

2

0

Rugby Union M2

Sat 10 Feb

Bullocksteads

Volleyball M1

Thur 15 Feb

NU Sports Centre

Volleyball W1

Thur 15 Feb

NU Sports Centre

3-0

2

0

Rugby Union W2

Fri 16 Feb

Bullocksteads

50 - 0

2

0

Skiing

Sat 17 Feb

Silksworth Ski Slope

0-1

0

2

Water Polo W1

Mon 19 Feb

Sport Central, Pool

5 - 14

0

2

Water Polo M1

Mon 19 Feb

Sport Central,Pool

22 - 11

2

0

Equestrian 1

Mon 19 Feb

Murton

1-1

1

1

Equestrian 2

Wed 21 Feb

Stepney Bank

2-0

2

0

Swimming

Wed 21 Feb

Sport Central, Pool

6-0

6

0

Rugby Union W1

Wed 21 Feb

Bullocksteads

58 - 0

2

0

Basketball W2

Wed 21 Feb

Sport Central

73 - 33

2

0

Basketball W1

Wed 21 Feb

Sport Central

56 - 52

2

0

Basketball M1

Wed 21 Feb

Sport Central

72 - 76

0

2

Korfball

Thur 22 Feb

Sport Central

7-8

0

2

Water Polo W2

Thur 22 Feb

Sport Central, Pool

8-3

2

0

Water Polo M2

Thur 22 Feb

Sport Central, Pool

16 - 4

2

0

Futsal W1

Fri 23 Feb

Sport Central

13 - 2

2

0

Cricket Indoor M1 Sat 24 Feb

South North

0-1

0

2

Football W1

Sat 24 Feb

Coach Lane Campus

8-2

2

0

Tennis M2

Sun 25 Feb

Northumberland Club

Basketball M3

Sun 25 Feb

Sports Centre

Badminton M2

Sun 25 Feb

Badminton W1

Sun 25 Feb

Fencing M1

Sun 25 Feb

Football W2

Sun 25 Feb

Lacrosse W1

5-0

2

0

104 - 43

2

0

Northumbria Sport Central

5-3

2

0

Northumbria Sport Central

4-4

1

1

Northumbria Sport Central 97 - 130

0

2

Coach Lane Campus

2-0

2

0

Sun 25 Feb

Bullocksteads

4 - 17

0

2

Badminton M1

Sun 25 Feb

Northumbria Sport Central

5-3

2

0

Basketball M2

Sun 25 Feb

NU Sport Centre

73 - 42

2

0

Lacrosse M1

Sun 25 Feb

Bullocksteads

13 - 2

2

0

Squash W1

Sun 25 Feb

Northumberland Club

4-1

2

0

Golf Mix1

Sun 25 Feb

Close House

4-2

2

0

Golf Mix2

Sun 25 Feb

North’land Golf Course

4-2

2

0

Table Tennis M1

Sun 25 Feb

NU Sport Centre

2 - 15

0

2

Netball W1

Sun 25 Feb

NU Sport Centre

52 - 31

2

0

Ultimate M1

Sun 25 Feb

Cochrane Park

11 - 3

2

0

Netball W3

Sun 25 Feb

Sport Centre

46 - 31

2

0

Futsal M2

Sun 25 Feb

Northumbria Sport Central

5-3

2

0

Squash M1

Sun 25 Feb

Northumberland Club

0-5

0

2

Tennis M1

Sun 25 Feb

Northumberland Club

10 - 2

2

0

Table Tennis M2

Sun 25 Feb

NU Sport Centre

11 - 6

2

0

Table Tennis W1

Sun 25 Feb

NU Sport Centre

3-2

2

0

Netball W2

Sun 25 Feb

NU Sport Centre

58 - 35

2

0

Futsal M1

Sun 25 Feb

Northumbria Sport Centre

9-6

2

0

Tennis W1

Sun 25 Feb

Northumberland Club

8-4

2

0

Total

80

22

A double finale sees netball taking place in the Sports Centre and futsal entertaining the crowds at Sport Central. Northumbria win both events and are awarded the cup in front of their home crowd.

9:30 pm 22-78 22-80 After a delayed start, the final result comes in as Northumbria’s W1 tennis serve their way to an 8-4 win over Newcastle.

culture What’s on 21

the courier Tuesday 27 February 2018

student activity

editor.union@ncl.ac.uk thecourieronline.co.uk Culture Editors Zoë Godden and Ciara Ritson-Courtney Student Activity Editors: Alex Hendley and Jared Moore

NSR SHOW OF THE WEEK The Country Music Show with Harry Parsons Fridays 1pm-2pm NSR’s Deputy Station Manager shines as the host of the Country Music Show, bringing a touch of class to your Friday afternoons.

Not only is Parsons effortless in his presenting style, but his selection of country tracks for your delectation never disappoint.

The topic of conversation rarely stays on the same highway for too long, with digressions aplenty with his co-host James Sproston, Editor of the Courier.

Recently, Deputy Editor Alex Hendley from the Row Z Radio Show has begun to make appearances on the show, adding an ill-informed yet entertaining dimension to the show that has gone from strength to strength since its launch last year.

While the chat is essential to this laid-back production, the star is truly the music, hailing from our friends from across the pond, which you’d be lying if you said you didn’t absolutely adore.

JOEY BARTON’S POEM OF THE WEEK ‘Six in the morning.

Who knows what my run has in store?

Never jogged down these ends before.

Tinpot!

That’s the name of the game... if your name, Is Joey.

That’s what they told me.

Banned from football, I think not!

Fight me, bar me, see if I care, I do what most don’t dare.’

Union University Campaign Society Tuesday 27 February

12.00pm Table Tennis Location: Venue, NUSU 12.30pm Body Pump Fitness Location: Multi B, Sports Centre 5.30pm We need to talk about Nigel Location: Curtis Auditorium, Herschel Building 6pm Elections debate, Chair of Council, Editor of the Courier Location: HERB2 6.30pm Neuroanaesthasia Event Location: Medical School

WELLBEING FAIR Thursday 1 March Running from 11am-2pm in Venue, the Wellbeing Fair is there to help students realise the steps they can take to deal with the stresses of University life.

Wednesday 28 February

9am Reality goes to West Jesmond Primary

Student spotlight NUASSC to Host Neuroanaesthesia Event

T

Tuesday 27th February, 6:30pm, Medical School

his Tuesday, the Anaesthetics and Critical Care Society are set to host an evening dedicated to Neuroanaesthesia at the Newcastle University medical school.

Dr. Katherine Bell, a Consultant Anaesthetist at the Royal Victoria Infirmary will lead the evening, opening with a talk at half past six. The talk its self will delve into the physiology of neuroanaesthetics, the effects of head injuries on physiology and how to manage these cases. Dr. Bell has a special interest in Neuroanaesthesia and is a Training Programme Director in the Northern School of Anaesthesia and the ICM. For those interested in Neuroanaesthesia, Dr. Bell offers early clinical experience

placements for second year students and SSCs for elective fourth years.

Following the talk, students will have the chance to become involved with multiple workshops surrounding CT head interpretation, the management of bleeds and fluid balance management in head injuries. In addition, there will also run a cannulation workshop to refresh students clinical skills.

Students hoping to become involved with the event must be a member of the NSACC. However, it isn’t too late to sign up which can be done through the society’s official NUSU webpage.

Alternatively, for more information on what the society are up to, you can visit their Facebook page.

School, 9am, Location: TBC. Visit https://www.nusu.co.uk/ news/article/6013/Whats-on-this-week/ for more 10:30pm Rupert’s Wood Conservation Task.

Location: Contact E.Bickerdike@newcastle.ac.uk for more 1.45pm Volunteering in Jesmond Dene Location: Ousburn Visitors Centre 6pm Elections debate, Welfare, Education Location: HERB2

Thursday 1 March

11am Wellbeing Fair Location: Venue, NUSU 1pm Notetaking skills training session Location: Katie Adie Suite, NUSU 5.30pm Grub Crawl Meet: Outside NUSU entrance 6pm Elections debate, Athletics Union, Activities Location: HERB2

Friday 2 March

12.30pm Cardio Combat Fitness Class Location: Multi B, Sports Centre

6pm Elections debate, President Location: BED1

INSPIRING WOMEN CONFERENCE Saturday 3 March Saturday between 10am and 4pm, the Inspiring Women Conference will run in Venue.

Saturday 3 March

10am Blue Reef Aquarium Meet: outside the front of NUSU 10am-4pm Inspiring Women Conference Location: Venue, NUSU

Sunday 4 March

10am Snowboarding taster session, Meet outside the Hatton Gallery 7pm The Temperance Movement Location: Venue, NUSU

22

culture music

the courier

c2.music@ncl.ac.uk Music Editors Toby Bryant, Charlie Isaac & Ally Wilson

On Campus NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY’S CHAMBER CHOIR

T

he Newcastle University Chamber Choir is a small group of experienced choristers who, with the guidance of MUSSOC President, Timothy Cranfield, and Isobel Chesman, rehearse weekly, tackling a range of choral repertoire.

After a successful Remembrance Day Evensong last year, the choir was delighted to return to St. Nicholas’ Cathedral on Sunday the 18thof February for a full day of services to mark the First Sunday of Lent. Eucharist at 10am featured a stunning Renaissance setting of the mass by Orlando Di Lasso, along with Herbert Howells’ 20th century composition, ‘Like as the Hart’, as the anthem. The Evensong at 4pm featured more Howells with his ‘Gloucester Service’, finishing with Thomas Morley’s ‘Agnus Dei’, a beautiful example of English Renaissance repertoire.

Tuesday 27 February 2018

Black Panther: Monumental musical significance Finlay Harbour delves into Kendrick’s curation of the soundtrack, and why it is so important

F

ar from an avid Marvel enthusiast, l had originally assumed the Black Panther film had something to do with the ‘The Black Panther Party’ and its association with the ‘Black Power’ social justice movement in the 1960s.

Kendrick Lamar then, hip-hop’s leading socioconscious light, seemed an unsurprising choice as chief curator of the film’s musical accompaniment. Evidently a superhero movie, I expected a less obvious connection, yet director Ryan Coogler did choose Kendrick for his thematic similarities with those addressed in the film, and it was soon clear why.

The fictional nation, Wakanda, poses as a third world African country. It is typical in its rich history, spirit and cultural vibrancy, whilst simultaneously possessing the technological force of a nation only commonly perceived in Western Civilisation.

This context facilitates themes of black identity, power struggle and kingship, a momentous moment in black cinema; all the elements of a Marvel box office hit, punctuated by an underlying social agenda.

The production is extravagant, punchy and uplifting throughout The album works in a similar form. There are moments of introspectiveness and empowerment that mirror those in the film, namely Kendrick’s performance in the album opener ‘Black Panther,’ and the track ‘Seasons.’ The latter features South African native rappers Reason and Sjava, lending an authenticity to the album’s Afrocentric connection to the film. Equally, there are moments that bare little relevance to these themes, notably Travis Scott’s verse on ‘Big Shot’ which adopts generic

trap phraseologies. Having said that, this song is still an undeniably successful continuation of the trap flute phenomenon, which exploded into the mainstream last year through Future’s ‘Mask Off ’ and Kodak Black’s ‘Tunnel Vision.’ A demonstrably exciting formula then and it is this accessible premise that resonates with the film most successfully.

Although the album might not push the same sonic or political boundaries to the extent of Kendrick Lamar’s previous solo projects, this is unimportant in the context. The production is extravagant, punchy and uplifting throughout, a more suiting characterisation of the film as well. Aside from Kendrick’s intro, pop-rap bangers ‘All The Stars’ and ‘Pray For Me’ bookend the project, truly embodying the shared epic vibe of both the album and the film, the social agenda is secondary.

So what is the real significance of Kendrick Lamar and Top Dawg Entertainment’s involvement with this record-breaking Marvel epic? It serves as a reminder of a cultural shift. Historically, hip-hop has acted as a counter-cultural movement, particularly in the late 80s and early 90s through artists such as Public Enemy and N.W.A.. Over the past five years

however, it has become the dominant music culture, and the album feels like a celebration of that fact— it is now playing the role of soundtrack to the box office film of the year. So, just as the film represents a triumph of black cinema in the main stream, the album feels like a triumph of black music too.

Wakanda and the redefined potential of hip-hop are analogous. This album demonstrates this, cultivating traditional African-American and Tribal sounds, drawing influence from R&B, neo-soul, dancehall and even UK funky/ tribal house. These styles are all mediated, progressed and reintroduced into the mainstream in the form of glossy, expensive trap, pop-rap and experimental hip-hop production. In the same way, the film’s presentation of Wakanda is like a celebration of African culture, mediated by the next instalment in the high budget, technologically-advanced filmography of the Marvel Universe.

The Black Panther’s musical, cinematic pairing is an example of black music and cinema receiving the biggest audience and best financial backing. Black culture takes its place at the pinnacle of popular culture.

Soundtrack Safari

We believe firmly in the positive educational purposes of music, and seek to engage and inspire children Rohan Katargamwala selects his top ten picks of the most iconic uses of music in the world of film But those who were unable to make the services need not be disheartened! The choir shall be returning to the cathedral in Spring to perform Franz Schubert’s 6th Mass in G Major and Patrick Doyle’s ‘Non Nobis Domine’.

The members of the choir perform frequently in the university’s King’s Hall and were thrilled to give a recital of both familiar and lesser known Christmas carols at the end of last year, accompanied by Professor Magnus Williamson on the hall’s newly-minted organ! However, the choir, believing firmly in the positive educational purposes of music, have, in the past, often visited local primary schools as part of an outreach program, seeking to engage and inspire children to participate in confidence-building activities, such as joining a choir.

These events were received warmly and enthusiastically by the children involved!

All of us in chamber choir are a friendly and approachable bunch, so please, come and speak to us after one of our concerts, or pop along to The Armstrong Building on a Friday at 6:30pm when our rehearsal finishes, to say hello – we’d love to see you! For those interested in auditioning to join the choir, please contact director, Timothy Cranfield (T.Cranfield@ncl.ac.uk) or manager, Isobel Chesman (I.Chesman@ncl.ac.uk). For those who wish to join a choir without auditioning, please consider MUSSOC’s larger choir,Voices, which covers more popular repertoire. For more information, contact conductor, Michael Winter (M.Winter@ncl.ac.uk) or manager, Laura Burnett (L.Burnett@ncl.ac.uk).

Murray Gove

@nclmussoc @Courier_Music @TheCourierMusic

Nancy Sinatra - ‘Bang Bang’ from Kill Bill Quentin Tarantino is famous for building his films from the music upwards and in Kill Bill this couldn’t be more the case, with the film’s premise seemingly comes directly from Nancy’s track: a shoot up at a wedding that sparks the events of the film. The sparse reverb gives it a poignancy reflected in the film, and Nancy’s vocals reflect the notion and power of the bride in this Tarantino epic.

Simon & Garfunkel - ‘Mrs. Robinson’ from The Graduate Some songs completely transcend the films they gained popularity from, and this is perhaps the best example. As it featured in the Oscar winning movie, its popularity was immense and has become more recognisable and well known than The Graduate itself.

Ewan McGregor’s opening monologue sits in hundreds of university dorms

A Tribe Called Quest - ‘Scenario’ from Dope Dope’s soundtrack is littered with not only rap classics but some great originals, yet the standout one is undoubtedly Tribe’s appearance. After a shootout in a restaurant and the ensuing car chase, ‘Scenario’ provides a levity, whilst the editing to the beat of the song gives it something extra.

Kavinsky - ‘Nightcall’ from Drive A film lauded for its soundtrack and famously rescored by Zane Lowe, the opening shots of the city and Ryan Gosling set an

ominous tone that prepares for the first scene car chase. Kavinsky gives something extra to this London Grammar cover, which changes the identity of the track with its heavy electronic beats.

The Temper Trap - ‘Sweet Disposition’ from (500) Days of Summer ‘Sweet Disposition’ fits this indie-romcom like a glove, both lyrically and thematically with the narrative of the movie; soft vocals and light acoustic guitars build to a fitting and definitive crescendo.

Bobby Darin - ‘Somewhere Beyond the Sea’ from Finding Nemo A Pixar classic, Bobby Darin’s swinging vocals lead to a beautiful opening which not only fits lyrically, but thematically with the optimism of Nemo and Marlin – an incredible use of music to begin the narrative.

Kimya Dawson ‘Loose Lips’ from Juno Much of Dawson’s album ‘Remember That I Love You’ features in the sharp-witted indie flick; this song, which reoccurs throughout the film, provides a beautiful setting with its simplicity and heartwarming lyrics.

The Beatles - ‘Twist and Shout’ from Ferris Bueller’s Day off Who could forget the parade scene where Ferris, sporting the famous leopard print vest, gives a timeless performance of this song? Neither him nor the audience can sit still for this catchy pop song, whose sentiment perfectly encapsulates this lighthearted romp of a film.

Iggy Pop - ‘Lust For Life’ from Trainspotting Ewan McGregor’s opening monologue sits in hundreds of university room dorms, plastered across posters, but Iggy Pop’s infectious energy and the bouncy punk sound of this track adds significantly to both the film and this memorable opening.

Images: YouTube

Jamiroquai - ‘Canned Heat’ from Napoleon Dynamite The iconic final dance scene from the end of this cult classic wouldn’t be the same without Jay Kay’s crooning vocals and a dance beat that perfectly fit the film’s quirky edge, cementing its place among the cult classics.

the courier

@CourierMusic thecourieronline.co.uk/music

Tuesday 27 February 2018

Always Ascending

I

n the somewhat unstable current indie rock scene, ‘Franz Ferdinand’ are something of an urban legend. The quintet’s preppy artrock style gained them a huge fan base during the golden years of riff-driven guitar music, with their huge singles such as ‘The Dark of The Matinee’ and the club-filling ‘Take me Out’ positioning the band as one of the pioneers of the movement. In their ability to blend post-punk guitars with witty indie lyrics, they also won the hearts of critics, with their self-titled 2004 album winning the coveted Mercury Award prize, as well as NME’s album of the year.

From such a widely successfully foundation, it is fair to say the band’s recent releases never quite built their sounds much higher, even if their 2015 collaboration with the underground 80s pop band, ‘Sparks’, did prove that they had an abrasive talent for disco and synth style tunes. And, perhaps, it is in these American pop rockers that lead man Alex Kapranos draws from most clearly in this new album, Always Ascending, a signed-and-sealed love note to 80s disco and synth rock alike.

These sonic maturations may be a result of the band’s altered line up with the founding guitarist, Nick McCarthy, leaving the band in July 2016. Of

his two replacements, drummer Paul Thomson and bassist Julian Corrie, the band gain some innovation; Corrie has been renowned for his recent electronic productions under the name of ‘Miaoux Miaoux’. In this new influence, band a newfound relationship develops between keyboard and guitar. This blossoming romance is clear in the title track, a epic five-minute opener that bursts into life in its mosaic midpoint, bringing together the band’s latest experimentations. In later track, ‘Lazy Boy’, the band tunes into the lyrical wit it has been so often renowned for. The divine ode to post-punk, with all the sounds of a bygone 80s chart topper, shows that Kapranos remains sharptongued in his vocal and lyrical execution. These talents are confirmed in ‘Huck and Jim’, where he channels a satirical desire to move the NHS and DSS to America. In ‘Lois Lane’, the synth-driven exposition, and use of keyboards in the chorus, establishes a tune that is as empowering as the female character of which the band sing.

These electropop formations assume a mediocrity in the band’s attempt to conclude their album, the disco sounds of ‘Glimpse of Love’ resonating as a sound too often pushed to the forefront in this forty-minute comeback album. Where the lyri-

Franz Ferdinand

cal prowess of social spectates like ‘The Academy Award’, a criticism of self-indulgence in today’s social media, demonstrate the band’s political orientations, it loses our attention by the midpoint, and so again relies on the domineering synths to carry listeners to its conclusion.

The band gain a sonic freedom like never before, establishing their ability to mix the stylish with the gritty, the nostalgic with the contemporary

23

music culture

O

n this day in 1954, Michigan Congresswoman Ruth Thompson introduces legislation to ban the mailing of “obscene, lewd, lascivious or filthy” phonograph records.

Nonetheless, the band gain a sonic freedom like never before, establishing their ability to mix the stylish with the gritty, the nostalgic with the contemporary. While these balances grow tiresome by the albums latter stages, fans won’t grow weary of the Glaswegian rockers’ efforts.

Jack Gill

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Image: YouTube

Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life The Wombats

E

ver since The Wombats burst onto the music scene with their 2007 debut album A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation, they have become an integral part of the UK indie-rock canon. Known for their upbeat, catchy numbers, the Liverpudlian trio have managed to maintain the momentum of their early success. With the release of latest album Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life, they show no signs of slowing down any time soon.

For months, the only taster from the album was lead single ‘Turn’, which seemed to hark back to the band’s This Modern Glitch days with its deceptively simple chorus and addictive hook. There are times when The Wombats’ delicately carved balance between pop and indie seems to tip more towards the former and ‘Turn’ is definitely representative of this. The album’s opening songs ‘Cheetah Tongue’ and ‘I Brought A Lemon To A Knife Fight’ seem to follow in the same style, yet the latter half of the album reveals a softer side to The Wombats, which is rarely seen.

This album is The Wombats at their most sophisticated Lead vocalist Matthew Murphy’s claim that he wanted the album to be ‘more organic’ comes to light with tracks such as ‘Lethal Combination’. At just over two minutes long, the song is the album’s hidden jewel. It is The Wombats at their best, refined and cut down to the bone, yet equally as catchy as more upbeat songs like ‘White Eyes’.

The album’s finale ‘I Don’t Know Why I Like You But I Do’ is the mature ending that has eluded the band for so long. Whilst there aren’t as many festival hits as previous albums, Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life is The Wombats at their most sophisticated.

Caitlin Disken

Little Dark Age MGMT

L

ittle Dark Age has that uneasy sounding noise bubbling underneath that leaves the listener unsure whether they’re interested by the spacey and conceptual sound, or simply uncomfortable. The album is relaxed but somehow altogether challenging.

Will the band get their addictive melody back?

I’m not so sure...

The start of the album is the musical equivalent of an acid trip in ‘She Works Out Too Much’. The electronic, Japanese introduction is reminiscent of times spent playing Sonic the Hedgehog and, whilst nostalgic, it remains largely a miss.

Tracks like ‘James’ and ‘Days That Got Away’ have that dazed summer day feeling that should be enjoyable, but seemingly lend themselves to being backing music. ‘Me and Michael’ sounds distant and dreamy, but again nothing in the song suggests itself to be a marvel. Title track ‘Little Dark Age’ does, however, possess more traction. In shedding the characteristic warmth of the album, the dark and brooding hooks edge on catchy.

The androgyny of ‘One Thing Left to Try’ is interesting but, again, confused to the point of estrangement. ‘TSLAMP’ (“time spend looking at my phone”) is intriguing and clever, with the uneasiness of the album indeed lending itself to the nature of the song that spends time dealing with the issues of technology in modern relationships.

Something of a political comment helps the album recommend itself as worthy of a listen.

Although Little Dark Age is, in some ways, an appreciated departure from the alienating sound of their previous albums, both of which border on “too cool” with the punch, burst and addictive melody that marked songs like ‘Kids’ and ‘Time to Pretend’ missing. Will they get this back? I’m not so sure.

Rory Ellis

Editors’ Picks

E

ach week, The Courier’s Music Editors are working with Newcastle Student Radio to bring you the best new tracks from the week before...

‘All Or Nothing Love’ Clare Maguire Clare Maguire’s new track is a mellow offering that is oh so smooth. It’s another step in the right direction for Maguire who has successfully fought off alcohol in recent years.

Toby Bryant, The Courier ‘Every Time I Hear This Song’ Brandi Carlile This is a sultry country-esque track with some gorgeous harmonies. I’ve never heard this artists before but with a Joni Mitchell style of singing and lyric construction, I was smitten instantly Ally Wilson, The Courier ‘Nameless, Faceless’ Courtney Barnett Fresh from her collaboration with Kurt Vile, Barnett proves she has no shortage of musical ideas with this brilliant, grungy new single from her upcoming album.

Charlie Isaac, The Courier ‘The Tide’ Pale Waves After finding themselves in our Sounds of 2018 feature, Pale Waves dropped their new EP All The Thing I Never Said. Although a tad late, ‘New Year’s Eve’ is a gloriously fun track that I shall definitely be playing at the end of this year’s countdown.

Meg Smith, NSR ‘Wild Love’ James Bay This first track to be released from James Bay’s upcoming second album is filled with moody synths and an electronic sound - strikingly different to the folk-rock guitar vibes of before.

Amy Woods, NSR

THE EDITORS’ PICKS RADIO SHOW The Courier Music editors will be joining Meg and Amy from Newcastle Student Radio to play and discuss the Editors’ Picks at 4pm every Thursday. Be sure to tune in at nsrlive.co.uk!

The bill itself came as a response to both public and private reactions to an upsurge in what some describe as “suggestive” lyricism in rock and roll music. Even in Britain, The BBC banned the song ‘Such A Night’ by Johnny Ray after complaints regarding its “suggestiveness”, however aside from the repetition of word “kiss”, the song’s lyrics are squeaky clean and PC, much like any love song of its era.

The bill stated that the punishment for anyone found to be distributing records deemed as being “lewd, lascivious or filthy” could be as much as five years imprisonment and a 5,000 dollar fine.

The severity of this legislation is a good indicator of attitudes towards censorship in this period, which has evolved greatly since then. Nowadays, discussion of sex, celebration of the human body, and drug references comprise a great percentage of lyricism in popular music today.

It could be said that the timeline of social and legal history corresponded within the timeline of popular music, each juncture of historical change being documented through the music of its time.

In 1950’s America, there was a strong sense of conservatism within the arts, and it reflected a wider and general conservative attitude towards most things.

However, this era of music also represented a shift in audience. In the 50’s, younger people had started to develop communities based around different musical styles, mainly Rock and Roll. In fact, the banning of, and legislative action on certain music gave young people a reason to buy it – either in acts of intrigue or rebellion.

Either way, the political action against “lewdness” in music, it could be argued, provoked the idea of disestablishmentarianism within music, encouraging artists to agitate congress by creating music with progressively more profanity, sex and drug related references. It could even be said that the reluctance of the state to allow these early forms of “explicit” music, contributed to the genuinely explicit nature of many modern artists’ lyricism.

If this is the case, perhaps Ruth Thompson is to blame for the shocking themes and lyrics we hear in modern music?

Liam Austen

@Courier_Music @TheCourierMusic Newcastle Student Radio: nsrlive.co.uk @NSRlive

22

culture TV

the courier

c2.tv@ncl.ac.uk TV Editors Jacob Clarke, Joel Leaver & Alex Moore

In another Westeros far, far away

Tuesday 27 February 2018

Dismay at Disney Streaming Service?

Alex Moore explains that the Jodie Duddy questions what Disney’s new service will mean for their streaming competitors GOT creators are indeed the ore information has been released this 2009. These alongside the ‘Princess films’ and their ing service on a smaller scale in the UK, called month surrounding D i s n e y ’s live action counterparts of recent DisneyLife, that has a tempting package including; writers Disney are looking for plans for a subs cripyears would provide an afford- discount in the Disney stores, more than 6000 Dis-

I

t was recently announced that the creators of the insanely popular TV adaptation of the Game of Thrones, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, have been recruited by Disney to write and produce a new Star Wars series.

In true Star Wars, this will likely to be a new trilogy of movies, their series will be independent of both the current Skywalker story and the Rian Johnson trilogy (a risky move, given the very mixed reviews of The Last Jedi). It will also be separate from the upcoming TV series set to air on Disney’s new streaming service.

As the Walt Disney Company clearly, there’s a whole load of money to be made from the franchise, but it is beginning to feel like Disney is milking the name a little too much.

16.5

million viewers drawn in by the Game of Thrones Season 7 finale in America

That said, the pair could be a new hope for the saga, possibly heralding the beginning of a darker, grittier side of the Star Wars universe - something fans of The Old Republic have been envisaging for years (which would have happened already, had the Underworld series not been scrapped).

Maybe fans can finally expect some of the features that made Game of Thrones the phenomenon it is and have been lacking in the recent movies like characters with a little emotional depth and development, and maybe even a believable baddie.

Would that be too much to ask of Disney?

As production of the final series of Game of Thrones is still underway and has been given a 2019 release, it seems like fans will have a good while to wait to find out.

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tion streaming service to rival Netflix. The project is planned to launch in 2019, with production already being underway for exclusive new series’ and films.

The line-up includes a Monsters, Inc animated series and a couple of Star Wars spin offs as if Disney and Lucasfilm weren’t already dragging the Star Wars universe out past redemption (I for one am still pretending that The Last Jedi did not happen). The interest in new material for an exclusive audience is potentially in response to the ‘Netflix Original’ label being the stamp of an almost guaranteed success.

able space to catch up on, and revisit, some favourites that may have otherwise been missed due to their lack of affordability and sporadic placing on various streaming sites at present.

The rumoured plan is for Disney to start removing their titles from other services, so that they can be found only exclusively on their site. However, the Netflix/ Marvel TV shows like The Defenders; Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist are going to remain on Netflix as there would be too much legal chaos to move them, and Image: Danny PiG (flickr) because they are aiming for a different audience. The streaming service is confirmed to host no ‘R’ rated content (in the UK this is roughly nothing over a 12 age rating). Disney have a major stake in Hulu entertainThe service will cost less ment, so it is planned for this to host their more material, so that Disney streaming service per subscription than its adult can host a compendium of child-friendly titles.

competitor (Netflix)

Bob Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Company, revealed to investors that the service will cost less per subscription than its competitor, but insist that they’re “not trying to kill or hurt Netflix.”

On further reflection, Disney have a vast library of movies on offer with their acquisition of both Lucasfilm in 2012, and Marvel Entertainment in

ney songs for download, and over 4000 Disney TV episodes.

The streaming service is confirmed to host no ‘R’ rated content (roughly a 12 in the UK) I for one am interested to see how this venture pans out. The streaming service could be a valuable resource for parents wanting to entertain their children, without having to spend a fortune on each Disney DVD, which rarely drop below the £8 mark. But I’m curious to see how the service will impact the Disney TV channels, and whether this will come to usurp their position as the go-to place to access these shows for children. Nothing is for certain, but it would be in true Disney style for this move to be an enormous success for the company in extending their global reach further and drawing in more audiences from the streaming market.

Bob Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Company: we are ‘not trying to kill or hurt Netflix...’

Image: Dominic Smith (flickr)

Disney currently have a prototype of the stream-

Do we need a new Sabrina the Teenage Witch? Your face looks familiar: Daniel Kaluuya

Lena Sheikh responds to the reboot of the childhood classic

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ased on the comic book, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Sabrina Spellman is back in a Netflix reboot airing in late 2018. However, there’s a dark twist you won’t expect.

If you’re a fan of the comics, you’ll know that The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a far cry from the bubbly Melissa JoanHart version that we all know and love. The reboot is dark and twisted, set in a world of witchcraft and satanic rituals.

While I was sceptical at first, the edgy makeover makes for a nice change from the many reboots that have come back to our screens, only to disappoint.

It’s easy to get caught up in the sen-

Image: Dominick D (Wikimedia Commons)

The reboot is dark and twisted, set in a world of witchcraft and satanic rituals timentalism of our favourite childhood series, but I think it’s time we let go of our 90’s nostalgia and embrace something new.

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina will star Kiernan Shipka (Sally Draper from Mad Men) Men as the lead role, embodying the half-witch, half-human Sabrina Spellman from the comics as she navigates life as a high school student whilst struggling to control the dark side of her magic. Other cast members include Lucy Davis (Dawn on The Office UK) UK as the familiar Aunt Hilda and a new face, Michelle Gomez (Missy on Doctor Who) who is set to play a malicious teacher that attempts to lure Sabrina into evil.

And yes. Salem the cat will be back, but he’s going from sarcastic to sinister in the reboot.

As much as I love the old Sabrina with all her quirks and hilarious comedy, a reboot of the 1996 version wouldn’t stand a chance in this decade where mystery drama reigns. With a promising cast, concept and the same creative team as Riverdale behind production, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina might actually have a chance at success.

Joel Leaver looks back into the Black Panther star’s TV career

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aniel Kaluuya should be a name you’re familiar with. The London-born star is a ‘Best Actor’ nominee at the upcoming Academy Awards for his stellar performance in the 2017 racial hit, Get Out, as well as currently starring in the superhero box-office breaker, Black Panther. At the 2018 British Academy Film Awards, Kaluuya was presented with the ‘Rising Star’ award and so the future certainly looks bright for the young British actor. Now a box-office star, Kaluuya actually began his career with some pretty memorable TV appearances. Let’s take a look at four of the most iconic …

THE FADES Also starring Game of Thrones’ Natalie Dormer, The Fades was a short-lived supernatural drama about a young lad who can see spirits of the dead.

Kaluuya played the lead’s best-friend, Mac, whose comic-timing and goofy personality made him a great edition to the show. Unfortunately BBC failed to renew the series following its initial six episodes, leading to much disray amongst fans.

Image: YouTube Image: YouTube

SKINS One of Kaluuya’s first TV gigs was on British teen classic, Skins. As Posh Kenneth, the actor played a secondary role in series one and two, speaking merely a few lines per episode. Interestingly though, Kaluuya was one of the main writers for Skins and took more of a behind-the-scenes role than fellow castmates.

PSYCHOVILLE Created by half of the League of Gentlemen creative team, Psychoville mixed psychological horror with sitcom. Kaluuya played thief turned carer-forthe-blind Michael Fry, nicknamed Tealeaf due to his criminal past, and whilst a secondary role once again, Kaluuya managed to shine. In a show full of comedy veterans like Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and Dawn French, it speaks volumes that Kaluuya and Tealeaf are two very memorable aspects of the show.

BLACK MIRROR With the latest series dominating discussion about Charlie Brooker’s hit technological show, its hard to remember some of the fantastic cast members of previous episodes. Kaluuya starred in the second episode of series one, ‘Fifteen Million Merits’, where everyone lives in enclosed spaces and earns merits by riding stationary bikes. A very different role for the actor, the character of Bing and his narrative showed Kaluuya’s versatility – something he’s continuing to show off!

CASTING FACT Writer and director Jordan Peele revealed that it was after seeing Kaluuya in Black Mirror that he decided to cast the actor as the lead in Get Out. Image: Peabody Awards (Wikimedia commons)

the courier Tuesday 27 February 2018

Year of the Woman: Annalise Keating Lucy Lillistone discusses Annalise Keating, the female protagonist of How To Get Away With Murder

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ow To Get Away With Murder, based on a female criminal defence lawyer and a group of students who continuously find themselves wrapped up in some kind of murder, is a show which from the start has had viewers going crazy with its plot twists and shocking scenes. Yet, for me, what makes this show the stunning masterpiece it is and completely deserving of awards is the female lead Annalise Keating, played by the beautiful Viola Davis.

Not only do we have a female at the forefront of the show, but also Davis plays a woman of colour, aged 50 and bisexual. Not only is this inspiring but its damn well important, showing viewers that women can play roles Image: FOX NETWORK GROUP - GREECE (Vimeo)

just as significant as men, no matter our age, skin colour or sexuality.

Annalise King is the epitome of everything I as a woman aspire to be Viola Davis’ character certainly does not hold back on her portrayal of women. She shows us the way we are: full of flaws and not perfect whatsoever. A particularly morally grey role, Davis’ character brings in themes of alcoholism, lying, cheating, murder and shows that women don’t have to conform to the perfect, suitably behaved female society wants us to be. We can be who we are and be proud of it. We can be transgressive if we want.

In equal measure to Annalise Keating’s portrayal of women’s flaws, this character draws on idea of insecurity and appearance, showing women that make up does not define us. One particular scene that is very empowering is when Keating takes off her wig and make up after a hard day at work, embracing her true appearance. It’s a scene that shows women they should and can be comfortable with who they are without judgements from others.

Do viewers really want a Friends reunion?

Jacob Clarke questions desires to continue the classic series

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ith Netflix recently purchasing the rights to stream the entire 10 seasons of supremely popular 90s sitcom, Friends, people are more than ever calling out for the possibility of a film or a TV continuation.

However there’s a chance this may be a terrible idea.

Image: Geoffrey Chandler (Flickr)

First of all, lets consider the idea of a movie. This idea has become more relevant due to the fake fan trailer that everyone appeared to think was real despite it being badly edited together sections of the Friends cast’s postFriends shows and making them appear slightly connected.

This hoax has stirred cravings for a film to show us how the lives of our favourite six New Yorkers have progressed in the last 14 years.

Image: Оливия56 (Wikimedia Commons)

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TV culture ‘Random Reviews’

@CourierTV thecourieronline.co.uk/tv

Let us of course not forget about the scenes where she stands, front and centre of that lecture theatre (clearly, perhaps, a metaphor for her front and central role in the show) and commands her students with strength and power. What more does a TV show want? This show is not only giving us women who can stand their own ground, but also a woman with a prototypical male job; a defence lawyer, occupied by a female! Take that anti-feminists.

Women can play roles just as significant as men, no matter our age, skin colour, or sexuality Annalise Keating is the epitome of everything I as a woman aspire to be, and to have her as a main lead in a TV show will only further influence women all around the world.

So, future TV shows, take note from How To Get Away With Murder in your casting: don’t believe that every main role has to be occupied by a white male. Women are just as capable, as shown

by Viola Davis and leading characters, and roles should be based on ability, regardless of gender.

Review

GLOW

However, the cinematic style of this potential reunion movie would be met with negative reaction as it doesn’t lend a good enough throwback to the isolated, set dependent style that friends so successfully and confidently used for 10 years without getting old.

Netflix

The problem with Friends is that all the loose ends were tied up satisfactorily Monica’s and Joey and Chandler’s apartments became iconic set pieces and are a part of the show that is needed for it to really be Friends. To do away with places such as Central Perk’s couch focused camera view in favour of a smooth camera; cinematic approach would feel unnatural to fans of the show, expecting a nostalgic throwback to the memorable and traditional sitcom style viewing.

Do fans really want to see the once sprightly and energetic young cast learn the depressing reality of old age This is why a film adaptation wouldn’t be the right way to bring friends back.

So does this mean that a potential season 11 would be the right way to bring the cast back together? Not necessarily. The problem with Friends is that all the loose ends were tied up satisfactorily: Ross and Rachel got together, Monica and Chandler and a child after years of trying, Phoebe had a traditional wedding and Joey continued in his womanizing ways as expected. There aren’t really any loose ends that need exploring for these characters. This means the only other option for season 11 would be to see how our favourite characters, whose wild and turbulent young adult lives played out on screen for us for 10 years, are adapting to middle age. I don’t know about you but the idea of seeing a 55 year old Joey Tribbiani pry after young women is incredibly depressing. Do fans really want to see the once spritely and energetic young cast learn the depressing reality of the movement into old age?

It feels like the best place for Friends, despite its timeless appeal, is in situated in 90s nostalgia, as that programme we can all keep revisiting. Any continuation would be a disservice to the quality entertainment it gave so many fans for a decade.

Image: YouTube

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n a marriage of two very different small screen trends, GLOW brings the world of professional wrestling to Netflix.

Wrestling is enjoying a global resurgence and it was a smart move by Netflix to capitalise on the interest by dramatising the story of short lived eighties promotion Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling - or GLOW, in the coveted short order series format that has worked well for Stranger Things. But this is as much about wrestling as the original promotion was, and the strength of the series derives from the talent involved and a pivotal twist at the end of episode one - which turned this fun, woman-empowering comedy series into a complex character study. I’ll spare the twist for fear of spoilers, saying only that it works whilst also flipping all the dynamics of the protagonists and antagonists on their heads. Instead I’ll look at the talent, which much like the radicals the series bases itself on, is made up of misfits and supporting talent whose time in the spotlight is long overdue.

The strength of the series derives from the talent involved Created by Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, who cut their teeth on Nurse Jackie, Weeds and Homeland, with supporting input by Orange is the New Black creator Jenji Kohan, the entirely female executive talent are tone perfect for what the show is; a comedic, performance driven psychodrama about women struggling for fame, equality and respect. Leading the line is Community’s Alison Brie who was long overdue a series lead, with support from a dozen actresses character actors including Betty Gilpin and Sydelle Noel, popstar Kate Nash and radio host Marc Maron - who is revelatory as co-lead Sam Sylvia. This is far more than a drama about wrestling, but rather a study on the complexity of womanhood and ambition in the dirty world of eighties Los Angeles.

Callum Costello

James Sproston writes about the wrong Star Trek series; we’ll let him off this time...

Image: YouTube

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uilding on the success of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek trilogy, Star Trek Discovery introduces a period ten years before the famous exploits of the USS Enterprise led by Captain James T. Kirk.

Instead, we follow the story of the USS Shenzhou and then the USS Discovery, in their war with the infamous foe of Star Fleet, the Klingons.

The main protagonist throughout is Star Fleet’s Michael Burnham, endearingly referred to as Number One to honour the character with the same name from the original Star Trek pilot, portrayed by Sonequa Martin-Green.

Showrunner and creator Bryan Fuller purposely gave the character a male name, as well as casting a non-white, female lead. These are themes throughout the show, with the two most prominent characters in the first two episodes being non-white women, as well as a number of LGBTQ characters featuring throughout the show, with their relationships being treated the same as heterosexual relationships.

Other than the progressive att itu d e to casting, the show is aesthetically stunning throughout. It seems very unoriginal at the moment to keep h i g h l i g ht i ng the consistent improvement in visual effects, but Star Trek Discovery utilises that improveImage: YouTube ment in the best possible way, using it to provide the sense of scale and grandeur of space that the new Star Wars films fail to achieve.

However, for all of the successes of the casting and cinematography, there are serious drawbacks in the writing and direction of the series. Despite the on-screen chemistry between Martin-Green and Michelle Yeoh, the dialogue in the early episodes of the series is clichéd and occasionally uncomfortable, even though it was delivered well.

Die hard Star Trek fans will love the deep history that the show goes into Likewise, the Klingons are too one-dimensional, with their portrayal being very typical of Star Trek villains; a seemingly safe choice by those behind the show despite having the option to have a new take on the recurring antagonists. Though die hard Star Trek fans will love deep history that the show goes into, the prologue throughout the early episodes is too long and often at seemingly random points.

I’d recommend those that enjoyed the recent Star Trek films to give this one a go, but anyone new to the Star Trek universe may struggle to stay engaged with this show and see it through to the end.

@thecouriertv @Courier_TV

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culture film

c2.film@ncl.ac.uk Film Editors Helena Buchanan, Dan Haygarth & Christopher Wilkinson

Golden Oldies

Image: YouTube

A Knight’s Tale (2001)

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hough it went under the radar when it was released, no film can rival A Knight’s Tale for the ‘Golden Oldie’ title. There’s no doubt that there’s some substantial flaws in this film, but ever since I was given it on DVD for my eighth birthday, I’ve appreciated it for less conventional reasons.

Simply put, it’s a film about jousting. The appeal may be initially disguised in steel armour, but it’s the same basic structure that of any sport film: an initially lucky underdog gets their chance, defies all expectations, and either wins in the big finale or gives it a damn good crack. Think Goal! on horseback with a huge stick.

Coupled with that simple plot is a series of clichéd and anachronistic moments and lines, which in most films would often lead to frustration or even contempt, but in A Knight’s Tale it leads to wholesome endearment.

During the first scene, the tone of the film is clearly set. Mark Addy, portraying Mark Addy, crouches over the corpse of his very recently deceased Lord, who died whilst expelling the hamster. Addy then proceeds to explain the situation by saying “the spark of his life is smothered in shite” and “his spirit is gone but his stench remains”.

The acting and the banter combine to make it the most watchable film of all time We then turn to Heath Ledger, playing the protagonist William Thatcher, who gets his chance at hitting the big time when his Lord shites himself to death. He’s plucky, optimistic and handsome, which is everything you can ask for from a man destined to climb the ladder to jousting superstardom.

His love interest is Jocelyn, a frankly unworthy partner for our hero, who wears wildly anachronistic clothing, and doesn’t seem to care about jousting at all. She’s constantly overrated by all of the film’s characters, besides Kate the Blacksmith, who in contrast is consistently undervalued by the team, having had to work hard just to be considered “one of the lads”.

Kate not only forges Heath a new suit of armour for free after he was comically rejected by three other blacksmiths, who collectively put in three of the worst acting performances of the 21st century, but she taught him to dance as well. Class act.

However, all of these characters needed something to tie them all together, and that thing was Geoffrey Chaucer. Providing quick wit, several speeches equally touching and comical, and a constant narrative throughout, Paul Bettany’s portrayal of Chaucer makes A Knight’s Tale not only an immensely enjoyable experience, but a wholly worthwhile watch for anyone.

I can’t rave enough about this film; the action, the acting and the banter all combine to make it the most watchable film of all time. It’s a classic that can be whipped out at any occasion, be it romantic, family-friendly, or a drinking game, A Knight’s Tale never disappoints.

James Sproston

Image: YouTube

the courier Tuesday 27 February 2018

Marvel Studios’ Black Panther (12A) Review Dan Haygarth gives us his verdict on the latest instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

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fter the events of Captain America: Civil War, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns to the technically advanced African state of Wakanda to succeed his father as king. Immediately, he must defend his country from arms dealer Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) and former American soldier Eric Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan).

After ten years and seventeen previous films, it could be argued that the Marvel Cinematic Universe was at risk of complacency. Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther has proven this wrong in emphatic fashion. The Fruitvale Station and Creed director has delivered an innovative film that is exhilarating, thought provoking and one of the studio’s best films to date.

The production design brings the nation of Wakanda alive in a spectacular manner The film’s predominately black cast is arguably Marvel’s greatest ensemble to date. The softly spoken Chadwick Boseman is superb as the titular character, while Michael B. Jordan’s Erik Killmonger competes with Tom Hiddleston’s Loki as Marvel’s best cinematic villain. With a sympathetic cause and emotional depth, Killmonger is a befitting foil for T’Challa. Additionally, Lupita Nyong’o is excellent as Nakia and Top Boy’s Letitia Wright, who plays Shuji, steals every scene that she’s in.

Her sibling relationship with T’Challa is pitched perfectly and the two possess stellar chemistry.

Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassett, Daniel Kaluuya, Martin Freeman, Winston Duke, Andy Serkis and Danai Gurira make up the rest of the film’s talented supporting cast.

Coogler handles the step up to mega-budget

It is fresh, beautifully realised, and raises pertinent issues filmmaking with aplomb. As well as being an immensely entertaining and technically brilliant action blockbuster, Black Panther poses serious questions about foreign policy, isolationism and aid.

Coogler combines philosophy, identity politics and action sequences seamlessly. The set pieces, particularly the numerous battles on top of a waterfall, the 007-esque casino scene and its subsequent car chase, are spectacular. Hopefully, Coogler will be invited back to direct another instalment in the MCU. Whether it is T’Challa’s next solo-outing or an

Avengers sequel.

Visually, Black Panther is astonishing. The film’s Afrofuturism is realised beautifully, as the production design brings the nation of Wakanda alive in a spectacular manner. It is unlike anything seen before and introduces another beautiful location to Marvel’s cinematic canon.

Unfortunately, the Kendrick Lamar-curated soundtrack is not used to its full potential, making the album feel like an after-thought for marketing purposes.

However, Ludwig Göransson’s score ensures that the film’s music is as impressive as its visuals.

Black Panther is a blockbuster that is not only fresh, beautifully realised and raises pertinent issues, but is a momentous cinematic occasion. Its cast brings longawaited representation, while its aesthetic offers a ground-breaking portrayal of African culture. The film will remind Hollywood that it is not only white people who go to the cinema and will stop whitewashing in its tracks. To answer Kendrick and SZA, it is indeed anything and everything you hoped for.

Image: YouTube

The impact of Black Panther

Lucy Lilystone looks at what the film means for the face of blockbuster cinema in the future

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rom the very first announcement that Marvel Studios would be producing a solo movie for the much-loved superhero Black Panther, who first featured in Captain America: Civil War,, there has been considerable anticipation for this movie. What had me especially hyped was the predominately black cast, front and centre both in the film and on the poster.

Not only is this the first film in the MCU to feature a predominately black cast, but it is one of the very first to feature a man of colour as a superhero; something which has previously been reserved for those of Caucasian race. Not only are black audiences getting long overdue representation, but the power and influence that a superhero can have on the next generation of kids, inspiring them to feel proud about their skin colour and heritage, is phenomenal.

It gives audiences a novel portrayal of Africa With hashtags on Twitter and Facebook expressing how this cast has made people feel and with children recreating the Black Panther character posters, the impact of this film will only continue to grow.

Black Panther is a film that is not only empowering children and adults all over the world, but it is a film that shows that superheroes don’t have to be white. A black superhero is just as valid as any other superhero. This film will open people’s minds up to something that shouldn’t be classified as different anymore, something that should be the norm. And for this to be shown throughout cinemas all over the world, it truly gives white supremacists the middle finger.

Alongside its black Image: YouTube cast, Black Panther is

also extraordinary in that it is the first Marvel movie to explore Afrofuturism, bringing to life a beautiful and stunning culture.

Set in the advanced but secretive country of Wakanda, Black Panther realises the cultural aesthetic of this movement, subverting and challenging the prototypical scifi conventions and stereotypes.

Equal to the representation of the cast, the film’s Afrofuturist aesthetic also brings to life a completely different representation of Africa.

No longer will people be thinking of the

continent with their normative judgements, it will be reimaged as a region of power, of vast development and technology. It will give audiences a novel portrayal of Africa and, most importantly, it will influence further films to

It gives white supremacists the middle finger perhaps come away from standard conventions and depictions to create something spectacular. Something that doesn’t stop at mediocre with clothing, setting, culture, casting but something that goes above and beyond. Something stunning, exceptional, a work of art; something like Black Panther.

the courier

@Courier_Film thecourieronline.co.uk/film

Tuesday 27 February 2018

The Shape of Water (15) t certain times I lie awake at night and stare into the darkness looking to find an answer to certain questions. In which direction will my life go? Will I ever have children? What will come after death? On Thursday night I lay awake, haunted by a single question. How was The Shape of Water nominated for 13 Oscars? As with the other questions, the darkness has given no reprieve.

You may have noticed already, but The Shape of Water has caused quite a stir recently in the world of cinema, sweeping nominations from the Venice Film festival to the Oscars and seemingly snowballing in critical acclamation along the way. Indeed, many are saying that it is one of the most beautiful and enthralling films of all time.

The plot: Elisa Esposito (Sally Hawkins) is a mute cleaner Image: YouTube working in

a clandestine government facility sterilising laboratory equipment in the late 1950s. Her usual undisturbed daily routine is then broken by a new arrival in the facility, a mysterious ‘asset’ escorted by the distinctly un-mysterious Colonel Richard Strickland (Michael Shannon). Elisa then builds a relationship with this South American fish-man, and so the film proceeds.

At the very core of the film is the theme of alienation - Elisa’s life pangs with it. Her best friend at home is a repressed gay man, her best friend at work is an oppressed black woman. Social rejection has found its way into every facet of her life. Strickland, in contrast, is a white male in a nuclear family who works for the government, says things like ‘sinful’ and quotes the Bible, jokes with his boss about his ‘pussy finger’, and is generally an American Candy chewing alphamale, who is sexually aggressive and extremely unpleasant. You can see there might be some confrontation looming.

It would be hard not to be on the side of Eliza, but there is something about this film which seemed cheap. I thought that, maybe, it is because I have never seen a film so indirectly influenced by video games.

Guillermo Del Toro is himself directing the game ‘death stranding’ along with h i d e o kojima, and there are some

irresistible comparisons to be made between this film and the Bioshock and Fallout franchises. But the simplicity of plot and character which can be made to work in a video game is very hard to transfer to the big screen. The distinctions made between Hawkins’ character and Shannon’s therefore were, to me, a little too much like a fight between two caricatures.

There is something to be said, however, for their performances. Hawkins has been nominated for Best Actress - you have never seen more emotive eyes in your life - and Shannon steals each scene he is in. There is also something to be said for the cinematography, which has deservedly been praised. For example the filming is constantly in a fluid motion, passing around its subjects as if like ripples in water, and the events of the film charge through with no time spare time for filler.

It is infuriating to see a film so fastidiously made about a plot that is comically unrelatable. The result is a film abundantly full of life, but confused about it’s own existence.

I am completely stumped as to why this film has received such a reception. The dialogue is horrendous, even its soundtrack, for which it has recently won a BAFTA, is not that good. In a sort of closing statement, the only thing I would ask for is that if you watch this film, please look through the cloud of praise that has set over it, so that you might not drown in an ocean of disappointment like I did.

Father Figures (15)

Love Per Square Foot (PG)

Irreplaceable You (12)

Christopher Wilkinson reviews Guillermo Del Toro’s Oscar-tipped latest

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Image: YouTube

Image: YouTube

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soul-searching journey through one high profile actor (or former NFL star) to the next, Father Figures is very likely going to disappear into the void of disappointing comedy films with no real lasting memory. Watch the trailer and you’ve immediately experienced all the funniest jokes that this film has to offer, with the rest of its bottom-of-the-barrel humour resting very crassly on the nose. As a comedy film, it’s really underwhelming, and with the likes of Ed Helms and Owen Wilson, it really could have been so much more.

The plot focuses on twins, played by Ed Helms and Owen Wilson, who find out that their ‘dead’ biological father is indeed alive. They then venture to find him. The two very strong comedic actors fall short of convincing everyone that they are brothers, let alone twins. The chemistry is lacking, and I feel the legendary status of Owen Wilson and the current popularity of Ed Helms were the main reasons they were cast rather than how well they work on screen. They’re no Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly.

Lawrence Sher, the cinematographer of such classics as the Hangover trilogy and Due Date, among many other comedies involving brotherly love in some aspect, makes his first venture into directing with Father Figures. An unfortunate debut, its destiny was foreseen through the fact that, a week before its planned US release date in January 2017, the film was pushed back ten months.

Individual scenes rescue this film, and the emotive ending does pull on the heart strings. Katt Williams is excellent as the hitchhiker, using his unique persona to come out with some hilarious yet unquotable lines when he is in the car with the two leads. The jokes are occasionally funny, but Father Figures overall lacks a clear understanding of what it wants to be, falling short of both a comedy and a drama.

Jimmy Athey

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original films that streaming service Netflix plans to release this year

Instead of falling in love, getting married, and then getting a house, as is traditional, they opt for the opposite. And it’s fantastic to watch. (It also helps that the two leads are unfairly attractive and charismatic). Just as Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan fell in love over the newly developed email system, we millennials can fall in love over the housing crisis.

It’s not perfect – like most rom-coms, it relies on tropes and the plot seems to fold in on itself towards the end, with increasingly silly reasons to keep the two main characters apart. Some of the humour falls on the slapstick side. But here, I argue: what’s so wrong with that? It’s Oscar season: you have plenty of other options of films to watch if you want to be challenged or especially moved. But if you have an empty evening and maybe a bottle of wine or some chips and dip you’ve been saving, this is the perfect, feel-good film to watch.

Tilly Parry

film culture

Electric Boogaloo The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

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eter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy is epic, sprawling and spectacular.

To appreciate the greatest and final instalment, you must watch the first two.

However, despite their length, this is not a long slog as both Fellowship and The Two Towers are excellent outings into Middle Earth.

Even so, these films are really a grand set up for Return of the King, probably (definitely) the greatest high fantasy movie to have graced the silver screen. This second sequel sees Frodo and friends on the final leg of their journey to cast the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom, while Gandalf and Aragorn distract Sauron’s forces of evil.

No genre does battles quite like fantasy

Image: YouTube

n the first ten minutes of this film, the leading man and his boss make out on the floor of her office whilst a talking Donald Trump model watches them. Then the two protagonists meet at a wedding and sing along to the energetic and surprisingly catchy ‘Chicken Dance’. This is everything I want from a rom-com, if I’m being honest, and I’ve watched a fair few.

Love Per Square Foot is one of the latest film offerings by Netflix, an Indian rom-com with a relatively simple premise, considering the timetravel and magic and convoluted twists of fates others in the genre seem to need. The plot is this: in the overpopulated city of Mumbai, two people, in (obviously unsatisfactory) relationships with other people, decide to apply for a loan intended for married couples together.

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s a romantic drama, Irreplaceable You conforms to many of the genre’s greatest clichés.

The characters are somewhat predictable; the self-centred mother, the unlikely confidante and the overbearing best friend play their roles in a plot which stereotypically revolves around a newly-engaged couple who are hopelessly in love at the start of the film, have a tiff in the middle, and make up again at the end.

What ultimately sets Irreplaceable You apart from countless other romantic dramas is director Stephanie Laing’s daring decision to explore the subgenre of terminal romance. Despite an impressive cast, including Christopher Walken, Steve Coogan and Kate McKinnon, the film’s original plot is what makes it memorable.

Protagonist Abbi has recently proposed to her childhood sweetheart Sam, and is enthusiastically planning their wedding when a sudden diagnosis of terminal cancer puts her future on hold.

Rather than fast-track her wedding or complete her bucket-list, control freak Abbi copes with the immense psychological trauma of this sudden diagnosis by creating a personal mission to find a replacement girlfriend for Sam after she inevitably passes. Out of her love for him, she wants to ensure Sam can have a happy future rather than one wracked with grief and loneliness, and so Abbi uses dating apps to find her replacement and even buys an engagement ring Sam can use in the future. Like in fellow Netflix Original 13 Reasons Why, Irreplaceable You relieves the viewer from heartache by revealing from the start that Abbi does ultimately die.

While attempts at humour fall flat at times, and the film often overuses gushy lovey-dovey scenes, Irreplaceable You offers an insight into anticipatory grief and is a poignant reminder that it’s not always possible to control destiny, both of our own lives and of those of others.

Grace Dean

No genre does battles quite like fantasy; see Beowulf, Narnia or Hellboy II for some impressive swordplay. Return of the King reigns supreme over them all. The over 3 hour run time leaves plenty of space for masterfully executed large scale battle scenes - and gigantic war elephants. The set piece battles really are breath-taking and allow for Aragorn’s rousing ‘Men of the West’ speech. The fate of the forces of good rests on each swing of a sword and every loosing of an arrow, and Peter Jackson does an amazing job of putting the viewer right at the heart of the action. It may seem an odd comparison, but these action sequences are much like Omaha Beach in Saving Private Ryan, if the G.I.s had longbows rather than submachine guns.

The greatness of the first two movies is seen, but with less filler All of the greatness of the first two movies is seen here, but with less exposition and filler. It’s action and emotion from start to finish, although there are about four different endings. Return of the King cannot be accused of finishing t o o abruptly. The final scenes manage to tie up Tolkein’s story smoothly, and with a happier ending than in the novel, to the film’s credit.

After devoting 9 hours of time, or 12 with the extended edition, it would not feel fair to be given anything less than an incredible final chapter, and with Return of the King, Peter Jackson truly delivers for the race of men.

Steven Ross

Image: YouTube

the courier

@CourierArts thecourieronline.co.uk/arts

c2.arts@ncl.ac.uk Tuesday 27 February 2018 Arts Editors Scarlett Rowland and Carys Thomas

What is the meme-ing of this?

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any printed work, memes have become a valuable asset to advertisers and agitators alike. This was particularly poignant in the recent US elections, where memes became a weapon utilised against both parties.

We are on the cusp of an Orwellian nightmare of debasing language The popularity of memes cannot be understated. In 2016, memes apparently became more popular than Jesus (at least in numbers of Google searches anyway). Some researchers have dated the first meme back to 1996, whilst others claim that evidence of repeated themes in Roman graf-

Image: Scarlett Rowland

What’s On: Into The Woods @ Tyne Opera House, 8-10 March, 7:30pm

fiti, or even phallic imagery in cave paintings, have paved the ancestry for the memes we know and love. There you have it – memes, in some form, are probably as old as mankind itself.

Alex Moore

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illions of years of evolution, hundreds of thousands of years of civilisation, tens thousands of years of language, a few decades of the internet, have brought us to this point- to memes.

Memes themselves have evolved massively in their relative infancy- from WordArt text above and below a simple image (remember ‘Advice Dog?’), to the exploitation of the weird and wonderful world of stock images (Harold be praised), and even into the realms of more nihilistic memes aka shitposts which are neither subversive or alter anything in anyway. These are to be appreciated perhaps, for their very meme-inglesness. Why do we feel this way? Why do we tag our friends in reaction gifs online just to say ‘loool me afff ’. We are a generation with the wealth of the world’s knowledge at our fingertips, in our pockets on our phones, but we have forgotten how to communicate.

Admittedly, one of the very reasons which makes memes so accessible, is how easily they can be spread, fused, altered, and subverted; their basic format allows this, as, for the most part, they offer very little actual content, and are easily digestible, like a rice cracker.

For those who are aware of a childhood favourite film Flubber, Robin Williams plays a brilliant scientist who invents a flying, sentient robot companion called Weebo. Oftentimes during the film, Weebo communicates her thoughts and emotions through a screen, a database or her own reaction gifs and messages to navigate the human world. Is this what we are becoming? Transcending (or descending) into technologically advanced humanoids, who can only interact in the form of templates? We are on the cusp of an Orwellian nightmare of the debasing of language, and memes are the Newspeak language of our modern day dystopia- a world where language is devalued, and every thought, feeling, emotion is expressed through cheap and shoddy imitations of what we really want to say, but can’t quite express ourselves.

Rory Cameron

Black Men Walking @ Northern Stage

A student is called home from university to find his life turned upside down. He had the world at his feet, but now everything has changed. Who can be trusted, who can be believed?

Sean Scully: 1970 @ The Hatton Gallery

Sean Scully is renowned globally as the master of post-minimalist abstraction and began to develop his iconic style whilst studying Fine Art at Newcastle University from 1968-1971.

@TheCourierArts @thecourierarts

I LOVE DICK CAITLIN DISKEN

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n the words of Chris Kraus, whose cult-novel I Love Dick is a work of art that should be read by everyone, ‘it was written in the third person, the person most girls use when they want to talk about themselves but don’t think anyone will listen’. It’s a novel I’m ashamed to say sat dusty on my bookshelf for years, something I always meant to read but never got round to.

Finally picking it up over Christmas, I discovered Kraus’s honest yet delicate writing, blending fiction and memoir to create one of the most important feminist texts ever.

The premise is simple: the protagonist, also named Chris Kraus, is in a sexless marriage to French literary critic Sylvère Lotringer. After going to dinner with Sylvère’s friend Dick, Chris realises she has become irrevocably attracted to Dick, likening their mental connection to a ‘conceptual fuck’. What follows is a weirdly intense project in which Dick becomes the subject of Chris and Sylvère’s art. Writing Dick letters neither of them dare to send, the novel becomes entwined in a narrative encompassing art, feminism and, most importantly, the male gaze.

Dismissed as ‘gossipy’ upon its first publication, I Love Dick is not just a book, but art that has been widely underrated for too long. Kraus’ raw writing pushes the notions of femininity to boundaries never seen before. Constantly beautiful, constantly heart-breaking, yet always so undeniably real, Kraus’ prose is relentless. At points, you find yourself immersed in a narrative you barely understand, yet one you can’t help being in awe of.

The main thread of the story, Kraus’ extraordinary infatuation with Dick, or rather the projection of Dick she has built up in her mind, is never lost.

It is a plot that has never been more relevant in today’s world.

You finish I Love Dick wanting to re-read it all over again. It spits you out and leaves you with a renewed female consciousness. So, if you haven’t, go to a bookshop, pick up I Love Dick, and don’t be too embarrassed Image: @sreddyen about reading it in public.

Julia McGee-Russell gives us her thoughts on a show about the continued ignorance towards black history in Yorkshire

James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim take everyone’s favourite storybook characters and bring them together for a timeless yet relevant piece and rare modern classic.

Hamlet @ Northern Stage,, 20 - 24 Feb

arts culture

SWEET COLUMN

Alex Moore and Rory Cameron discuss whether the prominent phenomenon of memes in our culture can be considered an art form, or if memes are affecting our ability to communicate t might come as a surprise that the term ‘meme’ was first coined by Richard Dawkins back in 1976, for “an idea, behaviour, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture.” Whilst this was obviously from the prehistoric pre-internet era, it’s no surprise that the term has been applied to the online phenomena. Memes are highly infectious (some may say a disease - they are wrong), able to spread across social media in a storm.

I admit there are some absolutely terrible memes out there, which deserve to be carted off to that dark corner of the internet where bad jokes go to die. Yet there are also some hilarious memes (the sassier and more socialist the better).

Often mistaken as a mindless by-product of the millennial era, memes are one of the most underrated and trivialised tools available to the 20th century satirist. Able to be created and distributed amongst a vast audience rapidly, far more so than

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Image: @ thisisarqco

POEMBOX

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our black characters walk across the Peak District, exorcising the troubles they have in life while 2,000 years of black history is revealed to us. Written by rapper ‘Testament’ (AKA Andy Brooks) after being approached by black-led touring company ‘Eclipse’, ‘Black Men Walking’ is a play based on a real Yorkshire walking group. The beautifully integrated stories push back at the eternal press of history, filling the centuries of silence about black history in Yorkshire.

‘Black Men Walking’ is as much a catharsis for the audience as it is for the characters, who let out their struggles to each other and the audience through dialogue and mirrored historical events.

Mixed with poetry and ancient sounding melodies, the play uses each stage element to its full extent, till you can almost taste the Yorkshire air. The refrain of ‘we walk’ is mesmerising, and the physical theatre of representing walking without actually going anywhere is performed fantastically, as are the broad Yorkshire accents. The characters burst with hyper-reality and their connection with the

Image: Tristam Kenton

audience is strong, a tight wince rippling through us during Ayesha’s half-rap on a racist slur she was confronted with. Thomas’ plaintive cry of ‘how long do we have to be here before we are English’ was also felt deeply. The racism explored exposes the profound roots of prejudice in our country, but through the strength in claiming the land as their own, the characters grow in force until nobody can tell them that they don’t belong.

This play and its message are truly powerful.

It questions the ideas of belonging and identity while showing how representation within history is as important as in our media. Captivating and emotionally cleansing, this is a play for those who love being transported to another place and time through theatre, while keeping grounded in the questions of today. On your journey out of the theatre, you might breathe in the taste of history along with the stage smoke, a history to share and pass onwards. If we base our judgements on a faroff past, we should fill this past with stories of all people, so we can move forwards to an inclusive future.

GIRLS LIKE US ALICIA BRITTLE

Girls like us have flowers and trees inside us, belonging to a world more beautiful than the one yet to catch up.

Girls like us are told we need fixing, then made to feel dependent in the process of repair.

Girls like us get to know our worth, and once familiar belong entirely to ourselves.

Girls like us grow tired of your bullshit, and can say no whenever we please.

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culture gaming

courier.gaming@ncl.ac.uk Gaming Editors Gerry Hart, Georgina Howlett & Richard Liddle

Top 5 Conversion Mods Image: IGDB

Kingdom Come: Deliverance Review

Is this medieval RPG a Hussite to behold, or just a bit Hu-shite? Gerry Hart gives his verdict

ordinary characters debate the important issues of the era. I distinctly remember one conversation with a village priest who complained endlessly about the church’s detachment from the lives of ordinary people, a very real concern at the time.

Unfortunately, Kingdom Come: Deliverance’s mechanics have proven rather polarizing. Whilst the game takes on a Witcher-esque open world full of rustic beauty, the game plays more like Oblivion for obsessive weirdos. See, Kingdom Come: Deliverance takes its focus on realism beyond its narrative and into its very mechanics. Not only do you have to keep your character well fed and rested (which to be fair isn’t too hard to do), there are a myriad of fun and varied ways to injure yourself.

Image: IGDB

5. Unreal Tournament 2004 Killing Floor

Killing Floor is an interesting case. It’s a mod that has evolved into its own game, and has even become a franchise in its own right, what with Killing Floor 2 being released two years ago. It’s an excellent showcase of what can be accomplished by remixing a game through a total conversion mod. Instead of a wacky futuristic setting with different multiplayer modes and wall jumping, you get a wave-based horror game with tactical team gameplay. Admittedly, I’ve never actually played it, but it nonetheless deserves some recognition.

4. Portal 2 - Moonbase Luna-C This one is technically a collection of mods; the Luna-C levels made for Portal. There are other level series for Portal 2 that should be mentioned – 12 Angry Tests and Designed for Danger remix the vanilla assets to tell their own (if limited) story, as well as providing interesting puzzles that could well have been designed by Valve themselves. The reason I like Luna-C so much, though, is because of the sheer effort put into making the portal experience different; not just the moon gravity, but the architectural design and even a large window showing a lunar vista!

3. Skyrim - Skywind Skywind is a project I’ve been intermittently following for some time now. I myself once belonged to a large-scale modding community that imploded due to unrealistic ambitions and having more quest writers than people who could actually code. Skywind doesn’t seem to have that issue, instead making huge progress in what is surely a daunting task; re-making the Bethesda game Morrowind in the Skyrim engine. Should they be successful in combining the gameplay of Skyrim with the story and world of Morrowind, that’ll truly be a masterpiece in gaming. For now, it’s only half-finished, so we’re stuck with “watching this space”.

2. Civilisation IV - Fall From Heaven: Age of Ice

This mod shipped on the Beyond the Sword expansion disc as an official scenario of sorts, but it is still technically a mod. After all, it was made by fans of the game, not the developers, so it’s not a Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon affair. FfH mixes up the Civ IV experience by taking the random events and using them as questlines, by completely re-working the tech tree to fit the fantasy setting, and by expanding the combat of Civ IV from just mêlée walloping. I have a sneaking suspicion that FfH ended up inspiring the ranged units in Civ V.

1. XCOM 2 - Long War 2 YES, ONCE AGAIN I’VE PUT XCOM 2 IN ANOTHER TOP 5 LIST, AND IF YOU COMPLAIN I WILL FIGHT YOU ON THE SIDE OF THE STREET. Long War 2 is honestly one of the greatest, most transformative mods I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing. While its predecessor in XCOM Enemy Unknown was excessively complicated and ramped up the difficulty from “turn-based Dark Souls” to “something designed by a Bond villain”, Long War 2 manages to double XCOM 2’s tactical content while only bumping up the difficulty by a slightly less nightmarish amount.

But don’t get me wrong. It’s still hard.

Jack Coles Image: IGDB

the courier Tuesday 27 February 2018

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ingdom Come: Deliverance is a game that’s been on my radar for quite some time. I’ve always wanted a historical game that wasn’t an RTS and being set in medieval Bohemia on the cusp of the Hussite Wars, Kingdom Come: Deliverance’s setting strays from the usual settings into an area of history I at least know little about. And whilst I do like the final product, it’s certainly not for everyone.

The game’s story follows a pretty familiar pattern.

You play as Henry, the local blacksmith’s son living a fairly uneventful life in the sleepy village of Skalitz. All’s fine and dandy when BAM! Your village is destroyed by an invading army and you escape by the skin of your teeth with a burning desire for revenge. It’s a pretty clichéd plotline but it serves as an effective base upon which Kingdom Come: Deliverance builds the rest of its world.

For instance, the attack on your village is sourced

from contemporary accounts and archaeological evidence which is a nice touch, plus all too often historical video games adopt a bigger picture of history, focusing on its great and powerful actors. By having you play as a simple, illiterate blacksmith’s apprentice however, Kingdom Come: Deliverance allows the player to observe these historically significant events from the perspective of ordinary people and the experience is pretty disempowering, further compounded by how often you’re reminded of your lowly station and even when your feudal betters treat you well, it feels more often like they’re affording you an inconvenient kindness rather than treating you with respect.

But what I love most about Kingdom Come: Deliverance is the world-building. Whilst the ingame codex might do a fine job at explaining the facts of medieval life, its quite another thing to hear

Kingdom Come: Deliverance allows the player to observe historically significant events from ordinary peoples’ perspectives Combat is an awkward affair too. Not only do you have to remain mobile, but because you can control the direction of your attacks, so you have to catch your opponent off-guard whilst watching their attacks and keeping your stamina meter high. As such, each fight is a serious affair that can leave you seriously injured. Then there are the bugs. I distinctly remember my first fist fight with the village drunkard. He clipped into his own house before somehow teleporting behind me and twatting me right in the back of the head.

Ultimately, Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a niche title for a niche audience. That said, though I still have far to go, I must say I’m thoroughly enjoying it so far. It’s very unpolished and mechanically clunky, but medieval Bohemia has proven utterly captivating.

Spyro Trilogy Kingdom Hearts 3 - Detective Pikachu Remaster in the new worlds revealed �ilming underway W Pipeline?

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ccording to multiple sources close to the project, Activision is working on a remaster of the PlayStation 1 Spyro the Dragon trilogy in time for the series’ 20th anniversary. Following the success of their work on the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane trilogy, Vicarious Visions is at the helm of the project with it set to release some point during quarter three of 2018.

It’s unsurprising that Activision would continue to make the most of their classics Like the Crash Bandicoot remaster, it will feature entirely redone assets, animations, lighting, cinematics and a re-recorded soundtrack. The Spyro trilogy will also have unannounced timed exclusivity on PS4 for one year. At the rumoured March announcement, this information will not be included, similarly with the reveal of the Crash Trilogy. As a result, multiple Crash ports are set to appear on other platforms this year. N i n t e n d o Switch and Xbox One versions have been rumoured and thus can too be expected for the Spyro trilogy.

After especially successful sales for the Crash trilogy, it’s unsurprising that Activision would continue to make the most of their classic IP. While the Crash trilogy has held up well to modern standards, it remains to be seen whether the Spyro games have aged as gracefully.

Image: IGDB George Boatfield

e’re getting a new Kingdom Hearts game this year. Can you believe that? This will be the fifteenth entry.

I’ve played 5 of them, the essential ones, and I still don’t understand the story. I don’t think anyone does. But I think at its core the games are beautiful. Probably the best Disney games, the ones that capture the Michael Mouse spirit so efficiently.

Speaking of Michaels, we recently got a trailer for the new title at Disney’s expo in Japan and it contains a certain green cyclops. You guessed it. Mike Wazowski. Michael will be joined by Sully and Boo as Sora adventures in the world of Monsters Inc., a realm so perfect for Kingdom Hearts it makes the child in me want to YELP. As shown in the trailer you can adventure in the door factory, wipe out Heartless with scream power and chuck Mike about like an empty tracksuit. I’m sold. The game could be 30 minutes long and just this world and I’d still buy it.

But, there’s more. Marluxia is back, and Sora doesn’t know who that is (memories were wiped).

Vanitas is also here somehow, but don’t worry about it, focus on the Disney. Donald and Goofy get turned into adorable homunculi, Ariel is now a summon and I pray to god that has replaced the involvement of the most terrible world, Atlantica.

We’re also getting a Toy Story world which is something I’m confident I had fever dreams about when I was 8. Tangled is also in the game, which I’m currently watching for research, and can I just say that if Pascal the chameleon is not in this game I’m going to lose my god damn mind.

Other than that, looks like Mount Olympus is back, and therefore hopefully my son Phil, voiced by Danny DeVito as he should Image: Kingdom be.

Jordan Oloman Hearts YouTube

here’s nothing new about Pokemon characters being given human voices; take Meowth and his heavy New York accent in the classic 90’s anime as an example.

It’s a defining part of his character. Similarly, for Pikachu, fans are instead used to hearing the iconic ‘pika’ sound go along with appearances.

So when the Japanese trailer for the Detective Pikachu 3DS game dropped a year or so ago, many were taken aback to hear that the titular character was instead talking with a human voice. The contrast of the deep tone of a Japanese man with the high pitched Pikachu everyone is used resulted in shock for some and hilarity for most.

And now, this is being taken a step further with a film in the works that is set to tie in with the 3DS game of the same name. The prospect of a Hollywood cast in tow sent speculation on who would voice Pikachu into overdrive. We’re still waiting on a trailer for the film but, entirely unexpectedly, Ryan Reynolds is set to lend his voice to the electric detective, with a supporting cast including Bill Nighy and Rita Ora. Until the casting announcement late last year, Danny DeVito had the popular vote amongst fans. Following it, many are eagerly anticipating Reynolds’ portrayal, but let’s be honest, the sultry tones of Gilbert Gottfried is the only real choice and a missed opportunity.

Add all this to it being a live-action film, and it’s indeed set to be an unusual mix. With a release date at some point in 2019 and the project still in the middle of filming, there’s going to be quite the wait for a trailer to see how this turns out.

At the v e r y least, the footage will act as some assurance that it’s even possible to have something as mental as this in a cinema.

Dreams might well come true, folks.

Image: IGDB George Boatfield

the courier

@Courier_Gaming thecourieronline.co.uk/gaming/

Tuesday 27 February 2018

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gaming culture

Shu: Platforming from the North-East Indie Insight: Callum Costello explores what platformer Shu means for game development in the North East Millie S

hu is a platformer in the great tradition of the Mario’s and Rayman’s of the wider gaming world. It marries stunning visuals with original storytelling to create a distinctive and enjoyable gaming experience available on Steam, PS4 and as of January this year; Nintendo Switch. One thing it has which the little Italian plumber doesn’t however is that is was born and bred in the great North East of England at Coatsink studios.

Image: IGDB

Coal and shipbuilding have been replaced by digital start ups to create one of the most exciting small business economies in Europe In some ways this feels like a seismic achievement - and it certainly is a huge feather in Coatsink’s and the region’s cap, but given the growth of the digital sector particularly in Teeside (where Coatsink was founded) this is becoming the new normal in the best possible way. When we look at the North East industries, coal and shipbuilding have been replaced by digital start ups to create one of the most exciting and progressive small business economies in Europe. Coatsink creating a game for PS4 and Switch isn’t a peak but rather a step up a tall ladder, with the company more than doubling their team in the past year or so.

Perhaps that is what makes Shu such an interesting game for me personally, not so much to see the North East games scene on the prestige gaming marketplaces but rather to enjoy something in the moment which I believe we can look back on with interest when the company has grown into something even greater. I mean why not? Why can’t Shu be Coatsink’s Urban Chaos: Riot Response, which we look back at with interest

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after an Arkham Knight?

Like the castle levels from Super Mario World, it’s about moving forwards and staying ahead With the game, it’s not something that people won’t have encountered before but there’s a lot to be said about doing something well. Shu allows the player to grow with the game and indulges in its own story, mythology and storyworld physics.

You perform the titular character as he saves his people from the encroaching darkness, leading them up the mountain to safety one jump at a time. Like a 21st Century version of the castle

levels from Super Mario World, it’s about moving forwards and staying ahead of the literal shadow that bites at your heels. The design is stunning and the gameplay keeps it simple. It’s at once attractive, accessible and affordable - a throwback that thinks forward.

Much like going to local galleries or checking out local music, I like to play local games to help support the region’s industries. Shu could’ve been 1-2 Switch and I would’ve bought it out of a sense of Northern duty, but thankfully it’s a world away from 1-2 and most else. It’s a great dip inout game for casuals such as myself and is just absolutely gorgeous to look at and play. Coatsink have a growing catalogue of work in VR and have partnered up with Sheffield based Boneloaf on forthcoming macabremultiplayer Gang Beasts, but Shu is their prizefighter, and I’m very excited for how they plan to follow it up.

What I’m Playing: The Talos Principle

Scarlett Rowland ponders her way through Croteam’s new contemplative puzzle masterpiece

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uzzle games often have the tendency to fall flat. Lacking in plot or any discernible characters, a collection of tedious puzzles completed for little to no gain, and an ending that makes the player feel annoyed that they have wasted their time. The Talos Principle, however, manages to successfully break these problematic puzzle game conventions.

You play as a robot AI character who is questioning their existence and life: both whether they are human, what is it to be human, if they are conscious, and if so what is consciousness anyway?

The game takes place in a world seemingly created by a disembodied voice calling itself Elohim, who is the first interaction you experience with another entity in the game. This entity frequently speaks to you about the land you are in, calling it his garden.

Whilst wandering this world, you encounter challenges.

These challenges require the player to enact change on beams and/or walls of energy, to unlock pathways, and are completed in order to collect

Image: Flickr

Tetris style puzzle pieces that allow you to progress through the game. The player can either progress through the world on the ground level or up the tower, although you are warned against this by Elohim. Both of these paths of progression allow the player to access increasingly difficult puzzles which include different items to help you.

The Talos Principle manages to successfully break problematic puzzle game conventions Within each level, there are terminals that you can interact with. Sometimes you are able to converse with the MLI, Milton Library Interface, which often means defying Elohim’s orders and

presses you to further question your existence.

These terminals also contain the personal logs of the last days of humanity and philosophical text - the library is a database of all of humanity’s literature, of which much of the data is corrupted.

Although an infrequent feeling, the puzzles can sometimes be a little frustrating due to their repetitive nature, but since this game asks the player to truly question their feelings towards consciousness and what is it really like to be human this frustration is short lived. The game also gives another level of depth with the QR Codes dotted around levels which allow the player to complete levels containing stars but also gain further insight into the game.

This game is one in a handful of games, alongside The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker and The Last of Us, which I have voluntarily played over and over again, intrigued by the short philosophical passages. Its philosophical overtones and existential story appeal to the lost human in me, striving to understand my own place in the universe.

orever Entertainment’s Millie released onto the Nintendo Switch eShop on February 8th, and I have to admit, it’s a puzzle game that has me stumped. It’s almost as if Pac-Man and Snake (yes, as in the old mobile game that was installed on 90s Nokia phones) had a baby and then that baby grew hundreds more legs in an attempt to run away from the reality of its situation.

Well, maybe not that last part, but Millie definitely combines the gameplay styles of PacMan and Snake in that it combines the challenges of collecting a complete series of colourful orbs with that of a body which constantly extends the more you eat. You have to avoid your own elongated form as you navigate around the various mazes, utilise a variety of power-ups, and ultimately make your way to the portal which leads you onwards to the next level to start the entire cycle over again.

Some of these levels take up to ten minutes to solve, and one mistake can end it all Personally, I think Millie’s advertising is slightly false; it is advertised as a ‘joyful, casual puzzle game’, but really, it’s the kind of game that will make you want to tear your hair out in frustration and confusion. Several levels require that you remember the exact route to travel in order to avoid a dead end (or worse, your still-moving rear end), or else that you traverse them in a particular way or order as to not end up too lengthy to fit around some of the tighter loops and turns.

This can quickly become a farce when you realise just how huge the maps become, and make you want to curl into a ball and never open the game up again, but I suppose you do have the ability to hold X and scope out the entire level while your millipede body just sits frozen in time, so maybe I can’t be too upset… …that’s a lie, I can be very upset. Some of these levels take up to ten minutes to solve, and one mistake can end all of your good work – but then again, I suppose there is the rewind power-up that takes you back to the last available turning choice you had to make… Humph. Still not very cool.

It’s got bright, colourful visuals that are incredibly well-refined I may sound like I’m complaining about this game, but to be perfectly honest, it’s actually a wonderful addition to the Switch’s growing indie library. It’s got bright, colourful visuals that are incredibly well-refined for an indie title, some (slightly eerie) cheerful music to keep you on your toes, an intriguing playstyle and a variety of level designs and gameplay environments that will keep you entertained for hours – not least because some of the levels are just. So. Hard.

If there’s one thing that I will complain about, it’s the fact that once you’ve inputted a direction, Millie will automatically keep moving in that direction until you direct her otherwise. This can get quite frustrating if you let your eyes drift even for a second from the screen, so be wary!

If you’re looking for a puzzler that will hold your attention, and if you’re missing those 90s vibes, try out Millie. It’s only £4.49 on the eShop, and with over 90 diverse levels to make your way through and a variety of mini games to shake things up, you can’t really go wrong. Well, you can, if you make a single wrong turn, but…

Georgina Howlett

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science & technology

Are you Tech-ing the piss?

NASA’s Space Submarine

D

oes a space submarine sound cool? Does it sound insane? The answer to both questions is a resounding yes, which makes NASA’s plans to fire one into space to explore the alien oceans of Titan all the more amazing.

Titan is the largest of Saturn’s many moons and the second largest in the solar system. But it’s not just its impressive size that has scientists eying it up through their telescopes. Oh, no. You see, Titan is the only place in our solar system, other than Earth, where we have found surface liquids.

Just like our own planet, it has rivers, lakes and even oceans. It has its own thick nitrogen-rich atmosphere and cloud system. And just like it does here on Earth, it rains. A slight difference on Titan, though, is that it rains methane.

Whilst our hydrological cycle is based on water, Titan’s is based on methane. This is because the moon is so far away from the Sun methane can exist in liquid form. During its tour of the Saturn system, the Cassini satellite r e vealed that 620,000 square miles (1.6 million square kilometres) of Titan’s surface was covered with these methane seas and

lakes.

The presence of liquid is seen as an essential requisite for the emergence of life. And even though Titan’s oceans are formed from natural gas liquids (mainly a mixture of methane and ethane) rather than water, there is speculation that the moon could harbour some form of methane-based life. Whilst this is seen as unlikely, there is still much that could be learnt from exploring Titan’s mysterious hydrocarbon seas.

Sending a submarine on an 870 million mile (1.4 billion km) journey through space to then land on the surface of an alien moon is in itself a daunting task. But actually building an automated submersible that would be capable of exploring Titan’s noxious oceans, where temperatures can be as low as -179 celsius (-290 Fahrenheit), presents even more unknown challenges.

Washington State University have built a miniature version of this alien ocean In order to determine how a submarine could operate in these conditions researchers from the Washington State University (WSU) have built a miniature version of this alien ocean here on Earth. To do this, WSU built a test chamber and filled it with a very cold liquid mixture similar to that which NASA expects to find on the moon’s surface. This super-cold chamber has even been able to recreate the methane rain and snow that rolls in with Titan’s strange weather-fronts.

WSU have used this chamber to help understand the challenges NASA’s space submarine will encounter in this hostile environment. So far they have learnt that heat emissions will produce nitrogen bubbles in extremely cold hydrocarbon liquids, which will make it very difficult to manoeuvre the vessel.

Nasa will need to design a very responsive ballast system to overcome this, but the presence of nitrogen in the liquid is also good news. This means that lakes and oceans will freeze at lower temperatures than expected, which means the submarine will not have to contend with icebergs (and here’s me thinking ‘Titan-ic in Space’ has such a good ring to it!).

NASA hope to pursue this mission within the next 20 years, and have already earmarked a 155,000 square mile (400,000 square km) ocean called Kraken Mare (named after the legendary sea monster) for exploration.

So perhaps their voyage will be less ‘Titan-ic in Space’ and more like ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Methane-Sea’.

Chris Little

courier.science@ncl.ac.uk Science Editors Jack Coles, Christopher Little & Ciara Ritson-Courtney

the courier

Tuesday 27 February 2018

passes on plastics

Lily Holbrook says the public broadcaster’s pledge to ban single use plastics should inspire us

I

t is probably not news to you that the issue of plastic pollution in the oceans is a growing one. According to a 2014 scientific research paper published in the Public Library of Science, there are “more than 5 trillion plastic pieces weighing over 250,000 tons afloat at sea”. This is equivalent to the weight of 1,250 blue whales, and a figure that has since been on the rise.

Current estimations suggest that 8 million metric tons of plastic enter the oceans each year. This mass of plastic in the oceans is difficult to imagine, but from shocking images in the media to our own experiences of seeing plastic littered everywhere we go, it is enough to know that action needs to be taken.

Since being brought to the attention of the wider public by Blue Planet II in 2017, which this week has inspired the BBC’s pledge to ban single-use plastics by 2020, awareness of the impact of plastics on the environment has been steadily increasing. This has led many individuals to start cutting down their use of single-use plastics. From plastic cutlery to plastic shopping bags and water bottles, the convenience of these single-use items over past years cannot be overstated. But what price are we paying for this convenience?

8 million metric tonnes

plastic enter the 8,000,000 ofoceans each year

Plastic pollution affects the marine ecosystem as animals ingest pollutants that are passed up the food chain. As a result of bioaccumulation, organisms at higher trophic levels, i.e. top predators, are most at risk. This includes humans. By eating fish, which in turn have consumed prey that have ingested tiny plastic particles, we are essentially poisoning ourselves. So it is very much in our own interests, as much as anything else, to make sure that combatting this issue is a top priority.

Finding remote island locations that remain unspoilt is also becoming more and more of a challenge as plastics find their way onto beaches all over the globe. Entanglement in fishing gear is all too often a harsh truth for animals such as whales, dolphins and turtles. But is there a way to reverse this damage or, even better, prevent it from happening in future?

Here are a few small things that you can do to help. If we work together, we can make a world of difference to our planet for years to come…

1. Invest in a reusable water bottle (and if you’re a coffee drinker, a reusable coffee cup)

If everyone had a reusable water bottle the demand for plastic ones would be considerably less, which may urge supermarkets to re-evaluate their widespread manufacture.

Also, avoid having a plastic bottle that you keep refilling. While this is better for the planet than throwing your bottle away after each use, it may not be better for you. Many bottles are made of plastics that leach harmful chemicals, such as Bisphenol A (BPA), which has been linked to a number of health problems including cancer.

2. Avoid buying single-use plastics

Think before you buy. If you can, look out for products that avoid using single-use plastics in their packaging. There are plenty more companies taking socially responsible steps to help our planet.

3. Take your own shopping bags

How many times do you get to the checkout and realise you’ve forgot to bring your own shopping bags? We all do it. It may seem innocuous enough, but it can take up to 1,000 years for one of these plastic bags to decompose.

Getting yourself a decent bag for life (and remembering to take it with you!) doesn’t just help the environment, it helps save you a few pennies too.

– such as Norway (who, as we reported last week, recycle 97% of all their plastic bottles; compared to just 50% in the UK). We can each take steps to improve, but if your employer, or a place you frequent, does not have recycling facilities then highlight it to them.

5. Get involved in local efforts

There are always events going on – such as beach cleans. Many are located right here in the North East, so why not check out the Marine Conservation Society ‘Beachwatch Beach Clean Events’ website to see how you can get involved.

6. Get your voice heard!

Petitions, letters, emails – any little thing that you can do to put pressure on the government to initiate change from the top is a step in the right direction.

Before you go back to whatever you’re doing now, whether that be taking a sip of water from a single-use plastic bottle or tucking into a meal deal on the go, I ask you to consider one question: Do we really want to live on a plastic planet?

4. Recycle

An obvious one I know, but how often do we put recyclables in the waste bin just because it’s easier or quicker?

Or perhaps there aren’t the necessary facilities present for you to recycle? The UK is miles behind other countries when it comes to recycling

Image: Youtube

Say hello to your Auntie-biotic

U.S. scientists have found a new family of antibiotics in soil samples, explains Alexandra Lowe

M

alacidin – If you’re really into Latin, you will know it translates to “killing the bad”.

Sounds like it could be a member of the Three Musketeers, but it’s actually the name given to the newest class of antibiotics.

The concept of antibiotics has existed since ancient times, with many cultures using moulds or soil to treat infections. In Greece and Serbia, it was traditional to use mouldy bread to treat infection. (please don’t try this at home.) Babylonian doctors would attempt to heal eye infections using a mixture of frog bile and sour milk (instead, try this at home).

Fleming famously discovered penicillin in 1928, yet even before penicillin was introduced to the world for general use in 1943, penicillin-resistant staphylococcus was found in 1940. This is when the race started between fast-evolving bacteria and the discovery of new drugs. The antibiotic methicillin was introduced in 1960 and in just two years (1962) an ugly monster reared its head: methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, now better known as MRSA. MRSA is a “Gram positive” bacterium, which our shiny new antibiotic Malacidin has proven effective against. Malacidins are the sec-

ond new class of antibiotics discovered in the last 33 years, bringing great hope. The previous class discovered was teixobactin in 2015, ending the 30 year “dry period” that led many scientists to warn us of a frightening post antibiotic world where we would be left defenceless against resistant bacteria.

Success of this drug will encourage more research for natural products in the biosphere These recent discoveries have been made possible by technological developments, which are allowing the rapid profiling of DNA from multiple soil organisms, letting “antibiotic hunters” look beyond cultures in the lab and into the global microbiome.

The team that discovered Malacidin led by

Sean F. Brady at Rockefeller University in New York - were searching for a naturally occurring antibiotic which is now referred to as a natural product (or NP). Inspired by previous successful antibiotics like Daptomycin, which uses calcium to breakdown bacterial cell walls, they decided to look for a similar calcium-dependent antibiotic.

A high-speed computer and some clever use of bioinformatics helped them to sift through 2,000 samples of bacterial DNA taken from diverse soils around the US to look for genes encoding for calcium-binding motifs.

In the desert regions of the US they found a sample that seemed to cover the brief. The malacidin building genes were cloned and rearranged and inserted into the host Streptomyces (a type of yeast).

The potential of this drug became clearer as malacidin cured rats infected with MRSA. The team are currently looking into making it synthetically and bringing it into mass production.

Success of this drug will encourage more research for natural products in the biosphere, which are very chemically diverse compared to lab cultures.

This will significantly lower the frequency of re-discoveries, which heavily dampened the fire for antibiotic research as it meant a waste of resources and time.

Malacidin ends up being a stock character in its own discovery. The focus of this story is on the success of new methods, and the hope that this will bring a new wave of antibiotic exploration.

the courier

@CourierScience thecourieronline.co.uk/science

Tuesday 27 February 2018

science & technology

The battle for virtual freedom

Robert Wilson claims the loss of net neutrality in the U.S. could herald a new era of regulation

W

hen we go on the internet, we don’t expect to pay extra to listen to music, send messages on social media, or just watch cute dog videos to try and fill a void in our cold, dead hearts. We wouldn’t expect Netflix to load slower, or be blocked entirely, just because the company who provides our internet has buddied-up with Amazon Video instead. No; for now our net is fair, or ‘neutral’. You can thank Net Neutrality for that… though maybe not for long.

‘Net neutrality’ (NN) refers to the laws that make sure the internet is the same for everyone, and that no websites are treated differently to others. The Internet Service Providers (or ISPs) make money from supplying this service, and these are the companies who have to abide by the neutrality rules.

Net neutrality is why the internet has worked so well since its invention NN is part of why the internet has worked so well since its invention, so you wouldn’t think it possible for these laws to be threatened in any way.

But somehow, following a decade-long game of tug-of-war between activists and those trying to scrap these protective rules, the latter has just won.

America just lost net neutrality, despite massive public protest (obviously).

This malicious assault on the open internet was headed up by Ajit Pai, who serves as the Chairman of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - which is the part of the US government responsible for regulating the internet. Endless jokes can be made about his name, that is true, but the joy he brings stops right about there.

Chairman Pai, having been a former lawyer for Verizon (a massive Internet service provider (ISP) in America), and appointed for this role by President Trump, was likely already causing some alarm bells to ring when he got the job in January 2017.

And on the fateful day of 14 December 2017, the FCC voted to approve Pai’s uncool plan to kill the

The five person FCC panel voted along party lines (three Republicans & two Democrats) to repeal ‘net neutrality’

But what does anyone stand to gain from flushing net neutrality down the toilet? With the strict rules gone, it’s those pesky ISPs who could make more money. For example, certain websites (rich enough to afford it) might pay the ISPs to prioritise them, while the competition gets slowed down - or worse because not all web content gets treated the same anymore.

To make it worse still, this hurts smaller web services who won’t have deals with ISPs, so they can’t provide competition against the big names, who will be able to keep their prices high as they are the only choice.

What does anyone stand to gain from flushing net neutrality down the toilet?

Indeed, it’s not looking great for the internet users in America (so, everyone). But more importantly, what about our net neutrality in the UK? Will our

that, in Germany, scientists are actually using crayfish as tumour models to aid understanding on how tumours can adapt and develop resistance to drug treatments.

The self-cloning mutant marbled crayfish are all descendants of a single crayfish born in a German pet shop in 1995

However, this rapid, high-volume reproductive behaviour of mutant marbled crayfish has also created an ecological nightmare, as they are threats to the native freshwater crayfish species in the habitats invaded by them. This is particularly problematic in Madagascar with the population of marbled crayfish estimated to be in the millions.

In fact, knowing the problem posed by the marbled crayfish, the European Union and a few American states have already banned the ownership or trading of said crayfish. It is also illegal for anyone to release any unwanted crayfish into the wild.

If you are interested in reading more about a n other similar story, then why not check out the ‘Amazon molly’. This freshwater fish reproduces asexually-ish, in that females must mate with a male, but their eggs do not take any genetic material from the ‘father’ (a process called gynogenesis by the science community).

O

Pineal psychic powers

The reappearance of a ‘third eye’ appears among many civilisations

ISPs ( S k y, Vi r g i n , BT) see their American cousins across the ocean making much more money and try to push for the same thing to happen here?

No one can say for sure. Currently, net neutrality rules are protected in EU law. And when Brexit comes, it’s looking like the government shall carry over net neutrality rules to UK law; but it is still possible for Parliament to make changes before then.

If it just happened in America, does it take much imagination to see countries like the UK next for the chopping block? I sure hope not.

Word Rise of the mutant Crayfish Yi Min Ng writes about the crustaceans doin’ it for themselves of the Week: C Pasteurise T 1995

rayfish, sometimes also known as crawfish, crawdad or freshwater lobsters, are closely related to the lobster. Crayfish can be found throughout the world, mainly in freshwater. These freshwater crustaceans are mainly used as food globally and a quick search on Google will return you with various ideas of how you can prepare a crayfish dish. Apart from that, crayfish are also being used as bait for fishing or kept as pets in freshwater aquariums.

Recently, a study has reported that marbled crayfish, a mutant species of all-female crayfish, are upsetting the ecosystem due to their ability to self-clone (reproduce by themselves) rapidly. But where do these mutant crayfish originate?

Genome sequencing of a few marbled crayfish from various locations suggests that all of them are of the same origin. The common ancestor of these self-cloning mutant crayfish is a female slough crayfish born in the aquarium of a German pet shop in 1995. Unlike normal crayfish, this particular female had an additional set of chromosomes that gave her (and her offspring) the ability to reproduce asexually (to lay hundreds of eggs at a time without mating) as well as the ability t o survive changes in environmental conditions.

Taking only two to 20 weeks for the eggs to hatch (depending on the water temperature), these crayfish are indeed very useful to be used as a cheap source of protein in poverty-stricken countries. Besides

Mythbusters: nce called the ‘third eye,’ the pineal gland is a small gland located deep in the centre of the brain. The pineal gland was one of the last brain organs to be discovered and has been the subject of much mythology and speculation. The seventeenth-century French philosopher Rene Descartes believed the soul was located in the pineal gland.

The brain is comprised of two distinct hemispheres connected by fibres. The pineal gland is located in the middle of the brain, in between the two hemispheres.

We know that the Pineal Gland secretes melatonin, which is a hormone that helps regulate circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms are the daily rhythms of the body, including signals that make someone feel tired, sleep, wake up, and feel alert around the same time each day.

net neutrality laws that had been in place since years before.

3-2

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oday we associate pasteurisation mainly with milk, but the technique was originally developed to stop wine and beer from spoiling.

While the principle of boiling liquids to kill microbes was nothing new – even if people didn’t fully understand why it worked – it was in 1864 that French biologist and chemist Louis Pasteur realised the same effect could be achieved just by heating the wine to a high temperature. Unlike boiling, pasteurisation didn’t result in a loss of flavour.

Since refrigeration techniques have come a long way since the 1860s pasteurisation is not always necessary for some products such as beer, but since an Act of Parliament i n 1922, most milk in the UK has been pasteurised. Generally this means either heating the milk to 71.7°C for 15 seconds, or just a second at a sweltering 135°C for UHT milk. This applies to both dairy and plant-based milks, but there are some purists out there who can’t stand the heat and insist on drinking ‘raw’ milk.

Mark Sleightholm

However, research into the link between melatonin and its role in our sleep cycles led to a study that observed when the Pineal Gland was removed from a sample of rats that had access to a normal amount of light and dark, their activity levels were not affected.

They concluded that the function of the Pineal Gland may be more complicated than initially thought and that its role may vary widely between different animals. Their complete function and purpose in humans is still the subject of much debate and speculation.

Throughout human history, the reappearance of a ‘third eye’ (or the minds-eye or inner-eye) appears among many civilisations. Well before the organs existence was even known of. What makes this even more curious is that the study of its evolution suggests that it was once some sort of photoreceptor and may still be, but for what purpose?

The Ancient Greeks believed it to be our connections to the “Realms of thought”; Buddhists hail it as the symbol of ”‘Spiritual Awakening”; Hinduists connect the Pineal Gland to “Intuition and Clairvoyance”; Even freaking Jesus proclaimed that “The eye is the lamp of the body, if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light”.

A great Hero of mine, Nikola Tesla, once said that “If you want to find the secrets of the Universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.” What are energy, frequency and vibrations? They’re all properties of light.

If Rene Descartes is right, and the Pineal Gland is indeed the seat of the soul, then these traditions are correct in believing that the organ may serve as the connecting link between the physical and the spiritual realms.

Ancient and modern beliefs suggest that the utilisation of a toxin-free diet, the correct meditation and the right amount of sunlight, a person should achieve some form of extended operation or activation of their Pineal Gland. Granting them some sort of observable powers beyond the realm of what we can explain with modern science.

If such powers have been achieved by a Human Being before, either they cannot be measured and observed by modern scientific measures, due to our own lack of understanding and acceptance. Or we simply never believed the raving lunatic that claimed to have such powers, with only a small handful of people taking ever them seriously.

Conor Newton

puzzles

35

the courier

Tuesday 27 February 2018

Puzzles Dictator Joey Barton Puzzles Editor Alex Hendley Crossword Fact Checker Liam Hanna Sudoku Creator and Catalan Consultant Louis Ainley Puzzles Myrmidon James Sproston

BUMPER CROSSWORD: THE GREAT CITY OF KINGSTON-UPON-HULL

Across

1 William ___, Hull native and leader of the movement to abolish slavery (11) 4 Initials that follow the name of one of Hull’s rugby league clubs (2) 7 City on which this crossword focuses (4) 8 Hull lies upon this great river (6) 9 Nickname of Hull City; stripy animals (6) 11 Richard ___, coach of rugby league Hull FC 2008-11; substance in a petri dish (4) 13 The Housemartins, formed in Hull, were one of these (4) 14 Callum ___, BGT star (5) 17 Seaside town, famous for its pottery (7) 19 The Early Music Festival of Beverley & East Yorkshire this month, in French (3) 20 Suburb, home of ‘3 down’ (6) 24 King who named the city in 1299 (6) 26 Gemma ___, Hull born Emmerdale actress (5) 28 Land of Green ___, narrow street containing the world’s smallest window; spice (6) 29 Amy ___, Hull born pilot and first person to fly alone from Britain to Australia in 1930 (7)

1

2

In response of critics

I’m not going to lie to you, readers. I’ve had some complaints. ‘Name That Snake’ was something which I didn’t even commission, so you can take that one out on Hendley.

There was also no instructions with the maths puzzle, but that’s because I was never taught how to count, so blame Thatcher. To top matters off, there were no answers for the previous week published, so you’ve belatedly received them today. It’s a shambles, if I’m honest with you, and I’m thinking about walking. There’s only so much you can do with a team as tinpot as this one.

Issue 1363 quiz solutions: Hidden Stan Calvert Sport: Korfball (Wok, Flow, Haribo, Staff, About, Thrash, Killers, Calf) A R M S N A Y T I W Y E H D E O R E N T E S C U M B A A

3 4

5

6

7

8

L L

9

M B R A K E S P E R N

L U T E L

2

11

x

5

+

3

-

12

13

x

B E R

18 21

22

M P S

S K A I T A N U G

23 25

26

K E N N Y R H

1

6

11

+ +

4

15

x

-4

9 -47 -4

Suit Tomato Sauce Film Town Wood Clock Grandmother Social networks Chocolate Clothes horse

G E L B E R T

H A R V E S T

For Issue 1365 solutions, wait for Issue 1366 or contact your local Hendley. Do not contact Joey Barton under any circumstances.

SUDOKU

PARAULES DE LA SETMANA Can you match the following Catalan words to their English meaning?

T A S I S O A L R C H E A B R E A V O

N E I N E N I O B A N S T A S H

29

Una iaia La fusta Un vestit Un rellotge Les xarxes socials La xocolata El quetxup El poble Un peniador Una pel·lícula

+

N R G E N E L Y R E S E A C O S G E R I N C O

R 27 28

E

S J P I R A T E O B I T U A R Y O N

20

24

-

-54

16

19

S E

C O U N T Y K O S

-

7

14

17

E S A A K E B O K L B O L T O I L A N D L O O

-

8

15

F I N I E R L O A A R A

Issue 1364 quiz solutions: Name That Snake: Indigo Snake

10

Down

2 Hull was City of ___ in 2017 (7) 3 John ___, Deputy Prime Minister 19972007 (7) 5 Fancier name for a huge aquarium (9) 6 The ___, the name of Hull’s ‘5 down’ (4) 10 Philip ___, famous late Hull poet (6) 12 Provides Hull with communications rather than BT (4) 15 Colour of Hull’s telephone boxes (5) 16 Compass bearing; ___ Riding (4) 18 Sea monster, can be seen at ‘6 down’ (5) 21 Public transport; Hull - London in under 3 hours (5) 22 Liam Rosenior’s ___ was born in Hull (3) 23 Shane ___, former Hull City footballer (4) 25 The English Civil ___ began in Hull in 1642 (3) 27 Ferry company which operates the Hull Zeebrugge service (2)

Last Fortnight’s Solutions...

Difficulty: MITJÀ

6 4

9

5 7

1 7 4

5

8 8

6 5

6 2

4 7 2

2

8 4

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the courier

sport

Tuesday 27 February 2018

Six Nations: is it time for change?

With the international rugby tournament often accused of being too predictable, Jerome Affleck considers its future options

As the NatWest Six Nations gets underway, so too does the discussion of who will be taking home the silverware at the end of the tournament.

Joe Schmidt’s Ireland entered the competition as odds-on favourites against Eddie Jones’ England. No doubt that the winner will be decided when these two giants of world rugby faceoff in the final match of the tournament. With the home advantage, Irish fans will be hoping for another reason to celebrate this St. Patrick’s Day. The tournament itself got off to a dramatic start. Despite Scotland’s impressive performance in last year’s Autumn Internationals, their shock thrashing from Wales left them retreating from Cardiff with their tail between their legs. France broke defensive records during their defeat against Ireland.

Putting in 253 tackles, in what was an intensely close game, Les Bleus were left heartbroken as they watched Sexton’s drop goal attempt fly between the posts to secure the win at the Stade de France. Perennial wooden spoon ‘winners’ Italy were unsurprisingly overwhelmed in Rome by what continues to be the strongest England squad since 2003.

The competition has been criticised in recent years for becoming too predictable. With Italy and Scotland often comprising the bottom two nations year after year, there have been calls for a relegation system to be introduced.

Following their notable performances in 2015’s Rugby World Cup, Romania and Georgia are the two countries which could be set to replace those who would fall foul of the proposed system. This would, however, harm the game within the relegated nations, especially within Italy where it is already

Eddie Jones’ are the reigning Six Nations champions Image: Wikimedia Commons

under heavy scrutiny due to their consistently poor performances within major competitions.

Another proposal has been to add nations rather than replace them. The tournament has a long history of adding nations; France joined the home nations in 1910 to create the Five Nations, with Italy joining in 2000 to create the competition we know today. Georgia, who currently sit above Italy in the

World Rugby Rankings, would be front of the queue to join the tournament.

Eddie Jones even enlisted their help to test England’s scrummaging set pieces over the Six Nations rest week. Fast becoming the nation’s most popular sport, their constant impressive performances on the world stage have made the case for Georgia’s ascension into the upper echelons of rugby union.

Regardless of the outcome, change

for the Six Nations is long overdue.

The competition has become too Anglo-centric, adding a more diverse set of nations will help shift world rugby’s gaze away from the British Isles and onto other countries who have also worked hard to earn their place in the Sun. Besides, adding more nations can only mean more rugby, and what true fan wouldn’t want that?

Mohamed Salah: the sociological meteorite Tom Hussey commends the Egyptian footballer for using his sport to encourage social change Football has long acted as a platform for societal change, cultural influence and tolerance. This couldn’t be truer than for the experiences of Cyrille Regis, Viv Anderson and Laurie Cunningham. True pioneers of the game both on and off the pitch, who, in the face of horrendous racial abuse, forced respect, racial equality and tolerance into the consciences of the blinkered in our society.

Fast forward to the 2017/18 season and I feel we are witnessing a similar phenomenon take place, this time in the form of a 25-year-old Egyptian, enter stage right; Mohamed Salah.

Salah has not simply been a goal scoring wizard, a master playmaker and tireless hard worker for Liverpool, he has been an unexpected sociological meteorite in English football. Exhibiting a persona which warrants as much respect as his footballing talent does; humble, incredibly charitable and a calming presence – Mohamed Salah is a fine ambassador for not just football, but Islam too. And it is this that I feel his arrival in the Premier League could not have come sooner.

Recent terror attacks in London and Manchester have threatened to divide and create rifts in our society. In these times of panic and despair, we have been in danger of allowing our anger and confusion to blur our perceptions of reality, which can corrupt

our conscience and lead us to pointing the finger towards the entire Muslim community of which the perpetrators came from.

Yet, I feel Salah has acted as an unexpected uniting force, an unlikely champion of Islam in these challenging times, revolutionising our perceptions of Islam with his graceful presence. The Liverpool chant “if he scores another few, then I’ll be Muslim to’, though jovial in intention, lays evidence to desires of improved integration in our society. And it is emerging out of football.

On top of this, I can’t help but feel that Merseyside is playing a key role in this movement. A region that has spearheaded tolerance and pioneered cultural change for decades, you need look no further than the Beatles as well as the boycott of the Sun newspaper to see the what this region stands for and why Merseyside is indeed the ideal platform for this resurgence of hope.

If this Salah phenomenon has taught us anything, it is that football is so much more than a game, it’s an institution of moral conduct and a cornerstone for standard setting. There is no doubt in my mind we will look back on Mohamed Salah and see him not only as one of the finest footballers of our time, but also as a force for change, tolerance and progressiveness of which British society has a lot to learn from.

Mo Salah signed for Liverpool last summer Image: Wikimedia Commons

Boca face relegation INTRA MURAL FOOTBALL 11s

Boca Seniors Medics 1

3 4

Matt Proctor at Longbenton Boca Seniors’ defeat to the Medics last Wednesday summed up perfectly the unfortunate and painful demise the intra-mural team has faced since 2015. Having lost the lead three times in the game and by losing to a lastminute penalty, Boca now find themselves in the midst of a division two relegation scrap.

Boca Seniors won three out of the four available trophies in 2015, and the fall from grace since has been rather spectacular. I took over the captaincy in 2016 following a disappointing season in which we were relegated from division one in the Wednesday league.

Nevertheless, I was still taking charge of a division one Saturday side, and was hoping to have a strong season and restore the boys back to division one on a Wednesday. This went terribly. On a personal note, I ruptured my ACL on day two of the season, ruling me out for 15 months. I therefore took up a managerial role which at least led me to clawing back some respect for the tactically futile Frenchman in charge of Arsenal; with a small and largely uncommitted squad we found ourselves underperforming, and as a result are now in division two in both leagues. Particular highlights from last year include watching the never heard before team name of Dyslexic Untied score a ‘sweaty’ goal whilst 9-2 up on a freezing Saturday December evening.

This season saw the highly anticipated return of myself on the pitch, a truly heart warming moment for the one ‘fan’ that was watching. Could my return signal the beginning of a Boca revival?

No. As stated, we are heavily embroiled in yet another relegation scrap. Second bottom with four games to go, what is certain is that the yellows will give it a right good go, and with a bit of luck I can hand over the captaincy at the end of this year with at least some dignity intact.

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Ladies in red: the team performing for another trophy Image: Newcastle Dance Society

Dance Society shines in competition

DANCE

Charlotte Astley at the Civic Centre Newcastle University Dance Society made a statement last Saturday that no matter the obstacle, they would fight until the end. They’re perseverance proved fruitful as they finished the weekend with an excellent result of 10 trophies at their successfully organised home competition.

On 17 February, nine universities from Scotland and England came to Newcastle to compete head to head for the top prize. By 9 am, the Civic Centre was full of excited dancers who were ready to compete in seven different styles: Contemporary, Jazz, Wildcard, Ballet, Lyrical, Tap and Street. Most of the styles were additionally divided into Intermediate and Advanced categories.

The culmination of the day was Improvisation category where each university’s most versatile dancer proved their skills in Jazz, Contemporary and Street.

After winning five trophies in Edinburgh and ten in the Northumbria Dance Competition, the dancers from Newcastle did an outstanding job by winning additional ten trophies through a tireless effort. Despite their success, it was the most challenging competition for Newcastle so far this year.

The first obstacle of the day was caused by an unexpected injury. Vice President of the Dance Society and Advanced Jazz teacher, Sophie Lynch, showed her professionalism by dancing through the pain in her Advanced Contemporary routine. After overcoming adversity the Contemporary dancers succeeded in defending their title and were placed

first for the second time this season.

An emotional performance by the Intermediate Contemporary dancers also wowed the judges and ensured them a well-deserved third place. Unfortunately injury held Lynch back from performing in three additional categories, but it did not stop the dance team from doing superior job overall.

The advanced Jazz ladies made sure to make Lynch proud by pulling out an excellent performance that claimed top prize in the category. Another highlight came from, our own ”Weather Girls”, whose sassy dance with the umbrellas landed on another first place of the day and captured the eyes of the audience.

Whilst both of our Intermediate and NUDS poses after their successful event last week Image: Newcastle Dance Society

Advanced Ballet dancers gracefully landed on the third place, Intermediate Tap team tapped their way to the second place. Undoubtedly, the hardest category to judge was Wildcard, where the competitors danced in the style of their own choice. A charming solo tap performance by Darcy Phillips amazed the judges, and her performance earned her second place amongst 16 outstanding acts.

Despite missing two dancing teachers during the event, the Advanced Street crew still succeeded in busting some serious moves that secured third place - which is their third trophy of the season.

The competition finished with the

debut of a new Improvisation category, which was a definite success for the Newcastle dancers. Just a few hours before the start, Elena Corcobado found out that she was to represent Newcastle University instead of the injured Lynch. With the help of dancers from Jazz, Contemporary and Street styles she gave an unbelievable performance in all three styles that led her to first place.

President of the Dance Society Charlotte Astley expressed her gratitude of the efforts from the Newcastle dancers.

“It was a really stressful day, but in the end, it is such a relief. We did absolutely incredible,” Astley said. “To place in the amount of the categories we did, with a

really tough competition, as well as really harsh judges, is just mind-blowing.

After Newcastle Dance competition it brings our total to 25 trophies, which is nearly our record of 31 trophies!”

10

trophies were claimed by the Newcastle Dance Society

Astley also mentioned the amazing work done by the main organiser of the event, Alice-Taylor Peat. Astley said without Peat, the event would not have happened with such success. It took eight months in total to organise the competition, which Astley said was not easy to do while still focusing on studies but was an absolute success.

Peat had rather positive emotions from the day, and said the event was surprisingly not as stressful as she had thought it was going to be.

“Production and staging company was amazing,” Peat said. “All the teams were so helpful and my committee was just incredible. I don’t think I could have done anything without them. I am actually upset that everything is now over, because I’ve loved every minute of this job and I would happily do it again in a heartbeat.”

At the end of the day, all universities were invited over to Newcastle University Students’ Union for a post-event meal, drink and good company.

After incredibly successful weekend, Newcastle University Dance Society is ready to smash the next event and hopefully beat their trophy record at their last competition of the season that will be held in Leeds already on 25 February.

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Newcastle bags bronze for their bruises KARATE Katie Knox in Sheffield Newcastle University Karate Club came home from BUCS with a bronze medal and a fair few bruises. The competition was host to karate clubs from all over Britain and featured multiple styles of the Japanese martial art. Newcastle took its biggest team ever to BUCS this year, with competitors across a variety of categories, as well as a group of spectators who cheered on the team.

BUCS was determined to put on a show; the competition culminated in a dramatic finals where the lights were dimmed so the central mat was lit by spotlights, and Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ was played while the audience clapped and sang along.

I’m really happy with my performance and I’m looking forward to doing even better next time Karate is a martial art which was developed on Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. It is a strike-based art with a focus on punching and kicking, but also uses elbow and knee strikes, open-hand techniques such ‘knifehands’ (commonly known as the ‘karate chop’), blocks, sweeps and joint locks.

In the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, karate will be featured for the first time ever.

There are regular karate competitions in the North East (and all over the UK) and BUCS Karate is one of the largest.

Kata is an event in karate competitions as well as an essential part of training for karateka (a person who practices karate). A kata is a series of choreographed movements including punches, kicks, blocks and more unusual techniques such as jumps and even eye gouges which are performed individually and are designed to develop these techniques for use in fighting.

Karate builds discipline, resilience and self-confidence as well as being a fantastic way to meet new people Kata is judged by technical performance (performing the movements correctly and in the right order), speed, power and spirit (focus and mental attitude). Bethaney Miller competed in the Women’s Senior Kata and, after 5 rounds of brilliant performances, claimed a bronze medal for Newcastle.

Another event in karate competitions is kumite, where two karateka fight one another and the winner is decided through a point scoring system.

Points are awarded for powerful, fast, well-timed and skilful techniques, with more points given for techniques such as sweeps and kicks to the head. Two of Newcastle University Karate Club’s competitors narrowly missed out on medals after giving very strong performances. Andras Huszar fought 4 rounds in the Men’s Novice Heavyweight category and said “This year’s BUCS was my first competition, and it was an im-

Kristina Kapitza scoring an ippon Image: Newcastle University Karate Club mense experience for me. I had some great opponents and got the chance to go four rounds so I came away with lots of good memories and lessons to learn.

Being part of the Newcastle squad made it a great weekend too!”

Kristina Kapitza competed in the Women’s Novice Lightweight category and also fought 4 rounds, achieving two ippons.

Ippon is the highest score a karateka can get in kumite, and Kristina was awarded both of her ippons for her skilful roundhouse kicks (known as mawashi-geri) to her opponent’s head. Kristina said “I’m

Newcastle Climbs into 8th

A Newcastle climber flexes to reach the summit Image: Newcastle University Mountaineering Club

or ‘problem’, you can receive a maximum of 10 points and a minimum of 0. If you are able to complete the problem on your first go you receive 10 points, if you complete it on your second go that’s 7 and on your third, that’s 4. If you can’t complete the problem after your third go, you can score 1 point for reaching the bonus hold, which is usually halfway up the climb.

This means that the maximum score any one competitor

CLIMBING Jake Oughton in Sheffield For most people the words “climbing” and “competition” do not go hand in hand. Surely getting up the wall in one piece is enough to celebrate, let alone doing it without ropes. Yet at this year’s BUCS Climbing Championships, held in Sheffield, universities from up and down the country showed off just how hard it can be.

The set-up is simple: 25 different routes comprised of nine ‘easier’ climbs, eight climbs which even experienced climbers would struggle on, and a further eight climbs which only the best will manage. For each route,

can receive is 250 points, and this year Sheffield Hallam’s Jim Pope did just that -

he completed every route on his first try.

This was an incredible achievement, and one that secured first

place for him in the Men’s Individual competition.

250

really happy with my performance and proud of how I did, and I look forward to doing even better next time.”

One of the club’s instructors and squad coach, Sensei Steve Potts, said: “I am very proud of every member of our karate squad, not just for their performances at BUCS this year, but also for their positive attitudes, determination and commitment to their training and development.

I also want to acknowledge the excellent support the team received from their fellow club members along with a large group of Alumni who came to spectate

BUCS RESULTS BADMINTON

M2 v York 2nds points were earned

by Sheffield’s Jim Pope (an impressive perfect score).

Edinburgh’s Ajda Rema¡kar took home the Women’s Individual title with a score of 208, making it clear that Team Newcastle were up against some very tough competition. To make things harder, only Team Captain Jake Oughton had competed at BUCS Nationals before, with the rest of the team competing for the first time at this level.

The team achieved some excellent results, with our Men’s team finishing in eighth place Despite this the team achieved some excellent results, with our Men’s Team earning BUCS points by finishing in 8th place. Captain Jake showed that sometimes technique is more important than strength by achieving a high score of 215 points, securing him joint 8th place out of 260 in the Men’s Individuals. The star of the women’s team was Catherine Bonn who, with a score of 104, came 37th out of 171, rounding off a very successful day at BUCS Nationals for Team Newcastle.

and cheer the team on, and of course the club committee who worked tirelessly to organise everything.”

Karate builds discipline, resilience and self-confidence as well as being a fantastic way to meet new people and improve fitness. Newcastle University Karate Club is a friendly, welcoming club that trains absolute beginners to black belts and every grade in between.

If you’re interested in trying out karate or joining the club, check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ newcastlekarateclub.

FENCING

M1 v Bath 1sts W2 v Keele 1sts

6-2 78-135 135-115

FOOTBALL

M2 v Sheffield 2nds W1 v Sheffield Hallam 2nds W2 v Sheffield 2nds

GOLF

Mix1 v St Andrews 3rds Mix2 v Sheffield 2nds

HOCKEY

M2 v Leeds Beckett 2nds M3 v York St John 1sts W1 v Durham 2nds W2 v Durham 4ths W3 v Sheffield Hallam 2nds W4 v Durham 5ths

LACROSSE

M2 v Bradford 1sts W1 v Manchester 1sts W2 v Sheffield 1sts W3 v Leeds Beckett 2nds

NETBALL

W1 v MMU 1sts W2 v Northumbria 2nds W3 v Northumbria 3rds W4 v Durham 3rds

RUGBY LEAGUE

RUGBY UNION

M2 v Sheffield Hallam 1sts M3 v York 1sts W2 v Edinburgh 1sts

SQUASH

1-2 4-2 2-4

M1 v Heriot-Watt 1sts M2 v Sheffield 2nds M3 v Sheffield 3rds M4 v Sheffield Hallam 2nds W2 v Sheffield Hallam 1sts

1-5 1-5

M1 v Manchester 1sts M2 v York 1sts W1 v Sheffield 1sts

3-0 5-3 0-2 2-1 2-0 0-3 5-5 8-19 14-4 13-6 26-34 36-54 21-50 35-38

M1 v Nottingham Trent 1sts 38-6 M2 v York 1sts 36-34

TABLE TENNIS

TENNIS

M1 v Sheffield 1sts M2 v York 2nds W1 v Manchester 1sts W2 v Leeds Beckett 2nds

28-25 20-19 15-94 5-0 3-2 1-2 0-3 0-4 12-5 9-8 1-4 4-8 2-10 6-7 0-12

OVERALL BUCS POSITION Pos

University

Pts

8

Birmingham ■

2244.5

9

Northumbria ■

2089

10

Newcastle ▲

1624.5

11

Cardiff ▼

1611.5

12

Notts Trent ■

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sport the courier

Tuesday 27 February 2018 Issue 1365 Free @Courier_Sport courier.sport@ncl.ac.uk thecourieronline.co.uk/sport Sport Editors Mark Sleightholm, Courtney Strait, Tom Shrimplin, Sydney Isaacs & Matt Proctor

Another year, another defeat Mark Sleightholm Sports Editor So once again Northumbria are the Stan Calvert victors, and Newcastle are left wondering just what they need to do to get back into this competition.

The 25th edition of the Cup followed a now all-too-familiar pattern. A smattering of early Newcastle wins faded quickly into oblivion as Northumbria established a dominance they merely strengthened as the competition went on.

By the final Sunday, with half of the fixtures still to play for, Northumbria had won three out of every four points on offer, but surely, surely, Newcastle would fight back on the final day. And yet, somehow, Northumbria extended their lead and steamrollered their way to the biggest landslide in Stan Calvert history.

Geoff the Lamb summed up what many on both sides felt going into the tournament when he plumped resolutely for a Northumbria win. Indeed, there seemed to be little enthusiasm for the competition this time round. Attendances at matches were lower, the

number of fixtures was lower, even the slogan on Newcastle’s t-shirts, “Northumbria can’t read this anyway” seemed to suggest that it really wasn’t worth putting the effort in when the outcome was such a foregone conclusion.

Northumbria’s fourth consecutive win in 2017 was also their most emphatic, with Newcastle winning a record low proportion of the overall points. Few of the students taking part in Stan Calvert 2018 were at university when Newcastle last won the Cup, and an alarming number of students didn’t seem to be aware the competition was even happening.

Eyebrows were raised at the somewhat underwhelming fixture list at this year’s competition, with Northumbria accused of pulling out of events they felt unable to win, and Newcastle conceding three walkovers during the tournament when they found themselves unable to field teams for rugby league or Gaelic football.

This made Stan Calvert 2018 the smallest for a decade, with rowing, athletics and outdoor cricket all dropped from this year’s programme. Men’s football also went uncontested, and netball and basketball were the only sports that saw third teams competing, a sign of the

competition’s shift towards elite-level BUCS sports.

That said, korfball made its Stan Calvert debut, with the embryonic Newcastle side stunning their more established rivals in an 8-7 thriller. The Stan Calvert Memorial Fun Run on 24 February gave all students from each university the chance to take part, but without counting towards the overall score.

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percent of the total Stan Calvert points that Newcastle won, their lowest ever percentage

Stan Calvert Sunday counted for about half of all the competition’s fixtures, with a dual “finale” at 5pm seeing the Sports Centre host netball while the futsal got underway at Sports Central.

Officially the cup ceremony was due to be held at whichever location won the overall competition, but there was little doubt where this would be.

In the first half of the competition Newcastle had won just a quarter of the points available, and going into the final Sunday Northumbria had a 26-point lead, with 50 points still to play for. A

heavy loss in the men’s thirds’ basketball began the day as Northumbria intended it to go on, and the onslaught only worsened from there.

It’s perhaps not a coincidence that 2014, the year Northumbria overturned Newcastle’s six-win streak, was also the first year Northumbria ended higher up in the overall BUCS table. Since then, though, Newcastle have caught up in BUCS terms, while Northumbria have been stuck in eighth place for the past five years and are currently only in ninth, just a whisker ahead of 10thplaced Newcastle.

For two such equally-talented sporting universities to be so unequal in their varsity competition inevitably brings its format into question. Maybe it should be opened up to non-BUCS sports and follow the lead of the Fun Run this year in focusing more on encouraging participation in sport.

Certainly the feeling on the Newcastle side is that this is a competition we can no longer win, and the accusations of Northumbria skewing the organisation of the competition in their favour makes their chosen slogan rather ironic.

“It never gets easier,” declared their tshirts, “we just get better.”

Inside Sport today

STAN CALVERT SPECIAL EDITION See how Team Newcastle fared in the annual crosstown showdown

DOES SIX NATIONS NEED A FACELIFT? Jerome Affleck gives The Courier his opinion Page 35

DANCERS TWIRL TO 10 TROPHIES Rory hangs his head at the Fun Run amid a Stan Calvert onslaught Image: Denise Dixon

Dance Society hosts its own competition Page 38