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TV Big Mouth Review: Netflix’s pro-sex comedy returns for a second season Page 27
Overall student satisfaction falls The independent voice of Newcastle students
Sidney Pinsent News Editor
2%
decrease has been shown in regards to overall student satisfaction in comparrison to 2017
For the second year running, overall student satisfaction at Newcastle University has fallen. Feedback showed a 2% decrease in 2017 compared to the previous year. This is alongside a host of other targets which have fallen between 2016 and 2017. The Universities Executive Board and Senate has put in place a series of actions to address issues raised by the results, particularly the ‘Student Voice’ and ‘Assessment and feedback’ results which stand at just 68% and 71% satisfaction respectively. In each of the sectors the University has seen a decrease in positive student responses to questions on their experiences at Newcastle University. Students responded with a 5% fall in teaching satisfaction, declining from 90% in 2016 to 85% in 2017. The University still hold a Gold Award in the government’s Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). But despite this, other measures of student satisfaction have also fallen. Satisfaction in ‘Organisation and Management’ fell by 7% to 80% in 2017 while ‘Academic support’ fell to 82%, 4% less than the previous year. The overall decrease in student satisfaction was not limited to Newcastle University alone, as the overall national percentage of students satisfied with their university course has also fallen for the second year in a row. Ongoing industrial action could be speculated as one of the reasons for this continued decrease in satisfaction, as planned disruption of teaching as part of the UCU pension strikes took place over four weeks in the 2017/18 academic year.
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Cost of living spiralling Are brand new accomodation builds outpricing a large proportion of students with less cost effective options no longer avaliable? News, page 5
The University has also seen a fall in the percentage of undergraduate students in graduate level outcomes six months after graduating, falling from 82.6% to 80.7%. The University has stated this drop is due to a reduction in the number of medicine and dentistry graduates and “changes in the makeup of our graduate population”. This comes with the news that there has been a huge decrease in international students between 2016 and 2017. Newcastle saw a 9% fall in international student numbers while overall student numbers have increased by 7%. This is because of increased international tuition fees and ‘greater competition within the UK.’
Step into Autumn Katy Prophet details what you need in your wardrobe to stay on trend this October Fashion, page 18
Are festivals a rip off? Music loving students detail whether they think they’re getting bang for their buck at some of the UK’s most popular festivals Music, page 24
However, decrease in student satisfaction was not limited to Newcastle University alone
This is after universities and businesses called for a change to International Student Visas. Currently students who have come from outside of the EU are only given four months after their graduation to secure an employer sponsorship and a minimum salary of £20,800. The new visa would allow international students to work in the UK for up to two years after they graduate. Vice-Chancellor Chris Day has not officially supported the propositions but has previously stated: “The North East economy benefits significantly as international students generated £514m in export earnings, and expenditure from these students supported 2,032 fulltime equivalent jobs. “One in every 66 international students in the UK is studying at Newcastle University and the city is a richer and more vibrant place due to their valued contribution.”
Monday 22 October 2018 Issue 1374 Free
Social media and film Have new methods of communication had an international, unchangeable impact on the world of cinema? Film, page 29
Puzzles
The Lovely Bones: Culture Editor Carys Rose Thomas reflects on the Northern Stage Adaptation among others p.31
Find out the solutions to last weeks solitions and try your hand at some new page teasers Puzzles, page 35
Views on Mourinho Three different Sports Writers weigh up their opinions of the controversial Manchester United Manager Sport, page 36
Image: Sheila Burnett
Newcastle volunteers on mission to save gorillas
Carl Smith Valdez
Third year Newcastle University Biology and Media students are looking forward to volunteering at The Cross River Gorilla Project this year. The Cross River Gorilla Project aims to preserve the critically endangered Cross River gorilla and support local rainforest communities in Cameroon. Michael Fatouros, a third year Media, Communications and Cultural Studies student is partaking to develop his employability skills. He said: “I hope I gain some experience on how non-governmental organisations operate in terms of responsibilities, duties and
workload –and get some hands-on experience in relation to PR and Marketing.”
There are currently 300 cross-river gorillas remaining worldwide, it has been estimated that by 2030, they could become extinct
These beneficial effects have been echoed by Ramona Slusarczyk, a Global Public Relations lecturer in Newcastle University and an associate of The Cross River Gorilla Project.
She said: “Charities offer their time to our students and facilitate their hands-on work which can serve as a showcase for students’ future employment.” “Students feel more accountable for the outcomes of their work as they are answerable to a real client and face real challenges such as working on a low budget, while organisations gain much-needed PR advice.” “I’m very inspired and impressed by Newcastle University’s students, whose drive and dedication makes me feel enthused and motivated as an educator.” There are currently 300 cross-river gorillas remaining worldwide, and it has been estimated by researchers that by 2030, they could become extinct if no action is taken. Recently, The Cross River Gorilla Project
has been facing a challenging situation due
‘I’m very inspired and impressed by Newcastle University’s students, whose drive and dedication makes me an enthused and motivated educator.’
Ramona Slusarczyk, a Global Public Relations lecturer in Newcastle University
to the unresolved conflict between the An-
glophone minority and the Cameroonian government. This resulted in civilians fleeing to towns and building camps in the forest, which adds more strain on the gorilla’s survival, as civilians need food and shelter. The Cross River Gorilla Project is a Newcastle-based charity founded in 1999 by John Daniels, a retired headteacher from Northumberland, after witnessing the devastations in Cameroon for himself. Last year, The Cross River Gorilla Project held a dinner and silent auction event at the Great North Museum, raising £3,000. This year The Cross River Gorilla Project are organising a fundraising gala at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London on 29th March, with high-profiled guests from the UK and Cameroon.
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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 Louise Hall Deputy Editor Isabel Sykes Copy Editor Laura Staniforth News Editors Grace Dean, Molly Greeves, Sidney Pinsett and Steven Ross Comment Editors Jamie Cameron, Caitlin Disken and Alexandra Sadler Life & Style Editor Sophie Henderson Lifestyle Editors Phoebe Fielder, Holly Margerison, and Ella Williams Fashion Editors Poppy Couling Joe Hood and Miranda Stoner Beauty Editors Laura Buckle, Susanne Norris and Nimra Rafique Travel Editors Jenny Franken and Bianca Ionci Culture Editors Alex Moore and Carys Rose Thomas Feature Editor Ally Wilson Arts Editors Rosie Mccrum, Julia McGhee Russell and Scarlett Rowland Music Editors Charlotte Boulton, Rory Ellis and Jess Taylor-Weisser TV Editors Jacob Clarke, Tom Cooney and Chloe Mullins Film Editors JImmy Athey, Helena Buchanan and Joe Holloran Gaming Editors George Boatfield, Kelly South and Matthew Neville Sports Editors Sydney Isaacs, Rebecca Johnson and Harry Parsons Online Editors Rory Cameron, Jodie Duddy, Amanda Goh, Thomas Hardwick, Max Hobbs Orestis Katsoulis and Chris Wilkinson 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.
NSR show of the week: The 90 Minute Show Tuesdays & Thursdays 4:30-6pm James Johnson Head of Marketing The 90 Minute Tuesday show is a weekly show that not only presents a consistent selection of music, games, quizzes and interviews but proves the importance of co-operation and hard work in radio. Because of our competitive intuition, we like our features to centre around rivalry, creating competition between not only ourselves but the listeners too. Our main features include The Almost Impossible Quiz, The 90 Second Quiz and Weird News all of which are
Harry Parsons Sports Editor Into the Black is a black IPA created by Newcastle’s very on student-led microbrewery Stu Brew, and can be purchased by the bottle in Luthers, NUSU. The black IPA is the intense flavour boost you probably need in your 4th week of uni. The low notes come from the roasted flavour, a much needed bit of refreshment, sure. While you may be more used to a standard Lab Sessions, Into the Black may be another level up that you didn’t even know you need yet. The slightly bitter first taste soon is replaced by the infusion of flavour as each sip goes down slightly easier than the last. You can’t go wrong with a Stu Brew beer
Student Spotlight NUTS presents their Autumn Cabaret Isabel Sykes Deputy Editor On Thursday 25 October 2018, NUTS will present their Autumn Cabaret show. Newcastle University Theatre Society are one of the largest and most successful student drama societies in the country, and their upcoming show is set to be a hit. The theatre society puts on 12 performances a year, 5 plays per semester and 1 musical per semester, and an end-of-year drama festival showcasing original writing from members of the society. NUTS posted on their Facebook event page of the Autumn show: “Get ready for a glamorous night of songs from the shows! Equipped with our very own live pianist, it’s a chance for all you singers out there to show off those top F’s and funky harmonies. “As for the rest of us, we will listen in awe, give rapturous applause and bop along to those groovy tunes.” The show, which will take place in the Students’ Union, begins at 7:30pm on the Thursdsay night. Tickets can be purchased in advance from the NUSU website and are £5 for NUTS members of £6 for non-members. Whether you’re down for a dance and a sing-a-long or just want to admire some great performances, NUTS’ Cabaret looks to be an excellent night of entertainment and the perfect way to warm you up on a crisp Autumn evening. Anybody interested in getting involved beyond just audience appreciation can find out more information about NUTS on their Facebook page or through the NUSU website. They welcome willing members of any level of experience.
Whats on near you:
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consistently produced and instantly recognisable. It has been so rewarding to receive t h e great feedback that we have from listeners and would all agree that producing the show is one of our favourite parts of university life. We like to think that The 90 Minute Tuesday Show offers something for everyone from sport, to TV, to music, ultimately providing a little bit of fun when people may need it the most!
STU BREW beer of the week: Into the Black £3 per bottle
Monday 22 October 2018
at any time of the year but as winter approaches, bonfire season looms, you’re going to want to use this particular alcoholi c beverage as your drink to ac- c o m p a n y you through the autumnal nights. With the black malt added to provide the drink with its standout dark colour, you’re not going to be overwhelmed by the roasted characterful flavour. I think, for me at least, this is going to be my perfect accompaniment to my many woolly hats and winter items as we descend on bonfires and firework displays. Cheers.
Arts: 5:15pm-7:15pm: GIAG Lush bathbomb making. Location: Meet outside NUSU front entrance. Film: 6:30pm: FilmSoc, screening of the Breakfast Club. Location: BSTC Room 1.46.
Wednesday Socieites: 12pm-2pm: Go Volunteer Drop In. Location: Kate Aide Room, NUSU. Sport: 12pm-2pm: GIAG Ice-Hockey, Learn to Skate. Location: Meet outside NUSU front entrance. Sport: 12pm-2pm: GIAG Table-Tennis. Location: Venue 1 + 2, NUSU. Arts: 1:30pm-4pm: GIAG Silver ring-making jewellery workshop. Location: Meet outside NUSU front entrance. Travel: 5:30pm-7pm: GIAG French beginner’s language class. Location: Language Resource Centre, Old Library Building. Sport: 5:45pm-7pm: GIAG Swing Dance. Location: Meet outside NUSU front entrance.
Friday
Sport: 5:30pm-7pm: GIAG Bowling. Location: Meet outside NUSU front entrance. Sport: 6:45-8pm: GIAG Sepak Takraw. Location: Sports Hall, Newcastle University Sports Centre. Sport: 7pm-11pm: The Legendary Darts: Oktoberfest edition. Location: Venue, NUSU.
Sunday Sport: 9am-7pm: GIAG Gorge Walking and White watertubing. Location: Meet outside Hatton Gallery. Music: 6pm-11pm: Fatherson, live. Location: Venue, NUSU.
Tuesday
Fashion: 10am-4pm: Barbour sample sale. Location: Venue, NUSU. Newcastle University: 10:30am-3:30pm: Recruitment and Placements Fair. Location: Newcastle Civic Centre, Banqueting Suite. Sport: 12pm-2pm: GIAG, Table-Tennis. Location: Venue 1 + 2, NUSU. Lifestyle: 5:30pm-7pm: GIAG Dog and Scone visit. Location: Meet outside NUSU front entrance. Sport: 6pm-7pm: Dance Fitness ‘Twerkout’ Class. Location: Venue 1 + 2, NUSU. Arts: 5:30pm-6:45pm: Lauren Child UK Children’s Laureate Lecture. Location: Curtis Auditorium, Herschel Building. Societies: 6pm-7pm: Students for Sensible Drug Policy Newcastle, Say Know Discussion. Location: BSTC Room 3.31.
Thursday Sport: 12pm-2pm: GIAG Table-Tennis. Location: Venue, NUSU. Societies: 3pm-5pm: Go Volunteer, Bells Yard Sports and Play event. Location: Jesmond. Arts: 7:30pm-11pm: NUTS Autumn Cabaret 2018. Location: NUSU.
Saturday
Travel: 9:30am-9pm: GIAG Alnwick Castle and Gardens. Location: Meet outside NUSU front entrance. Societies: 10am-5pm: Rupert’s Wood Practical Conservation. Location: Meet ouside NUSU by benches. Lifestyle: 12:30pm-1:45pm and 2:15pm3:30pm: GIAG Scuba-Diving. Location: Meet ouside NUSU front entrance. Music: 8pm-3am: Clubland Halloween. Location: Venue, NUSU.
news
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the courier
Monday 22 October 2018
@TheCourier_News courier.news@ncl.ac.uk thecourieronline.co.uk/news News Editors Grace Dean, Molly Greeves, Sidney Pinsent, Steven Ross Online Editor Jodie Duddy
Hancock exhibition explores childrens response to gender Sidney Pinsent News Editor
Hancock exhibition shows children’s responses to gender stereotypes. The Great North Museum: Hancock is to open an exhibition exploring the effects of male stereotypes on year fives. Newcastle University researchers have been
The project is the first of its kind to use Year Five primary school children to discuss the impact of gender stereotypes.
The exhibition will open on 22 October 2018 Image: Gary Rodgers
working with Year Five pupils at three primary schools in North Tyneside and children’s charity Barnardo’s to examine issues around gender, power and equality. The students were asked to take part in several workshops where they talked about what it means to be a man in society. During these sessions, they questioned the assumptions about masculine identities and gender stereotypes. The Year fives have since made artworks illustrating their responses to these discussions and will be part of The Hancock’s Boys to Men exhibition, which opens on 22 October. Professor Anoop Nayak of Newcastle University said , “The current debate about gender and sexual harassment in politics, sport and media, and the stigma that surrounds
boys and men speaking up about their feelings, offers a depressing picture of ‘toxic masculinity’. “This is having a profound impact on young people. The art that the children have created aims to start a conversation about what it means to be a man and move beyond the macho stereotypes towards a more diverse concept of masculinity.” Some of the children worked in groups when creating the artworks, and some chose to work alone. The project is the first of its kind to use Year Five primary school children to discuss the impact of gender stereotypes. Researchers plan on developing a suite of online resources for teachers to use with their
‘The stigma that surrounds boys and men speaking up about their feelings offers a depressing picture of toxic masculinity’
Professor Anoop Nayak, Newcastle University
own students to look into these issues. Tracy Bell, a team manager at Barnardo’s said, “It has been a fascinating experience to work with the children and start to understand their thoughts and ideas on gender stereotypes and what it means to be a man. “This is a piece of work that needs to continue, to educate children on equality and respect for all.
Increase in workplace programmes for disabled graduates Cayla Viner The UK has a 30.4% gap between nondisabled and disabled people in employment. With only 50.7% disabled people employed, there’s an indication that there are many challenges for disabled people in regards to finding work as workplaces may not cater to the needs of disabled employees. With 13.9 million people being disabled in the UK it suggests that there should be far more awareness made to help businesses understand the benefits in hiring an individual with a disability.
Change 100 is doing its utmost to tackle disability inequality in big businesses
In 2014, Leonard Cheshire, a voluntary service provider for disabled people, set up a programme called Change 100. Since then, it has allowed people with specific needs to enter the workplace more comfortably. This unique internship offer three months of paid work experience for students and graduates, giving them the foundations and potentially a foot in the door to a highly regarded profession. Change 100 is doing its utmost to tackle disability inequality in big businesses, and the programme has proved to be a success after they were the winners of the Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative Awards for two consecutive years. This shows it has been hugely beneficial to thousands of students that may have otherwise struggled to find suitable work after
their degree. With big-name businesses including the BBC, BMW and Taylor Wimpey already supporting the programme, it is hoped that many more will follow, so that career opportunities for disabled students are further maximised after school or university.
Examples of possible graduate opportunities include KPMG, Goldman Sachs, the Civil Service and Google
A similar organisation is EmployAbility, a non-profit organisation dedicated to assisting students and graduates with all disabilities, including dyslexia or long term health conditions, into employment. Examples of possible graduate opportunities include KPMG, Goldman Sachs, the Civil Service and Google. One successful intern said “I saw the disability as a hindrance and that’s the opinion I thought any employer would have. However, throughout the internship I learnt I am more than capable of excelling in a working environment.” In 2010, EmployAbility were winners of “Best Graduate Recruitment Partner” at the National Graduate Recruitment Awards Both programmes are uniquely tailored to suit disabled students, and they are a successful start in not only offering incredible work experiences, but also raising awareness for a community of people who deserve a chance to showcase their talent in the business world. Applications are open for Change 100 internships until 16th January 2019 and more information can be found on their website.
Leonard Cheshire has been highly praised Image: University of the Fraser Valley
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news Newcastle to provide innovative cancer treatment
Monday 22 October 2018
Isobel Conn The Northern Centre for Cancer Care in Newcastle will be among the first UK hospitals to provide a groundbreaking new cancer treatment for its patients. CAR-T therapy - Axicabtagene ciloleucel (or Yescarta), will be a source of fresh hope
“This is an important day for patients with lymphoma who may have run out of effective treatment options leaving them with just months to live”
Hilary Hutton Squire, General Manager, Gilead Sciences
for adults suffering with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and primary mediastinal Bcell lymphoma that has been unresponsive to previous treatments. The personalised therapy targets the patient’s immune system, reprogramming it to fight their cancer. This
treatment, which forms part of the NHS’ plan to substantially enhance cancer services, will be available to patients for whom two or more previous remedies have failed. Medical trials have suggested that this revolutionary therapy could cure 40% of patients who undergo it. Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England said: “Thanks to investment in game-changing techniques like CAR-T, the NHS is at the forefront of providing a new wave of personalised treatments that are individually tailored to patients… CAR-T cell therapy is one of the most promising new treatments in a generation for lymphoma and leukaemia, and NHS patients will now be among the first in the world to benefit. “The NHS has world leading clinicians, researchers and scientists, and today’s announcement is proof-positive that we are open to constructive and flexible partnerships with industry that rapidly bring life sciences innovation to NHS patients in a way that is also fair to British taxpayers.” The treatment will be available for up to 200 NHS patients a year after NHS England signed a confidential agreement with Gilead Sciences, who manufacture it. The General Manager of the company in the UK and Ireland, Hilary Hutton Squire said: “This is an important day for patients with lymphoma who may have run out of effective treatment options leaving them
just months to live. We are delighted to have been able to reach an agreement by working closely with NHS England... which allows us to bring this new generation of personalised cancer treatment to patients.” CAR-T therapy would ordinarily have cost £300,000 per patient. However, the commercial deal between Gilead Sciences and NHS England has allowed the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to authorise its entry into the Cancer Drugs Fund for NHS England, which pays for thousands of patients to access expensive cancer treatments. The rate of cancer survival in England is increasing every year with 7,000 more people surviving this year than three years ago. The adoption of this complex therapy will help continue this trajectory. Besides Newcastle, hospitals in Birmingham, Bristol, London and Manchester will also provide the new treatment. Dr Tobias Menne, Consultant Haematologist at Newcastle’s Northern Centre for Cancer Care said: “This is fantastic news. CAR-T cells are a game-changer for patients with difficult diseases and offer very good response rates. This exciting opportunity provides a potential cure to patients. “We are proud and delighted to be in the first wave of NHS hospitals working towards providing this novel therapy in the near future.”
Simon Stevens, Chief Executive, NHS England Image: Flickr
NUS survey reveals Students struggle to achieve as living excessive drinking habits of students Carys Thomas Culture Editor
Chloe Twiselton
Freshers’ week saw many students indulge in the most alcohol intensive week of their lives, with many extending this trend and continuing to drink multiple times a week. Some studies have suggested, however, that less and less of us are choosing to drink. According to NUS, 21% of students claim not to drink and it is believed that the implementation of the Alcohol Impact Programme has
The majority of students admit to drinking three to six times a week
impacted this. One student of Newcastle University stated that he no longer drinks due to becoming more aware of the negative health impacts that alcohol has on his body. “I recently stopped drinking”, he said. “I know that (drinking) is very unhealthy and could cause me to gain weight”. This student also feels that many university students could become reliant on alcohol and are likely to think they need to drink to fit in with their peers- this is a recurring opinion, as 70% of students feel that people drink to fit in with friends, the NUS survey claims. However, many students do not believe this to be a problem they personally experience, as 41% stated that they do not feel their friends expect them to drink. Two Newcastle students admitted concerns about starting university as non-drinkers. “I was very worried about starting uni, particularly with Newcastle’s nightlife reputation… the uni has a huge drinking culture. It has put me off joining a number of societies due to their socials revolving around alcohol and clubbing.”
Alternatively, four other non-drinking students said that they didn’t feel they needed alcohol to have a fun night, with one student stating how impressed he was that many Freshers’ Week activities. Many feel that offering these events over the year makes it much easier for students to socialise without feeling under pressure to drink. Another point, which was highlighted by two female students at Newcastle University, was that one of the reasons they no longer drink is due to feeling in a more vulnerable state when drunk and not wanting to put themselves in dangerous situations, especially in a city environment. This is a fear held by many young students, particularly when out in a new place. Despite an increasing number of people opting to drink less or even go teetotal, the number of students who drink regularly remains particularly high. The NUS student drinking report found that 50% of students drink at least once a week and 29% drink between 3 and 7 times. When asked about the negative impacts of their drinking, a group of Newcastle University student expressed concerns over how hangovers affect their education. “Reading is much more difficult the morning after having a drink and it can be a struggle to get up for my 9 AM lectures.” It appears these risks are not putting students off drinking as, when questioned, the majority of local students admitted to drinking between three to six times a week. All but one of these students said that alcohol wasn’t necessary to have a fun night but they all believe that drinking is a large part of university culture. It appears that more freshers are choosing to go sober throughout their uni life compared to past years and it is becoming easier for them to participate in social activities with like-minded people. It is possible that Newcastle University has aided this by providing more inclusive events for non-drinkers. However, Newcastle itself as a city is renowned for its nightlife, so arguably, it is to be expected that a majority of students are likely to continue to drink regularly.
A month has passed since Freshers’ Week and as student’s first bout of bills and rent is taken out of their bank accounts, many may realise that the cost of living at university is higher than they first envisaged. According to new research conducted by Epson, more than two thirds (66%) of 18-19 year olds will find the cost of living at university much higher than they first expected. There has been a noticeable increase in the cost of student living at Newcastle University this year. The opening of Park View Student Village,
Newcastle University’s new student accommodation built to replace Richardson Road (commonly known as Ricky Road) which was demolished in 2016 is an example of such rising costs. A standard en-suite at Park View is £134.33 per. week, whereas three years ago a standard bedroom in Ricky Road was £89 per. week. This shows an increase of over 50% with no plans for new affordable accommodation to be built in the works. Some students turn to part-time or Christmas temp. jobs to financially support themselves at university and those who already have part-time jobs take on extra hours. An increase in time students spend working to break even frequently has the knockon effect of taking time away from students
which would otherwise have been spent on their studies. Epson found that 38% of students say they experience reduced academic productivity as a result of working too much. As well as part-time jobs or extra hours, students also reportedly skip meals, sell their possessions, take part in medical trials, gamble and sell drugs in an attempt to break even at university. Yet, 51% still say that they struggle to cover their living expenses. But it is not only time spent at work that is to blame for a poorer performance. Mentalhealth issues caused or made worse by money worries can also seriously affect students and stop them from reaching their full academic potential.
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the courier
Monday 22 October 2018
‘Gifted to a Grateful Nation?’ Exploring a legacy Steven Ross News Editor
50 years after the National Trust site at Wallington Hall, Morpeth, opened its doors to the public, Newcastle University hosted ‘Gifted to a Grateful Nation?’, an event to commemorate and discuss the importance of Charles Trevelyan’s impressive benefaction. Sir Trevelyan was a wealthy landowner and Socialist politician in the 20th century. In 1928 he inherited Wallington Hall and, in 1942 donated the 13,000 acre estate, which had been in the Trevelyan family since 1777, to the National Trust. ‘Gifted to a Grateful Nation?’ took place in the Armstrong Building on 6th October. It included a performance by the November Club theatre company which reimagined the moment that Trevelyan came to Newcastle to announce his donation. This was followed by a panel discussion about the importance of heritage sites to English culture and how their role could change in the future. Panellists included George Trevelyan, whose grandfather was the brother of Sir Charles, Jill Taylor-Roe, a librarian at Newcastle University, and Megan Wilson, a PhD student at Newcastle University, among others. Jill Taylor-Roe also spoke about the Trevelyan archive, which is housed at Newcastle University, and how it can be explored to shed more insight on Trevelyan’s decision to do-
nate such a large swathe of land. Gillian Mason, who works for the National Trust at Wallington said that the event “Is the finale to a programme celebrating 50 years of the National Trust at Wallington. “Working in partnership with November Club, the story of Sir Charles’ gift has been shared with visitors to the property through a series of installations, activities and pop-up theatre.” Dr Annie Tindley, as a Newcastle University lecturer in Modern British History, explained that Wallington Hall is one of the largest gifts ever made to the National Trust. She said: “the event is our opportunity to explore the consequences of this gift. As well as looking back at the past fifty years, the event will look ahead to the next fifty and beyond.” The National Trust was founded in 1895 and has worked to preserve and protect historic places and sites of interest ever since. Wallington Hall is one of over 300 historic houses, spanning across the country from Pensance to Lindisfarne, in the care of the National Trust. A series of events is also taking place atWallington Hall from May to November called ‘Time Tests Faith’ These events will inform audiences about the heated negotiations between Trevelyan and the National Trust as he tried to donate his estate whilst continuing to reside there with his family. Wallington Hall is now open to the public year round.
Wallington Hall Image: Geograph
g costs spiral Burglaries motivated by social media on rise NUS’ 2016 study funded by Future Finance, looked into the ways financial worries affects the mental health of many students. 64% said they worry about their finances all the time or often, with a further 36% worrying about their finances so much that it negatively affects their mental health. NUS also found that despite so many students experiencing financial problems at university, a significant majority (74%) say that they would not drop out of university as a result of their financial problems. They cited the value that they place on their education and the positive affect they believe it will have on their lives after university as their reasons for remaining in at university, in spite of financial problems.
Park View Student Village Image: Newcastle University
Harriet Middlewood
Newcastle students moving into halls or student houses for the first time should be aware of “risky” social media posting greatly increasing the chance of being burgled, according to a new report from Swinton Insurance.
Every year thousands of students escape down the M1 to go home for Christmas. This presents an ideal opporunity for thieves
Risky posts are ones that either talk about being away from home, which show burglars that the property is vacated, or ones that show off your valuables, such as cars or, particularly among students, high-value electronics. Such posts are all too easy to make on Facebook or Instagram where you’re trying to show off your best self, but allow thieves to either see if you have anything worth taking or if they’ll be able to enter your house undetected. Worryingly, research conducted by Swinton Insurance shows that 49% of burglary offenders are prior acquaintances of the victim; social media posts can therefore greatly influence someone’s likelihood of being burgled. According to the statistics, people in Newcastle are 257% more likely to post about nights out or trips away than the national average, making it the riskiest city in the UK in regards to this type of behavior. This is probably in part due to the huge student population renowned for their party lifestyle which means many houses will be empty late at night and in the early morning, coupled with the students’ migratory nature – every year thousands of Newcastle and Northumbria students escape down the M1 to go home for Christmas. This presents an ideal opportunity for thieves, knowing that most students will vacate their halls of residence or student houses and not return until January exams.
Swinton Insurance, as well as other insurance providers and local police departments, have published advice on how students can actively reduce the risk of social media-influenced burglary. One commonly echoed piece of advice is to put your social media settings on private so that only close friends can see where you are and what you post. It is also recommended to delay posting night out selfies until the next day, so thieves do not know you are out of the house. Your future sober self will thank you. Despite users from the North East being 76% more likely than the national average to upload photos of their new house on social media, avoid posting photos tagged at your exact address. It shows burglars that you’re students and therefore likely to be out of the house in the evenings. While moving into a new student house is exciting, keep it vague on social media by simply posting your area; tagging a photo in Jesmond or Sandyford is all that most of your friends list need to know.
While the vast quantities of new faces you meet at university may become a blur, ensure that you aren’t giving strangers an insight into your private life
Swinton Insurance also emphasises the importance of not accepting friend requests from unknown people. While the vast quantities of new faces you meet at university may become a blur, ensure that you aren’t giving strangers an insight into your private life. Finally, if you’re living in a student house and on the way to the club, order a taxi to the end of the street so the driver doesn’t know where you’ve come from. In the past there have been incidents where the driver, knowing that the house’s occupants were enjoying a night out, has come back later to burgle.
Burglars have been tracing homes through social media Image: Max Pixel
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news
Monday 22 October 2018
Hadrian’s Wall receives funding from the National Lottery
Toby Bryant Newcastle University has been awarded a fund of £1.17 million to put towards the conservation of one of the North’s most prestigious landmarks, Hadrian’s wall.
“These inernationallimpotant ancient monuments, and the fascinating history they tell, will be better understood and cared for by their communities”
Ross Kerslake, Chief Executive of the Heritage Lottery Fund
Hailing from the rule of Emperor Hadrian in AD 122, Hadrian’s Wall ran from the River Tyne itself, across the country, to the Irish sea. The wall remains the largest Roman artefact
in the world, stretching 135 kilometres, but with threats from weather, tourism and invasive plant species, there are worries for Hadrian’s Wall’s future. The grant will go towards the Community Archaeology Project’s scheme which is set to take a group of volunteers across the whole stretch of wall to be trained in skills including digital surveying, such as terrestrial laser scanning, as well as conservation and geological work. The goal? To keep the British landmark standing for as long as possible. The Community Archaeology Project has recently conducted surveys and research including the Where is our Wall? scheme. This project looks into the disappearance of rocks from the wall, which have been taken to build up the areas surrounding the wall over the past decade. Although Hadrian’s Wall was declared a World Heritage Site back in 1987, it remains unguarded. The ever-fragile landscape, which is under stress from keen walkers’ desires to take on the trail, is also damaged by explorers endeavouring to scale the height. Dr Rob Collins is the project manner at the Community Archaeology Project and a Lecturer in Archaeology here at the University. He spoke to Newcastle University about the cultural importance of Hadrian’s Wall and
what he hopes his project will achieve. “Hadrian’s Wall has been a vital part of our landscape for the past 1900 years. “Thanks to funding from The National Lottery, we will be able to better understand the position of the Wall in the current working
landscape, and ensure that the monument will be enjoyed by future generations of local communities and visitors.” Ross Kerslake, the Chief Executive of the Heritage Lottery Fund, also weighed in on the initiative:
“The legacy of the initiatives announced today will be that these internationally-important ancient monuments, and the fascinating history they tell, will be better understood and cared for by their communities well into the future.
Hadrian’s Wall is a World Heritage Site Image: Flickr
Sexism and the City: University Insights Newcastle University invest lecture explores gender mainstreaming in Teeside doctor training Joe Molander
On Thursday 11th October, a feminist spoke at a university; it is hardly surprising, but the topic of her lecture certainly proved out of the ordinary. Marion Roberts – Professor Emeritus of Urban Design at the University of Westminster – spoke in the Curtis Auditorium at length about the feminist view on urban planning. It might not seem the most intriguing subject and one which is not currently in the public eye; when The Courier’s correspondent spoke to members of the audience after the talk and was asked why he was there, he had little else to offer beyond “sent by the school paper”. The audience at the public lecture, one from Newcastle University’s Insights
Mbale, Uganda Image: IsakFotografi on Flickr
series, were right to be so captivated, though; Roberts spoke with passion about the rise of neoliberalism in urban planning, or how the profession’s male-dominated workforce has failed to consider the needs of women. In Mbale, Uganda, for example, highways are being erected where once stood narrower roads more accommodating to the femaledominated street trading industry. Highway construction can thus deprive low income women of their sole source of wealth; even before this new disruption, arrests and sexual harassment – the latter no doubt old as time – caused problems. According to Roberts, there are some parts of the world where so-called ‘gender mainstreaming’ – or taking into account the different needs of men and women in the “layout of the built environment and open spaces” – is being taken seriously. Roberts illustrated this
using the Frauen-Werkstatt, erected twenty years ago in Vienna; literally translating to Women’s Workshop, it boasts wider streets for the benefit of women pushing buggies, more streetlights for those travelling late at night, and spaces in public parks for activities other than football (a typically male endeavour, although any Newcastle fan will wonder why any of them bother). In the Aspern Seestadt’s Brownfield urban extension, which is also in Austria, outcomes will be judged by a jury that includes a “gender expert”. Some of this may seem unimportant to the general populace – the “symbolic dimension” of gender mainstreaming being a topic which can attract particular ridicule, with Roberts even naming the lecture “‘Gender sensitive’ cities – why should we care?” – but cities are increasingly seen as shaping who we are, and vice versa. In her talk, Roberts drew attention to “white young heteronormative” images of sex dominating the finer details of city living, with hypersexualised advertising and the popularity of strip clubs making it uncomfortable for women to walk around in the place they live. On top of that, Roberts argues that the heteronormativity that permeates the development of cities undoes the impact of burgeoning gay clubs and corners, such as Manchester’s Canal Street or Newcastle’s Pink Triangle. Regardless of any societal importance it may have, gender mainstreaming remains a long way from the political mainstream; Roberts called for both “major investment on the part of public bodies” and “political championship” - two things the movement is lacking. Roberts believes the European Commission funds her organisation out of concern for the movement “stalling”. One thing that this movement does not seem to lack, though, is new blood; while Roberts is a member of the feminist oldguard, and one which older members of the audience took to well (a retired member of the Newcastle City Council enthused that the issues raised by Roberts were never discussed at his old work), her fresher-faced admirers were far from dispassionate. Your correspondent left the auditorium while a woman in her twenties told Roberts how much she admired her, with Roberts herself discussing the movement’s possible “revival with a younger generation”, encouraged by the growth of female and (ever an intersectional) LGBTQ+ city planners. She also points out the rise of Urbanistas, a group aiming “to make cities better for everyone”. The movement certainly deserves attention; the issue now is seeing if it gets any.
Grace Dean News Editor
A partnership between South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Newcastle University is leading to major funding being invested to improve medical student training in the North East. The £1m investment will be used to provide doctors for the hospitals in Teesside by introducing an extra 100 Newcastle University fourth-year medical students on placement there each year by 2020. When added to the third- and fifth-year students already on placement in Teesside, this will increase the number of Newcastle University medical students on placement there up to a total of 300 per annum. The MBBS students will not only work in the hospitals on Teesside but also receive training at the Institute of Learning as part of a new course being introduced which will benefit from improved library and the provision of mock wards.
“This will enable us to refurbish current facilities and expand our capacity for undergraduate education”
tion at Newcastle University, who said that, “At a time when many areas of the country are finding it hard to recruit and retain doctors, particularly GPs, courses like this which
“This emphasies our commitment to training the future medical workforce of our region”
Professor Steve Jones, Head of the School of Medical Education, Newcastle Univesity
offer the best teaching, in a forward-thinking Trust, enable us to attract the brightest and best students. “This enhanced provision on Teesside will reflect the renewed teaching programme for medical students at Newcastle University which ensures a hands-on approach. “This comes alongside access to some of the busiest and most exciting medical environments in the country and emphasises our commitment to training the future medical workforce for our region.”
Professor Andrew Owens, South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Discussing the partnership, Professor Andrew Owens, Medical Director of Education, Research and Innovation at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, described the Trust’s reaction, saying “We’re delighted by this investment which further recognises the high quality of medical education that students receive in the Tees valley. “This will enable us to refurbish current facilities and expand our capacity for undergraduate education, ensuring that the additional fourth year students have an appropriate environment to support their studies. Addressing the increasing concern over the nationwide deficiency of doctors, Professor Owens said that, “We believe that the additional exposure to our region, combined with the overall growth in medical students, will go a long way to alleviate the shortage of doctors in the wider area.” This view was echoed by Professor Steve Jones, Head of the School of Medical Educa-
The investment aims to alleviate the current effects of the doctor deficit Image: Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University
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news
Monday 22 October 2018
Newcastle Alumni donates 1 million pounds to University Molly Greeves News Editor
Sir Terry Farrell, founder of the prestigious architectural firm Farrells and noted Newcastle alumni, has donated both his personal archive and £1m to the university for a renovated “Farrell Centre”. This space will include a new architectural exhibition center, an urban room that allows the public to learn more about the past, present and future of Newcastle and a start-up space to aid recent graduates. Due to his work on the Newcastle Quayside and the Centre For Life, among many other structures around the country, Farrell is considered one of Newcastle University’s “Remarkable Alumni”. The world-renowned architect has won seven Civic Trust awards, worked on the MI6 Building that has appeared in several Bond films and was made a Knight Bachelor in 2001 for his postmodern work. Professor Chris Day, the Vice-Chancellor and president of the university said that he is “incredibly proud” that one of “the world’s most eminent architects” is a Newcastle graduate. Despite working on projects all around the world, Farrell himself is also proud to have “contributed to (the) future” of Newcastle as he still considers it “one of the greatest cities in England”. “Newcastle has a very clear identity, with the Tyne gorge and its bridges.” Farrell said. “When you see the Great North Run on TV, you know where it is.” An influential architect in Newcastle and
around the world, Farrell’s work is studied by students in the school of Architecture, Planning and Landscape. Professor Adam Sharr, the head of Newcastle’s school for Architecture, Planning and Landscape, said: “As part of their (architectural) history courses, students study ‘Postmodernism’ which Terry Farrell is famous for. In the 1980s and 90s, Postmodernism was a challenge to previously-accepted ‘modernist’ ideas about rational planning in architecture, representing instead a return to historical decoration. “Students’ design projects also pursue many of the themes evident in Farrell’s work: like urban design that promotes vibrant public life in the spaces of the city; like infrastructure projects which make good spaces for people as well as accommodating commercial interests; like thinking about buildings and the city together as a whole in ways which improve both.” Farrell’s extensive archive includes models, diaries and papers that reference iconic designs such as the MI6 Building and Beijing South Station in China. It also includes mementos from his years as a student at Newcastle University. Professor Adam Sharr believes that Farrell’s donation will greatly benefit students in their studies. “The gallery will give an amazing opportunity for students, and the world-leading researchers we have here at Newcastle University’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, to influence urban agendas locally and globally. The archive also gives us lots of fascinating models and drawings that we can use in our teaching, as well as in the gallery.”
£39m development on former Ricky Road site
Jodie Duddy News Editor
The last phase of Newcastle University’s latest development project is well under way for a January 2020 opening of its £39 million teaching and learning facility.
This new centre is part of the same scheme that brought about the Park View Student Village accommodation
The new centre will house the school of Psychology, Sport and Exercise Science and Human Nutrition and is yet unnamed but was celebrated last month with a groundbreaking ceremony which brought together builders from Clugston Construction, advi-
sors from Muckle LLP and figureheads from the University who collaborated on the project. This new centre is part of the same scheme that brought about the Park View Student Village accommodation and the renovation of the Sports Centre on the edge of campus, where the infamous ‘Ricky Road’ student accommodation once stood. Emma Stevenson commented on the facility as part of “Newcastle University’s £500 million investment in quality facilities that deliver an outstanding student experience and an excellent environment for our students’ learning, teaching and research. “The new facility will be used by the whole university, promoting the development of cross-disciplinary research and teaching in sport and exercise science.” According to the University, the building will be six stories tall and include a 300 seat lecture theatre along with offices, clinical suites, social learning spaces and seminar rooms.
SIr Terry Farrell and Chris Day Image: Newcastle University
Students from low income backgrounds struggle to find iternships, survey claims Will Bowes Work experience and internships are becoming increasingly difficult to access for students with limited incomes, research shows.
“All internships over four weeks should be paid at least the minimum wage of £7.50 per hour”
Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust
London, the desired destination for many Newcastle students to gain industrial insight, has had its living costs rise to over £1000 a month, a recent study found. Economic influences and inflation are putting increased pressure students from less affluent backgrounds as a month-long placement in the capital now can cost upwards of £1019. A little bit closer to home, rent and bills in Jesmond cost around £500 monthly, proving a more viable option. Whilst this is a cheaper alternative, students miss-out on top employers by not locating themselves in the heart of the British tertiary sector. The Sutton Trust, an education charity which aims to “address educational disadvantage”, expressed concern that “significant costs” attributed to unpaid work were prohibiting the less-advantaged student population from gaining the necessary skills to be successful post-graduation. Sutton Trust chairman Sir Peter Lampl stated that nearly four out of ten young students who had carried out internships were unpaid. Lampl spoke upon a matter of change, “All internships (that run) over four weeks should be paid at least the minimum wage of £7.50 per hour.” A staggering amount in comparison to minimum wage for 18-20-year-olds of £5.90 an hour. Lampl furthers this: “All internship positions should be advertised pub-
licly. Large numbers of internships are never advertised and instead offered through informal networks. This practice locks out young people without connections.” “Also, the process by which potential candidates are selected for internships should uphold the same standards of recruitment as for other jobs.” “Failure to do so prevents young people from low and moderate-income backgrounds from accessing jobs in some of the most desirable sectors such as journalism, fashion, the arts and politics.” On websites such as Indeed, there are thousands of high-end firms offering unpaid experience, such as RMC media, Global Voices ltd and Le Salon, in which there is no wage and only some firms offer expense reim-
These expereinces are vital for CV building and can put those who cannot afford them in a difficult position when it comes to graduate job hunting
bursement. Many argue that students are being exploited as these experiences are vital for CV building and can put those who cannot afford them in an increasingly difficult position when it comes to graduate job hunting. Second year Newcastle University student Archie, who is seeking experience in the banking sector, said students were being “placed under too much stress to take the non-paid options, as only the very top firms where applications are highly competitive seem to be offering a suitable wage.” “I know many fellow students who have been running deep into their overdrafts to secure these internships, and this only puts us in a harder situation when we come back to our university studies with financial difficulties as an even more pressing issue.”
London is a city popular among students looking for internships Image: Wikimedia Commons
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editor.union@ncl.ac.uk Student Voice Editor: Isabel Sykes
Monday 15 October 2018
student voice
Try out for your 2019 University Challenge team Isabel Sykes Deputy Editor
Newcastle are recruiting a new team for BBC 2’s University Challenge. On Wednesdsay 17 October, NUSU Presiden Raff Marioni posted on Facebook to advertise the beginning of trials, encouraging students to come down and have a go at answering “questions that even Paxman would struggle with.” Trials begin at the end of the month and will be on for 4 dates: 29 October at 5pm, 30 October at 6pm, 1 November at 2pm and 2 November at 1pm. Trials are set to last around an hour, and will take place in the Planning Room located on the first floor of the NUSU building.
Last year Newcastle University reached the semi-finals of Univesity Challenge. Jack Reynard, Molly Nielsen, Jonathan Noble, and Adam Lowery joined the team in November 2016 after competiting for the places with fellow students. The semi-finals were shown live in Luther’s Bar in NUSU on 16 April 2018. They were subsequently knocked out of the competition by Merton College, Oxford. It was a massive sucess for Newcastle University, having been the first time the team has ever made it to the semifinals in the competitions history. Adam Lowery commented at the time that “It’s a massive honour to be able to represent Newcastle at this level. It was amazing and exciting to get this far.” Students interested in getting involved should attend trials in the coming weeks. Raff Marioni, President of Newcastle University Stu-
dents Union commented: ‘I’d encourage students to come and try out for this as its
‘I’d encourage students to come and try out for this as its a really great chance to test your knowledge and prove yourself against Paxman’
Raff Marioni , NUSU President
a really great chance to test your knowledge, prove yourself against Paxman and try out for a show that we’ve all
seen and loved growing up.’ In the wake of the competition Lowery reflected on what being part of the challenge had meant to him in terms of building friendships with the different teams: “you meet a lot of the teams and the further you go on, the more you interact with some of the teams, and I think everyone on our team will agree that we got along really well with them. “We were obviously sad to lose however we were very happy to get this far, and to compete against such a great team.” If you think you can rival last year’s team and make it past the semi-finals, or just want to have a go at testing your not so general knowledge, make it down to one of the trials sessions during the upcoming weeks.
Last year’s university challenge team. Image: BBC 2
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the courier
Monday 22 October 2018
@CourierComment courier.comment@ncl.ac.uk thecourieronline.co.uk/comment Comment Editors Jamie Cameron, Caitlin Disken & Alexandra Sadler Online Editor Rory Cameron
Brexit:timeforanothervote?
Nicola Sturgeon recently announced that she would back another referendum. Our writers debate if another vote is necessary
NO: Edward Ingram
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icola Sturgeon, leader of the SNP, has become the latest public figure to come out in support of a ‘People’s Vote’, the movement that is campaigning for a second Referendum on the final Brexit deal. It is probably the most entitled, neo-liberal movement you’ll come across and was justly labelled as ‘a very elite uprising’ by The Spectator. Just take a look at its lead advocates: Tony Blair, Gina Miller, Richard Branson, the Liberal Democrats, Andrew Adonis and Alistair Campbell. The list reads like a who’s who of notorious public figures, out of touch millionaires and narcissists. Rather than accept the referendum result and act constructively, or with some humility at least, the arch Remoaners began criticising and frustrating the Brexit process almost immediately. The Liberal Democrats, for example, supported a second vote almost immediately after the first one. This has ultimately created the impression that the People’s Vote campaign are happy to respect democracy, just only when they’re on the winning side. ‘52% voted to Leave? Doesn’t matter, we know best.’
The divisions exposed during the first campaign could widen and intensify
Aside from the campaign’s casual dismissal of democracy, it’s concerning that they aren’t considering the implications a second vote could have. Firstly, there is no evidence to suggest that Remain would win a second vote. The key factors that led to the Brexit vote remain unchanged: the disastrous impact of globalisation upon the lives of ordinary people, the shrinking of the state after eight years of austerity, and dissatisfaction at the lack of accountability of the EU. This all contributed to the first result, and all remain unchanged. Far from securing continued membership of the EU, a second referendum would most likely produce a second leave vote, killing off the debate for a generation. Secondly, the divisions exposed during the first campaign could widen and intensify, further poisoning our society and political culture. Given the current toxicity of the political climate, this could be a terrifying
prospect. Most importantly, however, is the fact that a second referendum would almost certainly undermine the public’s faith in the democratic process. It simply broadcasts the message that the people’s opinion doesn’t matter unless it’s the right one.
Re-running the referendum could trigger a democratic crisis
Democracies thrive when their citizens have faith that elections will produce results that reflect public opinion. Re-running the referendum will surely erode this faith and could trigger a democratic crisis. If that is the price the People’s Vote is willing to pay, then I underestimated their arrogance.
ture the country further. This is hollow talk. Nothing says united more than completely disregarding the will of an entire nation! Why shouldn’t Scotland be able to stay in the customs union and single market? It’s what they voted for, after all. Even now, 79% of Scottish National Party MPs would back a second Brexit referendum. This is an astonishing majority, and it should be taken into account. Let’s also not forget that the Brexit campaign cheated. Brexiteers seem to idolise democracy, but can the vote really be called democratic when the Electoral Commission fined Vote Leave and reported the campaign group to the police? Even Shahmir Sanni, the Brexiteer who blew the whistle on Vote Leave’s misdoings, is advocating for a second vote. Brexit, if it must be done, should not be done as a re-
sult of a scaremongering, hate-fuelled campaign. Maybe a second vote would allow people to choose based on fact, rather than alarmist fiction.
People could choose based on fact, rather than alarmist fiction
There’s one reason Brexiteers are causing such a fuss about a second Referendum. It is because they are scared. They are scared that, when the facts are presented fairly and truthfully, they will lose. If they love democracy so much, then this should be a risk they’re willing to take.
YES: Caitlin Disken
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icola Sturgeon has become the latest politician to feel the wrath of Brexiteers. Sturgeon, Scotland’s First Minister, announced that she would back a second Referendum on Brexit. Many Brexiteers, enraged by the very real possibility of their vote being overturned, have reacted in blind fury, ignoring Sturgeon’s pragmatic reasons for the vote. It must be remembered that Scotland did not vote to leave the EU. 62% of Scots actually voted to remain in the EU, compared to just 38% wanting to leave. The Brexiteers who are determined to crash out of the EU, dragging Scotland along with them, are doing what they so often accuse Remainers of. Branded ‘Remoaners’, the Leave campaign has often accused Remainers of being selfish, petulant children who are stroppy and disregard democracy. By denying Scotland the chance to stay in the EU, Brexiteers are also ignoring the Scottish people’s democratic choice to remain. Yes, Leave may have won overall, but to ignore the will of an entire nation shows just what the English establishment thinks of their fellow countrymen. They may as well just say it: as long as the English get what they want, it doesn’t matter what their Scottish and Northern Irish counterparts think. This sense of English superiority perpetuated by the Leave campaign only reinforces the damaging historical hierarchy of the UK. Brexiteers also claim that a second vote will only frac-
Images: Public Domain Pictures, Flickr
A monumental crisis for mental health Stanley Gilyead discusses whether the government is doing enough to tackle the UK’s ongoing mental health crisis
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he annual World Mental Health Day was marked this year with awareness being drawn to the increasingly widespread issue by public figures such as Lady Gaga and Theresa May. Additionally, over a million tweets using the hashtag #worldmentalhealthday were posted worldwide. However, the problem remains rampant with referrals to child and adolescent mental health services in England having increased by 26% over the last five years. A Lancet Commission report has declared that the world is failing to tackle a ‘mental health crisis’, with the epidemic of ‘monumental’ suffering expected to cost the global economy $16 trillion beImage: Pixabay
tween 2010 and 2030 if unaddressed. Despite celebrities from Prince Harry to the cast of TOWIE, speaking out about their troubles, the stigma around mental health remains, with 38% of sufferers saying they’ve been treated negatively due to their illness. Public figures such as Katie Hopkins have rubbished mental health p r o b - lems
branding suicidal peo-ple ‘attention seeking b*stards’, whilst national newspapers have made light of the issue, with coverage of Aaron Lennon’s struggles largely focussing on the footballer’s salary. This has contributed to many people suffering in silence, with 1 in 4 university students too uncomfortable to reveal mental health problems to their friends.
National newspapers have made light of the issue
Although former health secretary Jeremy Hunt stated that he wants ‘parity be-tween mental and physical health’, services remain stretched. Mental health trusts in England had their budgets slashed by £150 million between 2012 and 2017, despite overall health spending increasing by £8 billion. This has resulted in the vast majority of people who contact mental health services having to wait a month before seeing a specialist, whilst 6% are forced to wait over a year. This has led to 75% of young people declaring that their condition deteriorated be-fore they received treatment, and reports of patients attempting suicide whilst stuck on NHS waiting lists. Quality
of care has also declined, with 30% fewer beds and 6,000 fewer nurses in mental health services than a decade ago, caus-ing the number of unexpected patient deaths to rise by 50% between 2014 and 2017. Theresa May has promised to ‘end the stigma’ around mental health with the creation of a suicide prevention minister. However her pick for the post, Jackie DoylePrice, has been found to have previously joked about the issue, in com-ments that Jeremy Corbyn has branded ‘inappropriate’ and ‘unacceptable’, lead-ing many to question whether her appointment may in fact be counterproductive to reducing stigma around mental health. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has admitted that the minister doesn’t have any funds or targets, with her first job said to be ‘arguing for her own budget’, within an already tight NHS allowance.
Progress will remain difficult whilst services remain underfunded
Whilst Mrs Doyle-Price’s appointment may eventually help the quarter of the population that suffers from mental health problems annually, progress is sure to remain difficult whilst services remain underfunded.
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comment
Monday 22 October 2018
Climate catastrophes
Our writers dissect a UN report urging drastic change before the damage caused is irreversible
Caitlin Disken
Ally Wilson
s a society, it is no exaggeration to say that we are collectively living in denial when it comes to climate change. At the moment, everybody is concerned. Climate change hit the headlines after a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated that we have 12 years to limit global warming to 1.5C. Emissions need to be virtually eliminated by 2050 if we want to stop sea level rise, freak weather, and loss of human and animal life. Suddenly, we are all concerned because now it feels real. The question is, will the report have faded into obscurity in a few weeks? Will the conversation about climate change once again grind to a halt?
ust when you think Donald Trump has done every narcissistic and disgraceful thing the leader of the most powerful country in the world can, he goes ahead and surprises you. But his most recent admission of having not read the latest UN climate report, containing the strongest warning we have ever had about how much we’re destroying the planet and the anthropological effect on climate change shouldn’t come as a shock. Having pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement – something which world leaders and environmental experts alike spent years and whole careers organising – and purging the US Environmental Protection Agency of its funding and powers, it’s to be expected that the oval office is full of unread environmental reports and unopened envelopes from leading scientists with the words FINAL WARNING stamped onto them in red ink. But this is where the issue is. His ridiculousness and complete buffoonery are being mocked and turned into memes, however this shouldn’t and mustn’t cloud over the very real danger of his actions as president for our world. Without t h e
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Climate change is a human problem that needs a human solution
For the sake of our planet, I hope not. I would like to think that the report is the wake-up call we all need. It’s a clear, stark warning that dispels Trump’s claims that melting ice-caps and sea-level rise ‘would have happened with or without man’. Time and time again, scientists have proved that climate change is a human problem that needs a human solution. The IPCC report noted that the planet is currently 1C warmer than it was in the preindustrial era. And what has happened since that preindustrial era? The age of car emissions, fossil fuels and factories. To say that climate change would have happened without these human influences is at best a myth. At worst, it is an unfounded, selfish lie, that protects the interests of oil companies, stakeholders and those rich enough to protect themselves against the effects of climate change. There’s been a lot of debate over the past week about the difference between individual and corporate responsibility. ‘Would you advise someone to flap towels in a burning house?’ asks an article published by The Guardian, which advocates that the neoliberal ideal of individual advancement has prevented us from seeing where the real responsibility lies: with corporations. A Carbon Majors Report found that 71% of global emissions were from just 100 companies, meaning that the bulk of the blame lies with capitalist corporations. However, this doesn’t stop us from acting individually and collectively. We can make the little changes to our lives, such as driving less, eating less meat, and being more energy-efficient. Simultaneously, we can come together as one voice, pressuring the government and corporations to make the changes needed now. We need to show Trump that climate change is not a trivial issue to be brushed off. It is real and it is happening now. Our individual actions may just be a drop in the ocean, but in a situation as dire as this, every little helps. And this time, maybe climate change will remain the topic on everyone’s lips. Maybe then there will be hope for the future.
J
report states, we have until 2040 to make a significant change in our use of non-renewable energy sources and drop our greenhouse gas emissions by at least 45%. That’s not long, and the stunting of the UN’s efforts to kickstart the movement to save our planet by ignorant old men could be the very thing that makes us run out of time.
Our attitude to climate change needs to be shoved up the priorities list
It may seem like just another one of Donald Trump’s ridiculous episodes, but our planet is at stake. However there is no simple solution. To bypass a democratically elected leader in favour of qualified experts may appear to be the obvious choice, but, whether we agree with them or not, Donald Trump was voted in to make these kind of decisions. But just as he was voted in, so too can he be voted out. Attitude to climate change isn’t always the first thing we think about when choosing political representatives, and it needs to be shoved up the priorities list. Until we put qualified and unselfish people
or the love of God, get that festive shit out of my face until at least November. Any time I express the opinion that I don’t want tinsel shoved down my throat in mid-October I know exactly what the reaction will be: I’m a grinch. But I do actually like Christmas- aside from the crippling stress of the end-of-term workload and the mid-shop realisation that you don’t know your loved ones well enough to get them a half-decent present. And yeah, maybe I do think wrapping paper is a huge waste of trees and that lying to children about Santa being real is morally questionable. Those things aside, Christmas music is my shit and red and green is a fabulous colour combo. I just don’t understand people whose whole lives are a countdown to a day that’s fairly underwhelming. And shops putting up advent calendars in September are doing nothing but reminding me how much they’re going to rinse me of my money in the next few months.
ROAST OF THE WEEK
TOMMY ROBINSON
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support of the most powerful country in the world, the organisations mentioned above are so much weaker and therefore our hopes for a healthy planet for our futures is put into jeopardy. As the
shows that ‘false allegations make up 0.62% of all rape cases’. By depicting men as the real victims of the #MeToo movement, the absurd notion arises that men ought to fight against an initiative that aims to ensure the safety of women. Why? To protect men’s image, of course.
The #MeToo movement is, above everything, about equality
Furthermore, it perpetuates the harrowing mind state wherein the fear of being wrongfully accused is stronger than the fear of continued sexual assault and harassment towards women around the word. The movement finds a way to turn the tables on the victims of sexual assault by questioning their intent and doubting their story, so silencing them. Not unlike other movements, such as #notallmen, the #HimToo movement is a powerful tool of stirring the conversation away from what truly matters. It’s a tactic that diverts attention away from survivors, giving attention to abusers . A recent study stated that ‘men are more likely to be
Sean Simpson
TOAST OF THE WEEK Images: Flickr, Max Pixel, Pixabay, Wikipedia
into positions of power, making changes is going to be a very steep uphill struggle.
Aastha Malik assesses how the ‘#HimToo’ movement undermines #MeToo survivors
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Molly Greeves
t is easy to see why those not fully acquainted with politics may sympathise with the cause of Tommy Robinson. A normal man who is concerned about conserving British culture and is silenced because of his criticism of Islam. It is simply about free speech, they may say; the ability to criticise the beliefs of others without being put in prison as Robinson was. However, this is a man who founded the blatantly racist, immigrant hating EDL, and who has, suspiciously, changed his name three times, a repeat offender who has been convicted of mortgage fraud and assault on a police officer. Anyone looking a little closer can see that his imprisonment was not a violation of free speech, but for violating a clearly set out parole order - he is a professional victim and a fraud.
Is equality a battle of the sexes? o one could have foreseen how a single tweet by the actress Alyssa Milano would turn into a global movement. In her tweet, Milano urged women to step up and bring to light their experiences of sexual abuse using the phrase ‘me too’. Since the tweet went viral in October last year, the #MeToo movement has seemingly reached every corner of the world. These two simple words brought a sense of empowerment to survivors, who courageously came forth to demand justice against the perpetuators of abuse. However, when a movement with such power gains momentum, it isn’t long before backlash follows. Numerous people began to claim that #MeToo was spinning out of control, and that the presence of such a movement fosters an environment for false accusations. This refrain quickly acquired a name called the #HimToo movement. More recently, President Donald Trump chipped in saying ‘it is a very scary time for young men in America, where you can be guilty of something you may not be guilty of’. It’s important to deal with the issues of such a narrative. Through this twisted take that breeds on fear, a notion is being created that false accusations are rampant. The reality however proves otherwise as a recent study in UK
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raped than be falsely accused of rape’. By making the #MeToo movement a battle of the sexes, the problematic idea that sexual abuse is something women report and men are accused of is perpetuated. Thus, the multiple cases of male survivors are ignored. While the focus of the #MeToo movement has been on empowering women to share their experiences of sexual abuse, it also created a platform which helped numerous men speak out about their experiences of sexual abuse. The alternate narrative creates a backward step, encouraging the silence of victims.
The movement is about a world where women are respected and valued
It boils down to a basic fundamental fact - the #MeToo movement is, above everything, about equality. The movement is about cultivating a world where women are respected and valued as human beings. Through the backlash and criticism, the fearless strength of survivors remains, fighting for a day where no individual shares the pain of the phrase ‘me too’.
REPORTERS WITHOUT FEAR
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Alexandra Sadler
n an era of misinformation and ‘fake news’, a free and independent press is more important than ever. Of course, journalists are not the only actors reporting on recent events, but they are arguably the best placed to provide information to the public and help hold powerful individuals and institutions to account. However, according to the 2018 World Press Freedom Index, there is a growing animosity towards journalists, fuelled and encouraged, in part, by political leaders. This comes as no surprise when leaders like Trump refer to the press as ‘enemies of the people’. According to Reporters Without Borders, more journalists have been killed in the first nine months of 2018 than in all of 2017. Journalists are risking their lives to ensure that the public learn about human rights abuses, organised crime and political corruption, to name a few. You may be thinking that there are other jobs that are more important, but in terms of government accountability and public information, freedom of the press is vital to a free democracy. Here’s a toast to all the journalists out there who are reporting on what they deem important, be it the student journalist, lifestyle editor, or the war correspondent.
the courier
Monday 22 October 2018
life&style
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@CourierLifestyle c2.lifestyle@ncl.ac.uk thecourieronline.co.uk/lifestyle Life & Style Editor Sophie Henderson Lifestyle Editors Phoebe Fielder, Holly Margerrison, Ella Williams Online Editor Amanda Goh
Blind date
Are you unlucky in love? Email us at c2.lifestyle@ncl.ac.uk
Emma Chell meets Rory Ewart 19 year old Journalism, Media & Culture student Rory meets with Classics student Emma. We find out how they got on. . .
What was your first impression?
Were you nervous?
I like his shirt
Not too much, just quite intrigued to see what she was like
Anything else?
Did you have much in common?
Haha and he had a nice smile??
For sure. We chatted a lot about loads of different things.Convo flowed really well though and just seemed quite intrested in each other
Where did you decide to go?
We wanted a drink so we decided 97 and social would be nice And how did you get on? Yeah really well, he was super chatty which was nice and we had a lot of common ground And would you meet again?
Do you think you left a good impression? I hope so, we certainly had a good laugh and seemed to enjoy each other’s company What was the first thing you noticed about her?
I think she was jsut chatty to be honest. Like we both didn’t seem too awkward out about the whole scenario How did you end the date?
I promised him some shots in swingers tonight, oh and we are getting married next week We were chatting about meeting in swingers later as she owes me a drink. Also we are getting married next week so that’s also on the cards
Image: Wikipedia Commons
the courier
14
life & style lifestyle Cooking with Hope Coke Not Quite Moussaka
This recipe is a riff on the traditional Greek dish, moussaka. My version is a little unorthodox as I’ve got rid of the meat in favour of a lentil filling. Serves 2-3 Ingredients: 1 large aubergine, 2 medium/large sweet potatoes,1 large onion, 125g dark brown/ green lentils,,1 bay leaf, 1/2tsp cinnamon,1/2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp dried oregano, 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes, 3 tbsp butter, 3 tbsp spelt (or plain) flour,150ml milk, 100g feta cheese1/2 tsp nutmeg
Image: Hope Coke
Directions: Preheat oven to 220 degrees C. Cut the top off your aubergine then slice the it lengthways into strips about 1/2cm thick, before doing the same with the sweet potatoes. Grease a large baking tray with about a tablespoon of olive oil and lay the aubergine and sweet potato slices in a single layer – then drizzle a little oil over the top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper then transfer the baking tray for the oven and cook for 25-30 mins, until the slices are tender and starting to brown . Prepare the lentil mixture. Warm a saucepan over a medium heat on the hob and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Halve, peel and dice the onion and add to the pan along with a pinch of salt and the bay leaf. Cook, stirring, for about 5 mins until the onion is soft, and starting to brown in places. Rinse the lentils in a sieve, add them to the pan with the cinnamon, cumin and oregano. Stir, then add in the tin of chopped tomatoes, before refilling the tin with water and adding that to the pan too. Bring the mixture to a simmer and let cook, stirring, for 20-30 mins, make sure to check your packet instructions because the cooking time for different brands of lentils will vary. By the end you want most of the liquid to have evaporated away to leave a thick sauce, keep an eye on the saucepan throughout cooking and top up with a little more water if needed. Once the lentils are tender and the sauce is thickened, add salt and pepper, then remove the pan from heat, discard the bay leaf and set the saucepan aside. Once the aubergine and sweet potato slices are cooked, remove from the oven and set aside, before turning the oven down to 180 degrees C. Take a baking dish and grease with a little olive oil. Take a third of the sweet potato slices and lay them across the bottom of the dish, then make another layer with a third of the aubergine slices. Spread half the tomato and lentil mixture into a thick, even layer over the aubergine, then lay half the remaining sweet potato slices over the lentils, followed by half the aubergine slices. Cover with the rest of the lentil mixture and smooth it down, followed by the remaining sweet potato slices and a final layer of aubergine. Set aside. For the béchamel sauce, melt the butter over a medium heat and add in the flour. Cook for 3 mins, stirring with a spoon, until you have a thick paste. Add in milk and cook for 5 mins, stirring until you have a sauce that has thickened. Stir in nutmeg, salt and pepper. Crumble in the feta, it won’t melt completely so don’t worry if it looks lumpy. Pour the cheesy sauce over the top of the layered sweet potato/aubergine/lentils, spreading to cover the layer of aubergine. Your layers should go potato, aubergine, lentils - three times - then the layer of white sauce to top it all off. Got that? Good.Bake for 15 mins, then grill for 3-5 mins until golden and bubbling.. Serve alongside green salad and bread and you’ve got a meal fit for Greek royalty.
Monday 22 October 2018
Body hair and the trans experience Rae Farren explains how the pressure against female body hair directly affects trans women
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mooth. Silky. Spotless. Hairless. This is how women’s bodies are expected to be in the 21st century. In today’s Western society it’s almost universally accepted that a woman must fit these criteria in order to be considered attractive. Friends of mine have told me how their mothers, upon noticing hair emerging from their pubescent daughters’ legs or armpits, simply handed them their first razor and said “this is what women do”. There’s even a song about a woman’s inadequate relationship titled “Did I Shave My Legs For This?”. Body hair, or rather a lack of it, has become a fundamental part of femininity. To clarify, I am a trans woman. This means I was assigned male at birth, but I am more comfortable existing in society as a woman. A cis woman is someone who was assigned female at birth and is fully comfortable with that. Therefore, observing the body hair discourse while being raised “as a boy” until the age of 17, I was always somewhat confused about this obsession. I’d never been told to shave my legs, so why should it be such a big issue for so many people? I lay blissfully in this fluffy bed
I realised something that disturbed me: I didn’t want to shave
of ignorance until I came out as a woman myself – then everything started to change. Suddenly I was thrust into this torrent of social pressure and shaming, from which I had been sheltered all my life. I was subjected to a barrage of “you’d be sexy if you shaved your legs” and “you need to get rid of that disgusting armpit hair”. Initially I went along with it, but then I realised something that disturbed me – I didn’t want to shave. I’m one of the lucky people. My “fuck society” mentality has given me the strength to defy this absurd expectation and keep my body how I like it. However, not everyone is so privileged. A lot of trans women, already breaking under the weight of crippling dysphoria, feel they cannot leave their homes until they have removed every last speck of visible body hair. For many, this involves a daily routine of shaving
legs, arms, armpits, face and whatever else might be on show. I have witnessed the distress caused by society’s demand for us to fit this mould that we were never made for. We need a solution. It seems obvious to me that the best way to save transfeminine people from this is to first dismantle the standards we force upon cis women. If we make it acceptable for cis women to have body hair, it will subsequently become much less of an issue for trans women. From my own experience, it took far too long for me to realise I actually have less natural body hair than many cis women; because we rarely see a hairy woman who doesn’t shave at all, I had nothing to compare myself
seeing cis women with body hair will make life so much easier for people like me
to apart from smooth, silky, spotless, hairless bodies. I have absolutely no problem with people who genuinely want to shave – it’s your body and you have the right to do whatever the hell you like with it. But I have one request: don’t raise your daughters with the same expectations society had for you. From my own trans perspective, seeing more cis women with body hair will make life so much easier for people like me. And you won’t only be helping us either – you’ll be helping a new generation of women learn to be comfortable with their bodies in a way that we seldom are. Image: @pink_bits on Intsagram
Pledges to be plastic free: supermarket saviours Supermarkets make plastic-free pledges; Charlotte Cooper tells us how the toon is holding up
Image: Ella Williams
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ingle use plastic is bad, and I mean very bad. With the media covering the increasing plastic problems as well as the lack of recycling affecting our beautiful planet we have all become a bit more ecoconscious.
Newcastle’s favourite fruit and vegetable seller on Northumberland street offers customers the chance to bring their own bags
Throwing away plastic bags, plastic food containers or coffee cups are (hopefully) a thing of our past and we don’t actually mind taking our own reusable coffee mug to Waitrose (it is still a free drink after all). Tesco recently announced that by the end of the year they hope to ban non-recyclable plastic packaging. This is the first supermarket retailer to action this environmentally friendly promise in such a short time period. Whilst many of us know fruit and vegetables often come in plastic packaging which may be seen as
‘protection’ of the food from germs or damage, I personally think one of the biggest problems come from the plastic bags offered to those who want to pick their own fruit or veg. A replacement of these bags may be something Tesco are looking into or even removing. Tesco’s chief product officer, Jason Tarry, spoke to the Independent who stated that Tesco are now working with their suppliers to “redesign and reduce all packaging materials” and therefore aiming for waste to be avoided altogether. Tarry, pledged
Tesco would remove all ‘hard to recycle’ plastics which include the PVC in plastic film, polystyrene and water-soluble bio plastics. Whilst already trailing a reward scheme for customers who recycle their plastic bottles, Tesco could be the lead influencers to make a further dramatic impact on reduction of harmful plastics. Currently Iceland is in the lead in supermarket plastic reduction following their statement to eliminating single-use plastic in all their own products by 2023 although Tesco have the quickest pledge date. Game-changing supermarket Tesco, alongside rivals Sainsbury’s and Aldi, pledged the “world first” UK plastics pact earlier this year. This involves a voluntary eradication of single-use plastic packaging by 2025, with any remaining
plastic being totally recyclable. Closer to home, Newcastle’s favourite fruit and vegetable seller on Northumberland Street offers customers the chance to bring their own bags. A lot of the public have branched out on these reusables which supermarkets offer. The reusable canvas bags are a popular choice as they are strong and can hold a lot of shopping and, even better, there is no plastic involved at all. The question now is whether other supermarkets will get behind the plastic free movemen or at least limit their use. As customers we can help by bringing our own bags and remembering to use them, especially the ones that haven’t been made with nonrecyclable materials.
the courier
15
lifestyle life & style
Monday 22 October 2018
Struggling to leave the nest?
Kelly Corcoran talks us through battling the dreaded blues of homesickness to thoroughly enjoy your time at university
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hen preparing to come to university, one thing I never considered was the draining homesickness that I would experience. With an outgoing, older brother who flourished in the university environment, I expected nothing but excitement and joy in my first year. Unfortunately, I did not match his consistent buoyancy at university, and found myself missing home much more than I anticipated. However, one year on, I find myself much better equipped with dealing with this nostalgic bug and am therefore sharing with you my best tested tips and tricks for coping with homesickness. Surrounding yourself with home comforts: One thing I missed the most when moving away from home were the small comforts that I had grown accustomed to. While you can’t bring your mum with you to give you a hug when you’ve had a bad day, you can bring your favourite mug or your favourite bed throw. Little things like this helped to remind me that, while home at times felt quite literally hundreds of miles away, it isn’t that far in the grand scheme of things, and having small things such as my favourite mug helped to bring back that little bit of that familiarity. Get out of the flat: This is probably one of the most important tips. When feeling homesick it can be very tempting to stay in bed and ponder on how much you want to go home. However, this is probably the worst thing you can do. Trust me I’ve been there. Get up and get going. Newcastle is a great city with an abundance of things to do so make the most of it now. Whether it’s going for a walk along the quayside or getting food with your friends, it is so important to get yourself moving when you’re starting to feel that longing for home. Trust me, this helps. Don’t go on social media: This seems like a weird one, but when that wave of
homesickness hits, try and avoid scrolling through Instagram and snapchat stories for a bit, even if it’s only for half an hour. When scrolling through your feed it can be so easy to forget that everybody is presenting the best version of themselves. When you see all your friends’ posts and stories showing how much fun they’re having, it isn’t long until you start to feel silly for feeling so down. Remember, homesickness is normal and comparing yourself to your friends isn’t going to help you feel any better, so close that app. Finally, remember that your time at university is short: When people say that it goes quickly, they really aren’t kidding so try to keep things in perspective and remain positive. You aren’t here for long so try the make the most of it. Go and explore the city and value the time that you are here, because before you know it you’ll be home again counting down the days until you go back…if you don’t believe me, you’ll soon see.
Image: Pixabay
Lunching around campus
Our favourite places to grab some grub, as told by Lori Harper
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n a budget but the Robbo café sandwiches aren’t really doing it for you? We’ve filtered through some of Newcastle’s most popular lunch spots within a short walk from campus…. When it comes to meal deals we all know that Tesco’s is pretty hard to beat, especially when you can get a Naked smoothie, sandwich and a packet of crisps for just £3! But what about somewhere a bit closer to uni? Known only by some, Boots offer a pretty banging lunchtime deal. For just 39p more than Tesco, Boots has a huge range - from chicken katsu sandwiches to flatbreads, wraps and sushi. Boots gives you everything you could ask for in a meal deal. Greggs is a staple. And in Newcastle you can’t really go anywhere without being just minutes from one. Greggs boasts some cracking
Image: Ella Williams
student deals; with any sandwich lunch deal you’ll also be spoilt with a free sausage roll or sweet treat when you present your student card. Lunchtime doesn’t get any cheaper than Eat4less. Here, a £1.75 meal deal is not too good to be true. Whilst the food might not quite be Michelin star, Eat4less pretty much does what it says on the tin. If you’re ravenous between lectures, then Frankie and Tony’s sandwich bar is a local favourite for generous onthe-go food. Frankie and Tony’s is hidden away on Ridley place, just a 5 minute walk from campus. However, one should expect big portions and an even larger queue, there is a reason this sandwich bar is so busy! Love Wagamama, just not a fan of the price? Tucked away in Haymarket station is Newcastle’s hidden gem, Shijo. Here, you can always rely on speedy service with a smile. No matter if you’re splashing out on a hearty yakisoba or katsu curry or just after a quick snack with some £1.50 spring rolls, Shijo will always satisfy lunchtime hunger. What’s even better? Shijo is now opening a store in the SU! Pushed for time between lectures and don’t fancy the lunch rush in town? The new Humpit bar at the top of the SU is perfect for a quick lunchtime snack. Not only is the bar completely vegan, but it’s also relatively cheap and very filling, offering hefty filled pita’s and salads for £4.50 and snacks from just 50p.
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Rant of the week: Sick of poor provisons for mental health
ith Mental Health Awareness Week just passed, I think it’s time we re-evaluate what measures are actually needed in order to support those with mental illnesses. By now we’ve all heard the constant calls for raising awareness of mental health across social media and even the royals now getting in on the game. The shocking statistic that 1/4 of us will experience a mental health problem in our lifetime has become well known, but what does repeating these facts actually do to help the 25% of us suffering? Last week, Theresa May issued a tweet calling to ‘end the stigma’ surrounding mental health. While such statements are perfectly fine, what actually happens if people are brave enough to face this ‘stigma’? More often than not, they are added to a long waiting list or, if they’re lucky, fobbed of with a prescription of mild anti-depressants and sent on their way. This appalling treatment is a direct consequence of cuts to mental health services orchestrated by the Conservatives. As someone who has experienced the state of England’s mental health services, I refuse to accept these government-led platitudes about ‘raising awareness’, as though a tweet is going to do anything to help those whose mental health is deteriorating the longer they have to wait for help. I’m calling for an end to this blame-shifting trend the government has adopted as I refuse to accept that it’s the responsibility of the British public to solve the ongoing mental health crisis. What we need is action; we need funding, we need more professionals, we need widespread access to services. We need the government to prove they care,
And as a little tag on, us lifestyle editors would like
to point out the ‘Chicken Shack’, which can be found directly opposite Luther’s and oh so convientently close to our office. If you’re desperate for some greasy grub but don’t want to spend a fortune on the handcraft burgers in Jesmond, Chicken Shack provides a quick fix. From oven baked meals including chicken burgers, popcorn chicken, wraps, fries and breakfasts, as well as a range of snacks.
Livia Scott
Humans of Newcastle We delve into the unique experiences of a passing student... Hayley Hoban shares her past experiences of sex education at an all-girls Catholic School with Lifestyle and the Courier
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or most of us, our memories of sex education that were taught to us at school at age 16 are most likely to be tainted with that feeling of painful awkwardness. We all recall the cackle of laughter that would circulate the classroom every time a teacher mentioned the words “penis” or “vagina” or any other clinical term used to discuss the mechanics of sex and relationships. An experience shared by the majority in their adolescent years and perhaps an ordeal that most would care to forget, sex education and guidance on relationships in schools is a topic met with much controversy as many debate that this area of teaching is governed by outmoded
Lori Harper
Whilst the food might not be Michelin star, Eat4less pretty much does what it says on the tin
the time for meaningless statements has long passed. It’s time we demand something physical to be put in place to help the thousands of us suffering mentally.
Image: ThomMasat
teaching and practices as it scarcely reflects our adult lives and intimate relationships. I was particularly struck by the tales told by a good friend of mine as she recalls some of the peculiar teachings and attitudes surrounding sex and relationships during her time at school. From the ages of 11 to 16 Amy attended an all-girls Catholic School and former convent in a small town on the border of Northern Ireland. It was a relatively conservative school as its education had such a close
affiliation with Catholic Church disciplines. For Amy lessons in sex and relationships came in the form of a series of scaremongering metaphors from teachers who would instil the message that sex is a disdainful act and that, as a woman, the number of sexual partners you have throughout your life will tarnish the way you will love when you eventually find ‘the one’ whatever that means. The most shocking and eerie analogy Amy explains of came from an R.E teacher who insisted to a class of sixteen year old girls, in the earliest and arguably most paramount stage of their pubescence, that having sex with a man can be compared to taking a piece of sticky tape and sticking it to the arm. It gets weirder… whenever you move onto the next partner imagine ripping this duct tape from the arm and reapplying it. As a consequence of increasing the number of sexual partners you have the sticky tape loses its stickiness, thus making it harder to establish a connection with the next person. Although an outwardly absurd and incomprehensible metaphor to use, Amy shudders at the underlying and incredibly detrimental message this has as she explains that it clearly promotes premature slut shaming in young girls even before they have thought to embark upon any type of intimate relationship. Teachings like this were also often laced with ridiculous false scientific fact, one of them being that women could actually ‘run out’, as if women can be likened to a car engine, of oxytocin or ‘the love hormone’ (the preferred term used by the teacher) if you have multiple sexual partners throughout your life. One of the most horrifying facts about this story is that Amy only left the school in 2015 which leaves me with the ghastly thought that there are possibly many other girls who were susceptible to this type of brainwashing. It’s worrying to think that something as complex and personal as their sexuality is like a roll of sticky tape - a part of them which isn’t governed by themselves but controlled by their fear of being shamed by others. Hayley Hoban
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life & style beauty
coutier.beauty@ncl.ac.uk Beauty Editors Susanne Norris, Nimra Rafique Laura Buckle Online Editor Molly Taylor
the courier
Monday 22 October 2018
Product break down for autumn As autumn is in full swing now, Susanne Norris shares some tips on how to go about your beauty routine for the new season
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ctober is in full swing. But, it's not just Halloween, cosy jumpers and pumpkin spice lattes we have to look forward to. Given October marks a change in wardrobe, it should also mark a change in beauty routines too. Read on for top tricks, tips and colours to work with for the autumn.
Given October marks a change in wardrobe, it should also mark a change in beauty routines too. Read on for top tricks, tips and colours to work with for the autumn
Colours to match the leaves changing: I love an orange eye. This colour is particularly flattering for brown eyes, although you can't really go wrong with it whatever your eye colour. The beauty of orange shades is they blend well with pretty much anything. For a look that matches the changing leaves, I love to blend a pale orange with a light brown and a gold, to create a subtle smoky look. I use orange for the lid and then blend a brown into the crease to create a flawless finish. I choose to finish with a dab of gold shadow, blended from my inner eye outwards, to give the illusion my eyes are brighter than they are and to add a bit of sparkle. In terms of products, the Anastasia Beverly Hills 'Modern Renaissance' palette is perfect for this look. Equally, NYX's single shadows provide a good and cheaper solution if you don't have the ABH palette. Dark lips: I've come a long way since the dark reds, purples and even black (yikes) lipsticks I used to favour when I was sixteen years old. But, a dark lip is a necessity
for autumn. For me, pinks and corals have always gone better with the summer weather, whilst autumn marks the time to pull off something darker. For a perfect dark lip, I always rely on Lime Crime's 'Matte Velvetines'. This matte formula is easy to apply and non-drying, so your lips don't look chapped at the expense of the colour. My favourites are shade 'Wicked' - a perfect dark red, and 'Salem' - a purply/brown tone. If you're not feeling the wait time (a lot of products have to be ordered from the US) just head to the Kat Von D counter in Debenhams for an abundant choice of dark shades.
Image: @xprimetimebeauty
It's time to line: If your wardrobe takes a turn from pastels to darker colours in autumn, as it does for most people, it may be time to consider getting the eyeliner out. Wearing darker colours can make your face appear tired and washed out, so adding eyeliner ensures your makeup is as bold as you're clothes, and the two complement each other nicely. Whilst the iconic flick is always a look, there are other trends to consider if you fancy changing up your typical eyeliner look. Fashion house Chloé recently sent models down the runway sporting a black kohl liner look on the bottom lash line and the top lid. If this look sounds a bit bold for you, try blending out the eyeliner on the bottom corner of your eye to create a smokier and more subtle look. Equally, if liner really isn't your thing, try just applying liquid liner to the upper waterline, underneath your lashes. See it as a dot to dot - you gently dot the liner between each lash along your waterline. I do his every day, you'd be amazed how subtle yet totally transforming this look is. Hydrated skin: I'm a dewy over matte kind of girl. I always opt for lighter foundation, a subtle glow and a nonmatte setting spray. And in autumn, the hydrated look becomes even more crucial. As the weather changes from hot to cold (sigh) it's oh-so-important to keep your skin from drying out. So, during autumn I always swap my normal primer (a pore minimising one from NYX) to a moisturiser. I incorporate this into my morning skincare routine. I opt for Botanics 'All Bright Radiance Balm' available from Boots. I use this after my cleansing routine (which I use other Botanics products for, too) as a primer before applying my makeup. It keeps my skin beautifully moisturised, hydrated and protected from harsher weather. And, even better, if you're running late in the morning and don't have time for makeup, this product acts as a brightening moisturiser without makeup too, so you still feel and look fresh. Don't forget to always have Vaseline or Carmex in your bag as well to ensure your lips remain protected from the cold too.
Image: @botanicsusa
SOS: skincare saviour Perfected pigment Even though your skin does not define you, Ellie Irving shares her skincare tips that will help you beat that breakout
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f the term breakout sends you into a blind panic, I’ve got some skincare advice that might help you. Before we start discussing the colossal topic that is acne and all that wonderful stuff, let me just say that you are not defined by your appearance and true beauty has nothing to do with how clear your skin is. Yet, there is no denying that any type of acne can cause immense stress and self-esteem issues. I have struggled with skin breakouts for almost ten years – I’ve seen several different dermatologists and spent hours of my life researching everything to do with skin. So, let’s get scientific (or rather let’s share what I have learnt from frantic internet searching); breakouts occur when certain hormones in your body cause your skin to produce larger amounts of oil, this then causes skin bacteria called P. acnes to become more aggressive causing inflammation. If you have moderate to severe acne, it’s best to go and talk to your doctor. They will most likely give you antibiotics and a topical cream called benzoyl peroxide, or they will refer you to a dermatologist. But there are steps you can take to help yourself, removing your makeup and cleansing your face at the end of the day is vital. My favorite method is to use an oil based, gentle cleanser with a muslin cloth. My go-to luxury cleanser is Pai Camellia and Rose Gentle Hydrating Cleanser (£30) or Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm (£47 – this literally smells amazing). For those of you who aren’t like me and don’t spend your monthly allowance on skincare you could try Lush Ultrabland Cleanser (£8.25) or Liz Earl Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser (£15). The most important step in my skincare regime is to exfoliate. This helps breakouts by increasing skin-cell turnover and preventing pores from getting blocked. In my opinion, using exfoliating scrubs can irritate and damage sensitive or sore skin. I like to use an acid exfoliant such as salicylic acid (BHA) or glycolic acid (AHA) a few times a week. I reach to Paula’s Choice Skincare for exfoliants, her Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid exfoliant (£26) made the Glamour Beauty Power list last year. More affordable buys include La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo+ (£16) and Aldi’s Healthy Glow Tonic with glycolic acid (£3.99). Lastly, it’s so important to moisturise! I know you’re probably thinking why would I moisturise my skin, it’s so
oily? But, by using exfoliants and topical treatments like benzoyl peroxide on the skin it can become dehydrated. My favourite moisturiser is Antipodes Organic Rejoice Light Facial Day Cream (£28.99). For a cheaper alternative, you could try Sukin Facial Moisturiser (currently £5.30 on the Boots website) which is full of skin-loving ingredients. They sell the full Sukin range in Holland and Barrett – an affordable, vegan and gentle skin-care brand. For a spoton treatment, give Mario Badescu Drying Lotion (£16) a try, it contains salicylic acid and calamine to clear spots. Overall, it is important to remember that acne is complex; from years of charting my skin journey I think stress, diet and fluctuating hormone levels are the main contributing factors to my breakouts. I’ve tried to combat this by eating healthy, drinking lots of water and spending time every day to pamper myself and de-stress. One thing I’m sure of: acne is not skin deep, and it can have a massive impact on the way we look at ourselves. But don’t despair, so many of us go through it and there are steps you can take to help yourself and your skin!
Image: @lizearle
Sophie Hindhaugh gives us a glimps at some of the glitter and shimmer products that will make sure your look pop
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he nights are getting darker so it gives us an excuse to make our makeup shine brighter. Here are five of my favourite pigments NYX Professional Makeup Metallic Glitter in Beauty Beam £6 : The most gorgeous holographic pink, its sure to be reflecting all the lights when you’re boogying the night away in Swingers. A very reasonable £6.00, its worth picking up this exciting pink and some of their other shades, which are all packed with colour and are easy to apply to your lids and cheeks. Due to the holographic nature of these pigments, they also photograph very well, making your eyes look just as sparkly in pictures as real life- perfect for the gram. Grab NYX’s glitter glue for the perfect base on which to apply your new glitters. Stila Cosmetics Magnificent Metals Glitter and Glow Liquid Eyeshadow in Kitten Karma £24 : Glitter and Glow are two words that speak to my soul, and Kitten Karma delivers. A beautiful champagne shade that can look slightly coppery, it’s the perfect look for a classier type of night. If I’m off to a ball or a fancy meal, this is exactly the kind of product I want to be wearing on my eyelids. It’s well worth the luxury price tag (and so are you) and its shine will have everyone asking what you’ve got on. Because of the liquid form of this product, its easy to just swipe across your lid or even do a more complex look like a cut crease, as the doe foot applicator makes cutting your crease easy. MAC Pigment in Copper Sparkle £16.50: I feel like a few years ago every other YouTuber was doing a look with Copper Sparkle. Now that Autumn is truly under way, I think its about time to bring back those autumnal shades of coppers and plums, the best sparkly copper of all time being MAC’s Copper Sparkle. Described as ‘super frosty’, it will look beautiful on anyone, bringing out your baby blues or enhancing your lovely, warm brown eyes all whilst catching the lights. Blend in to warm toned browns and maybe even an orange to compliment. If you don’t want to stretch to £16.50, MAC does minis for £10. Barry M Dazzle Dust in Bronze £4.59: Don’t let the brand nor the cheap price tag fool you. These dazzle dusts pack a serious punch, and because the glitter is so fine, are easy to remove with something as simple as a baby wipe. I particularly like the shade Bronze, and it looks particularly nice when you’re wearing it on your eyes
and on your body. With a fan brush sweep some of this gold dust across your collarbones and décolletage for a bronzed goddess glow that highlights your tan and ties in with your makeup. Inglot’s AMC Pure Pigment Eye Shadow £12.00 in 85. : Inglot is relatively new to the UK, and even newer to Newcastle, with a store popping up in 2017, however it has quickly become popular amongst makeup aficionados. Its pigments are one of its most famous products due to their sheer intensity. Described as ‘highly concentrated’ they hit every nail on the head. I particularly like their duo chromes, which add something different and exciting to the mix. My favourite is 85, which is reminiscent of MAC’s Blue Brown, however the intensity of 85 and the fact it leans towards more blue/purplish tones wins me over.
Image: @ maccosmetics
the courier
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beauty life & style
Monday 22 October 2018
Debate: something in the water
In light of recent discussion around ocean plastic pollution Miranda Stoner explains how we can reduce plastic waste and be sustainable in our beauty routines to help save planet Earth
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he allure of pretty packaging has always been the Achilles heel of the consumer. Sometimes we can even convince ourselves that a less than average product is worth buying just because of its chic box. Whilst experience has made me better at steering clear of unnecessary purchases I would argue that the beauty industry itself is also becoming more conscious of helping consumers to make more sustainable choices. Some brands are starting to question how much of their plastic bottles should be made of recycled materials whilst others are removing ingredients which cause aquatic toxicity and replacing them with natural equivalents. All of these are great steps in the right direction but there’s more that we do to remove excess plastic from our beauty routines.
10.8
the number of wet wipes, in billions, that will be used in the UK in 2018 according to the World Wildlife Fund
The first thing to evaluate in your daily life is how many one-use items we use. The government already plans to ban wet wipes in the UK but what else should be cut back on? One of the most common plastic items to wash up on beaches is the cotton swab. A report by the World Wildlife Fund claims that throughout 2018, 10.8 billion wet wipes and 13.2 billion cotton buds will be used in the UK. These one-use-wonders may be bathroom cabinet essentials but they are doing no good to marine life. Fortunately, biodegradable alternatives exist such as Superdrug’s pure cotton buds (£1.05 for 300) with paper stems which work just the same as the plastic equivalent. To replace make-up remover wipes why not try an old-fashioned flannel and a cleanser, it’s less drying for the skin as well as being better for our water systems. A further problem with beauty products is the vast amount of packaging waste they generate. Think of all the
cellophane and empty bottles you throw away in a year, now times that by the years you’ll live and then by the number of people on the planet and it’s clear that our way of life is not sustainable. Although some packaging can be recycled, the most important message for green living is simply to reduce the amount we consume. Products such as LaPepaBoutique’s Hemp Cotton Facial Rounds (£5.90 for 5) available on Etsy are handmade and reusable which means less packaging waste in the first place. It may take some getting used to but once you’re in the routine of throwing your face cloths in the laundry instead of the bin you won’t look back. Another smart solution to the plastic problem is LUSH’s shampoo bars. These are 100% packaging free, will last for between 80-100 washes and don’t compromise on quality. LUSH also have a pot recycling policy where 5 empty pots equal a free face mask! In addition to this, LUSH play a role in reducing the number of microplastics in the oceans. These are tiny particles of plastic around 5mm which can be swallowed by marine life and lead to disease and reproduction problems. Most glitter products on the market are made of these, however LUSH glitter is formed from synthetic mica which acts like a natural mineral in water and can be broken down. Something else to think about is the number of products you’re using. If you’re following the Korean 10 step night and day skin care routine it may be time to reconsider which items you could do without. Dr. Anjali Mahto, consultant dermatologist and author of The Skincare Bible agrees that shelves of serums and multi-layered skincare routines aren’t improving our overall skin health as much as we think. That’s not to say you should throw them all out rather try and phase them out of your routine and replace them with eco equivalents such as Icelandic Brand Soley’s volcanic clay mask, using all natural ingredients and recycled packaging. My final tip would be to experiment with new ecoproducts. There is such a gap in the market plastic free
products and so many creative solutions from new natural ingredients to bamboo toothbrushes. Get googling and instead of thinking about the things you’re taking away from your beauty routine, concentrate on which new treasures you can add.
Image: @lush
Fenty's latest highlighter Fenty are back at it again with a new highlight palette. Clarissa O'Neill talks their new release
Image:@fentybeauty
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enty Highlighter Fenty have done it again. The brand have launched their ‘Killawatt Foil Freestyle Highlighter Palette’. This is a fabulous product and is definitely worth the hype. It's not only a unique product and completely different to other items on the market, but - more importantly - the quality is outstanding. It was launched as part of Rihanna's ‘Chill Owt Holiday Collection’, so it’s perfect for taking away with you and helping boost that summer glow you're desperately trying to hold onto. The packaging is something else. It is beautiful, with a smart iridescent sleeve, paired with a holographic sheen that is comprised by all the different colours within the palette. It is in a hexagon shape, which Fenty is known for, making it perfectly compliment the whole collection.
This palette contains seven of Fenty’s super famous highlight formulas, with shades ranging from icey blue to fiery copper. This palette allows you to be so versatile, which is great when you are investing in makeup, as you can get the most out of the products. You can use these on your cheeks, your eyes, or anywhere that you want to glow. These formulas are intensely pigmented, and really are gorgeous! They have a hyper-metallic finish, which is perfect to make your highlight ‘pop’. The tones within the palette are super fun and would be great for a festival look, a bold look, or even if you just want to play around and have fun with some colour. They are made more unique by their easy application that requires a fluffy brush, or a finger - tip. To introduce the product, Rihanna announced she's “never been afraid of a little colour and I love highlighting with these. I like to layer the colours and blend from my cheeks to my eyes to my temples.” They all have a glittery glaze, which you can see when swatching the product. It has been argued that the product is more pigmented with a swatch, so when applying with a brush the product is less intense. This allows you to have the best of both worlds, as there is the option to either be subtle with your makeup or create a more intense look. What always works best with powered products when wanting to create a strong pigmentation is wetting your brush which enables the hyper-metallic product to be seen more. The Killawatt Foils keeps the skin glowing, especially with its weightless long wear formula. It’s a cream-powder consistency allows the product to instantly melts into skin. It’s loaded with extra fine, ultra-smooth shimmer to make all your hyper-metallic gleams come true. Another perk of the product is that it includes a range of frost-inspired shades, which are designed to make all skin tones pop. Fenty has always been known for its vast array of colours in order to appeal to all skin types. Moreover, all these products are 100% cruelty free, which renders this brand as current, appealing to a wider and eco-concerned consumer. It is priced at £42, defining itself as a more luxury product, although fully worth the purchase. You can do this online from the official website, but you will have some custom fees to pay. So, just pop into a Harvey Nichols or order online from them instead, as they're the UK stockist for Fenty Beauty.
Image:@fentybeauty
Big-up beauty brand lovin
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ounded in 1834 the cosmetic brand Rimmel London was introduced as a perfumery by Eugene Rimmel on Regent Street, London and is now one of the most successful and well-known beauty brands. Rimmel were the first brand to invent nontoxic mascara and a hundred years ago when makeup was seen as a luxury Rimmel made their products affordable for everybody and have carried that on into 2018 with their competitively priced products. Rimmel London is known for its numerous campaigns starring celebrities such as Cara Delevingne, Lily Cole, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Rita Ora and Kate Moss, who has been working with the company for 15 years creating her own line of lipsticks with them. Other than having famous celebrities as the face of their campaign, Rimmel have also been mentioned by other well-known stars and beauty gurus who use the products themselves. For example, Pixiwoo, the co-creator of Real Techniques Brushes includes Rimmel London ‘Wake Me Up’ concealer in her list of the best affordable concealers, MUA Caroline Barnes says her favourite Boots buy is Rimmel’s £5.99 liquid lipstick and Catherine Zeta Jones uses Rimmel’s ‘Tiramisu’ £2.99 lip liner to complete her glam look on the red carpet. Rimmel London has been my go-to make up brand since I was 13 years old and is a classic when it comes to OG beauty brands. When I first became interested in the idea of makeup my mum introduced me to Rimmel London’s all in one palette (which doesn’t exist anymore) knowing that it was a reliable, affordable and safe brand to use, especially as I’d never worn make up before. Now seven years later I’m still using a collection of their products and haven’t had a bad experience once. I have used Rimmel London’s ‘Stay Matte Pressed Powder’ and ‘Scandaleyes Reloaded Mascara’ since I was in secondary school and still haven’t been swayed to try anything different. I’m very loyal when it comes to re-purchasing my makeup, especially Rimmle London products. Offering products for the face, eyes, lips and nails Rimmel London has expanded their range a lot since the early days of 1834. Now producing products such as the ‘Stay Matte’ range, the ‘Wake Me Up’ range and an extensive nail varnish collection they are still ahead of the time, making it easier for experimentation and trend setting. Rimmel London has always been ahead of the game with new makeup looks and has set a standard for other beauty brands to follow. They have a large product line for different looks, whether that’s an evening look using the ‘Jumbo Liquid Eyeliner’ and Kate Moss’ staple red ‘Lasting Finish Lipstick’ or a simple look using their ‘Maxi Blush’ and ‘Magnif’Eyes Nude Edition’ palette. With their competitive product price range, they make the switch from a simple day look to a bold evening look very easy. As a brand that has a long history with makeup products, that are affordable and cruelty free, Rimmel London doesn’t disappoint. People may argue they haven’t got the best diverse range of face products with their lack of shade range for different skin tones, which I agree with, especially as the brand should be inclusive to everyone. However, even though they still have space for improvement they are at the top of their game when it comes to must have beauty products. Having been around for 184 years I think Rimmel London are a highly experienced brand that is still shaping the beauty industry. Amy Harris
Image: @rimmellondonuk
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life & style fashion
c2.fashion@ncl.ac.uk Fashion Editors Miranda Stoner, Poppy Couling, Joe Hood Online Editor Molly Taylor
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Step into Autumn
Katy Prophet predicts the four biggest trends that you’ll be falling head over heels for this October
here are some trends this Autumn/ Winter that you really don’t want to miss out on. The weather change has brought with it some new trends as well as a few re vamped styles from the summer months. Everything from bold colours to the new dad shoe trend with this guide you won’t be falling down on the fashion scale this coming season.
ANIMAL PRINT Animal print has been on trend for a long time now and it definitely isn’t going out any time soon. Traditional leopard print is popular as ever blazing over jumpers, skirts and bags- it really is everywhere! However, autumn is also bringing a new surge of cow print. This perfect collision of black and white is a new must and can be spotted on Missguided and Pretty Little Thing.com. Animal print can be so versatile, the options are endless, a common play on leopard print is to change the colourssuch as red or green rather than classic yellow. Let’s be honest; we’ve all stared in envy at ‘that’ girl in the Topshop double denim red animal print jacket and skirt.
THE CHUNKY TRAINER
Instagram: @topshop
The dad shoe / chunky trainer is definitely a love / hate item. The chunky sole is certainly not for everyone, however, they really are unavoidable this season and also add a great extra inch for anyone who wishes they were just that tiny bit taller. The Fila Disruptors are the craze of the moment but if you want to walk away from the crowd, then there are plenty of dupes. For example, ego sell the James chunky white trainer for just £20 which is
the courier
Monday 22 October 2018 extremely similar. Whilst the colour of the season seems to be white, trainers seem to have been updated from the standard black or white and 90s inspired colour pops and clashes are starting to take their claim.
BOLD COLOURS Block, bold colours became especially popular over summer and this trend is undoubtedly continuing over this coming season. The best way to style them are by pairing two block colours together colours, even colours that you might not think to put together like purple and green can work extremely well. Another way to bring colour into the bleak wintery months is by choosing one stand out item and layering it into an all black look. Mustard is a great investment at the moment, it is literally everywhere, from catwalk to high street to pop culture, there’s no escaping this warming tone. Primark is one of the best places to find some great
PUFFA JACKETS
mustard essentials. Teddy coats came on trend last Autumn/ Winter and they are making a big coming back this season for 2018. The shearling material is perfect as It is so huggable and will also keep you warm on those cooler winter days. The only downside is they aren’t so good at withstanding the rain. Announce, the puffa jacket is a great choice for a damp day and also adds something extra to any outfit. Puffa jackets look great with jeans, leggings or even a skirt and are ticking all the boxes, especially since the bold statement colours have merged with the puffa coat trend, so you can pull off both of these trends in one.
Better together Fast fashion is catching us up O Charlotte Cooper discusses how ASOS are mixing it up with their new forward thinking unisex range titled COLLUSION
n October 1st one of the most popular online shopping websites, ASOS, launched their new unisex clothing range. COLLUSION has already been branded as a new affordable range of clothes for the coming of age generation. Within the last few years, society has been stamping out gender inequalities and fashion has been one of the leading influences in the movement. The likes of Kanye West bringing unisex back onto our catwalks and even our high street fave, Zara, getting involved with their gender fluid range, it is now the time for all genders to wear whatever the hell they want and for society to embrace it. Finally! So, when the androgynous fashion line hit ASOS it was taking the celebration of self-expression and inclusivity to the max. COLLUSION is all about refusing to compromise to style or principle and promises to be 100% animal free, sustainable and even size inclusive. The new youth brand has incorporated sizes up to a 6X where ASOS before only went to 3X. I think this is an amazing approach and something which I really do hope helps change the outlook on the ‘ideal’ body image which, quite frankly, no one has. With a more inclusive and expressive theme ASOS really have took on board what the upcoming generation are all about. Fashion statements are no longer something that is seen to be weird or wonderful but simply about expressing your personality and what you enjoy wearing. ASOS have described COLLUSION as being unsurprising in its collaboration with 6 inspirational and creative youths to shape the first collection. From denim, knitwear, dresses and much more COLLUSION is taking fashion advice from the very people who wish to wear the pieces. The National Campaign lead by filmmaker Dan Emmerson and photographer Tom Sloan asks these young six “What do you wish for in the year you come of age”. Having worked with Burberry on their latest campaign celebrating LGBT+, Emmerson is the ideal director for this amazing movement. Sloan is also an excellent choice of photographer who has helped capture each of the 100 individuals involved in a unique way whilst telling their story. Despite their distant differences the 100 all have one thing in common, they were born in the year 2000. The teens diversity reaches through an array of cultures, religions, races and socioeconomic statuses, exactly what this new youth brand is all about. All the models got the opportunity to answer the simple question “what do you wish for in the year you come of age” giving them a heard and listened to voice. Their collaboration shaped the incorporated style, inclusivity, experimentation and authentic youth culture which will become the
evolutionary fashion brand. The first launch took inspiration from the 90s with popping colours and padded jackets, which are sure to be a hit with some of Newcastle Uni’s students (bring on puffa jacket season). The range really reflects what the youth of today are wearing and how they are challenging the styles which big labels are trying to keep rigid. The affordable collection will change each season in terms of the direction of inspiration it will take. Hunting
The range really reflects what the youth of today are wearing
for the next new trend, COLLUSION have promised to keep its style up-to-date with the most everyday wears to the show stopping statement pieces. I personally love the ethos behind COLLUSION and believe that it WILL change fashion history. Our generation are challenging the boundaries in every aspect of the world and with this empowerment fashion label behind us we are set to continue with change.
Instagram: @asos
Lydia Speight brings the fast nature of fashion back down to Earth by explaining the drastic effects it has on our environment
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lothing has become readily available to us now more than ever due to the emergence of ‘fast fashion’. The term is used by those in the fashion industry to describe the changing nature of the fashion cycle; speed and low costs are now the top priorities of high-street companies (e.g. Primark). If they are to compete in the saturated market, they must produce a need for consumers to update their wardrobes by convincing them that their clothing is no longer fashionable. The increase of disposable income in developed countries means that it is often more convenient or cost effective to throw away garments rather than to mend them. In addition, the rise of supermarket fashion has combined the consumption of clothing with weekly food shops, associating new clothes with necessity rather than luxury. However, with this recent consumer trend on the rise our planet has become increasingly vulnerable.
10%
the percentage of world carbon emission the fashion industry is responsible for.
The fashion industry emits more greenhouse gases each year than the shipping and aviation industries combined, meaning textile production is top dog in terms of pollution. Factories are cheaply and poorly maintained and so their control of waste and emissions are often inadequate. Moreover, textile dyeing is the second largest polluter of clean water after agriculture. Greenpeace has brought to light the alarming presence of hazardous chemicals used by fashion brands found in water sources which are extremely toxic to the environment and living creatures. Another issue is the overuse of polyester to produce garments. The fabric contains microfibers which when washed in a domestic washing machine, shed into our drainage systems. These microfibers are not biodegradable and therefore add to the increasing levels of plastic in our oceans. Microfibers can be harmful if consumed by aquatic life and can even end up being ingested by humans. For example, if plankton consume these microfibers they remain in their system even after
being eaten by shellfish and so the fibres ultimately make their way up the food chain to humans. Cotton is another problematic fabric used within the fast fashion market. Toxic chemicals and pesticides are sprayed on the cotton to prevent crop failure. These chemicals come with a high risk to not just the environment, but also to humans. The documentary ‘The True Cost’ depicts a farmer who developed a life-threatening brain tumour, likely as a result of being exposed to these toxins. The film also reported that there is a higher risk of birth defects in children and livestock if parents or animals are surrounded by these chemicals. Cotton is often grown in lower-economically developed countries due to climatic conditions. The excessive harvesting of cotton, as a result of fast fashion demands, has led to a higher risk of drought in these countries.
The fashion industry emits more greenhouse gases each year than the shipping and aviation industries combined
Despite this, there are a number of ways that we can help reduce the environmental impact of fast fashion. Vintage clothing has seen a wave of popularity in recent years. Vintage and charity shops are a great way to find a bargain as well as recycle old clothing- you never know when an old trend will come back into style! Alternatively, apps such as depop and eBay have provided a platform to buy and sell used clothing at the simple click of a button. Designers are also taking steps towards creating a waste free fashion cycle. Patagonia are the first clothing brand to use recycled bottles to produce polyester fleeces and H&M offer rewards for bringing in used clothing to recycle. Ultimately, we need to give fast fashion retailers reason to slow down production and so simply keeping our clothes for longer is the best way to achieve this.
the courier
19
fashion life & style
Monday 22 October 2018
October: The Knitwear Edit Phoebe Eyles wraps up all the best places to get your wooly warmers before winter kicks in Topshop/Topman
The knitwear selection in Topshop features a variety of high necklines and loose fits, perfect for cosy, casual outfits to wear to lectures. These slouchy styles could be paired with leggings and trainers for a laid back look or with skinny jeans and ankle boots for a more put together style. This pale pink roll neck jumper also comes in grey if you would rather stay away from colour. With student discount the jumper is £35.10; for a staple item this jumper is very much worth the money. In Topman there are a lot of fitted jumpers in neutral colours, with this charcoal ribbed high neck jumper
Instagram: @riverisland
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ow that the semester is in full swing, we are fast approaching shorter days, longer nights and colder weather. Newcastle is notorious for its freezing temperatures throughout Autumn and Winter, making stocking up on knitwear vital for any Newcastle student. Knitwear is a key feature of any winter wardrobe as it is stylish and adds warmth to any outfit. The knitted texture brings an extra dimension to your look, making it the perfect autumn/winter staple. However, with the high street offering more and more knitwear options it can be overwhelming to find the perfect pieces for you. To help you navigate your way through knitwear, I have chosen three of the most accessible shops in Newcastle and found key pieces you need to complete your campus style in the colder months.
fulfilling the trend. At £28.80 with student discount, this jumper could become a key part of your winter wardrobe.
River Island
River Island’s knitwear selection is currently one of the most diverse on the high street with a variety of patterns and cuts. Although not the most practical, I love the bardot style knitted jumpers. The blue, white and black striped bardot knitted jumper is so unique and is a great way to spice up your knitwear. Mustard is a classic autumnal colour and I love the mustard knitted top as it is weather appropriate yet the colour and the detail on the sleeves will make any outfit look stylish and put together. Roll neck jumpers feature heavily in River Island’s mens knitwear. For £28 a grey colour block style jumper is an easy way to experiment with roll necks as it is casual and not too bold in terms of colour and size of the roll neck. Overall there is a wide variety of knitwear on the high street to help us stay warm over the upcoming cold months. From layering pieces to bold jumpers, the high street has certainly delivered on a range of stylish knitwear pieces to spend our student loan on.
Chloe House flares up all the issues that come with the wide-legged trouser trend
Primark
Instagram: @topshop
If you are in need of a slouchy knitted cardigan, you better visit Primark on Northumberland street. There is a range of cardigans in Primark, with a favourite being this £9 marl grey coloured one. This will be a great layering piece that’s easy to take off in stuffy lecture theatres yet still be prepared for the cold outside. We always need that balance. For menswear, Primark is stocking a lot of cable knit jumpers. One particular cream cable knit jumper is only £12 and would look great as part of a smart casual attire. There are also lots of striped patterns on men’s knitwear in Primark, which would be a simple way to keep your outfit interesting.
IKEA, meet “OFF-WHITE”
Life & Style Ed Sophie Henderson gives us the flat-packed low down on this disruptive collab
But, Abloh’s collaboration with the world’s largest furniture retailer can be taken at more than just face value. In terms of cultural influence, we’re firmly within the Off-White era, and I imagine we will be for quite some time. The five-year fashion house has a fanbase that more established companies can only dream of, and it is just one way for Virgil Abloh to leave his influential mark the creative world. He directs the Milan-based fashion brand, collaborates with Kanye West and records for music label Bromance. Being the first AfricanAmerican creative lead at Louis Vuitton Menswear, he also has game-changing Nike and Converse collabs on his repertoire. Speaking to Naomi Campbell in June, Abloh confessed, ‘I did not think I could be a designer with a capital D, because no one looked like me.’ His unlikely influence has come a long way since he met Kanye in 2002, and Abloh is the interface between a neglected black American youth striving to express itself via the design industry, whether it be Image: Instagram @virgilabloh fashion, art, architecture, interior or style itself. Through this collaboration, Ikea are n April, Henrik Most (Ikea’s creative lead) took fully legitimising themselves in millennial culture and to YouTube to livestream the design themes subcultures. informing Ikea’s latest homeware collection, titled “MARKERAD.” He happened to be stood next to Off-White’s Virgil Abloh, the multitasking force who has successfully conquered the modern streetwear With an MA in Architecture, Abloh is no stranger to phenomenon. furniture design. His first furniture collection entitled Framing was a logical continuation of the Off-White thought process. But irregardless of his past experience Ikea are fully he has noted the difficulty of this Ikea project. legitimising “The essence of the project is not just us designing something cool for cool’s sake,” said Abloh. “I’m trying to themselves in invest an artistic quality in things that you already have.” millennial culture Aimed at students and people moving into their first homes, the Ikea x Off-White collection includes sloganand subcultures.
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Wide and Wonderful
covered rugs, doorstop-integrated chairs and a cabinet for storing and displaying coveted shoe collections. But amidst this fresh modernity, Ikea are maintaining their classic, functional design. This is Abloh interacting with a world that has ‘already been lived in’ and retranslating it in his own, unique way. Readily available products, priced at a means that people
“The essence of the project is not just us designing something cool for cool’s sake,” said Abloh.
can participate, the market has to exist. He is designing for generation rent, ‘born with new information and communication technologies.’ However, this does lead to the one question being asked right across the press: is this a genuine appeal on Ikea’s behalf or simply a marketing ploy? Irregardless, Virgil Abloh’s creativity has no bounds. It has prompted his move from fashion into the realm of furniture design.
The collection itself
Image: Instagram: @freshtastics
Instagram: @phoebesoup
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n the age of skinny jeans, wide trousers only bring ‘unflattering’ and ‘unknown territory’ to mind. The notoriety of the wide legged trouser is challenged in this article, helping to confirm that you can be comfortable as well as stylish and sophisticated. It’s a no brainer that a black top is compatible with any outfit, and is a perfect match for the wide legged trouser. A tighter black long sleeve top, such as a polo-neck or plain black long-sleeved T-shirt can work perfectly, as it tightens the top half against the wider trouser leg. The contrast between the two disguises the bagginess of the trouser as the top half can balance this out. The colour black also works effectively as it naturally flatters, helping to even out the baggy level of the outfit as the top half is more accentuated.
Wide legged trousers always do the talking as a statement piece of clothing
The wide legged trouser can also fit favourably with a cropped jacket, as the cropped style highlights the smaller part of your waist, erasing looking frumpy and adds a look of flattery. A cropped bomber could also work perfectly, or even a shorter jumper for colder days. This jumper doesn’t need to be tight, but a cropped/shorter style means one part of your body is pulled in, allowing the outfit to show your shape and accentuate your top half. Wide legged trousers always do the talking as a statement piece of clothing, so you never really need to fuss about the top half of the outfit. As long as you have a plain and slightly cropped top, jumper or jacket, you’re ready to go. Wide trousers are also great because they come in so many colours, not only providing the opportunity to add an easy pop of colour to your outfit, but making it look like you made an effort even if you didn’t. Wide legged jeans are also great, as you can get your fix of denim without the uncomfortable feeling of the classic skinny jean. White wide legged jeans are great with a denim or light blue shirt that can be tucked in, and are perfect for stretching you outside your comfort zone as they match amazingly with more daunting colours such as yellow and orange. If you are looking to smarten a pair of wide legged trousers for a night out, a plain cami is great, and no need to use a cropped one, just tuck it into the wide trousers and you’re all set. Worried about the outfit being plain? If the trousers have belt loops, pop a belt round, adding dimension and accentuation to your outfit. Wide legged trousers additionally leave considerable options for shoe choice. White trainers always look great for a more casual look, and finding cropped wide legged trousers allow space for high tops such as Converses. If you prefer boots, heeled boots are great with a wide legged trouser or jean as this gives you height and pulls your legs up, making your legs look longer. If wanting to make your outfit smarter, pair the wide legged trouser with some simple black heels and you’re ready to hit the town.
the courier
Monday 22 October 2018
21
travel life & style
courier.travel@ncl.ac.uk Travel Editors Jenny Franken, Bianca Ionci Online Editor Amanda Goh
Is Ohrid a Jerusalem of the Balkans?
Once home to 365 churches , Macedonia’s seriously hidden gem of Ohrid is uncovered by Thomas Griffiths in this travel review
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acedonia may not be the first place on everyone’s list for a quick break but it is definitely worth considering. The country offers amazing food and drinks strongly influenced by the Mediterranean and Turkish kitchens. It further has stunning landscapes and is very hospitable. The area around the city of Ohrid, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, offers something for everyone. The city of Ohrid itself is home to countless historic buildings with a Greek Amphitheatre, Medieval citadel, abundant churches and mosques and atmospheric warren of winding cobbled streets. Not many cities reflect a country’s past so visibly. It is fascinating to see the different layers of Macedonia’s long history. However, Ohrid has more on display. The city lies on the banks of Lake Ohrid, one of the oldest lakes in the world. The waterfront is lined with affordable bars and restaurants offering a taste of Balkan cuisine. I can’t imagine a more beautiful place to spend your evening than enjoying the stunning views over the lake’s bright blue water and the mountains surrounding it. Especially on hot days, the lake along with its beaches, the variety of available water sports, the secluded coves and archaeological sites make for a welcoming retreat from the summer heat. Galičica National Park is a great place for a day trip with well-marked paths that offer panoramic views over the lake as well as hosting several endemic species and a healthy wolf population. My personal highlight there was undoubtedly the day I was followed by a Macedonian
sheepdog called Max. I was pleasantly surprised by the kindness of locals. For example, I got a free three course meal in Trpejca just because a local hotel was celebrating its founding anniversary. Hospitality is known to be a key part for the Macedonian’s national pride and I’m inclined to believe it, especially in the rural areas. A day-trip to the thousand-year old
I can't imagine a more beautiful place to spend your evening
monastery of Saint Naum is definitely a must-see. Even if a trip to an ancient church sounds more than boring, the boat trip from Ohrid is magnificent and the thermal springs around the monastery are perfect for a beautiful walk. If you can’t make it to Sveti Naum, other churches like Sveti Jovan Kaneo, Sveta Sofija or the Plaošnik ruins in Ohrid are definitely worth a visit. At one point the city was referred to as the ‘Jerusalem of the Balkans’ and it is not hard to see why. So, if you’re planning a trip to Southern Europe and you are still struggling to come up with ideas where to go I hope this convinced you to explore Ohrid. And the fact that this place is a little less well known makes it even more special.
Unsplash @gorjan
Homesick while traveling? The Newcastle to-do list Amy Harris is here to help us kick homesickness to the curb
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xploring new places, trying new food, immersing yourself in a new culture and making new friends from around the world. Travelling is a time where you feel the most adventurous and brave, but unfortunately it isn’t all positive - feeling homesick is a very common side effect. When travelling, it is perfectly normal to miss home and those you are used to seeing every day, especially when travelling alone. Going from having a routine and habits to being in a new place with unfamiliar faces and a language barrier, homesickness can creep up on you and may lead to feeling lost, depressed and questioning whether travelling was a good idea. However, don’t let that stop you, because the feeling of homesickness will pass you! You just have to take some steps to fight it and help you feel better. Firstly, keep yourself busy on your travels. Explore the country you are in, see the culture, try learning the language and become immersed in what is around you. By doing this, you’ll keep your mind occupied. You have to focus more on your trip in order to see the reasons you’ve decided to go travelling in the first place. Secondly, stay open minded and don’t be afraid to meet new people. Talking to the locals and other people who are, you’ll soon realize that you’re not the only one who struggles with homesickness which will make you feel less lonely. Also, this is a great opportunity to find out more about other cultures. Thirdly, stay in contact with your friends and family back home. FaceTime and Skype are wonderful opportunities
to recharge when you are missing your beloved ones. You could additionally send postcards telling them all the details about your trip. Lastly, if you know it’s likely for you to feel homesick on your travels, especially if you are away for a longer time, pack some familiar things in your suitcase that represent a piece of home. But most importantly, remember that it is very normal to feel homesick from time to time when travelling. You are out of your comfort zone and away from all your comforts and habits. Culture shock can also make the experience more daunting, especially when the language is different but
You're not the only one struggling with homesickness which will make you feel less lonely
don’t let that put you off! Think positively and don’t let the feeling of being homesick ruin your trip. When you are back home you’ll reflect on the time you discovered new cultures and your new experiences. Believe me - you don’t want those memories to be clouded because you’re annoyed with yourself that you didn’t make the most out of your time.
Unsure what to do this weekend? Lazy Sunday in bed? Let Emily Matthews’ recommendations guide your exploration
Instagram @aga_on_the_run
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ewcastle is one of the UK’s most exciting and diverse cities, from its popular nightlife to the tranquillity of the coast, Newcastle has it all. There are a variety of things to do for both residents and students, catering for all needs. If you are looking for something to do on a sunny Sunday morning, then the Quayside Market is perfect for you. Its impressive number of stalls trailing all the way alongside the River Tyne offer a whole range of different treats and gifts alike. You can find beverages and hot food such as donuts, authentic coffee shops, traditional fish and chips and even local produce! As well as this, the market offers a range of quirky and cool accessories
that make perfect gifts for family and friends or even a treat for yourself. The outdoor market runs every Sunday morning and is the ideal choice if you fancy a stroll around the stalls as well as an opportunity to admire the glorious quayside Newcastle has to offer. After a stroll around the market, the other side of the Millennium Bridge is where you will find the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art; one of the area’s greatest spots for fantastic art and culture. Along with its free entry, which is perfect for students on a budget, the gallery offers exciting and fascinating art collections which are updated frequently by different local contemporary artists. It is a perfect escape on a rainy afternoon. After you’ve explored the art, the Baltic also offers a quirky gift shop and an on site café that serves a great selection of fresh food and beverages to suit all needs. If you are interested in an opportunity to escape the busyness of Newcastle city centre, then Jesmond Dene is perfect for another day out. Its large wooded valley, situated just 15 minutes away from the city centre, offers a piece of tranquillity and harmony whilst enjoying the beautiful nature and wildlife of Jesmond. The dene is perfect for both walkers and runners. For animal lovers, there is a small petting corner with different farmland animals and even llamas! Jesmond Dene also has a small café that serves hot food and drinks for when you are ready to take a break from all the exploring.
Travel IG of the week
Travel Ed Amanda Goh helps satisfy your weekly wanderlust
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Instagram @worldwanderlust
Around the world through Brooke Saward’s lens. Her account, @worldwanderlust, showcases her amazing adventures to her 600K followers. With her stunning photography skills and editing, Brooke is able to capture the beauty of every corner of the world. Her account is one of the most infamous in the game. Brooke has recently spent her time in the USA and Canada, with Vancouver, Los Angeles and New York compromising her recent postings. Alongside traditional travel imagery, her account includes hotel, food and experience recommendations. She also writes about her different experiences in various countries on her blog - worldofwanderlust.com. Both her pictures and her blog allow us to feel as if we were travelling right along with her.
Instagram @worldwanderlust
Instagram @worldwanderlust
@worldwanderlust
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feature
Monday 22 October 2018 Feature Editor Ally Wilson
Dr Geoffrey Poole, Sociology
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ood afternoon Geoff! Could you state your full name for the record? Hey! Well, it’s technically Dr Geoffrey Poole, but I go by Geoff. I still, after all this time, feel like ‘Dr Poole’ is too much like my grandfather. He was actually a professor of Music at Wayne State University, in Detroit.
DESERT ISL LECTURE
So dedication runs in the family! Diving right in; what is the name of the book that changed your life? It sounds overdramatic, and it’s an odd one, but it’s called ‘The Book of the SubGenius’, published by the group SubGenius. Basically, this one guy called The Reverend Ivan Strang started this whole thing in Texas, back in the 1970s, which was a kind of parody of Fundamentalist religion and UFO cults. An unusual choice...what do you like about it? One of the things that appeals to me so much about the book is its multi-layered nature. They [the authors] understand the form of the stuff they’re parodying very well. Certainly on a personal level, what’s interesting is the detail. The book presents itself as a real cult, but then there’s the superficial detail, which is a parody of that kind of text. The mythology is unbelievably complicated, and it directly parodies Fundamentalist preacher rhetoric. I was always interested in humorous stuff with an anti-consumerist bent. Ah, so similar to my generation’s nihilistic humour? Yeah, in a sense! I first read it in the 1980s, and I felt alone in feeling this way except for a couple of friends on the same wavelength. I think being part of your generation comes with different problems. The internet makes it a lot easier to connect with like-minded individuals. One thing that isn’t a problem for you guys is subscribing to an indie music fanzine to find out that someone’s album is going to come out in six months. To find out there are people who feel the same way you do is really neat. I still carry over, in a very restrained fashion, the stuff from that book in my teaching. There’s an element of performance art as a teacher, about trying to surprise people. Like, wait a minute, that wasn’t what I was expecting - now I’ve got to think. That makes a lot of sense given your teaching style! Would you say that this book changed your outlook on life? It’s kind of a difficult thing to articulate. The overarching idea of the book is the essential nature of human beings...crucial freedom and creative control. The book shows that it isn’t always possible for people to control the way they labour and participate in society, and so we should try to change those things, because they are in conflict with our essential human nature, and I do agree with that.
We ask our favourite lecturers what book or what polotical journals get their blood
Wow - now I can’t wait to read this book! Thank you so much for your time, Geoff. No problem - and thank you! Megan Clark Image: Wikipedia
Dr Robbie McLaughlan, English Literature
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fter hearing this week’s article choices, I jumped at the chance of sitting down with must surely be the only lecturer that can genuinely entertain, enthuse and teach for two straight hours without breaking a sweat, Dr Robbie McLaughlan, and ask him about his favourite book. Considering I am currently in his module labelled Empire: Fiction and the Rise of Global Capitalism, I wasn’t surprised that his chosen book centered around socio- political discourse, as he proudly exclaimed it to be ‘The Communist Manifesto’ by Karl Marx, before mocking me and saying he thought this would have been more of a tough grilling! He first read the book when he was around 14 years old, and explained that it did not only shape his political thinking, but it had a radical influence on his clothes and style at the time. For example, he started wearing old army jackets with political patches that his mum kindly sewed for him, although as a Fashion Editor I would like to subtly interject and reinforce that this is not a style that should be replicated now, thank you. When asked what attracted Robbie to the book in terms of form, content and context, he highlighted his consistent admiration of the Molotov mix of Marx’s ideas and his writing style. It was written when literacy rates were pretty poor so it had to be memorable and easily repeated. From his description to bourgeois society as a sorcerer to the famous, rousing, last lines of the book, he excitedly announced he can still quote large chunks of it, before admitting he is generally rubbish at remembering quotations! I had to ask the state of his first copy of the manifesto, and was unsurprised when he recalled it to be tattered and scribbled like any avid book- lover, as he still reads it all the time Hilariously when asked who he would recommend it to and what readership would be as enthralled as he was with the writing, he simply stated that he would recommend it ‘to EVERYONE Comrade Couling!’ Feeling slightly more won over with what I thought was a rather dense political handbook, I asked if he went on to read any other works by Marx and how they compared to this one, as I beginning to be convinced of the manifesto’s accessibility. He admitted he had given Kapital a bash on several occasions but only got so far and similarly with his incomplete work Die Grundrisse. They are not exactly page turners, he reflects, but it is amazing how much of modern life Marx actually predicts. There is a chapter in Die Grundrisse that is all about automation and the consequences for humans, and this is something that seems to be of interest to us now. Feeling officially convinced that maybe the manifesto is palatable to a wider audience after all, I thought I would test his love for the script and ask that, if he could take five items on a desert island for a month, would his beloved tattered manuscript be one, to which he roared with laughter and informed me that he wouldn’t take any items to a desert island! I then quote ‘private property would be abolished in the People’s Republic of Robbie. It would just be me living in my communist paradise.’ Sensing that his love for this book really has engrained itself in his brilliant mind, so much so that he didn’t even fancy taking a pillow with him on this said island, I concluded by asking him what reading literature meant to him (I asked him to answer ‘in short,’ as English lecturers to have the tendency to get rather eloquent and lengthy extremely rapidly!) Robbie said this was hard question but believed it to be a source of pleasure and also his job. He concluded ‘I feel very fortunate to be able to make my career out of literature and also to spend my days talking about books with people like you Poppy!’ Poppy Couling Image: Wikimedia Comons
Image: Pexels
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feature
Monday 22 October 2018
Dr Annie Tindley, History
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i! What’s your name and what’s your subject? Dr Annie Tindley, History
What is your favourite book and why? This is a very hard question, but Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens.
LAND BOOKS: ER EDITION
When did you first come across it and how? I first read it when I was an undergraduate student. I was doing history but always liked literature and I got into Dickens. This was the first book of his I read, and I chose it because it is one of only two historical novels he wrote (the other is A Tale of Two Cities).
really
Have you read anything else by Dickens? Yes, all of them and I re-read them regularly too, especially Barnaby Rudge, Little Dorritt and Our Mutual Friend. What is the main selling point of the book? Firstly (for me) that it is a historical novel by one of the greats; secondly, that the story examines both private and public violence – the violence within family relations and the wider social violence of the 1780 Gordon Riots, which were violent anti-Catholic riots that ripped through London. So, it is all about order and disorder, love and hate and social progress versus barbarity. What’s not to like?
Images: Wikimedia Comons & Flcikr
Isabel Sykes
ok changed their life, what novels get them nostalgic d boiling , and why they had such an effect on them.
Image: Wikimedia Comons
Prof Anthony Harriman, Physical Chemistry
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hat is a book you feel has changed your life? ‘The Search’ by C.P. Snow. It was the first science-based fiction I read and it had massive influence over my decision to continue with academic research. I first read the book soon after starting postdoctoral research, and it influenced my entire approach to research and underlying work ethics. It is an old book, written between the first and second world wars, with rather old-fashioned views. I have re-read it many times, maybe each decade or so, and I see new things in it each time. At first, I saw the book as a model for my own work - it certainly inspired me to focus entirely on research - but with the passing of time, I’ve come to see some sinister aspects that I didn’t appreciate earlier. In what way do you think ‘The Search’ influenced you? The essence of the book is a description of a person with the ambition to be a top scientist, who knows he lacks the special element that distinguishes the very good from the best. He believed that total dedication to his work would overcome any limitations in his character. I accepted this premise and set about putting it into practice. It worked fairly well for me, as it did for the hero of the story, but only as long as I worked non-stop. Why do you think it had such an impact on you? I guess it had such a powerful effect on me due to the situation in which I found myself. Surrounded by colleagues better prepared, more confident and self-assured, I looked for a way to move up the ladder. Did this novel teach you any important lessons? The book taught me that you can overcome a restricted background and be taken seriously as a research scientist by virtue of hard work. You need a certain amount of talent and you need to identify a research topic that suits you and has real possibilities for success. If you lack certain skills, you must teach yourself and not use this as an excuse. However, you have to be prepared to pay the price in terms of personal sacrifice. Did you learn anything else? There is an excellent explanation of how scientific committees work - I found this invaluable later on when I became a member of “important” committees - and it nicely summarises the cruelty with which scientists dismiss their competitors. The book explores the reality that scientific fraud can restore a flagging career and examines the role of true friendship between scientists. These are massive issues, of great relevance today. Who would you recommend it to, and why? Although the book is rather dated now, I’d strongly recommend it to anyone thinking seriously about a career in academic research. Many things have not changed, especially the ambition and the work ethics needed to succeed. It would be invaluable reading for any PhD student or senior MChem student and could be a work of explanation for family members of those involved in advanced research. The book glorifies elitism, simplifies intellectual emotions and serves as a warning of what can happen when chasing a dream at all costs. Julia McGee-Russell Image: Flickr
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the courier
culture music Musicians & drug use: A culture of abuse and addiction Rae Farren continues our feature series on musicians dealing with difficulties in the spotlight, discussing drigs culture in music S c2.music@ncl.ac.uk TV Editors Charlotte Boulton, Rory Ellis, Jess Taylor Weisser Online Editor Max Hobbs
ustaining a career as a working, touring musician is a dream shared by many people. It’s often seen as the holy grail of musicianship, being able to support oneself through this precarious and unpredictable existence. Films and magazines present glamourous narratives of hotels, luxury tour buses and fraternising with the rich and famous. However, there is a dark side to the music industry, one which runs incredibly deep, insomuch that it is often seen as a fundamental part of a musician’s life: drugs.
A part of this life is so often presented as glamorous and desirable
This issue has recently come to light in the death of rapper Mac Miller, who died of a suspected drug overdose on September 7 this year. Sadly, I do not predict that his passing will be remembered any more than the myriad of other musicians who have suffered the same fate – he will simply be another name added to the list. In order to even attempt to solve this issue, we need a much deeper, wider discussion of the problems faced by musicians. Jackson Browne, in his 1977 album Running On Empty (full credit to my dad for introducing me to this), tackles many of these issues openly. In songs such as ‘The Road’, he is very explicit about the normality of drug use with the lyrics “Coffee in the morning, cocaine afternoon / You talk about the weather and you grin about the rooms”. For me, this song perfectly describes the realities of life on the road, embodying the utter monotony of it, and his
dreary relationships with female fans he meets along the way – a part of this life that is so often presented as glamourous and desirable. A harsh truth is that many musicians use drugs simply to keep themselves going in a life which is fundamentally exhausting and unsustainable. His song ‘The Load Out’, o n t h e
same album, contains the lyrics “When that morning sun comes beating down, you’re gonna wake up in your town / But we’ll be scheduled to appear a thousand miles away from here”. In my opinion, the conversation that Browne was attempting to start has not been adequately followed up. And it’s not just professional touring musicians who fall foul of this culture. In my relatively limited experience as a semiprofessional, I have personally been offered free alcohol, cannabis, magic mushrooms, cocaine, and ketamine – and I include alcohol in this list because it has the same destructive power as any of the others, the only difference be-
Image: G. L. Askew II
Monday 22 October 2018
ing that it is legal. The pressure to indulge in these chemical life-enhancers is immense, and it can be incredibly difficult to say no without feeling like you’re insulting the person offering them. What we need to do is create a culture of radical self-care for musicians. If enough of us say openly that we’ve had enough of the destructive habits perpetuated by generation upon generation, we can cultivate a new way of existing for the musician. By this, I do not mean stopping drug use entirely; this has been tried countless times, and is categorically proven to be ineffective. We need to increase awareness of the pleasures and the dangers of drugs so that people can make better, educated decisions. I have close friends who have fallen foul of addiction, fought through to the other side, and are now in recovery embracing a new, more conscious life. If we can teach more musicians to take better care of themselves, we will ultimately become a healthier, livelier, more loving community.
Image: Larry Miller, G. L. Askew II
Are festival fans getting their money’s worth?
A selection of music-loving students discuss their different thoughts about the finanical accessibility of festivals for fans
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Scarlett Carroll
ow, anyone who knows me knows that Glastonbury is a very important part of my life. You could say that I talk about it way too much… But some people certainly have not had this same love affair with the festival. A lot of this is down to not getting tickets, believing the system is somehow unfair. This year tickets sold out in around 40 minutes - which was actually around about the same amount of time it took them to sell two years ago (50 minutes). What makes this so impressive is that last year was a fallow year. And in that twoyear gap, more people decided to go than usual, feeling like they were missing out on not going. So with record numbers of people trying to get tickets, to match the selling out time is pretty remarkable. The misunderstanding with people who have never been to Glastonbury before is that they often think getting tickets is like when everyone was in year 11, about to finish their GCSEs, and people wanted to go to Leeds or Reading. These festivals don’t have the immense International draw that Glastonbury does, so their tickets are available for more than 40 minutes after they go on sale - these festivals give you months. Getting tickets for Glastonbury is a process that requires planning, alarms, and multiple devices - it’s not something you decide on a whim. People also seem to get annoyed by the speed of which tickets are bought - thinking it’s ticket touts. This 100% is not the case with Glastonbury. Your ticket arrives with your face on it. The tickets are essentially as difficult to resell as holographic IDs. “Real fans” are getting tickets it’s is impossible for ticket touts to take advantage. People also get kicked off of the website if they are refreshing too often while trying to get higher up in the queue - you really think that a bot is going to get past that if manual refreshing can cause people to get kicked off? And I can hear the question that you, the reader, is asking: did I get tickets for 2019? And the answer is yes. And if you didn’t, don’t worry
there are other ways to get in - Glastonbury really does give you multiple chances. Try volunteering for Oxfam in fact, you can do this with almost every festival in the UK, with the cost of your ticket being paid for by your volunteering hours. There is even a resale in April for those who didn’t get tickets the first time around - and the benefit of buying tickets then is that you know who the artist will be, so you’re not buying tickets with a hope that your favourite will be there. If you aren’t already, registration for these tickets opens on November 1st. And I can hear the question that you, the reader, is asking: did I get tickets for 2019? And the answer is yes. And if you didn’t, don’t worry there are other ways to get in Glastonbury really does give you multiple chances. Try volunteering for Oxfam - in fact, you can do this with almost every festival in the UK, with the cost of your ticket being paid for by your volunteering hours. There is even a resale in April for those who didn’t get tickets the first time around - and the benefit of buying tickets then is that you know who the artist will be, so you’re not buying tickets with a hope that your favourite will be there. If you aren’t already, registration for these tickets opens on November
Ally Wilson
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lastonbury tickets sold out in forty minutes this year. FORTY. That’s around 130,000 people at £248 a head. That’s a lot of dollar in the Worthy Farm fund. And that’s not even considering all the additional costs like transport, tents, food, booze, the inevitable purchase of a second tent halfway through the weekend after yours has either mysteriously disappeared or started to smell just a little bit too funky. It’s a lot of money, but it’s sold out in under an hour every year and there is always a waiting list, so people are clearly willing to pay the fee and wait with bated breath star-
ing madly at a computer screen. But should they be? Looking at the wider context- festival ticket prices are all well up into three figures now, and the culture is becoming more and more bourgeois. Fashion designers have festival clothing lines, outdoor shops sell festival starter packs, there’s the option of hiring a yurt or tepee for well into the thousands of pounds. Festivals, which once were such an accessible and community orientated notion are becoming extremely commercialised and are outpricing the very people for whom they were designed. Glastonbury began with asking for a humble £1 entry fee, with the promise of
130,000 people at £248 a head. That’s a lot of dollar in the Worthy Farm fund
some of Worthy Farm’s finest milk included in the ticket price. Now, the ticket -if you are fortunate enough to get your hands on one- gives you only the permission to be in that particular field on that particular weekend, accommodation, food and drink are all luxury add-ons. Of course, it’s a good thing that music is being celebrated on a wider scale- there’s TV coverage now and the names appearing on the Pyramid stage are some of the biggest in the industry. There’s been legendary collaborations (see the BeeGees and Coldplay in 2016’s headline set- what a combo!), political activism (see Jeremy Corbyn’s speech in 2017) and the beauty of music bringing people together despite being covered in shit and soaked to the bone (see every Glastonbury ever). But at what cost? Music is not something which should ever be made unaffordable. Safer and better quality festivals are desirable, but not if it means simultaneously pricing out the very people who deserve to enjoy them the most.
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Toby Bryant
here seems to be the opinion that the price of being a music fan now is higher than ever. However, for me, I struggle to see that this is really correct. Personally, I’d guess that at least 50% of the money I earn myself does go towards music related activities. Whether it be my Spotify subscription or vinyl or gig tickets or the travelling to get there. Although, that is not caused by the price of what I chose to do, more the frequency that I do it. More and more artists are actively fighting against ticket re-sales, Ed Sheeran made ID and proof of purchase obligatory for the whole of his Divide tour and Taylor Swift took a massive cut in ticket-sales for doing the same thing on her Reputation stadium shows. Admittedly, you’re going to have to shell out upwards of £60 to catch the huge names live, but it is still possible to see smaller acts for as little as £12 at local venues. When it comes to festivals, it is an unaffordable amount of money. I wanted to attend a few this summer but just couldn’t afford the entrance fee, let alone the price of food and drink when I got there. For music fans, when you break the price down to fee per act you see, it can come to under £10 per set - a great deal. But for those more invested in the weekend’s fun, paying upwards of £200 is not the one. In my opinion, the reason tickets are becoming so hard to access and fans are spending so much, is the frenzy whipped up in fandoms on social media. Music, especially pop music, is reaching more people than ever before through these channels. These record breaking numbers of people following artists means more competition for tickets, and therefore more people disappointed. The price isn’t going up, the demand is.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
the courier
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Monday 22 October 2018
@CourierMusic thecourieronline.co.uk/music
music culture
Twenty Øne Piløts
Random Review
Haila. Grandes Exitos. Loz Doyle reviews Twenty Øne Piløts’ long-awaited fifth release, after a long brek: ‘Trench’ Haila Mompié
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wenty Øne Pilots are back after a year long break (which I refuse to call a hiatus, as so many do, since they were very clearly working on new music the entire time) from releasing music. 2015’s Blurryface launched the eclectic duo’s career, projecting them to ridiculous levels of fame across the globe. Whether or not they achieve that same level of success with brand new album, Trench, remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, their songs’ themes (fighting inner demons and not-so-subtle religious imagery cc: ‘My Blood’) remain as prevalent as always. ‘Neon Gravestones’, while technically one of the strongest tracks on this record, is the album’s lowest point emotionally. Its morbid piano melody is all too fitting for this focus upon mortality, struggle, and a culture which supposedly glorifies mental illness. The unexpected highlight of Trench has to be the aforementioned ‘Pet Cheetah’. The song is as ridiculous as its name: edgy hip-hop beats combine with choral vocals and borderline nonsensical lyrics. But maybe that’s why it’s such a success in my eyes. It’s totally unapologetic in its surrealism, yet it hides an underlying message of self
track ‘Pet Cheetah’: “this clique means so much to this dude, it could make him afraid of his music.” Twenty Øne Pilots make music for those who will listen to it, not for their sales; that is something quite admirable. Trench itself doesn’t depart much from Blurryface.
Their trademark synthetic rock sound with a bold smattering of ukulele here and there remains. Album opener ‘Jumpsuit’ is bass-driven. Seriously that bassline is a tourde-force! But where the former TØP would layer it with instrumental parts, this time they’ve left thsi well alone. ‘Levitate’ too doesn’t rely on background noise to fill the gaps between Joseph’s rapidfire rapping. The only other prominent element is Josh Dun’s equally frantic drumming. The reason behind this shift towards minimalism is simple. While Blurryface featured a whole host of producers, Trench is produced exclusively by Joseph himself and Mutemath vocalist Paul Meany. Having fewer minds working on this record lends the album a more cohesive feel. Meanwhile, their songs’ themes (fighting inner demons and not-so-subtle religious imagery cc: ‘My Blood’) remain as prevalent as always. ‘Neon Gravestones’, while technically one of the strongest tracks on this record, is the album’s lowest point emotionally. Its morbid piano melody is all too fitting for this focus upon mortality, struggle, and a culture which supposedly glorifies mental illness. The unexpected highlight of Trench has to be the aforementioned ‘Pet Cheetah’. The song is as ridiculous as its name: edgy hip-hop beats combine with choral vocals and borderline nonsensical lyrics. But maybe that’s why it’s such a success in my eyes. It’s totally unapologetic in its surrealism, yet it hides an underlying message of self doubt. Is Trench an easy listen? Hell no. Much like the rest of TØP’s discography, their songs need attention. The more you listen to them, the more you uncover their meaning, their talent, the more your appreciation for each song will grow. So, give the record a couple of spins. Good things require a little effort on the audience’s part, and Trench deserves the time you give it. ing fewer minds working on this record lends the album a more cohesive feel.
Time ’n’ Place
A Star Is Born
Malibu Nights
Having fewer minds working on this record lends the album a more cohesive feel
Trench has already entered the charts at the highest point for a Twenty Øne Pilots album so they’re off to a good start thus far. However, members Tyler Joseph (vocalist and multi-instrumentalist) and Josh Dun (percussionist, occasional trumpeter), are unlikely to base their accomplishments on chart positions of record sales, caring more about how their fans (or ‘clique’ as they’re commonly referred to) receive it. They say as much in album
1930s
First mentions of recreational drug use in music
Kero Kero Bonito
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ero Kero Bonito’s new album Time ’n’ Place is a new direction for the group following their debut album Bonito Generation. The new direction brings in influences from alt rock and power pop; even paying tribute to their UK roots with Twee pop influences. Time ‘n’ Place is a furthering of the group’s mixtape TOTEP with more guitar-led songs. The lead single from the mixtape, Only Acting, even makes it onto the album. There are lots of similarities between Time ‘n’ Place and Bonito Generation also; Time ‘n’ Place carries on the synthpop sound of Bonito Generation in some parts. The themes of growing up, being an adult and maintaining your inner child are present on both albums also. However, where the two truly differ is in the cohesiveness of the projects. Bonito Generation carried its JPop and electropop influences consistently throughout the album. Even though the TOTEP mixtape went in a new direction sonically, it maintained a consistent sound throughout. Time ‘n’ Place however changes sound from track to track leaving the album sounding disjointed. This isn’t a bad thing though, as it plays into the title of the album and allows the band to play with sounds and themes in an unrestrained manner. The standout moments on the album are ‘Dear Future Self’; a song with is both melancholic and upbeat as it delves into personal identity and growing up. ‘Swimming’ is another reflective and explorative song that ponders life and finding a direction and purpose in life. ‘Flyway’ is also a standout on the album with its stripped back instrumental and the dreamy voice lamenting a desire to migrate along with birds. Overall, the album sees Kero Kero Bonito mature from the first album. Themes from Bonito Generation are carried over but expanded on from a more mature viewpoint. This is also shown in the music, with the group expanding out from synth and J-pop, with a more cultivated and diverse sound that tackles introspective issues. If Bonito Generation was the celebration of the inner child, Time ‘n’ Place is the curiosity and exploration of teenage life. This album is well worth your time. Callum Trainor
Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga
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had no idea who Haila was before reviewing this album. I must admit that it is really hard to review music when you don’t know the author and in a style you don’t listen to at all. It was so unexpected to get an artist, whose songs are in a language completely foreign to me.
She specialises in son and timba...both specific to her country
Haila’s full name is Haila Maria Mompié and she is a singer from Cuba. She specializes in son and timba, which are both genres specific to her country. As a listener who is completely new to it, I would describe her sound as Latino. My first impression of this album: this is music that plays at dance lessons. I was right about the samba influences and Spanish guitar. She is quite popular, as she has over 20,000 followers on Instagram. Haila. Grandes Exitos or Haila’s Greatest Hits came out in 2007, but the songs are from the prime of her career during the late 80s and 90s. I recognized only one song
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The number of drums used in traditional Cuban music: including bongos and congas Image: Pixabay
from it, her most famous one: ‘Andar Andando’. It is extremely catchy with repeated vocal parts that make it so recognizable. You simply cannot stay still while you listen to it. Also in the eighth track ‘Como Voy A Decirte’ the melody sounds a little familiar. The piano gives me 80s vibes and reminds me of George Michael for some reason. ‘Solita’ is my favorite song from the album. I just felt it the most, I think everyone can relate to that. On the other hand, as a whole, the tracks didn’t provide much diversity in terms of sound. They are all quite similarly lively and
LANY
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he A Star Is Born soundtrack accompanies Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut, starring Lady Gaga. Only one of these names is familiar to me as an established singer, yet both performers’ contributions to the soundtrack are brilliant. The album begins with Cooper’s gruff country hasbeen Jackson Maine’s ‘Black Eyes’ and its intense thumping beat opening the film; perfectly encapsulating Maine’s character. It’s impossible to separate the music from the film, yet each song stands on its own merit as a solid track. The contrast between Maine’s heavier performances and Ally’s (Lady Gaga) pop-infused ‘Heal Me’ and ‘Look What I Found’ are brought together by the duets between the two. ‘Shallow’, the lead single and most recognisable from the film’s trailer, brings together Cooper’s softer capabilities and Gaga’s incredible belting ability at its chorus. The lyrics, although certainly crafted for the film’s narrative, are nevertheless relatable outside the premise of the plotline. Many of the lyrics throughout focus on longing, the power of change and the pair’s deep connection; universal feelings which would make many of these songs pop successes individually. As a chronological journey through the film’s narrative of Maine’s struggle with sobriety whilst Ally’s stardom rises, the album hits every note. Ally’s style shifts with her fame, but the track listing allows the listener to flit between her piano-driven, emotional ballads and her light-hearted upbeat hits. Despite my bias towards Gaga’s features, Cooper’s work on ‘Out of Time’ and its transition into ‘Alibi’ excited me too. Within the film this plays in the background as Ally is rushed backstage during Maine’s performance, creating incredible atmosphere and anticipation that had me tapping my foot in the cinema. For me, it captures the rush of being amongst many festivalgoers waiting as your favourite artist hypes up the crowd with their long musical introduction before the iconic first lyrics are sung, and all tension is relieved. A Star Is Born has been on repeat for me ever since I saw the film both a rarity for me (even as a musical lover) and a true testament to its excellence. My only complaint? That Ally’s album isn’t real, because I need a copy – stat.
nly one and a half years after their self titled debut, LA based alt pop trio LANY have released their second studio album Malibu Nights and it’s giving heartbreak a brand new sound. The album starts with ‘Through Thick and Thin’, a dreamy synth-pop anthem that sets the tone for the entire record and demonstrates that whilst still being LANY the band’s sound has definitely evolved from their first record, incorporating more guitar, piano and drums into their songs. Long time LANY fans know that the band has quite a reputation not only for writing sad songs with an uptempo but also for their authentic and relatable lyrics. Cue ‘If you see her’ and ‘I don’t want to love you anymore’, two songs that will make you relive your worst heartache and break your heart all over again when vocalist Paul Jason Klein begs ‘If you see her, tell her I’d do anything, I need her.’ After a change in tempo to a calmer sound with ‘Let Me Know’, ‘Run’ and ‘Valentine’s Day’, LANY returns to their signature style. The breakup we have followed through the course of the album seems to come full circle with ‘Thru These Tears’, the only track on the record that could potentially be described as somewhat uplifting: “In the end I’m gonna be alright but it might take a hundred sleepless nights”. The title track ‘Malibu Nights’ closes the album. It’s a beautiful piano ballad that sees LANY try something new by only featuring a single vocal by front man Paul instead of their usual layered vocals making the song feel even more raw and personal. The perfect way to end a very personal record. As was to be expected from a LANY album, Malibu Nights satisfies with strong vocals, strong lyrics and a beautiful aesthetic.The record tells the story of a tough breakup, which can be felt in every line, every note, every song. As he would in a diary, Klein takes us on this emotional journey with him and endeavours to share his darkest moments. In the title track he asks “what do you do with a broken heart?” but he’s already given the answer: you take all that pain and create a sonic masterpiece.
Charlotte Paige Boulton
Laura Freyaldenhoven
One of the most energetic numbers I have ever heard
fun, but maybe that is just the principal part of the genre. I would recommend this album to people who are tired of pop music nowadays and want to try something new. I love to dance by myself in my room, but I get bored quickly with my ‘guilty pleasure’ artists. Music from Latin America might be a solution to your bland playlists too! Haila delivers one of the most energetic numbers I have ever heard, definitely not dull at any point. Jagoda Waszkowiak
Image: Youtube
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culture TV Netflix: Say no more to too much gore? The Amazing A Pick ‘n’ Mix Film editor Joe Holloran on the use of excessive violence on TV Jodie Duddy discusses the national tr ‘ O I c2.tv@ncl.ac.uk TV Editors Jacob Clarke, Tom Cooney, Chloe Mullins Online Editor Max Hobbs
And now for something completely different’ Gabriela Szczepanska watches Monty Python’s Flying Circus for the very first time Credit: CMetalCore (Wikimedia)
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s a person who’s only ever heard vague references to Monty Python, I was quite excited to give this series a go. I assumed it was a classic, in a sort of Friends way, where the humour may be outdated and not very PC, but you could still appreciate it as a product of its time. However, I no longer share that sentiment since I actually watched the series. The humour feels very clown-throwing-pie-in-someone’s-face, complete with constant, exaggerated, laughter tracks. It may be because my sense of humour mainly circles around slightly dense memes and is not accustomed to that “classic” Monty Python humour. This is a series that was originally broadcast in 1969, that obviously has to be taken into consideration. But despite fully comprehending that fact, I just honestly don’t get it.
nce every year or so, without fail it seems, the question of “excessive” violence on television rears its ugly head yet again. The moral mediacrusading ideology of Mary Whitehouse failing to remain in the past, where it was soundly rejected by an audience sick of being infantilized by a middle-class elite scared of the allegedly corrupting nature of a socially bankrupt medium. Well, every question deserves an answer and here it is. No. The reason people often ask this question is that they are worried about copy-cat actions. Back in the 1960’s experiments were done surrounding this issue that have been repeated across the decades. They all show the same results. Those with no past prior predisposition to violence were encouraged to act aggressively after viewing violent images. The majority can differentiate between fiction and reality. Gory TV, excessive or not, is not damaging to the public. What about general audience consensus on gory TV? The most commonly accused purveyors of excess by the outraged are Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and Sons of Anarchy. There are some noted similarities between the shows. They are all American. They are all on mainstream network TV. They all have massive viewing
A classic British sit-com - a genre rarely seen on screens these days Humour has changed tremendously in the last 50 years, and the gap is just too big for the show to still be relatable. I can see someone who is a history nut enjoying Monty Python, with its vast historical references and political burns but that’s just personally not for me. I don’t mind some Austin Powers, perhaps because it was made 20 not 50 years ago, and because it’s a movie whereas Monty Python is a series with various stories within one episode. The 30 minute episode felt like a lifetime and personally, I wouldn’t recommend.
Monday 22 October 2018
figures and they are all critically acclaimed. Now, if the affects theory proposed by the moralizers is correct, then Dragon, Zombie and Katy Segal related deaths should have skyrocketed over the course of their broadcast years.
35%
The percentage of viewers who believe there is excessive violence on TV. This has fallen from 55% in the last five years.
Are there TV shows that are too violent? It depends on the show. In the above mentioned shows the violence fits the overall tone of the shows. If, suddenly, Peppa Pig took up a career as a gun slinging psychopath – it would make for an awesome show – but, yes then the violence would be excessive and out of place. There are also some shows where the violence causes even the desensitised to avert their eyes. This is most often due to the duration and tension of the scene involved. TV makers know this and know to only use these moments at key points that are vital to overall story arcs. If this is repeated too often, they risk losing many viewers. So, no. TV is not too gory because audiences have not stopped watching. Besides, most of the shows who have the finger pointed at them use violence as a tool within a wider narrative construct to engender passions and raise the stakes between protagonist and antagonist. If a show comes along that uses frequent, graphic violence for no other purpose than to sort of dare the audience to keep looking, then these shows will be cast aside as primitive and most will not survive. Whereas masterpieces like Game of Thrones will continue to be enjoyed by millions from all sorts of genders, ages, races and cultures. If you disagree with me and find shows you’re watching too graphic than please just change the channel and get on with your life, rather than sending off an angry tweet that will forever go unread and forgotten.
Credit: YouTube
Credit: YouTube
Reboots, revamps, revivals: Oh my!
James Nash comments on the oversaturation of unoriginal content
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ith the return of the CW’s Dynasty this month, our attention is once again drawn to the current culture sweeping through Hollywood: the reboot. Once considered a rarity, the concept of ‘rebooting’ a film or television programme often means recreating characters, locations - even storylines - and presenting them to a contemporary audience. Some of the criticism of reboots is certainly valid – do execs assume that the original incarnation cannot be watched and appreciated today? However, there is also a strong case for bringing back a show that may still be culturally relevant, albeit in a different way. In the case of Dynasty, whilst it might be fun to see Joan Collins somehow manage to throw someone down a flight of stairs in the 80s classic, class and wealth dynamics in the US have shifted substantially in the past thirty years – but are still very much present. Enter the reboot. Unfortunately, the narrative of the reboot phenomena is somewhat confused by ‘the revival’. A revival tends to
Credit: YouTube
continue to be set in the world laid out in the respective original series and carry over characters, exploring them at a later stage in their lives. This is also becoming a popular format, particularly for platforms such as Netflix and Hulu, both of which have a lot to gain by bringing back old favourites, such as the much-loved Arrested Development and the recently announced fourth season of Veronica Mars. With the latter, Hulu has revived the series a full twelve years after the original run was cancelled, and five years after the fan-funded movie was released. Whilst validly suggesting that fan audiences have an inability to let things go, critics argued that we’re entering an age where ‘nothing ever dies in TV’, a criticism also aimed at Netflix’s revival of Gilmore Girls. The third way to desperately cling on to a beloved series is informally known as a ‘revamp’, this incorporates elements of the previous two methods. In certain cases, this provides a long running show with a much-needed adrenaline shot to keep the old fans interested and potentially draw in new viewers. Take the latest series of Doctor Who – the basic elements of the show remain a constant, but a fresh take in tone, direction and character dynamics proved to be a huge success, with Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor bringing in almost 9 million viewers. In many other cases, the lack of familiar characters and a changed premise proves to be a show’s downfall, such as Scrubs or Once Upon a Time, both of which were swiftly cancelled after their revamps proved to be unpopular and unnecessary. The lines between the three techniques are increasingly blurring, with the negative buzz surrounding them driving the powers that be to avoid the terms altogether. With the world of television ever-expanding, the search for original content is becoming increasingly harder, with too many production companies and networks relying on reboots, revivals and revamps to save them. That being said, we can’t help what we fall in love with, and for the most part, we can tolerate a reboot for the sake of nostalgia. Until they reboot Friends. Then we’re having words.
n the wake of stark environmental warnings, will David Attenborough’s new show continue to break BBC viewing records? The BBC have released a trailer for David Attenborough’s new show, Dynasties, which follows the families of five animal species threatened by the effects of climate change. Lions, chimpanzees, hunting dogs, emperor penguins and tigers all take centre stage in this highly dramatic trailer that wouldn’t be out of place advertising a blockbuster film. The show, which has been in production for four years, will premiere this autumn as announced by the BBC. Attenborough notes that ‘the family is one of the most powerful forces in nature’, so the survival of these animal families is paramount to the continuation of their species: ‘the future of their dynasty hangs in the balance’. Attenborough’s most recent 2017 series Blue Planet II was the most watched programme that year with 14 million viewers; it was also the most streamed programme of 2017 on BBC iPlayer with its height hitting 4,768,000 views. Why is Sir David Attenborough such an enduring national treasure? The answer to this long-asked question is a combination of factors. He is such a prolific documentary filmmaker, whose output is extraordinary considering the research and lengths that are required to put together such educational and innovative pieces. His series Life on Earth
Unrealistic reality TV Lucy Lillystone discuses LGBT+ representation in reality TV
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hen it comes to TV, LGBT+ representation is extremely important, with directors and producers wanting to appease not only fans but reflect what society is actually like. From series such as How To Get Away With Murder with a bisexual main character, to Sense8, a show overflowing with diversity, LGBT+ representation is becoming increasingly popular. However, this is not the case for reality TV shows. Take Love Island. This year, I finally (for the first time) watched it all the way through. Although it was entertaining, I will give it that, I couldn’t help but notice the lack of LGBT+ representation. The pairings were always heterosexual and the ideal love relationship followed the norms of a male and a female pairing. This is not realistic and to an extent, I was disgusted. Ultimately, by not including lesbian or gay pairings, they are suggesting to an audience of millions of viewers that these relationships are not what truly represents love. Or even worse, perhaps they are just not acceptable? In the society we live in where I can walk down the street holding hands with another female, I would expect reality TV shows like Love Island to reflect this. And by not doing so, they are not setting a good example.
Love Island: the parings were always heterosexual [...] This is not realistic and to an extent I was digusted And Love Island is not the only one. With the recent return of Celebs’ Go Dating, I am expecting to again see only heterosexual relationships. I am 100% sure that there are
LGBT+ celebrities out there. So why are we not portraying this in reality shows that millions of viewers watch? Despite this, there are examples of reality TV shows that do embrace LGBT+ representation. For example, a favourite of mine and my parents is Naked Attraction. This is a show that gives single pringles like myself a chance to choose a date from a selection of six naked people, based solely on their physical attraction to their naked form. It sounds strange, I know. And believe me, it is. But props to this show as frequently we have contestants who are pansexual, transgender and much more. It reflects all walks of life and, compared to Love Island and others, truly does justice to the society we are living in.
1.4m
The number of viewers that watched the first episode of Naked Attraction, Beating Big Brother by 0.2 million.
And of course, there is Big Brother. In 2017’s celebrity edition, we had representations of the transgender and drag communities. It was truly fabulous and made things WAY more interesting in my opinion. However, despite this representation, Big Brother is officially, according to Channel 5, coming to an end. This, in some ways, is again a negative for the LGBT+ community, as what does it suggest about the inclusion of LGBT+ in shows? So while there are some examples of excellent LGBT+ representation in reality TV shows, it is not as much as I personally would expect and there is definitely room for improvement. If big Hollywood movies and Netflix Original series can include it, so can reality TV.
the courier
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Monday 22 October 2018
Attenborough
reasure and his upcoming new show
in 1979 was said to inspire a generation of documentary filmmakers and captured the British public’s imagination. He has 32 honorary degrees from British Universities for his work and was offered the role as director - general of the BBC in 1972 for his successes as the controller of the newly established channel BBC Two. He eventually left his position at BBC Two in order to focus more on writing and presenting his own environmental shows, which ultimately emphasises the passion he has for his subject.
Blue Planet II was the most watched programme of 2017 Whilst it’s clear that he has his own politics, Attenborough remains neutral in his views, not voicing them so readily in the media or allowing himself to be baited by the press into petty comments. He continues to be the nation’s non-racist grandad with otherworldly knowledge of our planet and an iconic soothing voice that has become synonymous with the tension and heartache of the natural world.
@CourierTV thecourieronline.co.uk/TV
Review
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TV culture
Big Mouth: Season Two Available on Netflix now
ig Mouth Season Two demonstrates how raunchy comedy and progressive television can go hand-in-hand to create an unpretentious masterpiece. Created by Nick Kroll, Jennifer Flackett, Mark Levin, and Andrew Goldberg, this riveting sexcomedy follows the journey of a group of pubescent kids through the ugliest phases of puberty. From masturbation to depression, every phase of adolescence is explored and made fun of at the same time, while maintaining the integrity of the main themes.
The writers are able to deconstruct stereotypical representations of puberty Compared to season one, this season has developed both plot and themes masterfully. While the first season focused mainly on stereotypical pubescent behaviour, this season explores its consequences, particularly relating to social constructs and how boys and girls experience it differently. The main player in this development is the Shame Wizard, a creepy being whose biggest role is to contrast the Hormone Monster by shaming the kids for their hormonal impulses: while it might help keep civility in place, when ungoverned, shame does more harm than good, by tainting the already fragile self-esteem of young kids. Through this added dimension, the writers are able to deconstruct and comment on stereotypical representations of puberty. For example, the exploration of double standards stands out, by being honest and self-reflective: in fact, while in the first episode we are found laughing at the boys slobbering over Gina’s body, by the end we are exploring the negative effects of this behaviour on Missy and Jessi. Jessi is found blaming others and slut-shaming, while Missy destroys her self-image. And yet, the writers don’t stop here. By the last episode, we are left with the empowering message that ultimately points to self-respect and love, while still leaving space for shame to play a role in our lives.
Less thrilling was the revelation of Jay’s bisexuality. In fact, the characterisation of Jay as a hypersexual psychopath is unfortunately a common trope of bisexuality in TV. A similar revelation can be seen in the character of Todd in Scrubs (2001-2010) who, having acted as the hospital’s pervert for most seasons, is revealed to be bisexual. This draws the dangerous connection between promiscuity and bisexuality, which is troubling. However, this story-line has room for improvement, as it will probably be explored in season three. Lastly, animation is the perfect medium for this show. Not only it allows writers to get away with jokes that might have come out as distasteful in other manners, but also allows it to expand on the mythology of the show. However, the main strength of the show is its duality. While never taking itself too seriously, it takes a decisive stance on several controversial topics. Charismatic, innovative and most of all fun, it is only in a show like Big Mouth that the viewer will find hilarity in an abortion scene set to the tunes of “Groove is in the heart”. Elisabetta Pulcini
TV Time Travel
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Credit: monkeywing (Flickr)
here are always certain TV shows that you go back to. When new shows disappoint, you always revisit an old favourite that draws you back in from the first episode. One of my obvious choices was always Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is the perfect blend of TV genres, covering horror, thriller, romance and comedy. We have a teenager named Buffy, portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar, who is predestined to become the ‘slayer’ and tasked with stopping all evil. This includes but is not limited to: vampires; demons; ghosts; human-like monsters; animal-like monsters; and even robots. Basically anything the dark side of your imagination can conjure up, Buffy has probably faced. It will surface fears you didn’t know you had. Look out for season four, episode ten entitled ‘Hush’. No spoilers but that episode manages to be terrifying and hilarious all at the same time. The key appeal to this show is the characters and the storytelling. The quality of the dialogue and of some episodes can be questioned but the inevitable cringe is endearing and nostalgic. You can look past the flaws because the stories lure you in from the very beginning. Buffy shares the screen with her ‘Scooby gang’: witch Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan); Xander Harris
Credit: YouTube
The best in standup: TV’s top five
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Where Bo takes a hard look at our generation and is a person all of us can identify with, Ali Wong is a representation of the modern woman. She speaks the truth, manifests the struggles we face and makes us laugh at them, as a coping mechanism. Her setting is also quite minimal, in contrary to Burnham or Mulaney. Despite that, she manages to create an authentic, extremely relatable performance. It is truly incredible considering that she was very pregnant at the time which makes what she says even funnier.
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Ali Wong’s Hard Knock Wife
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Reggie Watts’ A Send Off In Style Available on YouTube
Watts’s show has a similar minimal setting as Fleming’s, however, he brings an unusual factor to his stand-up: music as a joke which is rarely done. I’m talking not about the lyrics, but about the sound only. He is a king of musical comedy, without using any instruments, besides mixers and his mouth. Yes, beatbox is hilarious, but not in the way you expected. Music in its purest, deconstructed form is amazingly funny. If you haven’t seen him, you absolutely need to.
Bo Burnham’s Make Happy Available on Netflix
Bo is our comedian – he represents the humor of the young generation. A 28-year-old who already has three incredible specials and a film Eighth Grade which came out this year. However, what I recommend the most is his latest show: Make Happy, as it gives the audience the deepest insight into his mind. It is surely a craft to make an incredibly funny piece which is still both extremely depressing and hopeful. He also uses music in his comedy, but this time you want to focus on lyrics, his incredible piano skills,
John Mulaney’s Kid Gorgeous Available on Netflix
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(Nicholas Brendon); and Buffy’s mentor Giles (Anthony Stewart Head). Many others memorable characters come and go - even two vampires that play vital roles throughout the show, Angel (David Boreanaz) and Spike (James Marsters). This show covers all grounds. It was one of the first popular shows to feature a strong female lead along with a number of other powerful women, with inclusion of some LGBT representation. It deals with the hardships of being a teenager, growing up, love, loss and everything else in between. This show has become a cult classic with quotable catchphrases, witty moments and loveable characters. Amy Brown
The Chosen One:
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Chris Fleming’s Showpig Available on YouTube
Chris Fleming is a comedian known best for his hit YouTube series Gayle. You may not recognize him in this special because he is dressed as himself, not as a middle-aged woman. He has fully embraced his status as a queer icon and it really shows in his jokes. Despite calling him my favorite comedian, he is at the bottom of this list because this show still looks a bit amateur. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, however, he simply cannot compete with the more experienced ones here.
If you are a comedy fan you must have heard of Mulaney by now. You may recognize his voice from Big Mouth as he voices the main character: Andrew. It was hard for me to decide between his previous show The Comeback Kid and Kid Gorgeous, but the joke about “a horse loose in a hospital” as an allegory for Donald Trump is a winner. The writing is just insane and the overall feel is just so retro, so classy and pure you’ll be absolutely delighted. This show earned Mulaney an Emmy this year.
Credit: YouTube
Jagoda Waszkowiak
“Series creator Joss Whedon has said that the idea for Buffy came from all the horror movies he had seen featuring a helpless young blonde who would almost always be the first to die, he felt she needed a better image.” (IMDb) Watch out for more information on the sequel to Buffy the Vampire Slayer over the coming year!
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culture film Guilt Trip
Jimmy Athey argues why independent films are worth watching over hollywood blockbusters
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he Blue Lagoon is a masterpiece. I should know, I have watched it countless times. It is the kind of film you can watch over and over again and it still is as brilliant as the first time. For those who haven’t seen it, it is about two children stranded on a desert island. It follows them as they grow, survive, fall in love, and discover the beauty in life and nature. Upon its release in 1980, The Blue Lagoon was controversial as Brooke Shields was only 14 at the time and the film contained sexual scenes. It also was controversial as it had, and still has, many unfavourable reviews. Don’t believe the reviews. The film is about so much more than awkward teenage sexuality – it is about nature and beauty and discovering who we are as people and as animals.
Monday 22nd October 2018
Why Indie Films reign supreme s I walk down the alley, and look at the fairy lights above, I can’t help but be amazed at the feeling Tyneside cinema evokes as you enter
(1980)
the courier
c2.film@ncl.ac.uk Film Editors: Helena Buchanan, Jimmy Athey, Joe Holloran Online Editor: Chris Wilkinson
it. Tyneside cinema is all about giving you an experience during your time there. It isn’t like a Vue or a Cineworld in which you buy your ticket and popcorn then head in to the screen. At Tyneside the aesthetic makes it more special, with its decadent interior and beautiful, varied cinema screens. The word indie is important to Tyneside, because that’s the type of film it shows. You will rarely find a film such as Venom or the Fast and Furious shown there - instead they show the more lowbudget art films which are nowhere
near as popular to the public. Tyneside is my favourite cinema to go to, because it shows the best films. I have always been a fan of the more independent, artsy films rather than the blockbuster films, because the quality, I would argue, is supreme. Take a film like A Ghost Story, starring Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara, about a man who dies and becomes a ghost, but the ‘ghost’ is just a huge sheet over his head. The film is a work of art as it is so minimal and delicate, using its limited 4:3 aspect ratio (the whole film isn’t widescreen) to great effect, forcing every shot to mean something. You would never see a blockbuster go this bold in its aesthetic.
It is about discovering who we are as people and as animals It is also very pleasing for the eyes and contains rich shots of the pair swimming amongst brilliant and colourful fish, or running along a white sandy beach. It was filmed in Fiji, Jamaica and Malta, and we see the landscape and wildlife in all its glory. The natural, tropical world is incredible and actually led to a discovery of a Fijian iguana when a herpetologist watched the film and did not recognise the animal, leading him to investigate it. Focusing on the nudity in the film completely misunderstands the purity that is at its core. These are two children growing into adulthood, going through these changes without the constraints and teachings of society. They have to figure it all out for themselves, and do so well, highlighting the essence of human instinct that society has grown away from. The film is full of touching scenes, such as their attempts to remember Christmas carols or discussing their New Years ‘revolution’ to stop fighting. I must admit, the hut they live in is ridiculously skilfully made, but I reasoned that if you’re stuck on a desert island for years, there’s not much else to do other than learn how to make a really cool hut. So, I urge you, if you haven’t seen the film, do so. It will make you laugh, cringe, and cry, but ultimately fill you will warmth and love for the world and human nature. Lou Siday
Image: YouTube
/NewcastleCourierFilm @Courier_Film
Image: YouTube
Image: YouTube
Independent films are movies that are made outside the major studios, such as Disney or Paramount, and
I have always been a fan of more independent artsy films
tend to have a lower budget and are less marketed than films that are made by Hollywood. What makes independent films so special is how necessary it is to be more experimental, to be seen by a wider audience. For example, Memento by Christopher Nolan is hugely experimental, having the film’s chronological order go backwards. Hollywood themes tend to be broad and similar, with much more focus on action or thrill rides, and you end up guessing what will happen. Hollywood also love to rehash successful cash cows, with Disney just remaking all their early cartoons, something which I consider to be pointless. The term ‘film snob’ comes up a lot when suggesting that art films are better than blockbusters, but when you delve into the indie film scene, I am sure you will find a new love. Films such as I, Daniel Blake or Tyrannosaur which are both British and very well received, have brutal stories about regular people, and the impact of those films live long in the memory. Independent films not only are experimental and interesting to watch, they aim to get an emotional response from you, such as Moonlight, which won critical acclaim for its meaningful story. I urge you all to watch independent movies (especially the ones I have mentioned) because they are modern art.
Must all casts fit the mould? Billy Lamond discusses some of the most bizzare casting choices ever made over the years
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asting films can’t be easy. The casting directors must find the right person for the role and wrestle with media reactions and studio interference. It’s not surprising that every now and then there will be what seems an odd choice of actor or actress cast in a role. Take Sophia Coppola being cast as Mary Corleone in The Godfather part III for example. Prior to the film she hadn’t landed a major role in any films, most of her appearances were bit parts as a child actor, and her performance was so impossibly devoid of emotion or talent it’s difficult to imagine her blowing away her competitors in auditions.
He was considered too short, too ugly and too blond. Websites started popping up demanding boycotts of Casino Royale. Considering previous Bonds, such as Roger Moore or Sean Connery, it’s easy to see why fans thought Craig didn’t fit Bond’s tall, dark and handsome image. However, Craig blew away the critics in a layered and complex portrayal of Bond which has since seen him labelled as one of the best bonds ever. Almost the opposite was true when Charlize Theron was cast as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster, as people thought she was too pretty to portray the deranged
Wuornos and significantly undeweight. Theron’s performance silenced the doubt as she was completely transformed for the role by gaining 20lbs, wearing prosthetic teeth, and coming away with an Oscar. While a great performance can often redeem an odd casting choice, sometimes there are inescapable factors which just make it wrong. For example, the casting of Laurence Olivier as Othello in Othello where, to get around casting a white actor as a black character, the film makers put Olivier in blackface make up, a decision which seems ridiculous and distasteful even for 1965.
Eisenburg was not bald enough to portray a believable arch nemesis So why was she given the role? Anyone who knows The Godfather has probably worked out by now that Sophia Coppola is the daughter of the film’s director Francis Ford Coppola, but even then she wasn’t his first choice: both Winona Ryder and Rebecca Schaeffer were pegged for the role first, but neither could take it due to illness on the part of the former and the tragic death of the latter. Similarly bizarre was the choice of casting Jesse Eisenburg as Lex Luthor in Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. Granted, Eisenburg is an actor with far more pedigree, but when the casting was announced he seemed neither old nor bald enough to portray a believable arch nemesis for Henry Cavill’s superman. Needless to say, Eisenburg failed to bring sufficient gravitas to the role with a manic performance which, while sinister, was altogether wrong for the part. Luckily not all odd casting choices are so disastrous. In fact, sometimes they work so well it’s difficult to see why they were ever even perceived as strange. When Daniel Craig was announced to play James Bond in Casino Royale, the media had a field day.
Image: YouTube
the courier
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Monday 22nd October 2018
@Courier_Gaming thecourieronline.co.uk/film
Impact of social media on film Joe Holloran examines the impact worldwide impact communication has had on cinema
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ocial media’s emergence on the scene in the mid2000s changed the world in a myriad of ways some good, many not so good. Film has, in many ways, benefited from this new form of mass communication. But what are the downsides of these platforms, and how can we as users transform our activities to better enhance our experience of films? The social media sites most prevalent to his discussion are Twitter and YouTube. Let’s look at their impact separate-
Image: Flickr
First Man (12A)
ly, starting with YouTube. In the past, film studios and distributers would fork out millions in TV, radio and print advertising. Today all they have to do is create an account, post the trailer and watch the views role in. Trailers for major blockbusters such as the recent Superhero movies, or the Star Wars franchise are viewed in numbers often surpassing the 100,000,000 mark. All this free advertising undoubtably helps to boost cinema attendances for these films, in an age where many watch pirated copies or wait for the home media releases. There are now also many reaction / review channels on the site that are very popular. While this could backfire if these ‘couch critics’ don’t like a movie, for the most part the reviewers see the films they want to and will therefore be positive about them. The biggest downside to the relationship between YouTube and film comes in two forms; the ‘down voting’ campaigns of disgruntled minorities (often for questionable reasons) and channels that exist solely to denigrate films, picking easy targets, misunderstanding plots or simply jumping on a bandwagon of negativity. Critics such as Cinema Sins, Honest Trailers & Film Theorist, drag the discourse down. They aren’t interested in a dialogue, but rather in producing polished videos about why they are right and everyone else is wrong. Like YouTube, Twitter is also a double-edged sword. On
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Damien Chazelle
Chazelle’s filmography inlcudes Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2009), Whilplash (2014), and 2017’s Oscar winning La La Land.
The parallels drawn between Neil’s personal life and the journey to the moon add depth to this historical event, by enhancing the humanity of it. While everybody is familiar with the big gestures that characterized the moon landing, this movie adds a new dimension to it, by showing it as not only an inspiring event, but an achievement that took enormous sacrifice from the people involved. In fact, one of the consistent themes in this movie is death, which provides the audience with a real sense of how truly amazing this achievement was, but also how charged this experience was for Neil and Janet. While the viewer might expect the liberating moment to come the moment Neil steps on the moon, true relief is felt when he is reunited with Janet. Chazelle puts heroism aside, to create a heartbreaking, soul-stirring yet restrained wonder. Elisabetta Pulcini
Make these platforms a place of discussion, rather than a playground for the toxic audience that would want to see their films. Before Twitter, hype for indie films was created through word of mouth, or drummed up at awards ceremonies. Now, retweeting has replaced this with the bonus of extra promotional content such as trailers. Films made in a style which is anything out of the ordinary, or those with a socio-political story have a chance of going viral on Twitter due to the site’s users’ love of lampooning the bizarre and the culturally ‘woke’. The downside to Twitter is, of course, the vile doxing seen during the run up to the recent Ghostbusters remake, or the abuse aimed at Asian actress Kelly-Marie Tran from The Last Jedi. Twitter gives a voice to all, and there are still masses of regressive trolls waiting to brush the crumbs off their mother’s keyboard at the first sign of diversity. The next time you’re using social media, have a closer look at how film is being treated, and try to do your part to make these platforms a place of discussion, disagreement and collective excitement, rather than a playground for the toxic.
The Wife (15)
Skate Kitchen (15)
Image: YouTube
estrained, deeply emotional and sincere, Damian Chazelle’s First Man is another stellar addition in the director’s filmography. Starring Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy, this movie is sure to move audiences, by drawing them in with its slow and absorbing pace. Acting is the main strength of this movie. While maintianing stoicism, Gosling is able to create deeply emotional scenes which leave the audience with the impression of having intruded in this man’s most private moments. Claire Foy shines as Janet Shearon, Neil Armstrong’s wife. Her character acts as the moral compass of the story, grounding Neil, and confronting him with his responsibilities as a father, while supporting him in the difficult moments. Claire Foy, much like Ryan Gosling, is known for masterful moderation in her acting. This pays off in a movie whose main strength lays in the actor’s abilities to portray complex emotions without appearing exaggerated or fake.
the positive side, independent cinemas and film studios have utilized Twitter well to promote their products to an
Image: YouTube
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s a relatively anxious, indecisive and easily overwhelmed young man, a situation of ‘too much choice’ is enough to send me careering headfirst into a pit of angst from which the only salvation is 6-10 hours in bed. Selecting a film to view at the cinema can easily become such a situation, so often you just have to roll the dice and choose on a whim. It was on such a whim that I decided to view Skate Kitchen. Knowing nothing, and having not even seen the trailer (thank goodness, as it paints the film in a light almost unrecognisable to reality, don’t watch it), we sat in an empty showing and were indulged by a fantastic piece of modern cinema. Tackling issues far flung from my own life, the film explores teenage girlhood on the streets and skate parks of New York city as well as a glittering alternative society of skaters. Skate Kitchen’s strength comes from its naturalistic dialogue and use of elapsed time throughout, which gives it an almost improvised feeling and a real sense of character. Director Crystal Moselle based the fictitious film on the actual all girl skate group of NYC of the same name, whom she encountered one day on the subway, and the majority of the cast and characters are portrayed by members of the group. The outcome of this fantastic and ‘from the horse’s mouth’ casting is a wholesome roster of characters that appear truly comfortable amongst each other as they simply live their real lives on screen.
89%
Skate Kitchen’s score on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to 6.4/10 on IMDb.
There are some familiar faces to be found though, namely internet naval-gazer Jaden Smith who sports a dyed red hairdo and clutches cameras possibly worth more than I believe his character could afford (this is a minor point, don’t let it worry you). The film fits a beautiful modern poetic realist style, retaining social commentry within a setting of stunning urban beauty. Alec Boyd
film culture Animation Station
Image: YouTube
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or those of you who enjoy realism and the harsh certainties of life, marriage, and stupid mistakes which cause painful regret for your entire life, please watch this film! The Wife is a bleak film, showing the silent, submissive role of Joan Castleman, married to Joe Castleman, a critically acclaimed author who wins the literary Nobel Prize. Throughout the duration of the film we question why a person like Joan who is thoughtful, quiet and polite is married to the loud and blunt Joe. Arrogant, vain and a man who has had multiple affairs, there is no rhyme or reason as to why they are together.
Great actors could not save a dreadful plot The film has occasional flash backs to the couple in their youth during the 1950/60s. Joe, already a husband, father, and professor, meets his student Joan, who has potential to become a brilliant writer. The expected compelling forbidden love story between professor and student falls short of expectations, there is no chemistry between the characters and the young Joe is still arrogate and adulterous. Joan’s decision to sit in the shadow of her husband, and accept that as a female writer she will never receive praise or fame, is infuriating and disappointing. Watching this movie put me off ever becoming a wife... Perhaps I simply need to be older and to have experienced the ups and downs of marriage to remotely enjoy or understand the relationship and decisions of Joe and Joan. I cannot deny that the acting itself was excellent, with a star-studded cast including the likes of Glen Close, Jonathan Pryce, Christian Slater, Harry Llyod, and a small appearance made by Elizabeth McGovern. However, these great actors could not save a dreadful plot despite their hard efforts and I came away feeling angry, and unsatisfied on this film’s outcome.
Phoebe Fielder
Inside Out (2015)
Image: YouTube
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ixar very rarely fails to deliver on its promise of animated brilliance. From critically acclaimed franchises such as Toy Story to Monster’s Inc., every film Pixar creates is an instant classic in some way or another. Even the odd lower quality productions are leagues ahead of many other animation companies. However, one film that is often ignored - but is by far Pixar’s most relatable and emotionally precise film - is Inside Out. Inside Out follows the story of a young girl called Riley and how she deals with issues such as moving away from home, starting a new school, and making new friends. However, this is all presented through personifications of her emotions which are portrayed as characters that manage her life and feelings though a control station in her mind. These emotions include Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust and Fear. It is obvious at the beginning of the film that Joy is in charge of the other emotions, with happiness being the main goal that they are striving for in Riley. Which means somehow everything that happens in her life has to be reacted to through happiness. It soon becomes obvious to Joy that this will be quite difficult, especially when it comes to events such as moving to a barely furnished house, losing her friends or crying on the first day of school. What Inside Out tries to teach us is that whilst happiness is the main goal of childhood, it is not healthy to attempt to be happy in every moment of your life. As you grow, things will happen where sadness is the only option. Once the character of Sadness is finally giving equal control of Riley as the other emotions, Riley can cry and feel sadness where appropriate, leading to incredibly emotional moments that would otherwise not appear in a children’s animation.
As you grow things will happen where sadness is the only option
Inside Out, whilst including all the comedic aspects expected in a children’s film, relates to adults on a much deeper level due to the relatability it offers in the emotional turmoil that is growing up. Through the realisation that not everything is joyful and that this okay, we should accept that and be sad some of the time. Ultimately, Inside Out shows the emotion involved in everyday life and decisions in an incredibly creative and responsible way. This is an often-missed gem of a film from Pixar, but in my opinion, it is by far the best and most hard hitting. Jacob Clarke
Image: YouTube
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culture arts
the courier
c2.tv@ncl.ac.uk Arts Editors Scarlett Rowland, Julia Russell, Rosie McCrum Online Editor Chris Wilkinson
Monday 22 October 2018
Should we be tearing Banksy to shreds?
Sophia Kypriotis and Theo Turvill discuss whether Banksy’s self-destructive stunt was revolutionary or just downright dumb
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t would be naïve of us to assume the notorious Bristol wall-stencilling, authority-dodging Banksy would collude with the art establishment. His recent shredding stunt reminds us we should never be too comfortable with his artwork. ‘Banksy didn’t destroy an artwork…he created one’ said Sotheby’s head of contemporary art, Alex Branczik, in celebration of the rebellious act. Banksy even renamed the piece ‘Love is in the Bin’. Branczik acknowledged Sotheby’s didn’t collude with the feat but recognises it as ‘the first artwork in history to have been created live during an auction’, reaffirming Banksy as an innovator to be held amongst the greats of Duchamp and Rauschenberg. An artist who uses public spaces as their canvas and intends their work to be accessible to all cannot be criticised for continuing this notion during an exclusive sale that goes against these values. It is
a sad irony that the artwork was shredded in a revolt against his work being owned by the elite, but also a dark satire as, if anything, this stunt has increased the artwork’s value, with the winning bidder announcing she will go ahead with the £1.04 million purchase. The bidder of the self-destructing print conveyed her support for Banksy’s shredding, telling the Guardian that ‘When…the work was shredded, I was at first shocked, but gradually I began to realise that I would end up with my own piece of art history’. This concept of artwork created at the point of sale is a revolutionary act and we must applaud Banksy for crossing the line once again, (which of course had to be right under our noses). He appears to have never intended this sale to be straightforward, as an Instagram video reveals the shredding frame was secretly constructed ‘a few years ago … in case it was ever put up for auction’. The significance of ‘Girl With Balloon’ as an antiestablishment symbol was solidified during the 2017 UK general election when Banksy offered a free print of the artwork to those who voted anything other than Conservative. Thankfully,
Banksy has maintained it as an anti-establishment symbol through its destruction. Contemporary artists are ultimately valued for their reputation, and Banksy’s transformation of ‘Girl With Balloon’ into ‘Love is in the Bin’ has once again held a mirror up to us and asked us to question the nature of art, and who really owns it. Sophia Kypriotis
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Image: Instagram, @joech1
anksy’s art has always been about putting the finger to the establishment, but this stunt seems faux-anarchist, reeking of collusion between the mischievous artist and the capitalist pigs that Banksy seemed to so vehemently be fighting against. The stunt was clearly staged although both the artist and the auction house deny it. They would never admit to such collusion. It would lead to a true scandal the likes of which would truly shake the art world. As If they expect us, the discerning public, to believe that Banksy built a mechanical device with remote activa-
tion into the picture frame that, in this the day and age of high-security, simply went unnoticed. With the shredding of the paper the original work became anew. ‘Balloon Girl’ metamorphosed
Sadly, the art remains, ready to be auctioned off to the next highest bidder in 50 years or so
to become ‘Love is in the bin’. Along with the new title, experts estimate that the piece has at-least doubled its market value as a result of the stunt - a highly predictable outcome that the devious artist must have himself foreseen. This is disappointing. If the piece had gone up in a cloud of smoke or been completely destroyed the anti-capitalist, antiestablishment message would have been sent loud and clear but the fact the piece only half shredded leaves more than a shred of doubt in my mind that this was no more than shameless self-promotion and a ruse to cement himself in the pantheons of art history. Sadly, the art remains, ready to be auctioned off to the next highest bidder in 50 years or so. Banksy seems to have flaked out on this one. I hope that when the piece does inevitably resurface for auction that society will realise the absurdity of buying an artwork that stands against its own resale. Love may well be in the bin, but not long after it fluttered the shredded remains of my respect for this artist I once held in high regard. Theo Turvill
Image: Instagram, @banksy
Poem Box
An Ode to My Shoes That Don’t Give Me Blisters MAISY BARRY
You are kind, you treat me right You’re not too loose, you’re not too tight You know when I need your support And when not to be the clingy sort Along with your accomplice, my ‘good’ socks I am warm, I am safe from scrapes and knocks It’s you I crave on those long wild nights When I bust some moves under the disco lights Instead I made the frivolous decision To cast you aside for a delusive vision Stewpot heels, made to impress To make my legs look longer in my best mini dress But, of course, they don’t love me like you do They rub and bruise, a truly unkind shoe So to you I return day after day You serve my feet, keep pain away I throw you around, you’re scuffed and battered But it is for love that you are tattered.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Write Faster @ Alphabetti Theatre Molly Greeves reviews new play, complete with cider, improvisation, and a headless parakeet
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t isn’t often that you walk into a theatre expecting, almost hoping, that the production you’re about to see will be an absolute shit-show. But those were my exact thoughts as I stepped into the Alphabetti Theatre to see Write Faster, a play that would be written in front of my eyes and performed on the spot by actors who had never seen the script. On entering the theatre (having never been before, I was pleasantly surprised by its warmth and cosiness), I wondered if the unconventionality of the venue would be reflected by the production I was there to see. Turns out I was right, as what I ended up seeing was not only a heartwarming story of a sheltered family but a daring piece of experimental art. At seven-thirty, we huddled into the theatre to watch the first scene of the play being written right in front of us. In all honesty, I went to get a cider during this time as, watching the play being written, I was worried that it would be
Images: @fpiepsom
@TheCourierArts @thecourierarts Images: @alphabetti_theare
so cringey that I couldn’t enjoy it sober. It ended up being called The Stuffed Canary and told the story of three sisters dealing with the death of their pet parakeet, Pedro. When the play started, we got the pleasure of seeing the simple story come to life in its hilarious absurdity. While I was impressed by the writers for managing to come up with a semi-coherent story so quickly, my enjoyment of the play was a testament to the actors. The three of them approached the script with melodrama while still being convincing, and they committed to their characters while still being self-aware; some of my favourite moments were when they broke character, scoffing at the writers, saying the wrong lines and telling each other to “stop moving” so they could see the script.
I wanted them to find their happy ending, if that’s not a good piece of literature, I don’t know what is
The hilarious moments were the ones that couldn’t be predicted while watching the script being written, such as the use of a sliced lemon to represent Pedro, the headless parakeet, and the carnage of the actors being given their lines one by one by the flustered writers in the third scene. Though it was likely that no one in the audience had ever seen a weirder production, Write Faster was made special and memorable by the fact that The Stuffed Canary would, probably, never be seen again. Maybe it’s for the best.
Image: wikimedia
the courier
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Monday 22 October 2018
The case for adaptations
Carys Rose Thomas sheds light on cross-discipline adaptations, focusing on The Lovely Bones
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e are all familiar with book to film adaptations - probably even more familiar than many of us realise, as it isn’t too uncommon for the reputation of the film to supersede that of its mother text. Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones went from bestselling book to a film directed by Peter Jackson (known for the Lord of the Rings trilogy), and has now followed this transformation with another: book to play. Adapted by Bryony Lavery and starring Charlotte Beaumont as Susie Salmon, the production had just finished its run at Northern Stage.
Carys Rose Thomas Carys Rose Thomas was one of two arts editors last year, helping to get the section nominated for section of the year. She is now a culture editor.
Adaptation both opens and closes numerous creative doors for the adaptor when taking a narrative and plonking it down in a brand new medium. The adaptor - in this case, Bryony Lavery - is faced with the challenge of remodelling the narrative world in a practical way. The Lovely Bones contains many supernatural elements, as its protagonist spends the majority of the story in heaven watching her family dealing with the grief of her death. When interviewed by Holly Williams, Lavery explained how she is delighted to be presented with such challenges. ‘I love it. I get to be the junior writer to great writers. But the main thrill is to make it a theatrical-shaped piece of work rather than a novel, and each one has different problems and different joys.’ Here, Lavery engages with the whole host of technical “working out” that comes with adaptation. Even something as simple as figuring out how to portray the dog, Holiday, involves quite a bit of working out on Lavery’s side. In the end, Karan Gill who also played the part of Ray Sing did a fantastic job of playing the pooch. Adaptation is more technical than straightforward narrative creation, because it isn’t a case of sculpting something brand new, but of remoulding something that already exists, being frightfully sure you don’t break it along the way. Having seen Lavery’s adaptation of The Lovely
Bones, I can assure you - she keeps it well intact. One may think that an author would be nervous at the prospect of someone else taking their artwork of a child out of their arms and raising it themselves in a whole new way. But for Sebold, allowing someone to adapt her work is intriguing. ‘For me, it’s going to be amazing to see: how do they have different levels, heaven and earth, and the various places that are in the novel? How do they make it real, but not too real? That’s one of the reasons why I think theatre can be fascinating: there are lots of imaginative recesses for the audience to fill.’ Sebold delights in the prospect of seeing her work brought to life by someone else, stating that she “There are some authors who like a sense of control where those things are concerned, but I really enjoy seeing what other people do with my stuff”.
Both Sebold and Lavery approach the concept of adaptation with a view that the narrative in question is mouldable, changeable. Neither believe that in the process of transforming the story into a play, it should remain a complete replica of the original. It is this willingness and celebration of change that is essential in adaptation, as it is naive to think one work is ever going to appear or affect its audience in exactly the same way in two different mediums. Adaptation doesn’t come without its constraints and frustrations, but both Lavery and Sebold see these frustrations as exciting. They see the thrill in problem-solving, and the fresh breath of opportunities that every adaptation breathes into a piece.
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid LUCY ANN LILLYSTONE
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Image: Sheila Burnett
Claire Sansom discusses fur felting: the craft that makes the most of your pet’s unwanted hair
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Book Review
Image: @fantasticradiouk
Pets into art, are you fur real? ost pet owners put a significant amount of energy into ridding their carpet, clothes, and furniture of fur. There are many products to assist in this endeavour: brushes, gloves, sticky rollers etcetera. A recent craft trend has crafters collect the fur from their pets and using it for felting or spinning. This may engender varying responses. Keeping a household fur-free is considered a matter of hygiene. Collecting it seems counterintuitive. Yet, we wear and use animal products from unknown sources. The craft pieces from our companions are sentimentally valuable. One simple example of this felting craft is making beads for jewellery out of the fur. Readers wanting to give this a try can find instructions at this website https://www.instructables.com/id/Felted-Pet-Hair-Beads/. If you doubt the purity of the sentimental feelings from tying pet fur balls around your neck, using pet fur will surely bring feelings of guilt. We are exploiting our companions. So,
arts culture
there must be a definitive line between agriculture and companionship. Why is household pet fur relegate to livestock fur? Is it moral to treat some animals as livestock and some animals as pets or companions?
Perhaps, we could appreciate the products that come from animals if we blurred the lines
Growing up on a farm, the difference between a pet and an animal or livestock is a name. If you’re going to eat it, you don’t name it. Creating this distance avoids emotional turmoil when it comes to dinner. For the vegans reading, I am also speaking of produce harvested without harm and
Images: Claire Sansom
with potential benefit to the animal. Perhaps, we could appreciate the products that come from animals more if we blurred the lines between companionship and agriculture. This certainly characterises camel culture. Camels are primarily considered livestock. However, camels are treated as companions in many cases. In Australia (one of the world’s leading exporters of camels), most farmers will name all their camels. Camel wool is hard to harvest but every year camels produce another coat of wool only to be shed in summer. Those who happen to have camels will often collect and use camel wool so that it is not wasted. A scarf, beanie or blanket becomes so much more valuable when one can say ‘That is from Daisy, our camel.’ or ‘This necklace comes from my dog, Ruby’. Pictured are camel trainers Coralie and Astrid who make use of the yearly shed of their buddies.
beautifully written novel that explores the relationship of two young people; Nadia and Saeed as they meet in the midst of a Civil War in their country. While discovering their new love, they are thrust into an unknown world - a world that is entirely unfamiliar and has its own dangers. Mixing the feelings and experiences of migration with magical realism, Exit West takes us on the path of uncertainty with Nadia and Saeed as they attempt to define who they are and what their relationship is. So, first things first; I started this book with preconceived expectations regarding its quality, due to it being shortlisted for the 2017 Man Booker Prize and the fact that I had recently read Hamid’s other work The Reluctant Fundamentalist. However, it completely lived up to these expectations. From the exceptionally heart-wrenching written prose that could almost make you cry (I admit, I cried several times) to the exploration of relationships, love, loss and the sacrifices we make in times of trouble, this was a book that touched me in almost every way. What really caught my attention about this book was its genre. Not only do readers get an insight into the migrant experience and the trauma associated with leaving your home for somewhere completely alien, Exit West is a lovestory mixed in with magical realism.
I wanted them to find their happy ending, if that’s not a good piece of literature, I don’t know what is
Now, I know you’re probably thinking “Wait, what? Is this is sci-fi/fantasy?” Definitely not. Although present, the magical realism in Exit West is extremely small, only appearing in the shape of portals and passage ways. Either way, Hamid takes the conventions of the genre and switches them up completely; mixing categories in imaginative and evocative ways I didn’t realise were possible. And then there’s the characters. Both Saeed and Nadia are written with incredible depth as they are experiencing this new life in foreign countries and trying to find out who they are, as readers we almost feel that we are right there alongside them. Mixed in with the violence, despair, and powerful moments is love and emotion. I found myself deeply caring for the outcome of Nadia and Saeed. I wanted them to find their happy ending. If that’s not a sign of a good piece of literature, I don’t know what is. As themes of migration and immigrants preoccupy our news, Exit West not only highlights the effects of these experiences but serves to open our minds and allow us to sympathise with those who don’t have the privileges we do. Exit West is a book which made me think, made me feel and it will always hold a special place in my heart. I recommend buying this book, (or if you’re a student, picking up a free copy) and reading it as soon as possible. Trust me, it will blow your mind. Want to hear more about Mohsin Hamid? Head to King’s Hall, Newcastle University on 29th October at 6pm for ‘Mohsin Hamid in conversation with Neelma Srivastava’
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culture gaming
courier.gaming@ncl.ac.uk Gaming Editors George Boatfield, Matthew Neville & Kelly South
the courier
Monday 22nd October 2018
Review: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Jimmy Athey travels back to Ancient Greece to see what the teams at Ubisoft have offered to the ancient Courier Cthulu gods
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s someone who fell out of love with the Assassin’s Creed series in recent years, last year’s Origins was a nice welcome back to a franchise that, in its early years, contained some of my favourite games. However, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey goes above and beyond the series in a way that I absolutely love. With a limited amount of time for video games these days, it takes a lot to get me hooked, but I can safely say that Odyssey is fishing.
9.2/10
IGN’s rating for Assassin’s Creed: Oddessey - higher than the 9/10 they gave Asassin’s Creed Origins.
Without giving away spoilers, the ‘odyssey’ is about finding out the reason for your character’s tragic past and their path to becoming a legend. It’s a simple, yet wonderful story which cleverly mixes fictional characters with very real events and people from the second Peloponnesian war between Sparta and Athens.
The choice to play as a man or a woman is a breath of fresh air
First of all, the setting of Ancient Greece is wonderful and it especially appeals to my inner ancient history student. Wandering round my favourite part in history (431 BCE) had my nerdometer through the roof. The map of Greece has obivously been downsized, but the major landmarks are there and, even with many hours under my belt, I still have about 80% of the map to discover. When at a loose end between story and side quests, I tend to roam the wilderness. From hunting bears to collect their testicles for an ‘old nymph’, to saving someone from a group of cultists, there always seems to be a massive distraction.
A noteworthy, masterfully integrated feature in the game is the ability to choose to play as either a man or woman. Even though the core gameplay experience is the same when playing as either character, I love how Kassandra fits in to the world. The whole game is built on your choices, with different paths opening based on different dialogue trees. Choosing Kassandra, the female playable character, makes total sense for the way I play; having played as a male for all the games in the series to date, this choice is such a breath of fresh air. You can really tell that this game is built with her in mind. Ubisoft handled introducing a female lead perfectly. It doesn’t seem forced and she is a total badass. May other developers take note on Kassandra; she isn’t an agenda being forced down our throats - she is a fleshed out, wonderful character who still makes total sense in a world where she probably wouldn’t have existed in real life. I urge all of you to play this game, and play it the way you want.
The wonderful story cleverly mixes fictional characters with very real events and people
Odyssey’s story is very strong, right from the first scene in which you take control of the legendary Leonidas (who is accurately portrayed as an older man: well done, Ubisoft) during the battle of Thermopylae, to then becoming a mercenary on the island of Kephallonia.
Image: IGDB.com
The Walking Dead: Finale saved Google announces Project Stream
Callum Trainor looks at Skybound’s antidote to a dead series Shawn Khoo takes a look at the new GeForce Now competitor
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uring a panel for The Walking Dead at New York Comic Con on 6 October, Robert Kirkman announced that Telltale’s The Walking Dead: The Final Season will be completed and released through his company, Skybound. At the panel, Kirkman stated: “We’ve successfully negotiated with Telltale Games for our company Skybound to come in and see season four of the Telltale game to completion”. Kirkman also quipped that the world “can’t lose Andrew Lincoln and Clementine in the same year.” This follows Telltale’s abrupt announcement on 21 September that it was facing a “majority studio closure.” The closure left the studio’s ongoing titles with an uncertain future, leading to Telltale pulling The Walking Dead: The Final Season from stores on 26 September. This was only a day after the second episode of the season had been released. In a statement to The Verge, Telltale announced that they were “still working to
find a way to hand off production of episodes three and four so that the season can be completed” as well as that “the outcome of those efforts will determine when and how The Final Season returns to stores.”
Telltale are “still working to find a way to hand off production of episodes three and four so that the season can be completed”
Skybound is famous for its comic book division, which is behind The Walking Dead, Invincible and Outcast, though they’ve also been branching out into game development over the past few months. Skybound Games, announced in April 2018, is set to focus on indie titles, beginning with publishing the console releases of Slime Rancher and The Long Dark. This is a positive moment in the Telltale saga, which saw 250 Telltale employees lose their jobs without severance pay and at short notice. Many former developers at Telltale have commented on the harsh ‘crunch’ time, development process, toxic management and the oversaturation of the ‘Telltale brand’ of storytelling, and how it all contributed to the closure of the studio. Hopefully, this will serve as a wake-up call to other production houses that continue to operate under similar practices.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
O
n 1 October 2018, Google revealed a new venture: Project Stream. Despite the reference to streaming in its name, Project Stream is not the same as notable streaming platforms such as Twitch or the ubiquitous YouTube. Instead, it’s a cloud gaming service that aims to get users playing at a moment’s notice and on any device that can support its relatively low operating requirements. Best of all, this all takes place within the hugely popular Chrome browser.
Best of all, this all takes place in a Chrome tab
But how exactly does all this work? Simply put, the game isn’t actually running natively on the device like a traditional gaming system. Instead, cloud gaming software sends inputs from your keyboard or controller to an internet server running the game, which then streams
the audio and video of the game back to your device. This may create doubts pertaining to issues of latency, but reports from those who have tested Project Stream say that the effects of it are negligible (depending on your device and your connection speeds). Although the project currently only supports Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, more games should be available in the future, especially after its commercial launch. However, Project Stream may not be long for this world. With the existence of established cloud gaming software such as PlayStation Now, GeForce Now and LiquidSky, penetrating the market for cloud gaming may be more difficult than Google expected. Additionally, on 8 October, Microsoft expressed its interest in the market in the form of Project xCloud, a cloud gaming software specifically tailored for Xbox games. Despite the exclusivity of Project xCloud, it is entirely possible that these two projects will collide as they attempt to gain a foothold in the market for cloud gaming, hinting at a rough road ahead for both companies. Therefore, whether Project Stream and Project xCloud will succeed or join the numerous discontinued cloud gaming ventures remains to be seen.
Image: YouTube
the courier
33
Monday 22nd October 2018
@Courier_Gaming thecourieronline.co.uk/gaming
gaming culture
How mega is Mega Man?
Why stop at ten? Alex Darbyshire turns it up to eleven and checks out the latest entry in one of gaming’s longest-running series
F
or the first time in eight years, we have a brand new entry to the original Mega Man series. After flops such as Mighty No. 9 only two years back, it’s a bold move for sure. Thirty-one years and two legacy collections later, there’s a level of reverence surrounding the design philosophy of the Mega Man series. Looking at the previous titles, I have narrowed down what I believe makes a strong entry in the series. Firstly, one of the most unchanging things about the design of Mega Man is the controls. No matter what game you are playing, the blue bomber moves accurately. The movement has always been at a highly controllable speed, while controlling jump trajectory mid-air
makes the control scheme of the first ten titles beautifully simple to control. Secondly, the series has always been lauded for creative, challenging, and intuitive level design, easing players in before increasing the difficulty. Finally, each title broke new ground in terms of gameplay with the innovative special weapons and their interactions. With these aspects in mind, we shall see how 11 stands up. Let’s begin with Block Man’s stage: I immediately felt at home from the healthy degree of difficulty throughout. A welcome change was the boss, which showed a markedly different second phase. These changes halfway through are echoed by all of the bosses, creating another hurdle for the player as they have to adapt to these new phases. Level design also hits home on many fronts, with challenging sections preceded by shorter, more controlled snippets to help the player understand and overcome the
It may feel reminiscent of previous entries in the series, but barring some forgettable music, it adds to the difficulty and creativity of the series in many new ways.
mounting challenge. For me, the most outstanding stages - Bounce Man, Fuse Man and Blast Man - all brought new ideas to the series, which also gel incredibly well with the new ‘double gear’ system introduced in this title. While Mega Man 11 may appear new, the ‘double gear’ system allows the player to either slow down time
Image: YouTube
Nintendo Switch ‘Pro’: A wish list
No console is ever perfect, and George Boatfield reckons the Switch could still up its game
T
he recent reports of an upgraded Switch console set to release in the summer of 2019 got me thinking about what I’d like to see from the console moving forward. As some of you may know, I can’t shut up about the Switch most of the time, and as a result this wish list is long in the making. Let’s start with the upgrade that everyone wants: the graphical capabilities of the system. To those initiated in the cult-like technical community of the Switch, it’s no secret that the hybrid console uses Nvidia’s original Tegra X1 mobile SOC (system on a chip, contains both the CPU and graphics card on a single piece of silicon). While its use in the Switch has so far served Nintendo, Nvidia, and the end-user well up to now, this is 2015 technology and it’s time for a boost. Thankfully, there are boosts aplenty in the land of mobile processors. Nvidia already has a Tegra X2 out and in production which is suspiciously well-adapted to the needs of a Switch-like device. Given the systems in play on games like Doom and Super Mario Odyssey - adjusting graphical fidelity based on the available processing power - a Switch with beefier graphics would improve the experience on these games with no additional developer input required. Pushing the resolution closer to the 1080p target for TVs and 720p for handheld play would provide a clearer, more polished experience.
The general consensus is that an upgrade to a 1080p display would be the best way to go, but I couldn’t disagree more
And that leads on nicely to the chatter surrounding what people want to happen with the console’s screen. The general consensus seems to be that an upgrade to a 1080p display for handheld play would be the best way to go, but I couldn’t disagree more. On a system where resources are limited more significantly than a home console like
an Xbox One, these resources must be used creatively. Offering a simple bump up to 1080p when so many games barely reach 720p in handheld on the standard Switch is just unnecessary at this stage. It all comes down to how the system runs when comparing between the two modes of play. When the Switch is docked and connected to a TV, battery life or heat output is not a concern, as the processor speed increases and so does the fan. However, in handheld mode, the speed of the graphics processor is halved to extend the life of the battery as best as possible and to ensure that the console is not uncomfortable to hold. If the screen maintained a target resolution of 720p when using the more capable Tegra X2 processor in tandem, this could allow for significantly longer battery life in handheld mode. I’d much rather have an extra 3 hours than more pixels on a screen where the difference would be barely discernible. But that’s enough talk about graphics! It’s the gameplay that matters, right? Well, it turns out that audio is quite important too, and yet this is perhaps the worst aspect about the current Switch. It may have a headphone jack on the main console unit which is more than what can be said for most phones nowadays, yet it’s one of the few portable devices I’ve used in recent memory that doesn’t have Bluetooth headphone support! When e-readers have more modern audio standards than the Switch, something has got to be up. Speaking about headphone jacks, my God is it a mess to set up voice chat on the Switch. One cable stretching across the room from the Switch to an adapter, another going to a smartphone, and you, the victim, are sat there drowning in a sea of cables. This is less of a problem
with the Switch itself and more centred on the otherwiseincredible controllers - they all need headphone jacks moving forward, and at no additional cost. This is an essential feature that PS4 and Xbox One have both had since 2013.
20m
Number of Switch consoles sold as of September 2018, already surpassing Wii U sales Switch’s predecessor
And last, but certainly not least, there’s that kickstand. While used perfectly (and unrealistically) in all of the adverts, it’s useless in most situations. If you’re a hobbit sat at a regular-sized table, you’re all set. Otherwise, the angle is unusable and its stability is temporary. I know many say that Nintendo is for kids, but the Switch designers went a bit too far in responding to that feedback. But that’s what all this is: feedback. For the first attempt at a truly innovative console design, Nintendo got a lot right. I reckon it’s the best-designed product they’ve ever made, but why should they stop there? After all, the PS5 and Xbox ‘Two’ are just around the corner...
Image: Wikimedia Commons
or power up weapons, which opens up entirely new gameplay possibilities. However, upgrading the blue bomber with ‘parts’ allows customisation reminiscent of Mega Man X, but fails to match the excitement of growing stronger, obstructing these changes behind a shop and an annoying robot.
Thirty-one years and two legacy collections later, there’s a level of reverence surrounding the Mega Man series
Herein comes a stark difference between old and new, as the shop system has now replaced many in-level pickups. No longer does the player have to wait around in a single area, grinding for life pellets to fill the four ‘E-Tanks’. Instead, their skillful play is rewarded with bolts to be spent in the shop. These items are also fairly limited, meaning they may only be used once or twice and they cannot be used to breeze through difficult areas, instead supplementing the player’s skills. To round up, Mega Man 11 may feel reminiscent of previous entries into the series but, barring some forgettable music, it adds to the difficulty and creativity of the series in many new ways. While it features handdrawn environments and colourful characterisation, in spirit it is truly classic. At £25, Mega Man 11 is refreshing in its simplicity, with much more killer than filler packed into its approximately five hour length. Not only am I impressed with this new direction, but also hopeful for the future of the franchise.
PlayStation Network to finally allow ID changes James Troughton, a.k.a. xXXnoob_troughXXx logs on
S
ony has announced that, after twelve years, they will begin allowing users to change their PlayStation Network (PSN) IDs. Unfortunately, this feature is not free: £7.99 is the standard fee, or £3.99 for those with PlayStation Plus. Luckily, especially for those who have used PSN since the days of the PSP, the first change is free of charge. On 11 October, Sony announced that they would start testing the feature through a beta as part of the PlayStation Preview Program. They have stated that “the preview program for this feature is scheduled to conclude at the end of November 2018”, whilst a “full rollout for all PS4 users” is “planned for early 2019.” However, this change may affect the user experience with older games. Sony has stated that “this feature is compatible with PS4 games originally published after 1 April 2018”, which means that some titles released prior will not work with players’ new identifications. Image: BagoGames (flickr) Sony is aware of this problem and has said that “you can revert back to your original ID for free at any time” and that “when this feature officially launches, a list of compatible games published before 1 April 2018 will be provided on playstation.com”. This means that players can compare the games they play to the list of titles that will work with the new username change feature. Luckily, this makes the username change much less of a gamble. Sony is finally catching up, but given the potential flaws and paywalls, it remains to be seen whether the service has been worth the wait.
puzzles 35
the courier
Monday 15 October 2018
9
4 6 3 7 6 9 7
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2 7 6 1
Across
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General Puzzles
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Catch-phrase: Whale of a time Sudoku: Your guess is as good as mine Cephlapod: European Squid, or, Rodger
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Crossword
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Down
2 Believe in a society without government (9) 3 All roads lead to this Italian city (4) 4 The female _ _ _ _ _ _ (book) (6) 5 Low wind instrument (4) 7 First woman of colour in congress(8) 9 To draw out, or something drawn out (3) 10 An overlarge amount (10) 11 Hater of women (10) 12 An uprising (6) 13 Female gamete (4) 14 Front of a ship (4) 18 Colourless, volatile liquid (5) 19 Strong dislike (4)
Last Week’s Solutions
CROSSWORD
BLUE SUEDE CLUES 1 So good of you to carry the child (8) 5 Bhuddist and Hindu goddess, a viscous liquid in reverse (4) 6 “Feminism is just hating _ _ _”(3) 8 First name of a german communist, second name a small European state (4) 11 Late trans rights activist (6, 1, 7) 15 Trap, way, mouse (4) 16 _ _ _ _ _ _ and Louise (6) 17 Arc de _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (8) 20 Not outside bangs (8) 21 Pumpin (blood) (5) 22 Can a rotator, sing? (4, 6)
(find all 5)
Difficulty: Moderate
Spot the Difference
Name that Arch
Puzzles Matriarch Benena Huchanan Deputy puzzle matriarch Helena Buchanan Puzzles Editor Unimportant Puzzles Sanitary Sponser Pamtax
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(I’ll agree that this isn’t a fantastic way to present this... They’re not even in order... Yet another puzzle for you all...)
A shortcrust treat is valued PIRATE A collection of islands ARCHIPELAGO A greeting AHOY Coleridge said don’t kill me ALBATROSS A sea song SHANTY Full of holes but holding water SPONGE A very deep basin PACIFIC Another greeting WAVE A useless i phone feature COMPASS Copy-cat PARROT A steady flow right now CURRENT Hold me down ANCHOR Not a girl but a BUOY Debris after shipwreck FLOTSAM Make fun of the pig HAMMOK GMT GREENWICH MEAN TIME The distant horizon OFFING Measure your head to find your CAPSIZE Instrument to measure latitude SEXTANT Say wow at (anag) STOWAWAY This board weighs 1000 kg PLANKTON An enemy ANEMONE From the sky to the sea STARFISH 95% water, having a wobble JELLYFISH
the courier
36
sport
Monday 22 October 2018
Jose Mourinho: Is his time up?
Jack Dugan, Sesha Subramanian and Ollie Pearce voice their views one whether Mourinho should stay or leave United
Sesha Subramanian
Ollie Pearce
Manchester United, mildly put, have stumbled out of the gates this Premier League season. Off the field issues with Paul Pogba, incoherent and inconsistent transfer dealings and insipid performances on the field are
Jose Mourinho has always thrived by casting himself as the victim or plucky underdog in his own internal melodrama, adopting the same siege mentality at every club he’s worked at. These instances can be seen dotted throughout his career. At first this ethos brought about some of his greatest achievements. In 2004, when his unfancied Porto side defeated Manchester United, he goaded then manager Sir Alex Ferguson asserting “you would be really sad if your team gets as clearly dominated as that by an opponent who has been built on maybe ten per cent of the budget”. Then again in 2010, when he sprinted across the Nou Camp turf arms aloft in celebration, after his Inter side’s victory over Barcelona. This came after Mourinho had been derided by the Barcelona fans as ‘the translator’ in reference to his former role at the club, after being overlooked for the managerial position. These examples allow us to understand the mentality of a serial winner like Mourinho. This ‘you’re either with me, or against me’ approach inspires great loyalty amongst his allies and animosity amongst his enemies that has largely proved successful. Nowadays, this message seems to largely fall on deaf ears. He cuts an irritable, isolated figure skulking the Old Trafford touchline, the glimmer gone from his eyes. He increas-
In the summer he identified United’s main problem
a sharp contrast to other top sides in the league, including cross-town rivals Manchester City. Many have called for the manager – Jose Mourinho – to be sacked. In my view, this is misguided. José is not at fault for what is happening at United. In the summer, he identified where United’s main problem was and asked for a centre-half to strengthen the position. He was then subsequently denied Harry Maguire and Toby Alderweireld among others. And now it is somehow his fault that United seem weak in defence – a defence that troubled successive managers since Sir Alex left? That doesn’t seem like fair criticism. Mourinho is also not responsible if Paul Pogba thinks that he is bigger than the rest of the club. Mourinho emphasises disciplined football on and off the field and that means everybody doing their due diligence. If an attack-minded midfielder like Frank Lampard can thrive in Mourinho’s system, there’s no reason other than poor attitude why Pogba cannot. Manchester United right now are caught in limbo. They are stuck between the old system of Sir Alex where he decided what players he wanted and a European system of delegation where a recruitment team is in charge of the transfer market. They need a coherent strategy on how to approach the transfer market and have it correlate with their style of play and ambitions. The onus to do that is not on Mourinho but goes above him to Ed Woodward.
ingly sounds like a narcissistic dinosaur- set in his ways and unable to adapt to the rigours of modern football. This can be seen in his bizarre contentions that “the rules for me are different”
400
million pounds, the total Mourihno has spent on transfers so far
when talking about match officials and the ‘manhunt’ against him by sections of the media. He questions the mentality of his players, sometimes publicly as has been the case with Paul Pogba and openly criticises the club’s hierarchy for failing to secure transfer targets. Mourinho’s assertions and statements seem sporadic, tempestuous and no longer grounded in reality. He finds himself at Manchester United, the biggest football club in the world yet still attempts to claim persecution and oppression when there is none. The reality is that Manchester United lie in eighth place in the Premier League, seven points off the lead and behind the likes of Bournemouth and Wolves. This comes despite Mourinho spending close to £400 million just on transfers since he took over at the club. Rumours circulated prior to Manchester United’s victory against Newcastle two weeks ago that he would be sacked regardless of the result.
‘The rules for me are different’
However, the fightback and determination shown by Mourinho and his players in that game has afforded him a lifeline. This weekend he heads back to Stam-
If he insists on continuing to conduct himself in the same manner, it feels inevitable that Mourinho will be without a job by Chrismas
ford Bridge, the scene of some of his highest highs and lowest lows. It is easy to see the parallels between his current situation at Manchester United and second spell at Chelsea. If he insists on continuing to conduct himself in the same manner, it feels inevitable that history will repeat itself and Mourinho will once again be without a job by Christmas. The game is up Jose, time to change or time to go.
Jack Dugan
The situation at Manchester United is toxic. The world’s most famous club has been embarrassed on and off the pitch by their manager. José Mourinho’s side have been miserable, archaic and downright dull, and he appears to be light years away from “the special one” promised to Man United fans. Despite a star-studded squad worth in excess of £600 million, Mourinho still manages to play a rigid, defensive style of football, which is more like watching Morecambe than the most decorated club in English football. Regardless of anti-football tactics, results have been unacceptable, including a 3-1 loss to West Ham suggesting José has lost the dressing room and his ability to grind out results.
His methods have been eclipsed by a new age of fast, fluid attacking football by the likes of Guardiola, Sarri and Klopp
Though I agree that players have not put in the performances, you cannot blame them for the deflating effect a manager has when he constantly slates them in the media. Mourinho’s eternally glum tone breeds negativity at the club leaving a rotten atmosphere. Un d e n i a b l y, Mourinho was once a great manager, after all he has won two Champions League titles. However, his methods have been eclipsed by a new age of fast, fluid attacking football engineered by likes of Guardiola, Sarri and Klopp. Manchester United are a team with a wealth of promising young players and almost limitless funds, and all they are missing is a manager who can bring hope and energy back into the side. Now a sleeping giant, the only way for them to become a winning force again is by sacking José Mourinho, the new “specialist in failure”.
the courier
37
sport
Monday 22 October 2018
Kicked off: athletes that lost their cool off-field Following the bust-up after the McGregor v Khabib fight, we take a look at some other infamous off-field sporting incidents
Eric Cantona
Even as you read the name “Eric Cantona” the first thing that springs to mind is that kung-fu kick. Cantona’s playing career for Manchester United will herald him as one of the Red Devil’s legends, but he will forever be remembered for his Bruce Lee style
The incident resulted in one of the most infamous quotes ever
moves on a Crystal Palace fan. Cantona had just been sent off in Manchester United’s game agains Crystal Palace in January 1995. A Palace fan, Matthew Simmons, was shouting abuse at Cantona as he mooched towards the tunnel. The Frenchman then reacted in the most reasonable way possible, by launching himself towards Simmons with a kung-fu kick. Cantona followed this up with a series of punches to Simmons. Unsurprisingly, Cantona was in some deep trouble for that episode. He was banned from football for eight months, stripped of the French national team captaincy and received a criminal charge of assault (which saw him serve 120 hours of community service). The story doesn’t end there though, his kung-fu kick also resulted in one of the most infamous quotes ever. In the press conference following on from his kick, Cantona’s statement was as follows: “When the seagulls follow the trawler, it’s because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.” After saying this, he got up and left the conference. Leaving in his midst one of the most confusing, cryptic and laughable quotes football has ever seen.
Dave Kitson
Once upon a time you could quite literally cut the tension in the air with a blade at Stoke City. In order to understand why, let me take you back to the eventful season of 2008/09. Following on from promotion to the Premier League, Stoke City were on the cutting-edge of greatness. The one-time favourite contender for ‘The Secret Footballer’, Dave Kitson, arrived at the Britannia Stadium in the summer of 2008 from Reading for a club record deal of £5.5 million, as one of Tony Pulis’ first signings at his new club. Merely a few months later and playermanager relations were sharply turning sour. Kitson felt cut off from the squad. He was left amongst the substitutes for the away match at White Hart Lane in January following a costly mistake the previous week which cost his team a point away at Chelsea.
World cup semi-final 1986 Argentina 2 - 1 England
Diego Maradona. Enigmatic, talented and reviled by thousands of people from the very tip of Cornwall right up to Berwick-upon-Tweed. His goal against England in the 1986 World Cup Quarter Final is rightly lauded as one of the greatest individual goals ever scored. Maradona picked up the ball in his own half, glided across the pitch whilst evading multiple England players before taking the ball past an onrushing Peter Shilton and stroking it into the goal. However, this incredible display of footballing ability is overshadowed somewhat by his first goal in that 2-1 victory, the infamous ‘hand of God’. With the ball looping towards Peter
Mike Tyson vs Evander Holyfield II
His weapon of choice was none other than a trusty pair of the physio’s scissors
In a move which accentuated a career almost as colourful as his hair, Kitson infamously lashed out and attacked Pulis. His weapon of choice was none other than a trusty pair of the physio’s scissors. The fracas was only blunted by loyal teammates wrestling the former Sainsbury’s shelf-stacker to the ground. Despite the growing disquiet, Kitson returned to Reading on loan just over a month later and Stoke still managed a respectable 12h place finish. Thankfully, no Tony Pulis’ were hurt in the creation of this story. Jack Smillie
Rebecca Johnson
Tyson was not immediately disqualified Image: Flickr
Shilton, Maradona knew that he was at a vertical disadvantage, and decided to extend his arm and knock the ball beyond the keeper. This goal was met with incredulous protests from the England squad, but the referee seemed to have been the only man in the stadium oblivious to this obvious act of cheating, allowing the goal to stand. Had the Argentinians prevailed on talent alone, of which they possessed a great amount, the defeat might not have left such a sour taste. It was the dishonesty and immorality of what Maradona did that means his ‘hand of God’, for English fans at least, will outweigh any brilliance that he displayed for the rest of those 90 minutes. Tom Hardwick
5’5” Argentinean, Maradona celebrates Image: Wikipedia
After a thrilling first encounter that ended in an unexpected victory for Holyfield, this rematch was highly anticipated. While it had the potential to be one of the fights of the year, it instead produced one of the most
rightly aggrieved, but in an absurd decision the referee decided to deduct 2 points from Tyson and let the fight continue. With part of his ear dangling off Holyfield continued to fight, but Tyson seemed to have lost any sense that he might have had, trying to bite his opponent’s other ear with less success.
Tyson inexplicably decided to clamp his teeth down on Holyfield’s ear, biting off a piece of cartilage and spitting it onto the canvas
At this point the referee had no choice but to end the fight, at which point the ring was swarmed by security officers trying to stop Tyson resuming hostilities with Holyfield. Although the two have since made up, with Tyson inducting Holyfield into the Boxing Hall of Fame, this re-
controversial and gruesome moments of any sport. In the third round of the fight Holyfield and Tyson were locked in a clinch, and Tyson inexplicably decided to clamp his teeth down on Holyfield’s ear, biting off a piece of cartilage and spitting it onto the canvas. Holyfield was
One of the most shocking and revolting moments of any sport
mains one of the most shocking and revolting moments to have occurred in any major sport. Tom Hardwick
The glitz, the glamour, and the yawns?
Anna Woodberry analyses whether the predictablity of the sport means that it’s finally time to show it the chequered flag Fast cars. Glamourous locations. Champagne Showers. It is understandable to see the appeal of F1, but it seems people spend more time complaining about the sport than actually enjoying it. Social media has a large part to play in this. Gone are the days when something bad happens and it
With every bad race comes one full of excitement
can be swiftly forgotten. Now, it goes viral and the backlash is normally worse than the incident itself. There’s a constant stream of negativity with people actively telling you how bad every single race was, breading a nostalgic feel for the yester years which isn’t exactly based on reality. Is F1 bad? Is F1 boring? Sure, there are certain races which make you feel like you would’ve rather watched paint dry, but that’s the case with every sport. And with every bad race comes one full of excitement. Just look at the 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix as an example. The sport has certainly undergone
numerous transformations along the years and in an era where safety and reliability has understandably been at the forefront, there will inevitably be less adrenaline-filled, edge-of-your-seat moments. But the silver lining is that no one is getting seriously injured or dying and that can only be a good thing. Within that framework, there is still plenty of scope to make the sport more exciting. Despite its prestige, the Monaco Grand Prix offers little more than a grand procession around a narrow track. Replacing this and similar circuits, where overtaking is beyond impossible, with ones designed more for racing would help significantly, as well as potentially inverting the previous race’s final positions to nullify the tremendous superiority of the ‘top six’. That would definitely add a new dimension and, who knows, we may end up with a title race as close and as nail-biting as 2007? If, however, the racing gods don’t answer our prayers, all is not lost. Reddit has a ‘Formula 1.5 championship’ which excludes the ‘top six’ drivers from the final result and rankings. Thanks to the incredibly tight midfield, which features great scraps between Haas, Renault, Force India and sometimes even Sau-
ber, their championship is wide open. So much so that the top five racers are separated by just 16 points with four weekends to go – something that can’t be said of the official standings this year. So, if you are a car fanatic who enjoys the technical evolutions that are being
developed each season, or you just love the purew competition of the sport, either at the top or midfield level, then there is still plenty to hold onto with Formula 1. Don’t give up hope based on the unrealistic perception of opinion on social
media, and with new regulations set to be implemented in 2019 and 2021, hopefully they can even out the playing field and provide a higher proportion of unpredictable races for many years to come. I, for one, will certainly be watching.
Modern formula one began on 1950 Image: Wikimedia Commons
the courier
38
sport
Monday 22 October 2018
Skating is “Beautiful, challenging and exciting” Sport editor Tom Hardwick has a chat with Newcastle Figure Skating Society about all things hats, gloves and ice cold rinks
The society gather on the ice Image: Newcastle University Figure Skating Society As part of a new feature where we profile some of the University’s sports clubs, we interviewed Laramie Hevland from the Figure Skating Society to find out more about this fledgling club and their plans for growth over the next academic year. The society, which only began at the beggining of the year and wasn’t ratified until a month ago, tells us all the details about this well-known but little understood sport. How would you sum up what figure Skating is in a couple of sentences? Figure Skating is both an art and an athletic feat, professional skaters are incredibly strong and work very hard but train to make it all look graceful and even effortless.
How new are you as a society? We started meeting in January of this year and were officially recognised by the Student’s Union at the beginning of this term. Now after a few tasters and training sessions we have over 60 members! What standard do you expect from people who are joining the society? We invite skaters from all levels! If you have never even stepped foot on ice or you’ve been skating for years, it doesn’t matter as it is our aim to share the sport with others and train them to be the best figure skater they can be. Do you guys compete in any local/national competitions? If not, would you like to build up to that?
Unfortunately there are no BUCS Figure Skating competitions, however, we are in the talks of competing in the UK University Figure Skating Competition in London and am I sure we will definitely do well there as we have so many talented skaters in our society. We are also planning a Christmas showcase in December which will be good preparation for our skaters before the competition in February. How would you try and convince people who have never heard of/got involved in Figure Skating before to get involved? If you’ve ever seen a figure skater and thought “Wow, how do they do that?”, then this is your chance to find out. Getting started is easier then most people expect, and we
A red card to sporting racism Sabatical officers with Chris Wilkinson supporting the campaign Image: Harry Parsons
Chris Wilkinson NUSU Racial Equality Officer As you will all (hopefully) know, this October is Black History Month, and the Students Union has organised a campaign to celebrate the works and achievements of those in the community who have helped to shape our society into what it is today. A few aspects of this campaign have looked at History and the Arts, however another aspect has been to look at the products of activism. This is to see how the student body
can get involved in the movements which will undoubtedly influence future generations in our society. That is why on Friday the 19th, the Students Union, along with many other institutions and charities, displayed their solidarity in the fight against racism by celebrating the national ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ day, a day designed to educate and spread awareness - something which is still so necessary in our ostensibly fair and equal society. ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ is the biggest anti-racist educational charity in the UK today, and approaches this vast and ever-changing subject
in a unique and approachable way: through unique insights of prominent sportspeople. The sporting world has always had wellpublicised battles with racism, ranging from the abuse of footballers during a match, to kneeling to the anthem on pitches in America. Racism infects every area of society, but the sports world is in the opportune situation of being able to start a meaningful conversation that resonates widely through society, and Stand Up to Racism is perfect for doing this. So please, do contribute whatever you can and show your solidarity, and hopefully we can all help fight racism for the future.
have tons of great members to support you in learning. Plus you’ll meet loads of interesting people and even get a good workout! What are your aims as a society for the next academic year? Our aim for this academic year is to get as many people involved as possible and bring together keen skaters from across the university. We want to train our skaters so that they improve and develop in figure skating and ensure that they have a good time on and off the ice. Does it ever get cold while you’re out skating? It can be a little bit cold when you first go into an ice rink, but once you get moving it’s
just fine. And how much does it hurt when you slip and hit the ice? Less then people think! And it’s just like riding a bike, falling down is just a part of learning, even the pros do it. What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever seen in all your time figure skating? There is this really funny video of Evgeni Plushenko (Figure Skating Legend) skating a routine to ‘sex bomb’ and that is definitely one of the funniest things in figure skating history. If you could sum up the sport and your experiences in 3 words, what would they be? Beautiful, challenging, and exciting.
Durham Hills conquered by Cross Country team Louise Mill at Durham Univeristy
On Saturday 13th October the members of Newcastle Athletics and Cross Country were back doing what they do best (I.e. running up hills), this week in the scenic city of Durham for Durham University’s annual Past vs Present race. Again another rainy morning 24 members of NUAXC travelled down to Durham in high spirits. The annual Past vs Present race is a competition against current members of Durham University, as well as alumni mem-
4.5
the number of kilometers that the womens race took place over
bers who return for the race, and while there is always a competitive edge to it, it’s also a great chance for new members to the club to compete for the first time and see what NUAXC is all about. First up it was the women’s race, a short 4.5km loop. There was a strong field out, with Newcastle’s Charis Taylor coming in 1st place for NUAXC, and in 4th position overall. The women’s race was won by a former national junior champion, Jennifer Walsh, demon-
strating the high standard of competition. 14 members of NUAXC completed the grueling course (anyone who has visited Durham will know the hills well), and they all did the team and the University proud. Shortly afterwards was the men’s race, and unfortunately for them their loop was slightly longer (and hillier). As always, however, all
All members put on a strong performance with Chris larkin coming in first for Newcastle
members put on a strong performance, with Chris Larkin coming in first for Newcastle, and all Newcastle runners putting pressure on the Durham runners creating an exciting race. A very enjoyable day out for NUAXC, and by the time they had finished the sun even made an appearance! Even better. NUAXC will not be competing this weekend, but will be back in action on the 27th October in the next Harrier League at Gosforth Park, looking to add to their successes from previous races.
the courier
39
sport
Monday 22 October 2018
Stan Calvert: what happens next?
We examine what steps Team Newcastle might take next after withdrawing from the annual varsity
BUCS RESULTS BADMINTON
M1 v York 1sts M2 v Leeds Beckett W1 v Nottingham 1sts W2 v York 2nds
3-5 7-1 1-7 5-3
BASKETBALL M1 v Manchester Met 1sts M2 v Sunderland 1sts M3 v Durham 3rds W1 v Edinburgh 1sts W2 v Durham 3rds
FENCING
M1 v Lancaster 1sts M2 v Liverpool 1sts M3 v Leeds 1sts M4 v Durham 5ths W1 v Nottingham 1sts W2 v Manchester 1sts
FOOTBALL
M1 v Chester 1sts M2 v Sheffield 1sts M3 v Richmond Int 2nds W1 v Sheff Hallam 1sts W2 v Sheffield 2nds
GOLF
Mix1 v Leeds 1 Rory & guests Image: NUSU
Rebecca Johnson Sport Editor The news came in last week that the Stan Calvert varsity between Newcastle and Northumbria would be put on hold for the foreseeable future. Although it’s a shame that the competition won’t be taking place for this year at least, it’s hardly a surprise that this decision has been made. What are the problems surrounding the Stan Calvert varsity? One particular issue clouding the competition is the lack of awareness people had about it. If students aren’t aware of the competition then how can there be excitement generated around this local varsity? Last year there was a big effort to get more people involved in Stan Calvert with a publicity effort using student media, social media and leaflets. Unfortunately for whatever reason this campaign didn’t quite work out- a lot of people still weren’t too bothered about Stan Calvert.
It’s probably a blessing in disguise
In reference to lack of awareness surrounding Stan Calvert, as a fresher last year it felt as if other freshers didn’t know about the varsity. It appeared that freshers in particular only knew about the competition if they were involved in a sports club or knew someone that was a member of a sports club. Due to this, if you asked any fresher who didn’t have these connections about the varsity- they would be clueless. Consequently, it’s especially an issue if a new intake of students aren’t aware of Stan Calvert as it’s more difficult to gain not only willing competitors, but also spectators for the sports that are happening. In hindsight, it’s probably a blessing in disguise that Stan Calvert is taking a back seat for now. The competition seemed to lack the kind of energy that other universities have surrounding their varsities. Nobody seemed to be too bothered about Stan Calvert. Stan Calvert would take place and then be swiftly forgotten about until the next year. It’d be fantastic to see the Newcastle v Northumbria varsity be a massive event for both universities and generate a lot of interest and
91-85 68-65 62-67 63-80 74-25
118-128 46-145 67-135 133-87 74-135 66-135 9-1 1-4 1-2 0-0 2-2 3-3
HOCKEY
excitement from both sports teams and students. In order for this to happen, there needs to be collaboration from both universities whilst Stan Calvert is having its break to build up a hype. If this can be generated and promoted all over both Northumbria and Newcastle campus’ then hopefully in the future Stan Calvert will be something significant and exciting to mark down in the calendar and not just be an unenthusiastic burden to both universities.
Tom Hardwick Sport Editor The Stan Calvert Memorial Cup has been cancelled for the 2018-19 academic year, a move that may have largely gone under the radar for many Newcastle University first years. Whilst there are a multitude of issues that contributed to the cancellation of the competition, one problem that is recognisable when comparing Stan Calvert to other varsity events is the lack of a showpiece finale. Student involvement in and awareness of Stan Calvert have been dwarfed by the varsity events of other universities. One such example is the contest between Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Sheffield, which this year saw the women’s and men’s football matches staged at Hillsborough Stadium. The games saw both universities sell out their respective ticket allocations, allowing for a large crowd and a vociferous atmosphere to form. Stan Calvert seemed to lack both crowds and atmosphere for the 2018 edition, with Newcastle University itself doing little to promote the events and fixtures, with this responsibility being assumed by Student Media. There was indeed a ‘grand finale’ to the contest, the men’s rugby game that was played at St James’ Park, and at first glance this appears to be a superb spectacle, one that would more than suffice as an opportunity for students to gather en masse to offer their support. However, the fixture was merely a precursor to Newcastle Falcons vs Northampton Saints, and was inexplicably played on the 24th of March, almost a full month after Stan Calvert had finished and during the Easter holiday. This scheduling decision was bizarre, mak-
ing the game somewhat redundant given that Northumbria had already won Stan Calvert by a considerable margin, leaving the fixture a battle for personal pride only. Additionally, many students were left in a position where they would have gone to the game, but had already made their way home for the Easter holiday. The attendance did sit at a healthy 30,174, but due to the strange scheduling this crowd was more likely to have been made up of local fans than students, making it a somewhat deceptive figure.
Stan Calvert has certainly been lying in the shadow of more impressive varsity events
Stan Calvert has certainly been lying in the shadow of more impressive varsity events taking place throughout the country, and the struggles to arrange a meaningful, exciting main event that both student bodies can support seems to have had a consequent effect on the enthusiasm amongst university teams. Although there will be no varsity event this academic year, going forward, the establishment of a showpiece fixture should be of major significance. If marketed well, a main event that mirrored Sheffield varsity could massively increase student participation as fans, and in doing so, increase the appetite of university sports teams to go out and triumph in their fixtures, raising the standard of competition and the success of Stan Calvert as a whole.
Harry Parsons Sport Editor The difficulty of any varsity is the organisation. Pulling together multiple teams, from separate universities, with different schedule, with different priorities, often in different BUCS divisions is a logistical nightmare. For anyone following Stan Calvert over the past half decade the description that would come to mind is most likely “exhaustion”. The
feeling that for some reason a perfectly workable sporting competition was stretched out over many weeks, with many teams not competing for one reason or another, is draining on anyone close to the competition. If you were unfortunate enough to stumble onto social media once Team Newcastle had made their announcement last week you’d be forgiven for thinking that the university were running away from the competition as sore losers. But the issue goes much deeper than that. Northumbria are about to have a huge overhaul of their sports financing. It may seem irrelevant but it means that as a result the number of BUCS fixtures for the university will likely decrease, which means less Stan Calvert games. Or a change in the long established rules that BUCS teams, and only BUCS teams, play in Stan Calvert. By changing the rules of the competition even more than it has already changed in recent years, you risk losing the whole point of the competition. Which is to showcase the best of the best from the cities university athletes. When following the competition last year athlete’s evidently felt that that was no longer the case. People were deflated by some teams not competing and others managing to secure a game but it being weeks before the well-established “Stan Calvert Sunday”. Something was going to have to give. The decision will cause, and will have caused, a bit of upset among a few quiet voices in university sport. But, on the whole, it will give both universities to relook at the whole format and try to come up with something that is more of a spectacle, more engaging, more far reaching, more competitive and more accessible for students at both universities.
OVERALL BUCS POSITION Pos
University
8
Birmingham
1268
9
Cardiff
1170
10
Newcastle ■
1068
11
Nottingham Trent
996
12
Leeds Beckett
Pts
972.5
M1 v L’pool John Moores 1sts 4-8 M2 v Leeds 3rds 1-1 M3 v Durham 5ths 1-0 M4 v Leeds 5ths 5-0 W1 v Manchester 1sts 7-0 W2 v Durham 4ths 1-3 W3 v Hull 1sts 3-1 W4 v Sunderland 1sts 15-0
LACROSSE
M1 v Lancaster 1sts M2 v Bangor 1sts W1 v Leeds Beckett 1sts W2 v Shrffield 1sts
NETBALL
W1 v Durham 1sts W2 v Northumbria 2nds W3 v Sheffield 3rds W4 v Hill 1sts
RUGBY LEAGUE
M1 v Leeds 1sts M2 v Hull 2nds
RUGBY UNION
SQUASH
M2 v Sheffield 1sts M3 v Durham 3rds W1 v Leeds Beckett 1sts W2 v Sheffield 1sts W3 v Bradford 1sts
TABLE TENNIS
M1 v Keele 1sts M1 v Sheffield 1sts M2 v Leeds 2nds W1 v St Andrews 1sts W2 v Sheffield 1sts
ULTIMATE
M1 v Keele 1sts
VOLLEYBALL
W1 v Durham 1sts
54-56 35-45 39-33 40-43
18-36 NCL walkover
M1 v Birmingham 1sts M2 v Newcastle 2nds M3 v Newcastle 3rds M4 v Leeds 3rds M5 v Teeside 1sts W1 v Durham 1sts
TENNIS
8-6 N/A 12-6 11-11
45-29 39-12 12-39 17-31 24-17 0-80 1-4 2-1 4-0 1-4 4-0 15-2 10-2 8-4 2-10 2-10 2-10 2-10
sport the courier
Monday 22 October 2018 Issue 1374 Free @Courier_Sport courier.sport@ncl.ac.uk thecourieronline.co.uk/sport Sport Editors Rebecca Johnson, Harry Parsons, Sydney Isaacs Online Editor Tom Hardwick
Modernlangbach storm to victory
Inside Sport today >>>
FAMOUS BUST-UPS Infamous incidents off the sporting field Page 37
MELTING THE MYSTERIES Tom Hardwick figures out all you need to know about skating Page 38
Modernlangbach won 6-4 against CompSci Image: Adam Stratton
Adam Stratton assesses Modernlangbach’s first game of the new season
INTRA-MURAL FOOTBALL
Modernlangbach CompSci
6 4
Adam Stratton at Longbenton Saturday saw a confident start for the Modern Languages squad in their first match of the intramurals this season, scooping a 6-4 win against Computer Science. This first match on this threateningly stormy afternoon was hard graft for the players, some of whom had never played a full 90 minutes of football before.
Modernlangbach started with high team spirits
The languages students, with the parodical name of Borussia Modernlangbach, started with high team spirits and a good formation. This combination led to Modernlangbach winding up with a comfortable 3-1 lead by the half
time whistle. Left midfielder Joe Laing bagged an easy opener after hitting the woodwork. Meanwhile striker Rory Martin pocketed a penalty and ran onto a through ball from Tom Smith minutes later to score two goals. In the second half, Martin completed
3
Three is the magic number for Modernlangbach’s Rory Martin as he bagged himself a hat-trick
his hat trick to take the score to 4-1 and we saw a lovely little header from Captain Jack Redley. Centre-back Matt Green joined the goal scoring party mid-way through the half after getting on the end of a fizzing Redley corner and the sixth goal was poked home by Sam Davey. CompSci managed to bring home two goals in the final five minutes, including an impressive curled-in free kick from just outside the box. Things were looking anxious for Modernlangbach, but it was too little, too late for CompSci and at the final whistle, Languages were relieved to bag a morale-boosting first win of the campaign. CompSci FC’s comeback was a laud-
able performance, especially given that they had not managed to rustle up a full team in time for the match and went into the game two players down. Various players from Borussia Modernlangbach had to hold the opponent’s fort to compensate from their player absence. Unfortunately Modernlangbach’s Charlie “Blades” Walker was confined to the sidelines for the duration of the match as he nursed a pulled hamstring during the warm-up. Borussia Modernlangerbach now seek to cement their place at the top of League 3 as they face MechEng on the 20th. Meanwhile, CompSci FC will play Hardly Athletic on that same day. Saturday 11s Division 3
Pld
W
D
L
Pts
1 Borussia Modernlangbach
1
1
0
0
3
2 Combined Honours
1
1
0
0
3
3 ACS Tigers
1
0
1
0
1
4 SS Ladzio
1
0
1
0
1
5 Hardly Athletic
0
0
0
0
0
6 Mech Eng 11s
1
0
0
1
0
7 CompSci FC
1
0
0
1
0
Modernlangbach currently reside at the top of Saturday 11s Div 3 Image: Adam Stratton