The Courier 1268: Spring Special 2013

Spring

special 2013

Illustration: Fran Ede

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Welcome from the Editor S

o there we go – another term gone, winter more or less behind us (although you probably wouldn’t think so after this weekend’s not-so-convenient blizzard right in the middle of the Stan Calvert rugby finale), and spring just about sprung. On the one hand it’s flown by in a flurry of election fever, Stan Calvert fever, and general fever as those winter bugs refused to quit. But whilst February seemed to disappear in next to no time, everyone also seems ready for a good four-week break.

For some of you, this will mean a load of spare time – after you’ve caught up on sleep and seen off your end of term big night out hangover, what are you going to do with it all? Look to page 4, for our pick of the best cultural spots in Newcastle to while away your afternoons and the most hotly-tipped names in culture to look up before everyone else does.

If you’ve still got a few quid leftover from your last student loan payment (the beans on toast diet has its advantages), head over to page 7 for the spring trends you might want to be looking out for. Some of you will be looking ahead to summer and all that that entails – amongst all that scrimping, saving and lounging around you may be planning a trip abroad. Head over to page 6 and find out what you need to be doing now to be ready for your summer adventures, whether you’re off on a city break, going inter-railing or planning an all-out ‘just me and the road’ backpacking expedition.

It’s hard to avoid the issue much further – as much as you might get a bit more spare time, the spring break also brings with it a ton of revision, essays, dissertations and generally unwelcome levels of uni work. And if you’re an international student or a postgraduate, you may not find yourself with much of a break at all. Never fear though – on pages 4 and 5, you’ll find a perfect revision playlist whether you need a tune to spur you on when you hit ‘the wall’ in an Adam Richmanesque fashion, something to get you back to concentration mode, or a song for those times when you feel like smashing up your keyboard and hiding away in your duvet.

If you’re going to max your productivity, you’ll need to plan your work breaks carefully too – the odd visit to BuzzFeed here, a TV break there… it’s all just part of the process, right? Take a look over on page 5 for a list of shows you can just about justify as either educational (Countdown is definitely acceptable), short enough to not really count (until you inevitably find yourself watching five episodes in a row), or an old favourite - the comforting equivalent of a warm cup of tea. See too a list of old film favourites to carry you through when all seems lost – quote along to Shrek, get inspired

by Up, or just get angry and hunt everyone down a la Liam Neeson in Taken. We’ll all forget about Taken 2 for now.

If you’re after more justifiable modes of procrastination, you could even look to the content on these two pages here – brush up on your political knowledge as the writing of manifestos for the 2015 General Election gets underway, or read up on the science behind regeneration as all those leaves reappear on the trees. It’s all (sort of) educational. Oh, and there’s a bit down there on the seasonal return of Doctor Who, because everyone loves Doctor Who, right?

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading The Courier this term - have a great spring break, recharge batteries, get productive, get distracted, and prepare for how quickly summer will come around. We’ll be back in April to keep on bringing you the latest news, the best features and widest sports coverage on campus.

Yours, Ben Travis Editor

Tuesday 12 March 2013

Contents

page 2 - Mystic Clegg? Predicting manifestos The main political parties are soon to begin work on their manifestos for the 2015 General Elections. We look into the policies they’ll be working on to try and gain your vote. page 3 - Spring has sprung: The science of regeneration Spring - it’s all about regeneration isn’t it? As everything comes back to full bloom after winter, we take a look at nature’s most impressive restorative powers.

The Doctor returns to cure Easter boredom Speaking of regeneration, Doctor Who is back! Returning to the Saturday night schedule over the Easter weekend, have a read of

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what you can expect from the latest batch of episodes in the longest running sci-fi TV series of all time.

Keeping on top of your work? Then keep on top of your procrastination, with the perfect TV and films to keep you happily distracted.

Page 4 - Culturally bloom in 2013 With the month-long spring break bringing with it a load of spare time for many lucky students, take a look at the cultural institutions you should check out.

Page 6 - Start trek: Where to boldly go in 2013 You may already have grand designs for your summer, with a trip abroad in mind. What do you need to be sorting now to make sure you see it all through?

Class of ‘13: Who’s who in Arts We’re knee-deep in 2013 now, so here are a few hotly-tipped names you should really be looking into by now. You’ll be ‘the cultured one’ in your friendship group.

The Ultimate Revision Playlist No prizes for guessing this one. Inspirational, easy-going and anger-relieving songs to keep you going while your work.

Page 5 - Procrastination stations

Page 7 - The Fashion Editors’ Fix: Spring Edition A new season requires a new wardrobe check out these affordable options to ensure you look up-to-date, but can still afford food.

Page 8 - Verity’s Summer on the horizon An interview with local director Ben Crowe, whose debut feature film Verity’s Summer is highly tipped for success in this year’s film festivals.

Mystic Clegg? Predicting manifestos The 2015 General Election may seem a long way off yet, but the parties are all working on their policies now to try and get your vote. News Editor Susie Beever looks into her crystal ball to see what lies ahead Most students are wondering where they’ll be in two years’ time from now. Third years will have fingers crossed over the prospect of a job more intellectually stretching than pulling the perfect pint. Second years may still be clinging desperately onto the hope of having pulled off that first through a sea of Wednesday nights at theCUT and re-runs of Mock the Week on iPlayer. Freshers, expect nothing less than the debt accumulated by the rising cost of trebles to shift towards the 25p tax on hot water in the library café. However, whilst the 7 May 2015 rings no particular bells of significance as of yet, politically-minded students will be aware that this is the date set for the country to decide who will be fit to govern it over the impending four years.

Opinion is divided over which way the next general election will swing; despite the general consensus being in favour of a victory for Labour, there is still a belief that David Cameron’s party will remain in the gilded throne of the front bench, with the stance that five years is not enough for the regime of harsh cuts to take effect.

Not nearly enough.

It’s been an interesting three years of higher education politics - never has it seemed that student issues have been in the national news so regularly.

Undergraduates have begun footing three times the bill for that extra line in the skills and qualifications part of their CV, while Michael Gove’s face has become even more deeply inset with frown lines over the ever-perplexing state of GCSEs and A Levels. Then there was the phenomenon of a still of Clegg’s face from a YouTube video embossed in ink onto the ‘funny things that happened this week’ section of the national papers.

So it is without surprise that plans by the three major parties plan to set out focussing on student issues in their next set of manifestos. Cameron, Clegg and Miliband will be trying desperately to erase any evidence of Parliament ever resembling the inmates from the Big Brother house.

Conservatives Cameron’s party will be making some form of embarrassing attempt at shaping a friendlier student manifesto, which according to The New Statesman is already taking shape. Conservatives will shape their campaign to re-iterate the benefits of £9,000 tuition fees, and that graduates won’t pay back a penny until having found work. Expect deeper welfare cuts however, despite Osborne announcing a £10bn slash in the Autumn budget (curtailed by the Lib Dems to £3.8bn). Housing benefits for under-25s will be erased from the 2015 manifesto, while students will be unable to claim benefits upon leaving school at 16. Although the latter strategy may prove beneficial in getting more young people into work or education, higher education and vocational courses may be harder to come by if the entirety of Britain’s youth is being squeezed into it like commuters on the 9am Metro.

The Tories’ primary aim will, however, be to distance them selves as much as possible from the

Lib Dems. After five years of having Starbucks delivered on tap, Cameron will have no qualms about waving bye-bye to Clegg.

Labour It is without a doubt that Labour will be seizing the 2015 election as an opportunity to climb back into favour with Britain’s youth. Whilst the Tories have royally pissed off students with a hike in tuition fees and a growing divide between rich and poor, Lib Dems will have to work twice as hard to regain a fraction of any trust previously held in first-time voters. Expect major swotting up and sucking up to come from Miliband in the party’s appeal to students in 2015. The manifesto is set to resemble a satirical list of everything the party feels has been undone in the past few years of a Tory stronghold. All free schools opened in the last five years will be promised to be closed, whilst all public-spending cuts the party opposed will be entirely reversed.

With a national swing of only 1.75% needed for an overall majority in the polls, election victory for Miliband looks likely in 2015. If the next election lives up to the current state of the polls, Cameron may well be left wishing his daughter had left him in the car.

Liberal Democrats The manifesto for the next election is already under way. Probably because it’s going to take some serious graft to pull together something which recaptures the trust of Britain’s pitchfork-wielding nation of students. Last year, Nick Clegg spontaneously published a broadcast humbly apologising for everything he’d done since the coalition came into power. Or rather, what he hadn’t done.

The Lib Dems’ focus in 2015 will similarly be to distance themselves from any previous con-

viction of Clegg being a Tory in disguise. Expect to see the two parties moving in directions that aren’t dissimilar from arguing couples on Jeremy Kyle adjusting the sofa chairs to opposite sides of the stage.

The party’s manifesto, which is being written by formerly expenses-disgraced MP David Laws, will plan to funnel more aid into Britain’s state schools. This strategy aims to introduce more students using the state system to academically catch up with those using private education. Fascination surrounding the diversity, or perhaps nondiversity, of Oxbridge and Russell Group universities such as Newcastle may be hush-hushed by more state school students being encouraged to go on to higher education.

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Tuesday 12 March 2013

Spring has sprung: the science of regeneration With the arrival of spring comes an abundance of new life, but Mother Nature has a few more exciting tricks up her sleeve than leaves coming back on trees. Lizzie Hampson takes a look at some of the weirdest regenerative powers in the natural world Unless you’re a Doctor Who fan, I doubt the word “regeneration” will evoke much excitement in you, and you’d be forgiven for thinking it is barely as exciting as it sounds. Boring name aside, regeneration is possibly one of the strangest and most fascinating phenomena in science, it includes; immortal lobsters, babies re-growing fingertips and a whole lot of weird and amazing regenerative medicine.

What is regeneration?

Simply put, regeneration is the ability to regrow or resynthesize body tissue lost by trauma, disease or other unfortunate means. Most of us will have heard about a salamander’s ability to regrow its tail if it gets yanked of by an insolent child but it doesn’t stop there - the seemingly mundane salamander can also reproduce whole arms, legs, pretty much any body part within days of their amputation. It’s therefore understandable why specialist doctors and The Lizard from Spiderman have dedicated their lives to harnessing the regenerating power of these impressive reptiles.

an easy life they could happily live forever. This is all well and good for lobsters, but what about us humans? We know we definitely don’t possess the lobster’s ability to never age or all anti-ageing products would be off the shelves, but do we have any ability to regenerate?

Babies While a human baby is in the womb, the loss of an extremity doesn’t matter as it can simply be grown back without any scar tissue, much like the salamander. Even for a very short period of time after birth, neonates can sometimes re-grow tips of fingers. As adults, this skill leaves us and we are left only being able to regenerate parts of our kidneys which have been damaged or removed - helpful, but not very exciting. It doesn’t seem fair that we can’t just grow another arm if we ever need it but it is thought that it is more viable for human life to form scar tissue as it is a faster process than growing a whole arm and therefore stops bleeding

and infection sooner. However, this doesn’t mean that we have simply given up on regeneration being useful to humans. Utilising what we know about regeneration from other animals, regenerative medicine has been able to grow heart valves, ears, windpipes and breasts to name a few. So next time you think about regeneration, don’t just think about Doctor Who because once again, real life science has proven to be weirder and more wonderful.

Immortal lobsters Now, if you think salamanders are as impressive as it gets, then think again - the creature with possibly the most mind-blowing, confusing and slightly scary ability to regenerate is the lobster.

These large crustaceans are thought to be able to live indefinitely barring disease, injury, capture or anything else which would take their lives. Scientists think this is down to the lobster’s ability to ‘regenerate’ cells in their bodies due to the enzyme telomerase. In fact, unlike humans and most other living things, lobsters may become more fertile the older they get displaying negligible senescence (never showing signs of ageing). So whilst lobsters aren’t exactly “immortal” as the internet would suggest, it is generally agreed that given

The Doctor returns to cure Easter boredom

Forget the chocolate - Editor Ben Travis talks about his most anticipated Easter treat, the return of Doctor Who The Easter holidays coming around signifies three main things: a well-timed and much-needed break from education, the prospect of eating numerous all-too-hollow chocolate eggs, and most excitingly of all the return of everyone’s favourite time-hopping intergalactic traveller to our TV screens, as Doctor Who re-materialises into the Saturday night schedule.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that sentence was directed predominantly to children aged 5-12, but the truth is that the appeal of The Doctor, the TARDIS, heck, even K9, remains with many uni students - closeted or otherwise. Not only is it the longest-running sci-fi show on the small screen, it tends to bring higher levels of devotion from its older fans than their kids (who many would claim it is truly aimed at).

The show’s return at Easter always feels highly appropriate - not only is regeneration a prominent theme in the show’s narrative and format, the adventurous spirit and generally prevalent optimism found in Doctor Who coincides rather aptly with the emergence of spring.

These regenerative qualities are almost certainly what have kept the show going this long - on a practical level, the ability to change the central cast member and explain it away with a quick bit of sci-fi logic dialogue ensures a constant refresher whenever things get a bit stagnant. And it’s not only the Doctor himself who changes - ooh, here comes a new companion! Oh, they’ve changed the decor in the TARDIS! Ah, his sonic screwdriver’s all green and claw-y now! As executive producers and actors come and go, the tone of the show is able to shift to whatever seems appropriate for the current generation. On a weekly basis, the possibilities of moving in time and space opens endless options for where and when an episode is set - one week the gang are in the far future witnessing the destruction of the Earth, the next they’re meeting

Dickens and encountering zombies in Victorian London. It’s an inexhaustible, constantly renewable format.

Change and evolution is arguably a key to the quality of the show too - since it returned in its current 45-minute Saturday night format back in 2005, a rotating roster of Doctors and companions has meant that every series brings with it a new main character. That is, excepting Series 6 which saw a second 13-episode run for Matt Smith’s Doctor travelling alongside Amy Pond and Rory - easily the weakest season since the reboot. Coincidence? Perhaps.

So where does that leave us for this Easter? Well, Matt Smith is still here doing a brilliant job of acting like an old, troubled, tortured grump stuck in the body of a young, coffee-addicted, man-child (BETTER THAN TENNANT, sorry/not sorry, nerds). However, the second half of Series 7 (the first half aired at the beginning of the 2012 Autumn schedule and was generally very, very good) brings a new companion, the mysterious Clara/ Oswin (Jenna-Louise Coleman), first seen as a soufflé-loving woman trapped in a ‘60s-esque room in series opener ‘Asylum of the Daleks’, with a shocking twist revealing her to unknowingly be a Dalek. Who then died. How’s that for an unconventional entrance? She also played a prominent role in the 2012 Christmas Special ‘The Snowmen’, this time turning up as a new incarnation of the same character in a Victorian mansion. Who then died. Again.

It’s become a Steven Moffat trait, having unconventional female characters – take Amy Pond, the girl with the crack in her bedroom wall who, due to various time-jumps ended up befriending her sort-of-Time-Lord daughter who was actually older than her and technically the Doctor’s wife… like I said, Series 6 all got a bit convoluted (and a bit rubbish). And then there’s Pond’s daughter

herself, River Song, The Doctor’s most recent love interest whose final encounter with The Doctor was actually his first encounter with her. Overall, in Moffat’s era as executive producer, it’s not too surprising that Clara has only been in two episodes, turned out to be a Dalek in one, and died in both. What remains to be seen is how Moffat will tie it all together.

What else have we got to look forward to? Well, due to a lack of my own personal TARDIS it’s

difficult to know for sure, but much-loved fantasy writer Neil Gaiman is back after providing a stellar episode last series, we’re promised an epic exploration into the heart of the TARDIS, an adventure on a Russian submarine, and the return of the Cybermen. Oh, and The Doctor has a new suit! New suits are cool.

Whatever else is going on on 30 March, when it gets to tea-time, the kids can shove off. I’m sitting and watching Doctor Who.

4.springspecial The Ultimate Revision Playlist Now spring has sprung, a new playlist is in order. However, spring brings with it more dreaded deadlines and dissertations. Combat your boredom with these 10 hand-picked tunes

1. The Mountain Goats ‘This Year’ Let’s be fair here, revision sucks. There’s always something better you could be doing, like pairing socks or watching paint dry.

The Mountain Goats know that, and with a nicely paced track to keep you going, and a chorus that rings out “I am going to make it through this year, if it kills me”, it can be just that little added persuasion you need to hear to grind your way through another chapter.

2. Dredg ‘Matroshka’

Is ambience your thing? ‘Matroshka’ is a track to unwind you without sending you into a musical daze. Atmospheric raindrops fall in the background of a comforting alt-rock offering, with soothing vocals and a tempo just enough to keep you focused on your reading. Ambience doesn’t have to come from electronica, just like you don’t have to be a robot to digest your revision.

3. D-12 ‘Fight Music’ Not everyone finds ambience the right balance for studying; sometimes it needs to be that little bit more intense to psych you up into that ‘knuckledown’ attitude. ‘Fight Music’ does a great job of mixing a deep hip-hop beat with lyrics not quite catchy enough to end up ringing around your head at a time when you need to concentrate. It’s dark and it’s intense, perfect for getting you into your zone.

4. Frou Frou ‘Let Go’ It’s poppy and it’s fun. It isn’t annoying, so it won’t run around your head turning you into a popbrained goldfish and best of all it brightens your day. What more could you want from a revision song? Featuring the gorgeous voice of Imogen Heap, ‘Let Go’ will keep you smiling when everything around you may seem drab and dull. If music could be colourful, this would be a rainbow.

5. Deftones ‘Minerva’ For those who like their music to be that little bit angrier, ‘Minerva’ isn’t aggressive enough to make you want to tear the textbook you’ve had your nose in for the last three days in two.

It does a great job of picking you back up, letting you exhale, and plough on. Angry music doesn’t have to be for angry people, but sometimes that little bit of venting helps when you need it most.

Tuesday 12 March 2013

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Culturally bloom in 2013 Now that the evenings are getting lighter and the weather’s getting warmer (only slightly though, it’s still Newcastle), it’s safe to climb out of hibernation and head back out into the Toon. But what to do with this new lease of life and a whole month with no lectures? Try out some of these cultural institutions

The Sage Gateshead If you’re a fan of music and are looking to escape the thud of Newcastle’s nightlife, The Sage Gateshead is the ideal venue to explore. The highlight event of the venue’s calendar is the Gateshead International Jazz Festival from 5-7 April, which welcomes a variety of acts and includes some free performances.

Tyneside Cinema

Newcastle’s city centre boasts the wonderful independent Tyneside Cinema, which has some great screenings lined up this spring. With a schedule boasting big blockbusters, such as Lincoln and Hitchcock, as well as some smaller films and alternative cultural activities, it’s a great place to while away an afternoon. Check online to see what’s on: https://www.tynesidecinema.co.uk/

Star & Shadow Cinema

The volunteer-run, small cinema by the Byker Bridge offers an interesting variety of art-films, gigs, stand-up comedy nights and even a storytelling party - if you haven’t been yet, seize the chance this Spring! Check out www.starandshadow.org. uk to see their upcoming showings and events.

On campus

Looking for more inspiration on campus? The uni offers a wide range of free talks, lectures and live music events, which are well worth taking advantage of. Check out the Newcastle Centre for Literary Arts’ website for upcoming events including poetry and creative writing evenings: http://www. ncl.ac.uk/ncla/ Lidan Deng

Class of ‘13: Who’s who in Arts

With the year now well underway, Arts Editor Lisa Bernhardt gives you her tips for 2013 Predicting an artist’s success is always a tricky business, yet seemingly every newspaper, website or other form of commentary platform is cluttered with ‘Ones to Watch’ lists at the beginning of each year. Sometimes they’re right and recommend great up-and-coming talents, other times not so much. A few months into 2013, here is a review of The Independent’s guesses of who might be ‘hot’ (potentially) in the world of art this year.

Comedy: Holly Burn A reviewer called her a “deranged Geordie who appears to have carried on partying when Keith Richards called it a night” which sounds like a pretty accurate description of a Saturday night on Bigg Market. And unfortunately, character comedian Holly Burn’s performances (at least the ones found on YouTube) are equally (not) funny, despite the raving reviews. Her performance mocking overly sexualised display of femininity called ‘Sexy’ is supposed to be subversive, but mostly looks weird and makes it seem as if she’s trying too hard.

Classical Music: Ryan Wigglesworth Composer/conductor wunderkid Ryan does not only have a hilarious surname, but also an impressive CV. He worked for the BBC Proms and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, written choral scores for Oxbridge colleges and worked with orchestras all over the world. Orchestra concerts might not be everyone’s cuppa tea, but if you’re a classical music enthusiast make sure you don’t miss his season highlights this year including collaboration with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester.

Dance: Maureya Lebowitz Born in the USA, Maureya is said to be the next big thing in the world of ballet, not just thanks to her memorable name. Ever since joining the Bir-

mingham Royal Ballet in 2011, her swift technique and eye-catching performances have gained the critics’ attention and applause. In case you wan to convince yourself of her potential, the BRB will visit the Sunderland Empire 14-16 March on the occasion of its national Aladdin tour.

Visual Arts: Laure Prouvost The great things about video installations is that they can capture the viewer’s attention like a film can but without taking ages to be watched. However, and this is probably the main problem most people will have with them and contemporary art in general, it’s not always clear what they’re about.

Laure Prouvost aims at questioning the use of language in her many of her work by withholding a narrative; you can check out her work for yourself if your up for a visual challenge at www. laureprouvost.com.

Theatre: Tom Wells Anyone who manages to write a heart-warming and award-winning play about the town of Withernsea on the coast of East Yorkshire deserves our respect. Tom Wells’s The Kitchen Sink got a rare 5 star review from The Telegraph, so there’s a lot to expect from the upcoming tour of his play Jumpers for Goalposts. Starting his career with a writing workshop, as mundane as it sounds, seemed to be a good idea; his Oxford degree in English might have helped as well.

Books: Taiye Selasi Taiye Selasi is a true cosmopolitan character who is rooted all over the world. Being of Nigerian and Ghanaian origin, born in London and raised on Boston, she writes about African Diasporas in a unique and informed voice. Her book Ghana Must Go, due to be released in April, has already caused a stir amongst critics that matches her reportedly charismatic and extravagant personality.

And Arts Editor, Millie Walton recommends you keep your eyes peeled for…

Playwright: Nassim Soleimanpour Nassim Soleimanpour has already attracted a huge amount of attention for his unique and bizarre play White Rabbit, Red Rabbit, which demands a different actor reads the script cold every night on stage. The idea was to create a play, which could travel the world without him (Soleimanpour was forbidden a passport for refusing to do national service), but the author has just been granted a passport after being diagnosed with an eye disorder so that he can follow in the successful path of his writing. Soleimanpour is set to redefine our notion of theatre with his next project rumoured to use the audience as its cast. In an effort to connect with his viewers, the playwright urges you to drop him an email (nassim.sn@gmail.com), find him on Facebook and follow him on twitter (@ soleimanpour).

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Tuesday 12 March 2013

Procrastination stations

As deadlines and exams loom, it’s important you plan your procrastination accordingly. Here are a few suggestions for acceptable dissertation distractions (Countdown? Entirely educational...)

Film

TV

Up

When you’ve “hit the wall” once again, having stared at that computer screen for what feels like an eternity, the thought of floating away from the streets of Jesmond into the sunset is certainly an appealing one. Pixar’s Up provides the perfect piece of procrast-animation to give you that break you’ve assured yourself you deserve, even if it’s just to watch the opening 10 minute sequence, which essentially can satisfy as a story in itself.

Little Miss Sunshine In times of heavy workload the light-hearted tale of a family’s hapless journey across America is without doubt one that can provide much needed relief. Whether it is through the impeccable performance of Steve Carell, (playing the intensely likable Frank) the want to just say “aww” whenever Olive arrives on screen, or to enjoy the hilarious actions of Grandpa Edwin, Dayton’s masterpiece can easily provide a sizable chunk of dissertation distraction.

Taken To hear Liam Neeson utter the unforgettable “I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you” remains a perfect tonic for those whose frustration has reached its limit and may well feel like picking up the phone and repeating the phrase to a certain course leader. Nevertheless, even if work appears to be going well, an hour and a half of Neeson showing the bad guys how it’s done is enough to lead astray even the most dedicated of students.

Shrek Over a decade after its release, the charm of Shrek is still doing its job in providing a fairy-tale land to which one can escape that ever-looming mountain of work. The brilliant combination of Mike Myers (with his perfectly Scottish accent) and donkey never ceases to make us laugh and the temptation appears all too much to simply put it on and decide that as far as work is concerned “that’ll do Donkey, that’ll do.”

Harry Potter I feel like an apology is needed in the inclusion of such a mundane and obvious response. However, with now eight films to choose from, the possibility of finding yourself following another year at Hogwarts instead of focusing on your own, slightly less magical education, is at an all time high, be it to laugh at the pre-teenage acting of the earlier films or to opt for the later editions (perhaps with a view to the on-screen presence of now adult Emma Watson and/or Rupert Grint).

Michael Slattery

Intellectual stimulation The easiest way to procrastinate with TV, in other words the one way in which you feel a lot less guilty doing it is by watching something “intellectually stimulating”. And by that I mean something that vaguely involves some sense of brain power to watch, preferably somewhat relevant to what you’re doing. Countdown is a great one because, not only is it perfectly timed for mid-afternoon, you at least feel like making words out of some letters is keeping your brain active. The ultimate excuse. Same goes for Pointless, although this one is often much better for you as the breadth of categories that do come up means it will almost certainly touch on something in your field. However, when you do terribly on a round on 18th Century Enlightenment figures and your exam on just that is around the corner, it will probably send you into panic mode. Damn you Osman!

Bite-sized If you don’t want to dedicate yourself to something that takes a chunk out of your day to watch (which means it’s probably best to entirely avoid The Wire at this point), why not opt for the bite sized chunks of TV to give you a nice little coffee break? Adventure Time is an adorable little cartoon, never more than 15 minutes, which has this appeal to it that makes you feel, even though you’re an adult, like it’s OK to be watching it. It’s colourful, insane and oftentimes very funny so it’s the perfect antidote! If you want something you can feel a bit more secure in your age watching, give Childrens’ Hospital a spin. Around 10 minutes an episode, it’s an incredibly surreal spoof of medical dramas and soap operas, with so many ridiculous twists and turns in one episode, you often have to take a break to catch your breath.

Sit back and relax If neither of those takes your fancy, you can always go visit those old pals, the shows that make you feel like the people that get the hugs from those blue furry arms in the classic Cup-a-Soup ads (remember them?). Sure you’ve watched every single episode of Friends or Modern Family but it’s just nice to go back and give them another visit, to take your mind away from the cramming you should instead be doing. They’re always on at some point in the day on some channel so, if you just flick on the TV, you’re likely to fall on one of them at some point. It’s the less guilty equivalent of going for a coffee with your friends as a break because you don’t need to leave your house to do it, instantly making you feel like you could easily just go back to work whenever.

Self esteem boosting

6. Nick Drake ‘Pink Moon’ Taken from his final album of the same name, ‘Pink Moon’ is regarded as one of those landmark songs in folk music. Featuring only Nick Drake, his guitar, and a little bit of overdubbed piano, it’s a sparse and unadorned track that was riding on the back of the hangover from the hectic ‘60s. It’s filled with technically brilliant acoustic riffs that artists still find hard to master today, and its dream-like lyrics will leave you feeling just that little bit lighter for all of your exam-woes.

7. Freelance Whales ‘Ghosting’ The band name, Freelance Whales, already tells you what kind of self-confessed indie effervescence this is going to sound like, but don’t let it put you off. These New Yorkers have turned their gentle nerdiness into a great strength, and there’s nothing better than some glockenspiel to aid all of that note-taking. ‘Ghosting’ is taken from their well-received debut album Weathervanes, and it’s a sweet song to have lulling in the background.

8. Washed Out ‘Within and Without’ This is what I imagine it would sound like if you slowed down some of Massive Attack’s songs and added some Xanax. Maybe a little too chilled out, Washed Out are known for their breakbeat albums, and this track isn’t unlike the rest. If you’re a fan of this then you should definitely put their entire discography on repeat the next time you’re pulling an all-nighter.

9. Sigur Ros ‘Staralfur’ Any revision playlist would be incomplete without the ethereal goodness of our favourite Icelandic minimalists. Stick on any album and you’re guaranteed to be in an ambience-induced coma within three tracks, and ‘Staralfur’ is one of many that’s perfect for those late night library sessions.

It also helps that half of the time they sing in their own syntax-free language called ‘Vonlenska’, so there are literally no intelligible words to distract you from hitting those books.

10. Zero 7 ‘In The Waiting Line’

Finally, if things are really stressing you out, why not just make yourself feel better in your life?

Anything Channel 5 or BBC3 shows is pretty much designed to do that. Be that Jeremy Kyle or 16 & Pregnant, you can always reassure yourself that you are in fact somewhat intelligent and you can get through these assignments/exams. Plus, it works as an excellent motivation technique if you’re really slipping, forcing you to work harder to avoid ending up with your own BBC3 show stuck right in between a Family Guy marathon and something featuring Danny Dyer, probably.

A personal favourite of all soundtrackcompilers everywhere, you’ve probably heard this song during a trippy scene in a TV show or a movie – it’s appeared in House, Garden State, and Sex And The City, just to name a few – and there’s a reason why it’s used so often.

Supplemented by muted breakbeats and airilysung vocals, a thrum of psychedelia runs through the entire track. It puts you in a state of relaxation, which is exactly what you need.

Chris Taylor

Ian Mason and Beth Durant

6.springspecial

Tuesday 12 March 2012

The Courier

Start trek: where to boldly go in 2013 Summer might seem light years away, but if you’re planning on going travelling after the end of uni now is the time to be preparing. Where will you go? How much do you need to save? And how do you go about organising a visa? Whether you’re planning a quick city-break, a tour of Europe or an all-out cross-continental just-taking-my-toothbrush expedition, read on for some tips from a few seasoned pros

Mini-breaks Travel can open your eyes to the breathtaking views away from the normality of your home life. I have been fortunate enough to venture on many a mini-break - here are just a few of my travel tips that are a must before you go away.

For a mini-break, whether it’s a romantic weekend away to the countryside on home soil or being whisked away to Paris (I should be so lucky!), you have to be a ‘savvy packer’, taking the bare essentials with some space for a few extras. My first tip would be that whatever travel arrangements you have made for you trip, make sure you have all your travel documents to hand and in one place. I like to use a trusty plastic wallet and print out all documentation for my trip and place in order of need during the trip. Whilst I appreciate this is very obsessive, it has never failed me yet.

My second tip would be to get on your phone (or computer) and check BBC Weather for the destination you’re headed to so you can plan out potential outfits in your head in advance.

If you do this and the weatherman’s predictions are correct, it saves you taking the unnecessary woolly jumper if it’s set to be a lovely spring day.

The final tip I would have for mini-break success would be to do your research. If you’re only visiting somewhere for the weekend it’s best to plan ahead. Get a guide book (if you can be bothered to splash the cash) or just head to Google (it’s just as good). Find out the ‘musthave’ things to do/places to eat so that you can make the most of your time away.

These are just a couple of my necessary preparations that have never failed me yet. Hopefully these will help some of you next time you are planning a mini-break away with that special someone or a few of your housemates.

Demi Carnelley

Budget picks: York, Devon, Paris

Backpacking The ‘rah’ stereotype is one that is well and truly alive in Newcastle. A defining characteristic of a ‘rah’ is going on a proper gap yah holiday. Let me assure you though, you don’t have to have a trust fund supporting you to see some of the cool places the world has to offer. There are a few things to remember though.

Decide where you’re going So you’ve decided you want to go on a longer adventure somewhere, but where? Well first decide what you want to do; whether it’s find the hottest curry in the world in India, or discover idyllic beaches in South Thailand. Consider these: Cost of living: How much it costs for essentials like food and accommodation, as well as travel.

Flight costs: Bolivia is one of the cheapest countries to backpack, but for a return flight you’re looking at £900 upwards.

Visas: For us Brits there’s a compulsory £100 visa.

Climate: Monsoon seasons vary depending on country (and even within some larger countries such as India and China). Along with soaring/ freezing temperatures, this can make places inhospitable at certain times of year.

Before you go

You’ve decided where you’re going, great! Now start undertaking some research.

It is usually a lot better to book things when you are out in the country instead of over here as there won’t be hefty booking fees and you will often find you can haggle the price – especially if there’s a few of you!

Don’t over pack as there’s really no need. You can acquire pretty much anything you want from markets and shops, often at an extremely low price.

Traveller’s cheques are my personal choice of currency as you can often get the best exchange rates and you are insured if you lose them.

Don’t forget to check if you need any vaccinations or medication – most notably against Malaria, Yellow fever, and Japanese encephalitis.

Inter-railing Going on a longer trip requires a little more planning/consideration than a shorter weekend getaway as you’ll be moving from city to city, frequently taking long journeys and often sharing dorms with people you don’t know.

The chances of losing things and being robbed increase, as does the likelihood of getting sick.

Kind of a downer but it is worth keeping in mind.

You should get insurance because it really is better to be safe than sorry. It might be an extra cost but it could payback tenfold if something goes wrong. You can get one insurance policy to cover travel, your belongings and healthcare as well. If you are going interrailing and are a European citizen make sure you get your European Union health card before you leaving, giving you free medical care in any state institution in the EU. For a long trip, you are going to need a lot of money and it simply isn’t practical or safe to carry it all on you. The amount you exchange

at the airport on holiday will do you fine for the short term but for these sorts of trips you need a more long term solution. The Travelex Mastercard is something you should look into.

Also, don’t forget to tell your bank you are going away - you don’t want them to block your card!

A good idea is to have backups, i.e. photocopies of important documents with you but also attached to an email so you can always print out new ones.

Small precautions should be taken in the name of security such as having a padlock for lockers in hostels and on your luggage.

Those above are perhaps the most important, necessary things you should do in order to avoid disaster. Here are some more miscellaneous things that will help in comfort and to ease frustrations.

Backpack vs Suitcase: the classic dilemma.

Largely a matter of opinion, but for flights of stairs, manoeuvring through crowds and generally looking like a typical backpacker, the backpack really is the only way.

Whilst it may be bedtime for you that doesn’t mean it is for other people. A night mask and earplugs are a good idea for you light sleepers.

In order to adapt well to your surroundings be firstly aware of any cultural implications of the places you visit, such as dressing and behaving appropriately in more conservative countries.

Oh, and make sure you have the right adapter or phone will run out Budget picks: Czech Republic, Slovenia, Bulgaria your of battery!

Katie Smith

Hostels are a great way to see the world. They are extremely affordable and you get to meet some great people.

Trains and coaches are a lot cheaper than flying but can often take a long time and be rather unreliable. What a sales rep tells you takes four hours could quite easily take up to ten. But they are a great way to see some of the country you wouldn’t usually get to see. You can also find hidden gems in roadside cafes and breath-taking scenery.

If all doesn’t go to plan (which it most certainly won’t) then don’t be disheartened. As long as you have your passport, plane ticket and a small supply of cash, you can get yourself home or if all else fails, to an embassy.

Take loads of pictures, write down stuff you want to remember (people’s names, amazing places etc) - and go out and have an incredible adventure.

James Simpson

When you’re out there Booking accommodation for the first few nights in a new place is something well worth doing, particularly if your transport arrives in the middle of the night. For flights, this means that you also have an address if any of your luggage goes missing.

Budget picks: Nepal, Cambodia, Bolivia

The Courier

springspecial.7

Tuesday 12 March 2012

The Fashion Editors’ Fix: Spring Edition The Courier Fashion and Beauty Editors pick their favourite items from the high-street’s Spring collections Primark, £12

Dune, £55

Illamasqua at ASOS.com, £14.50

Chanel ‘La Favorite’, £25

Sleek Blush by 3 in ‘Pumpkin’, £9.99 at Superdrug Miss Selfridge, £8.50 - £12.50

Miss Selfridge

Primark, £30

The Body Shop, £4 Primark, £20

Miss Selfridge, £12.99

ASOS.com, £38

8.springspecial

Tuesday 12 March 2012

The Courier

Verity’s Summer on the horizon

Geordie director Ben Crowe was nominated for a Palme D’or for his debut short film. Now he’s back with hotly-tipped feature film Verity’s Summer, tracking family tensions and moral quandaries on the Northumberland coast in relation to the Iraq war. Online Film Editor Chris Binding caught up with him before a screening at Tyneside Cinema Not many filmmakers can boast about receiving a Palme D’Or nomination from Cannes Film Festival on their first short film but then again Ben Crowe is no ordinary director. Hailing from Whitley Bay and studying at Cambridge, the director’s style has been appraised for its mixture of visual lyricism, superb storytelling and political undertones; and in the case of his first feature Verity’s Summer these elements come together to create a powerful piece of cinema. Catching up with the director in the Tyneside Cinema, Crowe was calm, articulate and honest in describing his slightly unconventional path into the world of filmmaking, coming from an entirely self – taught perspective.

After studying political science at Cambridge University, his path to filmmaking was motivated by his personal disillusionment with his job ‘There was a moment in my early twenties when I realised that film was something I wanted to try my hand at. I got an idea for The Man who Met Himself […] I wanted to go back to fundamentals.’ With his budget limiting him to Super 9mm camera, his experimentation and hard work on his idea catapulted him to world recognition in a nomination at Cannes, which was incredible experience for a first time filmmaker with no formal training. ‘It was quite a crazy phone call finding out we had been selected by Cannes.’ What it does is give you a foot in the door and producers and distributors will listen to what you have to say for future projects. However it doesn’t bring any financial awards and it doesn’t bring immediate projects, or it didn’t with me at least.’

Although his first short The Man who Met Himself was a experimental genre piece, with idea and the tone of an espionage thriller, his latest film and first feature Verity’s Summer takes on the more controversial topic of the Iraq war through the

microcosm of a middle – class family living in the North East. As an individual schooled in human rights and involved actively during the anti – war protests during his early twenties, his vision for the film is one that is has a clear politics about the responsibility of war crimes.

‘At the time of the Bahamusa enquiry the first British person ever was convicted of a war crime, about twenty soldiers of different ranks were criticised for their inability to stop the legalised killing and torture of detainees. However the officers normally get off, as they are not involved in the day-to-day activities. […] When a nation like Britain goes to war in that situation it will have on-going implications in that country for generations. You also have tens of thousands of soldiers returning and they typically don’t get the support that they should receive from the British State.’

However as British films have previously made war films about working class soldiers suffering from post - traumatic stress, Crowe’s choice to focus upon middle class families ties in to issues of an army chain of command and how different ‘classes’ perceive war from different perspectives. ‘‘The British films that I have seen look at working class soldiers with post traumatic stress, they are normally aggro people, prone to excessive violence as individuals and they come from dysfunctional backgrounds etc. This is used to explain the ‘Bad Apple’ idea and is used as a means of scapegoating. The defence of officers who are supposed to be managing the military bases (in my mind) is that they didn’t know about’ . These people who come back who have been involved in these things or witnessed them, there must be an overwhelming sense of guilt and a desire to admit wrongdoing.’

It this psychological torture that Crowe explores in Verity’s Summer, confronting the nauseating

thought that someone you love could be capable of ‘torture’ and moral cowardice. This is heightened stylistically by avoiding the cliché flashback and unresolved confrontation of the issue, which has sat uneasy with some audiences ‘some people don’t like that ending and think it, lacks a certain emotional punch. In a way I felt I couldn’t write it as I had read so much of the testimony and every time I thought about how you could convey it dramatically it didn’t match up to the real horror of what people have actually done.’

However the intimate emotional account of torture explored by Crowe sits in direct contrast to more ‘spectacle’ driven portrayals in American Cinema, with Zero Dark Thirty as a notable high profile example. However as Ben explains making political films in Hollywood is a dangerous game: “Although American war films can have liberal American agendas they are still very patriotic, and there is still certain thing director presumably feel they can’t do in American Cinema if they want to make enough film. Its deeply political filmmaking

at that level, if you make the wrong kind of film you could be cut off from making anything ever again […] There must be low budget American indie films dealing with these issues but if they don’t get distribution they might never get seen.”

In relation to location, Verity’s Summer is another film that makes full advantage of the visual and conceptual drama of the North East as Ben explains ‘‘I grew up here and knew the locations very well so I had an idea where I wanted to film everything, while the film also captures the forces of the environment shaping people, (army, boarding school, middle–class families) the main question of the film is whether there is something present in the parallels between ‘nature’ and society, that we all have the capability to inhumanity’ with many scenes rising questioning whether civilisation a veneer?”

It is essentially the character Verity who must traverse this landscape in an attempt to break these ‘historical patterns of violence’ and directly confront the guilt of her father.

Despite using many tools of the art-house in his work, Ben Crowe is essentially a political artist and as the founder of ERA, a company that produces documentary work around the world, he believes representation is an important part of filmmaking, especially in the case of Hollywood films. ‘If given the chance I would like to remake Slumdog Millionaire, it’s a shame it didn’t depict a different kind of India. It was an Academy winner and a great film in many ways but I would love to make a film set India that looked at some of the issues of class, poverty and corruption from a more realist perspective.’

Alongside touring Verity’s Summer and making films as part of ERA, Crowe has a lot of interesting projects coming up, that have been fed by his human rights work and experiences making films including a ethical exploration ‘of how journalists represent the rebel factions in the Congo, tying into the nature of representation’ and more excitingly ‘a revenge thriller that reads as a ‘Feminist Get Carter’ set in the North East.

Although Ben Crowe faces a hard slog with selffinanced and -distributed Verity’s Summer ‘ where ‘every film you make is a fight in the face of public funding and private equity’ the main goal is that ‘regardless of whether you can afford formal training, eventually you have to enter the world, make your own networks and find your own feet.

Although Verity’s Summer may not fit in archetypal explorations of the Iraq War and may be a little avant–garde for some, it is undoubtedly a relevant representation of the emotional scar tissue of the last decade and a true calling card from a visionary new British talent.